ELVES - PART 1

[this post was started a while back, hence the dated nature of items in the post]

With the recent unveiling of the trailer for The Hobbit, an article in the new Fight On! by Walt Jillson titled "Elves as Green Men" + this thread on the OD&D boards, I knew it was time to figure some elf out.

Though I've never seen the Rankin/Bass production of The Hobbit, I owned the 2 LP boxed set w/ booklet & enjoyed it as a young lad. I still have it & here's a picture of it:

The booklet follows along w/ the LPs & contains illustrations from the film. My first visual knowledge of elves was from this booklet: elves are grey, w/ green eyes; the more civilized elves (like Elrond), have green hair & look more human (what later in post would be regarded as "high elves"). Keep in mind, Rivendell is not located deep in a forest, but fairly close to other civilized lands (following image is from my copy of Tolkien's The Hobbit).

 Click to see Rivendell & Elrond over in the West + note Mirkwood

Elrond in Rivendell

 

"Wood elves", on the other hand, will be those elves found in Mirkwood. They have orange (or white) hair & have a more, well, Yoda-esque quality:

Jillson's article in Fight On! #13 is in regard to elves as Green Men & there is a sketch of the wood elf chieftain from Rankin/Bass (fused w/ a bit of Lord of the Flies?).

Jillson points out how the Rankin/Bass production of The Hobbit uses the "Green Man trope" for the elves of Mirkwood, whereas Tolkien himself never distinguished between elves in his books appearance-wise.

This is totally interesting.

So I decided to follow the trail of elves in D&D. 

First, I looked @ Chainmail, then Men & Magic (OD&D Book 1). There is nothing in either specific to elf "types", differences, or appearances; however, one will note that they are in the same class as Fairies.

Next I looked through Monsters & Treasure (OD&D Book 2) & came upon this:

"Elves: Elves are of two general sorts, those who make their homes in woodlands & those who seek the remote meadowlands."

After that the Greyhawk & Blackmoor supplements (OD&D Supplements I & II), respectively:

"Elves: Elves are five or more feet in height, slim of build, weigh about 120 pounds, have tan to fair skin, & are also of various types (wood, high elves, meadow elves)... wood elves being the darkest."

"...akin to mermen as land elves are to men."

Next up was the AD&D Players Handbook:

"There are many sorts of elves, & descriptions of the differing types are found in AD&D, MONSTER MANUAL. Elven player characters are always considered to be high elves, the most common sort of elf."

NOTE: THE MONSTER MANUAL WAS THE FIRST AD&D BOOK TO BE PUBLISHED IN DEC 1977, HENCE THE REFERENCE ---------------- THE RANKIN/BASS HOBBIT AIRED 2 MONTHS PREV OVER NBC FOR FIRST TIME NOV 1977]

MONSTER MANUAL [it would be interesting to see what a first edition MM has for this entry, but for now, the only edition I have, 4th printing]:

"Elves are slim of build & pale complected. Their hair is dark, & their eyes are green. Their garb is typically pastel & of blue or green or violet (but often covered by a greenish gray cloak)."

The MM then gets into more detail regarding diff. types:

"Aquatic Elf... humanoid in appearance, w/ gill slits on the throat & greenish-silver skin & green or blue-green hair."

"Drow... The drow are said to be as dark as faeries are bright & as evil as the latter are good."

"Grey Elf (Faerie): Grey elves have either silver hair & amber eyes or pale golden hair & violet eyes. The latter sort are generally called faeries. They favor white, yellow, silver, or gold garments. Their cloaks are often deep blue or purple. They live beyond the age of 1,500 years."

"Wood Elf: Their complexions are fair, their hair is yellow to coppery red & their eyes are light brown, light green, or hazel. They wear russets, reds, brown & tans. Their cloaks are usually green or greenish brown. Wood elves have a life span of centuries."

So high elves are grey elves?

Anyway, onto BASIC:

HOLMES [originally published in 1977, I have a later printing of this as well]:

Character section: "Elves -  are five or more feet in height, slim of build, weigh about 120 pounds & have fair to tan skin." Monster section: "Elves generally are of two sorts, wood elves & high elves... They are described in the character section."

Notice that up to this point there has been nothing about pointy ears. In D&D, we dont see that description drop until MOLDVAY:

"Elves are slender, graceful demi-humans w/ delicate features & slightly pointed ears. They are 5 to 5 1/2 feet tall & weigh about 120 pounds... prefer to spend their time feasting & frolicking in wooded glades. They rarely visit the cities of men."

