The Monastery III

 Another day begins in the village of Sternvale. The innkeeper ambushes them in the communal hall. The party still don't have quite enough to buy a week's stay for each of them, so they hand over $50 to cover Lottie (who's afraid of commitment) and Garret (who isn't sure how long he's going to stay anyway) staying for the night, as well as $300 to lock Miguel and Elias in for the week. This leaves $231 in the communal purse - not worth splitting yet. Garret has an idea - why don't they go back to the monastery with a wheelbarrow and collect some of the larger books? The party agrees, and hand him $60, as he's the most experienced with farm equipment and the best at carrying heavy loads regardless. He returns within the hour, rolling it in front of him, and they set back out for the dungeon. 

Three hours later, they arrive in front of the monastery's chapel once more. "Did we leave the door open?" asks Garret as he nudges it with his boot. Nothing in the chapel appears disturbed, and the secret door is still closed, so they shrug and activate the mechanism, opening the door to the basement level once more. As Garret pushes goblets and plates aside with the wheelbarrow, and they gingerly step around the rat corpses - now beginning to fill with fly eggs - Elias pops up with an idea. Since they weren't passing through the other door, maybe they should block it with something? Garret and Miguel take one of the large tables and begin dragging it over to the door. It's not especially heavy work, but it is loud…

Wandering monsters, vs 9: 7

Elias: Hearing, vs 13, -4 (through door) = 9: 8, success by 1

Goblins: Hearing, vs 10, +2 (loud noise), -4 (through door) = 8: 7, success by 1. 

Elias places his lantern on the table and gestures wildly for the two muscleheads to stop - there's activity on the other side of the door! The party readies themselves for combat - they want to achieve surprise. On the other side, the squad of goblin skirmishers stack up on the door - they want to do the same. 

Elias: Per-based Stealth, vs 8: 11, failure by 3. 

Goblin: Per-based Stealth, vs 10: 13, failure by 3. 

As this is a tie, both sides achieve surprise! The door slams open, and both sides stand baffled for a moment. 

Turn 1

Lottie: surprise, vs 12: 7, success by 5.

Garret: surprise, vs 10: 14, failure by 4. 

Miguel: surprise, vs 10: 12, failure by 2. 

Goblin 1: surprise, vs 9: 14, failure by 5. 

Goblin 2: surprise, vs 9: 10, failure by 1. 

Goblin 3: surprise, vs 9: 12, failure by 3. 

Goblin 4: surprise, vs 9: 12, failure by 3. 

Goblin 5: surprise, vs 9: 14, failure by 5. 

Elias: surprise, vs 13: 10, success by 3. 

Lottie and Elias shake out of it first, and can act next turn. 

Turn 2

Lottie attempts to duck into the shadows, leaning against the wall. 

Lottie: Stealth, vs 15, -5 (backstabbing) = 10: 10, success by 0. 

This normally puts the sneak behind the nearest foe, but I don't think that makes sense here - so she stays on the wall with the door in it, waiting for the goblins to push through. 

Garret: surprise, vs 10, +1 (turn bonus) = 11: 12, failure by 1.

Miguel: surprise, vs 10, +1 (turn bonus) = 11: 16, failure by 5. 

Goblin 1: surprise, vs 9, +1 (turn bonus) = 10: 10, success by 1. 

Goblin 2: surprise, vs 9, +1 (turn bonus) = 10: 7, success by 3. 

Goblin 3: surprise, vs 9, +1 (turn bonus) = 10: 14, failure by 4. 

Goblin 4: surprise, vs 9, +1 (turn bonus) = 10: 12, failure by 2. 

Goblin 5: surprise, vs 9, +1 (turn bonus) = 10: 11, failure by 1. 

Elias steps towards Miguel and reaches out his hand, muttering a few words of prayer to God for protection from the goblins' blades. 

Elias: Shield, vs 14: 13, success by 1. 

Turn 3

Lottie remains hidden - she takes a Do Nothing manoeuvre. 

Garret: surprise, vs 10, +2 (turn bonus) = 12: 11, success by 1. 

