Chapter 3: Rite of Passage

Six figures strode through the dilapidated streets of the old quarter. Their presence was met with naught but the cool night breeze and the curious gaze of foraging rats. The band consisted of a roguish half-orc, a fat man clad in chainmail, and a motley crew of ordinary folk kitted with basic armor and simple blades. Three were human with a single woman among them. The last was a dwarven man, short but stout. All were eager for riches, but first they would have to earn it.

It wasn't long before the party reached their destination: An abandoned academy of modest renown, now left to ruin for uncertain reasons.

The party is assembled. Our first dungeon awaits. But first, the commoners need to be equipped. Let's roll 2d6 x 10 for their starting gold.
OSE starting gold: 40g each.
This will be tight, but manageable. They all get a sling, a rope, a short sword, leather armor, and a shield. Did the party learn of anything useful about the academy? Seeing how low-class they are, I doubt they would know who to ask.
OPSE Yes/No (Unlikely): No.
We're going in blind, ladies and gentlemen. Unknown magical disaster? Pfft, not a problem. Time for scene complications.
OPSE Scene Complication: An obstacle blocks your way.
OPSE Altered Scene: The environment is different.
Very interesting. Let's get some details.
Maze Rats City Event: Proclamation.
Is the academy being demolished?
OPSE Yes/No (Likely): Yes.
Is there a demolition crew present?
OPSE Yes/No (Likely): No, and there hasn't been one in some time.
How damaged is the building?
OPSE How: More than expected.

Adobe rubble and sundered beams of wood were all that remained of the entire main wing of the academy, but the rest of the structure remained intact. Though the main entrance was ruined, and all windows long since barred, two more intact entrances were available on either side of the collapsed wing.

"Look there," the woman whispered, pointing to a small wooden sign planted on the street. She approached it and recited its message to the party.

"By order of the Mayor, Jumingo Academy is to be demolished. All trespassers will be arrested and punished."

"Not a soul in sight, though," the dwarf grunted. "And where's the demolition tools? Did the humans do that with their bare hands?" he quipped, pointing to the heap of rubble. "I think not. The project must be abandoned."

Urukubarr nodded in silent agreement.

TURN 1

Luckily there are two alternative entrances. Bear in mind that I have done zero work on this dungeon in advance, so metagaming is impossible. All I know are the exterior dimensions of the building. Is there a second story to the academy?
OPSE Yes/No (Even): No.
Are there any windows that offer some visibility?
OPSE Yes/No (Unlikely): No.
My thief will listen at the door.
OSE Hear Noises: Success.
Anything inside?
OSE Yes/No (Even): Yes, and there's more than one of it.

Urukubarr hushed the party, then planted his ear on one of the double doors. All was quiet for a moment, until a soft bump broke the silence.

"There's something in there," he muttered, backing away from the door.

"Do you know what it is?" Juho whispered, his hand instinctively reaching to his sheathed sword.

"No. Let's try the other way."

Same routine as before. I'm very lucky to have succeeded on that Hear Noises roll.
OSE Hear Noises: Fail.
Is the door locked?
OPSE Yes/No (Likely): Yes.
Thief! Get to work!
OSE Open Lock: Failure.

TURN 2

OSE Wandering monsters: None.
One more try.
OSE Open Lock: Failure.
Fuck it. Juho can force it open.
OSE Force door: Failure.

For 20 minutes the party waited as Urukubarr worked the lock. Soft clicking and rattling taunted him as the lock resisted his every attempt to compromise it. He twitched when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder.

"Stand back, I'm gonna muscle my way in," Juho declared.

Urukubarr and the recruits stared in dismay as Juho strained against the door, his face reddening from the effort. It retorted with a loud pop.

Are any creatures present beyond the door? Noting that the OPSE encounter table has only a 2-in-6 chance of rolling hostile enemies, I will lower the Yes/No odds to Unlikely.
OPSE Yes/No (Unlikely): No, and the room is rather empty.

The party waited anxiously, but nothing reacted to the sound from within. Juho beckoned the dwarf over to help him try again.

OSE Force door: Failure.
I'm getting some Critical Role vibes.

"The crowbar, Juho," Urukubarr suggested, feeling somewhat stupid for not remembering that they had it.

"Right," the bard growled.

OSE Force door: Success.
It's about fucking time, eh? I should've used it earlier.

TURN 3

OSE Wandering monsters: None.
What kind of room is it? A classroom?
OPSE Yes/No (Likely): No, but it's similar. It appears to be a mostly empty private study room.
OPSE Total Exits: 1 additional exit, 2 in total.

The party swiftly entered the academy, not wanting to be seen by any patrolling guards, and found themselves in a small study room. Dusty bookshelves lined the walls and were mostly empty, their sparse contents partially scattered across the floor. A finely-made desk sat in the center of the room, but no chair accompanied it.

"What do you guys think they studied in here?" one of the two men asked silently.

"Shh! No talking unless it's important," the half-orc grunted, kneeling down by one of the doors.

There's a bookshelf in the corner of the room, which means there is a gap behind it. I think it's worth searching, but not until I scout the area. When the thief scouts, I will make a Move Silently roll for every new area entered. I'm ready to spill my caltrops at the first sign of trouble. I'm going to listen at both doors, starting with the northern one.
OSE Hear Noises: Success.
Do I hear any creatures?
OPSE Yes/No (Unlikely): Yes.
It's time to create an encounter table, I think (I should've done it earlier at the eastern entrance). So now I need to know a little more about this place. Is there an undead infestation?
OPSE Yes/No (Even): Yes.
Custom encounter table: 1 ghoul.

The chilling sound of a tongue sliding upon lips revealed the danger immediately beyond, with the stink of rotting corpses to go with it.