Something to note about Moldvay as well is that this is the first rulebook to have the elf be a class in itself: one experience path, abilities of both a fighter & magic-user entwined.

One can assume that Moldvay's elves are high elves, much like it's stated in the AD&D Player's Handbook how all player character elves are high elves.

But why cant players be wood elves? And if they were, what exactly would be different about them?

[more to come]

DJAREL'S JOURNAL + LEIF'S DRAWING RE: SESSION 13

Djarel's Journal - 17th of the Hummingbird

I don't remember much of my time spent in Avalon. Amadi tells me that I drank some green beer and fell asleep... Before I passed out,  I vaguely remember the smokey elf insulting an mustachioed woman. The offer of the cosmetics book yielded no useful information about the town. Amadi than spoke with the old tavern keep who spoke of the haunted house in Avalon. The old man said that he had heard noises coming from the haunted place and had seen people come and go from there only on seldom occasion. Of those who visited the old house fewer still emerged but of those who did seemed to be burdened with heavy coin-purses which was a boon for the Smoking Leprechaun.

I woke up around 11 AM between the shoulders of the Wild Wizard and the Smokey Elf. They let me know that Avalon does not have a blacksmith and gave me the details of the Haunted House as I have described above. After a short while I regained my footing and I was happy to know that we where heading back towards Crackenmore after we regrouped at the Hollow Tree. Just before arriving at our new refuge the Telal and the Smokey Elf noticed some bodies on the ground up ahead. Upon closer inspection they appeared to be the groundhog men that we had read about in Talbot's journal. Telal helped himself to a small coin purse and a hempen necklace adorned with little sharp teeth. With nothing left to do for the groundhogmen and not wanting to wait for there companions to find us near their bodies we made haste for the Hollow Tree.

Amadi and the Smoking Elf had time to interpret the words which came from the dying eight eye and lead us to the statue chamber with a purpose. Leif wrapped the small statue on ground and then we stood in silence for a moment. Shortly after the Wild wizard Amadi rapped his staff hard upon one of the statues and suddenly an owl spirit appeared in a small alcove near by. After shouting at the owl Leif was eventually able to get it to speak. The spirit knew of Eric Talbot as it had been watching this portion of Hollow Tree since its beginning. Talbot resided here with five companions, and from here they waged their war as crayfishmen against the groundhogmen until one day they all did not return, and curiously enough Talbot himself left without his armor. Soon the spirit became weary and was unable to provide useful answers to our inquires.

 "I am not a teacher. I am a teller," said the owl.

After ending our conversation with the owl spirit, we took on the mindset of turning Hollow Tree into a home and set to work putting the interior in order. I headed to the 8 eye lair and began preparing a holy place for the Dawnbringer while the Smoking Elf repaired the stairway and Telal reset the wrecking ball trap as well as the statue room trap. The altar was made from three large stones that I found within the Hollow tree to form a sort of small bench where upon I burned the body of the 8 eye and the winged needles and Dawnbringer was pleased and blessed my faith with magical knowledge. When there is time I shall add wildflowers, tulips, and skulls to the altar. Later on in the evening, the Wild wizard called us around the fire and there he shared with us a wonderful tome which made us all feel much wiser and now we sit in wonderment and are sharing some of his smoke.

Praise be to the Dawnbringer for this blessed day.

HEALERS

I've been going through a number of early issues of The Dragon and in #3 came upon this new class by C. Hettlestad. I am not certain I wanna keep this as an ongoing class possibility, & honestly, I havent even read through it totally as to the spells etc., but for now, it'd be cool to see one enter the fray. So here it is. Instantly made me think of the following image (would rather have the class be "Doctor" but that happens when you level up).

TOWN DESIGN: PART 2 - PILLARS OF THE COMMUNITY

The village of Hommlet is home to the following occupations: eight farms (one mainly a dairy & one w/ a manor), two herdsman, a woodcutter, leather worker, smithy, weaver, tailor, trader, carter, moneychanger, cabinet maker, potter, brewmaster, miller, wheel & wainwright, carpenter, stone mason, innkeeper, druid & church leaders.

