Hexplore 24: Week Four

"Most people had no idea time didn't always flow the same way in the city. Of course one would feel the changes in current; a certain ethereal quality that you couldn't describe or a vague sea-sickness like brought on and departing acutely. The effects were typically minor and, to the academics best modeling, completely random resulting in minimal perturbation to the cities temporal relationship with its surroundings. First-time visitors would often report the city's great tower clocks never being quite on time and would be understandably met with sighs from the tower wardens. Of course, being on time had no real meaning in such a place. Or at least it didn't..."

Adran:

Athos is dead. He died with a sleep spell still on his lips, a look of shock as the goblins black arrow found him behind Mer-Sit and Aran. It was an impossible shot but the gods can be cruel sometimes. The liberation of the town of Carmsby was luckily met without further tragedy, and we were met as heroes for breaking the yoke of the goblin raiders. But our task isn't done yet: the goblin's warren is still filled with the creatures and to ensure the villager's safety we will have to brave those depths. A thought we don't relish. Douse and Aran have sworn vengeance on the goblins and given the rest of us are unwilling to leave them behind, we make the decision to go together. Fortunately my companions are not foolhardy as we will engage the creatures on our terms. Carmsby is rich in oil flasks, a boon we intend to make great use of.

Mer-Me:

We found Port Ensal in chaos when we returned: the band of wereboars we found previously had invaded, taken over the Shrine of the Charter, and taken hostages of the clerics within. They demanded safe passage and a ship, something the merchant prince was loath to give them. And so we were quickly inducted into service, asked to render our services to save the clerics and kill the raiders. By an incredible string of luck, we had just acquired a bundle of silver arrows and daggers. We executed an ambush by using our scroll of magic mouth to distract the creatures while we kicked down the backdoor. A brutal fight took place as we evacuated the clerics before leading the boars outside to be assaulted by a fireball from the witch Morrigan. Unfortunately, it had little effect on the beasts and we had to use the last of our silver arrows putting them down. The prince rewarded us well, showering us in gold and cast off gear from the town's armory; a token to repay us for our expended arrows. We almost made it out without further consequence when Berdpal collapsed; one of the boar's tusks had driven into his shoulder and he developed a rapid fever. Fearing he was turning, the town had him locked away in a cell for the evening; truly an unjust treatment for their saviors.

Nonetheless, we consulted with the Sage Jaketta to learn of a cure for lycanthropy which sent us south to the Isle of the Anura to collect a rare magical herb. Along the way we encountered an under-construction castle and its beleaguered lord who begged us for assistance dealing with the band of hobgoblins squatting in the ruined Shrine of Shaundakul. We agreed to carry his plea to the prince in exchange for his retainer alchemist's aid in preparing a drought to restore Berdpal. One vial of holy water and other alchemical reagents later, Berdpal was cured but now entirely hairless; a fact by which he has sworn to kill the alchemist next time they meet!

New Hexes Explored: 12

Features Found:

• 1012: Carmsby. A small hamlet occupied by goblin raiders with a church dedicated to Titania, queen of the fey. A den of goblins lies in the surrounding hills.  
• 0421: Runnimage. A town of approximately 200 people led by a council and protected by a fourth level champion. The community has a master canoe and sailboat maker.
• 0523: Abandoned Hamlet. A ghost town populated only by a dozen ghouls in the plains near the Iron Temple.
• 0526: Castle Kidwelly. An under construction castle garrisoned by 30 shaky mercenaries and owned by a 6th level lawful illusionist. They keep an alchemist as a retainer (until Berdpal gets to them).

Notable Encounters:

• The Battle of Port Ensal. Conflict with six wereboars resulted in victory for the party of Mer-Me. The town owes them greatly for services rendered.
• The Battle of Carmsby. Originally a scouting and rescue operation, the fighting quickly intensified as the raiding goblins rallied. After the dust settled, forty goblins and many wolves were slain at the cost of the magic-user Athos' life. They are buried beneath the town's apple tree.

