Finally getting back to doing these transcripts, now I remember why I've been putting them off for so long. This was recorded on March 30th 2019, you can find the audio recording here. This details pretty much our exploits in to the Caves of Chaos.
Lance Duncan
Okay, we are recording. We are talking about the caves of chaos. So the first question, did you read the description to us when you DMed the game?
Bruce Duncan
I may have, but I may have had you read it
Lance Duncan
Okay. Because you know, it's a description of the valley. And along with that, because this assumes that you're approaching from the road going inside the valley. Did you ever have players come from behind from the forest or above the riverbank ravine?
Bruce Duncan
For the first time, No.
Lance Duncan
But at other times when we're coming back or something?
Bruce Duncan
if your party has never been on this adventure before, no. You always came in this way. If your party has been there before, then yes.
Lance Duncan
It also mentions here that monsters might capture PCs and ransom them back to the keep. Does that ever happen?
Bruce Duncan
No not to you guys.
Lance Duncan
Do we ever get any monsters to ally with us or to fight each other?
Bruce Duncan
Yes.
Lance Duncan
You wanna elaborate?
Bruce Duncan
It was the hobgoblins against the goblins. Actually, you guys were with the goblins and taking on the hobgoblins and you were successful in eliminating both parties.
Lance Duncan
We killed the one that survived right?
Bruce Duncan
Yes.
Lance Duncan
So was there ever a time where we went and did the caves, did some fighting and then went back to the keep. And later, we waited a while and then we came back and part of it was repopulated?
Bruce Duncan
Yes, every single time. because someone else would see a vacant cave and they'd move in.
Lance Duncan
It'd be people from outside the cave complex entirely?
Bruce Duncan
Not always.
Lance Duncan
Okay. Yeah, because it has both pieces of advice that sometimes, you know, one tribe can vacate another cave, or one tribe can inhabit another cave or they if it's long enough, people from outside can come back. Okay, so the first area is the kobold area. Did we ever did we fall for the kobold's pit trap in there? Do you remember that?
Bruce Duncan
No, no one ever fell for that.
Lance Duncan
Because there's a pit trap right there at the entrance, and they're supposed to attack us with range weapons?
Bruce Duncan
Yeah no, everybody got through that because the finding traps skill was always used
Lance Duncan
Oh, it also talks about there's an ambush, they were trying to ambush us outside of the tunnel.
Bruce Duncan
now that did happen
Lance Duncan
How did that go?
Bruce Duncan
wasn't much of an ambush, they're kobolds
Lance Duncan
they're kobolds, Yeah, like I was telling John, Kobolds have like two hit points, lol
Bruce Duncan
hit them with a rock, they're dead. I don't mean from a sling.
Lance Duncan
Okay, so the kobolds have a chamber of rats. When we fought the rats, did we ever get disease from the rats?
Bruce Duncan
Yes, but you guys were always level enough to bring either healing potions or have the cleric that was level enough to cure disease.
Lance Duncan
Okay, so in one of the, I believe it's in the chieftains room . . . yeah, in the chieftains room there's a cloth with pieces of gemstones or, yeah no, gold sewn into the blanket. Did we ever find that?
Bruce Duncan
Yes.
Lance Duncan
And we got the gold?
Bruce Duncan
Yep.
Lance Duncan
Okay. Was that hard to find or how did you make that happen?
Bruce Duncan
Well the gold sown in the blanket kind of glistens in fire light.
Lance Duncan
oh Okay, So you didn't have it like you had it sewn onto the blanket not in between
Bruce Duncan
Yeah, into the blanket. Yeah, it's kind of like a tapestry
Lance Duncan
Okay, because I always pictured it more as like two layers, and it's inside.
Bruce Duncan
That's a heavy blanket.
Lance Duncan
Yeah. Well like a quilt.
Bruce Duncan
Yeah, no, I had never thought of that.
Lance Duncan
Okay. Because I mean, they do that to hide it.
Bruce Duncan
Yeah. We're talking about kobolds here, Lance.
