Highfell Journals Session #9 (18 November 2024)

    Back to Back recaps, well yeah sorta. I forgot to write my last one in a timely manner so it is what it is. We added a ne player for this session and at the beginning of the session was best to add him in so in the few days the PCs were planning on taking to rest and recuperate before returning to the Sacern Caverns I had a travelling merchant wagon train stop and prepare to camp in the glade. I rolled reaction rolls for the NPCs and got a 4, which is "Possible Attack". Now this is a special way to start the session so I have a group of Men-at-Arms approach the party, I roll quickly for number of wagons and get a 4 so a fairly large group and then figure d6 per wagon totaling, 20 Men-at-Arms. I am immediately thinking of those Patrol Numbers from World of Greyhawk. Those Patrols got LARGE ! The Caravan guards approach with weapons and out and issue challenge to the nature of the armed group in the glade. They are greeted with welcoming waves and offers of food. Since I use a cascading Monster/NPC Reaction Chart I roll again and get 8 which is, "Leave". The merchants are hesitant to share a camp with armed strangers so depart for another campsite or push on to Woodvale, probably with a double watch. A gnome adventure however waddles over an takes up the adventurers on their offer and joins them for breakfast and is left behind by the merchant caravan. Buzz Mungus Gnomish Illusionist joins the adventuring party.

    A total of three days are spent at camp in the glade, I assign a simple percentile chance for encounters and the yare discovered by a group of 3 Orc on Day two. I roll again f or Monster/NPC Reaction and the Orcs think better of engaging such a large force, nor do they desert their tribe. This is where you have to use common sense and not just random die rolls, how does this fit into the current situation. I do allow Listen at Door & Hear Noise to be used as a Passive Detection and allow someone to drop a d6 for the Men-at-Arms who are actively on Guard. No one notices nuffin, the Orcs meld into the woods and return to gather up their tribe and flee the large encampment parked near their hidden lair. The PCs are unaware of all of this.

    Returning to the entrance to the Sacern Caverns they find the normally concealed entrance torn open, the short bows they left by the entrance mostly missing. A single bow remains. Many tracks, booted, barefoot and smaller ones are about the entrance as well as wolf prints. They light up torches for two PCs and enter the caves again retracing their steps with a donkey in tow this time. The go to the Eastern Guard Room and research it, it was recently ransacked by them of course and they find nothing of value. Exploring Westward they explore caverns they avoided last time and discover a walf pen full of gnawed bones and wolf droppings, another side passage revealed to be a sort of Armory of captured weapons, Buzz channels his Hypnotism spell into a Detect Magic and they discover now magical arms mixed in with the regular ones. It is a trove of Spears, Pole Arms, Short Bow and Arrows with a good amount of Short Sword and Dagger as well. It is left after a quick debate on whether to load it all up on the Donkey but they figure it is safe where it is.

    After reexamining the other Guard Room they return to the Common area where they fought the large hose of Orcs first the rooms reek of rot form the slain and rotting prepared food. The dead end passage in the hall is checked for Secret Doors, the PCs are taking their time this go around as opposed to the frenetic chase of last session. They discover no Secret Doors in the hall but the dead end may have been used as urinal for wandering Orcs. No one pays much mind to the rotting corpses littering the place. A short passage eastward reveals an open door, Wolf-Crest approaches and searches in front of the door and this side for possible traps before poking his head around and peering into a larger chambers with rough hewn tables, tapestries in various states of repair about the chamber. Directly across the open door is a padlocked stout wooden door, recently marred by axe marks. Wolf-Crest steps back and allows Bristerhahn to push into the chamber, HE announces his entrance and readies his Two-Handed sword of combat but none answer his challenge.

    The Pcs enter the chamber and filter about searching under tables and inspecting the tapestries while Wolf-Crest checks the padlocked door for traps and attempts to pick it but is handed a set of Keys looted from Ngarsh the Orc Chieftain. HE unlocks the padlock, I roll a 3 in 6 chance for the over looked poison needle trap and then call for a Saving Throw Versus Death. It is failed so I call for a d3 drop by the PC which is a 1 and describe the burning sensation going from finger up his arm as he begins to sweat profusely. There are various attempts at tourniquets and sucking the poison out so I allow a second Saving Throw versus Death but at -3 since the attempts and an natural 1 is rolled. Wolf-Crest passes from the mortal coil due to a poison. There is discussion on what to do with the body and other items but he is laid across the back of the donkey along with tapestries taken down from the walls that looked of value, as well as a Manticore's Mounted Head added to the back of the Donkey. The enter the chamber and discover a set of three chests, two regular and one small. Rork takes Ngarsh Keys from the hands of Wolf-Crest and opens one immediately being struck by a pair of spring loaded daggers nearly killing him as well ! It is filled allot of copper coins, the next chest is hastily opened after he receives a Cure Light Wounds from Hjort the Dwarf Cleric. It is filled with Silver coins, a good score. The last remaining chest is small and one of the keys fits it as well, it opened hastily as well and a poison needle is discovered as well. A Saving Throw v Poison is called for and it is passed handily. This smaller chest is filled with potion vials and gems. Roughly 15 Gems....

