Cairn In the Classroom
Introduction
Hello, Gentle Reader! I recently had the opportunity to run a few TTRPG sessions for some Middle Schoolers at my school (Editor's Note: Hahahahahaha! I wrote this many months ago, before work on Cairn 2nd Edition plus unrelated life stuff got in the way). The game I was going to run was easily enough to select: Cairn 2e. The module was trickier, though. I knew I would have them for two days and 3.5 hour sessions, so I needed a module that would be doable in two sessions that wasn't going to be completely inappropriate for the classroom. I work in Texas, and my school is unusually open-minded compared to some, but better safe than setting off the 2nd Satanic Panic, you know?
I opted for The Black Wyrm of Brandonsford because I had heard that most players spend between 2-3 sessions on it, and it has a whimsical Fairy Tale that I felt would emphasize all of my favorite things about the OSR play style without having to change too much for my pre-teen audience. It was preparing for this game which led me to ponder how best to create a player-facing pointcrawl.
PG-Version Brandonsford Play Report
I ran my group of 5 through character creation as fast as possible. It was a bit slower than my experience doing it with adults, but not terrible all things considered. This was a bit selfish on my part, I'll admit. Pregens would have gotten us in the game faster, but I wanted the opportunity to practice tying the Bonds and the Omen they ended up rolling into the main adventure. They generated a ridiculously-appropriate party of adventurers for a wilderness module: A Beast Handler, Fletchwind, Prowler, Fieldwarden, and Rill Runner.
The Road to Brandonsford
I started them off on the road to Brandonsford, having heard rumors of the dragon there, and encountering a steady stream of refugees going the opposite direction. This is the means by which I delivered all of the rumors that each PC heard. I mostly did this to prevent starting in a tavern where I was afraid the session would drag on, but it did a good job of establishing the stakes early on as well.
Despite this, the first session was still dominated by exploring Brandonsford itself. They visited the respectable inn long enough to find out about George the hunter, the sole survivor of a hunting party's encounter with the Wyrm. After finding out that fighting the Black Wyrm directly was a real good way to end up dead, they bounced around the rest of the town meeting people and finding out both about the current situation with the Wyrm and that in the distant past there had been another dragon that had menaced the land before a group of heroes (Brandon and gang) banded together and slew it.
Much of the session was dominated by their visit to the Golden Egg Tavern, where they stumbled upon the plight of Quinn and his missing "cider". Somehow, despite me portraying this guy as a surly and unlikeable fellow, my players took a shine to him and almost embarked on a mission to sabotage Bentley's tavern before they decided to actually investigate and discovered the interference of the clurichaun. He was pretty easily apprehended with a root-tether one of the players had in their possession. Despite hints about his wealth, they let him go only in exchange for him agreeing not to steal Quinn's cider anymore. Players, am I right?
The players got distracted again by Ingrid the alchemist and her crush on Warwick the Smith, which they uncovered almost immediately but then didn't actually act on at all. I guess romance made them uncomfortable. They did, however, discover the existence of Vivian the witch and convinced Ingrid to take them to her before seeking out Brother Dirk. The latter they had a lead on both because they found out he had been sent to find Brandon's "holy sword" and had also deduced where he likely went missing by interrogating George the hunter about dangerous areas along the path he would have taken.
The Witch of the Woods
The players convinced Ingrid the Alchemist (I made her an apothecary, because I'm a pedant) to take them to Vivian's house in the woods. They were appropriately weirded out by her eerily realistic topiaries, but were completely taken in by how frumpy and charming she was in that "grandma who doesn't give a shit" kind of way. I should mention that, because I just can't leave any module alone without twisting it to suit my fancy, I made Vivian a Lady of the Lake analog (I suspect the name was already a reference) who originally gave Brandon (the Arthur analog) a "holy sword" to deal with the first dragon because "men are useful for sending off to do stupid things" (my mostly female player base got a kick out of that).
She told them all about the sword, but couldn't be bothered to remember where it ended up, and also about the fauns and their magical "sap" that they were so fond of (once again, running a game for teenagers/pre-teens in Texas). They left, following a back path by the nixie pond, but got the hell out of there when the nixies started to show up. They ended up on the Eastern River Trail and decided to follow the path that they presumed Brother Dirk would have taken to the resting place of Brandon, keeping a careful eye out where George the Hunter said that people sometimes go missing.
