2nd Eleint Continued

 I leave the shop and head over to the market to look for this Gargax. As I leave, I hear the sounds of two men in a heated argument 

"Look, I don't care what you say thems the work of Devils and nothing else thats why they attack at night"

"They are Divine punishment sent to get us to repent for our sins if you can't see that youare part of the problem"

(persuasion DC10 11 rolled -1 for charisma, sothe  result of a 10 is a pass) I approach and say to the first of them

"look turning on each other at a time like this is not going to help YOU. You don't know what makes them, but we all need to come together and defend this villagenot turn on each other in the process"

I then turn to the other and say

"And blaming those who question what is happening is not very forgiving and likely to create more sin than needed. If you're worried, then create an air of co-operation and be the change. Forgive the other of their sins and pray for deliverance. What good is your faith if it deserts you in a time of need?" his shoulders slump "You're right, you're right. I need to go and see Jethro to pray for forgiveness" They walk away in different directions. The market returns to somewhat subdued normalcy.

 Gargax Ildrex, the dragonborn wizard 

Over the conversations, I hear someone call to me.

"Well done, my friend, a voice of  Reason in these dark times is just what we need, though you look like you could do with a Fresh set of clothes, your attire is a bit worn and ripped if I can be so bold?" A smile appears on his face

"But worry not, Ole Gargax is here and will help stitch you up, and you'll be giving the nobles in the high courts something to talk about. You have my personal Guaruntee"

"Do you greet everyone with that silver tongue, Gargax? You get into a fight with the husks attacking the village and see how your attire fares? But alas, you are right i could do with some new clothes, something for travelling, if you can please?"

"Yes, I suppose you make a good point there. But very well lets have a look at the stock and see what we have available to offer, shall we?"

He turns around and starts looking through his Wares muttering to himself under his breath as he does.

"yes these boots will do, though you may want to soak them before wearing them, get the fit just right, with the boots you'll need so breeches" he looks over at me.

"so your a fan of the more natural pallette i see, so we will need these in red? no more of an olive green

I think it would be better, a shirt and a jerkin, this warm woollen coat would work nicely, but aha here we are, this belt should bring it all together nicely i think. together as one piece, shall we say 5gp for this exquisite Dress"

"5gp I'll give you 2gp for all this, this isn't my first time in a market! And I was told to come to you, as you would be able to help me have a better understanding of what is happening with these husks".

"Ok, Ok, can't blame a dragon for trying, Coins be scarce as of late, 2 gp it is then, but I did mean it, the boots will need a soak to mould to your feet" 

I hand the coins over, he tests them and is satisfied with the coins, pockets them and smiles as I change shirts.

"So Brumhilde mentioned you, she said you may know something about these Husks that have been attacking the village".

A flash of recognition crosses Gargax's face, but he quickly dismisses it and shakes his head,

"I'm not sure what those things are, or where they come from, as a matter of fact".

(insight Roll DC15 rolled a 10 with 5 ranks in the skill, so 15 is a pass). 

"You're hiding something from me. I can't help the village if you don't talk to me and let me help? These husks need to be stopped! What do you say, do you wanna work with me on this?"

(persuasion this time dice roll of  12 -1 persuasion, so a total of 1,1, which I will say is enough as Gargax is a friendly guy overall)

Gargax's eyes soften, and he sighs.

"To be honest, my knowledge on the subject of the undead is somewhat lacking, though I do know a ritual that could help, but you'd need to meet me in the cemetery at midnight alone, that is vital, and I'd need your asssistance i may have drunkenly misplaced my wand the other night, I was at the Coldfeet Inn. Could you please have a look for the wand? I can offer some coins, say ten gp, for your time"

"I'll see what I can do for you, my friend. I need something to eat after trying to bargain with you," Gargax chuckles and pats me on the shoulder 

"Try the quail, it's a delicacy"

I make my way across the market to the Coldfeet Inn. I pass an alleyway that is covered by the overhang of the Cold Feet Inn's roof, and I feel a chill looking down it as realisation dawns on me that figures are moving in the shadow. As they move towards me i see that two husks are approaching. I have no choice but to take them on.

