Hello everyone,

     On Saturday, May 27th, 2017, at Phoenix Comicon 2017, I ran Hole in the Sky as a Road Crew game for the Goodman Games World Tour 2017! Here's the report (SPOILERS if you're not familiar with the module!):

     I had three players, one of whom had played Sailors on the Starless Sea the night before and said something like, "I'm kind of hooked on this DCC thing!" So there's a success story right there! Each player had 4 0-level pregens to start. Things quickly went off the rails, which is always fun. Here was the lineup:

* Jacob: Drats the Trapper, Lorance the Caravan Guard, Crevan the Grave Digger, and Francis the Potato Farmer
* Ben: Barth the Dwarven Herder, Fred the Blacksmith, Bobby II the Urchin, and Julio the Elven Sage
* Colt: Raditz the Radish Farmer, Bobby the Caravan Guard, Ogre the Cobbler, and Dobby Jr. the Elven Chandler (apparently the player had lost an elf named Dobby in a game the night before, but wanted the Dobby family line to continue)

     The PCs came to the cliffside following their dreams of the Lady in Blue. Bobby II the Urchin, used to being hungry all the time, filled a sack with (unspoiled) food from the Lady in Blue's feast. There was a quick visit to the nearby fishing village, where Raditz, Bobby, Ogre, and Dobby Jr. bought fishing gear, determined to be able to feed themselves by fishing on the adventure. OK . . .

     At the appropriate hour, the PCs started out on the invisible bridge to the Hole in the Sky. Days passed, and the PCs squabbled over food (Bobby II refused to share his sack of food unless others had something to offer him).  When the storm came, Francis the Potato Farmer, Julio the Elven Sage, and Ogre the Cobbler were blow off to their deaths. Bobby II was almost blown off as well, but Fred the Blacksmith used a chain to rescue him (and the sack of food).

     When the sea-shrikes attacked, Lorance, Raditz, and Bobby were quickly killed. The other PCs decided to try to run while the shrikes feasted on their comrades. The PCs seemed afraid to fight them! They threw a goose to one of the shrikes to distract it. They did fight off the last few and escape, but this party's propensity for sacrificing their own to escape was well-established.

     Dobby Jr., who had become ill,  tried to steal food from Bobby II, starting another fight between characters. Several times it seemed the PCs were going to kill each other off, rather than any monsters or traps from the module getting them!

     When they finally reached the Hole in the Sky, Barth the Dwarven Herder and Fred the Blacksmith ganged up on Dobby Jr. the Elven Chandler and hurled him through the Hole first, to see if it was safe. Then they all entered the prison-world on the other side. They made their way through the misty bamboo jungle toward the structure in the distance.

     The party came across an abandoned campsite and a backpack containing a five day supply of rations. They decided to camp out so that the sick members of the party might have a chance to recover, but squabbled again over supplies. That night, their camp was attacked by an Arachnid Horror, , who killed Crevan the Grave Digger and Bobby II the Urchin. Some of the party fled rather than fight, but Drats the Trapper decided to stand and fight, and eventually ended up on the Horror's back. He decided to try to tame the creature for riding. He enlisted the aid of Barth the Dwarven Herder, and together they managed to rig up a bridle system for the Arachnid Horror (there were some natural 20s rolled here, and I rewarded their combination of craziness and lucky rolls).

     The party soon encountered a madman known as Ib the Mad. He might have been helpful, or even replaced one of the dead members of the party, but they decided to feed him to their Arachnid Horror. Ugh.

     Unfortunately, two of the three players had to leave early to catch a bus, so we had to end the game early. The remaining PCs were Drats the Trapper (rider of the Arachnid Horror), Barth the Dwarven Herder, Fred the Blacksmith, and Dobby Jr. the Elven Chandler. They rode off into the mists on the Arachnid Horror, apparently abandoning their quest on behalf of the Lady in Blue . . . And the way this party fought each other, my guess is that they would have killed each other off, one by one, until a single one remained . . .

Report from the Road: Sailors on the Starless Sea at Phoenix Comicon 2017

Hello everyone,

     On Friday, May 26th, 2017, at Phoenix Comicon 2017, I ran Sailors on the Starless Sea as a Road Crew game for the Goodman Games World Tour 2017! Here's the report (SPOILERS if you're not familiar with the module!):

I had four players, each with 4 pregen 0-level characters, so 16 characters went in . . . 3 came out. It was almost a TPK, but the party barely survived!