Grind Yer Bones
They followed the Eastern River Trail until they came upon a place where large footprints along the river bank gave them pause. They correctly deduced that this was a giant, that it was around the place where George the Hunter said that people sometimes go missing, and that this suggested that Brother Dirk may have been kidnapped by said giant. They followed the tracks to an enormous cabin and spied both the sleeping giant and a thrashing sack within. The party was, annoyingly, well-equipped to handle the situation: the Prowler crept in, freed Brother Dirk and thought to shut him up before he woke the giant. The party then vacated the premises with the sleeping giant none the wiser.
A very grateful Brother Dirk explained his situation and told them the way to Brandon's Barrow, and the party convinced him that they would accompany him to keep him safe on his holy mission. They continued up the Eastern River Trail, but their progress was stymied when they encountered an altercation involving a giant beaver and several "Pooka".
Side Note: I turned the goblins in this module into Pooka because their general description is not goblin-like in a D&D sense and I never use goblins because I think the word and general appearance of goblins makes players feel like they have license to kill them indiscriminately. It was one of the many changes I made to give the module a more faerie tale feel. Maybe I'll publish it in some sort of usable format at some point if I can get Chance's permission.
The party attempted to scare the Pooka off with some cold iron they purchased from Warwick the Smith, but when the Pooka refused to blink (Wil save!) the party ended up fleeing into the underbrush rather than fight.
Eventually, they found their way to the Barrow where they encountered another set of Pooka that, thanks to a good Reaction roll and smart negotiating, allied with the party. Statues were analyzed, crypts were looted, and traps activated when the players triggered the Warding Stones and attracted the attention of an undead knight. Allies were betrayed when the Pooka were spooked by the sound of a broken sword being scraped along the stone and fled up the stairs and out of the barrow. The players, instead of sensibly following the Pooka, decided to flee deeper into the dungeon. They narrowly avoided being turned into mincemeat by uncovering a secret door and using a short sword (which broke in their efforts) to pry it open before they were completely cornered.
From there, they very quickly solved the riddle of the Maiden (who looked suspiciously like a younger Vivian), thoroughly looted the resting place of Sir Brandon and claimed his "holy" sword, and made their way out of the Barrow without any further complications. They found themselves in a brief debate, as some members of the party wanted to immediately confront the dragon and others (correctly) deduced that just the sword alone might not be enough to overcome the Wyrm without serious losses.
Sap and Saps
The group ended up deciding that they needed more tricks up their sleeve. One of them remembered that Vivian told them about a grove with magical, sleep-inducing sap frequented by fauns. She mentioned that it was in the Southwestern corner of the forest, so they began to make their way back down the Eastern River Trail and to the bridge that spanned water. About halfway to their destination, they stumbled upon a suspiciously convenient felled log acting as a makeshift bridge. They wisely decided to observe the log before getting close, which the Prowler recognized as a River Troll lying in ambush. They decided the safer course was to head further down and use the bridge to the south.
Once over the bridge, they found themselves in a clearing with two obvious pathways: the Western River Trail and the Northern Trade Road that they knew would eventually end at the Dwarven Mine. There was, however, a less obvious path to the southwest that consisted of a trail that showed signs of goat footprints. One of the players correctly surmised that these were faun tracks and the party decided to investigate.
As they traveled the path, they heard the sound of arguing coming from behind and when they doubled back they came upon the idiot sons of a farmer from Brandonsford who were trying to hunt the Wyrm with a dead pig and a net. The party thought the net was an absurd idea given the size of the beast as described by George the Hunter, but they decided the pig might be useful as bait. After they convinced the two brothers that they weren't Pooka, they traded some of the grave goods they stole from Brandon's Barrow for the pig.
They very quickly had their senses overwhelmed with a sickly sweet aroma and the distant thrum of music. The party came upon the grove, finding a few fauns in various states of relaxation and one faun idly slurping syrup falling from a spile. The party debated between themselves about whether their approach should be a violent one, which ultimately drew the attention of the faun who were awake. The party opted for negotiation, and what followed was a rather amusing conversation between the party and a particularly... relaxed faun who informed them that they could have some sap in exchange for sentimental items. They traded some of the items related to their Cairn 2e Backgrounds, some of them actually even seeming to show remorse at parting with them.
In a stroke of absolute genius, one of the players decided to fill the dead pig with the sap in order to put the Black Wyrm to sleep. They sat it underneath the spile, pried its mouth open, and filled it up like the world's grossest water balloon. I've never been so proud and disgusted at the same time in my life.
