The Best Session I've Ever Participated In

The system was an OSR homebrew called Daring Subterranean Mercenaries. The campaign started in BFRPG, but my players didn't really grok the system. I know it's simple, but I'm not surprised because 1) I didn't read the rules thoroughly enough to teach it properly, 2) they never made any attempt to read the rules themselves and 3) the rules aren't particularly well-presented for new players to understand.

I made this easier on them by designing DSM to be very compact, only have the information that a player actually needs to know (nothing for the DM) and, most importantly, it's visual, inspired by the designs of Better Legends.

After a long hiaitus (of about two years), I decided to start the campaign up again, now using my new system, Daring Subterranean Mercenaries. The characters are: Badger (Halfling fighter), Brogun (Dwarf thief), Elfiña (Elf mage), Lemon McTall (Elf thief) and Saltie Mann (Human cleric).

I made DSM compatible with BFRPG so their characters would easily transition into the new system. I didn't want Halflings to be a race, but I added them anyway so Badger wouldn't feel left out.

Previously, the party had gained the favour of the Greene Man by stealing the Crown of the Goblin King during a heist. He allowed them to use his magical network to teleport into any area of the map. They chose the archipelago known as Leviathan's Maw. When they arrived, they found themselves on a desert island with a ramshackle hut built on the beach. A skeleton sat with a journal in his hands and there was a large chest in the corner.

Our previous session was the Tomb of Black Sands, which the PCs experienced as a flashback when reading the journal of the pirate captain. This session was such a complete disaster that it caused the hiaitus of two years. I didn't (and still don't) know how to run a pre-written dungeon. It was also over Zoom because we were in lockdown.

The skeleton was a pirate captain and the journal was his logbook detailing his triumphant raid of a dungeon, the proof of which was contained within the chest. The party celebrated their arrival by drinking all of his rum. This is where we picked up the story two years later.

The party woke from their drunken slumber and realised they couldn't just hang around, they had to get this treasure somewhere they could spend it so they could level up. They separated out the gold, silver and copper coins and filled their pockets. Some filled sacks that significantly weighed them down, others filled smaller sacks that would be easier to lug around, and others filled their purses enough so that they wouldn't be affected.

The fact that I put the treasure here right at the start was perfect. The party didn't have to go looking for a goal, or sit around twiddling their thumbs. They had their motivation right in front of them. It was clear from the beginning that it was going to be a challenge to actually take the treasure somewhere useful, which is what encumbrance mechanics are all about. I made a point to tell the party they get experience by wasting their money, so they had a real incentive to take it home.

Brogun and Saltie went out to look into the distance and saw some vessels heading to a nearby town. To attract their attention, Lemon started a signal fire in the jungle.

I gave Lemon a 1-in-6 chance of actually lighting a fire in a very moist jungle. I was totally not expecting her to succeed, but I'm glad I gave her a chance, however small, because it changed the course of the session to something epic.

Meanwhile, Badger and Elfiña went to the jungle to get some wood in order to build a raft. They found a poisonous flower that smelled delicious. They were wise enough to stay away, because the trees around the flower were all dead and Elfiña threw a stick nearby to see what would happen. A colony of ants that had been living inside the stick ran away, a clear signal of danger.

I had the characters make a poison save whenever they got a whiff of the flower. Neither Badger nor Elfiña were affected by the poison, however. Elfiñas use of a stick to test the flower is some great old-school play in my book, using the environment and simple real-life tactics, not magic, character abilities and skill checks.

Badger and Elfiña returned with the wood and started building a raft, using rope to tie it all together and a tent to make a sail. This required a successful DEX check, which they got. Saltie, Brogun and Lemon's curiosity was piqued by news of the flower, so they went to investigate. Saltie is a tourist, so he went to go and look for fun, Brogun went to collect more wood and Lemon went to take the flower and sell it. Saltie was paralysed by the flower and took d6 damage, Brogun was affected when trying to save Saltie. Lemon dragged Saltie away so she could get the flower, but Brogun swatted it away when he realised its dangerous qualities.

The flower occupied the party for a long time. It was supposed to be one of many steps on a long trek to the nearby outpost. The flower was an extremely simple thing and it was obvious to the players from the first moment that it was both dangerous and valuable. In the past I might have focused on the flower's mechanical properties, but my focus on the description of the environment and immersing the players into the setting worked incredibly well. 

The ship they saw in the distance approached the island and parleyed with Badger and Elfiña. They were bound by the Merchant's Code to help the castaways, but they were cautious because of how well-armed the party were. They agreed to let them attach their raft to the ship via rope, allowing them to reach the island without having to give up their weapons, armour and treasure.

This was some excellent role-playing, especially by Elfiña. I'm glad that I allowed the party to attract the attention of the ship, even though it was not in my initial plans at all. I had to kill some time with other players in order to come up with ideas on how to stop the adventure screeching to a halt. I'm happy that I thought about how dangerous it would be for a couple of merchants to have a party of well-armed warriors on their ship.

The party agreed to the merchants' terms and followed along. They were given a bottle of rum, caught a fish with a crossbow and had a gay evening, patting themselves on the back for a job well done. Lemon decided to climb along the rope and enter the merchant vessel in secret. Badger tried to follow, but fell into the water. This attracted the attention of two great white sharks that swiftly began to attack.

I would never have thought how much enjoyment the party would get from a simple moment of respite, roleplaying drinking rum and eating fish. They loved it. I'm also happy that Lemon thought to use her climbing ability, which is exactly how I would have hoped it would be used. I rolled the sharks in the OSE Classic Fantasy random ocean swimmers table, nothing planned, nothing fudged.

Elfiña threw all the party's rations into the water in order to distract one of the sharks. It leapt up as it grabbed the rations. Saltie used the opportunity to shoot it with his crossbow. He made a critical hit, dealing double damage! The other shark came around and flipped the raft over, knocking everyone into the water. Brogun heroically dragged an ally onto the upturned raft and began repairing it. Some of the party members had to let go of their treasure to stay afloat. Badger tried to throw a bar of soap into one of the shark's mouths, but despite a blessing from Saltie, she missed and took a tail swipe from the shark. Elfiña had another moment of truth and summoned a web around one of the sharks, causing it to be left behind by the ship. Badger was still in the water and was being targeted by the injured shark. She used her greatsword to thrust into the shark's skull, finally killing it.

This was the most exciting combat I've ever played. Elfiñas use of rations was ingenious and highly effective. I gave Saltie a +2 to his attack because the shark was out of the water when he shot, but he didn't need it. Crossbows deal 2d8 damage, so hit attack dealt 4d8 damage, which was a total game-changer. I forgot to check if the raft would even survive the shark attack, but that's okay. The fact that they had to drop some treasure was perfect. Part of my thinking for this session was that treasure would be lost along the way and the party would have to work to minimise losses. I never fudged a single roll and the party were lucky not to die. This is a good lesson for me in the future, because I never would have pitted the party against two great white sharks, but they prevailed in the end.