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How would you run a game involving a troll poker game? :)

-Havard

What a milestone!!!

Indeed!

I didn't mention Greg Svenson by name in this article, but he is one of the players who has consistently told us about his games in Dave Arneson's Blackmoor prior to this 1971 adventure. Today, David Fant also told me that he remembers playing with Dave in Blackmoor prior to this. I have no doubt that there were many games before 1971.

However, the announcement does present for us an opportunity to celebrate :)

-Havard

Secrets of Blackmoor also posted a blog article:

https://www.secretsofblackmoor.com/blog ... and-always

-Havard

Nice article from the Sword & Stitchery blog by my friend Eric: https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com ... of-50.html

-Havard

Aldarron wrote a very nice one as well: https://boggswood.blogspot.com/2021/04/ ... -ever.html

I ran a special Troll's Bridge one-shot last week for the 50th anniversary, using a modified version of The Black Hack. Basically, I combined the ideas from the "Icelandic Cave" and the poker game. I don't have any reasons to suspect they were the same session originally, but not having much to go on for either session I decided to combine them.

The PCs started out on a plane, flying to Norway to investigate the disappearance of their friend and sometimes game master "Krint Frinrey." The plane splits apart midair, LOST/Alive style, and crashes somewhere in Iceland. They passed out and awake to trolls eating people on the plane. They fled into the snow and found a cave. As they entered the cave their minds and bodies began to change and I had them roll stats (2d6 + 6, times 5 to make them into percentile stats).

They emerged from the cave in Blackmoor, beneath a bridge over a dried-up river and were promptly arrested on suspicion of being spies for the Egg of Coot. The Baron, however, believed their story of being chased by trolls, as there had been a large number of troll sightings and disappearances in the area. The PCs agreed to guide a cleric to the location of the cave and were outfitted with weapons and armor. Unfortunately, the cleric died of a heart attack as they approached the bridge, but they were able to loot some healing potions from his body. They found that the spot they had emerged from was caved in but found another cave and entered.

Inside, they found a hole in the ground covered by a huge grate. Krint was inside along with other people, a mix of people in both modern and medieval garb. I had some other rooms in the cave: one full of beehives where the trolls were raising bees for their honey to make mead, and another with caged cockatrices (for cockatrice fighting). But the PCs missed these rooms, and went straight for the main room where the trolls were playing poker, using human captives as currency. They fought and killed the trolls, and then accidentally freed the cockatrices while experimenting with a set of levers that open various cages and gates. They got the gate open where the prisoners were kept, but cockatrices got in there and started turning people, including Krint, into stone. Eventually, they got the people out and killed or trapped the cockatrices, revived the people with healing potions. Some fled through a portal back to the "real world" but a couple PCs opted to stay in Blackmoor.

Edited: meant to say I didn't have much to go on for these two sessions

Okay, I have to say, that was totally awesome Klintron - thanks for sharing. You had me at "They passed out and awake to trolls eating people on the plane..."