    The party decides to leave all of the treasure, tapestries and the body of their fallen comrade in here locked as they explore the rest of this set of caverns. The main entry is also Barred from this side as well. The next chambers is a large sleeping area for 40 + Orcs. IT is casually searched and another passage much more narrow is found. It leads to an Orcish Larder. Hanging in there are a pair of Elf as well as a Halfling amongst various animals such as Sheep and Boar. This room is casually searched as well. Oddly, the demi-human bodies are left hanging on hooks.

    Unbarring the door, they adventure deeper in tot he complex but encounter a lone Barbarian Female named Scylenta the Serpent exploring the Sacern Caverns. I know, I know it is a cheesy way to introduce a PC but its keeping everything flowing which is of high importance. A make a quick back story that this adventurers party's has been slaughtered by Blackteeth Gnoll. Exploring for a place to hunker down the party welcomes the PC into their midst. Exploring deeper they find a Orcish Supply Chamber. The mundane equipment resupplies their regular rations, there is trade items galore and since they cannot take the Donkey up the ladder nearby they leave it here to grace on dried figs. 

    Eventually making their way back to the large cavern with the massive brass idol they are greeted with a display of smoke and fire coming from tis large mouth and nostrils. "Who disturbs the Great ME ! Who brings me offerings of Food !" the PCs engage in some dialogue as I struggle to remember what was said last time before a bad Reaction Roll lead to a cessation of communication. The PCs speak to it and it Asks "What has happened to the Orcs ? They have displeased me and should DiE ! To which the PCs are cryptic and say there are still Orcs about for some reason. They then hatch a plan to lay in wait in total darkness which they do after saying they are leaving offerings of Gold and Food at he foot of the statue, they wait for about 4 turns and eventually a lone figure after hanging a lantern off of a tooth of the statue descend by rope to gather up supplies and pocket some coins. He is tackled by the Dwarf Hjort, then Bristerhahn & Scylenta seizes a Wand from his hand as he is trounced with non lethal damage then bound in manacles by Rork the Brawler. This is the highest attack rolls we have had as a group since we started playing Dragonslayer so it is overwhelming force that dominates the fledgling Magic-User. Upon interrogation he says he was transported inside the Idol of The Orcs by a Cursed Scroll. HE used his Phantasmal Force spell and Ventriloquism, in tandem with the Idol's natural sound amplifying acoustics to charge the Hidden Dagger Orc tribe to raid for food hoping to get them killed and to free himself. They however were too successful and were sneaky, evidently they were afraid of being discovered by the Blackteeth Gnoll and would frame the raids of farmers and small single wagon merchants never attacking unless they had overwhelming odds in their favor, this has gone on for 6 months and he is quite anxious, haggard looking and disheveled. 

    They disarm and bind him with Scylenta climbing up into the mouth of the Brass idol, Alaric had attempted but feel earlier and being bruised and injured decides not to try it again. I believe I should have given a Save versus ? to avoid damage form falling since he is a Monk. I make a note about it and will do so in the future as I remember AD&D monks could literally fall x amount of feet and take no damage why not at least give Dragonslayer Monks a Saving Throw. Rulings to be made and House Rules to be inserted as I believe I am familiar with Dragonslayer RPG enough to put in my favorite House Rules. Or maybe I just do things the way I prefer anyway. Modifying the Heroic Send Off Rules shortly as well and we had a vote over Fumbles which the PCs really want to keep, odd imo but whatever. The PCs load up certain items and all of hte loot they can put on the Donkey and return to camp, spend a day at the glade then return to Woodvale where they are greeted by Men-at-Arms as they are bring a haggard looking individual in chains basically into the palisaded community. I am going to try and do that as a forum thread but maybe it would be best to do at the start of the next session, I am also going to go over some rulings in the Dragonslayer RPG Channel I set up on my Gatekept+ Discord or maybe make a short Youtube Video, 

    I am assigning XP to sheets and no Bonus XP this session but there is a strong possibility of Bonus XP between sessions, really depends on what the PCs do honestly. Maybe minor Quest XP. This flowed well bt I do feel a few players were drowned out or the larger group means I need to slows down and round robin for actions in rooms rather than just asking for actions. Possibly going down the Marching Order as Dragonslayer RPG states actions should be asked for rather than across the top of my Roll20 where I see the names. I normally run 4 man parties and now we have 7.

    I am blessed

    Game Well,

        Game Often Y'all