Lance Duncan
Yeah. Yeah. So the entrance to the orc lair, there's skulls at the entrance. What impression did that have on players? Did we ever react to it in anyway?
Bruce Duncan
No. A couple of times. I'd have you guys roll dice to see reaction when you come around the corner and see that kind of thing. But nobody ever rolled a reaction to it. Just more dead.
Lance Duncan
Okay, so in that same area where there's the skulls, there's a hidden guard post and there's a orc who's pretending to be one of the dead, you know, be a trophy. Did anyone ever notice that orc hiding there?
Bruce Duncan
No, not until he jumped out.
Lance Duncan
Okay. Let's see . . . And in the first orc layer. Basically it says that if the orc leader has a chance, he'll try to escape through the secret door to the other orc lair.
Bruce Duncan
Yes.
Lance Duncan
Did that ever happen?
Bruce Duncan
Yes.
Lance Duncan
And did we follow him to where he went?
Bruce Duncan
No, you followed him. And the other group of orcs was fully ready for you. And it took a long time to overcome that situation. You were all injured and close to death. But found all kinds of potions.
Lance Duncan
And in the same vein, it also mentioned that the orcs in the first layer will go and join the other orcs if they can.
Bruce Duncan
Yeah, right.
Lance Duncan
That happened.?
Bruce Duncan
Yes. a couple of times.
Lance Duncan
So in the second orc lair, there is a trap with a net and alarm. Did we ever trip that alarm? get caught in it?
Bruce Duncan
once, Jared was playing with you guys. And he just was running through the corridors and you guys weren't stopping him. So I let him
Lance Duncan
So at the beginning of module, one of the rumours is that we think 'Bree yark' in kobold means surrender. Did we ever have that problem of them saying 'Bree yark', or it says here what 'Bree yark' actually means. Oh, it means 'Hey, rube.' lol
Bruce Duncan
it means what?
Lance Duncan
'Hey, rube,' like saying hey, rube as in
calling someone a rube.
Bruce Duncan
Yeah, ok
Lance Duncan
Did we ever have a misunderstanding with
that?
Bruce Duncan
Yeah, that was fun. lol
Lance Duncan
You know, because like they say 'Bree yark'
and we think they're surrendering,
Bruce Duncan
right, Yes, that's fun.
Lance Duncan
Okay, but it wasn't like, we got killed
because of it?
Bruce Duncan
No. I mean, you guys were surprised
because of it.
Lance Duncan
Okay, so hobgoblins. So, yeah, in the Goblin
layer there is a the storage room. There's a secret door to the hobgoblins and
did we ever encounter them coming to the storage chamber while we were there?
Bruce Duncan
once and they quickly retreated and
blocked the other end, and we're watching for you to come that way. You guys
decided not to go that way. Okay and caught them unawares
Lance Duncan
right. So that gives us an advantage in the
hobgoblin lair
Bruce Duncan
right.
Lance Duncan
Okay. So in the ogre cave, it specifically talks about the ogre. Well
about the ogre looking like a bear, did we ever mistake the ogre for a bear?
Bruce Duncan
Yes.
Lance Duncan
How did that go?
Bruce Duncan
rather well, he died quickly.
Lance Duncan
lol. It's also got the thing of the
hobgoblins coming in and throwing in some coins to the ogre, or oh no, the
question was did we ever bribe the ogre?
Bruce Duncan
Once you did, and it didn't go well for
the ogre. Cuz you guys. When you bribed him, you bribed him with copper.And he
didn't like that.
Lance Duncan
Okay, but we didn't like bribe him and then
just leave him there and don't come back him or . . .
Bruce Duncan
No, no. He got all upset, because all
the others don't bribe him in copper. They bribe him with silver or gold. And
the ogre's not that dumb, he knows the difference.
Lance Duncan
right. so the hobgoblins, at the entrance .
. . Okay, so the hobgoblin entrance has a stout barred door and it also has a
greeting, 'saying come in and have dinner with us' or 'have you for dinner'.
Bruce Duncan
Yeah,
Lance Duncan
you remember that?
Bruce Duncan
yep
Lance Duncan
Okay.