* Jacob: Purcilius Roy (Noble), Theodore (Costermonger), Richard (Cutpurse), and Liana Fireheart (Rutabaga Farmer)
* Ruben: Dorn (Armorer), Rusin (Parsnip Farmer), Halcen (Elven Artisan), and Maldom (Outlaw)
* Gregg: Gurstag (Dwarven Rat-catcher), Sceotend (Woodcutter), Lairgnen (Soldier), and Rolo Lockpick (Halfling Glovemake - insists "Lockpick" is simply his family name and has nothing to do with his personality)
* Duncan: Kulitas (Cutpurse), Scanlun (Minstrel), Nahiri (Dwarven Herder), and Lilith (Fortune-teller)

     On the road to the citadel, the party encountered the vine horrors. The creepiness of the scene really seemed to get to the players! Some characters retreated a safe distance while others rushed in to fight . . . badly. Gurstag the Rat-catcher was killed early on (his club, "Stumpy" was passed down through the party). One of the horrors was finished off by the Woodcutter, Sceotend, with his axe (he's not afraid of plants!), meanwhile, several characters from among the other players pooled resources to drench the horrors and their seeds in oil and set them alight. A duck was also killed and roasted in this encounter. R.I.P. Sir Duckington.

     The players were playing smart when they got to the citadel. They did not trust the portcullis, so they jammed it open with crowbars. They entered the courtyard and headed straight to the tower (they were determined to avoid the well!). Kulitas the Cutpurse borrowed another crowbar from another character and actually made the strength check to force the door! Lairgnen the Soldier stepped into the breach with his shield, blocking the doorway, while the others behind him set up a rope tripwire and ambush positions on either side of the door. They managed to taunt the champion of the beastmen into rushing out to attack them (Lairgnen backpedaled to let him come), then pulled taut the rope to trip him - the champion of the beastmen fell prone in front of the soldier while the other beastmen who had followed watched in horror! Rusin the Parsnip farmer fell in battle, but the others survived, mostly by playing it smart.

     Kulitas the Cutpurse donned the torc of the beastmen , and was the only one who dared search their foul lair for treasure. He gave Halcen the Elven Artisan an elven sword he found . . . after he had removed the gems set in the hilt. As the game went on, it seemed increasingly likely that Kulitas might end up as a Chaos-cultist of some sort!

     The party opened the portcullis all the way and jammed it open in case they needed to retreat in a hurry. Then they looked around the courtyard, continued to avoid the well, and decided to look at the ruined chapel. The fact that it had been scorched by flames and barred from the outside really seemed to freak the players out, so they chose not to mess with it, but rather to return to the tower and descend into the depths of the dungeon.

      They found the looted treasury and took the few coins that remained, but did not explore further. They found the mosaics and were creeped out. A few felt compelled to take skulls from the pool, but most did not, and they did not explore much here, either. Kulitas did take one of the cultist robes inscribed with sigils of chaos. They went down, down, down to the Starless Sea.

     On the shore of the Starless Sea, Lilith the Fortune-teller tried to decipher the carvings on the menhir and went mad, determined to sacrifice her party to the Chaos Leviathan in the water! Using the battle axe that had belonged to the champion of the beastmen, she slaughtered Kulitas (ending his career as chaos-cultist!), and when Rolo Lockpick the Halfling Glovemaker tried valiantly to stop her, she killed him too! She was finally taken down by Sceotend the Woodcutter.

     After this, the party successfully managed to summon the Longship over to take them to the Ziggurat, but faced with the Chaos Leviathan, they decided to fight! A couple of characters started rowing to get the ship away, but the tentacles were picking them off: They lost Theodore the Costermonger, Richard the Cutpurse, Dorn the Armorer, Halcen the Elven Artisan, Maldom the Outlaw, Sceotend the Woodcutter, Scanlun the Minstrel, and Nahiri the Dwarven Herder to the Chaos Leviathan! This is the one encounter where the players did not particularly play it smart, but they got lucky - the tentacles kept rolling very poorly to hit, and the PCs were getting lucky rolls and inflicting lots of damage to the Chaos Leviathan (they brought it down to about half its hit points). The surviving three characters reached the Ziggurat and leveled up. Purcilius Roy became a Cleric of Justicia, Liana Fireheart became a Wizard, and Lairgnen became a Warrior.