While one can simply use the above info & duplicate this spread while designing their own town building-by-building, here's a Hommlet-esque 3d10 table that will randomly decide what an NPC's occupation is (if your result is a building reroll), or what kind of building/who lives there (unless farmer or herdsman, if you roll a duplicate, reroll (that is, if you dont favor the duplication)):

1. Castle/Keep
2. Ruins
3. Guard Tower
4. Camp of workers
5. Construction site
6. Potter
7. Church
8. Dairy/farmer
9. Miller
10. Wheel & wainwright
11. Carpenter
12. Stone Mason
13. Tailor
14. Farmer
15. Farmer
16. Farm w/ manor
17. Herdsman
18. Druidic site
19.  Brewmaster
20. Cabinet maker
21. Trader
22. Carter
23. Moneychanger
24. Weaver
25. Smith
26. Innkeeper/Inn
27. Village Hall
28. Leather worker
29. Woodcutter
30. Herdsman

Interestingly, the key in T1 that mentions "pillars of the community" is in regard to a family that doesnt seem special in any other way. They tend to be cool toward strangers - suspicious with good cause.

As for the village militia (Hommlet Company), there are approx. 57 of 76 males (75%) in Hommlet that will call-to-arms. Also, it is worth noting that of these 57, 2% are secret spies of the Temple of Elemental Evil. Generally, the 19 that are not part of the militia are either selfish adventuring types, outcasts, religious folk, or just too old. Of one family it is written, These people do not follow any religious persuasion, so they are excluded from most village functions; however, interestingly, the male head of household is a member of the militia. Despite this man's will to fight for the community, this quote displays how religion in Hommlet affects the community at large.

The basic hierarchy of Hommlet goes something like this:

VISCOUNT OF VERBOBONC (nearby noble Lord to the NW) stations BURNE the Magic-user & RUFUS the Fighter in Hommlet to oversee the building of the Castle/Keep there. Burne establishes himself in the community, while Rufus is COMMANDER OF THE VILLAGE TROOPS.

However, as for the true community inner-workings, look to the council of the VILLAGE ELDER. He brings everyone together: DRUID OF THE GROVE, CHIEF CLERIC OF THE CHURCH, CAPTAIN OF THE MILITIA, SERGEANT OF THE MILITIA, BURNE & RUFUS & the "PILLAR OF THE COMMUNITY".

Note: In these posts I am not factoring in the Mercenary camp, or the guards @ the tower. I am concerned w/ those that live in Hommlet b/c it is their home, not b/c they were sent there on a specific mission (that is, except for Burne & Rufus & those that may appear to be part of the community, but have ulterior motives).

So here's an approximation of Hommlet townsfolk per sex:

 Per age group:

Together:

The history of Hommlet is reflected in the make-up of the community. The lack of elders could be due to the hard times surrounding the battle w/ the Temple of Elemental Evil, whereas the abundance of children shows a bit of a baby boom as peace returned to the land.

Trying to reflect history in the community of your own town may seem like way too much work when prepping a town for play, esp. if you're one that finds half-the-fun is letting the game world build itself during play; but with either approach, whether youve yet to run a session in your town, or have run twenty, looking @ the community this way will help the town come to life. It will add instant depth & should serve well as a catalyst in regard to ideas surrounding town adventures.

[for other parts of series click "town design" label below]

HOODED PERISCOPE, issues 1 & 2

The first Hooded Periscope was worked up in late 2010 during my first campaign as a DM. I was running B/X & the game was being played over a private blog w/ various friends that had never played D&D. The blog was titled The Hooded Periscope, hence the name of the zine. I'd been rifling through old White Dwarf issues from a cache I'd located online while caring for a mostly sleeping newborn, so I had the time/inspiration to work #1 up. It contains some inside art that was snaked from corners of the net I have no clue where they came from in retro... for #2 - which was completed just as we were starting the current game in late 2011 - I use only public domain artwork inside, or artwork I did myself. Anyway, long spiel, short zine. Just click on the covers to download from MediaFire. Please let me know if you have any problems doing so.

One last thought: considering the time/effort it will take to work up a more intense supplement proper for my smoking goods, I am starting to think that, quite simply, HP#3 should be an expanded & more focused issue, w/ that stuff in it. More to come. Input always welcome.

