Return to the Labyrinth

I've been wanting to create a one-shot adventure that I can begin to run at conventions. I've been to five conventions so far, and I'm ready to take a step towards developing something that will provide a fun experience. The ideal would be a very approachable game that focuses more on storytelling and puzzle solutions over combat. Something with memorable characters and plenty of opportunity for exploration and creativity. While thinking about the recipe for the adventure I would want to write, I began to think how fun The Labyrinth would be as an adventure setting.

First of all, Jareth the Goblin King just seems like a great villain for a tabletop rpg. I like the role he plays in the movie of popping up once in a while to taunt the protagonist. When things aren't challenging enough, he can show up and throw unnecessary obstacles in the way and just generally be seen as cheating the players out of their victories. This resentment of the villain makes it all the more satisfying at the end if they are able to defeat him and prevent him from accomplishing his goals.

One of the questions that I have up in the air right now is whether the players should be playing some of the memorable characters from the movie, or if they should be playing "Mundies" (just picked up reading Fables again) from the ordinary world who are brought back into the world of the Labyrinth. As fun as it might be to play as Hoggle or Ludo, playing an outsider would be more fitting to the feel of the movie and make more sense as to why they aren't more familiar with the world.

My initial idea for the hook is that Jareth has grown tired of being the Goblin King. He never really wanted the job to begin with, as his thoughts are often drawn to the glam rock career that could have been. Not only has the role gotten in the way of his career goals, but the goblins have just grown out of control. Their bad behavior has been running rampant throughout the realm and the labyrinth itself is starting to fall into disrepair. Jareth is ready to make an exit, so he returns to an old plan: retrieve Toby Williams and dump this responsibility on him.

Toby is no longer a baby, and our story begins on his 13th birthday. The players are all schoolmates of Toby's and have been invited to the extravagance and grandiosity of Toby's snobby rich parents. Before resentment can set in too much, however, one of Toby's gifts is a crystal ball from the original movie. During some shenanigans at the party, the crystal cracks open summoning an army of the goblins into the house to kidnap Toby. The goblins are confused as there are far too many children for them to choose from and they aren't really too sure which one is Toby, so they elect to nab all the children present and take them back to the Labyrinth.

The game begins with the children all stuck in the dark oubilette where they have been left to be forgotten. Toby is not present as they begin, having been brought to the castle for his coronation. I think this would be a great place to introduce that little worm from the movie to serve as an information giver for what is happening and help steer them towards their quest to rescue Toby.

There are a bunch of characters that are must-haves for a Labyrinth themed adventure, so lets talk about what their stories should be 13 years after the first movie. Feel free to comment or leave messages to provide me with your thoughts!

Hoggle

My guess is Jareth was probably still pretty sore with Hoggle and the assistance he provided Sarah. Hoggle has been relieved of his cushy groundskeeper job and been stuck down in the Oubilette as a warden. He misses the outdoors and dreams of better times when he was a faerie exterminator extraordinaire. Maybe he is a little jaded about friendship...after all he sacrificed a lot for Sarah and she doesn't make time to visit? Jareth warned him that Sarah's friendship was false, and now being stuck down in the Oubilette is starting to mess with his head as he feels neglected. He isn't super excited to be looking after a bunch of humans after his experience the last time one showed up.

I think Hoggle needs some vulnerability that the players can exploit or a problem he needs solving that they could offer to take care of in exchange for getting free from the Oubilette. Maybe Hoggle has fallen in love, but his self-esteem has seen better days. The players can lend assistance either doing a makeover on Hoggle, acting as his intermediaries, delivering a letter, etc. What do you think? What are some ways our heroes might get on Hoggle's good side?

Ludo

The giant hairy beast with the power to summon rocks is definitely going to be an expected NPC. But what is he doing 13 years after his adventure with Sarah? He has no allegiance to Jareth and is an enemy of the goblins. It seems likely he's either in hiding in the Bog of Eternal Stench or is a captive of the goblins potentially being held at the city. Perhaps if the players are able to rescue him he could be a useful ally.

