Stone-Hell on the Borderlands Session #17 (18 DEC 2023)

     We got off to a slightly later start but we are down to three players with one player running two Retainers so we take it slow. The Coddiwomple Company picked up where we left off last week resting in the former Mountain Lion Lair in Stone-Hell Valley. I made an early ruling in session about not being able to memorize spells multiple times within a 24-Hour period beyond your normal limit similar to Lamentations of the Flame Princess as this is in hopes we do not fall into the habit of a five room dungeon mentality where after a single sleep spell is cast they fall back to rest EXACTLY eight hours then return to adventuring. It's the kind of meta I call munchkinism. Several Wandering Monster Checks are made and the party from their vantage point is unable to see Bandits scouting the valley under moonlight but do see a group of Stirge descend upon and injure the donkeys of Snorri's Dwarf Cohort as well as their single donkey left in their care injured by the vampiric beasties. The next morning they opt to return to Kendall Keep and resupply.

   Making good time making their way towards the Keep and rest an evening in the Ruined Tower overlooking the southern swamp discovering it has been destroyed and the old bandit furniture destroyed. NO one looks for tracks and they retire tot he upper part of the ruin after Alberich climbs up and tosses down a rope, there is no campfire. Midday the next day where the swamp is closest to the road they spy upon several Lizardmen in the Swamp watching them travel so they bare arms and keep eye on them only to see them submerge totally and swim away back in tot he swamp. Another uncertain roll and when they prepare for possible combat the next cascading roll determines they Leave. This is a consistent set of rolls on the Monster Reaction Chart for these adventurers.

   Rufus greets them at the Kendall Keep Gatehouse and charges them the 5 copper piece road tax to enter the Outer Bailey. There is minor banter and teasing between the Coddiwomplers with Burrl & Churrl joining in from the upper works of the Gate House. At least until Alberich mentions the Lizardmen near the road and all gets quiet and serious from the Men-at-Arms. Rufus makes direct inquires about where and how many Lizardmen were sighted as the men of the Keep believed the Lizardmen of the Southern Swamp had been eliminated by the actions of the previous Castellan. Making sure the party had not seen Bullywug or Frogling instead they seek to have clarification but then look grimly amongst each other. The party heads to the Tavern.

    Benn receives a cool reception and icy stares from Sara the Serving Wench and is ignored by Cinnamon. Evidently the cousins have spoken of their interactions with him and are not pleased. A small group of mercenary types are seen at a table nearby from a passing merchant caravan as well as a gruff Dwarf Cleric by the name of Ulfrick Steel Bowels. Some There is some back and forth with the serving wenches until they decide to leave Benn's magical flaming blade with Cinnamon and if they do not return it can become an ornament for Ye' Olde Tavern. Several of the available Henchfolk or Retainers that were in the Keep have since moved on to other employers or sought other opportunities elsewhere.

   There are no encounters on the way back to Stone-Hell Valley while enjoying the marching songs of Stonus. The 1.5 multiplier has been quite beneficial for the party who cannot really use horse as they are mainly Dwarf and the loss of the horse to kobold thieves in a previous session have not been replaced. They make quite a bit of noise while travelling but encounter nothing. They return to the depths of Stone-Hell and travel directly towards where they believe Kobold Korners is located until they encounter Kobolds at the guard post from before and it looks like it is going to be another brandy brook until they shout out "We are here to shop !" to which weapons are lowered and they point towards the other room where they encounter another group of 10 coming from a lower level. They immediately freeze in place and timidly wave at the Coddiwomplers. The party heads north and explores down the well worn passage. 

   They find a door that stinks and another passage that ends in a pair of doors, they continue forward and spy upon a door ahead as well as another side passage with the emblem of a large Beetle painted upon it. Opening the Beetle door reveals a chamber packed with stalls and large broad five foot long beetles in corrals tended by a half dozen Kobolds. They immediately leave and follow he group of 10 kobolds who just passed them in the hall and enter a check point to enter Kobold Korners proper. A set of rusty bars creates a caged off area holding repurposed old cabinets and wardrobes to hold forfeited  weapons and shields. They do not search the PCs for concealed weapons.

   Upon discovering the Market the party visits each stall individually and inspects their wares. They note there are about 30 to 40 Kobolds, 4 Bugbear Muscle , 6 Goblins and a roughly 4 Orc shopping in the stalls. There are a variety of low quality wares and services available. The Coddiwomplers spend 30 to 40 minutes in this chamber eventually heading eastward they find the "Tavern" which serves cheap black bear of questionable origins. The Inn was packed with a variety of humanoids resting at a simple fee of 1 Copper per night to get a filthy blanket and a pile of straw. The various humanoids included a large ogre and large hare-like creatures. They opt to find the "Rat-Ke-Bob cafe" & feast upon Rat-ke-Bobs and try to find information. The Kobolds are not forthcoming with information so the PCs eat and return to the halls but find it is closed to non kobolds and are blocked by a large Bugbear, they decide to explore back south towards the stirs to the lower levels.

   They find the Kobold Slavers they learned about from the Bugbears who prevented them exploring the Kobold Only sections of Kobold Korners. There is some back and forth on how much for humans whom they are informed only go for auction in a few days so they can opt to purchase bad kobolds for 50 Copper each. They leave and go through the stinky door discovering an old shrine with sacrifice pit serving as a midden heap for the Kobold populace. They return and purchase a goblin for 3 Silver then leave Kobold Korners after questioning Kwillix the Short Lived if he knew where the Goblin Tribe was and then return to the surface.

   Approaching the top of the stairs to exit Hell's Antechamber they see light above and the surface world but quickly realize that light is not at the top of the stairs, its torches and bandits loom ahead of them at the turn of the stairs. This is where we leave the session this week with a battle looming at the beginning of the next. 

Game Well, Game Often 

   This session was pretty much allot of talking to NPCs. Exploring the Kobold Korners which changed their plan of killing all the Kobolds and using them as a resource. This could honestly bite them in the ass eventually as the Kobold are devious spiteful creatures who know they are on the bottom of the food chain in  Stone-Hell. Maybe they'll be inspired by these intrepid Coddiwomplers, maybe the Coddiwomplers become corrupted by Stone-Hell ? We will find out soon ...

#OSR #OSE #VintageGaming