JOURNAL ENTRY FROM DJAREL RE: SESSION 12

Sixteenth of the Hummingbird

The Dawnbringer looks upon me in Avalon this morning. Through the
strength of my ancestor's Hammer, Kumiss, we have laid flat a mighty
foe. I have tasted the blood of the monstrous 8 eye [there appears a
dark brownish/green stain in the journal after this sentence which one
could logically assume is spider blood]. The 8 eye leaked magic
words after its death and the smokey elf seemed to understand them.
There was great treasure in the lair of the 8 eye. More sun colored
metal than I have ever seen. The party has decided to keep the
treasure here and create a home for ourselves. If this be so then the
hollow tree will need an altar to the Dawnbringer. When I return I
will plant the tulips and flowers about the entrance and prepare the
remains of the 8 eye and the flying needles as burnt offerings to
please the Dawnbringer. It has been so long since I have prepared a
holy altar for the Dawnbringer. Tulips, skulls, and oh, how I love smell
of burning evil in the morning.

Taking control of the hollow tree was no easy task. Through the
greatness of my companions we over came many perilous encounters.
Early in the hollow tree the weight of my spirit caused me to fall
through an old set of stairs and if not for the wild wizard's quick
thinking, I would have been overwhelmed by alligators. The wild
wizard's control over the minds of alligators and dogmen has been a
great boon. Later, when I was blessed to find a fine set of plate
armor within the hollow tree, Telal the Cold spotted a trip wire
within the room before I walked into disaster.

For although I was looking forward to a great battle against the
owlbear, the wild wizard and the smokey elf were wise to steer us
towards leaving the beast as a guardian. The smokey elf has also
gained my favor. He has shown his strength by absorbing the wrecking
ball trap, both the Dawnbringer and I are pleased with the smokey elf.
It is also good that we found the armored female within the hollow
tree. She seems to get along with the group well enough. Let her
mend the wounds of our companions, so that I can spend my energy
making wounds in our enemies.

Last evening, while the wild wizard got into his books,  I showed
Telal the orcish custom of taking the poison sacs from the great 8
eyes. He slid his dagger up the hollow fangs and into the creatures head
with as much ice in his veins as any of my orcish brothers. By
wrapping the poison sacs inside the mucus filled stomach of the spider
and then in a scrap of fresh skin from the stirges the poison should
hold until he can find a proper container. Even our more powerful
enemies can be brought low by 8 eye venom. I hope Telal will be
pleased with this gift.

As we set off this morning, away from our troubles in Talbot, we came
across a horse drawn peddler who sold me some smokables that I will
gift to the Dawnbringer. The wild wizard purchased a particularly
potent form of the herb after considerable debate on the price among
the companions.

I have but one order of business in Avalon: to find an armorer to fit
the plate mail for me. Afterwards, I pray that we can get back to the
business of Crackenmore and search for more clues. I am grateful to
the Dawnbringer for our success this far, but everyday I feel my
ancestor's spirit dwindling like sand in my fist until his remains
rest inside the Barrow of the Rising Sun.

I have so many questions left unanswered... How did my grandfather, a
great cleric, become a slave in Crackenmore? Who was the man in the
red vest with the orcs in my dream?

I will dig deep this day and call upon the Dawnbringer to guide me
through the spell of Tongues.

Djarel

SATURDAY MORNING ADVERTISEMENT

AMADI SENDS LETTER VIA GRIFFON EXPRESS RE: SESSION 12

LETTER TO KORUN (FORMER MENTOR)

Korun,

It has been months since I left Furthermoor City. My journey has been difficult, but recently it has turned for the better. After weeks of traveling by night and sleeping in the wilderness to avoid the patrols, I made it to Talbot. There I met some fellow travelers who did not instantly see me as a servant. We have spent this last week seeking our fortune. Talbot is not unlike Furthermoor City, filled with corruption and ignorance, but no one here knows me or my past. My band of misfits have just killed a giant spider and gained more gold than I have ever seen! But gold is not what I seek; I have recently gained knowledge from the family who pioneered this township many years ago. I pray this knowledge will help me realize my destiny and reunite me with my family. Please send them my regards and let them know I will see them soon.

Amadi


*Griffon icon is lifted from a place in Virginia.

TOWN DESIGN: PART 1 - ESTABLISHED RELIGION

Note: I use the simple OD&D & Moldvay Basic alignments of Lawful, Neutral & Chaotic; so while T1 uses the more complex 8 alignment system, I will only mention this if it's totally necessary...

Within the village of Hommlet the lawful generally attend the Church of St. Cuthbert, the neutral follow the Druid of the Grove, & some chaotics are secret servants of the Temple of Elemental Evil.

