Dwarf OSE+ Dark Citadel Session #4 (14 JUNE 2023)

 

FFS this has got to be one of the roughest starts to a campaign I have ever fuggin run ...

   We left our last session on a bit of a Cliffhanger with a pair of the Party at zero hit points; Redrum the Fighter/Acolyte and Axton a Battle Axe Two-Hand Swinger for the Cleave, and with my current House Rules that is Unconscious and Helpless but not dead. The Cleric lay Dead so he rerolled a Fighter/Cleric to take Full advantage of the "All Shields Shall Be Splintered" mechanic, its solid and keeps folks alive. Forgetting that that this pair had not been to the Dungeon I rule they had to find their way to the dungeon, this does eat up a bit of time and it is a bit meta as they had technically not been to the dungeon but there were plenty of bodies littering the way to the fallen party. A gathering a scavenger birds on the corpses of the orcs and goblin corpses above that leads to the entry to the dungeon. They search one or two rooms overlooked by the party on their previous session.

   Ruling that the torchlight coming from the Halls where the Bandits took over the goblin king Kiliax's lair allowed a dull glow to be seen from the Main Hall it does speed up some of the game. Wandering Monster checks are totally in the Party's favor and they attempt to creep up on the sound of human voices but since they are using torches for their war dogs their stealth mode is somewhat decreased. They however do listen to the Bandit Leader Dramax debating with his lone survivor follower that they should be on guard for the goblins in the dungeon since in their weakened state they are vulnerable. "They'll definitely break the truce if they know how screwed we are !". They also learn the bandits have a bunch of loot they wish to relocate but are afraid of being ambushed while carrying it. Zebullon "Zeb" and Gad decide to go for it, fail surprise which is not surprising since they are on guard for goblins and put the dog on them too. They lose initiative and the opponents set for charge. Oh boy, gonna be a night huh

   The Battle goes quickly and in the party's favor. The Bandit Leader falls after his bandit bro is mauled to death by "Chompers the War Dog" he offers a quick parley "We can work this out !" before he is dispatched . They check their Dwarf brethren for signs of life. [I have made it a thing in my game that 0 hit points is unconscious and helpless, after 8 to 10 hours you can wake up with a single hit point but unless you are checked for signs of life appear dead]. They recover the Scroll of Cure Light Wounds from the table where the bandits had gathered the their gear. Using his and  the acolytes looted scroll the other party members are revived and we have a session of all four players. They loot the Bandit Leader and find another key, a Large Dwarf Forged Iron Key as well as the Goblin Kings Spear (It too is is of Dwarf Forge) as well as the Minotaur Hilted Dagger. Various jewelry looted from the bandits that once adorned the goblin king but all of the goblins were broke broke. Evidently being pressed into service by Bandits does not pay well. They decide to explore for loot as the Bandits had a few silver on them but plenty of jewelry and explore norths discovering the Bandit leaders room and a secret door they could not open. This does irritate them allot and they spend a bit of time searching the same room. Wandering Monster Encounter comes up "Sounds of Battle in the Distance" this spooks them a bit and they decide to back track. They discover the Bandit Barrack and a locked door. Booom ! Treasure Room of the goblins and of the Bandits ne'er do'wells !

   Investigating the chamber they discover several chest of coinage and even one filled to the brim with Azurite and Blue Quartz ! Goblin Riches Bitches ! There are also more mundane items in various Casks, Barrels, Crates and several pole arms leaning against the Wall. They check the unlocked small chests for traps and discover they have a fair amount of loot and with Axton still severely wounded they fall back to Dragonspire with an item or two matching the description of the lost Borderlands shipment. Stopping to check on their goblin prisoner they question him before releasing him with the goblin females & brood and discover the horses were eaten by the goblins when left outside by the bandits and that their Dwarf Brethren were given as evidence of the Bandits prowess and as a tasty treat to the goblins elsewhere on the dungeon level they are currently exploring to a creature known as Big Og whom is 8 foot tall and bashes armor with his barefists. They honor their word and release the goblins against Gad's preference to kill them all. Rare Law v Neutral moment for Dwarf and Goblin relations ...

