Stonehell Session 3
Okay! Third session down and time for another report! We had some adjustments to the rules. So I'm pretty happy about that. Taking rules from Cairn and adding rulings to combat. I'll link the rules when it comes up. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
This session we are join by Serafina the Fighter, Joel Osteen the Anit-Cleric, Charlice Moonstone the Fighter.
As usual, session starts at floor 1, room 1. The party decides to go to some areas they have explored already and clear out some rooms. I had a couple of turns pass as they stayed in the first room for a little bit making some decisions, the next turn took place when they were passing the crossroads that had the sign for 'Da Dragon's Den'. Random encounter and 10 skeletons blocked their path. The party thought it best to back up and funnel the skeletons so they only had to fight a couple at once. Smart plan! Dealing with the chance for all 10 skeletons to attack would have been too much for a level one party. Sadly, things just didn't play out well. Serafina and Joel Osteen died within two rounds of combat. The skeletons hit with max damage. I honestly felt bad but this is how things can go. Charlice had the chance to book it and I allowed the hirelings to run as well.
So this is where we come up with the first of the new rulings this session. 50% of experience invested towards the next level goes towards your next character. We also looked at ensuring race is aesthetic and made all race options for mercenary equal the price of "man" in Delving Deeper. After a short pause on play to make up new characters, we continue with the mega dungeon with the following characters:
A. A. Alan the Halfling Cleric, Longwaginn Pebblespine the Dwarf Magic User, and Charlice the Human Fighter.
Honestly, it becomes mostly uneventful until the party reaches the crypt rooms in room 27. I figured enough time has passed that all the crypts could be rerolled. As though they were 'restocked'. A close battle with a ghoul made us consider another ruling. The times that we hit exactly 0 hp so far this session was a lot. So I added that if you hit exactly 0 hp then you are considered incapacitated. Honestly, this was just to help us keep playing so we are not hung up on character creation for half the session. I'm thinking of adding to this. We are using the Cairn table for scars as a 'bonus' to surviving a horrible attack. Honestly, ability scores do not matter much so I might just take this away. I'm considering that if you hit 0 HP then you are just incapacitated. Along with being able to go below 0 for each hit die a character has. That way it kind of lines up with characters who are still low level not able to survive a devastating hit yet a character with more hit dice can more likely survive going below 0. This applies to player characters only.
We also asked if we can try a usage die mechanic from Black Hack. The idea is simple, when you use something, roll a die. On a 1 or 2 then the die you use goes down one step. Such as rolling a 1 on a D6, then you would have to roll a D4 next time you use that item. Roll a 1 or 2 on a D4? Well now that item is used up and you would have to a acquire it again. This is how we are using items like Holy Water and bunches of herbs.
Rulings in place, the party continues to explore the crypts here. One of the treasures was a minor magic item. I spaced and didn't want to use my phone to look at Labyrinth Lord again so I just rolled a magic item from Delving Deeper. A magic sword. Honestly, I'm glad. They are the reason you may want to play fighter as no other class can use them. Just a +1 sword though, but does come with a couple of powers. Thankfully, Charlice had just enough to resist being dominated by the sword.
The party eventually moves on to the laughing head room. Longwaginn touches the face right away and I roll a 6 for turns they must laugh. The party honestly felt stuck and tried to calm Longwaginn down. I figure the Cleric using the holy symbol might help. So each round that they were trying to help, removed one round of the timer. Charlice took the chance to explore and found a secret door. It was a small room with the trapped coffer. Charlice used their polearm like a 10 ft pole and pushed the coffer open. I thought this was clever and didn't have them roll a poison save as they safely set off the trap. Knowing the limit on how many coins they can carry, they just had the hirelings just carry the coffer.
The party then moves on after Longwaginn finally calms down from the laughter. They shortly discover the gambling room. Stone dial with many markings of the god Chance. Fully aware that there might be consequences, they all decide to spin the wheel. Just one player was brave enough to keep spinning the wheel multiple times. I guess their efforts were worth it as they get a gem worth 1,000 gp. No instance death but a lot of rolls hit the negative result table. At least my players thought it was worth to try and have a bit of fun with it. The other characters in this situation dealt with the rusted portcullis nearby and broke it open permanently. This is one of those situations that I felt was like metroidvania and having shortcuts opened up. I might add my own here and there as the campaign goes on.
From here on out, the party moves on and explore other areas that they haven't before. They made it out of Hell's Antechamber and enter the Quiet Halls. The air was a deathly cold, the stone dark and dusty, and your very voice carried in the wind like a whisper. This was where we ended this session.
A few afterthoughts. I think we still have much to tweak of ODnD, but that's the point. There are many gaps that we are still actively filling in. Also making changes to what feels good in play. I still need to update the rulings page for the group, so this will get published before then. I just wanted to make sure I got this done while it is fresh is my mind. With many monster encounters being half a hit die, we also figure to nerf the damage to reflect that. Giant rats are no joke. Skeletons might be a joke to the Cleric though. Hirelings are also very important. The mercenary that they brought along helped a lot. They soaked up a few attacks that would otherwise be rough for the party. I am considering on having a 'skip to this part of the dungeon'. It helps make sense to do this since the players have been exploring the dungeon multiple times that they can easily avoid combat and start out where they are most excited to explore. I'm more sure how other folks would run this, but this might be just what I stick with.
I think I'll make a post of all our rulings. I want to have a few more sessions before making that. Stonehell is rough. At least to start though. I think once the player characters have a couple levels, there will not be as much death. I might adjust the amount of money the players find on the first floor.
Anyway, thanks for your time in reading this! Hope you enjoyed!