Miguel: surprise, vs 10, +2 (turn bonus) = 12: 11, success by 1. 

The two fighters shake themselves awake as goblins 1 and 2 charge into the breach, shields first. Goblin 1 attempts to slam into Miguel with a Move and Attack, hiding his club behind the shield, but misses, stopping just short of forcing his way into him. Goblin 2 tries something similar but towards Garret, but he instinctively presses forward with his own shield, the two meeting with a loud bang.

Goblin 1: Shield, vs 12: 13, failure by 1. 

Goblin 2: Shield, vs 12: 8, success by 4. 

Garret: Block, vs 10, +2 (DB) = 12: 5, success by 7. 

Goblin 3: surprise, vs 9, +2 (turn bonus) = 11: 9, success by 2. 

Goblin 4: surprise, vs 9, +2 (turn bonus) = 11: 9, success by 2. 

Goblin 5: surprise, vs 9, +2 (turn bonus) = 11: 7, success by 4. 

Elias swings his staff down towards Goblin 2, attempting to catch him off guard as he meets Garret's shield, but misses, the shadows in the stone room throwing off his aim. 

Elias: Staff, vs 13, -3 (darkness) = 10: 12, failure by 2.

Turn 4

Lottie remains in the shadows while Garret and Miguel begin their counterattack, each swinging for the goblins. Garret's flail contacts first, crunching into its shield. Unprepared to fall back, the goblin takes the full force of the flail in the ribs, collapsing into a heap against the big man's shield. 

Garret: Flail, vs 15, -3 (darkness) = 12: 9, success by 3. 

Goblin 2: Dodge, vs 8, +2 (DB) = 10: 13, failure by 3. 

Garret: Flail damage, 2d+3 cr: 12, -1 (DR) = 11 injury.

Goblin: Knockback, vs 9: 14, failure by 5. 

Impressed, Miguel steps to the weapon side of the other goblin that pushed prematurely, his back against the wall, and attempts a swipe with his club - but it meets the attack with its own. 

Miguel: Broadsword, vs 15, -3 (darkness) = 12: 11, success by 1. 

Goblin 1: Broadsword Parry, vs 9, +2 (DB) = 11: 5, success by 6. 

Goblins: Cowardice, vs 12: 8.

Goblin 1 lunges last Miguel and swings at Elias, making space for his allies to push up, but his attack meets Elias' staff. The remaining goblins Move through the doorway bravely, clubs raised. 

Goblin 1: Broadsword, vs 12: 10, success by 2. 

Elias: Staff Parry, vs 9, +2 (quarterstaff) = 11: 4, success by 7. 

Elias steps back, trying to prevent Goblin 3 from advancing with his staff. Though it raises its shield in time, the flimsy pine is sent back into the goblin's chest and splinters under the force of the mighty blow. 

Elias: Staff, vs 13, -3 (darkness) = 10: 7, success by 3. 

Goblin 3: Block, vs 9, +2 (DB) = 11: 10, success by 1. 

Elias: Staff damage, 1d+2 cr: 8, -2 (DR) = 6 injury to shield. 

Shield hit location: 4, damage to torso. 

Elias: Staff damage, 1d+2 cr: 8, -6 (DR), -1 (DR) = 1 injury to Goblin 3. 

Turn 5

Lottie: Cowardice, vs 12: 11, success by 1. 

The cutpurse, spotting her opportunity, wavers for only a moment before lunging out over the corpse of Goblin 2, aiming her blade for the vitals of Goblin 4. Feet unsteady from standing on top of a body, she misses her target, but the blade lands in the goblin's side regardless. 

Lottie: Knife, vs 14, +4 (Telegraphic), -3 (darkness), -3 (vitals), -2 (bad footing) = 10: 11, failure by 1. 

Lottie: Long knife damage, 1d-2 imp: 2, -1 (DR), x2 (impaling) = 2 injury.

Torn between defending Lottie and Elias, Garret decides to punish Goblin 3 for being the first one in. It manages to squeak away towards Elias, although the flail crashes through the rim of the already-battered shield and lands with a thud. He steps after the retreating goblin, placing himself between Goblins 4 and 5 and the besieged monk.

