Umbros 29: Exploring the Purple Hills

Things were relatively short and simple tonight: choose a mission and try to complete it. In doing so, I had to do some reading on the rules, specifically Territory Development By PCs (DMG 93). I remembered from some time ago that “hex-clearing” zoomed in to 200y hexes and that you’d check encounters for each one. However, reviewing the same section this morning, I missed a few key points:

- There are a lot more hexes than I thought
- Exploration and checks use Actual Time

To Wit: I aimed to streamline the process a bit and didn’t read the entire section as closely as I should have. For one, I skipped checking for specific terrain features, having little interest in crafting such a detailed map and deciding such features (outside “Inhabitation” checks) would be included with the encounters. I also didn’t run the numbers on just how many 200y hexes were within a 1mi hex. Alas, I’m not a math guy and calculating the area of a hex isn’t a formula I’m familiar with. A quick morning search thanks to the AI Overlords suggests 176 hexes, cheating and using a Worldographer seeded map has something like 82, I ran with a far more zoomed out 24.

As for the Time Factor, I tracked things in “flexible” hours instead of Actual Time. This was partially due to the terrain (jungle) and an inkling that “there’s probably more hexes here than I think there is” (at least my instincts know what’s up).

Nonetheless, the process still discovered a few points of interest with potential for hooks.

PCs

Brodrin Dw F1 (E)
Reed Dr2 (E)
Ooka Booka R1 (E)
Flir E F1/Mu1 (E)
Jerik C1 (E)

Exploring the Purple Hills

Opening the session, Brodrin reviewed a message he’d sent the HelDelvers earlier regarding a couple hooks and trying to plan ahead. He didn’t get much in the way of a response so the players had to hash out the details. The final decision was aiding Reed in his mission to scout out a few miles of land a good distance from Tootchville for what was later explained as: “Digging for shrooms to make moonshine, whatever a ‘moon’ means.” Prior to heading out, Reed bought a hawk at an exorbitant price for aerial recon and explained his VOID system. I floated a question about grading here and never got a response. Frankly, I should have given them all an F for not answering the question! Would have been prime opportunity to review Appendix N literature and explore the evolution of warfare on Umbros! Grading, alas, is class/character focused.

I’ve already reviewed the process and mistakes so I’ll jump into it:

The jungles of the Purple Hills are home to a variety of strange and dangerous creatures, not including the variety of dinosaurs roaming about. The party’s first encounter, in a manner of speaking, was with a large group of Stegosaurs. Reed’s Recon Hawk (let’s call him Randy) came back after spotting the huge creatures lumbering below the canopy, large leaves and trees seemingly being shoved aside to make room for their trudging. This was hit with a “no funny voices pls” quip as I considered whether “animal intelligence” qualifies for counting. I leaned on the side of “broad, general” as a baseline. I did not come up with a funny voice for Randy.

A discussion arose as to whether these would need to be cleared. Under normal circumstances, the answer would be yes. However, the land is being cleared for a Druid, not a settlement! As such, this herd was left to enjoy their leafy greens.

As hours passed (again, not Actual Time), the party developed the MO to return to Tootchville and rest each night, effectively popping out to the “property line” and venturing out from there. All in all, this burned about 6-7 days.

Randy’s eye in the sky view of the Purple Hills spotted a curious glinting in a swampy clearing. He was curious, extremely so; drawn by the shimmering object ready for plucking. I had Reed roll a morale check for Randy to see if he’d give in to his curiosity: 01. Randy wasted no time returning to Reed to talk about the shiny thing. Reed then pulled out a pair of his recently hired Recon Rats and sent them off. Some time later, one returned screaming: “Boss, they got Tony! He saw that big shiny thing and went to pluck it when he lighted up like the big stone and poof! He was gone!” (See, I got my silly voices in).

This scenario was particularly familiar to Reed and he let out a sigh of frustration. Turns out this might not just be a stroll through Stego Lane! The party discussed options, the potential for the creature to be something other than a Will o’ Wisp, and whether this would stop their mission. Flir, relying heavily on his Weirding skills, headed toward the location in an attempt to glean more information. I described the scene, the shining diamond, and the rotting hand that held it. Flir bounced. For you, dear reader, I shall offer a revelation: Flir surprised the creature and left. Had he lingered, perhaps this story would have a different ending.

The party, for their part, remembered that the hexes they needed to clear had to be contiguous, the direction didn’t matter. With this, they promptly left.

Time passes and we move on to the strangest encounter of the night, one I think even Bdubs may not have expected! Randy comes crashing into the party like a drunken pilot, rambling about strange things, moving things, chattering things, a black spire. Reed was ready to skedaddle. Flir’s curiosity, however, was piqued. What kind of Elf wouldn’t take interest in strange things at the edge of a jungle? Same MO as previous, he creeped ahead until he got sight on the location: a round depression in a clearing from the center of which a black obelisk shot up. Crawling along the obelisk were round, metallic creatures muttering in tinny notes as they swarmed the thing. Flir attempted a super quick headcount that resulted in “more than 50,” noted the glowing runes and strange markings on the stone, and left (before surprise faded, elf power!).

Finally, as the slog continued day after day, Randy came back to Reed covered in red. From a distance it looked like he had torn through an animal or suffered a grievous wound, but as the hawk landed, he chattered away about “a nice girl in the meadow giving him a treat.” If you’ve read earlier reports, you’ll find that this is my favorite encounter on the (modified) table. The party was suspicious, but clearing a hex was clearing a hex and they needed to find out if this “girl” was hostile. Jerik was the one to take the lead here and navigated out of the jungle to find a beautiful meadow orchard where a young girl in red cloak was having a picnic.

Jerik conversed for a bit, asking the girl about the area, the creatures within it, and the strange obelisk. She noted that the “chatterballs” were a little weird, but didn’t seem unfriendly. It was also discovered in this conversation that “Mr Bubbles” kept her safe and that her grandmother’s cottage was relatively close. “Can you describe Mr Bubbles?” “He’s big, strong, super friendly and does not like mean strangers!” The girl then offered Jerik some pie, explaining that her mother got the recipe from a baker named Chaz, “Grandma makes the best pies, but Chaz’s recipe is just out of this world!” Jerik accepted and invited the others over; the others who at this point were trying to hide as far away as possible.

After a bit more back and forth, Flir accepted a pie and the party went on their way. They eventually found the rest of the space they were looking for and reported back. Reed promptly went into training, Jerik and Flir joined the HelDelver’s Guild with an advance of 10gp and 8 cloves of garlic, and the players made plans about what they wanted to do next week.

Mission Complete