The Keep on the Borderlands 2025 - Session 8 - Chaotic Assault

The next session or three will be a little bit different. In the last post, I only explained what the party could see. This will continue for a while. 

At sundown, Rety had Sybil cast a spell for her before the Magic-User went to bed. Belaphon, Rety, and Solvo crept out of the cave mout
h and up to the overwatch post that the goblinoids used to the party's cave. Finding no one about, Rety placed a pot against a tree and tied a string to the lid. They unwound the string 40 feet to the east before retreating. Lefty and Punch traded places with them, lying in the brush with the end of the string.   

In the meantime, Norin, Thomas, and Doian placed a heavy spike in the ground at the mouth of cave D. Norin attached a heavy chain to the spike, and the Cleric dismantled the carts' four wheels. They strung the wheels on the chain and affixed the chain to the ceiling of the cave, 30 feet back from the entrance. While not an impenetrable barrier, the wheels and chain will slow any attackers. 

The Knights took turns resting and watching for enemies in the brush. Back at the cave, Solvo, Slammer, and Sybil slept. A couple of hours into the Knight's watch, 6 goblins ventured into view and did their best to hide themselves from the cave mouth. Unfortunately for them, that was done in full view of the Knights. 

At midnight, Rety, Celia, and Belaphon took Slammer and Solvo's place. The dog followed Celia rather than Sybil, as he knew where the food came from. Thomas, Dorian, and the Dwarf were taking turns resting between the mule's makeshift stable and the hall leading to the mouth of cave D.  The Elf and Fighter crept to the mouth of the Ogre's cave. After a moment, they strolled out in plain view. The goblins spotted them immediately and gave a warning call like a strige, the only bird-like thing they've heard in a while. 

The six hobgoblins with crossbows readied their weapons and exited their cave. 

Lefty pulled the string, lifting the lid off the pot. The Sybil had cast continual light on its interior. The goblins spun around and were dazzled by the bright light. They were also silhouetted by the spell. Two of them were struck by arrows and fell dead. The Knights charged and took another goblin down. 

The hobgoblins were expecting enemies on the valley floor, but were distracted by the melee to their east and missed seeing the Elf and Fighter. They advanced toward the obvious fight. Punch took down another goblin as Lefty danced back and forth with the last two. Slammer and Solvo unleashed another pair of arrows, this time at the hobgoblins for 3 and 5 points of damage. The two struck hobgoblins shot back, hitting Slammer for 4 points of damage and Solvo for one. 

There are six targets.

Lefty was hit for 3 points of damage but downed his opponent. Punch and the last goblin exchanged a series of parries and feints. The four hobgoblins continued their advance on the Knights while the other two exchanged missile fire with the bowmen below. All four missiles hit. The hobgoblins struck first for 2 and 3 points against the Elf and Fighter, but died moments later. 

Lefty covered the pot, plunging everyone into darkness again. Punch splits the last goblin in two. Confused, the hobgoblins open fire. Lefty was hit, but the other three bolts found nothing but air. Solvo injured one, but a second was killed. 

Punch dropped the pot on the ground, freeing himself to melee the hobgoblins. Again, the hobgoblins are dazzled and confused, and they drew swords. Punch and Lefy slew two, and Solvo got the third. Unfortunately, Slammer's arrow whistled by Lefty's head, nearly hitting him. Slammer rolled 5 against the hob and a 9 against Lefty, which was also a miss. 

If you read the comment from Ruprecht, (here) this is how I handle missile fire in melee. First, all even-numbered misses occur because the shooters held their fire, knowing they would miss. They are that good. Since the roll was 5, Slammer loosed an arrow. He was then forced to roll against Lefty's AC of 3. The arrow was already in the air, no even number roll would protect the second target in this case. I played this up a bit for drama, as 9 isn't remotely close to a hit. 