Or maybe he's trying to clean up the Junk City and redevelop it with his rock summoning powers. I kind of like the idea of Ludo just bulldozing his way through a bunch of trash in his free time. Maybe whatever task the party ends up doing on Hoggle's behalf ends with them visiting this location. The Junk City could be the home of some kind of resistance to Jareth's rule over the Labyrinth. Could be populated with some of the other minor characters that appeared in the movie and perhaps some new ones.

Sir Didymus

Sir Didymus would definitely return to where his bridge was and rebuild it so he could continue to carry out his sacred oath to let none pass without his permission. When the party reaches him, he will be a bit more discerning about who he grants permission to, however. Sir Didymus respects people who embody valor, strength, and intelligence. He will have developed a series of tests that will satisfy him that the players are worthy to cross his bridge.

Other Characters
I am already convinced that the Fireys need to make an appearance. I think they may have been the creepiest part of the movie for me as a kid. Popping out their eyes and kicking around their heads, they could be truly formidable combatants that just want to have a bit of fun with the players by removing their appendages. They remind me of fire resistant trolls which should be truly terrifying to a low level party.

I would like to see the big goblin robot at the end, Humongous, make an appearance as well. I think he'd make a great final boss encounter.

Final Thoughts
What do you think has happened to the characters of the Labyrinth 13 years after the movie? What do you think would make an interesting Labyrinth themed game? Thoughts on the game system that should be used?

Setting the Mood: Music in D&D Games

Music is a very powerful stimulant. It interacts with our minds, our bodies, and our emotions. There are songs and sounds that describe certain feelings and experiences with more accuracy than words or pictures can. This makes it a must have for bringing a breath of life into a table top role-playing game.

Using music and audio tracks to compliment a session can be used for a variety of reasons and purposes. It can help to set tone and establish what the general feeling of the scene should be before you even describe the environment or allow them to speak with any non-player characters. It can be used to evoke sound effects and ambient noise that the characters themselves may be experiencing. An intense theme of power chords and manic percussion can crank energy levels up to eleven just in time for a huge battle.

I'll share a few of my choices for my Curse of Strahd game last night. Curse of Strahd spoilers inside.

The Town of Krezk

The party arrives in the town of Krezk to deliver wine to the residents. They had learned that the people of Barovia are reliant on this wine as a way to cope with the dreariness that they exist in everyday, and the town had not received their shipment for sometime. As they entered the gates they saw the signs of alcohol withdrawal on the crowd that waited the shipment. The living residents shuffled toward the cart, many of them shaking uncontrollably, and the scene looked not unlike the encounters with zombies they have had in the past. It was a truly depressing scene of what life was like in this town under Strahd's rule.

Music choice: Anxious Heart by Nobuo Uematsu

I think sometimes it can be distracting if you choose something from a popular video game or a television show that everyone has watched (although I have often ignored this if I think it will be fun). This particular song from Final Fantasy VII kind of fit the theme that I wanted the players to feel of sadness and hopelessness as they entered the town. I figured that it was one of the less prominent songs in the game and fit the goal that I had. The tempo has the sluggishness that represents the lethargy of the Barovians to do anything to fight against their oppression, and the piano brings out the mystery of this new place of dread.

And a certain level of dread was soon felt by the characters. In the previous session, Reinhardt the paladin and Barzulen the warlock had fallen in a battle against some druids and their evil tree blight creations within the winery they were trying to recover. Regaining their consciousness in the vast expanse of nothingness, as they soon found their spirits whispering to unknown entities within the darkness. These voices offered them a return to life to continue their battle against the vampire lord Strahd von Zarovich. They accepted and came back with a certain strangeness clinging to them that others could sense.

In Krezk, the burgomaster (name of mayors in Barovia) had asked Reinhardt, as a man of faith, to come and perform a blessing for a woman in town who had just had twins. When they arrived at the woman's cottage they found the two newborns silent with eyes wide open, with spooked looks on their faces. Reinhardt asked what was wrong, and learned that this often happens to children who are born without souls...a consequence of those who make deals with death. The players did not need to ask any more questions to understand the terribleness of what had happened as a result of their acceptance of their second lease on life.