"Undead," the thief cursed silently. "Let me check the other door."

No doubt the ones in charge of this mess wanted to keep it quiet. But more importantly, do I want to kill it? I think I do. First I need to make sure that we won't be flanked.
OSE Hear Noises: Success.
Anything there?
OPSE Yes/No (Unlikely): No.
Is the door locked?
OPSE Yes/No (Unlikely): No, and it's impossible to completely close.
Good thing I checked. Time to scout it out. A flash of the lantern will do... wait a second, both doors lead to the same hallway. Fuck, did the ghoul see? It was around the corner, but still...
OPSE Yes/No (Even): Yes.*

The other door was in disrepair and hung open slightly, unable to be fully closed. The half-orc raised the hood on his lantern and flashed it beyond the doorway, revealing a hallway that curled along the room they were in. The half-orc froze as he arced the lantern towards the far end of the hall. At the corner, something stared hungrily at Urukubarr, its once-human features warped with unholy decay.

"Gods, it's a ghoul!" he screamed.

ROUND 1
Ghoul HP: 11.
Initiative: Party first.
Excellent. Urukubarr needs to back up and get his polearm ready. Juho is in a good position to block the door already, and the dwarf can cover it with him. The three humans can provide fire support with their slings.

The party scrambled to cover the door, ready to kill the ghoul as soon as it emerged. Urukubarr leveled his polearm behind the bard and dwarf, ready to skewer the abomination before it could do the same to his comrades. The rest readied their slings, hoping for a decisive battle.

There are no held actions in OSE. In exchange for positional superiority, we let the ghoul attack Juho uncontested this turn.
Ghoul attacks Juho: Miss.
Phew. These things can paralyze you with a single strike. Getting hit is very bad.

The freakish abomination sprinted forth and clawed at Juho, its eyes filled with an unholy hunger that could never be sated. The bard held firm and by his stout bulk kept the ghoul at bay.

ROUND 2
Initiative: Monsters first.
Ghoul attacks Juho: A close miss.
Yikes. One of our men has no line of sight on the ghoul and won't be able to fire for a while. OSE has penalties for firing into melee, but I ignore them when the missile attacker is directly next to the melee combatants or when they are firing from a flank. The dwarf steps into the hall to engage the ghoul, and the slingers reposition to take their shots.
Two slingers attack the ghoul: A hit and a crit!
Sling damage: 5.
Minimum damage on the crit. Booooo. Melee happens next.
Juho attacks the ghoul: Barely hit.
Sword damage: 6.
The ghoul is slain, and nobody is hurt. Well done, party. Now all of the commoners become proper level 1 characters. We now have a dwarf cleric, a human fighter with max roll HP(!), a human magic-user with 18 INT and max roll HP(!!), and a human assassin with good DEX. Stats will be adjusted now, but I won't allow class abilities to be used until the graduates leave the dungeon and get some practice.

The ghoul continued its assault but was repelled by a flurry of well-placed stones. As the ghoul recoiled, Juho seized his opportunity and stabbed the monster through its leathery chest. It chomped wordlessly as it crumpled to the tiled floor.

Agonizing silence engulfed the party. None dared to speak nor move.

"Ok, we're clear," the half-orc declared, his voice shaking slightly. "Let's search behind that bookshelf."

Time to check the space behind the bookshelf. Is anything there?
OPSE Yes/No (Unlikely): No, but it contains a secret hatch.
I'm definitely checking that out.

TURN 4

OSE wandering monsters: None.
New room generation: No monsters, but its trapped. No treasure.
NO TREASURE AFTER MISSING ALL 6 ROLLS ON THE TREASURE LIST JUST SO YOU KNOW! There's actually a rule in OSE where the ref is allowed to tweak very high or very low treasure rolls. This is definitely one such case, so I'm going to roll to create a few gems.
Treasure roll: 3 gems worth 700g total.
More than I expected. Not bad! Moving on!
The party will check out the room but the dwarf is definitely going to probe the hatch for a trap first.
Trap roll: Trapped. Not detected, triggered.
Fuck, what does it do?
Trap effect: Dangerous architecture, save versus wands or take 1d4 damage.
Dwarf save against wands: Fail. Max damage, dead.
The campaign's first party death... rest in peace. He would've been a good cleric.

Sure enough, the party spotted a secret hatch in the corner of the room behind the bookshelf.

"I'll give it a look," the dwarf offered. "I know my way around architecture."

"All yours," the thief assented.

As the dwarf kneeled next to the hatch, the old floor beneath him gave way and the dwarf tumbled down the hatch. A thump echoed from below, then all was silent.

"Are you alright?!" Urukubarr whispered harshly. There was no response. One of the recruits paced in agitation, their hands resting on the back of their head. The rest stared in shock.

"I'm going in," Juho declared, his tone thick with anxiety and anger. The rest soon followed.

Descending down the dank ladder was harrowing to the disheartened band. The lifeless body of the dwarf laid upon the cold stone floor, his neck clearly broken.

"At least he died instantly," one of the men murmured somberly.

"It was not for nothing," the woman added, walking over to a mangled skeleton clutching a spilled sack of gems.

"Let's get him and the gems out of here," Urukubarr ordered. "We need to regroup and strategize."

I made a few mistakes this session. In OSE, undead cannot be heard until they attack. I can handwave it this time by saying the ghoul was already aware of the party, but I'll get it right in the future. Also I forgot to roll for traps in the first room. As I establish a gameplay routine, things should get more consistent. One more thing; I think I'll be getting rid of double damage on nat 20s (but a nat 20 will still always hit). It's too much for game that's already so deadly.

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Pub: 30 Aug 2022 19:49 UTC

Edit: 30 Aug 2022 20:04 UTC

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