Experimenting with Solo play in a hexcrawl-based world

Enfors · May 30, 2022, 8:40pm

Edit: I see that the formatting didn’t turn out great. But I’m too lazy to fix it. Sue me.

Edit 2: Actually, the formatting was too atrocious, so I’ve now fixed it.

I’m preparing a West Marches-style 5E campaign, which I have enjoyed a lot. But lately, I’ve been listening to excellent Solo play podcasts such as Tale of the Manticore and Legend of the Bones. This gave me the idea that I can solo play in my own barely-started world as a world-building excercise. Also, it sounds like fun, so I want to try it.

I haven’t played OSE before, but it seems to be an easier system for this sort of thing than 5E, so I decided to buy the Advanced Fantasy books and learn that system for this experiment. So now, I’m just getting started, and I thought I could post here and perhaps get some feedback on my gameplay - I’m sure (in fact, I know) that I don’t do everything the way the books tell me to.

I’ve created four characters, all level 1 humans:

Azura the Ranger
Arendel the Cleric
Derugan the Magic-user
Dana the Thief (and incidentally, Azura’s sister)

What follows is an excerpt from my journal. I haven’t began actual play yet, so far all I’ve done is run test combats to try to learn the system. This is a bit long, so I’m not expecting anyone to read all of it.

1. Test combat #3

Now let’s also use the rules for range and surprise at the beginning of the combat. The party will face 3 Ghouls, AC 6, 9 HP, 2 x claw 1d3 + paralysis & bite 1d3 + paralysis, THAC0 18. That’s 3 potentially paralysing attacks each round - from each ghoul. This will not be an easy fight.

2. Combat start

Referring to the rules summer at the end of the Referee’s Tome.

3. Surprise

Each side rolls a d6. A result of 1 or 2 means that side is surprised. Let’s see the rolls.

The ghouls:

Result: 1

The party:

Result: 3

It looks like the ghouls have been surprised! This is great news for the party.

4. Encounter distance

Because the ghouls are surprised, the distance will be closer than otherwise. The distance is 1d4 x 10 years. Let’s roll:

Result: 2

20 yards - that’s pretty close.

5. Surprise round

Dana quietly hands her sling to Azura, then Dana and Derugan takes up position behind Azura and Arendel.

6. Declarations

Derugan begins casting Magic Missile.

7. Azura

Using Dana’s sling, Azura takes aim at the nearest ghoul. She needs a 13 to hit; let’s see the roll.

Result: 16

That’s a hit! Let’s roll for damage; because of her strength, Azura gets a +2 to the damage for slings.

Result: 4

The stone impacts the creature’s arm with a powerful, wet thud. It now only has another 4 hit points left.

8. Arendel

Arendel, not having a missile weapon, stands at the ready with his mace awaiting the ghouls’ inevitable charge.

9. Derugan

With a whoosh, Derugan unleashes his spell as a dart of pure engery speeds unerringly at the injured ghoul. Magic Missiles never miss - it’s just a matter of rolling the damage.

Result: 5

The arrow blasts into the chest of the foul creature, which litterally comes apart with a sickening sound, and the remnants fall to the ground in a splash of rotting gore.

10. Dana

Dana is last. She takes aim at Ghoul #2, and lets fly an arrow. She needs a 10 to hit.

Result: 7

The wind catches the arrow, and it flies harmlessly past its target as Dana hisses a curse at herself.

11. Round 1

12. Declarations

The two remaining ghouls will charge at the party.

13. Initiative

The ghouls:

Result: 5

The party:

Result: 1

That’s a decisive victory for the ghouls; they will go first.

14. The ghouls

15. Ghoul #2

Undeterred by the demise of its fellow, the second ghoul charges towards the party. Azura and Arendel are at the front, and a roll of the die will determine whom it will attack.

Result: 1

The ghoul charges towards Azura. However, they are 20 yards - 60 feet away - and the ghoul will only cover half that distance in this round.

16. Ghoul #3

Let’s see who this ghoul will charge towards.

Result: 2

This one makes a beeline for Arendel.

17. The party

The party is lucky. The distance between them and the ghouls have given the party the opportunit to attack twice with missile weapons before the ghouls can reach them. Let’s see how it goes.

18. Azura

Azura goes first. “Aim for the one on the left!” she hisses, as she quickly loads another bullet into the sling. She fires it at the charging opponent. She needs a 13 to hit.

Result: 16

Another hit! Let’s see how much damage she does.

Result: 4

The bullet hits the creature in the stomach as it snarls forward, seeminly without really noticing the injury it has taken. It now has 5 hit points left.

19. Arendel

As before, Arendel stands with his mace at the ready, awaiting the onslaught of the ghouls.

20. Derugan

Having spent his only spell, and not having the constitution for the front lines, Derugan remains behind Azura and Arendel, hoping for the best.

21. Dana

Having heeded Azura’s command, Dana fires her second arrow at the same target Azura attacked. She only needs a 10 to hit; can she stop the beast before it reaches them? Let’s find out:

Result: 12

That’s a hit! Let’s see the damage.

Result: 3

The arrow hits the ghoul which now is very badly wounded which continues lumbering forward undeterred.