Current Party:

• Adran, Lawful Human Ranger 2
• Dan of Caladan, Neutral Halfling Thief 3
• Douse, Lawful Human Monk 4
• Aran, Lawful Human Cleric of Tiamat 3
• Mer-Sit the IV, Chaotic Human Fighter 2

Adjunct Party:

• Mer-Me of Ironbound Castle, Lawful Elven Thief 4
• Zer Esten, Neutral Human Magic-User 3
• Quasin the Uncanny, Neutral Human Cleric of Oghma 4
• Elsun the Heavy, Neutral Dwarven Fighter 3
• Tenspor of the Arid Wastes, Neutral Elven Cleric of Waukeen 3
• Berdpal Eth, Lawful Dwarven Fighter 3

Hexplore 24: Week Three

"As rumor had it, the sarcophagi of the saints were empty. It is now impossible to know who planted the idea within the mind of the public, but what is certain is the resulting fervor played a crucial role in the downfall of the old gods. The Night of Black Fire would see the temples burn with the ultimate irony being that the flame's color proved without a doubt of the authenticity of the bodies' divinity. Many point to the Night of Black Fire as the beginning of the end for the empire, but in truth the populace's broken covenant with their saints may have doomed them irrespective of such sacrilege."

    The father gives thanks to Bast as we drag ourselves back into the temple. Two days of adventure within the citadel proved the threat of Ghouls to unfortunately not be an exaggeration. Thankfully, the citadel is not empty of treasures and thus the band feels the venture wasn't wasted. We haven't lost anyone despite the tomb's best attempts although ambushes, a goblin warband, and devious traps made more than a few close calls. For now, we've explored two of the towers and found two previously unknown (and likely unlooted) sublevels, made a temporary alliance with a goblin tribe, and have greatly thinned the ghoul's numbers. We've apparently pleased Bast as that evening's dinner was much closer to a feast. After consulting the party, we've decided to divide and conquer our tasks. Mer-Me will return to Port Ensal to collect more weapons and consumables as the temple doesn't have much in the way of war supplies while we will continue our survey of the lands north of Port Ensal. We will reconvene in approximately a ten day to continue our delve.

    Our experience within the citadel and the temple have suggested something sinister may be happening. Some of the priests seem hesitant to assist us in any way and combined with the constant whispers behind our back there may be some element of their contingent less than excited for us to continue our exploration. If the corrupted acolyte we captured from the citadel is any indication, a break from the place may be wise. We can't know for sure, but we were ambushed by a group of skeletons on our second visit which seemed to know we were coming. An ulterior motive for sending Mer-Me back to Port Ensal is to alert the merchant prince of both our success, and our suspicions. The ever watchful eyes of Bast seem to follow us as we depart the Iron Temple; the morning light reflecting off them gives them the look of a stalking predator. An ill omen combined with the developing storms.

Hexes Explored: 22

Features Found:

• The Brass Temple of Shu. An aged temple to Shu, God of the Wind
• The Church of the Obol. An aged pyramid temple dedicated to Nephthys, protector of the dead and guardian of commerce
• Castle Raglan. A crumbling keep once built for a powerful sorcerer and their retainers but now occupied by giant rats.
• The Sanctuary of the Seekers. A hidden sanctuary devoted to Seker, God of Light and sanctifier of the dead. Built of Onyx and led by a powerful priest.

Notable Encounters:

• The Citadel of Bast: Spent two days exploring and cleaning the citadel of undead. Found significant treasure, a corrupted acolyte, and a goblin tribe squatting in the main keep.

Current Party:

• Adran, Lawful Human Ranger 2
• Dan of Caladan, Neutral Halfling Thief 3
• Douse, Lawful Human Monk 3
• Athos, Lawful Elven Magic-User 2
• Aran, Lawful Human Cleric of Tiamat 3
• Mer-Sit the IV, Chaotic Human Fighter 2

Adjust Party:

• Mer-Me of Ironbound Castle, Lawful Elven Thief 3
• Zer Esten, Neutral Human Magic-User 2
• Quasin the Uncanny, Neutral Human Cleric of Oghma 3
• Elsun the Heavy, Neutral Dwarven Fighter 3
• Tenspor of the Arid Wastes, Neutral Elven Cleric of Waukeen 2
• Berdpal Eth, Lawful Dwarven Fighter 3

Hexplore24: Week Two

"It was fashionable at the time to engage in the market of memories: an exchange where one's thoughts could be extracted and sold to others. The essence can be condensed into a tincture and then inhaled which imparts a vivid hallucination of the thoughts. Originally developed by the academy to compartmentalize and then transfer complex formulae, the potential for the service as a means to generate income was realized quite quickly by entrepreneurs and expanded as a popular extravagance for the nobility. Any warnings about the fugue state induced by repeated use of the tinctures were swiftly ignored. It is claimed that repository of vials containing the colleges forbidden spells lies gathering dust in the storerooms of the palace; held forever as both ransom and assurance for their compliance."