Ireena and the Pool

One of the main objectives of the party up until this point has been to keep Ireena safe from being a victim of Strahd's vile affection. They came to the town of Krezk hoping that it would provide sanctuary for her. While Reinhardt was performing his blessing on the twins, they heard a commotion from outside the cottage. It was Ireena's brother calling after her. The party followed him to find Ireena standing before a pool of water dedicated to a Barovian saint. Purple storm clouds began to fill the sky.

Sound choice: Ambient thunderstorm

It is fairly rare that I use audio to represent physical phenomenon that the players are experiencing, so when I do it usually signals something incredibly significant is about to happen. As the storm began, Ireena reached out into the pool for a hand that appeared in the water. She called out "Sergei, my love! Soon we will be together at last." The name was familiar; Reinhardt looked down upon the sunsword he had found and saw the name emblazoned on its hilt. The party was hesitant to allow Ireena to step forward into the pool because of the extreme uncertainty about who Sergei was. But in the end Ireena joined with the form in the water and was pulled under. A face in the sky struck lightning down in a rage; it was Strahd himself. He howled in fury and proclaimed to the party that they would be stuck in Barovia with him forever, and he would ensure that they lived out their deepest nightmares.

Song Choice: God's Gonna Cut You Down performed by Johnny Cash

God's Gonna Cut You Down as performed by Johnny Cash played to represent the huge change the campaign was about to take. Strahd was denied his pursuit of Ireena and shifted into vengeance mode. I wanted the player's to feel that bad things were on the horizon for them. I love the lyrics of this song and the opening rhythm evokes the feeling of someone who is walking down death row.

It wasn't long after this moment where Strahd made true on his promise. Traveling down the road the party noticed a large black box sitting in the middle of the road with a moth eaten bow wrapped around it and an envelope resting upon its lid. Reinhardt hesitantly moved forward to read the card. It was addressed to him from Strahd. It read: You took something from me, so I took something from you." Panic growing, Reinhardt ripped open the lid as dozens of bat flew up into his face and scattered to the winds. Inside was a body wrapped in a cloth and a visible sword resting on top of the form. It was the sword of Reinhardt's best friend from his monastery.

It was a sad moment which prompted many questions. How did Strahd reach outside of Barovia to someone from their world? Who else would be at risk? Urgency is building and the crew headed towards their destination, the Amber Temple, to seek the power to destroy Strahd.

Music choice: Les Revenants album by Mogwai

The album Les Revenants by Mogwai is perfect for setting the tone in Barovia. I've come to understand that it was produced for a French TV series, which kind of makes me want to check it out since I imagine based on this music it must be quite creepy. Every track has this haunting quality to it. I will be using this to set the stage for many events to come due to the sadness that the tracks evoke while retaining the creepy ambiance.

Bringing Some Levity

You don't want to take things too seriously, and so sometimes music can be a great way to make things light, particularly in Barovia. I like to start my sessions with a recap and play a few goofy songs to help offset the tension and horror. Here is one of my favorites for Strahd; from the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall:

Song Choice: Dracula's Lament

Curse of Strahd: The Story So Far

New Players, New Beginnings
**Curse of Strahd Spoilers within**
A few months back a friend of mine asked me if I would run a Dungeons & Dragons game for him and his co-workers. It was explained to me that most of the players were inexperienced with D&D and everyone was new to the 5th Edition version of the game. Generally, I love playing with people who are new to tabletop gaming because they tend to think and describe what their characters are trying to do rather than explain things through game mechanics. When this happens the storytelling that is at the heart of everything really flourishes. I was pretty excited by the prospect of converting some people to the satanic vices of D&D.

And being something of a sadist as a DM, I decided what better place to bring them to their first experience than the weeping land of Barovia by running the hardcover adventure Curse of Strahd. For those who are unfamiliar, the demi-plane of Barovia is a terrible place where the sun don't shine and is analogous to the Transylvania of Bram Stroker's Dracula (as is its famous villain, the vampire dreadlord Count Strahd von Zarovich). It is a place where tragedy lurks around every corner and there are no happy endings.

As a demiplane, Barovia kind of show up wherever the DM says it is.

