Played some Heroes of the Sundered Chronicles this weekend!

My wife and I played a one-on-one game of Heroes of the Sundered Chronicles this weekend.  We played through Church of the Goblin Lord, which is the sample adventure that will be included in the core rule book.  We started out the day with character creation.

Ready for adventure!

Sarah went for broke and created a rashka fighter/mage/thief named Zowena.  I made an NPC human fighter named Alair to accompany Zowena on her adventure.  We used the 4d4+2 method for rolling attributes, which creates higher averages than 4d6 drop lowest, which is perfect for small group play like this.  

Alair took less than 15 minutes to roll up, but Zowena took considerably longer.  For one, Sarah couldn't roll above a 10 on 4d4+2.  Multiple times.  It wasn't until she ditched her original set of dice for some others that she rolled much, much better.  Zowena also has 3 classes, which was a lot more like making 3 characters adding up all the class features and determining spells, etc.

Zowena: Level 2 rashka fighter/mage/thief; HP 14; AC 5 [14]; Atk flame blade +4 to hit (1d6+4) or magic missile +2 to hit (1d4+1); Move 12; Save 13; AL N; STR 13 DEX 15 CON 15 INT 16 WIS 12 CHA 14.
    Special: Darkvision 60ft, nine lives (reroll failed save 1/day), rashkan grace, cull the weak, weapon expertise (flame blade +1 hit, +2 dmg), dueling (+3 AC based on Dex), spellsword (empowered flame blade), backstab, luck (3 points, 1d4), acrobat (1/day 2 luck points to avoid lethal damage).

    Skills: Burglary 1d6, Deceive 1d6, Diplomacy 1d6, Search 1d6, Notice 1d6, Athletics 1d6, Disable Traps 1d6, Stealth 1d6.

    Spells: Lesser: flame blade, magic missile.  1st (3): color spray, detect magic, faerie fire, illusory disguise, read languages, cause fear, charm person, detect law, ray of enfeeblement, sleep.

Alair: Level 2 human fighter; HP 15; AC 1 [18]; Atk longsword +3 to hit (1d8+3) or short bow +4 to hit (1d6); Move 12; Save 13; AL N; STR 15 DEX 18 CON 13 INT 13 WIS 14 CHA 16.

    Special: Uncanny adaptability (1/day roll save with advantage), cull the weak, weapon expertise (longsword +1 hit, +2 dmg), dueling (+5 AC based on Dex).

    Skills: Athletics 1d8, Deceive 1d6, Stealth 1d6, Performance (dance) 1d6

Overall, the adventure was pretty easy for two 2nd level characters with above average capabilities.  I would expect it to be pretty straightforward for a larger group of 1st level characters, which is probably about right for an introductory adventure such as this.  I'll probably add a sidebar explaining this and recommending some additional monsters to each encounter to up the difficulty if running for experienced players.

As Zowena and Alair explored through the dungeon filled with murdered goblins, skeletons, zombies, and a returning goblin patrol that blamed them for their dead friends (random encounter), Zowena took a few hits and got down to 6 hit points (after expending a prepared spell to heal herself) and she motioned for Alair to take the lead.  The final fight with the ghoul was almost a TPK for such a small group - Alair was paralyzed by the ghoul on the first round, and it moved on to attack Zowena.  She succeeded on her saving throw (thankfully) and fortunately finished off the ghoul with her next attack.

Final battle with the ghoul

Overall, I had a really fun time running this adventure!  I would have loved to have played it with a few more players, but then I wouldn't have played this weekend.  I look forward to more one-on-one adventures with Zowena!

Church of the Goblin Lord will be available in the next playtest release of Heroes of the Sundered Chronicles, which is coming soon!

Zoe snuggled with a giant d20 while we played.
She looks like a sleeping fuzzy dragon!

New spin on a classic spell: Tesherit's Hysterical, Contagious Cackling

Quick post to share a spell I wrote up for +Sarah Gilman.  She sorta asked for it a while ago, and I thought about it the other day and decided to write it up.  My take on the classic spell that causes fits of uncontrollable laughter, I give you:  Tesherit's Hysterical, Contagious Cackling.

Tesherit’s Hysterical, Contagious Cackling

Spell Level: Chaos 2 (or Magic-User 2 for other OSR games)
Cast Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Duration: 5 rounds

This spell afflicts a target creature with loud, hysterical laughter.  The spell only works on creatures that are capable of laughter, and a saving throw is allowed to resist the effect.  The spell last for 5 rounds, and has an increasing effect per round:

• On round 1, the target begins laughing uncontrollably, drops any items held in hands and can do nothing but laugh.
• On round 2, the target continues to laugh hysterically, falling to the ground and takes 1d4 points of subdual damage as the laughter is so deep it causes physical pain.
• On round 3, the target continues to laugh hysterically, takes another 1d4 points of damage, and any creature within 15 feet of the target must make a saving throw or also be affected by the spell.
• On round 4, the target continues to laugh hysterically, and takes 1d4 points of physical damage as the pain of the laughter intensifies to the point of causing bodily harm.
• On round 5, the target’s laughter hits its pinnacle, dealing 1d6 points of damage as the target screams out in pain, which ends the laughter and allows the creature control of its body once again.

It is possible for a creature to become infected again by the contagious laughter of a secondary target’s round 3 effect.