Freedom – Session 1

I became restless during the pandemic. I couldn’t choose what I wanted to play, darting about my RPG collection like a drunken wasp. Overwhelmed by all the options I eventually ground to a halt with indecision. I tidied a few campaign folders, rearranged some bookshelves, and played absolutely no games.

Then over Christmas I found myself idly passing the time by doodling little maps and scrawling random notes, brain in neutral and vomiting random ideas onto scrap paper. A few weeks later, whilst I busied myself tidying everything away, a colourful, abstract map caught my eye. It called to me like Psygnosis box art. I craved the opportunity to explore it, so I took all my random scribblings and typed them up. There were some nonsensical gaps which I filled with a few rolls on some world building tables, and then I rolled up seven Old School Essentials characters and dumped them in a dungeon run by slavers.

Bordan of the Nenad – L1 M Barbarian. Neutral. HP8. 15, 8, 13, 10, 13, 8.

Mira Vojimir – L1 F Fighter. Lawful. HP8. 16, 9, 13, 14, 9, 8.

Lana Bojan – L1 F Thief. Neutral. HP3. 13, 10, 10, 15, 8, 11.

Dragos – L1 M Orcan. Neutral. HP5. 12, 9, 8, 15, 10, 12.

Breka Nevenka – L1 F Half-Elf. Lawful. HP4. 11, 10, 8, 7, 13, 12.

Subira – L1 F Cleric of Shorrog. Lawful. HP3. 13, 13, 14, 15, 8, 10.

Ostrik Vezlin – L1 M Mage. Lawful. HP3. 11, 15, 14, 8, 12, 14.

To keep it simple I used a d6 oracle supported by the GM’s Apprentice Deck and got the name of the dungeon from The Tome of Adventure Design. I created the dungeon as I went by using a random generator I made from mashing together The Perilous Wilds and the Advanced Heroquest solo rules.

THE CRIMSON CITADEL OF THE IRON BROTHERHOOD

Deep within the heart of the Crimson Citadel, seven strangers awaken chained in a 35’ by 40’ room. Waterlogged, with mould climbing the glistening walls and bones strewn across the wet floor, the space is poorly lit by a couple of guttering torches. The only exits are two iron-bound doors on the north and east walls.

Q – Are the chains and manacles weakened in any way by the water?

A – Yes.

I allow characters with STR or DEX as their Prime Requisite an attempt to break free, rolling against half their Open Doors value. Mira the Fighter and Lana the Thief manage to break free of their shackles and drop to the floor.

They ignore the demands for assistance from the five characters still chained and quickly search the room for anything they can use, but there is nothing but rotting debris. The thief manages to find a jagged thigh bone that can be used as a makeshift dagger.

Mira tells the others the only way out it with keys and equipment, so if they keep their mouths shut and play along, they may have a chance to set up an ambush. Lana puts one of the torches out, greatly increasing the shadows in the room, and they crouch by the doors, waiting.

An hour passes before the characters hear a key being used on the eastern door. It opens, and a short, scruffy man wearing the uniform of the Iron Brotherhood enters, completely unaware of the ambush. Lana pounces as soon as he passes the threshold.

1 x Iron Brotherhood Guard. AC6. HP6. Shortsword (1d6).

Round 1

Lana lunges with a backstab but the jagged bone doesn’t penetrate his armour. Mira sprints across the room, slamming into the guard with a savage throat punch. Choking, the guard staggers and fumbles for his blade.

Round 2

Mira doesn’t give the man a chance to act, plunging her thumbs into his eye sockets before violently twisting his head until she feels the neck snap.

Breathing heavily, Mira wipes the viscera off her hands whilst Lana searches the corpse, stripping it of valuables.

The fighter takes the guard’s clothing, armour, and sword. The thief takes his dagger and keys. They also find a small amount of coin on his body.

Q – Do the keys unlock the wall chains?

A – Yes.

Lana swiftly frees the others whilst Mira finishes donning the scale mail. Bordan the barbarian, impressed by the speed and savagery of the fighter, suggests the group work together to escape. The others stare at the eyeless corpse and quickly agree.

Featured Image by Jeff Brown.