adventure

Free Shadowdark Adventure: Descent to Thargrond

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Shadowdark is quickly becoming my favorite TTRPG. Its simplicity makes homebrewing easy without breaking balance. It also addresses by biggest issue with 5e, it actually rewards treasure hunting, since PCs must earn gold to advance.

Whenever I learn a new system (the curse of being a forever GM), I build an adventure for it. This is one of two I’ve created for Shadowdark. This one is inspired by classic OSR dungeons where rival factions vie for dominance in the dark. For good measure, I added an ancient dwarven city, long fallen, now ruled by a necromancer. The necromancer manipulates the factions into destroying one another so he can swell his undead ranks.

The main inspirations for this dungeon are Caves of Chaos—the 5e remake of Keep on the Borderlands—and Barrowmaze. Running Caves of Chaos in the past led to some truly memorable player–monster alliances. Olly the Orc and Harry the Hobgoblin will live in infamy in my group (I needed names on the fly,I was expecting a fight, not a parlay!). The players even taught them the value of trade over conquest.

From Barrowmaze, I borrowed the idea of the mongrelmen and created a race of mutant humanoids adapted to survive the dangers of the dark.

Without further ado, here’s the back-cover summary and player pitch I use when running this dungeon in one-shots. Download the full adventure below.

Adventure Summary

Descend into a living dungeon, where every alliance is fragile and every victory feeds the darkness.

When monsters erupt from the depths beneath the village of Umberstead, desperate defenders pursue them into the caverns below. The tunnels once led to the dwarven city of Thargrond, but now form a labyrinth of warring factions and restless dead. In the heart of Thargrond, a necromancer known as the Pale Warden desecrates the city’s ruins, feeding on the chaos he’s sown and growing stronger with every fallen soul.

Player Pitch

Umberstead is under siege.
Strange mutant creatures have fled from the depths—what horrors drove them to the surface? Fight beside the villagers, then descend into a cavernous underworld where rival factions clash for survival, unaware they stand between you and something far worse.

Feedback or other comments: reach out at worldsbywally@gmail.com, or find me on Threads.

Hope y’all enjoy it!

Descent to Thargrond PlaytestDownload

Prep for Confidence, not Content.

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There is a lot of advice out there on preparation. I feel like it centers on telling people not to overprep. While this is helpful advice it misses the point. If someone is looking for advice on how to DM, being told to make a loose outline and not over focus on prepping isn’t super helpful!

However, the advice isn’t wrong. I just think it’s missing a key caveat, you prep to make yourself confident not to just create content. The content ultimately becomes an outline that is sometimes followed and sometimes not. Once you feel comfortable with the situation, you can run it and react to anything the players throw at you. I’ve ran the same adventures for numerous groups and it’s amazing how different the experiences can be. Seeing how different groups create different stories has become one of my favorite parts of running games.

So, how do you prep for confidence?

For me, it’s lists and questions. Lists provide a loose outline to remind me of the key things I want to include in the story. The questions help because they give me practice thinking about what might happen. There really is no replacement for just trying. Preparation is less about making what you’ll use in the session, than it is about helping you understand the world you’re running, or the rules you want to use.

Of course, you also hope to use the content you prepare! Most of the time when something is skipped, it can be adapted and placed somewhere else though. So very little prep is ever wasted.

It’s also worth remembering that your players will likely give you plenty to react to. Depending on the group, I’ve had entire sessions consumed by the riffing of the players’ reactions.

So, focus on understanding the obstacles you’ve built. Why they are there, and how the NPCs will react.

So, what should I prep?

Ultimately, TTRPGs are a combination of tactical challenges and group story telling. I tend to do detailed prep for the tactical challenges, and loose prep for the storytelling. The main exception being for epic lore reveals.

Tactical challenges (encounters, traps, puzzles) are easy to shift around and “re-skin” as needed. This makes the more detailed and time-consuming prep for them unlikely to be wasted. This includes things like preparing combat (check out The Monsters Know What They’re Doing), or making stats for encounters. You can always use that stuff later. While I try to make smart decisions to avoid tactical situations have a meaningful impact, that doesn’t mean I can’t use that preparation at a later time. Or, provide the PCs an advantage for their creativity.

The storytelling, overtime, becomes easy to jointly improvise with your players. For this, I occasionally prep a detailed monologue, but even then, I don’t usually read it. Preparing it lets me know what the NPC is thinking and what I need to convey. Most of my story prep, involves making a list of things that are happening. Then adding in a few potential forks to prepare for the unexpected.

Mostly, focus on prepping enough content to get things started. Give the players something to react to, and often that is sufficient. Of course, until you’ve done this you won’t fully realize you’ve prepped enough to be confident.

Ok great, so how much prep do I really need to do???

I wish there was a super simple answer to this. But, I’ll share a checklist you can go through. I have also included a sample bullet-point outline, for my latest session Split Paths. I also recently did this in depth blog post on a one-shot I ran.

If you have answers to the following questions, you’ll probably have a great session.

  • Do I know where the players are starting, and where I hope they’ll go?
  • Have I identified the biggest decisions the players need to make? What are the obvious options?
  • What are the “meaningful” choices I’m providing, that may materially alter the story?
  • Have I asked myself what I’ll do if they go off course, or get stuck? (It’s ok if they do, but be ready for it!)
    • Sometimes I have a few random side-quest style items prepared for that, just in case.
  • Have I looked at the stats and key abilities of the main tactical encounters (e.g., Monsters or Traps)? Do I know how to run their abilities?
  • Have I reviewed any obscure rules that are likely to come up? (e.g., How does jumping work if I’m including a chasm they need to cross.)
  • For NPCs. You can look up articles about writing and ask questions they suggest. Here are a few important ones to consider.
    • Why are they included?
    • What are their goals?
    • What are they willing to give to achieve their goals? What are their limits?
    • Are there any important relationships between the NPCs to consider?

Here’s an example bullet point adventure outline. You can see, many of the bullet points are answers to questions. My main goal was to wrap up the Anahera-Tepiti romance arc and kick off the real Journey to Hawaiki. The meaningful choices really determine if Anahera gets kidnapped, and when/where the PCs could intercept her kidnappers.