    It wasn't as easy to convince everyone to make another trek into the wilds so soon after our last venture. We scarcely had three moons rest before we were packing supplies onto the horses we bought and passing through the town's gates. A few near death experiences will sour any souls' wander lust, if only temporarily. The merchant prince paid well for news of our discoveries; most notably the overrun citadel near the Iron Temple and the lair of a dragon nearly within bowshot of the town. They agreed to sponsor further voyages including a reconnaissance of the northern shores, a visit to the Temple of Bast to render aid, and a more thorough study of the Isle of Glittering Stone and its resident draconic guardian. While we recuperated and gathered supplies, Another group made a short journey south to determine if any sites of interest lie between the ocean and the mountains. They reported little of value besides the presence of wereboars in the cliffs behind town. Given their eagerness to make their own coin, we agree to work together to aid the Temple of Bast in a few days time. Meanwhile, we set off north and scout another castle in the hills garrisoned by a small army and what appears to be hill giants by their size. The marsh lands spread out after the hills blocking further egress.

    The prince seems eager to establish a more sturdy foothold; I can't blame them given how little we know about our surroundings. Making an alliance with the local inhabitants seems a strong policy although I suspect the priests of Bast may be hesitant to cede some degree of ownership over the citadel in exchange for eradicating whatever evils lurk within. Regardless, they next few days will likely be trying as we plan to cut through the swamps and come around to the temple from its eastern side. No one among us envies a trudge through a mire and we all pray the ground is dry on the other side.

Hexes Explored: 20

Features Found: 

• 0623: Lair of the Cat Demons. A ruined keep with surrounding towers overrun with ghouls and two Rakshasha. Intriguing as it resides within the same hex as the Iron Temple of Bast who is the God of Felines
  
• 0522: A crossroad. Situated in a natural path between the topology, the road will likely prove useful in the future.
  
• 0322: The Island of Glittering Stone. An island in the middle of a river rich in rare metals and containing the lair of a black dragon.
  
• 0319: Castle Huntingdon. An occupied keep with a small militia and led by a 9th level thief. Two hill giants serve as retainers.
  

Notable Encounters:

• Three Lions got the jump as the party traversed the mountains. Quick thinking and a lucky strike from Dan and Douse likely saved their lives.
  

Current Party:

• Adran, Lawful Human Ranger 2
  

• Dan of Caladan, Neutral Halfling Thief 3
  

• Douse, Lawful Human Monk 3

• Athos, Lawful Elven Magic-User 2
  

• Aran, Lawful Human Cleric of Tiamat 3
  

• Mer-Sit the IV, Chaotic Human Fighter 2

Adjust Party:

• Mer-Me of Ironbound Castle, Lawful Elven Thief 3
  
• Zer Esten, Neutral Human Magic-User 1
• Quasin the Uncanny, Neutral Human Cleric of Oghma 3
• Elsun the Heavy, Neutral Dwarven Fighter 2
• Tenspor of the Arid Wastes, Neutral Elven Cleric of Waukeen 2
• Berdpal Eth, Lawful Dwarven Fighter 3

Hexplore24: Week One

 

"It is said that not even setting sun dimmed the amber glow of the city streets. Moth lanterns were changed each day at sundown; fed from a lunarium and a special breeding stock prized for the exceptional brightness. There was a certain poetry in the changing of the lights. Countless little lives burned through each night to prolong the radiance. Few considered this as they engaged in extravagant balls, opulent night markets, and the other luxuries of high society. The symbolism was, in retrospect, obvious."

    The temple bell calls the acolytes to their evening prayers as we settle into the comfortable quarters the servants of Sune provided. Despite Aran's grumbling, we've decided to take a much needed rest after a week of hard hiking in the wilds. As fortune would have it, the hills gave way to a large shrine manned by quite friendly priests, or friendly enough after an exchange of coin. Without belaboring the fine details of the journey, we've discovered rough terrain generally directly south of Port Ensal that may serve as a natural barrier for larger expeditions. Second, there is a large concentration of consecrated sites; a temple to the The Dancing Lady, a remote mountain stream sacred to the Anura, a ruined shrine to Shaundakul and now this temple to Sune. Finally, large bands of monsters are not uncommon: we met a band of giant spiders, a flock of cockatrices, and a troupe of hobgoblins. The archpriest was relieved when we showed proof of slaying three of the cockatrices. It may have proved the turning point in our negotiation. The folks we've met don't seem overtly hostile but are certainly hesitant to trust outsiders which seems a prudent policy. They also have little to provide about the Golden City besides general caution and a sense of anxiety when we probe deeper. Not wishing to overplay our welcome, we drop the issue. 

