Darkmantle Delve: Those Left Behind (Ch 2)

Three levels down into the long-abandoned Darkmantle Mine, Caelum, Kara, Vulkar, and Tillo encountered the mine's new inhabitants sifting through the remnants of a burnt-out guardroom.

Caelum attempted to draw the goblins into a chokepoint but the creatures were cunning and remained hidden, firing arrows from the shadows. Recognizing the futility of their current strategy, Caelum signalled a retreat, and the party withdrew to reassess their approach.

After waiting long enough to ensure the goblins had retreated deeper into the mine, the party now reenter the guardroom to investigate what the goblins might have been searching for.

Mechanics and GM notes are not for everyone. If you don't care to read these annotations, you can collapse them all by selecting this handy button.

Expect the Unexpected

After the first scene, all other scenes start life as an Expected Scene.

After each scene (including the first), the player decides where they expect the next scene will start. They then use a die roll to determine if it does indeed start there, or if it becomes an Altered or Interrupt Scene.

Scene Premise: The party picks through the charred Guardroom where they first encounter the goblins.

Chaos Factor: 6

• Modify Scene?
  ❌7, No.

"Gaah, the bastards took my torch" Tillo complains as he steps into the room.

Kara produces a flame in her palm and lights some kindling so that she and Tillo can see what they're doing. She then takes some time to bandage up Vulkar's various wounds as Tillo starts working the lock on the chest that one of the goblins was picking at.

• Kara — A: Use Healer's Kit on Vulkar, 4
  ❤️Vulkar spends a hit die and gains 4 HP.
• Does Tillo manage to pick the lock?
  🎲Thieves' Tools, 19.
  (Very Likely)
  ✅ 21, Yes
• Is there anything of value inside? (50/50)
  ❌70, No.

Without issue, he pops it open, but the contents are worthless: A few stained and moth-eaten garments, a stack of playing cards from different decks, and a few fragments of bone.

He turns his attention to the box he had seen another of the goblins trying to pry open.

• Does Tillo manage to pick the lock?
  🎲Thieves' Tools, 17.
  (Very Likely)
  ✅ 67, Yes
• Is there anything of value inside? (50/50)
  ❌86, No.

It takes a little work, but he finally manages to open it. Inside are several rusted nails of varying sizes and an assortment of smooth, colourful pebbles. He tosses the box and gathers the darts he had thrown at the goblins during the fight.

With Vulkar's wounds now bandaged, Kara retrieves the arrow that she used to down the first goblin. The other is missing.

Caelum inspects the structure of the room. Looking upward, he notices that the beams which hold the roof up are badly burned. Any pressure or force could bring them crashing down.

"That doesn't look good," he says, nodding to the roof.

Kara looks up. "Yeah, we best be careful. But it could come in handy if we need to seal this area off."

"Point," Caelum replies, "let's keep it in mind."

"Wood or Iron?" Tillo asks, indicating the unopened doors.

As a reminder, Tillo is referring to the doors in this generated chamber:

Charred Guard Chamber

• Guardroom, room contents mostly burned.
• Square, 20ft. by 20ft., and 25ft. high.
• 2 exit aside from entrance.
  • Exit 1: Iron door, closed, wall left of entrance.
  • Exit 2: Wooden door, closed, wall left of entrance.

"Iron."

Tillo inspects the door.

• Interact —
  🎲 Proposed action, Perception, 17.
  Tillo checks Exit 1 for traps.
  • 🤖Emulator response, success.
    The door does not appear to be trapped, but it is locked.
• Interact —
  🎲 Proposed action, Thieves' Tools, 13.
  Tillo attempts to unlock Exit 1 and open it.
  • 🤖Emulator response, failure.
    He is unable to unlock the door.

Tillo finds the door locked and tries to pick it but, despite his best efforts, the mechanism won't budge.

"Maybe it's stuck?" He suggests. "I'll try the other door."

• Interact —
  🎲 Proposed action, Perception, 17.
  Tillo checks Exit 2 to see if it is locked.
  • 🤖Emulator response, success.
    The door does not appear to be locked.
• Interact —
  🤚🏽 Proposed action.
  Tillo attempts to open Exit 2
  • 🤖Emulator response.
    The door opens, triggering a trap, DC 19 DEX Save or take 1d6
    🗡Piercing damage.
    and 1d4
    ☠️Poison damage.
  • 🤖Emulator response.
    Beyond the exit is a passage.
• Tillo — DEX Save
  ❌11, failure.
  , 6
  🗡Piercing damage.
  4
  ☠️Poison damage.

Oof, max damage!

Tillo springs the door open easily. Too easily.

In a momentary lapse of concentration, he forgets to check for traps. As he opens the door, a spear shoots down from the ceiling and catches him centre mass.

"Tillo!" Kara cries, darting forward. With her healer's kit still in hand, she administers first aid as fast as she can.

• Kara — A: Use Healer's Kit on Tillo, 4
  ❤️Tillo spends a hit die and gains 4 HP.

Yay. Another 4 points of healing. I am rolling so well.