There are approx. 29 households/shops/farms/living quarters in Hommlet. Two of these have folks of different religions under the same roof; however, for now, I am assigning that place to whatever the owner is. Likewise, I am focusing on those that live in Hommlet, not those that are staying @ the Inn temporarily & as for workers in a camp, I am not guestimating their wives & offspring, etc. Of the 29 households/shops/farms in Hommlet, 38% follow the Druid of the Grove, 31% follow St. Cuthbert & 3% are secret agents of the Temple of Elemental Evil. That leaves roughly 28% that subscribe to no religion @ all.

Furthermore, there are approx. 188 people that live in Hommlet (above exception also applies here). Split this way, we see that 44% follow the Druid of the Grove, 25% follow St. Cuthbert, 3% are secret agents of the Temple of Elemental Evil, & 28% subscribe to no religion @ all.

The simple reason for the increased percentage of Druid of the Grove followers by body is b/c those that have lived in Hommlet for most or all of their lives tend to be followers of the Druid & have large families. On the other hand, 56% of the households that follow St. Cuthbert are "newcomers" to Hommlet, having moved there within the last two years. One description even goes as far as saying, Having come to the village about two years ago, this family is considered as "outside" folk, and will be until their beards grow gray.... 33% are more dug into the community & of course 11% are keepers of the church.

Of the 28% that do not align themselves w/ organized religion, it is interesting to note that most of them are either loners of the community, or seem to have had tragedy in their lives (widowers, spinsters, simpleton, etc.), here's an example: These people do not follow any religious persuasion, so they are excluded from most village functions; ironically the other slice of this percentage is made up of military leaders & other hubs of the community. While these folks work w/ & may be friends w/ the church & druid leaders, they are not followers of either faith.

Overall, Hommlet is a fairly neutral place; so much so, that even the first listed followers of St. Cuthbert are said to be lawful neutral. Lawful good characters are rare in this town. But this is what makes Hommlet unique, as well. The main thing is to realize how organized religion strengthens T1 (could it even exist w/o it?) & how this approach can be used in designing your own village. Though the evil/chaotic element in Hommlet may be slight percentage-wise, it is sneakily powerful & challenging once perceived. In a game world that revolves around the tension between Law & Chaos, established religion boils it down to the community, which helps create suspense, intrigue, mystery, etc. for town adventures once players get to mingling.

[for other parts of series click "town design" label below]

SESSION 12 - ONE STIRGE, ONE CLERIC & ONE PEDDLER

In that the party battles the Stirges - becomes cordial w/ a Lady of the Faith - Mends a bridge & kills a Spider for ancient coin - Reads about Eric Talbot - Wanders north & into an outgoing peddler - Onward into the hamlet of Avalon...

PARTY CAST:
Leif, elf ranger - LE
Djarel, cleric of Dawnbringer - RM
Telal, thief - JT
Amadi, magic-user - MN
Rowan, cleric -JB
Gnolan, charmed gnoll - NPC
Mellon, freed gnoll - NPC
Magus, dwarf - MIA

ENCOUNTERED NON-PARTY NPCs:
Stagger Lee - traveling salesman

So around 7:20 PM, on the 15th of Hummingbird, the party is attacked by 3 STIRGES as they try to re-enter the tree... Battle ensues & though Melon Gnoll takes some stirge sucking, the party offs them fairly easily, locating a number of gems in place of the stirge eyes, 3 gems in all: 2 avg sized yellow diamonds & 1 large, chipped, ruby.

The party funnels back into the tree as darkness totally descends & finds a female cleric bedding down, but amiable. She introduces herself as Rowan, & is apparently following up on leads regarding Eric Talbot, a legend of faith in some parts. The party quickly briefs Rowan on their intentions & before long Leif is locating the secret door to lead them back into the tree, they then head back up the staircase over the water, & after an elaborate plan, are able to cross to the other side, over the 2, now awake alligators. On the other side they move up the unsearched staircase to the NW & Leif takes a mad hit from a wrecking ball swinging down after sprung from the stair.  But Telal notices a HUGER SPIDER as they begin to notice the webs, scrolling up, not used to company lately, it is somewhat surprised, the party goes & goes until it spins around & drops & Djarel races up w/ Kumiss & finishes the spider off. The party finds mad coin spread about the edges of the room, deep through webbing & dust...  1100 cp, 3000 sp, 7000 gp, 2000 ep... The party camps out in the room for the night & Amadi reads Eric Talbot's journal aloud. The beginnings tell of Eric's turn into a were-crawfish, & the struggle & his finally leaving Talbot altogether; it then mentions this stronghold he found & as well an old town just north, near where a battle took place between the Crawfishmen & the Groundhogmen called Avalon. The remainder of the book details different battles & it ends in a cut-off way, vs. any resolution or breather entry.

