I ran another session of the Primeval Mythic Bastionland playtest this past Monday. The PCs were:

Returning players:

  • Morden the Talon Knight, played by Kyani
  • Reyka the Snare Knight, played by Ram
  • Marion the Saddle Knight, played by Brendan

New players:

  • Nassus the Tourney Knight, played by Zedeck
  • Jethro the True Knight, played by Steven, who doesn’t have a blog

I also tried out the GM screen I made. I won’t belabour the point here, but it turns out it was a nice thing to have. I referenced it a few times to check the rules on Catching Blows, the procedure for Taking Action, some equipment notes, and the scale for damage bonuses. I told the players I expected them to keep track of player-facing options like combat Gambits. If I have time before the next session, I’d like to provide some quick reference material for these on the Owlbear Rodeo VTT we use.

We started where we’d left off, with the Knights standing around the trapdoor among the roots of a burnt-out forest, down which an old man had just disappeared. They were joined by a couple new knights who, we all agreed, were surely down for a quest. Sensing this man was not as he seemed and suspecting he might have some connection to the missing dog they sought, they followed him down. The trapdoor would gave onto a precipitous drop, which the knights could manage without much trouble but their mounts would surely not. In addition to leaving these behind, Nassus left his lance and armour, which he deemed would be too unwieldy for tight spaces.

GM Notes

Here Brendan/Marion expressed some concern that the mounts might be stolen or lost if left unattended. It occured to me that there might be cause of a Luck roll once the returns to determine if their steeds are still there. On the other hand, I'm not sure I want this to be a game about the kind the of logistical paranoia that can sometimes consume so much OSR playtime. Fundamentally, it felt like The Quest Was the Thing. I'm not totally satisfied with that answer, though, and would like to give it some more thought in the future.

Exploring the Gnarled Tunnels

Below the trapdoor was a network of tunnels carved out among the ancient ossified roots. These were lined with various trinkets and oddments, like toys and bits of string and ribbons and silverware and other small things. Eventually they came across a chamber containing a few odd piles, including one full of toys and another of bones. It gave on another tunnel.

Inspecting the bones, the knights noticed a pork hock showing signs of recent chewing and still glistening with saliva. Listening carefully, they noted the faint sound of animals coming through one of the walls. Marion proposed to tear this down with her axe, but Morden felt it was not chivalrous to do so and suggested exploring the other tunnel. The group opted to try both, with Nassus joining Morden, and Jethro and Reyka staying with Marion as she hacked at the wall.

Monke Fight: An Awkward Trade

Nassus and Morden explored another chamber containing what appeared to be a workshop and two more exits. The walls were stuffed with tools of varied provenance, quality, and age, although the better tools seemed to be stashed closer to the work table. Scattered about were wood shavings and carvings, all depicting the same motif: A woman holding the hands of two small children, a boy on her left and a girl on her right.

Of the two exits, one was a tunnel of the kind they had entered through. The other was a large door, seemingly cobbled together out of scraps yet well reinforced. The huge and confounding lock upon it likewise seemed to have been formed through years of trial and error by someone without the faintest understanding of the fundamentals of locksmithing. Because of the awkwardness of this lock, the knights were able to get the door open partway – just a few inches – before the lock snapped into action. They called through the doorway to see if anyone was there.

They were met by a rapid jingling sound which shortly turned out to be the paces of a monkey in jester’s costume, bearing a ring of keys on its belt. This tried to throttle them through the doorway. Nassus tried to fend the simian off with his knife, but it was able to yank him close and wrest the blade from his grasp. Morden sent his raven to steal its keys, which it did. The monkey slammed the door shut in fury, still carrying Nassus’s weapon. Unclear who the real winner was here.

GM Notes

One lesson learned from this session is monkeys are excellent enemies. They're clever, brutal, and deceptively powerful; A chimp with a knife is only slightly more dangerous than a chimp without a knife, but it is more threatening, and also depriving you of a knife. Monkeys are also extremely funny to dress up in incongruous costumes. 10/10 would use again.