It has forks, redundancy, and meaningful player choices. But those are topics for another day.

  1. Anahera calls in the PCs and asks for them to help her contact her ancestors. Two options are provided.
    1. A newcomer to the island tells the heroes to steal a Drum from the Ponaturi.
    2. Anahera asks the PCs to sail to the underworld, to show her ancestors how to reach this new island.
  2. Explore the island and decide on the path.
    1. Encounter Tepiti. Tepiti will be trying to regain Anahera’s trust. Secure the island, perhaps want a way to foresee the future.
      1. How could this happen?
        1. Need to find a legend of a god willing to help with this.
        2. Find a way to appease the god. But, this will require striking a dangerous deal. This, would lead Anahera to exile Tepiti if she found out. Make it clear it’s desperation.
          1. Do they help, tell Anahera?
          2. Do they help Tepiti? Will helping Tepiti also help Anahera?
  3. Option 1: Head to the Ponaturi.
    1. Sail there.
    2. Steal a drum.
      1. Emphasize what’s known about Ponaturi. Option to sneak up at night, or hide during the day.
      2. Potentially make the Goblins seem like harmless pranksters?
    3. Return.
    4. Give drum. In the evening, a party will be thrown. Hone-hine’s allies will kidnap the princess as spirits assault the village.
  4. Option 2:
    1. Sail to underworld entrance.
    2. Sneak in.
    3. Maze of survival. (Use table of potential encounters). Skill challenge again.
      • Roll Survive in form of a skill challenge. 4 times. DC 8. Describe what happens pass or fail to give all the rolls a feel of consequence and progress.
      • Find an ancestor.
      • Return.
      • Anahera kidnapping attempt must be far more brazen than with the distraction of the drums.
  5. Option 3:
    • Sail to Isle of prophecy.
    • Peer into the mirror of reflection.
    • Return to island.
    • Deal with Anahera kidnapping as in Option 2.
  6. What if Hone-hine’s plot is discovered before leaving the island?
    1. (5) will occur slightly more quickly.
    2. Shift to (3), but under a pretense that something else is a-miss.
  7. If Anahera is kidnapped.
    1. Track her down across island.
    2. Evidence of Pakongans.
    3. Sail either to Pakonga or Ngaru.
    4. Race at sea, then up the mountain.
  8. If Anahera is not kidnapped
    1. Players are encouraged to ensure Pakongans do not escape
  9. Counsel with surviving leader(s)
    1. What can we do to secure our fragile position here? First Sirens, then the Pakongans attempt revenge?
      1. Kahuna: Perhaps we need to gain the blessing of a god.
      2. Other Kahuna: Or the protection of our ancestors.
      3. Tepiti: Was this perhaps not our final stop? I still feel the call to voyage.
      4. Anahera: I had thought it bad luck perhaps we shared the island.
      5. Tepiti: Marry me, then what is mine becomes yours. We both brought with us dangerous paths, and together we have overcome them. Let us unite our people.

The rest of my prep was putting together stats and encounter tables. But that’s more because this adventure is built to playtest Journey of the Wayfinder.

For many of these bullet points, I reviewed game rules. For example, the “Race at sea,” I reviewed how chases work. This provides a clean outline and gives me an understanding of the motivations for the two key NPCs. Anahera is focused on securing the island and becoming a queen.

Tepiti is entranced with Anahera, but it’s fading, and he feels the call of the seas again. These two simple motivations will help me figure out how the NPCs react to most things. But they also outline the next chapter of the adventure. Tepiti will need heroes to help him on his next journey.

How did this work out?

I don’t think I’ve ever prepped something and remembered everything. This is true even with my outlines in front of me, I get to into telling the story. The players decided to head to the reflecting pool first, and then proceed to the underworld. Using the outline, I was able to easily improvise unique prophecies based on what the players sacrificed and shared.

I also changed the ending a little. Because the players had Tepiti with them when they rescued Anahera, the two were able to smooth out their mistrust. But ultimately, I realized Tepiti’s motivation was to head out to sea. So, he immediately recruited the PCs to help. I did give a throwback to their romance though, with Tepiti suggesting maybe he didn’t lose the bet. Since, this was clearly not the island he was supposed to reach.

Running games is great for building confidence generally.

It reminds me of a silly poster I had in my room as a kid, “All you need to learn about life I learned from Star Wars.” But really, I think it would have been better if it said from DMing Dungeons and Dragons.

Image from Ebay.

I was always socially anxious, but overtime running games helped me learn to improvise and trust my gut. This helped with confidence in all aspects of life. I think you’ll find it gets easier overtime, and that you require less and less preparation to feel confident. It’s also super rewarding to see how much many players appreciate the effort.

So, prep loosely or whatever. But really, prep enough to make yourself *feel* ready, whatever that amount is.

Split Paths

/ gregorywallsworth / 1 Comment

Our heroes Kani-the Shapeshifted, Sneej-the Koa Mano, Kali – the Kahuna of Hina, Lolati – the Ariori, and Jura – the Wayfinder listened to a brief discussion between Princess Anahera and Prince Tepiti. Mostly about mundane plans for the island. As most interactions between the two have been recently, it led quickly to bickering. Each of the leaders outlining clearly different priorities. Tepiti pushed for building more ships and repairing the massive Pahus they reached the island on. While Anahera focused on immediate needs for the comfort of the island.

Shortly after the crowd was dismissed, one of Anahera’s basket sharers came to find the heroes. She mentioned that Anahera had requested their presence. The group followed her back to Anahera’s hut.

Inside the hut the group found Anahera, Kahuna Akamai, and Anahera’s basket sharers. Anahera sighed, thanked the group for coming, and then began. “I have a quest for you. I know what I am asking is dangerous, but I have the sense things on the island are not right. You all know what happened recently with the Sirens, and I fear something may happen again. My coronation was interrupted, and it feels like it was a direct message from the gods.”

