Basic Dungeons & Dragons - The Kids Are Alright, Part 1

How about a good ol' fashioned Basic D&D adventure report!

This one was an especially frightening Halloween session for six little adventurers.
To help make sure our kid heroes had a fighting chance, they all started at Level 2.
While this was a Basic D&D game, a couple of our intrepid heroes had classes from the (in)famous AD&D 1e Unearthed Arcana.
I like to play my D&D like I play my Warhammer - a hodge podge mix of editions.

This adventure session still takes place in my alternate Middle Earthian fluff.

But enough with the real life details, lets get straight to the action, with the backstory...

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The Breeland orphanage has been burned down by the evil goblin invaders!
But the goblins found that the place had been deserted, "The humans must have run off."
The goblin leader was determined to find the human children at all costs.
Afterall, what is better than "children pot pie' to a goblin?
"Find the human matriarch and her runtlings!  Slay her and put the little ones into the pot!"

Rather than go east back to Breetown, which was under attack, Sister Beatrice knew the kids would be better off escaping into the Old Forest.  The rest of the sisterhood had gone off to fight with the Breelander Army.  The Sisters of Sigmar, were not only a charitable institution but also a warrior order of battle nuns.  But they did not count on raiding parties coming out of the north as well as the east. 

Suddenly, an evil goblin arrow hissed through the air and struck Sister Beatrice in her side.
She called to the six orphans under her care, "Run to the Old Forest, my children, and look for Tom Bombadil.  He will take care of you now.  Remember stay out of the hills, run straight to the forest..."

Left to Right: Max, Billy, Katie, Tommy, Liam, and Agnes

The kids hop over the walls and evade the goblin wolf rider patrol.  Being as tiny as a hobbit helps from being seen by unfriendly eyes.

The tearful children flee for their lives, looking back to see their caretaker fend off a dozen goblins.  Perhaps she will survive and make her way to the Old Forest and reunite with the kids, but more likely this will be her last stand.  Max the Barbarian has to be dragged away, so determined is he to fight for Sister Beatrice.  Tommy reminds Max that he has to protect the little kids now.  Seeing Billy and Agnes, brings him to his senses.

 Katie:  We cant take the road!  Its too dangerous, they will spot us for sure!

Tommy:  Right!  C'mon you guys, we are going into the wild, just like that ranger Strider who used to visit us.

Billy:  I wish Strider was here! He could have saved Sister Beatrice.

Agnes:  ... (begins to sniffle)
 

 Katie is a Ranger and is good at tracking and archery.  She has leather armor and a bow.  She is the oldest of the group and can remember details very well, which means she is usually the first to figure out puzzles and non-combat situations.

Tommy is a Warrior and is the best tactical thinker, so has appointed himself the leader of the group.  He has chainmail and a big sword.  While his bravery is second to none, he will always figure out the best way to win a combat.

 Liam is a Paladin and can "Lay on Hands" once a day, which is a healing spell that can restore 4 HPs.  (2HP per Lvl).  He also has a Protection from Evil around him at all times which makes it difficult for evil creatures to hit him and also gives Liam a bonus on his To Save throws.  He wears plate mail and carries a shield.

Max is a Barbarian and has bonus Armor Class based on his Dexterity.  As a Barbarian, he has better Bonus Saving Throws than the others and is likely to survive deadly special attacks.  He can track as well as the Ranger.  When resting he gains HP twice as fast as the others. He wears a helmet that is too big for him and carries a flail.

 Billy is a Cleric and can Turn Undead.  He also can Cure Light Wounds and can cast a Protection from Evil just like the Paladin.  He has a hammer and likes to build furniture when he isnt fighting, which made him the darling of the nuns because he would repair the orphanage without being asked.

Finally...

Agnes is a witch who knows 2 spells: Magic Missile and Detect Magic.  She carries her trusty broom and a pointy hat.  And yes, the Sisters Of Sigmar frown on witches and warlocks, but c'mon...  look at how cute this littlest of witches is! 

 Because the girls are special, they start off with pets.  Life is unfair boys, I know...

Agnes and her pet familiar,  Toonces the black cat.  I made a special rule that Mr Toonces can help Agnes reroll any one die per adventure session.

 Katie has Mr Fox who is... a fox.  I made a special rule that Mr Fox, can provide special anti-surprise bonus for the whole party.  Besides that he is a Hit Dice 2 creature and can help with the fighting!

 So, off go the kids into the wilds of Breeland.

 They find another burned out farm.
They do a quick search of the ruins, but find nothing.

As they are about to move on, they hear the howl of wolves.

Tommy: Maybe its just normal wolves.  

Katie: Or maybe its goblin wolfriders.  At any rate we better start running!

Katie:  Mr Fox, please scout the hill and see where the howls are coming from!  

Tommy:  I think they know we are headed west.  To throw them off, we should head south to the hills and then cut back west into the forest.

Katie: Dont you remember what Sister Beatrice said?  She said dont go into the hills!

 Mr Fox spots the source of the howling.

 Its a Lone Wolf scout!

I have found the humans, thinks the wolf.  I will surely get a treat!
It snarls at the fox and is trying to decide if it should eat it before reporting back to its goblin masters for a reward.

 The Wolf is tearing Mr Fox to shreds, as the kids are running to the hill.

Agnes:  Mr Toonces!  NO, get back here, you cant fight a wolf!

 Mr Toonces scratches the Wolf on its behind and distracts the Wolf from landing a killing blow on Mr Fox.  It turns its attention on the little black cat.

Agnes:  Oh Mr Toonces, why did you have to be so brave!

 Agnes has no choice and sighs.  She lets loose with a spell. 
Agnes rolls for damage with eyes closed.

A Magic missile fizzles out of her outstretched hands and catches the Wolf in mid leap.
The damage is considerable but not enough to kill the wolf.  (As DM, I cant let the pets die this early in the game, can I?  So this particular wolf hates being on fire and decides that reporting back to its masters is more important than eating cats, or foxes.)

As the kids get to the hill, they see the wolf running off.
Katie fires off some arrows hoping to kill the wolf before it tells the goblins where they are.
But alas, the wolf gets away.

Agnes:  Oh well, now I have no more Magic Missile spell until we rest for the night.  I really hope no goblins or wolves or monsters attack us anymore today.

 As Billy is about to cast a Healing spell on Mr Fox, Katie tells him to save his spell for when they really need it.  Katie takes out her healing salves and puts them on Mr Fox's tail.  Billy breaks out his bandages and puts them on the poor fox.  He will heal, but slower.

Tommy:  Well, now we have no choice, the goblins will know where we are.  So we have to head south towards the hills.

Katie:  I know... its just that Sister Beatrice must have told us not to go into the hills for a reason.  I wish she had time to tell us why...

Max:  Let the gobbos come, I say!  Im ready for a good fight.  Running just makes us more tired.  Better to fight now, while we are strong.

Tommy:  We need to make it to the forest, like Sister Beatrice wanted.  If this Tom Bombadil she mentioned can help us fight the goblins, then we have to find him!  Katie can you use your Ranger tracking skills in reverse and cover our tracks?

Katie:  (consulting the DM)  Apparently, yes I can!  Great thinking, Tommy!  Max you can use your Barbarian tracking also, which means we get double the chances that the goblins wont be able to figure out which way we went.  Should buy us enough time to make it to the Old Forest.


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So there is part 1 of the kids Halloween: Dungeons and Dragons adventure night!
I will post the rest as soon as I can.



Cheers,
Mar