Husk 1: 22, 17, 9, 3                                                             initiative: Braak, Husks

Husk 2: 22, 10, 7

Round 1

1. The husks come out of the alley towards me. Braak casts Produce Flame and throws the flame at the first husk, hitting it square in the chest for 5 points of damage. then casts Shillelagh on my quarterstaff and prepares for them to come.
2. The Husks come at Braak, the first missed, the second ran in, and the claws dug into his arm, doing 3 points of damage and 1 necrotic. (willpower save of 11 needed, rolled 3+ save modifier of 5, so 8, which fails, so is frightened) Braak feel a sense of dread stemming from the Husk that just attacked Him.

Round 2                                                                           initiative: Braak, Gargax, Husks

1. Braak swings the staff at the husk, rolling 2d20 and taking the lowest result (disadvantage) and misses.
2. The Husk that just hit Braak reels back as if hit by an invisible force, doing 12 points of damage (1d4=1 3 times magic missile). Gargax is approaching the melee, snarling.
   
3. The 1st Husk strikes at Braak and does 4 points of Damage (Braak uses his hit dice to get 1d8 of HP; a 3 was rolled, so that was then his HP). The second swings and misses (Braak rolls another willpower save, getting a 16 on the d20+5, so he is no longer frightened)

Round 3                                                                          initiative: Braak, Gargax, Husks

1. Braak swings at the first husk using a two handed Grip (this increases the damage dice from D8 to a D10) and connects, doing 8 points of damage. Braak has a quick look around the marketplace, looking for aid, and finds out everyone has run back into their respective houses or out of sight.
2. Gargax wades in, swinging a club, he has hitting the 2nd husk for 3 points of damage.
3. Braak is hit by the Husk and falls to the ground, as does Gargax

Braak and gargax fighting the husks in the alleyway

Round 4                                                                         initiative: Braak, Gargax, Husks, Jethro

1. Braak fails his death save 
2. Gargax fails his death saving throw
3. The Husks try to attack and miss both Braak and Gargax
4. Jethro runs over from where he has come out of the temple to see what is going on and casts a cure light wounds on Braak

Round 5                                                                        initiative: Braak, Gargax, Husks, Jethro

1. Braak gets up and casts Shillelagh on the quarterstaff and swings it two-handed and hits, doing 6 points of damage, and as a bonus action, Braak casts Healing Word on Gargax.
2. Gargax lies still on the floor. 
3. The husk swings at Gargax and misses.
4. Jethro runs at the first Husk and kills it

Round 6                                                                      initiative: Braak, Gargax, Husks, Jethro

1. Braak steps in and hits the standing Husk, killing it outright.

(I'm going to find a way to better track combat moving forward) That was a close thing, and I thought it was over before it had even started (the husks I used were a harder Husk, so get more xp from the fight)

 

The Soul snatcher 2nd Eleint Brumhilde'ss

2nd Eleint

     I awake in the temple, stiff but feeling good after a night's rest. The shoulder should be okay in a day or two, provided that I take it easy and don't strain it. I join Jethro for a basic but hearty pottage of oats and almonds with a few dried Berries, honest food and hearty. Over breakfast, Jethro says he will attend to the grave of our fallen, but can't promise that they will not turn into husks. I reassure him that's all anyone could ask and that I feel that the families will appreciate what has been done to help them rest.

I leave the temple and head across the marketplace to the shop labelled Brumhildes tonic and tinctures. I enter the small building. And am immediately taken aback at the sight that greets me, a half-orc standing well over seven feet tall and all muscle. She looks up at me and smiles warmly.

"Some ingredients can't be brought in fresh, you need to go and forage for them", Brumhilde from Brumhildes Tonics and Tinctures

"Welcome, you must be Karlak with my shipment, I can't tell you I've"

I cut her off 

"I'm sorry, I'm not Karlak. He was possibly among those who were killed on the way to the village by Husks on the road, but while we are in town, there may be someone among our numbers who may know where they are".