In the next round, Lefty and Punch overwhelmed the last hobgoblin standing. The four fighting men beat a quick retreat back to their respective hiding places. 

An hour or so later, a lone goblin was sent to check on the guards. The hobgoblins can only surmise that something went horribly wrong, as no one reported back in. Concerned, they sent 2 more crossbow-armed hobgoblins as overwatch for the lone goblin. The pot trick works again. Solvo and Slammer dispatched the three guards while the Knights stayed out of sight. This time, Lefty and Punch collect the pot, weapons, and change purses before retreating with Solvo and Slammer into the ogre cave. 

The party heard a ruckus from the hobgoblin caves as the two chieftains exchanged words and maybe blows. In response to the noise, 4 kobolds and 4 rats ventured outside to see what was happening. Solvo and Slammer took a shot at them. They missed by a mile, but the kobold heard the arrows go by and dropped to the ground. Over the next three rounds, a pair of kobolds and one rat were killed as they first advanced on the fighter's location, then fled on their bellies back to the cave. 

At dawn, all four fighting men and Clerics retired. Celia and Norin set about their daily tasks with strict instructions not to expose themselves to the enemy. As the others ate and slept, Sybil and Belaphon took to silently studying in room 21. They heard the guards on the other side of the secret door moving about. Sybil silently pointed to two spells Belaphon should study for the day. 

If I painted these,
I'd have proper pictures for you. 

Once they were done learning their spells for the day, Sybil stood up and let out a theatrical yawn, right in front of the secret door. It looks like Sybil is way more chaotic than the party. The shuffling of gob and hob feet stopped. 

She cast a spell on the door, making it turn invisible. Her dog barked at the goblinoids. The four hobgoblin crossbowmen fired on her, but the bolts stopped dead as they hit the invisible, but still stone door. Sybil lifted the digitus impudicus at them. The goblin spearmen charged. The invisible door shook, as dust roiled from the edges with the impact. 

The Magic-Users laughed at the guards. "Bel, goblins. Just goblins." 

He nodded at her. 

It took the four stunned goblins two rounds to get reorganized, and by that time, all four were charmed. The Magic-Users gave the dread signal of finger to throat, as Sybil released the invisibility spell and the door faded back into view. 

(I dislike low-level spells that give a permanent effect. I have no particular answer to them, other than to allow the spell caster to end them at will. The first link is to the SRD for OSE. Old School Essentials is by Necrotic Gnome. They have a wide array of products. You can view and purchase them here.) 

Although they didn't know it, everything happened simultaneously on the other side of the door. Over the next 3 rounds, they heard the deathrattle of 4 hobgoblins and 2 goblins. The bewitched goblins killed one more goblin and injured several others before they fell. 

Rety was peeved when she learned her spellcasters had used up almost all of their spells in one go, but couldn't complain about the results. In her mind, the Fighters combined were as strong as the Magic-Users, and the Clerics plus Rety formed a third powerful group. Now, with the fighting men sleeping and the magic users out of spells, it was only Rety, the heirlings, the Clerics, and a dog to defend them for a whole day. 

For the rest of the day, they heard alternating bouts of activity and silence from the hobgoblin caves. At nightfall, the goblinoids recovered their dead. Rety quietly watched them from the mouth of the cave. They saw her, too, but had no response. 

For this session, the party killed or caused the deaths of 12 goblins, 12 hobgoblins, 2 kobolds, and 1 giant rat. This, with the treasure and a 10% bonus, equals 651 total experience. I also give each a bonus of 150 exp for planning and creativity. 

At this point, several characters level up again. I should scan their sheets in and walk thru who has what. 

The Keep on the Borderlands 2025 - Session 7 - Divide and Conquer

It's session 7, and the party is ready for a fight. They left the Keep before sunrise, leaving the drovers behind. In six days, the drovers will come to see what befell the party. 

Rety and the Knights lead the group, followed by the mule-drawn wagon and everyone else strung out behind them. They used the Eyes of the Eagle from the treeline and spotted some changes in the valley of the caves. 

