Crown and Skull - Solo Session 1

Our hero's name is Frogbert. A stubborn old Frog-kin druid with a bum knee. He hails from The Oakenwood, a deep-rooted forest full of mystery and magic. He lays low and stays away from any trouble, not wanting to attract any attention from the Frog Empire. Frogbert was once a high ranking officer for Emperor Croakokame’s Army, but after witnessing the brutal and senseless war crimes the army was responsible for, he abandoned his station, vowing to help end Croakokame’s rule.

Frogbert received a letter from a childhood pal from The Oakenwood. The letter was a desperate plea for help, entailing that something horrible is haunting The Oakenwood and it's residents. He begins his journey south to investigate.

To begin Frogbert's journey I'm using the hex crawl rules in C&S to populate the hexes south of Gardenburrow. The Oakenwood is not on the map of The Northholds, so we need to let the dice tell us when we find it. Since it's Frogbert's home, he knows where it is. I rolled a d6 to determine how far away our goal is, roll is a...6 ok, it's 6 hexes to the south. After completing each hex I'll be rolling a d6 again to determine the direction to head after, as long as it's not back to the hex we just completed (only because Frogbert has knowledge of the area so it doesn't make sense for him to get lost in the marshes...normally I just go with what the dice say and I don't question it.) 

Anyways, lets roll up our first hex!

To populate a hex in C&S we roll 2d10, one represents a location and the other represents the encounter or event that will take place there. So, for our first roll, we get a 8 and 3.

As Frogbert travels south, the ground become uneven, muddy with uncertainty. Soon, the ground has disappeared completely and he's walking through water halfway up to his knees. He eventually finds a small collection of huts that are lifted about 10 feet off the ground on tall stilts. Frogbert knows these huts are typical for fishing villages but as he approaches he notices that the inhabitants are not Fisherfrogs (Right? Not Fisherman, but Fisherfrogs, since they're Frog-kin). The residents are all wearing the same type of hooded robes, a deep scarlet material adorned with a yellow star sewn neatly on the back. He's never seen anything like this, so he stays back, being cautious of this cultish-looking group of frogs. The robed frogs are all heading out of their huts, holding up their cloaks so the bottoms don't get wet. They head off deeper into the marsh, swaying with their steps in a disorganized single file line, it's weird. It makes him feel uneasy and unsure of what step he should take next.

He watches what he believes to be the last of the cult members leave their huts. He walks through the center of the village but pays no mind to the empty homes (the dice decided he didn't want to look inside to find info about them). Frogbert is determined and on a mission, he will not be distracted by the basic and trivial pursuit of loot. He passes through the village and continues south through the Frogmarsh. He is getting a tingling feeling on the back of his neck, almost as if he is being watched. In fact, he knows he is not only being watched...he knows he is being followed.

He comes across another group of huts on stilts, this time they do look like they belong to Fisherfrogs, but something isn't right. There is a smell of death hanging heavily in the air, as he has grown familiar of this smell from his time in the Emperor's Army. Frogbert decides to investigate and soon finds that the whole village has been mercilessly slaughtered. The Fisherfrog's bodies are laying haphazardly in piles, women and children Frog-kin are also amongst the heaps of body parts. He has a strong suspicion that the murderers are the creatures that have been following him since his arrival. He sees a tree stump sticking up out of the water in the center of all the huts. He sits down and rubs his knee, sighing as he starts to feel the weight of his journey target his weak joint. He casts his Far-seer spell to get a birds-eye view of his position. Three figures loom in a U-shape formation, they are closing in, leaving only one direction for escape. He can't tell what these figures are exactly, but he knows they're not Frog-kin. He waits, allowing them to close in, knowing that if he continues forward they may gain even more of an upper hand. When the three figures are close enough to begin a conversation, Frogbert ends his Far-seer spell and speaks;

"Thats close enough, friend."

(A response comes in a whispery tone that sounds like 3 different voices speaking all at once). 

"Make no mistake, we are not your friend."

Frogbert turns around, he sees one of the figures, they're taller than the average human, slim and wearing solid black cloaks. They each have their hoods up and despite it being in the middle of the day their faces are completely hidden by darkness. 

"Of course, but seeing as there is little tolerance for non Frog-kin around here, I figured you must be a friend to the frogs." 

"You're an amusing one, shame we will have to kill you."

"Now, now, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Seems like you've done plenty of killing today already." (Frogbert motions his arms around suggesting these three slaughtered the village).

"You should quit while you're ahead, start fresh tomorrow."

"I've heard enough, the Frog-kin are long overdue for extinction."

"Three against one? Frogbert asks halfheartedly, "Hardly seems fair..are you afraid, that a little old frog like me will kill you one-on-one?"

I'm rolling a d6 to see if this irritates the cloaked figure, 1-3 is a no, 4-6 is a yes.

Rolled a 5, yeah Frogbert got under his skin.