I go on to describe what the creatures are like, and I am aware that they are similar to the tales of souls that are unable to ascend to the afterlife.

" Well, that is a story. I'm sorry to hear about your trials on the road. Well, let me introduce myself properly. I'm Brumhilde, and this is my humble abode and business. Should you need any potions or tonics, look no further. I have extensive knowledge of herbology, among other skills. Let's have a think"

She reaches behind her, turning to look at one of the many shelves that has tome upon tomes that are straining the wood of the shelves she and carefully selects a book and pulls it off. and thumbs through a few pages, she pulls a face victoriously like one who has found what it is they are looking for. She clears her throat and begins

"Husks are remnants of bodies without a soul. According to ancient Kilanic scripture, a Husk is created when the soul of the dead never leaves the material plane" She puts the book down and scratches her chin 

"it would seem that something is preventingthe souls from leaving, or worse, are being destroyed" she leans back for a moment and says

you need to speak with Gargax Ildrex he has a stall in the market you cant miss him he's a Dragon born he might have an idea on how to solve this issue of the husks".

a wry smile crosses her face, and she says 

"Well, how about a potion or two? You'll need it if you are going to save us all?" I tell her that the coin purse is a little light at the moment, though should that change, I'll be more than happy to take her up on the offer. She looks me up and down and says 

"How about you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours, hey? I have this issue, you see, there is something in the crawl space between the ceiling and the roof, and they are keeping me up at night till i am ready to pull my hair out. The problem is that I'm too broad to get in and sort it out. I'm getting to the point where I might just pull the roof down and be done with it. But if you come back this evening and deal with it, I will give you a free potion for the trouble. What do you say?"

I assure her I will return and deal with it tonight, and for the moment, I will be off to find Gargax.

The Soul snatcher

 The Soul Snatcher was the first solo module I downloaded to try solo. 

I created an Elven Druid for the game (trying to get over my dislike of Elves, I don't know what it is, but I can't normally like them). I've added it to D&D Beyond, but I've also copied it into a notebook so I have a visual reference to use. This is how I see Braak

Braak the Unlikely Hero of our Tale.

Now there are a few things different to standard group play that need to be remembered

1. As a bonus action on your turn, you may drink a potion from your inventory.
2. If your character falls to 0 hit points, you may immediately spend one hit die to regain hit points. If you do not have any available, your character proceeds to rolling death saves as normal. Remember, you are the only adversary to the monsters in this module. If you are knocked unconscious, they will continue to attack you until you are dead.

I'm also using the Solo Adventurers Toolbox to help with Npc's (so that it's not just the characters are there at the clutch moment to save the day) and as an Oracle.

The introduction is as follows

You are a traveller from a distant land, and your destination is the capital city of Kelon, in the Kingdom of Kilan. At the onset of this adventure, you have been travelling for days through the Gelden Expanse, a massive forest that serves as the western border between Kilan and the Kingdom of Gierrland. You are scheduled to stop at the village of Westmarch before continuing to the metropolis on the Cyther River. While you may not know much about the country, the others in your band of travellers regard the citizens as generally kind and welcoming of foreigners. Only you know why you set out for the capital city. Perhaps you are in search of a mysterious item or seeking a relative. You may even belong to one of the city’s powerful factions. Whatever the reason, you’ve taken leave from your homeland and set off toward an uncertain future. This adventure will give your character their first taste of danger, heroism, and hopefully a sense of purpose. They will face creatures they’ve never seen and help the villagers accomplish tasks that put their lives at risk. Will they prevail against the evil of Westmarch, or will they perish in their pursuits?

So the i have written it out as a journal-style story

30th Elasis

It's been 12 days now, I have been walking through the Gelden expanse, which started off as a solitary walk, has ended up as a bit of a route march/ Convoy with more people joining us as the days go by. There are 31 people at my last count, though I am here for my own reasons, I feel slightly responsible for them; they all seem simple people looking for work elsewhere in the realm.