Garret: Flail, vs 15, -3 (darkness) = 12: 9, success by 3. 

Goblin 3: Dodge, vs 8, +2 (DB), +3 (retreating) = 10: 10, success by 0. 

Garret: Flail damage, 2d+3 cr: 10, -2 (DR) = 8 injury to shield. 

Shield hit location: 5, hit to torso.

Garret: Flail damage, 2d+3 cr: 10, -6 (DR), -1 (DR) = 3 injury to goblin. 

Miguel, backed against a wall, swings for anything he can reach on Goblin 1's less-defended weapon side. His club meets the goblin's weapon arm with a crunch that would have broken the arm of a normal man - but goblins are tough. Injured, he turns his back to the wall and his shield to Miguel, watching carefully for incoming attacks with an All-out Defence (Double). 

Miguel: Broadsword, vs 15, -3 (darkness) = 12: 12, success by 0. 

Goblin: Club parry, vs 9, +1 (retreating), -2 (side) = 8: 12, failure by 4. 

Miguel: Hit location, 8, right arm. 

Miguel: Club damage, 2d cr: 6 = 6 injury. 

Goblin 3 begins to flank Elias, making an obvious attack to try and lure out his guard. He sees the attack coming and defends himself, although he's being pushed back towards the scattered crockery - and separated from the group. 

Goblin 3: Broadsword, vs 12, +4 (Telegraphic), -3 (shock) = 13: 13, success by 0. 

Elias: Staff Parry, vs 9, +2 (quarterstaff), +2 (Telegraphic), +1 (retreating) = 14: 13, success by 1. 

Goblin 4 steps back into the doorway (onto the body of his fallen comrade) and turns to Lottie, swinging at the interloper - but she sees it coming and steps down and away from the corpse, letting the club sail harmlessly into the wall. 

Goblin 4: Broadsword, vs 12, +4 (Telegraphic), -2 (shock), -2 (bad footing) = 12: 12, success by 0. 

Lottie: Dodge, vs 9, +3 (retreating), +2 (Telegraphic), -1 (bad footing) = 13: 8, success by 5. 

Goblin 5 swings at Miguel, hoping to distract him from his squad picking off Elias, but he easily deflects the blow. 

Goblin 5: Broadsword, vs 12 = 12: 6, success by 6. 

Miguel: Block, vs 10, +4 (DB) = 14: 6, success by 8.

Miguel still has the Shield spell from Elias adding to his DB. 

Elias bravely stands his ground and swings for Goblin 1 from a distance, trying to sandwich him between his staff and the wall - but the attack is obvious, and the goblin easily ducks it. 

Elias: Staff, vs 13, +4 (Telegraphic), -3 (darkness) = 14: 9, success by 5. 

Goblin 1: Dodge, vs 8, +2 (Telegraphic), +2 (DB) = 12: 8

Turn 6

Lottie chooses not to fight her Cowardice this turn, ducking behind Garret for protection with an All--out Defence (Increased Dodge) - she's been plenty brave for one day. Garret steps towards the elusive third goblin, but finds his movements in the darkness too difficult to follow and swings short. 

Garret: Flail, vs 15, -3 (darkness) = 12: 15, failure by 3

Miguel is caught in a compromising position - to support Elias, he'll need to make himself vulnerable. He trusts the monk to keep himself safe and focuses on preventing Goblins 4 and 5 from entering the dining hall. This blindsides Goblin 4, who was expecting the fight inside to distract him, and the stroke lands under his guard, panicking him and sending him to the ground. 

Miguel: Broadsword, vs 15, -3 (darkness) = 12: 3, critical success by 9!

Miguel: critical success, 13: if any damage penetrates DR, treat as a major wound. 

Miguel: Club damage, 2d cr: 5, -1 (DR) = 4 injury. 

Goblin 4: Major wound, vs 12: 10, success by 2. 

