Overview
This is a play report for my ongoing ttrpg I run during occasional
lunch breaks at work, all dependent on who is available for that day.
This occurs roughly once a week, but there are occasional longer breaks
when people are unavailable. I require a minimum of two players to run a
session. I am using Index Card RPG and various other resources to run
the sessions.
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June 12th & 26th Play Report
Each session, players present are given a sheet in the style of a Classifieds ad. This ad contains features five problems occurring in the aptly named Dungeon Town. Players are asked to select from these five options as the adventure for the session.
This session, the players chose two scenarios from the options:
Magic Gauntlet for Sale
Meddlesome swords trapped in stones? Mystic hammer refusing to budge? Try our Gauntlet of Immense Might! No offers refused!
Library Infestation
Whether out of cruel jest or neglect, the Boffiton Institute of Arcane studies has been overrun by a variety of vermin, including the librarian's worst adversary: scuttle imps.
Player characters present:
- Clara, Elf Mage
- Siel, Gnome Shadow
- Rupert, "Human" Bard
- Chadwick, Human Warrior
- Isadora, Forest Elf Hunter
Preparation
I determined the nature of the curse for the Gauntlet ahead of time, planning to slowly reveal its nature through several sessions. The Gauntlet provided a great bonus to Strength, but is sentient and would seek to consume living things and become more and more demanding. It was explicitly modeled off of Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors.
The Library Infestation scenario came from the book Into the Cess & Citadel. This was pulled off of one result on the Encounter Table for the Archives. I used the associated monster entries, making very minimal adjustments to ICRPG rules as this book is written for easy adaptation to any "classic ttrpg systems".
I also used the following resources as my core prep:
- Index Card RPG Master Edition ;
This is my core rulebook for these sessions. I am not using the actual
setup of "difficulty per location" that ICRPG uses, instead using the
more traditional "here is the number you need to beat". I also adjusted
the Effect dice so that D6 is "Bows & Tools" and D8 is "Weapons"
because I did not want to include guns. Otherwise, pretty much using the
system as is.
- Dungeons & Drawings ; This is my favorite monster manual. It has a set of generic stats to describe the creature, a paragraph of text on the creature, and a full page picture. It is not specific to any rpg system, but gives me enough tools to pull in a creature and run it if I understand the system itself pretty well.
- Monster Miens
; I wanted a reaction table like the Miens for Troika!!, but just some
general lists. This is sorted by creature type, which I thought would be
great for the quick reaction I want as a GM during the sessions. I may
need to replace this in the future if it begins to feel too repetitive,
but for now it works.
Session Summary
The players first approached the dockworker Pilstov, owner of the Gauntlet. They questioned him about the nature of the Gauntlet and why his price was so low. He displayed his lack of a left hand, thus being unable to wear the Gauntlet. Clara offered a sandwich (that she had obtained from the Fluxgut pile) and Pilstov happily traded. Chadwick, the parties main melee combatant, took the Gauntlet and tested it out. It was very effective at enhancing his strength and showed no signs of curses, to the party's surprise.
The party then proceeded to the Boffiton Institute and approached Billobi, the gnome librarian who made the post asking for help. She was upfront about the cuts to the library budget and that a lack of staffing probably resulted in the current predicament. She confessed she did not have the funds to pay the party, but would be happy to let them sift through the lost & found of magic items that various students had failed to claim.
The players proceeded to hunt for any of the vermin in the library, dispatching them with relative ease. The players took creative approaches to the Errant Scribbles, crushing them between sheets of paper. Chadwick also witnessed the first signs that his Gauntlet might have an unknown side when he crushed a Marginalia Gremlin in his gloved hand and the Gauntlet then sucked up the creature as if through a straw.
(The session ended and was completed on a following session)
The players returned to finish the extermination, avoiding an ambush by the Scuttle Imps. After dispatching the remainder of the infestation, the party was approached by the Stacks Panther, a large feline creature kept in the library for such vermin maintenance. It appreciated the assistance, but noted that some books were damaged by during their hunt. The party successfully convinced the Panther that it was not them, but the gremlins who caused the harm. Clara thought quickly and used her Mending spell to repair the damage, earning the respect of the Panther and avoiding its ire.
Players finally scrounged the lost and found and obtained a Gnomish Blowtorch, a mystic Scimitar that never misses, a Magic Quill that can copy spells onto one-use scrolls, and some new spells for Clara. Lacking spells, Isadora traded the Magic Quill for Clara's Fin Ring from a previous adventure.
Reflection
I think this went fairly well. This was the largest turnout I've had for the lunch break games and also a much more combat focused session than typical. I did basic back and forth between the groups, but may have needed to provide more structure for combat turns as some of the players less familiar with rpgs encountered some confusion during the fight.
The monsters from Cess & Citadel were great and created some really interesting approaches in combat when players asked about the physical natures of these creatures and tried to then utilize that information in combat to improve their chance at success.
The magic item rewards might have been a bit powerful, but I think for the casual nature of these games I am not too concerned.
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