She paused for a moment and took a deep breath to calm herself again. “I know that incident was caused by an innocent past mistake of Tepiti’s, but I can’t help but feel the timing was a message. The gods had to show me the path to get here, and perhaps our ancestors can’t find their way here. I was hoping to send someone to the underworld, to show them the way back.”

The group was shocked by this request but focused on questions first. They asked if it was possible to return and how to get there. During this discussion, Lari, a newcomer to Anahera’s circle and the island, attempted to interrupt. The whole time Anahera spoke, she had been aggressively agreeable to her opinion.

“Ahem, I may know another way. That wouldn’t require traveling to the underworld.” She paused and was given permission by Anahera to continue. “The Ponaturi, have drums which the spirits can hear. My people had a ritual using a Ponaturi drum. Perhaps, if you could fetch one of their drums we could call your ancestors in a ritual. I could show you how if you could instead get a drum.”

The heroes then asked her if it was safe. She said it was closer, and that if they timed it so they stole from the Ponaturi just before dawn, the Ponaturi would have to return to the sea. However, once they learned the Ponaturi’s instruments were made from the bones of dead people, this path started to seem less appealing.

The heroes continued to debate whether to head to the underworld and asked for advice if they went. Kahuna Akamai warned them to avert their gaze if they see spirits before they reach the underworld.

As they left Anahera’s hut, Jura noticed someone darting away from it into the forest, heading towards Tepiti’s hut. The group followed. Once they arrived at Tepiti’s hit, they found the Prince, Kahuna Kalahari, and Tepiti’s basket sharers all inside. The group shared of Anahera’s quest, and Tepiti and Kalahari responded.

Tepiti shared Anahera’s concern that something was wrong. He too suggested that something else might happen, and mused that this may not the final destination of his journey. Then, he proposed an alternative quest. “I fear we need to see our path forward, perhaps you can visit the isle of the reflecting pool. It is a dangerous place, and seeing the truth requires a great sacrifice.”

At this point, Kahuna Kalahari chimes in. “Ah, Tepiti. So close, but how many times have I taught you the legends. It’s not a sacrifice of life, but one of meaning. A like gift for a like gift. And beware the Mo’O. Stone lizards that grow, until the grow too large and heavy to move, and become rock formations forever resting where they last lay down.”

Discussion continued back and forth on what to do. The group first tried to assess whether they could go to all three places, but ruled that out. Before leaving the hut, they again asked for advice about the underworld. Leaning towards that as their ultimate destination. Kahuna Kalahari told them to follow the light, up, and out of the caves and warned them about pools in the caves.

Then the heroes sought out Pavu, a village elder.  Pavu, was a renowned adventurer in his younger days. As they approached, he offered a cordial greeting in his raspy old voice. The group shared their quest with Pavu. Then he quickly quipped, “Perhaps you seek out Maui himself, or the isle of little giants too!”

Discussing the options with the heroes, he did also offer some practical advice. Recounting Maui’s tale of stealing fire from below, he warned of taking bone tools offered to them. He mentions the Pokongans are known to have many legends of the Ponaturi, and described the Mo’O.

The group then got assistance from villagers to load their vessel with supplies and decided to set sail. Settling on a path that would take them first to the reflecting pool, then the underworld.

Jura’s excellent navigation skills provided a smooth journey to the island. Four days of smooth seas, the smell of salt in the air, and the gentle rocking of waves. Then, a small rocky shape in the distance began to grow larger. As its details sharpened, the island appeared like it may have once been a single Mo’O. While time must have dulled the sharpness of the features, it’s head, body, and legs were all quite distinct.

As the group approached, Jura carefully navigated through a small coral reef and brought the vessel to shore. Once on shore, Kani and a few others attempted to chart a path, to the pool. However, no path was apparent.

Sneej then saw a good vantage point from what looked like the head of the truly massive Mo’O. Sneej carefully crept to the top to get a better view. At the top, he heard the thunderous sound of stone hitting stone nearby. He was able to make out a reasonable path to the pool, but the Mo;O was in the way.

Returning to the group Sneej explained the path to Kani, who then set off leading the party through meandering rocky ravines. After walking for a short while, again the group heard the thundering sound of the Mo’O’s footsteps.

Kani attempted to sneak up and investigate but accidentally kicked some stones as he was about to round the corner. Peering his head around, he saw a massive Mo’O. He darted back towards the group as quickly as possible.

Hearing the thing thundering towards them, the group started to scatter. Kani and Jura attempted to hide, Lolati climbed to the top of a nearby rock, Sneej thundered forward cutting himself to activate his shark form. Kali, summoned forth a deadly illusion, to attempt to draw the beast away. Then, the Mo’O charged.

As the Mo’O charged forth Sneej and it briefly tussled. Sneej attempted to bite it but found his attack ineffective. Lolati threw a massive stone down from above. Instead of hitting the Mo’O, it crashed into Sneej.

 Then, the Mo’O spotted the illusion and charged, trampling Sneej into the stone and leaving him unconscious. Seeing an opportunity, some of the group charged past the Mo’O. Then Kani transformed into a massive bird. Flying low and dropping stones hoping to continue to distract the beast as the party headed towards the reflecting pool. Kali, quickly healed Sneej, and helped him stumble his way through the rocky landscape to the reflecting pool.

Exhausted and out of breath, the group made it to the relative safety of a small almost perfectly reflective pond. The grotto containing it was filled with lush greenery, the only they observed on the whole island. Then, Jura stepped forward and peered in.

At first, he saw only his own reflection. A moment later the slimy head of an eel, about the size of a human popped up. “What is it you seek?”

Jura explained what they sought. The guardian replied, “And what can you offer me?” Jura responded, sharing the secrets he’d learned through wayfinding. As he did, the head dipped below water. What he described appeared on the surface of the pond. The patterns of the stars used to find islands, the shape of the swells as you near land, images of islands visited in the past all reflected in the water as if his thoughts were an image before the pond.

After he finished, the pond’s reflective surface returned for a moment, and the eel’s slippery voice could be heard saying, “Now I shall show potential paths forward.” The reflective pond showed two scenes side by side.