Seven guards, all human, have joined the ranks, which has helped as we take watches coordinating the protection of the innocents, and by doing this, I have learnt their names

Jaden: seems to be the default leader of this group.

Melcan and Chun Naoy: jokers, though seem dedicated and good soldiers.

Vocho: quiet and reserved, I'm not too sure about him

Waw Hao: Eager to prove himself, as most of his race are.

Kinrak Zangedi:  he has to be the tallest human I have ever met

Odvier Strongstone: speaks with an accent different to the others. I have been told he is from further away than most.

There is also a travelling merchant in the group by the name of Rupert Avery, and we have become somewhat friends as the days have gone by. I traded some torches and a tinderbox with him for some rations (Humans struggle in the dark, so this will help with this)

1st Eleint

As we approached the village of Westmarch, spirits were high and merry, the thoughts of beds instead of bedrolls and a mug of unwatered-down ale with roasted meats on most minds that morning. When we were attacked by some undead-looking creatures, I recall hearing tales that there are creatures cursed to roam the world, their souls having left their bodies but not moved on to the Everlasting Plain.

Husks are the remains of the body stuck on the material plane.

Kinrak and  Odvier managed to get the people of the group away before we could muster a defence. The combat was a harsh engagement and has left a mark on most of us, but we overcame the challenge.

12 died. 12 too many. Rupert was among the fallen, his plans to make his fortune now but a memory. Vocho was struck down, as was Chun. The howls of grief that came from Melcan are something I will never be able to unhear, pure unbridled anguish. We carefully gather up the dead onto Rupert's wagon.

When I am approached by a Halfling who suggests that when we make it to town, I should look for Brümhilde, the Apothecary of the village (Brümhildes Tinctures and Tonics), as she may have knowledge of what is going on with these husks and could help.

Upon arriving in the village, I head for the temple that has been set up here to see about a prayer or a service for the recently departed from the ambush on the road. Melcan has not left his brother's side. I pity him and offer to speak with the priest to see if he can ease his suffering.

As I approach the temple from above, I hear a screech of a thumper hawk above me in a dive bomb heading straight towards me 

I cannot ascertain why it may be attacking me, except that it is being very territorial. I sensed it just in time and got out of the way. I tried to hit out at it, but it managed to dodge mid-flight. It veered round and came again and hit me hard on the shoulder as it tried to fly away. I swung at it again, the quarterstaff, connecting with it and felling it. holding my shoulder, rubbing the area of impact, I head into the temple inside, and I see a priest kneeling before a shrine in prayer.

As I walk up the aisle towards him, he turns and says,s "In this time of darkness, someone new arrives in the west march. I'm short of time. Tell me what it is you want, my child"

I relay the situation, explaining about the dead that we have brought into the villageand his expression seems to change slightly.

"This is ill tidings indeed, and this befell you on the road, you say?"

I nod in response.

"There is little I can do but can try to give them their last rites"

Under his breath, he adds  

"Though what good it'll do basedon everything that has happened to us" 

There is a weight on his shoulders that much is obvious to me.

A small ceremony is held, and those guards who came in with me dig a communal grave for the fallen and carefully lower them in with sombre faces. There are a few tears from the travelling companions, but after this is all done, a few people linger, but everyone else heads off to their own business.

I sit in the church, tending to the wounds I have sustained through the day, the priest comes up to me and sits next to me, 

"The name is Jethro" 

"Braak"

"Well met, Braak, I'll level with you. I need a favour, the priest that was here before me has passed on, and I'm to be promoted to take his place. I need to grab a few things from where I was living and bring them here to prepare for the ceremony. If you could stand here and watch over the temple while you are in the west march, I will heal all your ills if I can"

I agree whole heartedly i want to gain his trust to be able to find out what it is that is weighing him down so much, to aid his recovery, so he can better aid those under his guardianship. He thanks me and leaves the temple. About five minutes after Jethro leaves the temple, I hear a voice in my head. After a quick look around, I work out that the painting of Opus is talking to me. “Traveller,” it continues. “From afar, a stranger to our lands and customs", he's right, but I have heard the legend of the Black Brigade (three centuries ago. The Black Brigade led the charge against the Titan of Evanlast, the million-armed beast that rose from the sea during the War of the Brothers. Beyond that, their story is legend, with many differing accounts explaining how the Titan was defeated).

