Holly’s Solo DnD Adventure #1 - Misadventures with the Arcane.

Author’s Starting Note:

Holly’s sheet: https://www.traditionalroleplay.com/holly-hallowfeatherYou can find her linked in the Bargain Bin. I am currently too lazy to upload my 5e sheet, however it wouldn’t be hard to recreate it. Details can be found on the previous blog post.

Basic Rules:

🔮 Death Saves are replaced with the “Defy Death” Rule found in Black Streams: Solo Heroes

🔮 All loot randomised. Unless it’s like part of the module.

🔮 Magic items availability is randomized.

May the lucky dice dragon bless my rolls. May the crit-fails be in conversations and the crits in combat.

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

Taking a morning break within the guard post, Holly happily snacks on a piece of toasted bread with some rich blackberry jam by the table. Her short legs made it impossible to touch the floor. Yet her blue eyes couldn’t help but be amused by her fellow guardsmen’s conversational banter.

“So what do you think would win, three harpies or three hippogriffs?” Claude inquired whimsically as he put his foot on the chair as he leaned in. He was a tall man with dusky unkempt hair. 

“Me.” A voice sounded out in the distance. An olive skin guardsman with more brawn than brains chimed up as he slicked back his charming red hair.

Holly let out a little laugh. Of course Aurelio had to chime in. He stood out like a store thumb among the rest, brilliant red hair with an ego that commanded the ground with every step. He put his hand on the table right next to the blonde aasimiar with thud. Holly’s wings fluttered open in a vain attempt to seem bigger as she looked up at him with the jamy crumbs around her mouth.

“So Songbird, what do you think?” He said whimsically.

That nickname always elicited a sigh from her. The one time she had to bail out on training for choir practice. Her perfect image and reputation forever tarnished. Yet she was powerless to correct them. That nickname would forever stick with her until the day her story would be forgotten.

“That I’ll bet 5 gold that the harpies will win.” she said calmly, expecting a half hearted rejection. 

“Ouch, you wound me with your cold words.” he said mellodramatically. “To think someone as blessed as you wouldn’t be able to see my physical prowess. Truly heartbreaking.” 

Aurelio’s affections and constant rejections were all part of a game. The aasimiar found it rather strange. Even when she confronted the red-haired guardsman accepting his affections, Aurelio rejected her, citing about having to deal with feather mites, having to sweep up angelic dust. It was always some sort of lie. The real reason always eluded Holly.

He paused for one moment, and pointed to a spot on his cheek. “You got a little something there.” he added with a punchable smirk.

Before Holly could give an exasperated sigh, a door opened and a husky voice belonging to the guard captain Mikel opened up. His stern gaze observed the lollygagging taking place. His muscular form stood up straighter as his commanding voice filled the room.

“Alright break time’s over, time to be useful and go on patrol. ” He added with a loud clap.

Quickly the rest guards scurried away to find something productive to do. Lest they earn the ire of their captain.

“Songbird,” he snapped, “You’re coming with me.” he commanded.

Without a hesitation, Holly finished her snack and wiped off her face. She quickly hurried over towards the captain. 

“So here’s the deal, We have a courier that’s a little paranoid and wants some extra protection. It would be some good easy money. Think you can handle it? It would be a few days of travel as it’s a few towns over.”

Holly paused for a moment to consider this. If she was serious about being a guardsman, she needed to prove to her captain that she was the perfect person for the job. Not to mention if they were asking her, that meant that they really needed her help. Or so she thought. 

“Of course! I would be happy to assist!” She said with a triumphant tone. “What’s the deadline for this task?”

The captain tilted his head up towards the roof and folded his arms. “About two weeks?” he paused, doing the mental math in his head. “Yeah two weeks.”

He looked down at little aasimar with a smile, “Alright, go take the rest of the day off and set your affairs in order and pack. I will see you here bright and early in the morning.”

“Yes sir!” she said.

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

The rest of the day was largely uneventful. She pulled out an old dusty backpack and gave it a good wash to restore it to its former glory. Once it was dry she quickly packed her things, some rations, some comfortable clothes and some other necessities. Just as she thought everything was all packed, she heard her mother's voice echo through the house.

