Is Dungeons and Dragons a Whetstone for the Mind

tl;dr link to video: https://youtu.be/LEIIqTTi04Y

Kym Buchanan wrote an article published by Pop Matters titled, “Dungeons and Dragons is Cross-Training for the Mind”. There is a link in the description below. In George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Fire and Ice series, Tyrion Lannister said, “A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge. That is why I read so much.”

How can you train your mind to be ready for a variety of mental challenge? General James Mattis, also known as “Mad Dog Mattis”, said, “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.” That warrior spirit can be embodied in table top role playing games. Many people deride players whose characters follow the mantra of “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet” giving them the pejorative of “murder hobos”.

Table top role playing games can prepare people’s minds by giving them puzzles to solve and threats to counter. Players need to think, communicate, and collaborate. These skills stimulate the mind.

Kym Buchanan’s article says the readiness to respond to a new challenge is called “transfer”. The article defines the steps for transfer as recognizing essential clues about a problem, correctly classifying the problem, accurately recalling a promising strategy appropriate to that class of problems, and effectively applying that strategy. This brings to mind two very different approaches to “transfer”. I learned the first approach in math and physics classes. In order to prove a theorem, you had to understand the problem, determine what proof technique is appropriate for the theorem, then applying that technique. A second, and very different approach is taught in the military during basic training. Combat situations require almost instantaneous responses. For example, if your weapons jams, you need to be able to field-strip the weapon, clear any jam, and reassemble the weapon even in the dark. Another example is to know how to apply first aid quickly to yourself and others. I have heard that people who work in emergency rooms need to follow the same kind of instantaneous response when someone comes in with a serious injury. Table top role playing games teaches players to quickly respond to different challenges.

The DM or GM can throw a variety of challenges at the players. The DM/GM can change the challenge to meet the changing situation and abilities of the characters. For example, the DM/GM can increase the number of monsters the players face if the players find a powerful weapon.

The DM/GM can add ethical questions to challenge the players. For example, the party kills a horrible creature. As they loot the creature’s lair, they find the young children of the creature. The party needs to decide what they do. Should they kill the children of the horrible creature, or should they make them pets, or should they just abandon the children, or should they capture them and try to sell them, or should they just eat them? Each approach has advantages and disadvantages.

Tabletop role playing games, like Dungeons and Dragons, can be a tool to provide stimulating situations to the minds of the players, sharpen their imagination, and teaching new approaches to problems.

Although I disagree with some of the points by Kym Buchanan, his article is well worth reading.

Pop Matters wrote an article titled, “Dungeons and Dragons is Cross-Training for the Mind”. http://www.popmatters.com/feature/dungeons-dragons-is-cross-training-for-the-mind/

Work In Progress

Tabaxi in Dungeons and Dragons

If you only play Tabaxi characters in Dungeons and Dragons, does that mean you are a crazy cat lady?

The description of Tabaxi in Volo's Guide makes them similar to the Khajiit in Skyrim. They are not warlike Kzinti from Larry Niven's "Known Space" fictional universe. The description in Volo's Guide is vague enough to allow roll play a Tabaxi like either a Khajiit or a Kzinti. That was a tongue twister.

Dark Elf (Drow) and Lightfoot Halfling have the same stat modifiers as the Tabaxi. All three have plus two to dexterity and plus one to charisma.

You could argue the charisma to the Tabaxi it because they are cute.

Both the Drow and Tabaxi have darkvision; although the Drow can see 120' in the dark while the Tabaxi can only see 60'.

The Drow have the Dancing Lights cantrip and at higher levels the Faerie Fire and Darkness spells. Lightfoot Halflings have the advantage of luck. Tabaxi have Feline Agility, Cat's Claws, and Cat's Talent. Feline Agility gives the Tabaxi character the ability to move at double speed. Cat's Talent give the character proficiency in perception and stealth.

The Drow have sunlight sensitivity; Lightfoot Halflings can only move with a speed of 25. The Tabaxi have no documented disadvantages unlike the other two.

The Tabaxi have one significant advantage over any other race in Dungeons and Dragons. They are felines. That means the player can use all the cat videos on the Internet for inspiration on how to roll play their character. If a Tabaxi character likes another player character, does that mean they go out and kill a rodent and leave it beside the other player characters for them to find in the morning?