From Session 4.5 and Session 5, the kobolds completed their improved defenses. Good-sized mounts for the giant rats ring their cave entrance while spear-armed guards patrolled the slope. Also, several kobolds were working with axes to clear away the debris of the burned trees. A new barrier of brush covered the approach to the kobold cave. 

Rety wasn't worried. Originally, her plan was to hit the kobolds' cave, as they were the weakest creatures in the caves. Now that the goblins have been swept out of several rooms of their cave complex, Rety believes they are weaker. She was unaware that the goblins and hobgoblins were in cahoots. 

Solvo the Elf reported seeing motion up the slope above cave B and cave F. On further inspection and a couple of die rolls with OSR Solo, the party decides that everyone in front of cave F has moved to the slope above cave B. They were totally wrong. There were two separate groups of watchers.  

The party makes a dash to cave D. They were immediately spotted by the combined group of goblins and hobgoblins, but the hobgoblins waited for the goblins to return from the slope above cave B before doing anything. The kobolds retreated inside their warren. 

The cart entered the caves, and the mules refused to move more than 30 feet down the hall. Norin the dwarf, and Celia wedged the wheels while the party split up. Belaphon, the two clerics, and Solvo drag timbers to the east. Sybil, Slammer, and Rety ran ahead of Punch and Lefty, who escorted Norin. Rety and Slammer readied their bows. Punch and Lefty marched with polearms. 

There was a hell of a racket throughout the Caves of Chaos. The goblins and hobgoblins raced through the halls. In the confusion, the other guards rushed to the entrance, where a heated conversation ensued. 

The eastern party reached room 17 and discovered the barricade. Flommox, they dropped their lumber and ran westward, screaming their alarm. 

Rety's team had the goal of finding and blocking the hidden door in room 21. In their last foray, they saw too many goblins disappear in that direction, so they correctly guessed there must be a door. They just didn't know where. They set out 4 lanterns to assist them in the search.

The western team heard the ruckus behind them from Solvo's team, but didn't know what it meant, as it was not a part of the plan. The goblins and hobgoblins also heard the yells of alarm and quickly came to the conclusion that the party was in room 21 searching for the secret door. The six spearmen and the 8 crossbow-armed guards run for the secret door in a disorganized horde. 

Norin, Sybil, and Rety spread out to search for the door, under the cover of the Knights and Slammer's bow. To everybody's horror, but no one's surprise, the secret door went "Clunk!" and swung open. 

I rolled for which way the door opened against the table in OSR Solo. I asked myself, "Does this door open outward?" The result was "no and..." The next question I asked was, "Does the guard's order make sense?" The answer was "no", so I determined that 4 crossbow men are in front of and behind the spearmen. 

I took this scenario from real life. I used to work in a hardware store, and you'd be surprised how many people purchase doors without considering which way they open and swing. Nothing is more funny than seeing someone mount the hinges on the same side of the door as the doorknob. Extensive consumer testing has shown this does not work. 

I rolled initiative. Since the party won, I determined that Rety could pull her bow, which is the "no and..." result. One of the crossbowmen takes an arrow to the face and drops. Slammer hits a second one for 3 points of damage. Sybil unleashes charm on an exposed spearman. One crossbow bolt whistles over Slammer's head, and a second bounces off Punch's armor for just a single point of damage. Punch and Lefty can't or won't advance due to the missile fire as Norin stays out of sight in the corner, ending the combat round. 

Two things happen at nearly the same time. The guards lose their morale check and decide to close the door. They missed by one, so they are fairly sensible and reasonably choose to close the door. The party wins initiative. 

Rety shouts, "Lantern!" and Lefty and Punch look around, confused. 

Slammer was not confused and picked up a lantern and hurled it into the crowd of monsters. I decided that two of the crossbowmen are unhitable because of the door, but the third was spattered, as was the dead one. They fall into room 21, very dead. I forgot oil does 1d8 until it burns out. 