As previously stated, I run major wounds as instantly putting down rational enemies, success or fail - but rolling to see whether they remain functional or not can be helpful in determining what happens after the fight. . 

Goblin 1 steps forward, trying to tie up Garret while his friend assaults the monk, but his club thuds harmlessly against the rim of the brute's shield. Elias is forced back onto the bad footing, but just manages to defend himself in the meantime. The goblin sidesteps after him, presenting his front to Garret. Goblin 4 pushes once more, lunging through the doorway to attack Miguel. The club strikes his shield - although it's made of sterner stuff than their shields are, it still leaves a visible dent. 

Goblin 1: Broadsword, vs 12 = 12: 8, success by 2. 

Garret: Block, vs 10, +2 (DB) = 12: 10, success by 2. 

Goblin 3: Broadsword, vs 12 = 12: 11, success by 1. 

Elias: Staff Parry, vs 9, +2 (quarterstaff), +1 (retreating) = 12: 12, success by 0. 

Goblin 4: Broadsword, vs 12 = 12: 11, success by 1. 

Miguel: Broadsword Parry, vs 10, +4 (DB) = 14: 13, success by 1. 

Goblin 4: Club damage, 1d+1 cr: 6, -4 (DR) = 2 injury to shield. 

Shield hit location: 1, hit to shield arm.

Goblin 4: Club damage, 1d+1 cr: 6, -9 (DR) = 0 injury to arm. 

Elias boldly steps closer and slams his staff into the goblin's ribs, a blood-curdling cry echoing throughout the room as its bones are shattered and it lands on the flagstones, writhing in pain. 

Elias: Staff, vs 13, -3 (darkness) = 10: 8, success by 2. 

Goblin 3: Block, vs 9, +2 (DB), -2 (side) = 9: 14, failure by 5. 

Elias: Quarterstaff damage, 1d+2 cr: 8, -1 (DR) = 7 injury. 

Goblin 3: Major wound, vs 12: 6, success by 6. 

Turn 7

Lottie remains close to Garret with a Wait manoeuvre: if either of the goblins show its back to her, she'll turn it into an Attack and stab it in the vitals. The big man himself doesn't care to give Goblin 1 the opportunity, and attempts a shield bash to throw it off-kilter, but aims poorly. Miguel, an experienced mercenary, doesn't feel like he put enough into his strike to pit Goblin 5 down for good - he's seen too many good men die to enemies they thought were disabled - so he steps over it and gives it another whack for good measure. 

Garret: Shield, vs 15, -3 (darkness) = 12: 13, failure by 1. 

Miguel: Bloodlust, vs 12: 14

The goblins give into their Cowardice and attempt to beat a hasty retreat, running past the party and towards the archway that led to the goblins' sleeping quarters. Lottie's Wait triggers - watching Goblin 1 get ahead of the other, she steps back and lunges with her long knife. The blade pierces his ragged armour and he falls, clattering into the floor. Elias attempts something similar, rushing forward to hit it in the leg with his staff. Another home-run swing from the monk - something goes crunch, the goblin's leg develops a second hinge in it somewhere up the femur, and it's sent squealing to the ground. 

Lottie: Knife, vs 14, +4 (Telegraphic), -3 (darkness), -3 (vitals) = 12: 9, success by 3. 

Lottie: Long knife damage, 1d-2 imp: 4, -1 (DR), x3 (vitals) = 9 injury. 

Goblin 1: Major wound, vs 12, -5 (major wound to vitals) = 7: 9, failure by 2. 

Elias: Staff, vs 13, +4 (All-out Attack), +4 (Telegraphic), -3 (darkness), -2 (leg) = 16: 11, success by 5. 

Elias: Quarterstaff damage, 1d+2 cr: 8 = 8 injury. 

Goblin 4: Major wound, vs 12 = 12: 14, failure by 2. 

Combat ends.

Lottie: Post-Combat Shakes, vs 12: 5, success by 7.

Miguel hangs his club from his belt, and draws his axe to finish off the remaining goblins as painlessly as possible; no-one else feels like stopping him from his grisly work. Garret claps Elias on the back: "You've got a hell of a swing there, holy man. What are they feeding you in these monasteries?"