The next morning the party leaves the tree & heads back to the road, leaving the 2 gnolls w/ Magus, Amadi instructing Gnolan to guard the place, etc. They started heading north toward this place called Avalon until they came across a roving peddler w/ mule & buggy, heading south. Goes by the name, Stagger Lee. After propositioning his adventure wares, he flashed a few strains of weed @ the travelers, some Flying Cloud & some Lizard's Lunch. Amadi was interested in the Flying Cloud, but the price was too high. Amadi was able to haggle Stagger down to 400 gp for 2 smokes. Stagger kept sayin, "You may only see this once in a lifetime." Off to Avalon they went, entering the hamlet around 8:45 AM, a boarded up place to the left, a place w/ a swinging door to the right, some noise coming from it, The Smoking Leprechaun.

9 AM, 16th day of the month of the Hummingbird, Avalon, Furthermoor

TOWN DESIGN: ENTERING HOMMLET - INTRO

WARNING: this post ended up being more of a background than actually about "town design" hence the "intro" in the title; however, I felt it appropriate to come before what comes after, so I left the title as is...

I have mentioned this before, but the first time I ever played D&D I was seven-years-old & my fighter PC, Kron*, wandered into the town of Hommlet. I vividly remember the green cover of the module & the removable grid-papered map of the town, that the DM, who was nine (a neighbor), laid flat on the carpet to show me where I was. It took a bit of investigating, but I pinned the module down (T1: The Village of Hommlet) & bought a copy via eBay five years ago. I also remember the yellow-colored character sheet I used (another AD&Dism). That said, I dont recall seeing any other books @ all that day. My main recollection is that I found a horn of some sort (perhaps a Horn of Valhalla?) in some farmhouse & I remember John rolling 2d6 time & time again after I would tell him what I wanted to do next. The game left a huge impression on me.

But when I returned home, I was in for a strange surprise. "There's this game I played that I really want called Dungeons & Dragons," I said to my mom. "Where did you play that game? You are never to play that game ever again, you understand? That is a bad game," she said (or something like that), as if I'd just told her I'd been doing drugs & wanted her to buy some for me. I was confused & bummed (a mood mix I would grow accustomed to around this time in my life). Quite simply, I was a child of the Satanic Panic. The way I can date this rather precisely, in retrospect, is that the following Christmas, I received the ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Intellivison Cartridge released in 1982 (I guess this was to appease my wishes for the real game). I also recall the Mentzer Red Box coming out not long after my interest in owning the game, due to my circumstances, had waned a bit. The one RPG I owned within this era was the Indiana Jones one that TSR put out in 1984 & it sucked. It didnt even have character generation rules. I never played it.

I mention all this for a number of reasons: 1) I am surely a bit of an anomaly within the OSR community b/c while I played early D&D mishmash a few times in the early 80's, I did not actually own the game, or play D&D or RPGs that much as a kid & 2) my interest in old school D&D comes from modern boardgaming w/ my girlfriend (now wife) & its bringing to mind that stunted desire to play D&D in the early 80's vs. any disenchantment w/ current versions of the game or modern pen/paper RPGs in general... So, as you can imagine, after perusing copies of Moldvay/Cook grabbed via eBay in 2007 & about to start up a campaign for a few friends using B2: The Keep on the Borderlands, stumbling upon the OSR blogosphere was both exciting & enlightening.  Google+, ConstantCon & FLAILSNAILS have only made it moreso & then finally there's 3) I felt that throwing this info out there would help you understand a) where I'm coming from, and b) give a solid foundation for my interest in T1: The Village of Hommlet, specifically.

I've been working on a number of towns in Furthermoor, so I felt like it was as good a time as any to do a thorough examination of T1. If you wish to play T1 one of these days & never have, I plan to give proper spoiler warning & will try not to include spoilers @ all, unless truly necessary. My plan is to zero in on specific design features that help Hommlet come alive during play, as well as highlight other peculiar/interesting things I notice in the process.