If the party finds a box or small chest, does the Tabaxi claim it for a sleeping place even though they can barely fit in it, with all their fur sticking out?

Response to Monstrous Tactics: Bullywugs by MikeThepiper

This is a Response to MikeThepiper video titled Monstrous Tactics: Bullywugs

Welcome to my channel. I focus on tabletop role-playing games, video games, and science fiction.

MikeThepiper's introduction is reminiscent of the croaking refrain from Aristophanes' play, The Frogs. That fits well with this entire topic.

TSR released The Fiend Folio In 1981 for first edition of Dungeons and Dragons. The Field Folio introduced the Bullywug. Not much has really changed in the Bullywug from the first edition to the fifth edition.

Right after the release of the Fiend Folio, I was given charge of running the gaming section of a local science fiction convention. I designed an adventure around creatures in the Fiend Folio. The result was Key to Druid's Gate. A friend did artwork for the module. I have a nicely bound copy. I even sold a couple of copies of the module.

Between January and February of 2015, I ran an updated version of Key to Druid's Gate on Google Hangouts. I updated the creatures to their equivalent in fourth edition. It took approximately eleven hours of on-line gaming to finish an adventure that was supposed to be completed in three. Much of the extra time was caused by the extremely slow combat of the fourth edition.

One of the creatures the party fought was the Bullywug. In the Key to Druid's Gate, the Bullywugs defended their territory. Their ability to blend into the background of the swamp was the key to their tactics. Even though the Bullywugs are low level monsters, the ability to do a surprise attack allowed twelve of them to draw a little blood from a vastly superior force of seven sixth level characters. In the end, the adventurers were able to dispatch the Bullywugs without much difficulty.

Bullywugs, by themselves, are not much of a challenge. The idea of having Bullywugs riding giant frogs is an interesting approach to creating a mobile cavalry.

Bullywugs have an advantage when they are defending their lair. Their croaking can be heard over long distances. This means Bullywugs can set up a network of guards that can warn of any party venturing into the Bullywugs' home territory. Bullywugs know the swamp. They know exactly where to set up the best trap. For example, although Bullywugs are not allies with Giant Crocodiles, they know where the Giant Crocodiles live. They can set up an ambush such that any party venturing into the Bullywugs's swamp, will end up alerting the Giant Crocodiles. While the party is fighting the Giant Crocodiles, the Bullywugs can attack from behind, assisting the Giant Crocodiles.

Let's Talk about Pirates and Plunder

Are you ready to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats?

Welcome to my channel. I focus on tabletop role-playing games, video games, and science fiction.

H. L. Mencken said, "Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats."

In 1982, Yaquinto Publications released Pirates and Plunder. Being a pirate sounds like fun. Unfortunately, Pirates and Plunder is not a very good system. One of the biggest problem is the organization of the books. Pirates and Plunder attempted to create a training system where you learns some rules with each of the initial adventures. This means the rules are scattered all over the books. This makes the game almost unplayable, you end up searching through the rulebooks for almost every little detail. The typography is awful. There are three books. In book 1, they did not use different typography to show section headings. Instead, major section heads had two asterisk, and minor section heads did not.

Another problem with Pirates and Plunder is the combat system. The combat system is quick and brutal. With a single hit, you can lose a limb. You must meticulously keep track of the location and damage of each hit.

Then, after the battle is over, you have roll again for every wound to see how it heals. If the wound does not heal, you can get an infection. They could end up amputating a limb just because you got a scratch. Your character could die from the infection. If your character does survive, they can get a nice scar. There is no magical healing in Pirates and Plunder. You cannot drink a healing potion or cast a healing spell. The medicinal system is a primitive as the setting of the game. Getting medicinal help can make your chances of surviving worse.

Once you have seen how the combat and healing system works, you try to avoid all possible combat situations. This takes away a lot of the fun at being a swashbuckler.

The game does not include any rules sailing or ship combat. Another major disappointment with the game.