"Been a long time since I was in a monastery, young man," Elias smiles, breathless - he lets the holy shield around Miguel drop with a sigh of relief. "'Tis by the grace of God I walk the land safely." He picks his lantern up from the table, holding it up for Lottie to pat down the bodies.

Lottie: Search, vs 12: 15, failure by 3. 

Looting the kitchen

Again, she doesn't find anything of value besides 20 coppers. Even the clubs aren't worth it to bring along. They drag the bodies into the dining hall and leave them slumped against the wall. Miguel leans his head into the room they emerged from - it appears to be the kitchen. An archway on the north wall leads to another, smaller room - probably a pantry, although he doesn't look properly. Along the west wall there are two doors, close together, but of very different make. The southernmost one is similar to the rest of the doors in the complex - old, but sturdy, with well-stained oak and sturdy hinges. The other is much more crude, hinged on pale, poorly debranched posts. The wall around looks uneven, with bare soil protruding, as though stones have been removed from it. "Looks like this is where the goblins came from," he pronounces grimly. "What do we do?"

Garret starts to push the hefty cast-iron stove towards the goblins' entrance. "Stop 'em getting in, obviously. Give me a hand, here." The two take about ten minutes to barricade the door, during which time Elias takes a breather - invoking the will of God takes it out of you - and Lottie searches the adjacent room with his lantern. Evidently some kind of pantry, barrels and sacks line the walls. Most of them have holes chewed in them, from rats - of multiple sizes - and cockroaches, but a couple of higher-up cupboards hide a small spice collection. Most of it is worthless - easily grown garden herbs, like rosemary and thyme, and withered herbs at that - but the cutpurse pockets a large, heavily beaded wooden box ($45, 2lb) containing 3 oz of salt ($45, 0.19 lb), and 3 oz of mustard seeds ($115, 0.19 lb). Waste not, want not. She carefully places it in the wheelbarrow. 

Rather than search the new corridor, Miguel looks around for something that would act as a door wedge. He finds a small cooking utensil, just the right size, and jams it under the door, tapping it with his foot to see if it budges. It won't stand up to a real assault, but it might resist any less-determined attempts. Satisfied, the party rolls the wheelbarrow out of the kitchen and towards the library - as usual, Elias and Garret bring up the rear while Miguel and Lottie take the front row. Ignoring the now-open portcullis for the time being, they enter the library and begin stacking books into the wheelbarrow. 

Book haul

300 pounds of book-stacking later, the shelves are pretty much bare, the entirety of the monks' considerable vault loaded into the wheelbarrow. They take extra time to do it carefully - about half an hour in total, with the heaviest stacked at the bottom, and the lightest at the top. They wait 10 minutes to catch their breath, then begin the long walk out of the monastery. 

Wandering monsters, vs 9: 12. 

With help from Miguel, Garret is able to pull the wheelbarrow up the stairs, although they have a couple of near-misses as it tilts on the uneven stone steps. When they reach the chapel on the ground floor, Lottie takes one of the more-intact wall hangings and lays it over the wheelbarrow to protect it from any sudden showers, and they roll it back to town, and as any good adventure should end, straight back into the pub, where Werner is still poring over the book they brought him last time. His eyes light up at the sight, and he practically dives into the wheelbarrow, Scrooge McDuck-style. Many hours (and many drinks) later, they count up the day's loot. As it happens, the merchant they meet in the night market also happens to have had many drinks, and he offers them a special price for all of the books - 60%. They take it, not having any better options, and walk back to the tavern many books lighter and $4,020 richer, which they receive as 10 gold coins and one silver. They pass $300 to the innkeep to pay for Lottie and Garret's week in advance, and split the remaining $3,720 amongst the four of them (Werner is on workman's comp for the foreseeable): $930.

A week in town - and 6 character points - await! 