One scene showed Anahera being dragged deep into the forest by her new friend Lari, along with a few men. The other vision showed a relatively safe passage through caves leading to the underworld. Neither vision conveyed any sense of time. The eel simply said, “These are both possible truths.”

Seeing how the pool worked, Sneej walked up to it. The eel emerged, “And what do you have to offer.” Sneej tossed in his Lei’O’Mano and shield. The eel lit up for a moment, “These tastes of who you are, I shall show you who you can become.”

The eel once again dipped below the surface, and the pool began to change. It showed a voyage. Tepiti leading a small group of outrigger canoes to an unknown destination, and Sneej swimming beside them. It showed Sneej as a shark tearing apart a massive Squid attempting to sink one of the vessels, and then the vision slowly faded away.

Fearing the unknown of the timing of the vision of Anahera’s kidnapping, the heroes rushed back to the vessel and headed back to their island. The first few days of their journey passed uneventfully. As the sun rose on the final day the heroes found themselves surrounded by  a thick impenetrable fog. Knowing they were close to home, and trusting his instincts, Jura bravely navigated through the fog bank. Trusting to all his senses except vision.

Once back on the island, the heroes sought out Kahuna Kalahari to attend to Sneej’s lingering wounds, from the Mo’O. Then they headed to Anahera’s hut. They found some of her basket sharers, and Kahuna Akamai, but everyone said she and Lira had been missing all day.

Thinking back on the vision, the group quickly identified the Anahera was taken. Worried she may have already been taken, Kani transformed into a bird and took to the skies. Luckily, Anahera was screaming and relatively easy to find. He returned to the group and told them what he heard.

The party ran back to their vessel on more. Grabbing Tepiti along the way. As fast as they could, they set sail hoping to reach the islands opposite shore faster via sea. With the combination of Jura and Tepeti navigation skills the group circumnavigated the island in near record time.

As they searched the far shoreline, they found evidence of a beached canoe. Anchoring just off shore the group quickly found the canoe, and attempted to prepare an ambush. While Kani attempted to set an Ambush, Jura began to sabotage the boat and set a trap. Hiding holes on the bottom of the hull and rigging a tree to fall when the enemy made it to camp.

Just as the sun began to set, the group of Pakongans appeared with a scrapped and bruised Anahera in tow. As they entered the campsite the ambush was triggered. The tree smashed the first Pakongans head open as it fell. This sent Sneej into a bloodrush, and he immediately charged. Transforming into a half-shark as he ran. Fighting without sword or shield, his first bite landed and killed another Pakongan. All the while, our group of heroes was being inspired by the Loloti’s Ariori battle hymn.

In moments half the Pakongan party was killed. Kani ran up to join the fray. At this point, Lari attempted to cast a spell, but she was dominated by Kali’s willpower suppressing the spell before it could manifest. Then, Kani swung at the Pakongan leader, just nicking him. The small nick was enough for the effects of the poison he had prepared to set in. Moments later, the lead was torn apart by Sneej, and Lari ran off into dusk. The whole time Anahera cheered the heroes on, saying, “I told you you’d pay for this!”

After the dust settled, Tepiti walked up to Anahera. He said, “I think this island is yours. I do not think it’s where I’m meant to be. But, maybe, if I reach my destination then I’ll still win our first bet. If I return from where I’m called, perhaps you’ll give me that date?” Then he turned to the heroes, “Will any of you join me, I don’t know where I’m headed. But I know the ocean calls.”

Siren Encounters

/ gregorywallsworth / 2 Comments

I missed writing a summary of the session where the heroes faced the sirens I described here. I tend to over prep, largely because I love world-building. Instead of a narrative description of what happened, I thought I’d share my notes with some commentary. My notes throughout this article are italicized. I left them exactly as they were written, just to see how rough things start out.

This adventure was inspired by an idea i had for the opening scene. My adventure kicked off with the following:

You find yourselves gathered on the beach looking inwards to the island as the Kahuna’s beckon Princess Anahera to the makeshift altar they assembled.  You hear the gentle song of the wind through palm fronds, smell the salty ocean breeze, see the sun setting over the palm trees behind the princess.

The Kahunas, Akamai and Kalahari, move up to the stage as a gentle lulling song begins. It’s sound a perfect match to the melodies of nature. Many of those watching the ceremony rise to sway to the rhythm of the music. Then, the crowd begins to disperse.

The two Kahunas look out on the crowd with shocked expressions, and chaos erupts. Kalahari dives for a drum and begins vigorously pounding a chaotic counter-rhythm. Not a single beat of his rhythm aligned to the captivating song coming from the sea. Combined the music is almost painful to listen too. Many of those previously captivated by the song, now appear confused or in pain.

Simultaneously, Kahuna Akamai tackles the princess, covers her ears, and begins screaming for people to run to the woods. But, alas for some the Kahuna’s actions came too late.

 A crowd of people compelled by the gentle music coming from the sea walk into the ocean. Some are swept away by the current, others run to those walking heedlessly into the waves attempting to pull them back. A few manage to drag their loved ones back to shore against their will, while others are pulled away with those they intended to save. Almost as surreptitiously as the song began, it stops. The sun, now below the horizon. The spirit of the day crushed.

Amidst the chaos, what do you do?

The monologue was longer than I like, but I wanted to set the overall tone of the scene. Plus, I sometimes do these things as writing exercises that also help with character development for the NPCs.

I also had notes for actions the PCs could take during the scene:

During the Scene. What can the players do.

They can role exert or survive (str or dex) to run down and drag people back. As they do, be sure to reward high rolls describing people they’ve managed to save.

If they immediately take a small craft out, they can roll Survive/Notice Wisdom to try to figure out where the sound came from. A high roll will lead to a quick combat encounter with 1 or 2 sirens depending on the group size.

If I recall, the heroes ran inland. My next section of notes was a summary. I decided I wanted to add some more friction to the slow burn romance between Anahera and Tepiti. So, I tied in a miss from an earlier session where no one had done anything about the Tahitians allying with the Sirens.