The Taming of the Sow

Meanwhile, Jethro had succeeded in hacking through the ossified vines in the prior chamber to a narrow tunnel, barely wide enough for a person to crawl through. They heard the sounds of animals coming from beyond. Reyka took a torch in one hand and an axe in the other and began to crawl through. After a while, they spotted a wild-looking child crouching in what appeared to be the mouth of a tunnel. They asked if there were animals behind him. The boy’s fumbling “no” could barely be heard over the barking of dogs and braying of farm animals behind him. He retreated out of sight. Rekya pressed on but found themself pelted with rocks as they exited the tunnel. But they were standing in a huge vertical zoo, with animals wandering around freely!

The knights tried to negotiate with the the boy, who had another wild boy in his company. One of their names was something like Rory and I can’t be bothered to check my notes right now, so we’re just going to stick with that. The boys revealed that they worked for the Goblin King and were fiercely loyal, despite the knight’s offers to return them to a better life.

While this was happening Marion scoped out the large chamber, which was ringed by a walkway spiraling around a central shaft, lined with open animal pens around the outside. She espied Ewen, the dog the knights had come looking for. However, she also saw lumbering their way a huge, ornery-looking sow with a shiny blue ribbon tied around her middle. “Oh no!” cried the boys, “it’s Matilda!”

Being the Saddle Knight, Marion saw in this danger an opportunity. She charged the sow, and flung her saddle onto its back. In a few seconds, she was able to start riding Matilda down the spiraling walkway and scoop up the bewildered Ewen. Meanwhile Reyka and Jethro charged the boys. Reyka, the Snare Knight, managed to lasso Rory, but the other escaped through an exit at the bottom of the chamber.

The sounds of panicked animals brought Morden and Nasus nigh, the latter picking up a mallet to replace his stolen dagger. The party reformed. Marion was very pleased with her new steed, noting it may be a rival to her trusty charger. Someone mentioned the band of knights needs a name. I suggested “the Order of the Sow.” Rory, still tied up by Reyka, somehow drew them a little coat of arms.

GM Notes

Hey Alex, is the Goblin King different from the Goblin in the book? No, I just accidentally threw that word in and didn't feel like backpeddling. The Goblin King is also the only goblin.

Also, pigs are almost as funny as monkeys.

Monke Fight 2: The Sequel

Since the crawlspace the knights came in through is far too small to fit Matilda, the knights opt to check out the passage at the bottom of the chamber instead. This leads them to a metal gate sporting a similar lock to the one Marion and Morden saw earlier. However, they can also hear jingling footfalls coming their way from beyond. Morden whips out the keys they stole from the monkey and unlocks the gate, just in time to see three apes round the bend up ahead. Two are chimps, one of which still holding Nasus’s dagger. The third is a gorilla in a bard’s costume with a big lumpy instrument bag around its shoulder, and tearful boy clinging to one of its huge fingers. The monkeys attack!

In the ensuing skirmish, Nasus is violently shanked into Critical Damage by the chimp wielding his dagger, and survives only by Smiting it between the legs with his mallet, incuring the Animalistic burden (relief condition: find approval in high society OR perform a great act of chivalry). Marion has her head slammed into the wall by the gorilla, failing her Crit Damage save which renders her unconscious and Concussed (relief condition: a several weeks’ convalescence). Also Ram and Steven had to go, which leaves only Morden as the only knight who isn’t seriously messed up. He calls out to the Goblin King to face them rather than siccing his goons on them. He manages to knock out the gorilla just as their call is answered.

Cometh the Goblin

The Goblin King is not pleased by these knights knocking around his place and stealing his animals. He asserts that these are animals that got lost, and by law of the land anything lost is rightfully his. The party argues that by having discovered Ewen and Matilda, they have found them and the Goblin’s claim is null and void. He ponders this, remarking that the laws of finding are not well defined as losing. He offers them a deal: They can earn the right to their claims by doing him a favour. Until they do, he will shadow their every step, and any little thing forgotten or even momentarily misplaced he will take as his own.

The favour? The Club Knight, sir Kosh of Konnicht, who reigns king of the Shrouded Lands, wields as a weapon a huge uprooted tree. Lodged in the trunk of that tree is an enchanted sword. The knights must first obtain that sword and then, they must lose it. And not just them; it must be lost to all living minds. If they have even the slightest inkling of where it is, or how they lost it, then it is findable, and thereby not lost. Only once it is well and truly lost will the scourge of the Goblin cease.

We wrapped the session there, the party deciding to let a few weeks elapse back in Old Ferry before resuming their adventures. An eventful session. Great players, delightful game. Can’t wait to play more.

Earlier Posts in this Series