"Approach and hear my riddle", it continues, 

"And I will grant you a blessing in my name.” 

I approach, and feel a warm sensation. Opus speaks in a booming voice, though it is entirely in my head. Still, I'm not too sure.

“The more you take… the more you leave behind. What is it?”

"footsteps", I murmur 

He says an incantation in a language I cannot understand, but I am suffused with positive energy, feeling the warmth course through my veins.

The door flies open, and Jethro runs in calling for help. Behind him are four husks. I grab up my quarterstaff and cast Shillelagh, imbuing it with nature's wrath. I help him take them out 2 to 1, but he gives just as good an account of himself as I do, and we make short work of them. I take a raking blow again to the shoulder (it's stiff as I haven't been able to rest it yet). But Jethro is as good as his word and heals the injury with the aid of his deity. He holds out a coin purse and 

"Here, take this. You may have more use for it than I will. Rest the night here and in the morning, prepare yourself for what's ahead of you. There is a spare cot in the other room you can use".

I walk through and gingerly lie on the sleeping pallet to try and get some rest.

 

Glide the Courier

Location: Prastead

Guild Courier report: Elias Light skimmer Designated delivery route pattern: tésera Notes on the route. Segment 1 Prastead to Mygraff farm

• Left Prastead with a cargo glider that was fully charged when, out of nowhere, a lightning Storm struck. I managed to evade some of the static discharges, but the side of my glider got struck and suffered some minor damage (shouldn’t affect the control,s mainly scorch marks from what I can see).
• I clear the storm and notice a route through the volcanoes that stretch out before me. It should help me to gain some speed moving forward.
• I'm proved right, as on the other side, I come across some volcanic vents which cause the gliders' propulsion to overcharge and offer extra speed, though I notice the wreck of a courier on an outcropping of rock and angle my glider over and find that the package they were taking was still attached, so I could make a profit from this.
• I found out why this route isn’t on the map as I approach Mygraff farm, the sand beneath the glider starts to shift and start to slow I cut loose the cargo I picked up and gain a small boost,t which pushes me through.
• Route 1 completed, I pick up the cargo that needs delivering to Hoygend and set off

Segment 2 Mygraff farm to Hoygend

• Set off fine, avoiding the loose sand, cursing my ill fate and focusing on the way forward, when all of a sudden, the wind changes direction, blowing sand and loosening detritus into my face.
• Pooling dust blocks all lines of sight, and I have to rely on my Gliders' navigation through my helmet's Heads Up Display, which, while helpful, is more frustrating than anything else.
• The wind changes its direction again, and I'm able to make some time, so I do a quick Look over the glider and see that the lightning bolt earlier hit some of the electrical components. There are not enough to do anything major to control overall, so I do a few minor repairs to it to see me through.
• I run across some more volcanic vents and pick up some momentum to try to arrive sooner than estimated.
• Though a rival spots me speeding and starts to make a dash towards me, I run the glider quicker and after a quick cat and mouse through some rock stacks, I make it through and get to Hoygend.

Segment 3 Hoygend to Salt City

• As dusk approaches I start off and a meteor flashes across the sky, I manage to nab a piece of cargo off of one of the rivals' colleague's gliders that were parked up, “you Snooze you lose” I make my way through another volcanic area one good thing about this route is its closeness to the volcanic mountain of Pra which gives me a welcome boost forward
• The heat from the desert at the close of the day helps to lift me higher, and I glance briefly over the vista, though deserted, it still has a level of charm.
• I use the boost to speed up and arrive quicker at my destination