“I am sure it is no mystery why we have called you hear today. ”Prince Tepiti takes a moment to look each of you in the eyes, then turns towards Anahera and bows his head in shame.“ My Princess, I have failed you here. But, I’ve found our bravest adventurers to help us once again secure our island. We,” The prince gestures broadly to the princess and the two Kahuna’s present, ”Do not know exactly what happened, and are hoping you all can help us figure out what’s occurred and prevent it from happening again.”

What can they learn before setting out.

  • The Kahuna’s will each share info of what could be learned on their respective islands.
    • Kalahari. Tahitians have had many past run-ins with Sirens, they may perhaps know where the Sirens were from.
    • Tepiti will note that some discussion of Sirens was made in the war councils before Parau-tia was killed.
    • Akamai. Will be immediately suspicious of the Patongans who attempted to kill Anahera.
    • Anahera. Will mention her brother and suggest that he of anyone would know how a voice could be amplified so effectively.
    • Others on the island?
      • A fisherman from Tahitia will share a technique to create an ear plug from tree resin.

This list is a lot more representative of my usual prep. My Polynesian adventures are story heavy, so I write a lot of narrative scripts. I don’t usually read these aloud when they are this long. But, writing them out helps me think about how the characters react in different situations.

The rest of my adventure outline was a series of bullet points. Outlining potential courses of action.

For this adventure, I used time pressure to build some tension. I placed three leads on the island, far more than they could follow. I designed them so easy it would be easy to follow-up on one, hard for two, and impossible for three (I put them in a bit of a triangle on the map). The players opted to tackle the two closest objectives.

One other thing worth noting in the adventure outline, is the redundancy. My notes say, “They have three potential ways to find the location of the sirens.” This is an intentional and important part of adventure design. It’s really easy for players to miss hints that may otherwise seem obvious. You’ll find lot’s of advice out there on this, and it’s part of why people say to use red herrings sparingly. While playing, I’ll roll with creative ideas the players come up with, even if it wasn’t the intended solution.

Adventure Outline

The adventure has three key components.

  1. Finding out how the Sirens have amplified their voice (a massive conch shell)
  2. Finding the location of the Sirens
  3. Figuring out how to deal with the sirens

Additionally, the PCs are given a variety of choices along the way. These choices provide advantages for various ways to deal with the Sirens.

  1. They have three potential ways to find the location of the sirens:
    1. Sailing to Tahitia to follow up on rumors they hear from former Tahitians who have fallen prey to Sirens in the past. This is a common fear from Tahitians. The Kahuna from Tahitia will hint at this in the intro.
    1. Sailing to Anahera’s former enemies the Patongans, assuming they’ve somehow allied with the Sirens. (An ironic error of judgement by Anahera and Tepiti, but even Tepiti is unaware of the level of corruption Kahuna Parua-tia had bestowed upon his father).
    1. Searching for the SIrens themselves, with the help of Hina or Tahwhiri. Provide some advantage to PCs who quickly move to chasing down the Sirens in the opening scene.
  2.  How they deal with the Siren threat.
    1. Force. Destroying the conch shell and killing many sirens.
    1. Subterfuge. Stealing the conch shell and using it to protect the island from their song.
    1. Negotiation. Striking a deal with the sirens, and helping them once again learn a new song from the gods.

A key issue in this adventure is timing. The timeline for the following events is such that the PCs should be able to sail three times (visit two of the three islands and return) before the situation escalates untenably. One of the Kahuna’s will send a message on the winds to the PCs after the second attack warning of an escalating situation. This may incentivize the PCS to use speed while traveling, but risk some encounters at sea.

Tahitia.

Asking around the island, you’ll hear rumors of fisherman who’ve heard singing at dawn and dusk while fishing. While this isn’t totally unheard of, it’s grown stronger recently and Tama Waiariki’s canoe was recently found empty in the reefs.

Additionally, some rumors that Parau Tia had Haikili attempt to recruit the Sirens for their war efforts. If confronted, Haikili will at first lie. A connect or convince check could persuade him to give information. Increase difficulty by 1 if intimidation is used. Playing on his guilt for participating in this should help the PCS

  • The PCs can encounter the Sirens by stalking the common fishing areas at Dawn/Dusk
  • From here they could kill, capture, or attempt to track the Sirens to a cave
  • The PCs can learn the Sirens were paid with a shell from the Island of Little Giants

Pakonga

If any of the islanders are from Moanatu (Anahera’s home island), the chance of escalating to conflict is higher. What happens on this island depends a lot on how the PCs approach. If things go badly, the Pakongans will try to assault the new island in a future adventure.

  • Entering the island.
    • Disquise. The PCs may attempt to disguise themselves as performers or traders to gain audience. Make this a relatively easy check.
    • Subterfuge. May allow PCs to sneak on.
    • Diplomacy. This will be the hardest approach, particularly if the PCs say they hail from Moanatu. Some sort of offering of strength would help this.
  • Chief Aoraki (Oh-raki):
    • If the PCS are brought to him while captured. Perhaps we shall make sport of you, if you win we shall let you leave.
    • If the PCs persuade their way to an audience.
      • We are a proud tribe and need no monstrous allies to fight our battles.
      • Will share the legend of the Sirens. They are not to be trusted.
        • There is an area of caves between X/Y that you may search if you seek them out.
      • Kahuna may share that this seems on par for what Parau-Tia would have done, perhaps the Tahitians had planned to use them. He was desperate and had come to us once asking for an allegiance.

Moanatu

The key thing that could be learned and/or acquired here is the advice of Prince Teva. He will hypothesize that a massive shell could be used to amplify the voices of the Sirens making them especially dangerous.

  • He will help the PCs to devise protective ear coverings allowing them to re-roll all failed saves against Siren Songs once.
  • He will help devise a tool likely effective at destroying the shell.

In one-shots, I always hand-out one time use magic items.  In this adventure, these proved to be super pivotal. By far the most memorable scene was when the PCs finally found the Sirens. One of the PCs used a potion of disguise to change into a Siren. Then then convinced the Sirens he had befriended the people to eat them later.