[ Natural Healing House Rule for my OSE Games, 1 hit point in the dungeon for 8 hours rest and 1 hit point + CON MOD in a safe, conquered or comfortable area ]

  No encounters on the return to Dragonspire and the 4 merchants are sought out and an agreement made about recovering the remaining of their lost gear bound for he borderlands. In two days they will accompany the party to the ruins with 6 men-at-arms and horses for two for their lost wagons. Keeping investment low on this recovery operation as they have lost quite a bit already they are reluctant to spend more coin. While they; the unnamed party of dwarves but Brotherhood of something eventually maybe lol,  have two days they explore the Merchant Square area of Dragonspire and speak to the Goldsmith, Silversmith and jeweler about liquidating the jewelry and garner 115 GP for the Silver rings, Silver Necklace and Bloodstone Centerpiece Necklace with the gold rings unsold and the Copper Crown held for the Dwarf Merchant Ergol Bronzefist who has promised 75% for Dwarf Crafted items from the Dark Citadel. They make plans to return and get the rest of the Goblin Riches the Merchants Shipment for the Borderlands and maybe explore a bit and find their missing brethren.

[ Honestly the session has been kind of clunky but I am first day feeling better after a possible Pulmonary Embolism so meh, fuck it its a game afterall ]

I have the party make CON saves after making multiple trips up 7 flights of stairs carrying crates barrels and boxes that lead down to this dungeon of a depth of about 75 feet, of course the Axton with 18 CON fails his CON save and they are taking extra time to recover. No Wandering Monsters so all good, they leave Donkeys in the Treasure Room locked in with the loot they did not recover for the Merchants. Request pay from the merchants and are informed they'll get paid at the Inn, "Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk You did not specify we should pay you here, in the wilds ? Too risky so we will see you at the Silver Unicorn at Dusk and we will have your pay."

[I honestly do not know why I decided to make these four merchants patterned on the Moe, Shemp, Larry and Curly but I did and I refuse to do funny voices for them but Ill type them up more in line with how I remember their series, cartoon and films. The Dwarf Crew hates them already which is a bonus but now the Merchants now the way to the Ruins are fairly safe to travel if you have men-at-arms]

   The Group grumbles allot about this and Gad is particular contrary insisting they have until breakfast to collect their rewards at the Silver Unicorn Inn where they are all staying. Now at this point the party is set up for a pay out, the party is rejoined and everyone is breathing this is where I see this pattern I call " One Last Door ". They are in a net positive but looking for one more big score. This is always where stuff goes sideways. They decide to check out where this Big Og is at the end of the Great Hall ...

   They discover a mine where they hear picks hitting stone too late and since they using a lantern purloined from the Bandits they do not get a Surprise Roll. War Dogs come with a few draw backs as they do not see in the dark like the Dwarf Party is capable of plus they have been consistent in listening for noise but for some reason did not this time. Lots of goblins eyes and alrger goblin who is snapping a whip at the others. "Bandits break their word invade goblin territory nasty humans ... growl not bandits DWARF !" Large goblin starts rubbing his big ole belly which draws fire from Zebulon and Gad as the battle is joined. 

[ Now I allow players to conspire actions but if they are having differing views in battle plan then they are obviously shouting this to each other in combat. Unless your monster opponents are deaf or non verbal then they hear you, they can literally hear you .... ]

   They engage and Axton begins cleaving goblins efficiently before the party decides to withdraw to a chokepoint. Then the dice get funky as they have with this party since day one. The Large Goblin falls back as it was not felled with two arrow hits to get Big Og and the 8 that rush have not much luck but Zeb decided to fire into melee, Gad opts not too but it was his idea to choke point up and now has 6 v 2 in front of them with another couple coming in a round or so. Their fall back is slow as they are Dwarf and have a base 60 move so everyone is 20 foot move in combat. [ 10 foot backwards ] They do not disengage much and I do try to keep combat flowing so not really doing the move, attack, yada yada literally but declare, act and I resolve as it all actually happens simultaneously in my view. It is cinematic sometimes & others meh, but overall I think it works well. Then, Gad decides to fire into melee as it s risky but Zeb with his 8 INT "I reckon I'll shoot one" 

