Shadowdark Thracia 11
Players: Snubgrash Orkhan Wine
Recap:
Wine, Snubgrash and Orkhan gather together in Minos to make introductions. Wine is a druid who prefers to hang out in the forest outside the town. They rendevouz in the outskirts and make they way towards the Western coast of the island. They intended to follow up on a lead regarding a Lost Citadel by the sea.
The day was misty and visibility was poor, but Snubgrash was a scout Ranger and he was good at keeping the party on track. Traversing the forest was difficult without any roads. By the time they reached the edge of the jungle it was already dusk. The sun was hanging low over the sea. They camped in the dunes by the beach.
At night, Snubgrash saw a ship dock on the beach. It bore the colors of the Thracian Revival Company and the sailors seemed to be unloading provisions and taking them through the jungle towards Minos on mules. The party debated approaching the ship, but decided to get a good night's rest instead.
The next morning the weather was pleasant. The party siezed the day and travelled northwards up the coast. Ascending some cliffs they found the Citadel they were looking for, perched against the sea. They arrived there late in the afternoon.
Upon expecting the main entrance, Wine cast Detect Magic and failed so utterly the spell blew up in his face and downed him. It was only Snubgrash's emergency aid that allowed him to stay alive, though unconscious. The other two left him outside, hidden under some shrubs as they delved into the Lost Citadel.
Within they explored the main entry hall and came upon an ettercap hidden in the corner. The ettercap did not take kindly to their presence and was hostile. It sprayed Snubgrash with its poisonous web and tried to escape but was blocked by a rigid door. The Ettercap, trapped with Orkhan and Snubgrash, died to their spears. Snubgrash was able to extract its poison glands but the process took time.
While Snubgrash did his work, Orkhan inspected the bull statue that dominated the room and found a silver inlaid horn worth 30gp. During this time, 3 skeletons attacked the party and nearly felled Orkhan. The party retreated out into the desert and waited for Wine to wake up.
While Snubgrash tended to Wine, Orkhan investigated the exterior of the Citadel and found an entrance tunnel on the western wall. They decided to rest for the evening and delve again in the morning. The next morning they entered the tunnel and found themselves within a labyrinth. On the floor were large hoof marks, that Snubgrash identified as belonging to a large 2 legged bull.
Wine, who spoke Thanian, cast whisperwind to send a message of peace to the Minotaur. It came. Running. With insane luck, the Minotaur's horn was stuck to the floor as it attempted to gore Orkhan. This brief pause gave the party the window to escape.
They fled south along the coast, foraging and encountering a friendly Manta Ray which wanted them to ride it's back. An adventure for another time...
The party rested on the beach and cut through the jungle to get to Minos, encountering a rot flower before reaching town.
Thoughts:
We've just introduced Hex-Crawling rules to this game. I think the sandbox and expanded world aspect are landing well. I don't feel great about Shadowdark's Hex-Crawl rules (the ones from CS 4).
To start with the positives: I like this little sandbox I've made! It was fun getting to stock mini-dungeons scattered about the world. I'll see if I can get a couple more stocked for next session. Dyson Logos as always is a hobby MVP, alongside d4 Caltrops. The "biomes" feel dynamic and the overworld provides a nice contrast to the dank underworld.
I think my players will get a lot of mileage out of the Lost Citadel as a secondary dungeon. I also like awarding 1XP for landmark or secret discovery within a hex. That feels appropriate as a catch-up XP mechanic.
Lost Citadel is also a rock-solid dungeon that really plays to Shadowdark's strengths. It's one of Kelsey's best and I can see why she chose it for the starter set. It also fits right in as a off-shoot of Thracia, likely because it was an homage.
When it comes to the hex-crawl rules, they feel way too vague. The updated rules fit on a page. It's unclear to me whether this new document rewrites the entirety of SD's hex-crawl rules or is meant to replace the travel calculations. Either way, I don't think it succeeds at making travel easier to handle.
For one, the new document doesn't tell me how long crossing a hex takes. The core book says 4 hours, to cross 6 miles. The new doc says we get 4 hexes on foot per day, unobstructed. So if I apply that to the new rules we are travelling for a full 24 hours on foot??? I get that adventurers are supposed to be fit but this is outrageous.
So I've abstracted the time it takes to cross a hex. Basically, it takes a watch to cross 2 hexes. A watch is roughly 6 hours. So by the time you've travelled 4 hexes on normal terrain, you've spent up your daylight. You need to rest for 2 watches. This also allows me to roll an encounter for every watch rather than determine the hour it will happen at the start of the day.
In a bit of irony, while writing this I received a notification that the premium version of this adventure is now available. That's cool :)