"Ouch..." Tillo complains as Kara stems the blood flow. "That was laced with something... I hope I can return the favour to whoever was responsible."

"We need to be more careful, " Caelum chides as he looks down the passage beyond the wooden door.

Not listening, Vulkar tries another approach with the iron door. He grabs the handle and pulls with all his might.

With a resounding clang the door handle snaps off and the door swings open.

• Interact —
  🎲 Proposed action, Athletics, 19.
  Vulkar attempts to force Exit 1 open.
  • 🤖Emulator response, success.
    The door opens, revealing a chamber beyond.

Guardroom Annex

• Storage for tools and other equipment, contents wrecked but still present.
• Square, 15ft. by 15ft., and 30ft. high.
• No exits aside from entrance.
• Creature: Goblins. Condition: Healthy, Adult. Goal: Conquer the dungeon. Activity: Hiding.
  • Encounter Difficulty: Easy

The goblins would all be trying to hide in the shadows.

• Fidgety Goblin — A: Stealth, 7.
• Grumpy Goblin — A: Stealth, 16.
• Patchy Goblin — A: Stealth, 12.

They would definitely also all have held their actions, which now trigger.

• Fidgety Goblin — R: Shorbow vs Vulkar,
  ❌6, miss.
• Grumpy Goblin — R: Shorbow vs Vulkar
  ⬆️Advantage, Hidden.
  ,
  ❌13, miss.
• Patchy Goblin — R: Shorbow vs Vulkar
  ⬆️Advantage, Hidden.
  ,
  ❌11, miss.

The door opens to reveal a small square storeroom littered with rubble and boxes. Hiding in the shadows are three goblins, bows at the ready. They all fire on Vulkar with gleeful spite but, by some strange twist of fate, all three arrows sail straight past the massive demikin in the doorway.

• Roll Initiative
  🎲This one is for you, Summer. Thanks for all the help 🤗
  • Tillo — 18 (swaps with Vulkar, Alert feat)
  • Grumpy Goblin — 16
  • Fidgety Goblin — 14
  • Kara — 13
  • Vulkar — 11 (takes Tillo's initiative)
  • Caelum — 10
  • Patchy Goblin — 8

Round 1

• Vulkar — Move.
  • A: Warhammer vs Grumpy Goblin,
    ✅18, hit.
    , 12
    🔨Bludgeoning damage.
  • Grumpy Goblin
    💔Creature is in Desperation.
• Grumpy Goblin — Desperation Save,
  ❌ 8, one failed save: half speed, Disadvantage on checks, loses Bonus Action.
  • Move.
  • FA: Drop Shortbow, equip Scimitar.
  • A: Scimitar vs Vulkar
    ↩️Flanking.
    ,
    ❌17, miss.

"NOW YOU DIE!" Vulkar roars as he charges forward and slams his warhammer into the first goblin. The creature near crumples under the savage blow.

It wriggles past him, bleeding badly, trying to cut his legs as it goes, but the blade finds no gap in Vulkar's greaves.

• Fidgety Goblin — BA: Disengage.
  • Move.
  • A: Shortbow vs Caelum,
    ❌7, miss.
• Kara — FA: Marksman's Focus.
  • A: Longbow vs Fidgety Goblin
    ⬆️Advantage, Marksman's Focus.
    ,
    ✅20, hit.
    , 12
    🏹Piercing damage.
  • Fidgety Goblin
    💔Creature is in Desperation.

One of the other goblins darts past Vulkar, out the door, and up the way the party had come. On the way, it fires an arrow at Caelum but misses.

Kara is quick to react. With decisive focus, she nocks an arrow and catches the fleeing goblin in the spine. It stumbles as the muscles in its back seize up.

• Tillo — Move.
  • A: Dart vs Grumpy Goblin,
    ❌7, miss.
  • Move.

Tillo springs up, dart in hand. He lobs the small blade but it clatters off the stone wall behind his target. "Get it together..." he grumbles to himself.

• Caelum — Move.
  • A: Rapier vs Fidgety Goblin,
    ✅13, hit.
    , 10
    🗡Piercing damage.
  • Fidgety Goblin
    ⚰️Creature is dead.
• Patchy Goblin — A: Shove vs Caelum,
  ❌Athletics, 7 vs 13, fail.

Caelum is also on the move, quickly cutting down the goblin that Kara had pinned before moving to block the door to prevent more of the goblins escaping.

Fearing for its life, the last goblin tries to shove its way past the feyling but fails miserably.

Round 2

• Vulkar — A: Warhammer vs Patchy Goblin
  ↩️Flanking.
  ,
  ✅16, hit.
  , 9
  🔨Bludgeoning damage.
  • Patchy Goblin
    💔Creature is in Desperation.

Blood still up, Vulkar spins and catches the goblin between him and Caelum with a savage blow to the ribs. The goblin screams in pain.

"Keep one alive, dammit!" Caelum yells at the demikin.