Through the crack of the closing door, the charmed goblin saw Sybil make a slashing gesture across her throat and smiled. 

Sybil doesn't speak goblin or hobgoblin, but the message was heard, loud and clear. The charmed goblin killed one of the hobgoblins holding the door in his surprise round. He managed to wound the other hobgoblin at the door before a flurry of spearpoints dropped him. 

The five remaining goblins held the door closed, conveniently helping Norin and Rety hammer in spikes. As they worked, Sybil Wizard Locked the door. Norin complained as he thought he would be securing a door that swung the other way. He returns to the wagon for more lumber and tools. 

He grumbled, "Magic is good, but mechanics is better." 

The eastern party explained the blocked stairway, which raised eyebrows. The two Clerics returned to Celia and set watch on the cave mouth, while Rety plans a formal search of the complex. Solvo, Slammer, Punch, and Lefty are ordered to guard Norin's back as he works his dwarven skills on the first secret door, then the second secret door leading to the Ogre's lair. 

The party is tired, and it is not even midday. Rety pushed on, with the Magic-Users and Elf in tow, searching every wall for more secret doors. Celia served a cold lunch. Rety asked the rest of the party to help with the search, and after about 10 minutes, determined the Knights were unsuited for the job and sent them to secure the mules in one of the dead-end tunnels. 

This presented a few problems for Punch and Lefty. One mule refused to calm down, and the decision was made to run it out of the cave. Slammer wanted to eat it, but EVERYONE ELSE objected. The mule delivered a couple of bites and one brutal kick to the Knights before galloping off in the direction of the road and presumably the Keep. 

By nightfall, the party convinced itself that there were no more secret doors or traps in the area they claimed. 

Norin declared, "Those stairs are blocked, well and completely. Nothing short of dragon fire or prune juice can unblock that!" 

Everyone had a good chuckle. They set their quarters in the Chieftain's quarters. It was nicely appointed, although slightly smelly. The party rested in shifts as they knew the night would be long and the coming days longer. 

The Keep on the Borderlands 2025 - Session 6.5 - Book Keeping, Guards, and Wards

Session 6 went sideways. Hardly anything was said about the party. So we have session 6.5. The party spends the week in the Keep. Hender and Sonny depart the party. They both had near-death experiences, plus Hender can get his job at the tavern back, and Sonny can court the drover girls. Who wouldn't want that? 

Rety takes 3 days to interview several replacements for Hender and Sonny and brings on Sybil for a fair cut of the treasure. Rety also makes sure she is good with the drover team, Hender, and Sonny, distributing a few more silvers to all. She charges the drovers with obtaining 2 or 4 mules and a long, slim cart. 

Using OSR Solo, the drovers can get the cart and mules, but it takes an extra day. Rety obtains some mundane but odd material for the cart. She has water barrels and tons of food, plus lumber and tools packed into it. Unfortunately, the party is not able to obtain more healing potions. 

Rety advances Sybil and Belaphon some coins to do herself and them a favor. They spend the next couple of days examining each other's spellbooks. This means the party spends the full week in the Keep.  

Let's take a "My Table Tradition" detour. I have special rules for spell casters with spellbooks. Each Magic-User can memorize a specific number of spells per day. In OSE, the MU sleeps for 8 hours and studies their spells for 1 hour. That seems fair and easy. 

In a scenario like what we have here, the party retreated to town early and has tons of free time. I have a special rule for this non-combat case. 

What if Belophon, with two 1st-level spells, studied Magic Missile twice but really needs Detect Magic today? Since he has access to his spellbook and is not in combat, he can spend 1d6 rounds reviewing the spell in his book and swap the memorized spell for one they have in their book. Having cast that new spell, he does not get to study again. That daily spell is spent. This is only good for non-combat situations, like the example of sitting in town for a week. 