*I cant remember exactly how the name Kron came about, though I do remember I thought it was cool b/c it sounded similar to Tron. Perhaps I suggested Tron & John met me halfway w/ Kron? The reason I suggest this possibility is that "Kron" is an actual name in the Greyhawk setting, i.e. the Kron Hills, which are mentioned in T1 on pages 2 & 7 & sit just west of Hommlet.

SESSION 11 - SLEEPY OWLBEAR, SLEEPY ALLIGATOR

We had three playas back into the norm game tonight:  LE w/ Leif the elf ranger, MN w/ Amadi the m-u & RM w/ Djarel the half-orc cleric - extras were the gnolls, Gnolan (charmed) & Melon (freed), as well as two MIAs this week, Telal the thief & Magus the dwarf... ANYWAY, the quick & dirty:

3:40 PM, there's a door down the hallway, looks carved into the inside of the tree here, Telal takes a good while to check it out & eventually gets something to pop in the moldy keyhole & then nudge the door open.  The party finds a groggy & confused owlbear inside, the room is about 30' x 30' circle, 12' high ceilings, they notice a ladder going up into a hole in the ceiling across the room.  Leif casts Speak w/ Animals & starts trying to parley w/ the owlbear.  The owlbear isnt having it however & becomes hostile, but doesnt attack.  After much talk, Leif presents an offer that they could bring the owlbear an alligator to eat if he'd let them pass.  The owlbear agrees to the offer, reluctantly, & begins dozing a bit as the party goes about making this happen.  The gnolls & Djarel are sent to retrieve one of the alligators, & luckily, they are all still asleep.  They manage to secure one w/ ropes & drag it to the owlbear's lair in about 45-60 minutes...  While the owlbear dozed, the party waited @ the door & looking around the layer noticed what looked to be a throne carved into the wood on the wall across the circular room/// when the alligator finally makes it, the owlbear attacks it w/ gusto, hacking, hugging it to death, then beaking out large chunks of meat; the party moves around the room toward the throne where Melon spots his two bags of silver, they grab them, then examine the throne where below, in a hole behind cobwebs, they find a small chest, they then grab a statue of a paladin from a table nearby & then book it up the ladder, all while the owlbear still worked on his dinner...  Atop the ladder they come to a room where a hole leads down into dark, or a window to a staircase they can see; first trying the hole, they go down a bit w/ a rope, but then come back & exit the window & down the staircase, out of the tree & into the plain.  There in the grass they inspect their findings, busting open the chest, they find two books:  one a journal of some sort, quick glance shows Eric Talbot's name on the front page, then the other is a larger tome that seems concerned w/ understanding the universe, also, in a corner, is a tuft of Spanish moss.  It is 6:40, the sun setting, so the party decides to enter back in the hollow branch they entered the tree in earlier; however, as they reach the branch, & Telal goes in w/ rope, plus the two gnolls, 3 stirges appear from nowhere, perhaps in top of tree, or somewhere else, swooping down on them...

7:20 PM, Friday, 15th day of the month of the Hummingbird, Talbot, Furthermoor

MOOR'S END - 3

In which respects are paid to Devedos @ the Church of the White Widow - Locals of Moor's End take notice of Kruger's burning shop - The party returns to the Caves at sundown...

PARTY CAST:
Gileegan, hobbit thief - MN
Jin the Cautious, monk - RM
Farley, dwarf fighter - MF
Renfro the Regarded, magic-user - MIA
Mattie the Mournful, cleric of the White Widow - NPC
Link, neanderthal - NPC

ENCOUNTERED NON-PARTY NPCs:
Brother Lennox - Church of the White Widow
Random townsfolk on street

Feeling a ripple in the Order of the Guiding Star, Jin the Cautious arrives in Moor's End just in time to help Gileegan, Renfro, Mattie & Link transport & bury their friend Devedos @ the Church of the White Widow. Brother Lennox performs the ceremony & the party donates 30 gold to the church. It is a solemn affair. So much so that Gileegan is moved to remind the party why they were first called here: to help the church locate the diamond spider that was stolen & moved into the caves @ the edge of the moor. After the ceremony the party walks for a bit down the strip of town, many townsfolk coming out & watching the smoke envelope Kruger's shop. The party asks one man what is going on, & sure enough, he simply confirms the rumor that Kruger's place is up in flames, etc. Renfro assures the party that he has discretely hidden Delilah (Kruger's two-handed sword) under a bed in the common room of the Forgotten Worm Inn. As darkness descends, the party decides to return to the caves. Jin wishes they had a fighter among them, & as if the Guiding Star was listening, the Furthermoor Adventure Express (FAE) screeches up & out tumbles Farley the Dwarf, eager to join the party for a crawl.