In the final battle, the rest of the items got used. The PCs ended smashing the conch shell, and returned to the island after ending the Siren threat.

Session 3: Visions in Smoke and Ash

/ gregorywallsworth / Leave a comment

The adventure begins with Kahuna Akamai sharing a vision he had with Princess Anahera. The vision was of a lush new island, with limitless coconuts, obscured by smoke and ash. Akamai suggested Anahera may be destined to find this island, if she can lift the veil of smoke covering its path.

Akamai said, “I’ve had this dream many times. Each time different voyagers are converging on the island, and each time a different outcome. Sometimes the voyagers destroy each other on the journey, other times they reach the island together, and sometimes they fight once they arrive. I have no doubt we must rush to find this place; Motu Oa I will call it. I also expect the journey to be filled with great dangers.”

Akamai paused for a moment. As he continued, he said, “We’ve had visions like these before. You must travel to Ngauru and consult with the volcano god Ruamoku. He will need a sacrifice, if he accepts it he may lift the veil hiding the path to this island.”

Princess Anahera turned to the adventurers. The young Kahuna’s Abby of Tane and Jeff of Hina, the Wayfinder Connor, Jules the Shapeshifted, Anani the Ariori, and Blake, a mighty warrior. They quickly agreed to escort her to Ngauru.

Connor then steped aside to quietly ask Kahuna Akamai, if perhaps, they are required to sacrifice the Princess. Although no one else heard what was said, everyone instantly saw the color drain from the Kahuna’s face and the look of shock as he vigorously emphasized that was not the case.

The PCs debated what they might sacrifice. Not coming to a conclusion, they asked if anyone had gone on this journey before. Princess Anahera suggested they speak with a village elder, Kai-Alu.

The PCs walked across the village to Kai-Alu. An old man in 70s, a famous adventurer in his youth. He looked up as the PCs enter his hut. The PCs gave him the space and reverence a man of his mana and stature deserve. He asked, “what brings such a young spry group and the princess to my humble home.”

The PCs describe the adventure they had been tasked with. Then Kai-Alu told of his adventure. “I can still remember the putrid stink of sulfur today. The whole way up the mountain was obscured with smoke and ash. We made it to the top and sacrificed a truly beautiful feather headdress.” He pauses for a moment. “But alas, I don’t think it was enough. One voyager died on our return journey. And the chief whom we sought a blessing for had a terrible, short, and violent reign over Moanatu.”

The PCs asked why the sacrifice didn’t work. Kai-Alu responded, “I don’t think the sacrifice meant anything to the chief. Ruamoku saw through it as trivial and meaningless wealth cast into his pit. He let us leave, but I think he cursed the chief.” Kai-Alu warned of other dangers on the island. Great Pele-Hele’s (Lava Monsters), and wandering paths obscured in smoke and ash where adventurers can lose their way.

The PCs bid Kai-Alu goodbye and went to prepare to take the Princess’ new vessel to Ngauru. The mid-size outrigger canoue was recently blessed by Hina, Goddess of Fertility, Death, and the Moon. Jules, knowing  about poisons gathered some last minute herbs in case anyone was struck ill from inhaling the sulfur. The others gathered food supplies and makeshift tapa cloth face masks. Ready to move on, the group set out for Ngauru.

Connor, and his trainee Bob, were well renowned for their navigation skills. He made the journey in record time with smooth sailing the whole way. As the group beached their outrigger, they recalled the warning about the Pakangans. That Princess Anahera was probably not the only one to have received this message from the gods. The heroes then found an alcove to hide their boat in and a good vantage point to scan the sea for approaching vessels. A tiny dot appeared on the horizon.

Knowing the warmongering nature of the Pakangans, the heroes found the perfect location to set an Ambush. They set a fire to draw the other vessel in, laid a trap of sharp obsidian in front of it, and hid themselves among rocks on the coast.

The Pakangan vessel beached itself, and then its riders cautiously disembarked. As this happened, Blake stepped out behind the fire and threatened the group of Pakangans. One brave Pakangan charged forward, tripped on the trap, and impaled himself on a series of daggers. His life slowly drained down the rocky shores and into the see.

More cautiously the rest of the crew inched forward and clustered near the boat. Abby called upon the power of Tane to lull the Pakangans to sleep with a gentle breeze carrying the soft sound of birds chirping. In moments, the Pakangan leader stood alone on the shore of Ngauru facing the brave group of Maonatan adventurers.

A brief attempt to parlay was made with the leader who resisted the song on the wind. However, this lone Pakangan moved towards his sleeping comrades clearly intent on waking them. Then all hell broke loose.

The PCs emerged and threw spears at this lone warrior. One spear pierced his skin, the other putting a small cut in his shoulder. He yanked the first spear out and threw it to the ground as if it means nothing to have been impaled. The Pakangan leader was encircled by the heroes. He deftly maneuvered through the Moanutan warriors and walked over his crew yelling at them to wake up.

The rest of the PCs charged the disoriented group of drowsy seamen. In moments, several fell dead. Heads smashed in with clubs, guts spilled across the ground. The morale breaks on the remaining Pakangans and attempted to flee. Combat stops almost as suddenly as it started. With the two survivors, the leader and Steve, fleeing to the relative safety of their vessel.

Then, the two remaining Pakangans surrendered. After tieing them up, the heroes debated what to do with their prisoners. Let them return to Pakanga, execute them, or sacrifice them to Ruamoko. Ultimately, they decided to sacrifice them. In a desperate plee to find a way out, the Pakangan leader attempted to lead the heroes astray. Lying he told them they need to sacrifice a Pele-Hele heart to Ruamoko. While not true, it would be a fine sacrifice.

The PCs then commandeered the Pakangan vessel’s tiki to Ku, god of war, and prepared to drag the prisoners to the top of the mountain. Deciding to see if they can get more information out of Steve, the group bargained with steve, for his life. Persuaded by Connor’s utterly incomprehensible confidence, coupled with a total lack of decorum, Steve and Connor bonded instantly. Steve told the group that they were the sacrifice they planned, and that they need no Lava monster heart.

