In which the party strikes it rich.
A few days in town
I decided to start tracking a calendar here and found Sam Seer’s OSR Calendar. The module says that adventurers flock to Eveningstar every summer, and for simplicity’s sake I decided that our party are early birds: Delve 1 took place on the first day of the season. Working backwards, the party stays in town from June 8–11.
Having made no money for two delves in a row, the party pools their resources (11 gold, 11 silver, and 4 copper) before deciding what to do. Sassaran camps by herself in her grove on the High Road, drinking her bottle of elvish wine and playing the flute. Tansybell continues to work in the kitchens for her summer, sleeping by the oven. The menfolk double up at the Golden Unicorn, sleeping badly but saving money.
During their stay in town, Eldred restocks on lamp oil (more expensive than their rooms at the inn!) and makes friends with one of the proprietor Arbold Tethyr’s “three fat daughters,” who apparently manage the shop. Gimwort is able to sell the lock lurker’s venom sacs to the local healer Mother Tethos for a few coins (the diluted venom is a valuable anaesthetic), but most of the money is then lost when Old Dolf insists on “treating” the party to celebratory ales with his “kobold money” – his 4 silver pieces fall far short of the necessary 30 sp, and the others are forced to cover the tab, which may have been his plan all along.
The party needs to make some real money on this next delve, so on the morning of June 12th they head out to Starwater Gorge and The Haunted Halls. Their mission: to brave the magic doors!
OUR HEROES
Trigg Sunbold, Fighter 1
Gimwort of Greydelve, Dwarf 1
Sassaran, Elf 1
Eldred the Enchanter, Illusionist 1
Tansybell of Merry Meadow, Halfling 1
Old Dolf, Thief 1
THE LOG
 |
| The party's route |
TURN 1 – A8: Welcoming Trap. “A pair of closed bronze double doors, flanked by two bronze statues. The statues stand on stone pedestals and represent humans in archaic, fluted plate armor… Both are posed with one hand on sword-hilt and the other outstretched to indicate the doors between them. There is a faint metallic smell in the room, and the doors and statues radiate strong magic.”
TURN 2 – A8
Dolf and Gimwort examine the doors again, but don’t uncover anything new (per the OSE rules, having previously failed their rolls back in Delve 1 they’re unable to succeed on further attempts until they level up). Sassaran does not detect the secret door to A9.
TURN 3 – A8
The party debates whether to let Trigg attempt the doors as he volunteered to do, or to make Old Dolf do it. They ultimately support Trigg’s decision (though Gimwort grumbles about the old thief not earning his pay) and stand well back. As Trigg steps between the statues, bolts of lightning flash from their outstretched hands. Fortunately he’s able to duck, and nobody else is struck by ricocheting lightning. He’s able to pull the doors open while the statues recharge, blocking the path of further bolts. The rest of the party hurries after him.
TURN 4 – A32: Cellar. “A pair of waist-high, arched doors are placed in the passage wall here. They swing outward to reveal a low, arch-ceilinged stone cellar”
Trigg leads the party left at the fork and the party discovers a set of strange, tiny doors. Lantern light reveals scattered bones and… could it be! A chest. Dolf immediately crawls in to examine it. Gimwort and Tansy go in to back him up, while the taller members of the party stand guard in the corridor.
 |
| Well, well, well... |
TURN 5 – A32
Just as it seems like our heroes might finally make some money, a wandering monster roll reveals that another party of adventurers is coming down the hallway. Fortunately, the other party seems relieved to find friendly faces in the Halls. Evidently they’ve come in search of treasure but have had little luck so far. Introductions are made all around. The NPCs are:
Ivy Almyr (F1), a shieldmaiden of the woodmen. She is lightly armored and fights with a hand-axe and a dagger in her off hand.
Root the Wanderer (D2), an old druid who looks more like a tramp than any sort of priest.
Taravol (E1), a slim, aristocratic elvish archer. Unlike Sassaran, he speaks the Common Tongue.
Berrybert of Molehill (H2), a burly, black-haired halfling with a large mace and a bad attitude.
Dagger (T1), a runaway servant girl using secondhand gear and a false name.
Ivy is a little skeptical of Trigg’s proposal that they team up, but she’s willing to put it to the test. The two thieves and the two halflings re-enter the cellar to examine the chest. Everyone else remains in the hall to guard against any double-crosses.
TURN 6 – A32
The chest is trapped with a potent sleeping gas, but neither thief notices the trap. Old Dolf happily pops the lock open and a cloud of sleeping gas fills the room. The gas “spreads rapidly,” so everyone in the hall has to save as well, although I gave them a bonus. It didn’t help much.
 |
| A potent treasure-chest additive known only as "The Gas" |
TURN 7 – A32
The three can’t carry everyone to safety, so they drag their sleeping comrades into the cellar and shut the doors.
TURN 8 – A32
There is a tense moment while they listen to the sound of some giant rats scurrying in the corridor outside.
TURN 9 – A32
They wait. Ivy’s party’s torches burn out.
TURN 10 – A32
Sassaran opens a stone trapdoor in the ceiling that she’s noticed. “It swings down to reveal a shaft leading up into darkness. The end of a rope hangs in the shaft.” Everyone exchanges glances and then they shut it again.
TURN 11 – A32
“Well, I suppose we’d better see what was in that chest,” says Eldred. This turns out to be four gold rings set with emeralds and two small bags of coins. The two groups split the treasure, exchanging handshakes.
TURN 12 – A32
The sleeping characters finally rouse. Ivy tells them all about the treasure.
TURN 13–14
The two parties head for the surface together and return to town as friends.
THE TALLY
Delve Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes (half spent asleep)
Enemies Slain
None
Treasure Found
2 emerald rings: 8,000 xp
225 gold coins: 225 xp
Total: 1,371 xp per character
Old Dolf advances to level 2!
He gains 1 Hit Point and a +1 bonus to attack rolls, which cancels out his natural inadequacy.
Dagger the NPC Thief also advances to level 2
No comments:
Post a Comment