An Introductory One-Shot for Daggerheart in the Colossus of the Drylands campaign frame

Credit for the structure of this has to go to the wonderful Teos Abadia, who on his Alphastream blog (and linked youtube channel) talks about adapting the 5-Room Dungeon as a learn-to-play one-shot – using it to highlight different parts of gameplay. This is a great way to structure your one-shots to give a showcase of the system (check out my co-host Gaz doing it expertly for The One Ring on Unconventional GMs), and with a Daggerheart session to prep, it got me thinking until I came up with this, for Daggerheart’s Colossus of the Drylands campaign frame:

The Training 5-Room Dungeon for Daggerheart

1. Arrive at isolated settlement. Assist in evacuation / repair / healing (SKILLS)
2. Fight heralds (EASY FUN FIGHT)
3. Resolve to fight the colossus (RP or NEGOTIATION)
4. Showcase additional gameplay (PREPARATIONS and RESEARCH)
5. Fight the colossus (THRILLING FINAL BATTLE)

While you’re reading this, I should tell you about my Patreon. Patrons get access to content 7 days before they hit this site, the chance to request articles or content, and the chance to play in one-shot games, for a very reasonable backer level of £2 per month. If you like what you read, want to support the blog, and have the funds for it, please consider supporting here. Telling people about the blog, and sharing links/retweeting is much appreciated also – thanks!

It should be said that Teos has since blogged about the Daggerheart 5-Room Learn-to-Play Dungeon, and it’s a bit different to mine – it just goes to show that creativity can lead in different directions! Adventure Overview 

1. Arrive at isolated settlement. Assist in evacuation / repair / healing (SKILLS)
2. Fight heralds / undead (EASY FUN FIGHT)
3. Resolve to fight the colossus (RP or NEGOTIATION)
4. Showcase additional gameplay (PREPARATIONS and RESEARCH)
5. Fight the colossus (THRILLING FINAL BATTLE)

Oh, and this is for Tier 1, starting characters – chargen in Daggerheart is refreshingly quick and easy, even when you need to spin up 4 one-shot pregens!

Background/Introduction

The Drylands are frontier territory – bold prospectors and canny mages mine Essentia, a magical mineral, in these hard lands, as everyone tries to carve out a piece of it for themselves. But claim jumpers are the least of your worries, for the Forgotten Gods have been woken by these Essentia mines, and one of them, Kudamat the First Doom, is being released piece by piece. As his power grows, he forms great avatars – colossal beasts – to guard the soul shards that keep him prisoner.

Cast

Miquera is a village on the edge of the Drylands – it’s in the Caradondo Mountains and consists of a main street with a few buildings and an old stone church. Think frontier western town that’s sprung up around a mountain pass.

Ostevan is the Mayor of Miquera. An old human trader, he settled here many years ago and has the respect of the whole town, even if his eyesight is going a little in his old age.

Doddering and weak, but inside is strong.

Elena is a hard-nosed leader of the miners in the mining camp to the north of Miquera. A stocky dwarf originally from a far-off land, she knows mining, and knows hills – and has no love for Miquera since Ostevan barred her miners from the saloon for fighting. The mines have been very successful recently, mining Essentia from the nearby hills.

Angry and with a chip (of Essentia) on her shoulder.

Cascenda is a the owner of the General Store in Miquera. She’s short of stock – most of her stuff has been bought up by Elena and her miners. She’s a tall, rough-faced desert elf; she and Elena had a bit of a romance when she was in town before, before she decided it was bad for business.

Calm, friendly, smiles all the time.

Father Baltesar is an tortoisefolk (galapa) priest of the new gods, and young and enthusiastic about his mission in Miquera. In scene one, when his church is destroyed, his optimism remains strong!

Enthusiastic, rushing into things.

Ikeri, Injuries Untold is a colossus of the old gods that seeks to destroy Miquera on its journey through the pass. It must be defeated! An ape-like thing the size of a house with a bird’s beak on its head and a mesa on its back. It moans in pain as it destroys.

Aaaaaahhhhhh.

Scene 1 – Mayhem in Miquera

Miquera is nestled in a tight mountain pass, between two peaks of the Caradondo Mountains as they wind down to the plains of the Drylands.