The entire group, except Bob who stayed behind to watch the two vessels, headed up the Volcano. They found a clear path and eventually come to a juncture. Glancing in the smoke they saw images representative of Hina and Tane. Realizing they must choose a path, they deliberated whether they follow the albatross (Tane) or the stars (Hina).

Jules attempted to scout ahead and saw that the entire Volcano was covered in an obscuring layer of smoke. Impenetrable from above, he realized for he was lost. He landed, and used one of the pair of echoing conch shells to talk to the group, and find his way back. During this time, Anani, performed a dance for Hina and Tane each symbol lighting up in turn. Eventually, deciding Hina has blessed their journey so far, the heroes followed the stars.

At the next path the heroes faced three more choices, each a constellation. Sirius, Ekoru (a tail), and Tautoru. Unsure what these symbols were meant to convey they again deliberated on the path forward. Turning to Steve, they asked if he knew anything. Steve suggested it had something to do with the first sound (letter) of each constellation. Still uncertain, Jeff prayed to Hinna for guidance, she lit the way highlighting Tautoru. This pattern repeated, as they spelled out TOP and found their way to the volcanoes summit.

As they reached the top, they looked down into the pit of the volcano. Lava began to bubble up, and Ruamoku took form. A gigantic humanoid shape, made of pure lava slowly emerged from the pit. His form remained constant, but within lava circled continuously, quickly hardening wherever the current stoped.

The PCS offered the enemy leader to Ruamoku. Without a word he rose up to his full height of almost fifteen feet and swiped him into the pit. The leader attempted to dodge but was no match for the speed and ferocity of this god. He screamed as he fell, until moments later, his form was engulfed in lava.

With a simple wave of his massive hands, Ruamoku cleared a path for the heroes down the mountain. He spoke in a voice with the sound of thunder, “The way is clear.”

Once the heroes reach their outrigger, Princess Anahera described the new Mele Hoku to Connor. She then asked if the group would accompany her to this new land, Motu Oa. Deliberating on what to do with the extra boat and passenger they decided to take both vessels and test Bob’s abilities as a Wayfinder.

The group feared the sea, with no god to guide their vessel. But, while the group ascended the mountain Bob carved a beautiful Obsidian moon to represent Hina. Finding a strange piece with two colors, he captured her ever shifting duality with almost perfect precision. However, insulted by the sacrifice of his totem and his worshippers, Ku himself took notice of the group of heroes.

They set sail, again Connor’s impeccable wayfinding skills helping them navigate the waters with ease. A few days into their Journey they saw a massive Pahu ahead. Jules changed into a massive albatross, and scouted ahead to the Pahu.

It was clear the Pahu was built for war, with symbols of Ku along its massive canoes. However, the passengers looked peaceful. It was a group of families, potentially looking for a new island. Jules also spotted two small outriggers scouting ahead and behind the massive Pahu. As the heroes deliberated what to do, one of the outrigger canoes spotted them. It then changed course to intercept the heroes between their current location and the Pahu.

Anani, examining the sales, recognized that this flotilla all flew patterns associated with the island of Tahiti. Once the vessel approached, the heroes and foreigners exchanged pleasantries. Then Anani persuades the Tahitians to grant them an audience with their leader Prince Tapiti.

Prince Tapiti and Princess Anahera exchanged pleasantries and shared that they both sought a bountiful new island. They seemed to hit it off, with Prince Tapiti perhaps a bit more enamored than Princess Anahera. Potentially because of his two recently called off engagements, which sent him sailing into the unknown to seek new lands.

Discussing that they both seek to claim the island, Princess Anahera proposed a race. They agreed to terms. A single vessel each, six occupants, and quite imbalanced prizes. Prince Tapiti wins a date, but must put the very island they sail to on the line.

Shortly thereafter the two outrigger canoes chosen for the race take off, leaving behind the rest of the flotilla. The first day of the race, the heroes pull ahead, but never made it out of sight of Tapiti’s outrigger. The next day, Tapiti (with a little assistance from Ku granting Tapiti’s crew strength for paddling), closed the gap. On the final day, the two vessels remained neck and neck until Hina blessed the heroes with a favorable gust of wind. Blowing them ahead with the island in sight.

Seeing he may lose Tapiti, launched himself from the boat and swims ahead to almost make landfall first. He emerged, soaked and exhausted, and looked to Anahera and said, “Surely that’s worth a date.”

She replied, “I believe you mean, that’s worth a date, My Queen.” After a brief pause, “Perhaps, you can earn one another time.”

The two walked off to discuss, and returned agreeing Anahera is queen, and Tapiti may rule as second in command. With both their people welcome to settle on this island. Tapiti, is clearly infatuated with Anahera, while Anahera’s intentions remain somewhat less clear.

The heroes slowly part ways. Jeff, Abby and Anani staying on the island, the others returning to Moanatu to tell Anahera’s cohort they may follow her to a new land.

Session Two: War or Peace

/ gregorywallsworth / Leave a comment

After the excitement of the wedding celebration had subdued, the Chiefs Pauihito and Temaunota quickly turned to deciding what must be done about Tahitia. Pauihito urged an aggressive strike, while Temaunota pushed for a more cautious approach. Chief Temaunota was weary of going to war while Borotonga recovered from the recent plague. Ultimately, they agreed to send a scouting party to Tahitia so a more informed decision could be made.

The chiefs sought the adventurers with the greatest Mana from Morotana and Borotonga to send on the mission. They brought in the renowned navigator Wake, Root the Warrior, and the old but wise Kahuna Leilani. They shared with the adventurers the pressing need to gather information as the Chiefs debated the best course of action. Like the Chiefs, the adventurers themselves were also divided on the best course of action. They listened as the chiefs bickered back and forth, Pauhito encouraging sabotage and assassination and Tamaunota hoping to avoid a conflict.