Segment 4 Salt City to Prastead

• Last delivery of the day, I set off towards Prastead and get hit by a relic storm, I find something of interest and can pick it up as I go over but catch the wing of the glider on a suddenly appearing relic. I'm not sure whether I'm going to be able to buff it out.
• After the storm, it is a relief to see clear skies above me as I move forward through the storm. Navigation is somewhat stressful; I do, however, notice one more relic. I scoop it up. I may be able to deliver this to someone and make a little extra,
• As I continue, I get a warning klaxon through my earpiece. Something has locked onto me. Looking around it is a sabotaged drone, I circle the area trying to confuse it and to lose the lock. I find its MMB (mobile maintenance bay) and sabotage what's left hoping to cause it to fail and run out of charge again more scrap to sell ha ha.
• My mirth is short-lived as I hit some salt flats, the irregular surface causes the glider to Slow down, I'm so close to Home.
• The temperature starts to drop, and the cells cool again slowing me down And I think this is going to be the last drop of the night.
• I pull into my bay and hand over my cargo.
• I'm awarded a golden wing medal for the effort

All in all, it was a fun experience. It is a simple card draw game with a few stats, though I chose to write it up as a narrative as I had this story forming in my head as I played. I am definitely thinking of trying out the full game of Glide at some point, as this has piqued my interest. I will post a link to the rules https://sasquatchgames.itch.io/glide-the-courier, as it was a free game. Give it a go, let me know what you think

I was also inspired to do a little doodle of the drone using a tracing app and a pic I found online

Adventures In Solo Roleplay

Over the years, I have had an interest in role-playing games and have had some great times in various systems and with different groups, especially with a group of friends over Discord during the pandemic. At times, similar to tabletop wargaming, finding time to play with my friends or groups of friends can be a bit of a Nightmare, like trying to get all the planets to align.

        a few months back I stumbled into a series of Tabletop games that are designed for multiplayer and have an element of Solo play to them, and have dabbled, so I had a Google wondering if there was similar with RPG's (seeing as when i was younger like most of my genaration the choose your own adventure books like fighting fantasy was a thing) I came across the Lone Roller and their story of Talti, it seemed a bit silly, the idea of using a game to create a story but i enjoyed listening to it and i decided to use chat GPT to be a DM i saw a reddit post about it. While I played a short 5th Ed game, I got frustrated with it as the enemies and the dungeons were repetitive or broken, the AI constantly wanted to please but changed the rules do i had to break the narrative to informit of such, so I scrapped that one (Silias the Divine sorcerer hunter of the fey, the idea was really cool, but the play sucked i want to do it properly as i think that will be an awesome story). 

        I then stumbled upon the Wasteland story from PJ's solo roleplayers podcast, which is a solo RPG using the Fallout 2d20 system (I had played previously and had enjoyed it) and liked his pacing. He was using the Mythic GM by Tana Pigeon as an oracle, which was a new thing to me. It was interesting and not as silly. He then released the Solo roleplayers podcast, where he chats about it, and he does actual plays. It was at this time (July 2025) that I stumbled upon a guest he had, Tales of the Manticore, which is a dark fantasy tale using older editions of DnD to play it, and as he says

 "Tales of the Manticore is a hybrid between a dark fantasy audio drama and a solo D&D RPG. The dice make all the important decisions and, as a writer, my job is to interpret them and tell their story. Part fiction, part game, it’s the story where ”Chaos rolls.” 

I really got sucked into the story to the point where I emotionally invested in some of the characters, and I still have trust issues listening to the podcast after some of my favourite characters were killed.

It was around this time that I decided to look into what's about solo RPG-wise, and as my Crazy brain went, it was an all or nothing. I downloaded a couple of simple one-page RPGs off of itch.io, found a solo supplement off of Drive Thru RPG and backed a couple of solo-themed Kickstarters, then got overwhelmed and did nothing. Fast forward to December, I decided to get out some of the RPGs I downloaded and try them out, and it was a lot of fun, so I have decided to share the experience on Blogger.

When I have a session, I will do a write-up of what I have played. Please feel free to comment and make any suggestions on games you enjoy.