My players and I have started a new campaign recently and the next day after each gaming session (we play once every two weeks) I have given them a recap of what happened. This often leads to some funny moments being recalled and what not. At the urging of my players, I am posting this up for others to enjoy. If you guys don’t like it, that’s fine, I will stop posting them.
I’ll give you a bit of information about the group and the game. We are starting in a city of my making (in all reality, it’s just a general city, I didn’t map it out or anything). I will be running my players through a series of modules (both 3.5 and pathfinder ones) with downtime in between modules. The first one is the 3.5 adventure, Forge of Fury.
I am running this as a low magic campaign. Single use magic items are available to purchase, but past that, it will be difficult to find magic items. Not realizing it, I made up a whole set of rules for crafting magical armor and weapons that is surprisingly close to 4.0 *hiss boo* rules. There are also lots of non-steel materials available for purchase in this game (once they get the money of course). Contact me if you want more details on these.
Starting at 3rd level, the players are:
Phillipa Gaston: Female Gnome Cavalier (Order of the Dragon) riding a wolf
Shiobhan: Half Orc Barbarian, using intimidate and specializing in kicking ass
Elias: Human Oracle (Haunted Mystery, Flame Revelation), wields a reach weapon
Lukas: Elven Rogue, typical rogue
Dinas: Human Alchemist, specializing in bombs, bit of a pyromaniac
Gattius: Human Inquisitor, ranged attacker, bounty hunter, small spell support
Desmond Miles: Human Ninja (from playtest of ultimate combat), specializing in stealth – he doesn’t want people to know he is a ninja, so he goes by “scout”
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You are in a moderately sized town (how you got there was up to you), called Sheldonopollis (if you get the reference, go ahead laugh, else just shrug it up to one of the DM’s oddities). Any normal gear is available; there are blacksmiths, marketplaces, and even a small seedy underworld/rogue guild. It is not an overly religious place, but there are some temples to various gods. While it is a monarchy, the king isn't the absolute law. He has a council of advisers that, if they must, can override the king (although it hasn't happened in this king's lifetime). He is generally well liked, so there is no political unrest.
Each of you, in your own way, heard that Baron Althon, a local businessman (and purveyor of artwork) had spread word that he was looking for some people for a couple of connected jobs. A bit of information gathering noted that he is a man of his word, even if he is a ruthless in business (he may undercut someone else, put pressure on suppliers of an opponent, or any of a bunch of different sneaky things...but once he has agreed on a price or project, he is a man of his word). He is fairly successful, and has purchased his barony after some very lucrative deals went even better than planned. The Baron lives in a semi wealthy neighborhood, but not the "old money" section.
After arriving at his home, each of you were escorted into a waiting room, and after a few moments the Baron entered. He explained that he was able to obtain the mining rights to an old mine in the Stone Tooth Mountains. He believes, this might be the mine and forge of Durgeddin the Black, an extremely famous dwarven blacksmith who's forget was overrun by orcs a few centuries ago. He even shows you a broken sword (could have been a long sword or a bastard sword) of an odd metal....with a secret sliding portion of the hilt that revealed a sigil in the blade of Durgeddin the Black.
The Baron offered you 1000 gold total, 1/2 of the loose raw non-steel metal materials, 1/2 of the worked non-steel metal objects, and the use of a very rare and valuable Bag of Holding to help carry some of the loot...err buried treasure (the bag is to be returned though) to find the small group of people he sent to the mine months ago. They were there to check out the place and take inventory. After some negotiations by the oracle (diplomacy), the Baron was convinced to raise his price to 1400 gold (200 gp each).
The trip took about 5 days walking to get to the foothills of Stone Tooth. You passed a few small towns along the way and it was an uneventful trip (no random encounters) that seemed to go by in the matter of a couple of minutes (because it did in real life :-D ). When you got closer to Stone Tooth, the group noticed a small path that seemed to run back and forth across the face of the small mountain and a thin spire of smoke rising from somewhere in the distance.