Let us introduce our cast of characters. First in this list is our paladin Reinhardt, the righteous knight and protector of Bahamut, King of the Good Dragons. He is guided by his oath to seek out evil and defeat it where it hides. Next we have Lirean the half-elf druid. She was raised by her single elf mother and was bullied as a child for her heritage. This upbringing brought her to seek out the friendship and solace of the woodland creatures and nature itself. The human ranger, Colstad, is a man quick with a joke and deadly while dual-wielding his scimitars. He is unrivaled on the battlefield and with his pick-up lines. And lastly we have the bookish gnome warlock, Barzulen. Equipped with a strange tome left by a patron in the library where he spent much of his time, the young lad is searching for answers on how to understand its eldritch runes.

The adventurers were offered a reward of gold to make contact with a group of colorful nomads who were suspected of robbing merchants upon the main route into town. An easy task it would seem, so the party headed out to make contact and met not a group of murderous highway robbers but a gathering that appeared much more like an outdoor college frat party. Drinking and tall tales were told around the campfire and soon the group found themselves drifting off into an alcohol fueled slumber.

Welcome to Barovia
They awoke to find themselves alone and the air filled with a thick fog. This was not the same place they were the night before. Confused and disoriented, they began their march through the mists. Howls from beasts in the distance were frequent, and though it seemed to be day judging from the dim light that crept through the clouds, the sun could not be seen. Soon they found a village with a crooked wooden sign marking the path to "Barovia."

I love games set in Barovia because of my own childhood having been traumatized by survival horror video games like Silent Hill. Fog obscures just about everything outside no matter the time of day, so you never know what is lurking behind the obscuring mists. Better safe inside, right? Well in a realm of dilapidated houses, churches with priests who speak about the hopelessness of existence, and massive haunted castles that isn't always the case.

I worried about introducing a new group to Barovia because a lot of the interest and intrigue is not in combat and action scenes, but in the unknown and the slow pacing of dread. It takes a group invested in the horror aspect of the campaign to make it work. The suspension of what is known to the players versus what the characters are experiencing and accepting the loss of certain assumptions that would normally be in the game are key to making Ravenloft a unique experience.

To my relief, the players seemed to bite. In the village they met a man named Ismark, son of the burgomaster (the title for mayors in Barovia) and his sister, a strong willed young woman named Ireena. The lord of the land, a man the locals would only refer to as "the Devil," had something of an unhealthy obsession with Ireena (unhealthy in that she already had two fang marks on her neck from his advances when they met her). It didn't take long for the party to receive a lovely invitation to come meet the reigning despot, Count Strahd von Zarovich, to Castle Ravenloft for dinner. It would seem he had a love of meeting foreigners who happened to stroll into town.

At dinner, Strahd was cold in demeanor but polite and offered extreme hospitality to his guests. Colstad made an unfortunate vampire joke, which Strahd rewarded with a new shadow that did not seem to follow the ranger's movements, but instead moved independently and had the silhouette of a silent informant writing into a notepad, recording every word and action. The dinner party ended and everyone stayed the night in the spooky old castle.

The night was filled with attempted seduction, murderous animated household items, and a request by Strahd for Reinhardt, being a man of valor, to find and slay an assassin by the name of Dr. Rudolph van Richten. Furthermore, Ismark was to return to his village and bring his sister Ireena to the castle, for Strahd intended to marry her and make her Countess of Barovia.

Needless to say, the party smiled and nodded to all of the dreadlord's decrees, and no sooner as they set foot beyond the castle's walls did they scurry along and devise a plan to escape the shadow of Strahd's spires. They went back to town to get Ireena and they headed across the land to find sanctuary for Ireena and keep her from becoming a victim to Strahd. This has been their quest for the past few sessions.

Strahd doesn't sparkle.

I would like to tell you a story about each of the characters so far.

Barzulen
The gnomish bibliophile, Barzulen, has been getting messages sent to him through the cryptic tome that he carries. It has been urging him to find the "amber doors," which the player who controls the character never fails to ask me about anytime a set of doors is described. While in the town of Vallaki, he joined a book club by the invitation of a woman named Lady Fiona. It turned out that it was less of a book club and more of a cult. Reciting passages from a text called "The Devil You Know," he remained undercover until a ritualistic summoning of a demon offered him untold power if he would seek him out within the halls of the Amber Temple. The player knows that the rest of the party would never let him go there if they knew the true reason he wants to find it, so even though he will continue to ask the question "are the doors amber in color?" he has kept to himself about what might be found there.