So the question is, at the entrance, what was our methods of entering? it says
we can either try to break the door down, we can find the secret lever or we
can knock on the door
Bruce Duncan
no one ever tried to break the door but
they did find the secret lever once and they did try knocking once. and when
the secret lever was found you guys were able to get in, to where they didn't
know you were coming in. when you knocked on the door, they were all like
hopefully leading you into a trap that you guys did not fall for.
Lance Duncan
Okay, so we were never tricked by the, by
the come in have have us for dinner.
Bruce Duncan
Yes. There was someone who, there was
always someone who figured that one out. no matter what party I've ever played
with, that scene.
Lance Duncan
Okay, so in the common room, there's some
hobgoblin children did we, how merciful were we? Did we just kill them, or
spare them or . . .
Bruce Duncan
no, no sparings
Lance Duncan
Never?
Bruce Duncan
Never
Lance Duncan
but
they're babies
Bruce Duncan
yeah, it didn't matter to you guys
Lance Duncan
they give stats to them, so . . .
Bruce Duncan
yeah, that's why
Lance Duncan
anything with stats we kill, right?
Bruce Duncan
yep, because it gives you experience
points
Lance Duncan
okay oh, so hobgoblins torture chamber and
prisoners, did we, you know what happened with, there was a merchant who will
offer us reward to get out, there's an
orc, two men at arms, the merchants wife, and the crazy gnoll
Bruce Duncan
well the merchant and the merchants wife
stayed behind you until you could get out, but the others were all killed.
Lance Duncan
We just killed the other people?
Bruce Duncan
Yeah, because . . .
Lance Duncan
we killed them or they were already killed?
Bruce Duncan
No, they were not already killed. They were,
they did not know that you guys were their saviors. And so they argued with you
and you dispatched them rather than deal with them.
Lance Duncan
Okay. It says the crazy gnoll would
eventually turn on us anyway. But the man at arms would help us but we didn't
get his help?
Bruce Duncan
No, the man in arms was in the mode of
going crazy anyway. he was a Berserker
Lance Duncan
Oh, in the hobgoblin lair. There's in his,
in the Chiefs quarters. There's an iron box with a false bottom.
Bruce Duncan
Yes.
Lance Duncan
Did
we detect that? Did we not detect it? How?
Bruce Duncan
Once you did not detect it
Lance Duncan
How did,
I mean How did we detect it when we did
Bruce Duncan
a thieving skill.
Lance Duncan
It was just a roll. You didn't have us
Trying to find it.
Bruce Duncan
right
Lance Duncan
Yeah, so there's a wand of paralization
hidden inside the firewood in one of the Chiefs quarters, Did we ever find
that?
Bruce Duncan
once And that was after many times
through this place. And finally, I think it was Bridget. She had a thief and
she wanted to check everything.
Lance Duncan
So she checked the firewood.
Bruce Duncan
Oh, yeah.
Lance Duncan
But we didn't find it any other times.
Bruce Duncan
No.
Lance Duncan
it's just firewood. Leave it alone.
Bruce Duncan
Right.
Lance Duncan
Okay. so in the shunned cavern where the the
owlbears are, well the owlbears are deeper in, but the entrance to the shunned
cavern, it's a really bad stench. How
did you have that affect us?
Bruce Duncan
I had you roll, and If you survived your constitution Everybody just had to hold their nose, not It was so bad that you could not enter on any further and had to puke.
Lance Duncan
Did we ever just not go in because it stunk?
Bruce Duncan
once because you guys had already known the
area so you didn't go that way and didn't bother with it.
Lance Duncan
And there's a, you know, we can find copper
and silver and electrum in the rubbish. Did we ever search the rubbish?
Bruce Duncan
on the later adventures, No, wasn't
worth the offer.
Lance Duncan
Also in that same area there's a
Bruce Duncan
because when you search the rubbish, you have
to do another saving throw. Yeah, for your constitution
Lance Duncan
Yeah, that makes sense. Well, it also gives
us time to be ambushed by whatever is in the game.