“Did you pack some soap?” her mother nagged caringly. “Did you pack something warm to wear?”

A deep sigh left Holly’s mouth, despite being an adult with a job. She couldn’t escape the annoying love of a caring mother who wants to make sure her child is safe. Without much of a reply, the aasimar walked towards the cupboard and claimed a few bars of soap for herself. 

With her bag packed, her armour laid out for tomorrow’s trip, Holly resumed her daily tasks of helping around the house and making sure her younger siblings didn’t get into too much mischief.

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

As the morning came, Holly got up bright and early to get dressed, ate breakfast with her family and bid them farewell. She walked over to the guard's post where just outside was her captain and the courier were chatting away. Holly picked up the pace with her greataxe in hand. 

The courier simply blinked, rubbed his eyes and met Holly’s feathered form. A look of confusion crossed his face. He looked over to Mikel and scratched his auburn hair.

“You think she’s going to be good enough?” He inquired with a hushed tone.

The guard captain pretended not to hear that. While the courier’s concern of Holly’s ability was justified. The roads were heavily patrolled. The chances of danger and bandits was basically zero. He didn’t want to waste the best and brightest on an escort task like that. Holly was perfect for this, she had a real knack for people.

“Good morning Songbird!” He greeted her with enthusiasm.

Holly waved brightly “Morning Captain Mikel!” She said cheerfully.

She walked up to the bushy brow courier, whose doubting brown eyes observed her angelic form. He scratched his auburn hair, unsure as to what to make of the situation. If trouble arose, he would definitely find a way to get reimbursement.

Cheerfully, Aasimar outstretched her hand,  “It’s nice to finally meet you, I’m Holly.” she said, extending her hand.

The courier let out a soft sigh as he shook her hand. There was a small expression of shock on his face as he felt her firm calloused hand. This little winged girl might actually have some skills.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Clemente.”

Mikel looked over to Holly and smiled, “I don’t exactly keep dead weight around in my ranks. She is more than capable of defending you and your products.”

With the indirect praise, the aasimar smiled brightly as she looked up at Clemente.

“Shall we get going? Daylight only lasts for so long and I assume the people waiting for your deliveries would be really excited to get your packages sooner.” she stated.

Clemente couldn't find a reason to disagree with her. Without much delay the pair set off.

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

Much to Holly’s luck, the road was quiet. The travelers were peaceful and interactions were quick and brief. Without any incident, The pair finally made 

Eventually the pair made it towards the sleepy town. Clemente bid himself fair well and Holly was left alone. Unsure as to what to do, she booked herself into a hostel for the evening and ate some food at the local pub. Holly spent the night chatting with the other patrons well into the night. Eventually she retired late into the night. Normally it would have been a disaster, but she had nowhere to be tomorrow, so she was excited to sleep in.

The idea of returning home immediately was rather unpleasant. While it would be beneficial to return home as soon as possible, she wasn’t expected back for about 9 days. That left Holly about six days to do whatever she wanted.

In the foggy morning, the aasimar decided to explore the town. She walked up to a bulletin board. There were plenty of listings for people trying to sell items, and planning local events, a little parchment stood out to her. Her eyes widened.

A delivery job for 200 gold? With that kind of money, the aasimir could set up her family for a year and buy everyone in her family some gifts. Or she could buy 4 healing potions. She carefully took the note and began venturing out of the outskirts of town. 

She looked around, and then back at her note. A floating house. How much magic would it take to make a house float. Perhaps it’s more of an illusion of something floating. Holly continued to wander aimlessly until she saw a rope suddenly appear at her feet. She looked up and her eyes beheld a floating boat with added rooms. She slid her note in between her feathers and tugged on the rope. It felt secure enough.

Cautiously Holly climbed up the rope. The higher she got, the more anxious she felt, at this height, she would definitely break something. That would be months without pay and that would be a disaster. She felt her grip slip the higher she got. Her wings fluttered intuitively in a panic. Holly managed to secure herself and climbed up the rest of the way. 

She crawled up on the deck and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. There was a human old man with a long beard white hair and beard. He was adorned with blue robes and walked with a magical staff.

