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Strange Quark14 days ago (1 edit)

Report of Playtest, September 2026

We played the adventure using the Moldvay Basic Set rules from 1981. Played BtB, apart from changing descending AC to ascending as that’s what everyone was used to.

It was a big group (9 players). Three were Greek, one German, one French, one Italian, one Finnish, one British, one Irish. I let everyone roll up 3rd level characters: two clerics, a dwarf, two elves, a fighter, a halfling, a magic-user and a thief. I let everyone choose one magic item from a list I had prepared (four items per character class).

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Strange Quark14 days ago (5 edits)

We started in an anonymous port town where a local pearl diver reported his strange discovery. The party asked some questions and chartered the boat of the pearl divers to take them to the island. They learned from the pearl divers that shoalgat would allow them to breathe underwater, so they harvested some weed and left it on the beach to dry while they explored the structures on the shore.

The stone satyr masks perplexed the party. They tried to interact with the masks but didn’t think to ask a question. They were unnerved by the medusa head relief. They found the aegis but didn’t think to clean it.

Eventually they investigated Talos. The Greek players recognised him and started checking to see if he had a bung in his foot (I had omitted this part of the legend but perhaps I should put it in).

One of the elves started hitting him, causing him to animate and pursue them. They figured out if they left the aegis where they found it, Talos would not pursue them further. Despite this, the elf provoked him again, stabbing him with the javelin. He was smashed to death with two blows of Talos’ fists. The rest of the party got chased to the beach, where they grabbed their dried shoalgat and dived under the waves. The magic-user crept back for the aegis while the others distracted Talos and dove deep underwater to escape.

Due to this precipitous exit, they did not explore the labyrinth, instead finding the edge of the sea shelf and diving down to the sea bed and the Workshops.

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Strange Quark14 days ago (3 edits)

The party moved quickly past the dancing platforms and ran into the mechanical fish, which they were able to defeat, helped by their sword +1, +3 vs. regenerating creatures.

In the Taureion, they puzzled over the bronze cow for a while and were very disturbed when they figured out what it was for. Together with the bull horns on the wall, they began to piece together the birth story of the Minotaur. (Although the Greek players instantly recognised Daedalus and Talos, they were unfamiliar with this particular legend).

Unsuspectingly, they headed into the Lair of the Sea Gorgon. They saw a shape flitting between the broken pillars. The surviving elf advanced and Pasiphaë emerged from the watery shadows to attack! The elf landed a blow against her before meeting her gaze and being instantly petrified. He was wearing the aegis but unfortunately had neglected to clean it so could not avail of the bonus to petrification saves.

The rest of the party averted their gaze. Three had mirrors, the rest closed their eyes. Eventually Pasiphaë, wounded, fled into the open sea.

I had included a scroll of Stone to Flesh on the magic item list at the start. Regrettably the magic-user had chosen a scroll of Fireball instead.

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Strange Quark14 days ago (1 edit)

Finding their way into the mechanical workshop, they started to suffer from the poisonous fumes. In the Pyraion, they were driven back by the intense heat.

One of the clerics used her Scroll of Resist Fire on the halfling, who volunteered to sneak past the flame salamander. She made it and grabbed the first things she could lay her hands on: the Wings of Daedalus and the Antikythera Mechanism.

Meanwhile the rest of the party were locked in battle with the Zodiac automatons in the mechanical workshop. The fighter was hit by Skorpios’ poisoned sting — but made his saving throw. They grabbed what items they could and hurriedly left.

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Strange Quark14 days ago (1 edit)

As it was nearly midnight, I wound the adventure up there, allowing them to escape the island with their loot and their stories, mourning the deaths of their two elvish comrades. The magic user used his Helm of Comprehend Languages to communicate with Boby the Mechanical Owl, allowing him to ask questions about some things they hadn’t fully understood.

If we had had more time, I would have had Talos stomp on their boat and stop them from leaving. Of course by this time they had the Wings and some other items that might have allowed them to escape.

Conclusion: It was a fun evening that put the adventure through its paces. I plan to incorporate what I learned from the playtest into a revised version.

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Charnock6 days ago(+1)

It occurs to me reading "Abandoned Islands* that Delios would have great ruins I could turn into battlemaps and surface of the island maps, for the extended version 

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Charnock6 days ago(+1)

Further to this, if one is so inclined there are lovely little versions of the Minoan building remains available as aquarium furniture - if you wanted a waterproof tableau of the scenario. Which as Mr Q knows is the sort of lunacy I get up to for games. There's definite charm in arriving at a convention with fishtank full of water and ruins. Best to bring a smile too.

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Strange Quark6 days ago

Arriving at a convention with a fishtank full of water and ruins sounds awesome and also the sort of thing that gets you banned from conventions.

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Charnock6 days ago(+1)

Is that the reason! 

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Charnock5 days ago(+1)

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