A quick update, as we got in another session this weekend:

We had stopped with the PCs still in the dungeon, so the new session started where we left off. The party advanced their formation deeper into the caves, following a blood trail from the fleeing orcs.  They penetrated fairly deep into the tunnel system, locating a few side caverns which they gave brief attention (mostly to confirm they appeared to be dead ends and didn't hold orcs waiting to ambush them). While reforming after checking out these side caves, the Assassin (who was on lookout duty) reported hearing movement from the tunnel where the blood-trail led. The PC hastily resumed their spear formation as several waves of arrows came out of the darkness, downing Dill, one of their farmer spearmen.  Vennor (the Cataphract) led an immediate spear charge down the tunnel, and melee was soon resumed.

This time, the PCs were not rolling as well. Their front rank had better armor than the orcs they faced, which helped a lot, but the combat was a grinding, cramped clash of shield walls in the dark tunnel. Although the PCs and their stout-hearted farmers did well (and it's good that Vennor enjoys a high Cha), the numbers of their orc foes started to tell. (There are a LOT of orcs in here for a 1st level party.)  Vennor, perceived to be the leader, received a lot of attention from the orcs and took several wounds. The leader of the orcs in this engagement was a large creature wearing ill-made armor and a plumed helm (one of the orc lieutenants), but that orc stayed out of the front rank.  At length, Vennor, down to three hit points, decided to go for broke. He took advantage of the deaths of two orcs in the front rank and flung himself into the disrupted orc formation, dropping his spear in favor of his axe, and trying to reach the orc commander.  Vennor was supported by a mailed swordsman-farmer named Renn, as well as the Ranger.  Together, they hacked their way to the orc commander and cut him down. Ven

The players had their first session. As is often the case, they spent a lot more time in town than I expected them to, but we did manage to get into the cave system and get some combat encounters played.

The PCs met many of the significant NPCs in Ketill Manor, including Lord Ketill, Helgi Ketilsson, Fell Dilltos, and Einar Oddason.  They first scouted the raided farms: no significant clues were found, there, other than a few small blood-stains.  The PCs surmised that the raiders didn't kill anyone, but perhaps kidnapped them.  The ranger examined the surrounding terrain with an eye for how she might have mounted such a raid and searched those areas for tracks. She was successful, and the PCs found the remains of an old cold camp where the raiders had gathered. The ranger was able to follow some signs back to a sheltered valley in the hills, where she located a hidden cave entrance. Little daylight remained, so the PCs decided to return to the manor and see if they could recruit more help for an expedition to the caves the next morning.

Arriving at the Doomed Minotaur tavern, the PCs found it packed with locals, including Einar Oddason, Helgi Ketillsson, and Fell Dilltos. To make a long story short, they recruited a bunch of stout farmers to assist them, as well as Helgi Ketillson (who is going in defiance of his father's orders against it). Fell Dilltos encouraged the participation of Helgi, and also made a big public display of supporting the manor, offering a to pay a man-price in silver to the families of any farmers, should the worst occur.

The next day, the PCs and the farmers traveled to the cave system.  The day was partly cloudy, but not rainy or overcast, so light was plentiful. The Ranger and the Assassin scouted the entrance and discovered brass pot "alarms" set up in the concealing brush; they removed these without incident, then went on to scout the actual cave mouth (more of a slit descending beneath the earth).  Sunlight filtered in, showing

Some of you may know about my conversion of the random adventure generator to HTML/Javascript. In a similar fashion, I converted Colin Chapman's excellent work on the AS&SH Character Name Generator to an interactive web page.  Again, presentation is plain and utilitarian, but it seems to work. Let me know if you try it and run across any issues or oddities. I added a "generic S&S" category to the names, which also was a conversion of someone else's work (I'm sorry, I don't recall the original source I referenced for that name generator, but if anyone knows, please tell me I'll credit them).

EDIT: The "Generic S&S" category data was sourced from the Holmesian Random Names table posted on the Zenopus Archives blog.  I put together my code for that some time ago, so I'm not sure which version I've incorporated in this generator.

Ghul wrote:

Good stuff! I've used some of James Boney's adventures in my campaign, too. I like his work.

Yes, me too.  To be honest, I was hesitant to use orcs as the bad guys for the initial adventure, but I decided that I could introduce their demonic heritage this way, and it seemed to fit with the demons in these modules. In this case, the orcs are fairly recently come to this area, and are grabbing slaves to sell.

I'll be kicking off a Hyperborea game sometime this week, and thought I'd record my ref notes, here. (Mostly for me, but also to share -- I don't think any of my players are on the forums. If you are, you're a sneaky bastard or a sly minx and shouldn't read this.)

PCs (all first level) include:
Katarria Naintos the Huntress: N Ranger (from Khromarium, but spends her time in the borderlands)
Vennor the Merciless: LE Cataphract (from the Brigands Bay area, but had to flee to Khromarium)
Riona Inghean Kiaran of the Bone Paw: N(C) Kimmeri-Kelt Witch-Doctor (tribe massacred in a clan war)
Silxa Rhletos the Silent: CE Assassin (from Khromarium, guild-member)
Xulldar Tarros the Alabaster: CE Pyromancer (from Khromarium, guild-member, albino)

Initial adventure will be an adaptation of James Boney's Idol of the Orcs, set in the coastal hill area to the west of Khromarium. Play will begin in a village located in those hills: Ketill Manor.

Ketill Manor
Population ~200, approximate 1 square mile of settled area
2 Noble Households (~25)
15 Businesses (~75)
20 Farming Households (~100)
1 Temple (primary: Xathoqqa - 4 clergy)
1 Shrine (Ullr - 2 clergy)
1 Reeve (Einarr Oddason, oathman to Lord Ketill)

Ketill Manor is ruled by Lord Ketill Hersteinsson, also known as Ketill the Spry or Lord Gouty (neither of these used to his face). Lord Ketill is an aging Viking well past his prime, now obese and prone to chronic flare-ups of gout which healers have been unable to cure. He has few household warriors (five, plus his Reeve, Einarr), these days, and is not well liked by the commoners of his estate, nor by the nobles of Khromarium.  He has one (living) youthful son, Helgi Ketilsson (F1), and also boasts a pretty, young wife (a Kimmeri-Kelt).

One other noble household is established, here, that of Fell Dilltos, who has given his oath to Lord Ketill. Lord Dilltos is better liked: he is younger, more attractive, and dresses and speaks well. He is also quite well off, and a sly

I printed out both, but I find the larger size easier to read, so I'll probably go with that.

Zudrak wrote:

Mr. Jurament, I presume?

Yes, indeed.

I believe we previously met on the Troll Lord Games forum and/or Dragonsfoot forum. This is really cool. Thanks for sharing it!

You're welcome. I'm pleased by our reacquaintance.
 

I have Knockspell #1, which includes Charnel Crypt. Is the version in the magazine pretty much the same as the version that is published standalone?

BTB, it looks like the Cataphract doesn't start with a mount (like the Cavalier does, in AD&D). Correct, or did I miss it, somewhere?

You're welcome.

I recently updated the page to include a checkbox that allows you to use "expanded" data sets when generating the adventure.  If the "expanded" check box is not checked, it will use the original data sets (typically 20 possibilities per category); if it is checked, it will use additional possibilities for some categories.