OSR Dragon-Slaying
The party headed up the Northern Trade Road, ignoring everything in their path, desperate to find a place to ambush the Wyrm. They discovered a small copse of trees that were withered and stunted to the left of the path just as the trees began giving way to the foothills of the mountains beyond the forest. Based on the reports of the Dragon's breath by George, the party decided this was where the Black Wyrm must enter into the forest and decided to lure it into an ambush with their sap-laced dead pig.
A (Die of Fate-generated) short amount of time later, the Beast Handler, Delphine, warned that a dangerous predator was drawing near. The party gathered themselves to act, trying to steel their nerves as the hulking creature crawled out from the blasted copse and swallowed the pig with one massive bite. It seemed to grow sluggish afterward, but did not lose consciousness (successful STR Save).
The party decided to act before the sap wore off. They decided to double-down on their "putting the Dragon to sleep" plan, with the Rill Runner distracting the Dragon with valuables. The dragon opened its maw to breathe its awful breath, and the party's Beast Handler tossed a Soporific Dart down the Wyrm's gullet. This time, the Wyrm collapsed under its massive bulk and fell into a deep slumber.
The party's Prowler approached with the sword of Brandon, shoving it into the creature's mouth and into its brain. The beast shuttered once, then began to melt into a disgusting, putrid puddle. In the end, all that was left was the skeleton of a dwarf. That, and many unanswered questions.
The party returned to Brandonsford and received a heroic welcome, the tale of their exploit growing with every telling. Yet the origin of the Black Wyrm, and whether there would be another in the years to come, remained a mystery.
Reflection: The Kids Are (Mostly) Alright
Honestly, the game was a pretty rousing success. I know a lot of people like to use Cairn 1e for one or two-shot games, but I really enjoy how you can use Cairn 2e Bonds and Omens to really tie the characters to different situations in an adventure, and each other, though to be honest a lot of the particulars of how I did that have faded in the gap between when I ran this game and when I am writing about it.
None of the kids knew that I was going to run Cairn. I just called my offering "Adventure Game" and they all signed up assuming I was going to run 5e. Some of them had played before, some only had read about/consumed media, and some were brand new to the concept. For those that knew about the hobby, for them 5e is the only roleplaying game as far as they were concerned. One of them even asked if we were going to play "off-brand" D&D when they saw the Cairn 2e player's guides come out.
There was a fair amount of grumbling about only being able to play humans, though, especially when they found out there was a Dwarven Mine in the adventure. I remember wanting to play really unique races when I was a kid as well, so I can hardly blame them for this. They got over it really quickly once we got through character creation and they had their characters with their unique Backgrounds and items tied to past events.
Honestly, they adapted to the OSR play style remarkably quickly. I read the Cairn Principles and all that to them like I normally do, but honestly some groups take them to heart more than others. This group did not get into a real fight once, though I suppose there was some risk involved if the Beast Handler hadn't made their DEX save when tossing the dart into the Black Wyrm's maw.
They were also pretty clever, relying on both information they gained from NPCs as well as their own knowledge of fantasy and faerie tales. The only thing that really took me aback was when they tried to figure out the age (and effectively CR) of the Dragon based on its color, size, and breath weapon. I don't really care about classic metagaming stuff like knowing how to kill trolls because honestly that's stuff that characters would know in-world, but the whole "memorize the stat blocks" thing left me cold even as a former power gamer.
The Black Wyrm of Brandonsford proved to be an excellent choice for this group. In many ways, it is one of my favorite modules I have ever run. My player-facing pointcrawl method really added to the experience, my students really using the map as a springboard for divining potential locations and deciding where to go in a much more decisive fashion. I'll write more about that later.
The ending was a bit rushed as we were running really short on time. We skipped the entire ruined caravan area in order to make it to the dragon in time to slay it. I'm chagrined to say I actually forgot about the whole area even with a key in front of me because I got swept up in their excitement and desperation to execute their "dead pig knockout pill" plan before we had to pack up for the day. They also were kind of shocked that their plan worked so well, despite the fact that they leveraged so many resources in clever ways that the dragon's demise was essentially inevitable.
I've had them approach me and ask for one or two more sessions, maybe during lunch, so that they could discover why killing a dragon revealed the skeleton of a dwarf. It hasn't happened yet, but I'll take it as an indication that a good time was had by all. Since Yochai and I had some leftover copies of an early version of Player's Guide from Pax Unplugged, everyone went home with a copy as well as a bag of dice. Maybe this year I'll be able to get some copies of the Warden's Guide as well, and then I'll get to see if any of my OSR seeds end up sprouting.
One can only hope.