Category: Actual Play

“Let’s return to that farmers’ guild hall, bullshit our way in, and continue to explore that dungeon underneath it” said my players at the start of this session. A brief debate was had about whether it would really be that easy to get back inside without trouble. They were only two players after all, and even though they were running a level six magic-user and a thief level five/fighter level 2, things might get hairy… “Nah” they concluded, “it will be fine” and went at it.

Things quickly devolved, and they found themselves swarmed by cultists. If it wasn’t for some grade-A maneuvering, judicous use of some powerful items, and an ever so slight bit of luck, this would have been a TPK. We ended the session with both characters at exactly one hit point! So close!

Also, this probably marks the single longest running battle we ever played through in our D&D careers to date. That may sound boring, but it certainly wasn’t thanks to all the cool tactics and stunts involved.

In which our heroes infiltrate the corrupted farmers’ guild hall and discover the cult of Gelathrax has taken hold, leading to a deadly battle with the slime-soaked high priest Morival and his tentacle-worshipping followers.

Read on over at planetkar.us.

Over a year after breaking into the original farmers’ guild hall and possibly causing its collapse and almost half a year after funding its reconstruction and learning about a mysterious hatch inside, the players returned to break in, pilfer, and explore again.

We only had two players, but they run high-level characters (a sixth-level magic user and a thief level 5 / fighter level 2), so we had ourselves a fun little spec ops-style session.

I also got a kick out of pulling out some stuff that I must have started preparing over a year ago and had filed away for whenever the players would finally go and explore in that direction. A fully homebrewed campaign is starting to take off as the pace of prep exceeds the pace of play, and a very rich and varied sandbox with many directions for players to explore has formed.

In which Ploikal and Gorakal break into the farmers’ guild hall under cover of invisibility, dodge an ectoplasmic attack, witness a mysterious meeting, discover a wizard-locked trapdoor beneath the statue of Yiggub, and venture into an underground cave system filled with serpent-toothed skeletons and lizard-men—all while narrowly avoiding detection by the cult leader Morival and his followers.

Read on over at planetkar.us.

Six players, seven hours, almost 10k XP, zero player-characters killed (darn it)—our annual marathon session was a complete blast. This time around, the party opted to go to a new dungeon I’d been developing for some time: a serpent man citadel submerged in desert sands.

I had so much fun building this one and applying some lessons learned from previous efforts. It is also the first dungeon for which I used the map generation approach described in Matt Finch’s Tome of Adventure Design. The joys of running 100% homebrewed content and just reskinning OD&D stuff to fit my sword and planet predilections with abandon keep growing and growing.

In which our adventurers brave the Yellow Flats desert to explore the sand-buried serpent man citadel, fighting a massive desert constrictor, mummified serpent cultists, and giant spiders before striking an unlikely alliance with Vushk, a sand serpent who guides them through ancient chambers guarded by strange sentinels and mechanical bulls, all while seeking forbidden knowledge and ancient treasures beneath the dying sun.

Read on over at planetkar.us.

Our monthly session took place last Friday. Players returned to The Balok, the campaign’s tentpole dungeon, for some wholesome dungeon crawling. They covered quite a bit of ground and fully explored several sections of the second level. They also struggled a bit with getting their maps lined up, which, as far as I am concerned, is part of the core fun of classic D&D.

In which our heroes brave ancient plumbing facilities, face off against unfriendly cavemen and corrosive creatures, and follow pig tracks to a hidden treasure, all while pondering who has been closing their carefully spiked doors.

Read on over at planetkar.us.

It’s the first session of 2025. We had four players at the table, a rare treat these days. They decided to finally try and get rid of a major threat looming over their home base ever since the start of the campaign. The results were… less than spectacular. We had lots of fun with this.

In which the party attempts to subvert a boogieman camp through magical infiltration. Ploikal, cloaked in invisibility, tries and fails to psychically manipulate the chief Movog, while outside the camp, the spirit of fallen comrade Cista speaks through Xull’s possessed claw, demanding vengeance. After several failed schemes involving mind-controlled brutes and sleep spells, the party retreats empty-handed.

Read on over at planetkar.us.

A final session before the end of the year. I had had zero time to prep this one, so while my players were getting set up, I ran through a slimmed-down version of my usual prep script, and off we went. A straightforward dungeon crawl, to go easy on the poor, overworked referee, turned into quite the gauntlet due to a higher-than-average amount of monsters rolled during dungeon restocking.

In which the party navigates The Balok, making allies of rats and foes of various beasts, loses four retainers to misfortune and monsters but returns with an ornate shield and other treasures, only for Ploikal to discover disturbing changes at the farmers’ guild hall.

Read on over at planetkar.us.

We had an occasional player request an additional session because they were in the neighborhood. I was only too happy to oblige. This was a fairly straightforward bit of dungeon delving, a nice palate cleanser after all the high-stakes urban shenanigans of the previous week. Here’s the usual AI-generated capsule summary.

In which our adventurers explore The Balok, suffering repeated attacks on Pholgon’s unfortunate armor from both green slime and grey ooze, engage in snack-based diplomacy with cavemen until it goes badly wrong, lose two light foot to the ensuing melee, but ultimately escape with a healthy haul of coins, tools, and a potion of giant’s strength.

Read on over at planetkar.us.

We sat down to play again last Friday and had an almost entirely improvised session roaming the wilderness, and in a nearby city. Sparked in large part by a few carelessly tossed-out rumors. In other words, the best kind. Here’s the usual brief summary and a link to the full report.

In which our adventurers journey to Khodang, acquire exotic pets, capture boogiemen for sacrifice, perform a bloody ritual to enchant an alien artifact, and surgically attach said artifact to Xull’s arm – all while losing two companions to the perils of the wasteland.

Read on over at planetkar.us.

After a 17-week hiatus, we finally sat down for another session the other week. And what do you know? On the very first encounter roll of the night, I nearly TPK’d the party with a random wilderness encounter. Twelve titanotheres and a failed surprise check will do that to you. One player, who runs a powerful psionic magic-user, made their save vs. death after hitting zero hitpoints by one point exactly. Close call! The rest of the session was fun as well. Below is the usual capsule summary.

In which our adventurers brave the perilous Mirror Hills, suffer a tragic encounter with titanotheres, regroup to explore the mysterious Balok, and delve into its dangerous depths, facing shadows, centipedes, and sleeping pigs while uncovering valuable treasures and magical artifacts, only to emerge victorious but not unscathed from their subterranean exploits.

Read on over at planetkar.us.

We managed to sit down for a game of D&D just before the end of the month. Notably, the players have breached the third level of the campaign’s tentpole dungeon. They also ‘burned’ a tremendous amount of treasure to level up their characters.

In which a group of adventurers, led by Ploikal, the swift-footed mage, and his daring comrades embark on a treasure-seeking journey into the depths of the eerie Balok dungeon. They encounter giant rats and hostile albino neanderthals, manage to gather a modest haul of gems and silver pieces, and face a terrifying horde of zombies. Tragically, one of their own falls in the undead melee. Despite this loss, they return safely, their spirits lifted by the successful acquisition of treasures, which they celebrate with a legendary bender.

Read on over at planetkar.us.