Ugh, another text heavy handout.

Colstad
One of the things I appreciate about the writing team that does the D&D 5th Edition hardcover adventures is their inclusion of characters who identify as LGBTQ, and Strahd is seemingly among them. He has a male consort named Escher who lives in the castle and is quite sulky about not being among the dreadlord's favored at the time that the party arrives at the castle. While they stay overnight, Colstad meets Escher and it is propositioned that they team up to overthrow Strahd. With some flirty conversation, a bit of friendship was made with Escher and a bit of information learned about Strahd's jealous infatuation with Ireena who it would seem is a reincarnation of a former love from Strahd's past. It would seem the player understands that a jilted lover can be the undoing of even the most powerful of tyrants.

Lirean
I gather that the player who controls the druid in the group has played some tabletop games in the past including previous editions of D&D. I wanted to give this player something particularly special, and unnerving, to incorporate into her character. Upon rescuing a group of children from a windmill that was being used as a bakery (with the children being the secret ingredient), she noticed that one of the children was of half-elf heritage. She and the rest of the party brought the child to the village of Vallaki, where she said she lived. Her father was supposedly a terrible man, and the party vowed to keep her safe at the church until they could find an alternative. A lot of chaos transpired during the interim and the party seemed to forget about this loose end until they passed by a toy maker's stand at a festival in the town square. The toy maker seemed fascinated with Lirean for her likeness to some of the dolls he was commissioned to make by the burgomaster's right hand man and local bully, Izek Stanzi. Questions commenced and horror ensued when the players identified the potential implication...is Lirean a living doll? With the taunting of the other players echoing the teasing her character received as a child, the player of Lirean came to her own sudden conclusion: she needed to show her father the light and bring out the goodness in him! (is this a Star Wars RPG?)

I hope Lirean's alignment keeps her from lying, or I might be tempted.

Reinhardt
The paladin of Bahamut found a sword hilt within the witches' windmill that he learned to channel a blade made of sunlight (again, is this a Star Wars RPG?). They had learned that this sword was an ancient artifact that would be instrumental in the final battle with the vampire lord. Strahd attacked the town of Vallaki during a festival and was seeking Ireena whom he knew was taking refuge there. The party stood to oppose Strahd when he used his charm ability to force Reinhardt to hand over the weapon. A failed wisdom saving throw later and Reinhardt found himself marching forward in deference to the dreadlord and upon bended knee he offered the blade's hilt. As Strahd reached forward for it, the hilt hovered in the air and floated away out an open window. Strahd seemed enraged by this, and abandoned his assault on the party to chase after the weapon. Reinhardt felt discouraged having lost the very thing that could have aided them in slaying the vampire.

Lords of light...aaaaaand its gone.

In time, the party learned what had happened: the legendary vampire slayer Dr. Rudolph van Richten (the "assassin" that Strahd had asked the party to take care of) had been under a greater invisibility spell and had been aiding the party to stand up to the Count during the fight. He absconded with the weapon when it was obvious Reinhardt was under Strahd's charm spell. The weapon was returned to Reinhardt's possession and a big sigh of relief was had at the end of a very stressful session.

Final Thoughts
What I have learned about running this campaign so far is that a genuine love for the story being told does wonders for bringing it to life. It is a feeling that I normally only have for my own homebrew campaigns, but the Curse of Strahd published story is a compelling one with tons of incredibly interesting characters. It helps that I have experienced the Curse of Strahd game as a player and was addicted to Dice, Camera, Action! through all 31 episodes of their playthrough. Last summer I read the best D&D based novel I have ever picked up, I, Strahd by P.N. Elrod, which tells the story of Strahd's origin and transformation into a vampire. All of this has made me feel comfortable with the world in which the players are interacting and allows it unfold rather fluidly.

It was also a reward to see the risk of running a campaign with new players which they were not forewarned about the type of experience they would have pay off. It totally could have backfired and turned the players off from tabletop gaming altogether. I am sure that prior to the start of the first session they had images of fighting orcs and running around scenarios straight from Lord of the Rings. Instead, they entered a gothic horror adventure and are discovering the sorrowful tale of Barovia and its master, Strahd von Zarovich.

