Third Session: “Now We’re on a Roll…” – 4/19/15

This was actually two mini-sessions, broken by a brief respite in town. It was also the first time we used Holmes-like initiative order, based on dexterity, rather than the standard d6 roll per side (foes of equal dexterity do merit a d6 roll, however). I wanted to try this and see how it played. It definitely speeds up combat, at least once everyone gets used to the round-by-round order. I’m using Holmes’ suggestion to roll dexterity on the spot for monsters, which adds an element of chance. It also makes dex much more important than normal in S&W White Box, since PCs are normally limited to the +1 bonus to missile attacks for a dex of 15+.

PCs:

• Eth-Tue (level 1 Elf FM/M-U)
• Garros (Level 1 Dwarf FM)
• Aella (Level 1 Cleric)

Hirelings:

• Sporzer, Tredron, Vak – Mercenaries who survived!
• Chorme, Gar, Fezzig – RIP all three meatshields were killed by cyclorcs
• Aelzef the porter
• Blart the wagon driver

In the first venture into the caves, the party discovered two sets of jail cells and torture chambers guarded by one-eyed orc-like creatures, henceforth known as cyclorcs. In the first jail cell room, three guards and their human leader put up a fierce fight, flanking the group and killing three of the mercenaries. In the second, three guards and their leader were surprised and taken out easily after Eth-Tue utilized a sleep enchantment to good effect. Several prisoners were rescued – Farfuleg the Bold, Plumb the Hobbit, and a local farmer named Dumbfeld. Plumb told tales of a wish-granting statue, and offered his services if the party would assist in his search. Farfuleg, grateful just to be rescued from certain death, offered his services for free. One cell held a surprise for Aella – an illusory door and a giant, animated skeleton. It proved no match for the Amazon’s bronze mace, however Aella was wounded in the exchange and the party decided to head back to town to rest.

They returned the next morning, with more mercenaries and this time entering through a second, northern cave entrance. A long, wide dirt mound blocked their way. Garros wisely probed the mound, discovering a connected series of large bear traps. He removed the traps, and the party continued on, soon encountering a faerie dragon lair. They were surprised by the stealthy creature, and several members of the party were put to sleep as the dragon winked from sight. A lucky sword strike from Farfuleg caught the invisible creature in flight over their heads, however, and it materialized in front of them, cut in half. Much of its treasure hoard was collected by Plumb, the only one brave enough to approach an open pit full of gold.

~

Second Session: “A Dead Druid is a Good Druid” – 4/4/15

Another short but fun session showed just how dangerous even low-level spell casters can be.

PCs:

• Eth-Tue (level 1 Elf FM/M-U)
• Garros (Level 1 Dwarf FM)
• Aella (Level 1 Cleric)

Hirelings:

• Brosemez (killed by the touch of an evil Druid)
• Zort the Archer (killed by a Druid’s dagger)
• Chorme – Survived!
• Aelzef the Porter – Survived!

The second foray into the caves saw more exploration of what the party surmised were chambers populated by evil Druids. Natural tunnels and caves gave way to finished stone corridors and rooms, some lit by braziers, with walls adorned by tapestries depicting ritual sacrifice. A storage room held some black robes, black-handled daggers and six silver chalices, which the party stashed before continuing on, deciding to explore a darkened area of tunnels to their east.

An open pit in the first darkened room they came to emanated a foul smell of carrion and death, approaching it Garros was surprised by a large serpent who slithered out of the pit, intent to feed on its next meal. It was no match for the party, however; the battle was short and thankfully no one was wounded. Garros soon realized bodies of the black night and their three mercenaries were in the pit, dumped there amongst the rot.

They recovered what they could, and continued on, soon encountering three black-robed acolytes. One Druid was killed by Zort’s and Eth-Tue’s arrows, while the remaining two Druids made the most of their dark magic (darkness and cause wounds) and ritual daggers to end the life of Brosemez and Zort.  The Druids then fled and were later cornered, fresh out of magic and now no match for the angry party. Dejected at losing more hired help, the party gathered the bodies of their companions and returned to Ravendale.

~

I’ve been running a weekly S&W White Box game for the past few months, on roll20. The goal was to create a fun OD&D-style dungeon crawl, with a small, nearby town as a base. I made a large first level, big enough that after 11 sessions it is still not fully explored, and have been altering it if the party leaves for more than a few days. This is hopefully keeping even the already-explored parts fresh.

It has proved to be quite deadly – only one session has been without at least one PC or hireling death. Here is the campaign background, I spared no tropes!

The Town of Ravendale – nestled happily in the Ravenwood, provides a safe and pleasant existence for the town’s occupants and surrounding farms…until recently, that is. Farms are being raided at night by unseen horrors. Shadowy figures have been seen wandering about at the forest’s edge, just shy of the foothills on the southern edge of the Snowcap mountains. It is said that evil is waking from a long slumber in the caves there – the ‘Caves of Woe’ as the townsfolk have begun to call them. Just last week, Lord Kelby spent a goodly sum from his treasury and hired a band of mercenaries to investigate the caves and return with news. But one returned, a fighting-man Ixthius, he seemed to go mad and later fled into the wilderness, and no one knows if his semi-coherent ravings were true.

Rumours you have heard:

1) The caves are inhabited by an evil sect of druids
2) The creatures seen out at night steal souls
3) Necromancers summon demons to do their bidding
4) People who get too close to the caves sometimes find themselves put into an enchanted slumber, when they awake all their coins are gone
5) “Thalfazarr” is said to inhabit the caves, but no one seems to know who or what he/it is
6) Ixthius fled back to his master, and now serves chaos

I created the town, a large, one-level dungeon and a small hex map using Wizardawn’s site, then populated the dungeon myself. Here is a recap of the first short session, in which all three mercenaries died, barely scratching the surface of the aptly named Caves of Woe. I’ll post the other session reports as well. Note: We’re using the Zenopus Archives backgrounds for flavor, hence the ‘Amazon Cleric’.

First Session: “Testing the Waters” – 3/29/15

PCs:

• Eth-Tue (Elf Fighting Man/M-U)
• Garros (Dwarf Fighting Man),
• Aella (Amazon Cleric)

Hirelings:

• Pus, Zell, Darcig  (RIP)

The freshly-minted adventuring group explored a section of the Caves of Woe through a northwest entrance – a reinforced, oaken door in the hillside with a small hole in its base. Their first encounter was a raven, which flew from a nearby grove, headed towards the door as the party approached. A lucky arrow shot by Eth-Tue the Elf ran it through before it could fly through the hole. The party wondered if it meant to report to its master?

On the other side of the door, a knight stood guard in black plate armor, denying them entrance until he was killed by a group effort. This was not without some wounds, tended to by Aella (DM note: We’re using a bind wounds rule). Exploring further south, they came upon a small cavern and locked chest – perhaps that of the black night? Inside were gold, gems and a potion phial, which the party secreted away before continuing on, towards a T-intersection noticeable ahead. At that moment, a magical darkness enveloped the tunnel they were in, and screams were heard from among the group. Garros the Dwarf was wounded by what he surmised was a bear, judging from the growling and claw wounds. Fleeing to safety, they realized that Pus, Zelll and Darcig were not among them. They returned to Ravendale, slightly richer but with a plan to be ever more cautious in their next delve.

~