Windsor Session Report - Dec 11, 2024

[Everybody disliked that]

Roll Call

Nazan (Acolyte) - Mathew
Richard of Rhymwood(Veteran) - Wheels
Sam (Veteran) - Raptor Jesus
Seros (Elf, Veteran) - Kaijinzero
Dana Yel (Elf, Veteran) - MadCow
??? (Man in a Cloak) - Polyfamous (Later arrival)
Cordy Mather (Veteran) - Weather Report

Referee - Folderbloat

Another full table this time! Already the mark of a game that has the right stuff! We began piling into the discord channel around 7:45pm est, with Kaijin, MadCow and I as the first arrivals. Raptor Jesus, Wheels and Mathew joined and we were ready to get going! eventually!

How I Generate Characters

In Windsor, the Referee handles all die rolls and keeps all full character sheets. When creating a new character, I roll 3d6 in order, SIWCDC, roll their first hit die and then give slightly vague descriptions of these abilities to the player to choose character type, alignment and name. The player is left to roll for gold and equip himself.

The reason this bears mentioning here is that it is my goal to have players engage with the milieu organically and as with most bro ideas I didn’t know what lightning I was playing with until it became apparent mid-game.

MadCow had joined the Urf discord to mostly lurk and discuss the hobby with the bros, but had not previously been in one of our games. From what I gather he comes from 5e and then a long time spent trying to master and memorize ACKS, but has sympathies for sandboxing over linear story”gaming” and we encouraged him to get back in the swing of things (from a woeful no-game state of being!) by jumping into Windsor tonight. My chargen system worked as intended and he had a guy figured out in minutes.

Well, not a guy per se. An elf.

Hobbit Wrestling

The little town of Argyle sports a population of around 700. Almost entirely Men with a few families of Hobbits around as well. The chaotic party dynamic that seems to come with having more than 3 or 4 guys reared its head and we spent almost 10 minutes establishing that they were betting on Hobbit Wrestling matches for some reason (Raptor Jesus was happy to tell me about his IRL City’s midget wrestling events). Trying to blend this into the established character of Argyle, I decided that it was not a sporting event, but rather a Hobbit holiday tradition that was incorporated into the town’s Winter Festivities.

The hobbits, it turns out, celebrate Festivus in addition to adopting Christmas in Argyle. The wrestling matches are part of the annual airing of grievances and I quickly appointed Mathew to be my bookie and record the bets they were yelling over each other so nobody could welsh on their bets while I cobbled together my fractured sanity and whipped up a pair of Hobbit names, stapling random words together until I found that Toleman Smallfoot was fighting Hogor Under… shirt(?) creating the mental image of a Hobbit wearing nothing but boxers and an A-shirt wrestling in the slush over the perceives insult of another Hobbit wiping down a table after Hogor had his feet on it.

Toleman smallfoot won out and money was exchanged. While the adventure was almost a non starter I was content to let them waste their own time. If they ended the session with no EXP or treasure, that could be considered a win for the Dungeon Master.

The Elf Situation In Argyle

Somewhere in all this nonsense, the adventurers got talking among themselves and the natural disdain for elves we cultivate in Urf bore fruit. Somebody made a crack about elves coming from mushrooms or not having mothers or some such and Dana Yel (MadCow) tried to make a joke about how Elves just kidnap human children to repopulate.

The air went frosty in the town square. I informed Madcow that people heard that.

As some Small Town Good Ol’ Boys gathered and confronted Richard of Rhymwood’s loony new friend, Seros, the other Elf in the party was quick to distance himself. The party collectively declared that Dana Yel does NOT represent them! In the kerfuffle Dana Yel tried to explain that he meant that Elfs take care of orphaned human children or or some other cope but what everyone else including all other players and I heard is another ill timed joke implying that humans cannibalize their own babies during harsh winters.

My method of describing ability scores is flawless.

Dana Yel tried to flee from the mob by leaping into the Hobbit wrestling pit, getting his ankle snatched as he did so and landing face first in the mud and slush. Hogor Undershirt smashed the back of his head with a snowball, stunning him.

The locals of Argyle hauled this repugnant Elf (possibly a Faerie!) out of the mud and were about to execute him when the village’s priest arrived on the scene, shaming all involved for such violence in what is supposed to be the beginning of Argyle’s annual Christmas celebrations. After some negotiations, it was decided that Dana Yel would be blindfolded, gagged, tied to a horse and carried 10 miles out of town, never to return.

Cashing in what little respect he has managed to gather with his adventures and deeds, Richard of Rhymwood offered to escort the unwelcome pest himself and the locals agree to lend him the horse in question as long as he promised on his honor to take the elf to the appointed spot.