Eventually the conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Kahuna HareHare. He pulled the group outside the hut and shared with them a vision gifted to him by the gods. “I presume you all remember the story of Maui and Tuna. Tuna continually harassed Maui’s mother Hina angering Maui. Maui chased Tuna from island to island, each time Maui caught up, the slippery eel escaped. Eventually Maui cornered Tuna, and slayed him. Maui buried Tuna’s head and cast aside the body. Where the head was buried, the first coconut tree grew.” The Kahuna paused, after reminding the adventurers of the story.

“It seems as if the Gods, after all these years, are teaching my like I teach our children. The version of the story I saw was different. Maui and Tuna made peace, and Tuna became guardian of Hina’s home. Still, could you imagine a world without coconuts? While I employ you to be cautious in your approach, Parau-tia must be stopped.”

The group of adventurers then prepared to depart Morotana. Nearly ready to set sail for Tahitia, the group returned to the two chiefs before departing and asked if they had anything that belonged to Parau-tia, to enable them to call upon the power of Hina to guide them directly to the evil Kahuna. The chiefs recalled the adventurers who helped stop the plague on Borotonga and the bones of Parua-tia’s servant the brought back from the island of Moti-Poti.

Ready to set sale, the group set sail for Borotonga. On the last day of the journey, Wake saw a wicked storm approaching. Seeing no other option than to leverage the winds of the storm and race to the island, that’s exactly what they did. Masterfully tacking into the wind, the group managed to reach the island just as the storm intensified.

Once on the island the group sought out the Princess’ Manao and Tepiti shared the mission they were on and inquired about the bones. The princesses sent for an old Kahuna, and they found the bones were securely wrapped away at the islands main alter. Throwing the old man on his back, Root carried him to the alter and retrieved the bones.

Before departing, Princess Manao paused the adventurers and told them she thought Prince Tiape was a good man. They inquired if he was rather eel-like, and although a euphemistic miss-understanding occurred, she mentioned he kept his head shaved. Leilani then asked the princess if she perhaps still had anything that once belonged to Prince Tiape, and she provided them with a massive snail shell he had gifted to her. Princess Tepiti scowled at Manao upon finding out she held on to this gift, although it was clear there was no real ill-will between them.

The trip to Tahiti passed by quickly and uneventfully. Upon arrival they were hailed by a pair of warriors on a small patrol canoe. The group convinced the warriors they were traders blown off course by the whims Tahwhiri in the recent storm, unsure of where they were and looking to trade for supplies. Wake pulled of the rouse masterfully, and quickly befriended the pair of warriors.

Guiding the PCs through the reef, the warriors seemed overly concerned with ensuring the adventurers avoided the south side of the isle. Following the warriors’ lead, the party came ashore and began negotiations.

The island seemed abuzz with activity. The sound of stone axes echoed across the island, celebrations with Kava were everywhere, and disagreement on the course of action taken by Chief Aturu (and whether he was even in charge) seemed to permeate every conversation. While Wake negotiated to get as many supplies for his rare feathers as possible, Leilani and Root began to meander south to look for a quiet place to conduct their ritual.

Reaching the edge of the forest near the cove on the south side of Tahitia, Leilani and Root saw two massive Pahus under construction. While not necessarily instruments of war, these boats could carry hundreds of warriors the short distance to Morotana and Borotanga. To avoid suspicion Leilani pulled a full-on Grama Taly act. Acting a bit eccentric in song and dance, she eventually shifted into the actual ritual of finding as the sun set. Once complete, Leilani looked at the stars and realized Prince Tiape was not on the island.

Realizing something was amiss in Tahiti and trusting the advice of Princess Manao, the group immediately set sail and followed the stars. However, it seems the gods were not in favor of this course of action, and the group was blown off course and into the tentacles of a Kraken looking for a meal.

A brief and violent battle ensued, but the adventurers fought heroically. Leilani was grappled by an arm, and pulled back by Root. Then Root expertly deflected the attacks of the kraken, pushing Wake out of the way to be grabbed himself, then cutting his own way out of the Kraken’s grasp. Leilani converted Hina’s healing energy into a dark necrotic force to help subdue the beast, and Wake swung his leiomano at the beast. Eventually, the Kraken decided this meal was not worth the effort.

The adventurers continued to sail north, trying to adjust their path and follow the stars shining in the sky, when a massive burst of light occurred not too far off their current course. Setting sail in that direction, the group found Prince Tiape later that evening.

They found out that Prince Tiape, dis-illusioned with his father’s leadership, was seeking out a new island and planned to steal one of the three war Pahu’s under construction and take with him those who shared his viewpoint and wished to avoid war. A short negotiation took place between the prince and the adventurers. The adventurers agreed to help the Prince in exchange for a Mele Hoku to a magical island where the Prince found the oversized snail shell he gifted to Princess Manao.

The prince and the adventurers set course back to Tahiti, and used the time on the journey back to make a plan on how to deal with the dangerous Kahuna Parau-tia. Root shared a magical potion he had been given allowing him to take the form of someone else for a brief time. Practicing how to impersonate the Prince’s Kahuna Kalahari, the group decided they would have Prince Tiape surrender to be brought to Parau-tia once on the island.

Upon reaching Tahitia, the plan worked as expected. During the Prince’s absence Kahuna Parau-tia ended the rouse of Chief Aturu having any authority, completely seizing control of the island. The group was escorted directly to the evil Kahuna. Parua-tia, not seeing through the enchantment worn by Wake, asked who he thought was Kahlahari, of his loyalty.

Wake bluffed excellently, making up a story of remaining loyal and brining the prince back to him. Wake slowly approached the Kahuna, and waited for the perfect moment to break his disguise. The moment came. The Kahuna dropped his guard for a brief second, and Wake swung his leiomano at the Kahuna’s throat. The shark’s teeth found their mark, and the Parau-tia instantly collapsed.

Afterwards, the group found Queen Maroa prisoner in the Kahuna’s hut and saw the compulsion enchantments fade from Chief Aturu. Prince Tiape set off the next day with hundreds from the island and headed north to follow a Mele Hoku to an unknown future with two of the great Pahu’s that had originally been made to prepare for war.