Bruce Duncan
Right.
Lance Duncan
So in the shallow pool, there is a goblet at
the bottom, did we ever go down and find that?
Bruce Duncan
No.
Lance Duncan
And there's some oozes in that same area?
Bruce Duncan
Yes.
Lance Duncan
Did they ever surprise us or
Bruce Duncan
Oh yeah, you always survived them, you
either ran or you
Lance Duncan
no, I
mean, did they surprise us?
Bruce Duncan
Oh, did they surprise you? oh once
maybe.
Lance Duncan
but we always survived.
Bruce Duncan
Yeah, that time you guys just ran rather
than deal with them. After that, you guys we're always prepared for these.
Lance Duncan
k, was the owbear a challenge for us?
Bruce Duncan
Yes
Lance Duncan
because it's a HD of 5
Bruce Duncan
yes it was
Lance Duncan
pretty tough for 1st level characters
Bruce Duncan
Yep. Which is why I tried to have you go
through everything else before you got there, that way you guys, all of you
were at least level 3
Lance Duncan
yeah yeah, also in the owlbears lair there's
a protection from undead scroll, did we find that?
Bruce Duncan
Yep.
Lance Duncan
Where does it say that is, it's in a bone
tube, it's among the sticks and bones. so we just went searching through the
bones?
Bruce Duncan
right.
Lance Duncan
okay. The bugbear lair. Again it has a
welcome sign which says safety, security and repose for all humanoid who enter,
welcome. How did we take that?
Bruce Duncan
as a place of repose . . . You would be
able to find a place to rest and not have to go all the way back to the keep to
do your rest.
Lance Duncan
So, so we went in willingly.
Bruce Duncan
Oh yeah.
Lance Duncan
And did the bugbears surprise us because of
that.
Bruce Duncan
Oh yeah.
Lance Duncan
Because it says that they'll offer us food
but then as we're taking the food, they'll attack us.
Bruce Duncan
Mm hmm. Well, they waited until, I made
them wait until you guys were totally stuffed.
Lance Duncan
Oh, we actually got to eat.
Bruce Duncan
You not only got to eat, you got to rest
and everybody was just about ready to take a nap and oops.
Lance Duncan
Okay. And was that a challenge for us?
Because bugbears are pretty tough monsters
Bruce Duncan
yes they are. And it was because of the
Monty Haul Dungeon Master that you guys were able to survive. Those wands come
in handy.
Lance Duncan
Right. Oh, there's some more slaves at the
bugbear area. Did we free them?
Bruce Duncan
Yes. You didn't go with them. You just
told them which way to go. Oh, one time when you got with the guy with the men
at arms, the slaves with men at arms. You charged the man at arm with taking
the other people back and gave him some armor that didn't quite fit and a sword
that was a little bit small.
Lance Duncan
Okay, well I guess that's more chivalrous of
us. lol. Sounds like we're standard murder hobos in your games.
Bruce Duncan
Yes.
Lance Duncan
The Minotaur caves, we're supposed to get
dizzy and lose direction. How'd that happen?
Bruce Duncan
Yeah, you guys always lost direction
while you were in there. one time you were in there for quite a long time. Even
after the Minotaur was dead lol
Lance Duncan
also, the Minotaur kept his treasure behind
a big rock. Did we ever move that and find his treasure?
Bruce Duncan
Yeah. Once Yeah, just once. yeah, the
ones when you guys were stuck in there a very long time. because some of you
were getting upset and kicked, started kicking rocks or stuff down walls.
Lance Duncan
Well, it's like behind a big rock that
requires more than one person to move, or a really strong person
Bruce Duncan
right, Once someone kicked it, and
noticed that it moved. So the rest of you were going to move it in hopes that
this was a way out. And so you all got together and moved it and nope, not a
way out.
Lance Duncan
Yeah, three humans to move. lol
Bruce Duncan
you were still stuck in the caverns for
a little bit longer.
Lance Duncan
Yeah, cuz we're still dizzy from it . . .