The players arrive in Miquera, a small, tight, frontier town, to upheaval. Smoke is visible, and they can see that stones have fallen from the mountains as the earth quakes. Townsfolk run this way and that in a panic, ineffectively trying to put out the fire and rescue people trapped in buildings.

• Baltesar is trapped in the spire, as it teeters this way and that – can somebody rescue him?
• As the saloon catches on fire, two old human prospectors, Eli and Cornado, are trapped beneath the falling ceiling – can they be rescued?
• There are villagers struggling to take water from the well to extinguish the fire – can they be organised to be more effective?

Earthquakes and Fires in Miquera

Tier 1 Event

Impulses: Destroy, strike fear, foretell Ikeri

Difficulty: 11

Features

Burning Buildings – Countdown (Loop 4). When the scene starts, begin this countdown. When it triggers, everyone in the town that isn’t actively taking shelter takes 1d8+1 damage

Earthquake – Spend a Fear to have a PC targeted by a falling rock from the mountains. They take 1d6+1 damage and are pinned until another PC takes action to rescue them

Scene 2 – The Second Omen

As they catch their breath, bursting from the ground comes the second omen, as foretold – a giant scorpion running down from the hills, and as they do, the dead rise! The scorpion has clearly come in the direction of the mines.

They must fight one Giant Scorpion (p211) and (number of PCs) Shambling Zombies (p219) – formed from the recently dead. While they do this, Ostevan looks dumbfounded, and the priest Father Baltesar looks stunned.

Scene 3 – Recuperation

The PCs can catch their breath and have a breather now. An argument breaks out as Elena arrives from the mines – the scorpion climbed out of the ground, and killed two of her best miners. Immediately accusations fly, and she walks off from the argument. Eventually, calmer heads prevail, and Ostevan and Baltazar explain what is happening; they’ve heard of this from other drylands preachers, in Wyllin’s Gulch. Kudamat, the First Doom, is rising; ancient collossi are stalking people around the mines. Ostevan is clear; the village is doomed, they may as well pack their stuff now – but Baltesar has an idea – they’ve got a few hours to prepare – the heroes who just arrived in town might be able to help?

Trigger the Short Rest rules – remember to gain 1d4 Fear points as well!

Scene 4 – Preparations

Begin a countdown on 4; they will have to make a roll each time they source some help and it will tick down each time. All require difficulty 15 checks for relevant stats and Experiences. Generally, they should be successful, although the effectiveness of the preparation may require a roll to trigger in the combat – but the check determines how long it takes and what happens each time. Remember: Fail/Fear -3, Fail/Hope -2, Success/Fear -1.

Each failure or fear, describe the colossus’ approach

• They could source some dynamite; the general store is sold out, but Elena, the leader of the mining camp, might be persuaded to lend them some
  • Dynamite does 1d20+5 damage if the enemy (and anyone else in Very Close range) fails a Reaction Roll (14) – double damage to inanimate objects, if you succeed mark a Stress
• There are a few old books in the church library – they could research the colossus.
  • This tells them, straight away, that it can be defeated if either the head or the torso is destroyed, but that limbs will fall off and regrow. It’s also disturbed by water – if they can find it – which will make it vulnerable
• They might want to source some water; they can stock it up from Miquera’s well
  • Water forces a Reaction Roll (12) from Ikeri, or it must mark a Stress
• There’s a limited militia in the town; they could be trained to fire volleys at the colossus if needed
  • Countdown (Loop 3) triggered when a PC attack misses. It triggers a volley of arrows at the target of choice, for 1d8+1 damage
• They could set up some sort of weird tower trap to give them access to the the head, or get ladders set up, or some other hair–brained scheme
  • This will inflict damage (say 1d20) and a Stress, if the colossus fails a Reaction Roll (14)
• There’s other hair-brained schemes I’m sure they can construct!

Scene 5 – Fight the Colossus

Ikeri, Injuries Untold, shambles into Miquera – they must fight, and hopefully defeat, it – using all the plans beforehand

Ikeri’s stats are on p319 of the Daggerheart book- make sure to bone up on the rules for fighting collossi after it!

With Ikeria defeated, the characters are victorious! If you’re playing a one-shot, the players can narrate a victorious scene as they celebrate. If this is the start of an ongoing campaign, they’ve got a reputation now – Wyllin’s Gulch is sure to need their help!