"You weak, insolant reptile! I'll cut out your tongue!"

"No no, you were just starting to earn a little respect. Surely, you don't think frogs are reptiles, right? Of course you do. Ignorance is a breeding ground for intolerance. Case and point, my tolerance for this conversation is waning, so why don't you and I settle it one-on-one? Unless you need your little friends to help you."

The thing grabs it's tattered cloak and rips it off, throwing it to the side. Frogbert can see now this thing is a demon. It's skin is pitch black and matte-like..not even the sun reflects off of it... it's almost as if it swallows all light. The feeling of helplessness accompanies the presence of these beings. The thing's eyes are bright red, and glowing not just in color, but with the feeling of pure, deep hatred. It's staggered horns curl out the top of it's head like tangled vines, wrapping the demon's skull in it's very own bone armor .

"Stay back brothers. He is mine."

Frogbert smiles. "Good sport. Let's dance."

Before the demon can act, Frogbert draws his bow, he knows this thing can only be harmed by cold iron and magic weapons, so he doubles down. As he knocks his arrow, he casts Explosive Fire, setting the arrow ablaze in his hand. He lets it fly and hits the demon square in the chest for 6 damage. The demon pulls the arrow from his skin, but only the wood breaks free, the iron arrow head is left embedded in the flesh. The demon teleports right behind Frogbert then uses his Soul Ripper attack. We roll for Defense, we need less than or equal to 8...it's a 3!

Frogbert blocks the demons attack, moving himself back far enough to knock a second arrow. 8 damage! When max damage is dealt he is able to attack again. He lets loose a second volley, but only for 1 damage this time. The thing teleports again, the breeze carries the smell of rotten eggs to Frogbert's nose, he recoils back at the dense stench and right in front of his face the demon reappears. This time, it sinks it's sharp teeth into Frogbert's shoulder, his Muscle Skill is crossed off for flesh attrition. Frogbert tries once again to shoot it with an arrow, but it clips the beast for only 3 damage. This is going to be harder than he thought. The demon lurches forward with it's claws, we rolled 8! We avoid damage again (thank his lucky stars). Frogbert tries to turn the tide in his direction as he attempts to use the spell Stormcaller to bring a torrential downpour of rain. But, he fails his Magic check. The beastly thing swings with it's massive claws once again, roll for defense...it's a 2! It once again misses. Ok, here we go, let's call the rain! d20 roll, less than 10....it's a 7! 

Billowing clouds gather quickly overhead, they're black and foreboding. The insides glow with cracked and clustered lightning, making them look like massive living creatures moving across the sky. Everything grows quiet and then the rain falls with the force of a waterfall. The demon is caught off guard and falls back. Frogbert was ready and succeeds in his Stealth check to sneak off into the trees. He is now the hunter. 

The demon looks into the tree line but Frogbert succeeds another Stealth check. He rolls for his Hunting Skill to see if he can shoot an arrows without giving up his position. He succeeds! He lets loose an arrow for max damage then lets another go, 12 total damage this time. The demon still can't see him, he teleports into the tree line at random spots to no avail. Frogbert succeeds on another Hunting check! His arrow hits for 7 damage. Still, the demon can't find him in the chaotic weather. Frogbert fails this Hunting check, he hits the demon with an arrow for 4 damage, but this time the demon spots him and teleports directly behind Frogbert. He fails his Defense roll and while trying to jump away the demon claws at Frogbert's legs, dealing a Flesh Attrition that removes his Stealth Skill. Frogbert turns back, still on the ground, and shoots another arrow. For 7 damage he hits the same spot his first arrow stuck. The demon recoils as the iron tip is pushed even deeper into his abdomen, Frogbert takes advantage of this and sends off another arrow, 6 more damage! The demon is fed up, he dissipates into a black noxious smoke and attempts to possess Frogbert. The smoke fills Frobert's lungs as he fails his Defense roll. Thick black goo begins to bleed from Frogbert's eyes and ears as the smoke is finally gone. 

The clouds clear overhead, the two other robed demons are nowhere to be found. Frogbert looks down at his hands, they look different somehow, he knows he still has a mission to complete..but a deep hatred is burning in the pit of his stomach. He chokes it down, his mind feels split in two, the right side is telling him to get to Oakenwood, they can help. The other side agrees, and the hatred burns.

I hope you enjoyed this first session of Crown and Skull. This solo session is happening concurrently with my group session that I'm GMing. So maybe those PCs will appear in Frogbert's story at some point. The living world aspect of this game is one of my favorite things about it. The majority of this session was played before I started this blog and I finished it out while typing it up so I know the pacing changes a bit but I know I'll find a groove pretty soon. I have another solo session of Warp Shell from ICRPG in the tank that I plan on typing up, as well as a game of Mothership. So, keep your eyes peeled (or subscribe or whatever!) I'm not entirely sure how this platform works.

Thanks for reading.  

- Ok, Robot