Solo Blueholme: Between Sessions

Initially I planned to write-up the second delve in my solo game of Stygian Library using Blueholme as my OS(R) of choice but realised I hadn't actually finished it, and recording experience and downtime activities was taking longer than planned. The previous delve can be read here:

https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2025/11/solo-blueholme-first-delve-into-stygian.html

Some Stygian Librarians by Alec Sorenson

All of this took place in June/July of last year (2024) and has been sat in my drafts for a while: I can't stand clutter! Let the posts be SEEN!

DOWNTIME & EXPERIENCE POINTS

Murder Points

• 2 rust moths 13 XP ea = 26 XP
• 2 ogre spiders 65XP each = 130 XP 
• Larkin, Poltsrum and Sirka divide 156 by 3 = 52 XP each

The party picked up zero gold, so this is about it for them. However, I had already decided to put Luke Gearing's carousing rules into practice for this campaign, so Larkin takes advantage of that.

Carousing

For those unfamiliar - characters choosing to carouse spend a randomly determined amount of money, gaining XP equal to the money spent. If the number rolled is higher than their current level, they have to roll on the Consequence Table.

If you spend more money than you have, you end up in debt to someone you’d rather not be indebted too - and you get to roll a Consequence, if you didn’t already.

Friehaber is a big city, so the randomly determined amount of gold spent by Larkin equals 1d12 x 100gp. Larking spends 300gp, gaining 300 XP. Coupled with her previous murder gains (+52xp = 352xp) and prime requisite bonus (+5%) she has gained a total of 370xp.

However, that’s at a cost of 300gp she doesn’t have: she's now gained that as a debt to the thieves’ Guild and rolls 1d100 for a consequence:

+The payroll looks different this morning - d20 hirelings longer, for the most part. All were promised a month up front.

That's our new thief + one fighter + one heretical cleric, each owed another 100 GP each: Larkin now owes a total of 600 GP to the thieves' guild.

In addition to her three hirelings, she has also acquired a new follower, Emmeline, who wants to be a fighter. I've houseruled that followers can only be accrued through carousing: this is a retainer who begins as "normal human" but can acquire the same character class as the character they are following after one successful delve. They cannot gain experience points until they have gained a class, but should be awarded a half-share of treasure. The number of followers a character can acquire is limited by their charisma, in alignment with the rules outlined in Blueholme.

Selling Body Parts for Fun and Profit

Sirka acquired an Ogre Spider which Polstrum is going to sell to one of his colleagues for 150 GP (50 GP per hit dice, 50 gp per special or magical ability).

Polstrum buys Sirka a light crossbow to replace the one she dropped when the animated spell attacked her, and bolsters her collection of quarrels with 30 more (she has 46 total). This costs 20 GP total. Polstrum also spends 100 gp on preparing a scroll (see below).

Magical research

Polstrum
Blueholme provides the following rules for magic-users:

Magic books are far too large and cumbersome to be carried on adventures and must be kept in a safe place. However, all magic-users are able to transcribe the essentials of a spell onto a magic scroll. Creating a magic scroll takes 1 week of work per spell level, and costs 100gp in materials per spell level. Thus, a 2nd level spell would cost 200gp and take 2 weeks to transcribe onto a scroll. Magic scrolls are read aloud, casting the spell but erasing the magic words from the scroll in the process.

Polstrum likes to have magic missile memorised at all times, so by preparing "read magic" in scroll form he can use this as an additional spell to identify any spell scrolls he finds.

This research means the next delve takes place at least one week later, allowing the party to heal their superficial wounds.

Sirka

The changeling did not have her own spellbook, and secretly memorised Polstrum's spells without him realising. However, she has since acquired her own arcane grimoire:

Arcane grimoire: a magic-user reading it can learn three random spells from the cleric

list.

—Stygian Library, page 137 

Using Blueholme's spell list, I rolled up the following:

• cure light wounds
• purify comestibles
• remove fear

This grimoire also becomes her spellbook. During the week Polstrum is putting his little Read Magic scroll together, Sirka is copying all of his first level spells into her book. Before the next delve, she will have memorised Charm Person only— but will have a rich resource ready for her as she progresses (if she survives). Speaking of which...

Sirka's progress

Though she has not gained a level, Sirka has gained the abilities of a fighter after completing a delve with Larkin. Her saving throws against breath attacks, wands and poison/death rays are now as good as a first level fighter's, and she will now advance as a magic-user and fighter simultaneously.

On the flip side... it will now take her 4,502 xp to reach level 2.

The Payroll

While out carousing and (probably drunkenly) describing the adventures in the Library Larkin picked up 3 new hirelings:

• Bastien: 55, male, fighter 1. HP 7. Plate (AC3), halberd, shortsword
• Kurdt: 42, male, thief 1. HP 3. Leather (AC7), shortsword, crossbow. 
• Schmidt: 29, male, cleric 1. HP 4. Chain and shield (AC4), mace.

Each has taken 100 gp up front for the gig. This was fronted by the thieves guild, for whom Kurdt is also operating as a spy. Larkin suspects this.

Off the Payroll

Larkin and Polstrum each have a follower.

• Marek: 48, male, porter (normal human). HP 4. Unarmoured (AC9), dagger, torchbearer. Polstrum's assistant, used to accompanying his master on tomb-robbing, not used to dealing with animated inhabitants or magical beings.
• Emmeline: 22, female, trainee fighter (normal human). HP 5. Leather armour (AC7), halberd, shortsword. Wants to be a strong, independent woman—just like Larkin.

LINKS

All posts in this series::

https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2025/11/solo-blueholme-first-delve-into-stygian.html

https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2024/07/solo-blueholme-session-0-chargen-etc.html

https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2024/06/blueholme-stygian-library-solo.html

Technoskald's vsolo play reports of the same (or very similar) set-up:
https://solo.technoskald.me/tagged/stygian-library

Alec Sorenson Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/oddsbod/

Stygian Library on DTRPG (affiliate link)
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/257113/the-stygian-library?affiliate_id=767873

Hardcover print edition from SoulMuppet
https://soulmuppet-store.co.uk/products/the-stygian-library

My recent elf post, featuring a Blueholme-esque elf class, The Changeling
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2024/07/elves.html