I did this video because season 4 of Black Sails starts tonight. Black Sails is as brutal as Pirates and Plunder. The difference is Black Sails is a lot of fun with a good story. Pirates and Plunder was not much fun when I played it.

Thank you for watching my video.

I look forward to learning what you think about this video. Let me know in the comments below. I appreciate all your comments. If you like the video give it a thumb's up. If you don't like the video give me a thumb's down. I appreciate both forms of feedback. If your new here and would like to subscribe you can click on the icon on the left. If you're interested there is more content on the right.

Halfling Hearth Review

I just had dinner at the Halfling Hearth and I am stuffed.

The Halfling Hearth just opened a restaurant in my area. They serve Halfling in a variety of ways. Everything from juicy burgers to succulent baby ribs to deep fried to pit roasted Halfling.

Their juicy Halfling bugers use a ratio of 80% lean and 20% fat. They liberally season the burger with their secret blend of spices then drop the burgers onto a smoking hot griddle. The result is a mouthwatering Halfling burger.

Their baby ribs are hand-rubbed with a secret blend of spices, then pit-smoked for 4 to 6 hours over a smoldering mesquite fire. Then slathered with sauce over an open flame sealing in the flavor with a crispy, caramelized coating.

They soak their cut-up Halfling pieces in buttermilk overnight to tenderize the meat. They remove the pieces and sprinkle salt, pepper, and their secret blend of spices. The pieces are coated with a flour mixture, then an egg mixture, and again back into a seasoned flour mixture. The key to the amazing flavor is they are cooked in rendered Halfling fat. This gives an amazing flavor that is hard to describe. The closest I can come to is fried rabbit.

The pit-roasted Halfling is the star of the show. The meat falls off the bone with a soft, moist consistency. The tasty meat is wonderful with a little of their sweet and spicy sauce.

They say the key to the wonderful taste is they only serve free-ranging Halflings. They don't use cage raised Halflings. All the Halflings are certified organic and antibiotic free.

The Halfling Hearth fills up fast. I recommend making reservations.

I give it five stars.



I hope you appreciate a bit of dark humor.

D&D Essential Equipment: Chalk Script

A well-equipped party should always be ready to make its mark.

"Kilroy was here" was a piece of graffiti painted around the world during World War II. The origin of Kilroy is debated. What is not debatable is Kilroy went everywhere. Years ago, a character in my campaign walked up to a wall and wrote, "Julian was here". That started my interest in having my dungeons show that someone was here before.

Chalk is lightweight and common. Some of the earliest cave drawing are drawn in chalk. Throughout history, chalk has marked walls with graffiti. Chalk provides an easy way for a character to leave their mark on the dungeon, for example, "Julian kilt an ogre here". Which is a pun on the carving in Washington County, Tennessee which reads, "D. Book Cilled a. Bar on tree in the year 1760".

Chalk is invaluable if you wander into a maze. Chalk allows you to quickly and easily mark the path you took. This makes is much harder to get lost. The disadvantage is this allows other things to follow you.

Weightlifters, gymnasts, and rock climbers chalk their hands. Athletes competing in power field events, such as shot put, discus throw, and javelin throw, use chalk to aid in gripping.

Putting chalk powder on the floor is an easy way to see if anything passed that way, or to reveal an invisible creatures foot prints.

D&D Essential Equipment Iron Spikes Script

To a well-equipped party, it is simple to make it impossible for monsters to open a door.

Welcome to my channel. I focus on tabletop role-playing games, video games, and science fiction.

In Original Dungeons and Dragons, on page 14 of Men and Magic, the price list includes 12 iron spikes for one gold piece. Inflation has hit Dungeons and Dragons. In the fifth edition, on page 150 of the Player's Handbook, the price list includes 10 iron spikes for one gold piece. It is interesting to note that the fifth edition includes a price for iron spikes, but unlike almost every other piece of equipment, it does not include a description of how to use an iron spike.

Iron spikes are useful. You can jam a spike under a door and use is it as a door jamb to keep the door open. Or you can pound the iron spike through the edges of the door to keep it shut. In order for monsters to follow they have to break down the door, hopefully giving the party the few minutes they need to escape.

