Haunted Halls Delve 7 - Ogre Battle 64

Gimwort, Tansy, and Dolf set out early on the morning of the 26th, guided by the dwarf Flarkin, an NPC from one of the other adventuring parties. Their goal is to make a lightning raid on the empty ogre cave, lift the treasure, and be gone before any goblins notice they’re there (or their respective party leaders notice that they’re missing).

The characters have heard that Berrybert of Molehill and his two new party members killed the ogre on a recent adventure in the goblin caves, but were forced to retreat before they were able to raid its lair. Nobody likes Berrybert very much (he stole Dolf’s prized golden bowl), so they’re eager for a chance to steal a march on him and get some free treasure.

Before playing this out I rolled a series of questions using my basic oracle die: high for yes, low for no. Has anything moved into the ogre lair? Was it the goblins? Did they remove the treasure? Have they set any guards? Have they laid any traps?

The answer to all of those questions was “yes”.

In hindsight this all made sense: the goblins worked with the ogre, they knew that the ogre had been killed, they knew that the ogre has treasure (they paid him in bribes to fight for them), and they knew that there was a secret door connecting his cave to theirs. After generating these results I spent a few minutes looking over the map of the caves, tallying the goblins that had been killed on previous expeditions here, and deciding what kind of plan the goblins could’ve thrown together in a day or two.

THE LOG

TURN 1. The robbers approach the cave. Dolf lights his lantern and examines the cave entrance. All quiet, seems empty.

TURN 2. Flarkin enters the cave, setting off a disguised tripwire hung with bells that Dolf failed to spot. The secret door at the back of the cave swings open and two goblins with crossbows shoot at the intruders! One goes wide, and the other thuds into Gimwort’s shield.

TURN 3 – Combat.

Round 1 – There’s a cry of “BREE-Yark!” and a hail of thrown spears as goblins pour into the cave. Gimwort and Flarkin are wounded. Under-manned, out-numbered, and unprepared for the fury of the goblins’ defense, our heroes turn to run.

Goblin reinforcements will arrive soon.

Round 2 – The goblins send more spears and crossbow bolts after the retreating characters. Flarkin is wounded again, and the fleeing Dolf is struck twice in the back but staggers on, grateful for his heavy pack (and for the big HP bonus he got for hitting level 3 last session).

Round 3 – The PCs escape and return to Eveningstar with the goblins’ hoots and jeers ringing in their ears.

Downtime 7

June 27-28

Trigg and Ivy are furious with their respective party members for risking their lives and jeopardizing the tenuous alliance with Berrybert and his party. This misadventure will cost them days that they can ill afford.

The PCs purchase flasks of holy water, a suit of halfling-sized mail for Tansybell, and an old pole-axe for Gimwort (I rolled separately to see if Eveningstar had armor in halfling and dwarf sizes available; Gimwort still can’t find mail to fit him). Ivy outfits her party with helmets, mail, and weapons for the two former caravan guards that she rescued from the goblins on her last adventure. Alho Rengate selects a sensible spear and shield, while Welleran of the North chooses a greatsword.

Tomorrow: the attack on the Temple of Evil Chaos.