The Colony - Turn 38 - Creature Lair

After slaying the floating tentacle monster (which I wager at least some of my readers will recognize), the party regroups, heals up and heads into the thing's lair. They're hoping for loot and want to be sure no more foes remain.

The Colony - Turn 37 - Mmm Floaty

Surprised by a weird floating creature in the hall, which manages to snag Rennard in its many tentacles, the party responds with deadly force to the apparent threat.

The Colony - Turn 36 - Search and Rescue

Start Date: August ?+2, morning
Start Status: Dungeon delving
Start Location: Mountain Ruin, lost

Adventuring: Rennard, Jinx, Mendel, Aaron, Maarek, Xon
At the Tulip: Adrienne, Brigg, Hagan, Kessel, Smoke, Zenobe

The Turn

Xon maintains his watch out in the courtyard while the rest of the group continues exploring the rooms connected to the secret passage. Searching the chamber at the end of the narrow hall uncovers nothing of interest except a small packet of gold leaf. "That has some cash value," says Aaron. The pages and writing supplies are too old to be useful and the rest of the stuff in the chamber is junk.

The group backtracks along the hall, searching for secret doors with Rennard in the lead. As the paladin rounds the final corridor, he is shocked to find the exit blocked by a hideous creature! A pulsing, rippling mass of glistening pink flesh hangs in the air, just beyond the door. A gaping beak protrudes from the side of the thing, and close to a dozen coiling tentacles covered in tiny spines dangle beneath it.

[Surprise!]

Before the group can react, the creature lashes at Rennard with its tentacles and four of the slimy things wrap around his legs, arms, and body [12 damage from spines]. As the creature starts to pull him into the hall, the paladin tries to break free, but finds he cannot move! His sword falls from his nerveless fingers as the creature clutches the helpless Rennard to its body.

A very short turn today, due to the unexpected appearance of a floaty thing.

The Colony - Turn 35 - Delving Deeper

Start Date: August ?+1, afternoon
Start Status: Search & Sleep
Start Location: Mountain Ruin

Adventuring: Rennard, Jinx, Mendel, Aaron, Maarek, Xon
At the Tulip: Adrienne, Brigg, Hagan, Kessel, Smoke, Zenobe

The Turn

After exploring the various shrines and main hallways in the complex, the group decides to do a more thorough search of the area, except for Xon, who refuses to stay in the building and keeps watch in the courtyard. The time-consuming process produces results. Aaron finds a secret door in the large shrine, and Maarek finds another in the south chamber.

The Colony - Turn 34 - Whispers in the Dark

Despite the freaky hallucination/vision, the party decides to explore a bit more of the shrine complex.


Start Date: August ?+1, Early afternoon
Start Status: Another Path
Start Location: Mountain ruin

Adventuring: Rennard, Jinx, Mendel, Aaron, Maarek, Xon
At the Tulip: Adrienne, Brigg, Hagan, Kessel, Smoke, Zenobe

The Colony - Turn 33 - The Mountain Ruin

With no sign of obvious threats, the party decides to explore the ruin before them.

The Colony - Turn 32 - Discoveries

The weather and terrain turn against the party, forcing the group to take to higher ground. As they traverse the hills south of the river, they find a ancient ruin tucked into a narrow valley.

The Colony - Turn 31 - A View From Above

Start Date: August ?, Morning
Start Status: Not all who wander are...
Start Location: Lost

Adventuring: Rennard, Jinx, Mendel, Aaron, Maarek, Xon
At the Tulip: Adrienne, Brigg, Hagan, Kessel, Smoke, Zenobe

The Turn

After discussing their options during a rest break, the party decides, over Mendel's objections, to backtrack and start following a stream, hoping it will lead them (eventually) to the coast. The clerics also use some of their healing spells to relieve the various wounds people suffered during the short fight.

The Colony - Turn 30 - Lost

The main party is definitely, positively, completely unsure of where they are.


Start Date: August ?
Start Status: Which Way?
Start Location: Lost

Adventuring: Rennard, Jinx, Mendel, Aaron, Maarek, Xon
At the Tulip: Adrienne, Brigg, Hagan, Kessel, Smoke, Zenobe

The Turn

After quickly checking their gear and making sure everyone is up and about, the group starts checking out the area. Aaron uses one of his ink vials to take a sample of the bubbling black water and reclaims his map without touching the head. Jinx and Maarek keep watch while Xon, Rennard, and Mendel start exploring the cavern. The place proves to be a circular cave about 100 feet across. There are about a dozen of the tree-like pillars supporting the roof. A single passage leads out of the chamber. Careful searching reveals no secret doors or traps, nor does the party find any footprints or drag marks.

The Colony - Turn 29 - Field and Stream

More corpses in the wilderness. What could they mean?

The Colony - Turn 28 - Corpse Town

The party is still exploring the countryside, and they've stumbled across an abandoned village.

The Colony - Turn 27 - Beach Party

With potentially valuable, but fragile, scrolls in hand and no way to protect them from rough handling, the party decides to make a fast trip back to town.

The Colony - Turn 25/26 - Double Header

Two turns for the price of one!

The Colony - Turn 24 - Squirmy

The party finds some unexpected "friends" in the depths.

The Colony - Some Items

The party in my PBEM game, The Colony, started at 3rd level, and to my mind, characters that have gained that much experience should have a magic item or two. Here are a few of the starting items from the game. We're using Labyrinth Lord, so most of this still should be easy to translate to other D&Dish systems. I've included the character names with each item  for people reading along with the game.

The Colony - Turn 23 - In the Field Again

The group moves with uncharacteristic speed and heads back out into the wilderness.

The Colony - Turn 22 - Reports

The party makes it back to civilization with time to spare on their mapping contract. Time to report in and see what the loot is worth.

PBE Games - Dungeons in Blue Update

It's been a while since I've put out an update on PBE Games products, but that's OK, I've been pretty non-productive during the first few months of the year. Here's a quick look at recent (and not so recent) releases.

Entries and Exits Revisited is a set of 16 quarter-sized tiles, each depicting either a surface entrance or a stairway leading to a new level within the dungeon.

Three new Small Dungeons, geomorphs that can also be used as stand-alone maps, are also available: Small Dungeons #19, Small Dungeons #20, and Small Dungeons #21. You can also pick up all three at a discount in Small Dungeons Map Pack #7.

All geomorphs are ready-to-use PNG-format files compatible with most virtual tabletops. Use them as-is, or combine them into larger maps using your favorite image processing software.

Here are one-third scale previews of some of these packs.

Entries and Exits Revisited

Small Dungeons #20

I hope you'll check out PBE Games's maps and other products and find something that enhances your game. Thanks, as always, for reading.

The Colony - Turn 21 - Homeward Bound

The poisoned party members threaten forward progress. The group pauses to reassess their plans outside the dangerous confines of Black Needle Forest. Also, a brief update on those back at the White Tulip in New Kavlin.

The Colony - Turn 20 - Forest Parkour

A pleasant lunch turns ugly when tiny spears rain down from the branches overhead. Black Needle Forest has a nasty reputation, so the party errs on the side of caution.

The Colony - Turn 19 - March On

After searching around and testing the obelisk, the party continues their mapping expedition.

The Colony - Turn 18 - Look, Squirrel!

For reasons that are opaque to the GM, the party has decided to leave the cave complex, leaving several areas unexplored. On to overland exploration.