 

    We wonder at the proximity of so many shrines, perhaps the ancestors of these people were more zealous than their cousins in distant lands and that culture has survived to this age. What is clear is that while they have had contact with the wider world, most of the population seems to descend from the ancient lines of the Golden City. We know their Gods by seemingly different names, a curious observation we will have to ponder. Our stores of rations are good for about a ten-day but we quickly tire of our slow pace. Athos in particular complains at our lack of forethought in preparing horses for the journey. It seems returning to Port Ensal would be wise but I hope to convince the others to take a wider arch through the mountains to our east and spend a few more days covering new ground. If all goes well, we may enjoy the tavern's strong mead in a few days.

 

Hexes Explored: 18

 

Features Found:

• 0623: The Iron Temple of Bast
• 0427: The Isle of the Asura and the headwaters of a river
• 0328: The Ruined Shrine of Shaundakul
• 0627: The Sanctuary of Passion

Notable Encounters:

• Three Cockatrices, nearly ended in disaster as they closed the distance quickly. A few timely arrows and insane luck with Dan's backstab prevented anyone from falling to their talons.

Current Party:

• Adran, Lawful Human Ranger 1
• Dan of Caladan, Neutral Halfling Thief 1
• Douse, Lawful Human Monk 3
• Athos, Lawful Elven Magic-User 1
• Aran, Lawful Human Cleric of Tiamat 1
• Mer-Sit the IV, Chaotic Human Fighter 1
   
  

Hexplore24: A year of hexploration

    Over the last few months I've played around occasionally with solo adventuring as a fun exercise in between prepping for sessions in my current pathfinder game. I rolled up some characters using Swords and Wizardry, slapped down the hex map I had been using for my pathfinder game, and picked some spots as sites of small dungeon-crawling adventures that I could largely use the procedures in B/X, OD&D, or other OSR games to run solo. Having the procedures for dungeon crawling and exploration made the process relatively simple and meant I didn't have to use other more complex tools like Mythic or some other GM emulator (which I am not against but personally I find too obtuse for my uses). I bounced around the world and had quite a bit of fun journaling from the character's perspective, using tools like ChatGPT for random prompts, or getting to actually use the enormous pile of printed materials I've collected over the last few years. That's why I was excited to learn about hexplore24, a yearly challenge to run a hexploration game every day of 2024. 

    After mulling over some ideas, I decided to play through a similar scenario to one of the earliest campaigns I ran: the search for an ancient city deep in the wilderness. The original game I ran in college had my players moving through a pointcrawl style system deeper and deeper into an unexplored wilderness in pursuit of a legend of a metropolis from another age (an El Dorado of sorts). While that game had many memorable moments (including when they finally reached the place and found it not quite so abandoned...), due to some shenanigans the players essentially wished (as in used the spell) the events of the game never took place. So this completely unexplored place is still out there somewhere, a perfect motivation for a solo hexploration game! 

    I'll be making use of a variety of tools for the challenge including the fantastic Wilderness Hexplore Revised by Jed McClure, some of the procedures from Swords and Wizardry, OSE, and this neat weather table from the Wandering Gamist. Monsters and Mazes (who I first saw the idea from) has put together some other great resources as well as a summary of the hexplore24 idea. My goal is to really stick with this every day, so I need a straightforward and simple ruleset that I can reasonably expect to be able to keep up with which is where I fell apart with dungeon23. Tying each day to a "in world" day appeals to me and gives a sense of checking in with my party which is neat. I'll be using hex kit to make the actual map itself although I may keep a pen and paper map and update the hex kit map occasionally if it turns out that's my only digital resource. I'll also be keeping a journal of sorts which I can update each day with the events the party encounters. The hope is as we run into various terrain features we can organically create the same sorts of narrative story as in my previous game. The end goal is still going to be to locate the titular lost city which I will eventually place into the roll tables for the features or maybe triangulate it after finding various clues scattered around the hex map. I haven't decided yet but that is a later problem to resolve. Plenty of hexes to explore in the meantime! I'll update progress as we go along, maybe every week or so unless something really interesting happens.

     I rolled up a random town on the western coast, pulled my group of characters from my solo game and set off. Despite the ominous storm that blew through on the first day, the journey was quiet. I can already see some interesting terrain popping out of the random tables. No features yet (its only a 1/8 chance after all) and luckily no monsters. We'll see how long that holds.