Shadowdark Thracia 4
Players: Issakra Zema Zafat Strabon
Recap:
Players made their introductions. New character Issakra claimed he is a wizard of noble descent of the AlTaim bloodline and is searching the caverns for lost lore pertaining to his legendary family. As introductions were made, they heard sounds of battle emerging from the jungle (coming from Area B). It seems the cultists are in a spot of trouble.
Zema quickly checked to see if the main entrance was clear and it was indeed. The party quickly delved in. A brief recap of past information was done to catch Strabon and Issakra up to speed on areas 1-1 - 1-3. Zema collected more bat guano in a flask (part of his plan to blow up the wall at the end of the west hallway in 1-1). The party ventured down the East hallway. Some rats entered 1-1 but were not hostile on sight.
They walked past the Gate of Death, and made their way to the Gnoll Outpust, listening in at the door for signs of life within. Issakra listened in but could hear nothing. His approach to the door meant that whatever was inside would have heard him. Strabon made the decision to kick in the door, which surprised the 6 lizardmen who have shacked up in there (same crew from 1-5, just moved in here).
Zema immediately cast sleep on them. The party looted a bastard sword worth 10gp in the room. Instead of slaughtering the lizardmen the party woke one up and interrogated him. He explained where the lizardmen came from and said that their base was a level below. He told them some brief info on Gruk and the lizardmen’s relationship to the beastmen faction (not hostile but not friendly either). Lizardmen are not fans of the cult. The lizardman also pointed out that heading north up the hallway (1-8) would lead them down to level 2, but that it would lead to danger. He mentioned there was another entrance to level 2 that would take the party somewhere safer, but it was guarded by cultists.
During this conversation the party encountered a gelatinous cube but hid from it long enough for it to disappear down the hall. The party told the lizardman of some rats in room 1-1 they could help themselves to. The Lizardmen excitedly went to kill the rats.
The party made their way up the hallway. The first secret door they discovered led them to the desecrated chapel (room 1-5) where they saw the destroyed statue and the frescoes. They continued down the long hallway, tapping for secrets and traps. They caught the attention of 4 stirges (stingbats) which nearly killed Issakra. Luckily Strabon and Zema were able resuscitate Issakra, though he was badly wounded (permanent loss of 1 STR).
They discovered the stairwell at the end of the hall but also the secret door right next to it pointing south. They ventured in.
They came out into a massive room cleaved in half by a chasm (1-27A). Using lighted arrows they were able to see the corpses at the other end and where the chasm dropped down to. Furthermore the three PCs went to the alcove in the north and saw a panel that jutted out 2 inches above the rest. They also noticed small pinholes all over the floor surrounding it. Cautiously they used a grapple hook and rope to pull the panel off with great force.
Using the blazing arrows they saw the demon statue below and its ruby eyes. Zema tied a rope around his waist and let himself be lowered to the statue by the others. Bravely he started prying its ruby eyes out with his dagger. Luckily nothing found him down there and he was able to retrieve 450gp worth of gems. With this haul the party made it out of the dungeon in time.
Party gained 7XP this session and 460gp total.
Thoughts:
This session felt really good. I think I’d chalk it up to having a much more manageable party size. Yes 2 wizards and a fighter is not the optimal composition for dungeon exploration, but I never let that get in the way of crawling.
3 players is my sweet spot. It makes the game feel so snappy.
Did I mess up a couple of things? Yeah, I mean I forgot about the last stingbat, but who cares. 1 stingbat is not an encounter worth playing through. Likewise I forgot the party broke the door that they intended to hide behind to evade the gelatinous cube.
I am trying to get better at describing rooms so they can be mapped while still keeping limits of vision in mind. I think I am getting ok at it. Level 1 of Thracia is mercifully very easy to map, unlike level 2.
I am quite stoked that the party found ways into level 2.
I am worried that I may be too generous with my XP handouts. Essentially each encounter has resulted in XP gain, though admittedly I think it‘s fair that victory in battles should have some kind of reward. My main concern is in how I am converting gold value to XP. I’ve been awarding it quite liberally and my players are quickly levelling up.
I know that their level up pacing will slow down. I don’t want to discourage some of the between session XP gains like writing notes and mapping. At the same time, carousing is a really good source of XP on its own.
So far it has not caused huge issues. But I would rather reward XP for meaningful exploration.
Thats a Shadowdark note, not a Thracia one.
Thracia for the most part is very much the kind of dungeon that hides its best parts. I’m not the kind of GM that hides secrets behind arbitrary rolls. So a lot of the secrets naturally uncover themselves through player decisions.
While the history of the dungeon is a commonly cited highlight, I personally think its ok. We have come a long way in terms of storytelling in RPGs, even in the OSR. Thracia really shines in its levels and how you imagine the space. It is a big pivot for me coming from Crown of Salt, where the dungeon (which is great btw) has a very nicely illustrated isometric map. That dungeon had no expectation of players mapping it.
With Thracia, I really wanted the players to map themselves. It grounds them in the game and has them paying close attention to the details. Leaving notes on the maps creates a great play artifact. Doing it online via owlbear has been quite easy, maybe other apps would be better for it, but having a built in roller and tokens is nice.