David Drake wrote a book titled, "Ranks of Bronze". Wikipedia describes the book as "A defeated Roman legion is sold into slavery to alien traders seeking low tech soldiers to be used in conflicts to secure trading rights on alien planets." There is an interesting passage in the book.

"Now...," said Niger, letting his eyes travel from one crewman to the other, "We're going to give you a demonstration of why you will obey every order which Gaius gives you, without argument or hesitation."

"We call it crucifixion."

"The Commander began to scream. The screaming went on for a long time."

Iron spikes have lots of nefarious uses.

Hill Dwarf vs. Lizardfolk in Dungeons and Dragons

Hill Dwaves and Lizardfolk have the same statistical modifiers in Dungeons and Dragons. Hill Dwarf and Lizardfolk have the same stat bonuses. Both have plus 2 to constitution and plus 1 to wisdom. Hill Dwarves are four to five feet tall. Lizard folk are a little larger than humans meaning they are from five feet to a little over six feet tall.

Hill Dwarves have the advantage of having dark vision. They also have Dwarven resilience which means they have better saves when it comes to poison. They have stone cunning which means they have a better chance to know the origins of stonework. Hill Dwarves have Dwarven toughness giving them plus one to their hit points when they go up each level. Hill Dwarves have the disadvantage their speed is only 25.

Lizardfolk are cunning artisans. This means they can harvest bone and hide from a slain beast and create a shield, club, javelin, darts, or blowgun needles. Lizardfolk can hold their breath for fifteen minutes. They have hunter’s lore. Lizardfolk have natural armor equal to a chain shirt, and they can add their dexterity bonus. Lizardfolk have the ability to have a bonus action attack using their bite.

Which is makes a better character race?

Dark vision is highly over rated. If your party does not all have dark vision, then you need torches. If you want to use Molotov Cocktails, they probably want a torch. The resistance to poison is helpful, but unless your dungeon master uses poison all the time, this is not that meaningful. Stone cunning is interesting, but few dungeon masters make it a key part of their adventures. Speed is a big disadvantage. Hill dwarves slow the party down. The biggest advantage is the increase in hit points. This is a big advantage at lower levels, but as you progress, it is not as important.

Lizardfolk are listed as cold and cunning. This means they could create things from the creatures the party kills, this should include other humans, dwarves, elves, and so on. Unless you are adventuring underwater, holding their breath is not that useful. Hunter’s lore could be useful, particularly the stealth capabilities. Volo’s Guide, mentions that Lizardfolk are reptiles. This probably means they are cold- blooded. Adventuring in cold climates a problem. At lower levels, the natural armor and bonus attack make Lizardfolk the better bang-for-the-buck.

Personally, playing a Lizardfolk sounds like a lot of fun. Think of the possibilities of playing a character who looks at the rest of the party as potential lunch.

Plans for World of Tiglath: Drawing Innase

The Old Dark House

The Old Dark House trope is a common device where a group of character must spend a night in a possibly haunted mansion or castle. Something or someone kills the characters one by one. The movie, Friday the Thirteenth, follows this trope. One of the plot-holes in the trope is why do the characters stay in the house? I remember reading a review of the movie Alien. The reviewer said Alien was one of the few movies using the Old Dark House trope where it made sense for the characters to stay in the house.

I used the Old Dark House trope a few times in my games. I vividly remember one adventure I patterned after the first Friday the Thirteenth movie. Jason attacks one of the members of the party. In the movie, the teenagers never stay together. They always find some reason to go off on their own, usually to fornicate. Instead of being stupid, the party hunkered down and built a bunker. Jason attacked. Jason died. The party proceeded to dismember and burn the body. The players were upset when Jason’s mother came in the night and stole all the burnt body parts of her beloved boy. That adventure was many years ago.

In my current campaign, several months ago, the party found a large altar made of solid gold. They planned to come back later for the gold. The party first found the gold by going through an underground base, then up some stairs into a buried keep. The party had an idea for the location of the buried keep. They decided to dig into the keep instead of going through the underground base. This brings up the Old Dark House trope. The party is trying to reach the altar of gold. Varieties of creatures inhabit the keep making the task difficult.

The roll playing makes the adventures fun. Two of the characters have intelligence of only eight. In a recent adventure, after killing some creatures the party was hurt. Instead of resting, the party opens up the body bag containing a lich. They promptly ran away.