This scenario doesn't really matter much. It saves time and paperwork. 

There is a second scenario that is much less friendly. Let's say you have access to an enemy's spellbook. A Magic-User can use Read Magic to decipher a spell and cast it right from the spellbook. This works just like a scroll, meaning the Magic-User doesn't use his memorized spells. It also means the spell is deleted from the book. This cannot be done with one's own spellbook. 

What Rety has asked both mages to do is share spells. Sybil has both first and second-level spells; Belophon can only copy the ones he can cast. He knows what the second-level spells are because Sybil can explain them, but can't scribe them. Sybil could scribe a second-level spell into her book, but not in Belophon's book. Sybil can scribe any spell from Belophon's spellbook as they are all 1st-level. 

Rety also hires two additional heirlings. OSR Solo provided the yes-no answers. I simply rolled 2 twenty-siders, comparing each roll to the NPC chart in B2. She hires one Dwarf and one Halfling. They are 1st-level characters. Norin the Dwarf is brought on as a mining and construction advisor, while Celia the Halfling will cook. They do not receive a share of the treasure, only a salary. They are not expected to undertake dangerous or combat duties.

Back in the Caves, the agents of Chaos are also taking action because they have a week to prepare for the next invasion. The hobgoblins and goblins have integrated. Room 27, the Storeroom, has been consolidated with the Armory in room 28. The goblins are now using Room 27 as quarters for the 10 males and 14 females. Six guards with spears, shields, and daggers are in the hallway to cover the stairs and secret door. 

The stairs leading to Room 23 have been completely clogged up with whatever trash and rubble the goblins and hobgoblins could find. The one section of stairs is packed floor to ceiling, with only a ten-foot area outside the door so spear-armed goblins can get in to defend the entryway.  

Outside, just north of Room 23, sit 3 goblins. They are instructed to quietly watch the entrance to D. They are not to engage in a fight; instead, they are to report any intruders. These are some of the adult golbins who are not included in the guard. They are not inclined to fight, but they do have spears. 

Near cave entrance F, 6 hobgoblins patrol outside. Two of the six have moved down to the floor of the valley to watch entrance E, while the other 4 stand watch. All of them are armed with crossbows. Even though the ogre is dead, they will not enter his abandoned cave. Why tempt fate?  

When the party returns, the denizens of the Caves will have some surprises for them. 

The Cloak of Wonderous Items

The Wizard Dallehm is a long-dead character in my campaigns. But he was the owner of many magic items and the inventor of several spell ideas. He did not live long enough to create new items or spells.  

Besides the famous crown, Dallehm also owned the Cloak of Wondrous Items. One of the Cloaks is in the possession of Sybil, and is a copy of one her father owns. How Sybil's father came by it is unknown. 

The Cloak of Wonderous Items is similar to a Robe of Useful Items, but with the ability to return non-living, non-burning items back to the cloak for later use. This is done by covering the item with the cloak or brushing the cloak over the item. 

New items cannot be added. Nothing that comes from the cloak is lit or on fire. Burning items must be extinguished before being returned. 

I stole this idea from the Many Colored Lands series. One of the characters has an outfit festooned with tiny pockets with components to assemble devices that are not otherwise allowed where the owner is going. The implication is that searching a cloak is tedious and would only turn up items that are allowed because the individual components are benign. It's the combining of items that makes them useful and dangerous. 

The cloak always has 2 of the following: 

• A pair of daggers, one silver and one cold iron, 
• A 12-foot tent pole, 
• 8 iron spikes,
• 1 large wooden stake, 
• A torches,
• A tinderbox, 
• A waterskin, full, 
• A mallet, 
• A hatchet
• 1 shirt, 1 pair of pants, and boots, all sized to the owner. These are neatly folded in one package.