It's around 8 PM by the time Mattie is locating the secret entrance to the cave, the party moves into the narrow cave single file, Link, Farley, Jin, Renfro, Mattie w/ lantern, & Gileegan in back. After a bit of weaving through narrow cave passages, they come to a dead end, where they search around for a good thirty minutes, but notice nothing, they then search the walls as they backtrack when Link signals back that something is there ahead of them...  A goblin has turned around, walking away from them.  Gilleegan pushes through & sneaks after the goblin & backstabs it, easily taking it down. He searches the body to locate a small pouch holding 11 sp & 1 gp, also in the pouch is a scrap of paper w/ something in goblin written on it. Jin reads the note: MARKET, 16TH DAY, BEFORE SUN, OUTSIDE CAVES - the party backtracks a bit more then moving south & coming to the room they previously fought the giant rats, the opened chest on the ground.  They are reminded of Devedos.  They pass the room & move west where they come into a circular room, about 15' in diameter, cave room w/ a large cone of white rock in the middle of the room w/ smooth rounded bottom. Gilleegan pushes the rock & it teeters a bit, then sways & then stops back in original position. Farley pushes the rock harder, noticing that it is chalk.  W/ the harder push, when tottering, the base reveals a gap below where they notice something shiny. They use Farley's crowbar to hold the chalk over to where they are able to pull 300 sp & 30 gp from below. Farley chips off some sizable pieces from the top. Others follow suit. Farley crushes some into a dust & puts it in a pouch. The party moves on, traveling west, the cave corridor growing a touch wider, they come into another similar cave room, about 15' in diameter. There is a pool of dark liquid in the western third of the room, surrounded by a thin strip of cave. Jin probes the water w/ his staff, & about 2-3' down the staff pushes into something. He tries jiggering it out, but nothing gives. He decides to simply step into the water & reach down for it. He pulls up two bags filled w/ silver, 250 sp each. The party redistributes the silver from the soaked bags & decides to move into the northern passage which narrows & winds a bit until it narrows to almost 2 feet wide & then opens into a fairly massive, compared to what they have seen up to this point. Also, this room, though still "cavey" shows signs of construction/manipulation. It is a sizable room, about 30' wide in places. Two passages lead from the room, to the NE & NW, & between these passages are two closed door on the NW wall. Also, as the party moves into the room, they notice about 20 large, clear bubbles floating about the room, moving slowly & erratically. Farley moves to one of the bubbles & pops it w/ his rope. Nothing seems to happen, the bubble just disappears w/ little noise or effect. Farley then goes about whipping around half the room until only about ten bubbles remain. Moving closer to the doors, he finishes off the rest of the curious bubbles & the party focuses on one of the wooden doors that is stuck shut. After numerous tries, Jin does a cartwheel & kicks the door open. They move into a narrow cave passage & into a small 10' cave room beyond where lining the walls & ceiling is a strange, silver fuzzy growth of some sort. Farley scrapes @ the growth w/ his crowbar & suddenly finds himself holding a solid, silver crowbar. For the next thirty or forty minutes, the party goes crazy on turning various items to silver & while this is going on, Farley takes watch down the opening when he notices a Giant Gecko slithering in he throws his electrical spear, kills the Gecko, then chops its head off & throws it @ the silver mold therefore now having a solid, silver Giant Gecko head. W/ all their new silvery stuff, the party moves back out into the large room & then goes to work on the other door. Farley busts the door in & doing so hears some rattling & then sees a skeleton w/ a sword quickly moving his way down a narrow passage. He holds his shield up & tries to keep the skeleton at bay but takes one stab, 3 damage, in doing so. The party then, one-by-one takes turns as they kill one skeleton @ a time, everyone crucial, Gil, Jin, Link, even Mattie, until theyve destroyed 4 of them, Farley doing in the last, removes its skull from the rest of the bones & takes it into the silver room & turns it to silver. In the main room, Jin & Gilleegan relax & split one of the mushroom caps that Devedos found in the Jungle Room...

10:40 PM, Thursday, 14th day of the month of the Hummingbird, Moor's End, Furthermoor