“Ah! You must have received my summons, yes?” He paused, adjusting his glasses that hid his twinkling eyes. “I was expecting someone to show up days ago,”

He paused and looked at the small female aasimar pick herself up from the floor. While she wasn’t tall, the way she carried and held herself was someone who was trained to use a weapon.

“You’ll do. Come along now, there’s no time to waste! I have a storm to catch.” He said as he walked inside the ship.

Holly simply blinked. No introduction? Not even a gentle hand to help lift her up? Clearly this man had a one track mind. Regardless, if he was the one who wrote the note, the least she could do was hear him out. Holly followed him inside through a tight hallway.

Eventually the pair found themselves in a crowded workshop filled with jars, tools and other odd curiosities. Shelves of books adorned the wall. Whomever this guy was, he was rich. That 200 gold must have been the loose change he found in his pocket.

The old man, Shandalar, placed a flagon of mystery liquid on the table.

“What I need you do do is deliver this to the Lady in Green who lives in the Cloakwood, along with the message that I, Shandalar require her services in the caverns below my house”

He paused for a moment and stroked his beard.

“Nature-based magic is powerful, you see, I cannot sell mushrooms if I cannot grow them, and I cannot grow them without her magic. As you can tell, this job is very important and you will be rewarded well once you return with her.”

Holly nodded, “Easily doable!”

“If you just got across the river into the cloakwood, then take a left… or was it right? Wait just a moment. I should have a map here somewhere.” The old man spoke.

Shandalar turns to his bookshelf in search of the tome. Holly simply stood still, her eyes wandering over at the flagon, it emitted a faint pink glow. Considering the workshop she was in, she deduced that it may have been some kind of powerful potion that the Lady commissioned.

“Aha! I knew it was in here, I just didn’t expect to find it in that… Regardless, here is the map” Shandalar eagerly turns around and places the map down next to the flagon.

Gingerly, Holly picked up the map and observed the scribbled drawings, the dashed lines winding and turning through the forest before arriving at a cave. As she looked up to ask a question, the old man clapped his hands together, and a magic circle activates.

“Well then, I look forward to seeing you back here with the Lady in Green. Good luck” he said cheerfully

“Hey wai-.” Holly attempted to object, however she just found herself near the forest’s edge, with a map in hand, and the flagon in the other. She let out a frustrated sigh as she stormed off back to town.

“All the magic in the world and he sends me off without my weapon. Are wizards always this infuriating?!" She complained loudly.

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

Eventually the Aasimiar returned to the forest’s edge. This time, she was ready. She had some lunch, her armour, her equipment and held out the map. She decided that whenever she saw that wizard again she would give him a little piece of her mind for his rude and inconsiderate behavior.

She walked forward into the canopied forest of ancient trees. The sounds of the insects and running water filled the ambiance. It soon became apparent to Holly as she consulted her map, that the thick underbrush would be exceptionally time consuming to tame to be able to walk through. Not to mention the brush would absolutely shred her attire underneath her armour. Instead she opted for the narrower safer, well worn path.

The sunbeams broke through the well worn path illuminating the trail ahead. It was a pleasant walk. The birds sang their song, the clean air felt invigorating. Before she could get lost in admiration she felt something hard hit her. Her aasimar’s ears heard manic gigglings of mischief coming behind a bush.

“That wasn’t very nice.” She scolded as she walked towards the shrubbery. Holly peered back the foliage, her eyes spotted 5 little boggarts. They stood up straight and huddled together, discussing something in what sounded like the Sylvan language. The aasimiar simply watched in stunned silence.

“You! Traveller!” a gravely voice chimed up, “You pass our road, you must pay the toll!”

Holly let out a hum, “How cute!” She figured she may as well play along. She extended her wings, “How about a feather from an angel?”

Once of them appeared to be convinced, however as they huddled together it appears their tone has shifted.

“Traveler thinks she is very funny. Traveler is no angel. Just a lair trying not to pay the toll. Now she has to pay in blood.” One of them said threateningly. 

Before she could pivot into another payment method, It became quickly apparent to Holly that these Boggarts were not going to step down, They rushed towards her.

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

Initiative!

Holly:11 (9+2)

Swarm of Wild Boggarts: 2! (Nat 1+1)

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

The guardswoman raised up her greataxe and struck one of the boggarts in the arm breaking the bone with a snap. 