There are 3d6 other items found on this random generation table: 

01-04    A pair of war dogs. 
05-08    A riding horse, with saddle and bags.
09-15    A bottle of wine or brandy with four wooden cups
16-22    A rowboat with anchor and oars. Holds 8 people. 
23-30    Logs and tinder, suitable for a campfire lasting all night in the coldest winter. 
31-44    A wicker mantlet. It's a siege shield with wheels and is usable by anyone. 
45-51    100 feet of rope.
52-59    A trestle table with two benches, and bowls of bread and water for 8 people. 
60-68    A rack with 6 crystal vials. 2 are holy water, two are oil, and 2 contain a powerful acid. 
69-75    A round shield, not usable by the Magic-User.
76-83    A lantern full of oil, unlit. 
84-90    A potion of healing with 8 doses. Returns 1d4+1 hp per dose. 
91-94    An 8-man tent, unassembled. It has its own spikes, mallet, and tent poles. 
95-00    A pig on a spit, ready for roasting. Serves 3d12 people. 

Alternatively, you may simply choose to have every item available once. 

The healing potions are unique and can't be returned. The same for the oil, acid, and holy water vials in the rack. The horse and war dogs also cannot be returned to the cloak. They are permanent and genuinely love the cloak's owner. 

Returning the table, waterskins, wine and brandy bottles, and roasting spit, emptied, will regenerate the food and liquids 24 hours later. Returning torch nubs or empty lanterns will regenerate the tinder, oil, wicks, and torches in 12 hours. 

Broken or lost mundane items may be replaced with an exact substitute. Characters may not replace items with substitutes if they still have the original item. 

The owner of the cloak always knows the properties of the various liquids. They will never mistake a vial of acid for a healing potion or holy water. 

This cloak is limited to Magic-Users and Illusionists; however, anyone can use the items. 

You may wish to add the following details to the items:  

• The tent is labeled, "Camp Crystal Lake, NJ". 
• The table is bright green and stamped with the words: "Property of Erie County Public Works". 
• The rowboat has a number on it and the name: "Sandusky, OH". 
• The vial rack is labeled: "Fr. G. Sarducci". 
• The brandy is labeled "Thunderball" and the wine is branded "Dom Pérignon, 1955". 
• As with all tents, no magic in the world can restore lost parts even if returned to the cloak. The rope, pole, mallet, and spikes are all intended to work with the provided tent. 
• The rope must be neatly wrapped before returning. Be kind, rewind. 
• The round shield has a white star with blue and red stripes. 

Stat'ing Up Sybil

I have decided that Sybil is the new Magic-User to join the party. In this post, I generated her stats using the OSE NPC Generator. As I promised, I would be flipping her stats to put that 7 in Wisdom. This is to slightly counteract the ring of 4 wishes. She isn't wise to be devious. 

As I did for all other randomly generated characters, I rerolled any stat of 11 or under. If I were able to beat the original score, it would be increased. If I did not beat that score, it stayed the same. Here is what I got: 

STR: 11 (unchanged, I rolled lower.)
INT: 13 (no reroll)
WIS:  7 (unchanged, as I decided I wanted this score.)
DEX: 14 (was 7)
CON: 10 (was 9)
CHR: 13 (was 9)

That seemed fair. She is quick and quick-witted, and good with people, but perhaps naive. 

As the ring of 4 wishes, which is completely ridiculous on the surface for a second-level character, I used OSR Solo to adjudicate the wishes. This is modified by my general rules of thumb for wishes in my campaign. 

In the generic, rings of wishes are much more limited in their ability to suborn wishes, at the same time as being mechanically resistant to harming anyone. Magic rings don't have agency. 

If I deem a wish to be out of bounds, a magic ring gets physically hot. It will not operate for a time, at least for that person. I decide how long and for whom. It does not waste a wish because the last wish causes the ring to stop being magic. Magic rings have enough agency not to destroy themselves needlessly. I also have a tradition that all rings of wishes are white gold and transform into lead rings when expended. Click the link to see a scenario where that happens. 