At 8:40 we finally left town.

A full day’s travel later (the rest of the party is on foot and so the movement speed of the group is hampered) they arrive at the 10 mile mark and the day of Dec 11 comes to a close, just in time for Weather Report and Polyfamous to join the chat.

Day 2: The Adventure

As it happened to transpire, the very last stragglers managed to join in at the exact moment the Elf Mischief looked to be finishing up. Weather Report’s Cordy Mather fit right in and resumed mapping duties for the remainder of the night. Polyfamous had declined to offer his character’s name to the others the previous time he had joined but with his hood pulled deeply over his face he was accepted back into the fold with a collective shrug. The last time he did this, he declared himself to vanish into the shadows after the adventure right BEFORE they got around to division of loot, screwing himself out of his rightful cut.

With Dana Yel untied, the group set off the short remaining distance from the destination of his exile to the ravine which hides the Caverns of Kuzon. Descending into the depths once more, they passed by the room where previously they had slain a quintet of kobolds which now lay rotting and bloated with flies. Not trusting any corpses that hadn’t been eaten in almost a week, Richard of Rhymwood grasped his axe and decapitated the bodies. The smell was unbearable.

The chaos of the large table size became an issue once or twice, and whenever I needed to cut through the multiple voices I simply raised my voice to be heard and asked Mathew, who found himself as the party’s caller, to tell me what the group was doing. Simply asking such was enough to bring everyone in line. Consider this further proof that the problems in conduct that pop up in the WotC games are the result of a lack of enforced social rules. With mentally and emotionally adult players who are there to play, the role of caller being invoked is its own cue to smarten up and keep things moving. I wish this weren’t impressive or note worthy. Anyone who has used Roll20 understands that it is.

The party pushed into the same cluster of small rooms where they had been ambushed with ghouls last week, spiking doors as they went to keep their rout of escape open. As they began pushing into unknown territory, they hear something at a door; there are people speaking in the room beyond.

What Kind of a Guy Would Be Posted Up In a Dungeon?

Flasks of oil were fished out of packs. Weapons were readied. Seros (Kaijinzero) declared he would force the door. The dice dictated it took at least a minute to kick their way in. The dice also dictated that this cost them the element of surprise.

Thankfully for the adventurers, the Man on the opposite side of the door preferred to parley before rushing into combat. In the small room beyond the door they find a trio of Men-At-Arms being led by a certifiable Big Guy. A huge man awaits for them, clad in pristine plate armor with an oversized broadsword poised to strike, wearing a great helmet bearing the visage of a face in anguish.

The Encounter Tables Dictate These Guys

The encounter tables of ‘74 D&D are quite simplistic. Only minor consideration is given to the hit dice of enemies relative to the level of the encounter table, and the tables will indicate encounters with other adventurers much more frequently than the AD&D tables do. The indications of wandering Heros and above, sometimes in groups depending on referee interpretation, sparked something in my brain and conjured up the Espadas Gigantes.

More of an informal social order than a conventional order of knights, these warriors wander the Lands of Ruin around Windsor bearing helmets modelled after the death masks of giants they have slain. If you kill a giant, you can cut off its head and find one of the other Gigantes to be taken to the smith who forges these helmets. It’s a little way to add some prestige for players to pursue. Failing that it adds a bit of flavor to the milieu.

This masterless Knight standing in a dungeon room issued a challenge to the assembled mob of lv 1 mooks facing him down; pay tribute to his might or choose a champion to face him in a duel! The party immediately began arguing back and forth and tossing in ideas and questions over each other. I told them their time is limited as Ulric of Deedle will only wait so long to be answered.

Yes, He Pronounced it Melbourné

At this moment, seeing a chance to get the upper hand and avoid being robbed or having someone be killed, Polyfamous mades his play. He cast Sleep upon Ulric and his followers and to his slight surprise, the mighty warrior was within the Hit Die range to be affected by the spell. A few saving throws later, Ulric and two of his three men dropped to the floor. Polyfamous’ cloaked man threw back his hood to reveal the pale skin and pointed ears of a Faerie! He is Ælric, Prince-in-Exile of Melbourné!

Half the party and Ulric’s remaining man recoiled in disgust! However, the inevitable intra-party conflict this revelation will cause would have to wait! All this commotion had attracted unwanted attention and at that moment the door the party just burst through themselves was knocked open again by a gang of Orcs charging directly into their back rank! Only a pair of spearmen hired by Richard were there to meet this onslaught!