[ Rolls Nat-1 & In my game if you miss by 4 reroll your attack on your ally so I determine if its Redrum or Axton, totally Axton and you guessed it Nat-20, Crit ! Your Welcome Bruh. y Crit Rules are simply Max Weapon Damage, henchmen, hirelings and animals cannot crit your average enemy minion cannot Crit either but mini-boss types or Big Bad Challenges such as the Bandit Leader Dramax previously or Big Og running towards the party right now get special maneuvers'. Anything from lifting your character up and throwing you to headbutts kicks to the groin disarming etc ] 

  There is an out-of-character apology in discord for the back shot, I stifle a chuckle. We go over this risk weekly for a few years now. I hear a long sigh and a groan, we go on. [ I do however mitigate this with magical weapon ammunition not having a negative effect when fired into melee (opposite for cursed ammunition as you roll on your party first then your target ! ) and if we are using specialization or FTR option bonus to ranged weapons I ignore it as you are bullseye good at that point. They ain't there yet ... ]

 They fire a round of arrows at Big Og as he emerges into the torchlight a goblin lands a blow on Axton who is convinced he is dead since he got hit by a Nat-2o, go over my Crit Rules then remind them that Big Og can do something Special on a Nat-20 I've only explained his appearance so they are unsure of what Og is honestly A nearly 8-foot tall grey-green skinned creature with greasy matted hair in a fur vest and Thundar the Barbarian inspired furry short who cracks his knuckles so loudly you can hear them pop from 40' away, dramatic build up... Big Og is knicked for minor damage and missed by another arrow as he closes to melee and they decide to rotate Axton out of melee and replace him with Zebulon after clearing a bunch of goblins out with his Mighty Cleaving attacks but I explain that if they lose initiative the enemy will still get an attack in before the rotation is done. 

               Simultaneous initiative 

   Now, when running a game you can opt to fudge or lay it all out on the table, I lay it all out on the table but I explain my rulings usually but I basically say he steps in to the rotation and gets an attack on both of you. HE hits for 4 on Axton dropping him to neg one & misses Zebulon.. its been a rough month for the player running Axton. Bad luck and Bad dice rolls.

Big Og brings a heavy blow don upon the helm of Axton and you all hear a slickening cracking sound as his neck snaps under the weight of the blow leaving a large dent in to the top of his helm as he falls to the ground motionless. 

  The next round the tide turns and the entire enemy front falls... battle over. They scamper towards where Big Og came from leaving the bodies lay and looted, they see the goblins were mining Azurerite from the cavern walls and gather those with picks left laying by the dead goblins then explore Big Ogs lair behind a good sized door. Some gold, a polished moonstone and potion vial under a large heap of furs for bedding nearby an iron pot has a pike of recently gnawed bones. They found their previous characters, gratz. Gathering up the bones and loot they return to the Mine Cavern and are greeted by the Wandering Monster Check that occurred while they were looting, a Gelatinous Cube scooping up the fallen goblins and Axton's corpse. There is discussion on attacking it to recover Axton's now dissolving body but they decided to run, flee from the slow moving horror which actually moves as  fast they do ...

They Flee to the Treasure Room, Gather the Donkeys & FLEE !

Dark Citadel has been unusually rough and the Dice Rolls have turned on this group of Four Players CONSISTENTLY WHEN IT HURTS THE MOST. 

  On returning to the Silver Unicorn Inn the party are hailed by the Four Merchants with Moe grunting and shoving 5  silver coins over to Harrold while he mutters "I told you would not be as lucky as all that as you see there are 3 returning not none at all, nyuk nyuk nyuk " A large pouch is shoved across the table towards you as you approach. "Congratulations and Deepest Condolences" Curly Joe asks " Condolo ..." before he is sharply elbowed by Shemp, "Yeah What he said "
  They offer you flatly a quick deal without you having to travel around Dragonspire looking for buyers for the other merchants goods you have returned to town with from the ruins. "Might look bad trying to sell items recently lost to bandits but we could make it a quick and reasonable offer for all those oddities you have there amongst your donkeys"

Stay Tuned for more Carnage, Rulings, Reasonings & General "They did what ?"

 

#OSR #VintageGaming