Should a wish be granted by a creature, these rules of thumb go right out the window. Creatures do have agency and agendas. For example, a god or demon may desire to bring certain people back to life and may twist a badly worded wish to do as THEY desire. The key bit is that the wish is the expression of their power, which may benefit the PC's. 

Anyway, I already determined one wish was "A Magic Dog!" I made that wish #4. The wishes were: 

1. A copy of all of her father's adventuring equipment. 
2. A magic dagger or shortsword that is almost exactly like Sting from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Click the link to see Sting in action on YouTube. 
3. A doubling of Sybil's current powers and abilities. 
4. A Magic Frickin' Dog!

The first wish is pretty good; she wished for a copy of her father's items. That would prevent harming her father. If this were worded in other ways, it could cause her father to lose the use of his equipment or maybe cause Sybil to inherit his stuff after he dies. That second possibility could be useless if he has a long life, or worse, it causes his death, so she inherited his stuff. 

I hate it when a wish would cause a paradox. If her father were already dead, she would have his stuff through inheritance, so why would she wish for this? I try to avoid that at all costs with wishes. It's also a good reason not to hose PCs in with the worst possible outcomes of wishes. 

The second wish is meta. I would expect and accept this from a player character. Sting-like swords are cool and do exist in my campaign, so I'd let it go. 

The third wish is well-worded to prevent it from being meta while also being something I would expect from a PC. 

OSR Solo has a great likelihood table that goes beyond yes and no. You can click this link to buy a copy at DriveThruRPG. I personally like the physical books, but there is also a PDF for less.  

For the first wish, she rolled a 6. That is "yes and...". This is an excellent result and grants more than the equipment she knew about. She also has a copy of her father's spell book and magic robes. I decided there is a limitation on the spell book. It contains spells she doesn't know and can't read yet. 

I rolled a 4 for the second wish. That is a flat yes. She has a +1 dagger or small shortsword. It does 1d4+1 and glows in the presence of goblinoids and giant spiders. That is basically Sting in a nutshell. 

Were I dealing with a PC who made this wish, I would troll them. "Funny, your dad has a sword just like it. It's a shame you wished for his equipment but not his weapons." 

For the third wish, "double my power," I rolled a 3, which is "yes but..." There is a hindrance to this wish. This is really straightforward for this wish. She has doubled her power, from level 2 to level 4. BUT, she didn't gain the experience. She has all of the benefits and abilities of a 4th-level Magic-User in all ways, but won't gain any more power until she has the experience points to reach 5th level. Painful, but easily implementable. I don't like wishes that cause paperwork. 

Where she really won was in hit points, which are simply doubled. I give max hit points for the first level, and require a roll for higher levels, rerolling ones. Sybil has 16 hp as she rolled a 4 for her second level. The character generator shows a lower HP value, but I did reroll everyone else's hit points to drop ones and include max hit points at level 1.  

The Magic Dog is crazy and fun. I decided to ask a series of questions:

• Is it really magic? The result was "yes". 
• Is it a Blink Dog? "No". 
• Is it a Hell Hound? "No, and..." it is afraid of Hell Hounds. This choice of modifier is easy and natural. Everyone is afraid of Hell Hounds. 
• Can it talk? "Yes... but". If I did this to PC, I would again troll them by saying the dog speaks in a Scottish brogue... and only understands you if YOU speak in a Scottish brogue. This doesn't make sense in this context of a text-only experience, so I'll let that one go. At a table full of players, it would be funny.  

I stopped asking questions at 4. Four wishes allows for 4 questions. It looks good enough to me. 

In doing this exercise, I also determined something else about Sybil. She might be neutral as she sees Blink Dogs and Hell Hounds as attractive and useful. Her father also imparted some lore about his time adventuring and is encouraging of her. 

OSR Solo is really handy book for off-the-cuff items.