Despite being taken totally by surprise and charged from the rear, by some miracle not a Orcish weapon found Manflesh! Chaos reared its head again as orders got barked. I give them a finite time to commit and asked for actions from the Caller. Sam the veteran, now at the back of the reversed marching order, moved back to tie up the subdued party of Ulric. There was some disorder as Seros the Elf tried to muscle his way through to the new front rank to fight, but all is for naught. A pair of flaming flasks of oil were let lose. One went far and one pulled high and despite these being narrowly missed throws, the flasks shattered on the door frame above the orcs and against the wall of the small room behind them. The orcs were showered with flaming detritus from above and found their back ranks engulfed totally!

The surviving, non-protesting orcs fled back the way they came through the maze of tiny rooms. With Ulric of Deedle bound as their hostage the party opted to retreat for now and sort out the Faerie situation later. It’s a good call too because they could hear the battlecry of some barbarian Germans echoing down the halls as they hauled their prey up the ledge in the entry chamber and out of the Caverns entirely!

A Prisoner Dilemma

Out in the open air, the party began arguing over what to do with their captive. Ælric was insistent that by overwhelming Ulric with sorcery he had bested him in a “duel” of sorts and demanded to take his helmet, weapon and armor as payment. My notes did not record if the idea of killing Ulric out of hand was floated or not. Either way the more Lawful aligned party members weren’t having it.

Eventually it is determined that even though he holds no lands or fortresses, Ulric should have more men-at-arms somewhere and sufficient funds to keep them paid and the group set off towards Deedle, a town larger than Argyle and off the edge of their known map. However, with their captives as guides they managed to travel to the strange place, with Richard of Rhymwood stewarding the captives’ weapons and his soldiers guarding them during transport.

The town of Deedle is a generally Lawful place. They are however, infested with some strange sort of persons. The Human hostages quickly instructed the adventurers “Don’t acknowledge the Glurons. Don’t make eye contact. Don’t let them try to talk to you.”

Don’t Talk To Them. Don’t Snort The Teeth. Don’t Smoke The Dirt.

Upon seeing the disgusting, oddly shaped worm-like freaks in question the group was eager to comply and they sped towards meeting with Ulric’s men, where he and his underlings were exchanged for a ransom of 5,000 Gold Pieces.

Despite the dishonorable way in which he did so, Ælric argues that since he was the sole reason a potential massacre or robbery turned out so profitably was his quick thinking, he should be able to claim half of this reward. The party finds this reasonable and I break down laughing at the brilliance of it.

Elfs advance as fighting Men and Magic Users separately in ‘74 D&D. Each adventure they choose a class to play as and all experience is earned by that class alone. How much EXP does a Lv 1 Magic User need to advance to Lv 2? 2,500.

How much is half of 2,500 GP? Yeah. the man drives a hard bargain.

In the wrap up, Ælric declares his intention to retake his homeland of Melbourné and invites the others to join him in this endeavor. The reception is less than warm. At this junction, having played out to the end of December 15, the party adjourns and goes their separate ways in Deedle.

Around An Elf, Watch Yourself

Two axis of alignment [Law-Chaos, Man-Weirdo] were on full display this session. Dana Yel almost got himself killed by an angry mob within the first 20 minutes and some of his party members almost helped them do it! Then later, only the immediate danger of the dungeon kept the group together after it was revealed there was a Faerie in their midst! The tension underpinning all this friction really kept the evening alive even when it threatened to bog down with NPC dialogue and non-profitable Shenanigans.

This is no Get Along Gang and I predict continued friction between these characters in the future. Diffusion and Convergence are already being sewn.

Grades

With the rule of only 1 player being able to earn the top grade of E, I have heeded more good advice from cleverer minds than mine and will give more credit to players whose actions contributed to Diffusion And Convergence within the campaign. Playing towards more, better gameplay in the future is important!

Nazanthe Acolyte (Mathew) - Superior
Richard of Rhymwood (Wheels) - Superior
Sam the Veteran (Raptor Jesus) - Fair
Seros the Elf (Kaijinzero) - Fair
Dana Yel The Elf (MadCow) - Superior
Ælric the Faerie (Polyfamous) - Excellent
Cordy Mather(Weather Report) - Fair

While somewhat disrupting to undertaking a PROFITABLE adventure, I told MadCow in character creation that our Elfs are less Tolkien and more Folklore/Pranksters and he ran with making mischief as Dana Yel.

Ælric’s actions have sewn much friction within the existing characters and the results of his choices have multiple people sending me inquiries about the town of Deedle and requests for downtime orders (These will have to wait. We played into the future!).