Oh, the gnoll lairs. In the gnoll lair, there's a storeroom. And in the
storeroom, what's Oh, there's a there's a whole bunch of wine . . . It's fine ale. Did we ever taste that and get
drunk off of it?
Bruce Duncan
I know that there was a crew that did
that. I don't remember which crew it was. But it was always if there was
someone other than our family members that would do something like that. Yeah,
because none of our family members would do that.
Lance Duncan
Well it also says to . . . Yeah, if if we
taste it, it tells us to roll to see if we'll keep drinking.
Bruce Duncan
Yeah. Yeah, you guys were very weary of,
wary of any prepackaged bottles
Lance Duncan
Yeah, Okay. . . oh, the shrine of evil
chaos. So before we entered that, Did we feel like a sense of, Did you have a
feel like a sense of dread? Like in the description?
Bruce Duncan
I wouldn't say that I had you feel a
sense of dread. more along the lines of sense of we have to do this. And no,
nobody knows what it is you have to do.
Lance Duncan
lol Okay . . . So in area 51, there is area 51.
Bruce Duncan
hahaha
Lance Duncan
Area 51. It's boulder blocks passage. Do we
ever clear that passageway?
Bruce Duncan
Yes. And you came back in that way to do
the rest of the adventure.
Lance Duncan
Okay, well, where did you have it lead?
Bruce Duncan
back to town. about a hundred yards away
from the castle.
Lance Duncan
in the hall of skeletons, I think that's
area 52, there's a dais with a chair on it. We talked about this previously.
Was that chair the Bloodstone throne that we were, that we tried to take out of
these caves or was it a different area, area 58
Bruce Duncan
that was over here.
Lance Duncan
Okay. But this was just a chair, a decorated
chair like it describes in the adventure, there's a chair with four large gems?
Bruce Duncan
Yeah. Someone took the gems out.
Lance Duncan
Okay. And we defeated the skeleton in that
room?
Bruce Duncan
right. Maybe you made a Molotov cocktail
in the skeletons.
Lance Duncan
So the Bloodstone chair was in area 58,
which that's a long description. I don't want to reread it. But it describes
the wall of translucent redstone. Yeah, but that's where the Bloodstone chair
was. Did we ever actually get that out? I don't remember
Bruce Duncan
once.
Lance Duncan
And I seem to have an idea that it was
magical in some way.
Bruce Duncan
Yeah.
Lance Duncan
How?
Bruce Duncan
it made you see your enemy and fight
him, even though he wasn't there. That's the magic that I had on it.
Lance Duncan
Well didn't it also like, like if it touched
blood It would absorb the blood. It was white and then it turned red.
Bruce Duncan
Yeah. And so once it finished and turn
back to red, that's when you guys would see your enemies . . . Which and if you
guys were there early, which one time you were, the noise that you made in
there caused your enemies to actually come.
Lance Duncan
Right. Okay, in the chapel of evil chaos
scenario 55, There's several relics of evil. Did we ever get a hold of those
and turn evil because of them?
Bruce Duncan
No, because it had such an aura around
you that everybody was that's where that sense of foreboding came. nobody
wanted to stick around. Everybody failed their morale check every time.
Lance Duncan
Okay also in the, in the chapel or in the
temple. So area 58 again, it has, it has a whole bunch of acolytes chanting, it
talks about special effects. So so the chanting causes a bell to ring and then
it causes . . . What does it do? . . .
"soon as you enter, black candles on either side of the palace will come
alight magically shooting from a disturbing red radiant shapeless forms of
purple, yellow and green dance this way in the west wall. if anyone looks at
them for more than a moment they must save vs spells or be mesmerized and begin
chanting a rhythm to chaotic evil." Okay, so first of all, did we fail
that save and start chanting?
Bruce Duncan
Once, one of you did, and you guys had
to knock him senseless to get him out of the chant.
Lance Duncan
And then it says "should three or more
voices be raised, The iron Bell will sound automatically by magic." So
there were never three of us that did that. And there was never the iron Bell,
Bruce Duncan
right.
Lance Duncan
So in that same room, it says if anyone starts
chanting, that zombies, the guards of
the high priest will come in. Did we ever have a fight happened in there
because of that?