     I was glad that even though Ruben and Duncan were out of characters, they decided to stay at the table and follow the game! The 3 PCs fought their way to the top of the Ziggurat (Purcilis Roy had a series of amazing Turn Unholy checks to get rid of the chaos-cultist beastment!), and at the top, I let Duncan and Ruben play prisoners who were being sacrificed. The idea was that they could rejoin the game if they were freed. Well, a lot of them were sacrificed before they could be freed, but each came out with a couple of 0-levels who technically survived, but didn't actually play. Anyway, a series of lucky rolls allowed them to take out the shaman and his minions very quickly, triggering the collapse of the cavern, and they escaped in the Longship to fight another day!

Phoenix Comicon 2017 has begun!

Hello everyone,

     It's official! Phoenix Comicon 2017 has begun! Crit Hit is all set up in the Sundance Room at the Hyatt Regency. That's where I'll be running my events tomorrow (Friday 5/26/17) and Saturday (5/27/17)! There are errors in the Phoenix Comicon Program Guide, and unfortunately they affect my games - the correct schedule, again:

* Friday, 5/26/17, 3-7 PM - Sailors on the Starless Sea 

* Saturday, 5/27/17, 3-7 PM - Hole In The Sky

* Saturday, 5/27/17 - 8 PM - Midnight - Escape from the Purple Planet

     I'll have some copies of my books there as prizes and such, and if you have my books and want them signed, catch me between games and I'll gladly autograph books for you!

Happy GAMING! Skál!
~ Colin Anders Brodd

Countdown to Phoenix Comicon 2017 - Wednesday

Hello everyone,

     Today I hit a speed bump on my road to Comicon - my car broke down! In 103-degrees-in-the-shade heat, no less! I was planning on using some mass transit as part of my Comicon plans anyway, but now it looks like that will be essential to my planning. Ugh. Anyway, got the last of my pregens ready, my folders all made up, my Road Crew swag prepared - ready to rock this Comicon!

Happy Reading! Skál!
~ Colin Anders Brodd

Countdown to Phoenix Comicon 2017 - Tuesday

Hello everyone,

     The hour draws nigh! Made sure I've got my modules ready to run, photocopies of handouts and maps, pregens (level 0!), and so forth! Comicon 2017 starts Thursday morning, 5/25/17, although I'm not running a game until Friday afternoon at 3 PM! Looking forward to geeking out this weekend!

     Among the modules I'm running is Hole In The Sky - this should help get in the mood!

Happy Reading! Skál!
~ Colin Anders Brodd

Countdown To Phoenix Comicon 2017 - Monday

Hello everyone,

     Here in Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix Comicon is kind of a big deal. It's an amazing celebration of all things geeky and nerdy. Phoenix Comicon 2017 runs from Thursday, 5/25/17 to Sunday, 5/28/17.

     I've been attending since 2012, more or less, and every year I try to hit the Gaming area. This year, Arizona's gaming convention Crit Hit is sponsoring RPG events at Phoenix Comicon. So I'll be running Dungeon Crawl Classics events on Friday 5/26/17 and Saturday 5/27/17 under the auspices of Crit Hit and the Road Crew for Goodman Games World Tour 2017!

My schedule:
* Friday, May 26th, 2017; 3-7 PM - Running Sailors on the Starless Sea

* Saturday, May 27th, 2017; 3-7 PM - Running Hole in the Sky

* Saturday, May 27th, 2017; 8-midnight - Running Escape from the Purple Planet

     I'm not attending Phoenix Comicon 2017 officially as an author, but if you catch me between games I'll be glad to sign copies of The Saga of Asa Oathkeeper or Tales From Midhgardhur, Volume I if you have them. I'm not an official vendor, either, but I'll probably bring a couple of extra copies of each if I have fans who want copies. I may even give out copies as prizes for survivors of the games I'm running!

     These Phoenix Comicon events are the first time I've ever had my Road Crew games for the World Tour mentioned on Sanctum Secorum - check it out!

     So come on out to Phoenix Comicon 2017 and embrace your inner geek! Let's play some Old School Dungeon Crawls and have some fun! See you there!

Happy Reading! Skál!
~ Colin Anders Brodd