22. Round 2

23. Declarations

The ghouls will continue charging towards their targets.

24. Initiative

The ghouls:

Result: 4

The party:

Result: 3

That’s unlucky - it means that the ghouls will reach the party before they have the chance to fire another volley at them.

25. The ghouls

26. Ghoul #2 (2 of 9 HP)

The ghoul reaches Azura, and immediately tries to claw her with both of its hands. Let’s see if she’s hit by either of them. With its THAC0 of 18, it needs a 14 to hit her AC of 4.

Result: 12

Result: 17

The first attack is a near miss as Azura dodges out of the way, but she’s not ready for the second one. Let’s roll for damage.

Result: 2

The claws slashes Azura’s arm for 2 points of damage. And what’s worse, she now has to make a saving through against being paralysed. This is our first saving throw. Azura needs to roll at least a 14 on a d20 to avoid it. I don’t like those odds. Let’s see:

Result: 1

That is… not good. Azura will now be paralysed for a number of rounds! Let’s see how many:

Result: 7

Azura staggers to the ground, fully conscious but unable to move. It is unlikely that she will regain control of herself until the battle is over - if her friends win. If not, she will have to go through a fate worse that death itself - being eaten alive while being unable to do anything to defend herself.

27. Ghoul #3 (9 of 9 HP)

The last ghoul attacks Arendel with its claws.

Result: 4

Result: 4

That’s lucky. The first claw misses Arendel completely, while he’s easily able to block the second attack with his shield. The ghoul, however, lunges towards him with its fangs attempting to bite him.

Result: 19

That’s a solid hit. Let’s see the damage:

Result: 1

That’s not too bad. But the worst is yet to come - the saving throw to avoid being paralysed. Because of his high wisdom, Arendel has a better chance here than Azura did; he needs to roll an 11 to avoid it. That’s a 50/50 chance. Let’s see the roll.

Result: 12

That’s very lucky! If Arendel had gone down too, things would look very grim indeed for the party.

28. The party

29. Azura

Azura can do nothing but look on in horror as her friends desperately try to fend off the foul beasts that are now upon them.

30. Arendel

Arendel is smart enough to realize he should try to put down the injured ghoul first before he goes after the one who attacked him. Swinging his mace, he tries to deal the killing blow. Let’s see the roll.

Result: 3

A 3 will not do at all. His mace hits nothing, as he misses wildly.

31. Derugan

When Derugan sees his friend fall paralysed to the ground he wants to come to her aid. But as he has not declared any movement this round, he is unable to do so. He will have to wait until the next round.

(I later learned that this was incorrect - Derugan would only be prevented from moving without a declaration if he had been in actual melee - and he was not).

32. Dana

Seeing her sister fall stumble to the ground under the attacks of the ghoul, Dana takes aim. She needs a 10 to hit, and it only has 2 hit points left, so she has a nearly 50% chance of killing the beast right here.

Result: 10

By the closest possible margin, she has hit. Now let’s see if she has done enough damage to permanently stop this monster:

Result: 5

The arrow slashes into the ghoul’s neck, severing its spine and it crumbles to the ground in a stinking heap of foul smell and bad intentions.

33. Round 3

34. Declarations

This time, Derugan wants to charge the last remaining ghoul with his dagger in an effort to try to save his friends from its onslaught.

35. Initiative

The ghoul:

Result: 3

The party:

Result: 5

With sheer determination, the still standing members of the party fight on to try to saved their downed comrade.

36. The party

37. Arendel

Holding his shield in front of himself, Arendel tries to take another swing at the ghoul.

Result: 2

Arendel can’t seem to catch a break with his mace. Another swing, and another miss.

38. Derugan

Derugan runs toward the remaining monster, dagger drawn. Fighting with daggers isn’t exactly Derugan’s strong point, but he needs to do whatever he can to help his downed friend. He lunges forward to stab at the ghoul

Result: 6

That’s not enough for a hit. The ghoul lumbers out of his way, and the attack misses.

39. Dana

Dana aims at the remaining ghoul, and lets loose an arrow.

Result: 20

A natural 20! That’s a first. Unfortunately, there are no critical hits in OSE, but it’s still a guaranteed hit. Let’s roll the damage:

Result: 6

That’s a fitting damage roll for our nat 20. She plunges the dagger into the fiend’s neck, unleashing a torrent of blood. The ghoul is severely wounded with only 3 hit points left.

40. The ghoul

The ghoul is now alone, and severely wounded. Ghouls seldom run from a fight, but at this point it still needs to make a morale check. With a morale of 9, the 2d6 morale check is still unlikely to fail.

Result: 8

The ghoul will fight to the death.

I’ll rule that it continues to attack Arendel with its vicious claws and teeth.

Result: 8

Result: 7

Both claws swing and miss, and the ghoul plunges forward, teath bared.

Result: 10

That’s another miss. It looks like the party might make it through this fight without losing anyone after all. But we’re not out of the woods yet.

41. Round 4

42. Declarations

There are no declarations.

43. Initiative

The ghoul:

Result: 2

The party:

Result: 1

Despite the ghoul’s poor initiative roll, it has won the initiative for this round.

