CON REPORT: ReaperCon 2024 Day 1

I might clean this up at a later date with more detail

 Back in action at one of the most steady con in Texas. I brought two ribbons to the con. The first was for my Nightwick Abbey game and the second is one of the nerdiest references I could think of which is the true nature of the "purple worm" in D&D.

I love this part of the con-
great tradition!

DUNGEON DWELLERS Session #1

This is a house system by Reaper Miniatures. It feels to me like an offshoot of 3.5 with some Swords & Wizardry twists thrown in. In the first session, I played a halfling thief who. with my companions, was in charge of guarding a caravan which included the very suspicious Wagon 13. 

• We were awoken in the night by the screams of guards due to orc's breaking through the treeline. As we mounted a defense, my halfling, Gulivan,  got off the first bow shot and an instant kill (I rolled a 22 to-hit and 8 dmg).
• Our wizard managed to "upcast" grease and start laying huge swaths of it in front of the circled wagons while our elf and fighter used cleave to carve up the orcs at a distance
• Worg riders posed our biggest trouble as they learned from the previous line of orcs to leap up on the wagons and avoid the oil. A good fight was had in which we were victorious.
• Orcs made off with the contents of Wagon 13-- total time for this one combat was ~2 hours

Miranda Elkins' NIGHTWICK ABBEY Session #1

After a short break, its on to Nightwick! Alright for this con game the players are tasked with finding the vicar. Down in the Abbey the PCs go. Pre-gen PCs: 4,5,10,13,17, grog,

• In interrogating the surviving alter boy, the players get a map of the first room and once in, they discover a secret door leading to a room awash in dried blood. They decide not to go any further-- because of copious amounts of dried blood
• A little while later they rescue a mixture of man and animal from a group of profane humans wearing the flesh of other men and experimenting on the poor creature: "I'm Bleeder. Because I bleed."
• A little while later after that, the "poor creature" attempts to lead the party into an ambush. Killing Bleeder quickly, they cower the remaining creatures--- who then direct them into another trap...
• After avoiding patrols of the dead, the PCs make it to the kitchen, where they find the vicar tied up like a roasted pig. They successfully turn the ravenous dead about to eat the poor foolish man and square off against the Butcher. In a hail of frogling gonne fire (roll max damage!) and a volly of arrows the PC fight off the Butchera and run out of the Abbey with the rancid butter-covered vicar and make it back!

DUNGEON DWELLERS Session #2

In a surprise, the Ruined Moathouse exterior is drawn on a vynal map to scale! So new "old-school system" and a classic adventure which was new to several members of the group.

• We faced off against 6 giant frogs
• Lassoed some of the rubble and claimed up into the lower right tower, webbed a giant adder, and dipped our weapons in its blood--- after almost poisoning ourselves in the process
• We F.A.R.T'ed on the doors (Find And Remove Traps; new to me), filled the upper right bandit hold with fog, and set the bandit therein on fire! Back to the hell pits of Orcus with you.
• Rounded things off by facing down more giant animals like we were in an early Ray Harryhausen file then called it a night-- all 250gp richer and at least my halfing having split a cache of magic arrows +1

The upper Moathouse to me is one of the best RPG adventuring sites made, especially for cons. The reason is because it first requires the PCs to break into the structure which is great for creating discussion and interplay between, broadly, fighters, magic-users, and thieves. The giant frogs outside are fun creatures to fight. And the bandits inside are generic enough to be anything or have any story attached to them. Even the giant lizard and spider have trust up people which could be conventions goals.

In all a good Day One!