The remainder of the boggarts looked at the evil that this self proclaimed angel had committed, clearly she was a demon in disguise. Their resolve is strong. They trusted their teammates. One ran up Holly’s great axe and bit her in the neck, the rest followed suit and toppled aasimar over with a mighty hurrah. The Aasimar slowly bled out as the boggarts looted her bag.

Boggarts win!

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

Author's Interlude.

That was… anticlimactic. Looking at the statblock on page 10. Who’s bright idea was it to have a swarm deal 2d6+1 damage to a level 1 player? That’s an immediate 1-shot. I don’t know many well mangened 

 Not to mention the HP of the boggarts are at 22. It would take Holly approximately 2-4 turns to kill the swarm. By that time, the Boggarts could have killed Holly 5 times over. 

The destiny point system in the book is basically to get out of free jail cards. And as fate would have it, I start off with 5 Destiny points. So according to the rules of the module, I can reject this death outcome.

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

As Holly’s greataxe struck true, however the boggarts weren’t deterred. They began to climb up onto Aasimar, and in the process they knocked off the flagon of mysterious liquid. It shatters on the ground, its contents soaks into the earth.

“Oh-no-no-no.” A boggard shouted in a panic. Their attack stops as they look at the mess they have caused.Their eyes widened in panic.

 “We hindered the delivery. The lady will be so angry.” They looked at each other, for ideas of what to do next, “We must hide, yes hide.”

The boggarts nodded and scattered into the underbrush. Holly stood there, feeling rather violated and pathetic. She looked at the mess of glass on the floor. Aasimiar's heart sank. This important potion, laid shattered on the ground, and how was she going to get a replacement? This delivery mission was a complete failure. The only thing left to do is to apologise and offer an explanation. It was the honest thing to do.

Holly walked forward, feeling a little uneasy and unsure of herself. Each little rustle in the shrubbery was enough to make her heart race. She was alone and fragile, questioning her life choices. Perhaps it would have been better if she worked in the church as her father’s assistance.

Yet even with her unsteady footsteps, she followed the path and map and eventually Holly found herself at the cave’s entrance. A soothing melody calmed her broken nerves. It filled her heart with peace and happiness. Holly followed the melody into the cave and eventually found herself in more trouble as the song stops.

“How dare you trespass into my home!?” The Lady of the Green exclaimed. Her sweet voice carried resentful anger.

Holly’s face went beet red as she saw the scene in front of her. It seemed like a sweet, tender and intimate moment with another woman. Wearing golden armour, a face covered in war paint. The lady of Green bunched up her emerald skirt revealing her goat-like legs.

“Get out at once.” The lady demanded, her face flushed with read.

“Oh my gosh I’m so sorry, I really didn’t mean to.” Holly said in a vain attempt to explain herself.

The armoured woman stood up and kissed the Lady of the Green’s hand.

“Do not worry my Lady.” She said with a proud commanding voice. “I will make certain the intruder is dealt with. Like I always do.” With a final kiss, the armoured woman turned around.

Her form flickered. Her eyes glowed red and sinister black-feathered wings exploded from her back. Her halo of fire ignites around her head.

“You heard the lady. Begone you fool of a moral.” Her voice echoed.

A powerful arcane portal flares up with arcane energy. The deep crimson light illuminated the room. The armoured woman lifted up her arm. Holly in vain tried to run out the magical circle, however with a resounding snap of the armoured woman’s fingers, Holly found herself falling. The sense of impending doom looms over her weightless form, Her wings too weak to catch her form. The red light was too overwhelming to look at. There was nothing she could do. Eventually Holly fell unconscious.

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

Holly Levels up to 2. Holly takes a level in Warlock.

End of Session 1.

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

Author's note:

I’m really not too jazzed about the npcs being so extra. Instead of listing the options like rational, free thinking people. They just assume, force their will and your character just has to pick up all the pieces. And I still can’t believe I can’t roll higher than a 10 on my rolls. I missed out on all the cool items. There was a crystal of identity, a bag of ball bearings, and most excitedly, a wand of shield. I really wanted that wand. Alas. My dice says “No it’s hardmode.”

Stay tuned for session 2.