One question keeps popping into my mind. Should I close the door? That is, should I lock the party into the Old Dark House? Would that result in a total-party-kill? On the other hand, could the party fight their way through?

How Many Bodies Can You Stack in a Bedroom?

How many bodies can you stack into an eleven by fifteen foot room? In a scene reminiscent of the ending of a Few Dollars More, the party stacks the dead bodies resulting from last week’s adventure into a bedroom. They end up stacking the bodies four deep on the bed and floor. How long until a dead body smells? A lot depends on the temperature. The odor of the bodies could attract attention or some sort of carrion eater.

After stacking the bodies, the party returned down the stairs. They heard someone in authority dressing down a group of soldiers through the large window. The party opened the window. Melee began. The party managed to kill several more. One creature, managed to escape. What will the party do next?

Based on the graphic found here.

I have to give credit for the idea to this.

It Looks Friendly

I read an article about the Predatory Glow Worms in the Peruvian Amazon. Sounds like a fun variant of the Purple Worm. Only hope you never run into a horny adolescent giant radioactive carnivorous mutant predatory glowing worm or you could end up like a penguin being molested by a seal.

Playing with Your Food

Anyone who has read Dracula knows vampires play with their food. Then I saw the video of a seal sexual harassing a penguin. The seals often eat the penguin after they finish. This could explain the presence of half-trolls. Occasionally, the female escapes rather instead of the troll consuming the victim. If the troll captures a male, well just like the poor penguin, the troll may decide to play with its food.

The next time the party of adventurers run into a large creature, they should fear the creature might want to play with its food.

Poison-a-Go-Go

Whisky a Go Go is the name of a famous nightclub. I am going to call the last adventure, “Poison a Go Go”. It started with an adult theme. The sorceress decided to “take one for the team”. Then the half-orc came to the rescue. A few rounds later, the proprietor of the Rat Whole was lying on the floor, dead.

The party found trays of roasted rats and spiders in the kitchen. In a storeroom was a staircase going down leading to a room resembling the back of a restaurant. A door led to a smaller room with a half-height counter with a fold up window. The glass in the window was translucent. The party saw figures moving on the other side of the window.

The light from the back room was visible through the glass. One of the figures approached the window, knocked, and asked, “Are you open yet? I’m hungry.” The cleric folded up the window and the greyish creature asked, “Where’s Ragnol?” The cleric told a story the proprietor was away seeing family. Some of the party ran up the stairs to get the trays of prepared food.

In a previous adventure, the party received a duffel bag full of Tharl. Tharl is an herb. Tharl has two side effects. First, Tharl provides a limited water-breathing capability. Second, Tharl has a narcotic effect giving the user a sense of euphoria. Tharl is addictive. In yet another adventure, the party harvested a large quantity of belladonna, the queen of poisons. The party “seasoned” the trays of roasted rats and spiders with a combination of Tharl and belladonna.

The party managed to poison seventeen doppelgangers before one was able to shout out a warning. The eighteenth doppelganger died from the poison as two guards arrived. The party dispatched the two guards. The adventure ended as the party hid the dead bodies.

Although Rat on a Stick did not have any Go Go dancers, it was a popping place for a while.

A Fate Worse Than Death?

An attractive Elf Sorceress walks into a tavern named The Rat Whole. After bravely running away from some Trolls, the party tries to find an alternative entrance to the dungeon. Along the way, they see a large building. The sign in front of the building says, “The Rat Whole”. The sorceress walks in, unaccompanied, to check it out. A mature man suffering from osteoporosis greets the attractive elf inviting her to sit and have a mug of eggnog made with fresh spider eggs and rat milk. The proprietor says he is a lonely. He says he appreciates the company of an attractive elf and knows how to treat a lady right.

The elf has a brief conversation then leaves the tavern. The party learned the owner of the Rat Whole prepares food for the inhabitants of the dungeon. The party decides the sorceress will attempt to sneak in the back while the rest of the party distracts the tavern owner by rambunctious activities in the front of the tavern.

