Seeing this thread pop-up again i thought i'd give it a try as i was yet to get around to it. Musing over the titles in my collection, i decided to run with Deathtrap Dungeon.
Mostly this was because i knew just how dangerous and entertaining this solo can be from my early childhood memories of it but, also because of the variety i knew it offered in the challenges contained within and how suspicious you had to be of every twist and turn... The mark of a good adventure that draws you in as far as i'm concerned.
Being such a long while since i soloed last i decided to roll up a fresh character and here's what i got:
STR: 14
DEX: 13
LK: 15
INT: 6
CHR: 8
CON: 13
SPD: 8
WIZ: 8
Gold: 110
I'd already decided that to keep in theme with the adventure as it was written that i'd only be playing a human and, the above rolls made it more than clear that for any chance of survival, this would have to be a Warrior (which also keeps in nicely with the story as it is written).
Next i decided that my characters background was that of a no-good-neck and that he was here purely to fight for his freedom, not unlike Deathtrap Equalizer Dungeon and, should he survive, that's all he would be getting. No 10,000gp purse for this rebel without a cause, just the chance to go out and cause more trouble in Trolworld.
For his basic starting equipment i clad him in leather and, also bought him a suit of matching leather armour and, decided that for the money he had a Long Spear was the best option. So all in all, he could now dish out 5 dice worth of damage, plus his 5 personal adds and, take 14 hits before anything would actually hurt him besides spite. Not a bad little delver at all!
Next i had to decide how i would interprit the monsters in the book and, various other rules. I decided on the following:
- MR = (Skill + Stamina)*2
- Any effect that reduced skill during combat due to circumstances would instead reduce weapon dice rolled on a one-for-one basis.
- Each Test of Luck or, Test of Skill would be measured on its individual merits as you would a SR.
So now i was all set and the adventure could begin.
If you intend to play yourself, reading beyond this point might spoil your game... You have been warned.
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From the entrance i decided to open the box. After all, it had my name on it and, upon doing so i was pleasantly rewarded. 2gp and a note telling me the goal of this dungeon. Suffice to say, if i hadn't have read it, i could have got to the end and still lost if memory serves me correctly.
When i arrved at the first junction, i decided that i would follow the majority. My theory here is that if they set the traps off before me, i can just steal anything they have of value from their cold dead corpses... Well, i am playing a less than ethical delver after all.
At the next junction, i changed my tact, following in the direction of just one individual. My theory now running along the lines of north is probably the way out and, they went north. They can also still be triggering all the traps for me too!
Going north lead me straight into a fight with a Caveman and after taking a couple of minor knocks, the monster was soon toast. Looting the corpse revealed a wristband, which i declined to take. My thinking here was, well cavemen aren't common place and maybe the wristband had something to do with that. I still threw it in my backpack however in case it was worth anything and guessed it weighed about the same as a bracer (20 WU).
Carrying on north i came across an abandoned backpack, which i left. My thinking here was that no adventurer (sorry, delver) would abandon their pack without good reason. I sure as hell didn't want to find out what that reason was!
After crossing a couple of more junctions i found myself in a large cavern with gems for eyes. The text did mention a couple of stuffed birds which i fully expected to come to life but, nothing i couldn't handle i figured and with gems at stake, i was wiling to take that risk. Climbing the idol without a rope wasn't a great idea as Solas (that's what i named the Warrior) slipped near the top but soon managed to grab hold and finish his climb.
Sitting on the bridge of the node, he decided to pry out the right-hand gem first... Releasing knock out gas. Unconcious, he fell to his death. OUCH!
So, although Solas only survived a few paragraphs, he still did a lot in that time and, it was a fair bit of fun. More to come some day soon!