• Does Grumpy Goblin beg for his life? (50/50)
  ❌❌98, Exceptional No.
• Grumpy Goblin — Desperation Save
  ❌❌ 4, two failed saves: half speed, -2 AC,
  Disadvantage on all checks, rolls, and saves,
  loses Bonus Action.
  • A: Scimitar vs Vulkar
    ⬇️Disadvantage, Desperation.
    ,
    ❌ 15, miss.
• Kara — A: Ready attack with Longbow.

The first goblin that Vulkar struck mewls with rage and pain as it stabs wildly at the demikin, but Vulkar blocks the blows with his shield.

Kara steps up behind Caelum, arrow nocked. "What are we doing, Cael?"

• Tillo — A: Vicious Mockery, 3
  🧠Psychic damage.
  , DC 9 WIS Save for Grumpy Goblin
  ✅11, success, no damage.

"Are you just too stupid to know when to quit?" Tillo taunts in a dismal attempt at diplomacy.

"Drop your weapons and we may let you live..." Caelum tries.

• Do the goblins keep fighting?
  🎲 Intimidate, 12.
  (Likely, it's not a great roll and the goblins are panicked)
  ✅ 56, Yes.
• Patchy Goblin — Desperation Save,
  ❌ 4, one failed save: half speed, Disadvantage on checks, loses Bonus Action.
  • A: Scimitar vs Caelum,
    ✅17, hit.
    , 3
    ⚔️Slashing damage

The goblin that tried to shove past Caelum draws its blade and jabs him in the leg.

Round 3

• Vulkar — A: Warhammer vs Patchy Goblin
  ↩️Flanking.
  ,
  ✅24, hit.
  , 9
  🔨Bludgeoning damage.
  • Patchy Goblin
    ⚰️Creature is dead.

Vulkar brings his warhammer down on the creature's head, crushing it like a melon.

"Well.. he sealed his own fate," Caelum says.

The last remaining goblin's eyes dart to the weakened structure of the guardroom. He starts pulling on one of the support beams near him. Caelum realises with horror that the creature is trying to cave the room in on them...

• Grumpy Goblin — Desperation Save,
  ✅ 14, success.
  , 1
  ❤️HP gained.
  (❌❌) Still in Desperation with two failed saves.
  • A: Athletics (collapse the ceiling)
    ⬇️Disadvantage, Desperation.
    ,
    ❌❌Natural 1.
• Kara — A: Longbow vs Grumpy Goblin,
  ✅✅Natural 20.
  , 9
  🗡Piercing damage.
  • Grumpy Goblin
    ⚰️Creature is dead.
• Encounter ends.
• 0.75 TP Earned

But Kara has positioned herself well and sinks an arrow into the goblin's temple. It crumples to the ground before it can do any more harm.

Everyone breathes heavily in the otherwise still air.

Kara calmly walks forward and plucks the arrow from the goblin's skull.

Caelum seethes at Vulkar's reckless breach of the iron door moments after he had explicitly warned everyone to proceed with care, but he represses his anger and opts instead to control the situation.

"Gather anything useful," he commands, keeping his voice even. "And be quick about it, we need to move before the noise we made draws anything else."

Tillo and Vulkar go about searching the boxes in the store room.

Claiming Treasure Points

Earning Treasure Points is one thing, but it doesn't always make sense to claim them on the spot. So, I look for narratively appropriate times for characters to 'find' treasure, and then redeem what I think is an appropriate number of Treasure Points for that instance, up to the maximum that the party has earned.

To read more about the system and the design behind it, check out this post

• 1 TP redeemed, party gains:
  • 200 XP
  • 25 GP
  • 1 × Common Curative Reagent (15gp)
  • 1 × Medium Carapace (4gp)
  • 1 × Hide (2gp)
  • 1 × Parts (2gp)
  • 1 × Glass Vial (1gp)
  • 1 × Iron Ingot (1gp)

You'll notice that the last six items are fairly generically named crafting components. That's intentional in the design of Kibbles' Crafting System. In this game, I'll flavour some of those items with specific names.

Their search yields 25 gold in coins of various denominations, a few parts useful for repairing armour, an iron ingot, a glass vial, and a bag containing leaves covered in a metallic sheen.

"Kara?" Tillo asks, holding up the leaves.

"Lodeleaf. Useful, it has mild healing properties. Keep it."

Tillo helps load everything of use into Vulkar's backpack.

"Let's see where that passage leads," Caelum says, leading the way.

End Scene

Another scene down and it's time for the end-of-scene admin.

There are no new Threads, but the goblins do get a third and final entry on the Characters list—even if they appear again, we cap each 'character' at three entries.

Characters

1. Sir Draven Ironcrest
2. Orm's Crossing
3. Darkmantle Mine
4. Goblins (3)

Threads

1. Uncover the reason for the mine's closure
2. Find the ancient library

Caelum seems to be taking the leadership role in this party, and this scene felt way out of his control, so I'll lower the CF.

Chaos Factor: 5

Thank you once again for reading! I hope you've enjoyed it so far. As always, if you have any feedback, I'd love to hear it in the comments or on Reddit.

The next part of this adventure continues in Shadows and Sparks. For a full list of chapters, see Darkmantle Delve.