The sorceress enters through a window into a storage room. Connected to the storage room are a bedroom and the kitchen. The sorceress attempts to move some large crates in the storage room. She fails a stealth check. The proprietor of The Rat Whole notices a sound coming from the back of the building. The rest of the party fails to keep the proprietor from leaving. The proprietor discovers the sorceress in the storeroom. The proprietor shouts, “Thief!”

The sorceress tells the proprietor she wanted to take him up on his offer to “treat a lady right”. She says she entered through the window to avoid attention. The proprietor invites the attractive elf into the bedroom and closes the door behind her.

So ends last week’s adventure.

I found the basis for the picture here.

Video of last week's adventure

The Troll Box

Years ago, I started keeping a journal of ideas for the adventures I run. These ideas are the source of wild adventures. One line in my journal of ideas read, "Puzzle box that may or may not summon 'things'". Clive Barker created a fictional puzzle box called Lemarchand's box. I added the line to my journal of ideas after seeing the first Hellraiser movie.

I based the puzzle box in my campaign on thoughts about the Mirror of Life Trapping. The Mirror of Life Trapping captures anything looking into the mirror. The only way to get out of a Mirror of Life Trapping is to fill it with creatures or to break the mirror. The puzzle box in my campaign is more like Lemarchand's box. If you interact with the box, it will release one of the creatures it contains instead of summoning the Cenobites. The party has not yet found out how creatures get into the box.

A group of toy soldiers introduced the party to the Troll Box. The party accidentally activated a group of toy soldiers. The party then retreated out of the room, closing the door. The toy soldiers were too small to open the door. The sorceress got down on the floor and threw burning spray spells into the room with the toy soldiers through the gap between the door and the floor. The toy soldiers responded by carefully taking the Troll Box out of its container and sitting it on the floor. The next time the sorceress cast a spell it activated the box releasing a troll. The troll had no difficulty opening the door.

During the melee with the troll, someone kicked the box down the hallway. This released yet another troll. When I created the troll box, I did not realize I created the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch. In the most recent adventure, a character in the party grabbed a Troll Box and tried to make a three rail kick shot. He almost succeeded. The box only released two trolls. After that, the party bravely ran away.

Time has not been kind to Grand Master Kibbe

Greetings Alessa,

As you know, Grand Master Kibbe retired from adventuring forty years ago to run the monastery north of Broficult. Grand Master Kibbe became a great asset as he installed discipline and intensive training at the monastery.

Unfortunately, time has not been kind to Grand Master Kibbe. Thirty years ago, the grand master started to lose his sight. Though blind, the grand master was able to continue his duties and the monastery continued to prosper. Some even said the loss of his sight made Kibbe a better monk.

Twenty years ago, Grand Master Kibbe's sense of hearing started to fade. Though aged, blind and deaf, the grand master continued to train initiates. Some attributed his keen sense of smell with his ability to defeat anyone who challenged his abilities or leadership.

About ten years ago, Grand Master Kibbe's sense of smell started to fade. He complained about the taste of his food and demanded spicier and spicier dishes. Preparing his evening meal became dangerous to the initiates, as the food was so spicy a single drop on the skin could cause a blister. Eventually, Grand Master Kibbe stopped demanding spicier food. He instead pummeled anyone who brought a dish that did not blister the tongue. A year ago, a novice made the mistake of taking the wrong dish to Grand Master Kibbe. Instead of the fiery bowl, the novice took the master a bowl of food without any seasoning at all. Grand Master Kibbe ate the bowl without complaint. We realized he finally lost his sense of smell and taste. The initiates were grateful they no longer needed extraordinary measures to protect themselves from the piquant meals they prepared for the grand master.

Recently Grand Master Kibbe's health took an unfortunate direction. Some say the years of spicy abuse are responsible. Other say Kibbe's extreme age is the cause. No matter the reason, Kibbe recently lost the control of his bowels. Because he is blind, deaf, and has no sense of smell, Kibbe is oblivious to the problem. His gaseous expulsions cause temporary blindness and burn the eyes, nose, and throat. Grand Master Kibbe does not notice his bowels leak noxious fluid as he walks the corridors and courtyards of the Monastery.