This Friday we will be kicking off our 6th session of the campaign. In my future posts related to Ravenloft, I hope to discuss a little bit about what occurs during each session, ways I have made the Curse of Strahd hardcover individualized for the players, thoughts on my playlists I construct for each session, and visual aids I bring to the table to make it come alive,

Free RPG Day: Dungeon Crawl Classics

On June 17th, 2017, I became a huge fan of the Dungeon Crawl Classics system by Goodman Games. Let me tell you a little bit about it.

Last year for Free RPG Day I was asked by our local game store, Adventure Games & Hobby, to run a game from one of the sponsoring publishers. I chose to run the free module put out by Goodman Games. I was unfamiliar with their system, DCC, and being a creature of habit I ended up doing a simple conversion to run it under 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons rules. The games I ran went well as Goodman Games has a reputation for putting together modules that rely less on game mechanics and more on the cleverness of the people at the table. But a big part of me wished I had given it a try under the intended system.

Free RPG Day came around again, and this year I decided I would run the Goodman Games free module but this time I would do so using DCC. I got my hands on a copy of the core rulebook and instantly recognized elements that reminded me of old school D&D.

The Art

DCC has a very vintage feel that is evoked by the black and white images of evil wizards summoning demons and brave adventuring parties camping under moonlight. A quick look at the credits on the inside cover reveals that a few of the contributors are in fact old school fantasy artists. Featured are the works of Jeff Easley, who did the cover illustration for the AD&D Player's Handbook, and Erol Otus who did the art on the box of the 1981 Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set. 

Character Creation and "The Funnel"

In DCC, there is no need for elaborate backstories because characters are generated in under five minutes with modest roots. These "level 0" characters are generated randomly with six ability scores (strength, agility, stamina, personality, intelligence, and luck), are assigned a random occupation (butcher, cheesemaker, beekeeper, etc.), and a few random pieces of equipment. Players initially roll up several of these characters and are advised to treat them like stray dogs that have wandered into the yard: don't name them lest ye become attached. 

The reason for this is this motley crew of aspiring adventurers will soon enter an introductory adventure module called a "funnel." During the course of the funnel, it is expected that many of the characters will die. The hope is that enough of them will survive their first quest and become a full fledged level 1 character with a class at the end.

Classes in DCC follow the mold of the original D&D game. If the character hits level 1 and they had a race assigned to their character by their occupation (such as dwarf, elf or halfling) then this becomes their assigned class. If they were a human, they have the choice of selecting warrior, thief, wizard or cleric.

Half-orcs and half-elves not included.

Luck

A unique feature of DCC is the ability statistic of luck. Luck impacts a number of skill checks that may be called for and a randomly chosen circumstance at character creation (such as modifying a turn undead check or ranged attack rolls). Luck can also be burned for additional bonuses on a d20 roll either for a skill check or an attack roll. It adds a certain degree of whimsy to the game and provides epic moments during high stress scenarios that the characters find themselves in.

Random Tables

One of my favorite aspects to the game is the inclusion of many random tables which add a certain unpredictability to the game for both the game master and the players. Critical hit and fumble charts add interesting elements for combat. Spellcasting always requires a spell check with each individual spell having its own chart of outcomes. Clerics must be mindful of the amount of casting they do, for doing so carries the risk of earning the disapproval of their deity.

Spoiled alert: Everyone dies.

The Portal Under the Stars

The first game I ran for Free RPG Day led a group of 15 would-be-heroes to chasing the tale of Old Man Roberts. Upon his death bed, he told of a time from his youth when a portal opened up at the old stone mounds outside of town when the Empty Star had shown brightly in the sky. The star could be seen once again for the first time in fifty years and the moment was ripe to enter the portal's dungeon and earn fame and wealth.

The party stepped foot inside the portal and down a corridor they went (room 1). A lone door stood in their path, so Oink the dwarf herder boldly stepped forward to bash in the door. His athleticism paid off, but four mechanical statues on the other side (room 2) armed with spears discharged their weapons and poor Oink was left a bearded pincushion. Poor Oink.

