Solo Dungeon Delving - a session report

I haven't had much time for games and hobbies for a while. Most of the gaming I do manage to fit in is in the form of board games and card games. I did finally start on a solo rpg that I've been wanting to do and planning to do for some time now. It was all done with pen/pencil and paper, so there isn't much to show in terms of pictures, but maybe I will include maps, drawings, or other materials later.

This is a solo dungeon delve, using Scarlet Heroes by Kevin Crawford, published by Sine Nomine Publishing, and The Location Crafter by Tana Pigeon of Wordmill Games (who also do Mythic: Game Master Emulator).

My character is Durik Borgrimson, a dwarven scout, who apprenticed as a toymaker. This adventure takes place while Durik is scouting around the rough edges between civilized country and wilderlands. His first scouting assignment.

Part 1.

Durik came across the trail of a number of goblins. The trail was very easy to follow as the goblins had made no attempt to hide their passage. Much trampling of grasses, brush and other vegetation, the occasional bit of rubbish, wanton damage, and other signs marked the goblins' trail.

The trail led Durik to a cave entrance in a hidden ravine. By that time the night was turning into the wee hours of the morning.

He cautiously approaches the cave entrance, trying to remain undercover as much as possible. As he gets near enough he finds the entrance guarded by 3 goblins in assorted ragged clothing and bits of armor, armed with various hand weapons. The goblins are fairly alert and perk up as they notice something approaching the cave. They ready their weapons as Durik gets off a shot with his bow. One goblin is taken down with an arrow. The other two goblins dart back inside the cave.

Durik cautiously enters the cave and finds himself in a chamber occupied by three additional goblins who are arguing with the two goblins who had run back inside. Durik decides to rush in and try to ambush the goblins, but does no damage in his haste. The goblins try to fight back, but get in each others' way and also fail to inflict any damage.

The fight becomes more deadly as Durik kills one goblin with his ax, and then dispatches 2 more goblins on the return stroke. The remaining 2 goblins stand and fight back, but their attacks don't get through Durik's defenses. With some deft ax work he kills the last 2 goblins. His search finds 6 gold pieces and a belly chain worth 90 gold pieces.

Moving on, Durik comes to a second chamber, with another passage the heads back to the first chamber. The second chamber is empty.

He exits into a long passage. The sounds of quarreling come from the far end of the passage, around a bend. One of the voices has a creepy quality.

Durik makes his way down the passage. Peering around the bend he can see a large alert hobgoblin on guard duty at a second exit from the cave complex. The hobgoblin's attention is focused towards the outside.

Durik pulls back and finds a side tunnel off of the long passageway. He explores the side passage, but finds it ends shortly in a dead end. It looks like it's used as a sort of rubbish tip, among other things.

So he returns to the second chamber, and with a quick search he finds another passage behind a rock. Following the passage he comes to an open area occupied by a goblin shaman and 7 goblin minions. There is an argument going on as some of the minions are wounded and arguing with the shaman to heal their wounds.

Durik charges in to attack the shaman, but the minions are in the way. He kills 2 of the minions in his initial attack. Meanwhile, the goblin shaman casts a spell that heals any wounds on the remaining minions. This improves their morale. Three of the 5 remaining minions land hits on Durik. In return he kills 2 more of them.

Next, the shaman casts another spell, this time aimed at Durik. Durik feels something like an attack inside his head. He resists this attack. The minions, down to only three now, attack Durik, with one landing just a glancing blow. Durik kills one more minion. At this point the shaman escapes by means of a magic portal. The last 2 minions fight it out with Durik. He manages to kill them without taking any further damage in return. He finds 20 gold pieces, a bracelet worth about 90 gold pieces, a toe ring worth 100 gold pieces, and an amulet worth about 400 gold pieces.

He binds his wounds and moves on to the far end of the open area.