Spoils:

• 20 coppers ($1, 0.02 lb each); 
• A large, heavily beaded wooden box ($45, 2 lb); 
• 3 oz of salt ($45, 0.1875 lb); 
• 3 oz of mustard seeds ($115, 0.1875 lb); 
• 7 common primers ($25, 3 lb each); 
• 7 obscure primers ($50, 3 lb each); 
• 3 esoteric primers ($75, 3 lb each); 
• 3 spell primers ($100, 3 lb each); 
• 7 common textbooks ($50, 6 lb each);
• 7 obscure textbooks ($100, 6 lb each);
• 3 esoteric textbooks ($150, 6 lb each); 
• 3 spell textbooks ($200, 6 lb each); 
• 3 common theses (3 points) ($75, 12 lb each); 
• 3 obscure theses (4 points) ($200, 12 lb each); 
• 2 esoteric theses (6 points) ($450, 12 lb each); 
• 2 spell theses (8 points) ($800, 12 lb each). 
• Grand total: $6,699, 302.8 lb

Kills: 

• Lottie: 
• 1 goblin skirmisher
• Garret: 
• 1 goblin skirmisher
• Miguel: 
• 1 goblin skirmisher
• Elias: 
• 2 goblin skirmishers

Today's lesson: heavy shields are that way for a reason. 

Commentary: Bowling Alone

Playing this game solo has upsides and downsides. Putting aside, for a moment, the question of the crippling loneliness, one of the main disadvantages is the fact that when the party is presented with a choice, I have to consider the dilemma from the characters' perspective - which isn't always a good simulation of how players would act. I can't act as though I would as a player, as a great part of the fun of TTRPGs - in a Dwarf Fortress sense - is the discussion, the argument for an unreasonably long time over whether to take the left path, or the right path, or go back home, especially if you have absolutely no information about the left or right path. It's simply not the same without crowd-sourcing decisions to a paranoid, schizophrenic, four-man hive-mind. As a GM, of course, such arguments are a great opportunity to prepare what happens next - or just have a well-deserved breather.

That said, a great advantage of solo play is that I can really take the time to think about things, which isn't always an option in a game with other people. Sadly, most games are probably online these days; mine certainly are, and online games are always more restricted by time. An in-person game could go for as little as an hour, or as many as people can stay awake for - it's just hanging out. Hey, the session came to a natural end two hours in - let's crack a beer and watch Die Hard. We're running a little late, but the dragon's at half HP - want to crash here tonight? These things just don't work online, especially across time zones, and with the added cost of distractions. Roll20 is just one tab - YouTube is just a click away, and who would know? These things add up, and when time is at a premium, that extra fifteen seconds of "what were we doing again" is frustrating for everyone who is paying attention. Much like a radio presenter, the worst thing an online GM can do is have dead air - which you often need for figuring out how much damage went through the shield. Combat in GURPS can run slow at the best of times, and a little practice can really speed things up, especially for bigger fights. 

Another advantage is the lack - or, reduction, perhaps - of the temptation to stack the deck in favour of one side or another. Look, we've all fudged a die roll - yes, you too - but it sucks. It robs the players of agency, not in a huge way, but in an insidious one. At worst it can break the immersion, make everything feel like a shadow puppet play. Sometimes you really want that monster's ability to work - or other times you think that hit's a bit mean - crank the damage down. Or up, if it's just not doing anything. Heck, even in this game, I was tempted to smooth out Elias' damage a little - that was three separate sixes for damage! But I've seen the dice, I know they're fair - or at least biased the same way for both sides - and I know I'm not cheating. The dice are often mean, but they're not unfair. And how you deal with that meanness is a big part of your character (in both senses of the word). 

Of course, if stacking the dice is bad for everyone, stacking the game is too - and so far this game has probably leant too far in favour of the party, a common disease of games I run. At 125 points the player characters aren't useless, and a roughly equivalent number of almost-unarmoured goblins with clubs is demonstrably an unfair fight. It's a tough balancing act; maybe another goblin would have tipped the scale too far the other way. But then, that's why I'm doing this - at least I'm not hurting anyone's feelings by pushing too far. If a fight happens next time, I'll have to crank up the difficulty.