The party pushed on forward and found themselves in an enormous chamber with a giant stone statue that stood on a swiveling base (room 3). The statue's outstretched pointed hand seemed to follow anyone who entered. The anxiety of the party began to grow as they sensed doom upon the air. Chauncey was a snooty noble who had orchestrated the raid into the portal by filling the commoner's minds with thoughts of riches down at the Muddy Pig Tavern. He ordered his squire, Ilsobet, through one of the doors. Ilsobet no more than had one foot past the threshold and an arc of flame shot from the statue's hand and burned the obedient servant to ash.

Oink had brought his prized pig down into the dungeon. The party decided to send it through a door as a means of experimenting with the trapped statue. They pushed the pig through the door and moments later the smell of bacon filled the ancient halls.

Even the dungeon maps are far out, man.

Griff the butcher had just about had enough. Armed only with his cleaver and a side of beef, he took the raw meat he had packed with him as a snack for later and did his best to cork it right over the giant statue's hand. Apparently he wanted to create a literal meat shield so that others might be able to cross into the other chamber. He instructed others to cross the door's threshold and soon the room was covered in well-done beef shrapnel. The plan however worked, and the rest of the party crossed through into the next area (room 6).

A pool of water was laid inside the floor of this columned room. The presence of strange crystaline creatures unnerved the party, but they soon discovered they were drawn to light the way a moth flutters mindlessly towards a candle. They lit some wood on fire in a corner of the room which drew the creatures away from them. They made their way towards a staircase set behind an archway in the corner of the room and headed down (room 7).

The next chamber was set up like a war room with dozens of miniature figures on landscapes. Whoever was the master of this place clearly had a mind for military tactics and planning. After collecting a few of the silver figurines that depicted the generals, they headed through a door that led into a scene that would remind one of Qin Shi Huang's Terra Cotta Army.

The massive 45' by 80' room had a deep trench down the middle which held 70 full-sized clay warriors. Standing over the trench on the opposite side from the characters were seven clay statues that looked identical to the silver general miniatures the group pilfered from the previous room. And behind the commanding officers was a dias that held a throne and a giant statue identical to the swiveling pig slayer from earlier. Above the throne was a glowing orb.

The clay warriors started to move and climb out of the trench with violent intentions. The party moved into position, some to hold the line so that others could move to the opposite end and inspect the throne and the orb. The only character with a ranged weapon was a nameless trapper armed with a sling. As the front line was getting slaughtered by the onslaught of the clay warriors, he hurled stones at the glowing orb until it cracked and shattered. Unfortunately, this was not the source of animation the group was looking for.

As I continued to stamp the word "DECEASED" on character sheets at an alarming rate, Leo the Elf sage ordered some of the survivors into the previous room where they tipped up a table and used it as a barricade. Soon the room began to fill up with clay warriors marching mechanically towards them. At the other end of the great hall, a brave woodcutter named Deano hacked away at the large statue, eventually rolling a critical hit and decapitating the idol and ending the animation on the army.

This is what you do when you leave your 70 terra cotta warrior figures at home.

The party noticed the lack of treasure, and they certainly hadn't sacrificed so many to leave empty handed. They searched around for a secret door and sure enough they found the treasure vault. Of the 15 original party members, 6 walked away with gold in their pockets and stories to tell back at the Muddy Pig Tavern. Old Man Roberts would have been proud.

Final Thoughts

Needless to say, I feel hooked on DCC. Everything from the art to the game design achieve a return to 1974 style gaming with added details that make it more interesting. After running countless 5th Edition D&D games the past several years, this system brings back the feeling of gritty survival and random unpredictability I experienced in my few times with older table top systems. While I imagine many players would be turned off by having to play a single randomly generated character, making it through the funnel creates some emotional attachment to the one who survives. It avoids the many things I hate about Pathfinder in that the rules aren't over-complicated and full of cumbersome mechanics that get in the way of storytelling. I would still prefer 5th Edition D&D over DCC for a narrative intensive game. However, when you want to do a one-shot dungeon crawl or need to organize a pick-up game because someone can't make it for the main campaign, this will be a perfect option. I look forward to running many DCC games with my groups in the future.