The Green Cave Comrades have continued their adventures but here I'm building the Hollows of Havoc
[Photo by Ksenia Kudelkina on Unsplash]
At the Hollows of Havoc
I started my exploration of Solo RPGs with the adventures of the Green Cave Comrades. Their adventures have continued but I've decided journaling it is better left to Solo Play Podcasts.
They are now returning to a version of the Caves of Chaos. They lost 4 adventurers here in the first session.
And now I'm going to build a modified version of it for my solo game. Using random tables to detail the Hallows of Havoc.
Building the Hollows of Havoc
While the original adventure was the Caves of Chaos, I didn't have a copy and only needed to go by what the group knew.
They knew there were caves inhabited by a variety of monsters. There were goblins and at least one ogre. And probably a connection to the Ruins of Pozstone. Also I was moving to the rpg Warlock! so different monsters became appropriate.
There was a table for Caves Encounters from the earlier in the game. But I didn't feel the need to keep much from it. Just the essentials. I also wanted the concept of Chaos or Havoc as being linked to the caves somehow.
So I kept goblins and ogres from the caves and the sinister cultists became water cultists. Another result pointed towards the Ruins of Pozstone, tying it to the rest of the game.
Looking through Warlock! creatures, the lizardfolk and ghouls were kept. Ratfolk were added as they seemed ideal for a cave complex. Then "Other humanoids" and "Big monster" could cover many other possibilities.
For the situations I wanted to emphasise the caves and interactions with other groups within the hollows.
Hollows of Havoc Encounters
| 1d10 | Encounter Creature | Situation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Goblins | With captives |
| 2 | Ogre | Interacting with other inhabitants |
| 3 | Water cultists | Spying on other inhabitants |
| 4 | Roll on Ruins of Pozstone | Improving a cave |
| 5 | Lizardfolk | Something with water. Roll on Pozstone Ruins situation |
| 6 | Ratfolk | Attracted to the are |
| 7 | Ghouls | Looking for food / desperate for food |
| 8 | Other humanoids | Watching a cave |
| 9 | Big monster | Heading out into the forest |
| 10 | Roll twice and combine | Looking for Heart of the Caves |
Hollows of Havoc Challenges and Treasures
Going beyond encounters I used the same format as previous world building. Using Hazards for non-combat challenges, and "Treasure" with a complication as rewards for the party.
For these tables I again leant on the tables from Ruins of Pozstone, bringing in elements of cave adventures. I also wanted to bring in concepts of Havoc or chaos and there being some kind of manifestation of it in the hollows.
| 1d10 | Hazard | Treasure | Treasure Complication |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alarm/sentry | Dead body | Guarded |
| 2 | Unstable cave | Coins | Warded |
| 3 | Ooze/mould | Human goods | Caonnected to the caves |
| 4 | Cave spirit | Havoc magic item | Roll on Hazards |
| 5 | Roll on Ruins of Pozstone Hazards | Havoc temporary item | Alarmed |
| 6 | Trap | Lore on the Hollows | Tied to plot |
| 7 | Cave beast | Something from Lakelands (surrounding area) | From Pozstone |
| 8 | Hollows arcana | An ally | Damaged |
| 9 | Way in deeper | A safe place to rest | Belong to cave dwellers |
| 10 | Escaped captive | Pozstone item | Hidden or partially hidden |
Future Tables
These tables have worked in solo pretty smoothly, giving results that make sense but also with some surprises.
If doing these again I would pair up hazards with a locations table to complement it.
Finishing Up
Have you built your own random tables for solo play?