Bruce Duncan
No not because of that, no. Because
everybody, except one. Always made their saving throw.
Lance Duncan
So we didn't really fight in that room.?
Bruce Duncan
No.
Lance Duncan
Okay. so
in the chambers of the evil priest when we fight him, I assume we find
him in his chambers. It says that he uses a potion of gaseous form to escape.
Was he ever able to do that?
Bruce Duncan
once
Lance Duncan
and the other times?
Bruce Duncan
You guys were, you guys were able to
knock the potion out of his hands first. With either an arrow a knife or just
grappling
Lance Duncan
and then what we kill him?
Bruce Duncan
Yep.
Lance Duncan
And okay, so the one time that he escaped,
did we ever encounter him again?
Bruce Duncan
No. He was the high priest at the keep
that you guys were at
Lance Duncan
at the keep on the borderlands?
Bruce Duncan
mhm
Lance Duncan
the same high priest.
Bruce Duncan
Yes.
Lance Duncan
Okay. That's a little bit messed up.
Bruce Duncan
It was
Lance Duncan
okay. Well, that's the main adventure.
There's a couple of other questions. So page 24 has a NPC generator stuff. Did
you ever use this chart? Or the personality thing or the names or
Bruce Duncan
I did. I didn't like the results. So
that's when I made my own charts.
Lance Duncan
I still have a couple of those, but most of
them are lost. page 25 player tips. Did we ever use these as players? Did you
ever have these? Did you use them in play?
Bruce Duncan
Yes. It helped. When you guys read them.
It gave you ideas of how you should play as far as the way the game really
supposed to be done. Rather than the way your Monty Haul dad did it.
Lance Duncan
Hahaha. And the glossary, Did you Need the
glossary when you were reading these adventures?
Bruce Duncan
I did not need it.
Lance Duncan
Because your vocabulary isn't that limited?
Bruce Duncan
right
Lance Duncan
I feel like the glossary is for 10 year
olds.
Bruce Duncan
Yes.
Lance Duncan
Well, even I when I was reading this when I
was a kid, I still knew pretty much everything in there. Yeah. But that's
because I read Lord of the Rings in middle school or before Middle School. And
last question. Oh, yeah. These, this NPC list.
Bruce Duncan
That's what I generated
Lance Duncan
you. You made this up all on yourself. Did
we? Did we ever encounter this as another adventuring party in the caves? Or
did we use them as ourselves or hirelings? or What else?
Bruce Duncan
yes to all of that. Yes, you did
encounter another NPC in caves? Yes, you did. hire some from there. And yes,
they were always if not encountered in caves are always in the taverns that you
went to. And I would roll to see which ones were there. Were there okay.
sometimes the same guy showed up more than once.
Lance Duncan
Yeah well I guess that's it. unless you have
any other comments?
Bruce Duncan
It was fun when you guys figured out
that the head priest at the keep was the head priest at the caves. It created
real thought provoking, how we gonna do this? Especially since he didn't get a
good enough look at you guys to recognize you.
Lance Duncan
Right, Because it was combat and it's all
messy, Yeah. So how did we resolve that situation?
Bruce Duncan
You fought in front of everybody.
Lance Duncan
Like In front of the front of the chapel of
the keep or inside the chapel?
Bruce Duncan
inside the chapel, you chased him out.
And before everybody else could figure out what was going on, you'd already
killed him. And then you guys were up for trial. and you produced all of your
evidence and that you were tasked with taking care of the problem you have. And
so you won the court of opinion and were hailed as heroes and told to come back
anytime you want. Don't live here though,
Lance Duncan
yeah, so with that, so the High Priest in
the keep was dead. So who came to replace him? And was it someone who was
already there?
Bruce Duncan
You know, the lower the other NPCs
Lance Duncan
okay. But it wasn't, they brought in a
priest from somewhere else?
Bruce Duncan
No, because they didn't trust anyone
else at that point
Lance Duncan
Okay. Well that's it for the keep on the
Borderlands.