The initiates fled the fetid monastery. No one wants to scrub the floors to remove the malodorous droppings of the Grand Master. For the good of the monastery, the Order decided it is time for Grand Master Kibbe to continue on his journey. We ask you to help Grand Master Kibbe on his way.

Respectfully,

Grand Master Rabin

Shakedown Gone Horribly Wrong

I thought shaking down the party was appropriate. At the end of the last adventure, the party killed a Doppelganger Assassin. They dragged the body back to their boat and tied up the body. The cleric resurrected the Doppelganger. The party used various techniques to extract information from the Doppelganger. They considered water-boarding and other methods. Eventually they let the Doppelganger free before they sailed into the port city of Meendinaba.

My notes on the encounter were simple. Groups of street urchins were in league with the city guards. The street urchins would accuse the party of some horrible crime. The guards would arrest the party. Then the guards would offer to let the party go for a price.

The party ties up their ship at the docs and head off to find a contact in the city. They notice two street urchins watching them. They are young boys wearing dirty and ragged clothing. One boy runs off down a side street. The other boy continues to watch the party. The party continues walking down the docks.

One player character pulls out a gold piece and holds it up. Then the player character throws the gold piece off the dock into the water (reminiscent of a recent scene in Boardwalk Empire). The street urchin recovers the gold and returns it to the character. The character says the boy can keep the coin if it leaves them alone. The boy runs off.

The party continues down the docks. Seven street urchins run out of an ally and accost the part. One of the urchins tries to sneak something into the pocket of one of the party members. The urchin fails and is caught. As the character grapples the urchin, two more run up and smear blood on the character while a third whistles. Out from the ally runs a third urchin. The boy is naked and blood covers his mutilated gentiles. The blood covered urchin screams, "He's the one!" and points at the character covered with blood grappling a young boy.

At this point, the city guard arrives. My idea was to capture the party then shake them down for gold. Instead, the characters decided to resist arrest. In a short time all eight urchins and two guards lie dead. The party runs back to their ship and sails away.

I found the image on DeviantArt here: http://javertime.deviantart.com/art/but-they-have-bloody-hands-137547649

Here is the video of the adventure.

Interesting Area - Bath

Bathing in Rome was a communal activity. Romans build their baths with fireproof terracotta bricks. They finished the area with fine mosaic floors and marble-covered walls. Statues decorated the area. A public bath contained many rooms. The rooms were vastly different temperature and humidity. For example, bath often had hot dry and hot wet rooms to sit and sweat. The pools were hot, warm, and cool.

A bath could have an assortment of oils. A bath often had massage tables. A masseuse could rub down a patron of the bath with various oils. Scented oils are common. A pressure plate in an archway could trigger a shower of water mixed with a scented oil showering anyone who enters. Musk has a powerful smell. Anointing the party with the musk of some animal (or monster) could attract that creature with the intent to mate with the source of the scent. Floral and fruit based scents. The table below lists a variety of scents.

1D100	Fruit
01-03	Apple
04-06	Apricot
07	Avocado
08-10	Banana
11-12	Blackberry
13-14	Blackcurrant
15-16	Blueberry
17-18	Boysenberry
19	Breadfruit
20-21	Cantaloupe
22-24	Cherry
25-26	Coconut
27-28	Cranberry
29	Cucumber
30-31	Currant
32	Date
33	Elderberry
34	Fig
35	Gooseberry
36-38	Grape
39-41	Grapefruit
42-43	Guava
44-45	Honeydew
46	Huckleberry
47	Kiwi
48	Kumquat
49-52	Lemon
53-56	Lime
57-58	Mango
59	Mulberry
60-61	Nectarine
62-63	Olive
64-67	Orange
68-69	Papaya
70-71	Passionfruit
72-74	Peach
75-77	Pear
78	Persimmon
79-81	Pineapple
82-84	Plum
85-86	Pomegranate
87	Quince
88-91	Raspberry
92-95	Strawberry
96-97	Tangerine
98-100	Watermelon

Bath toys can be a source of entertainment while bathing. Bath toys include ships. Imaging the party finding large sunken tub filled with water and an entire armada of wooden toy ships. The ships could include small figurine.

But, who could forget about the rubber ducky.