44. The ghoul (3 of 9 hit points)

Having missed Arendel completely in the previous round, I’ll rule that it will now roll to see which of the still standing party members it will attack now.

Result: 2

That’s Derugan - our mage. Our low AC, low HP mage. This is not good. Let’s see how it plays out.

Result: 14

That’s a hit. This is very bad news for Derugan and his 3 hit points. Let’s see the roll:

Result: 1

That’s a good roll for Derugan. But he still needs to pass the paralysing saving throw. He needs to roll 13 or higher on a d20 to avoid the effects. Let’s see:

Result: 19

A 19! That’s very lucky! The claw swipes at his arm, but he’s not paralysed. But, the beast still has another claw attack, as well as a bite.

Result: 7

The other claw attack misses completely, but the ghoul goes in for the kill with a bite:

Result: 6

Derugan is very lucky indeed! He remains in the fight, and now it’s the party’s turn.

45. The party

46. Arendel

Seeing how badly wounded the ghoul is gives Arendel renewed courage, and he swings his mace at the beast yet again.

Result: 3

I’m getting tired of your shit, Arendel. It looks like you’ll be of no use until you reach level 2 and get your first healing ability - if you make it that far.

47. Derugan (2 of 3 hit points)

Derugan too tries to go in for the kill with his dagger.

Result: 7

That’s no hit either. If Dana can’t kill the ghoul now, Derugan will be in real trouble in the next round.

48. Dana

Realizing the severity of the situation, Dana steadies her breath for a moment, hoping to place the final, killing blow with her next arrow. She aims carefully, and releases an arrow towards her target.

Result: 4

The arrow flies past the ghoul and lodges itself in a tree as the ghoul moves out of its path.

49. Round 5

50. Declarations

There are no declarations.

51. Initiative

The ghoul:

Result: 4

The party:

Result: 6

A good roll of the die has given the party another shot at ending this before it gets worse. Let’s see what happens.

52. Arendel

Undeterred, Arendel tries to slam down hard on the ghoul from above with his mace.

Result: 2

But alas, Arendel misjudges the distance like a fucking moron, and hits nothing but dirt. Get a grip Arendel, or I’m kicking you out of the party to replace you with a toaster.

53. Derugan

Let’s see how Derugan fares. He makes a vicious slash at the foul beast with his dagger.

Result: 3

Vicious or not, the dagger strike fails to make contact with anything but mosquitos in the air.

54. Dana

Again, Dana takes aim with her bow. Come on now Dana, finish this for us. You can do it.

Result: 18

Good! Now all she has to do is not roll a 1 or a 2 on the damage roll, and this combat will finally be over. Even Azura is getting bored now, paralysed or not.

Result: 5

With a sickening splat, the arrow pierces the ghoul’s skull and it finally keels over. As Azura’s paralysis begins to wane, she hoarsely croaks, “fucking finally.”

55. Analysis

After looking more closely at the rules, I have realized that I’m still missing some bits. Apparently missile attacks and spells are supposed to happen before all melee attacks. Live and learn, I guess.

Todd · May 31, 2022, 1:45pm

Nice job!

The biggest thing that jumped out at me were your encounter distances. In the dungeon, the distance is feet instead of yards. So that roll of 2 for encounter distance should have been twenty feet away rather than sixty feet away (unless OSE changed this). Outdoors, the distances would be in yards.

In b/x, the sequence of combat is:

Morale checks
Movement
Missile fire
Magic
Melee

Lots of folks like to monkey around with this sequence, including yours truly. Feel free to fiddle with it to get the sort of experience that you want. For example, I often like spells to fire at the very end of the round unless prepped (basically pre-cast and held) and I like missile fire before movement.

Enfors · June 1, 2022, 6:53am

Thank you! I should have been clearer - this encounter was actually intended to be outside, that’s why the distance was like that. And yes, after I was done I noticed the order things should have happened, as you pointed out. I like that system, so I’m looking forward to using it next time.

Todd · June 1, 2022, 1:20pm

No worries. I shouldn’t have assumed it was in a dungeon!

Todd · June 1, 2022, 2:53pm

Forgot to mention: I don’t know if they made the transition to OSE but b/x does have some examples of play in there that might help illustrate some of the rules. I know folks love the layout of OSE but I think b/x is really well put-together for the purposes of learning the system. It’s definitely a bit clunky as a reference.

bryansmiff · June 2, 2022, 1:36pm

In your writeup it sounds pretty tense! I’ve never played the older versions so seeing the changing initiative was super cool, love how it heightens the stakes when you can’t rely on having a super high dex meaning you always go first.
It felt like when there was one ghoul left and all the PCs were just missing their attacks that things kind of slowed down the otherwise tense battle!
Enjoyed the glimpse into a combat!

Todd · June 2, 2022, 7:19pm

When I ran a Play-by-Post game, I had individual initiative that changed each round. It definitely made for some tense combats! In one that I recall, there were two PCs versus a troglodyte. Everybody was low on HP. It literally came down to who won the initiative. If the trog won, it had enough attacks to down both PCs on its turn. If a PC won, they could kill the trog. The PCs won.