(Here is a link to the first map I found online: http://dnd.sendric.com/adventures/core/htm/images-fof/image02.jpg)
Ignoring the smoke, the group decided to just follow the path and see where it leads. It wound back and forth up the mountain, with the occasional humanoid track discovered (booted). Eventually the scout saw what looked like a precarious situation ahead....a cliff on the left, a sheer wall on the right, a 10' wide path that went about 100 feet to an opening with 2 people (guards it was assumed) on the opening....although not paying much attention.
(Here is a map of where things REALLY start: http://dnd.sendric.com/adventures/core/htm/images-fof/image16.jpg, start at the X, first encounter is the 1)
This was the first time for the group to show how it could work together. Everyone waited for the mounted gnome to charge ahead, which she fearlessly did, skewering the orc on the right (since the party had a 1/2 orc traveling with them, it wasn't hard to figure out these were full blooded orcs...well soon to be bloodless). The bounty hunter then fired his arrow into the second orc, but was unable to kill him with a well-placed shot to the stomach. The 1/2 orc of the party rushed forward and finished off the other guard before he could raise a warning signal. The rest of the party ran up and covered the path that doubled back and up to make sure no reinforcements were on their way. Thankfully, there were none due to the quick killing of the guards.
The scout decided that the steps doubling back up the mountain would be a great place for a few traps, and decided to search them vigorously. (Un)Fortunately, none were found as he proceeded to climb two sets of steps to an open area with a couple more steps and 2 doors slightly ajar. As he rounded the bend, he noticed two arrow slits at the top of the stairs; about 10 feet back from the doors. Thinking they were a trap, the scout hugged the close left wall and began searching for a trap on the stairs. Unfortunately, it wasn't a trap, the arrow slits were manned by orcs. The one on the far right wall could see him and fired...right into his shoulder! An alarm was raised at this point (Intruders!!) and the fighting really got started. (We are at 2 on the map now)
Rushing through the doors, the wolf mounted gnome, the barbarian and the scout (stealthed) found a very interesting defense mechanism (3 on the map)....a large chasm with a rickety rope bridge...and a couple of orcs with bows on the other side! Meanwhile, the rogue tried to sneak around the outside outer wall and took an arrow for his troubles, the oracle breathed fire (!) into one of the arrow slits (close left side), and the alchemist threw one of his patented bombs at the other arrow slit hitting the side of the wall but splashing fire into the hole none-the-less.
When the gnome and her wolf entered the room, they couldn't see the scout as he used the shadows to hide himself...and she almost knocked herself, the wolf, and the poor scout into the chasm! Thankfully, they were able to keep their balance and not fall to their _certain_ death. Meanwhile, the barbarian, as he stepped onto the rope bridge, got hit with a couple of arrows in the chest....this pissed him off quite a bit (he raged) and he rushed the orcs on the other side. Unfortunately, the rickety bridge took a bit more concentration than he would have liked, and while he made it safely, he was unable to do anything else other than confront one of his foes. (You can only cross the bridge if you make an Acrobatics check, and even then, it takes a full round action to move just your normal speed across it).
The scout contemplated for a while about going across the bridge, but decided not to as he was sure that stupid wolf rider would not see him and knock him to his death. The bounty hunter rushed the door and entered the room, but his limited human vision prevented him from seeing his foes on the other side of the chasm as only this side was lit up. The second orc on the other side, dropped his bow, pulled a rusty battle axe, and attempted to chop part of the rope bridge apart to prevent the party from gaining his side of the chasm. Meanwhile, the gnome wolf rider dropped her lance on the ground, pulled her scimitar, and rushed across the bridge making it with no problems despite the rope being damaged.
As the rest of the party entered the now crowded room (through the outer doors), the orc confronted by his 1/2 blooded traitor dropped his bow, pulled a battleaxe, and attempted to strike the Benedict Arnold to his race! Sadly, he missed and the 1/2 orc smashed him thoroughly in the head bashing his brain in. The scout decided that since the crazy wolf woman is already across the bridge, that he can rush across now and help....but he didn't make it all the way there, stuck with a few feet to go. Meanwhile, the bounty hunter realized he couldn't see very well, and cast light on part of the bridge, adding some light to the room and making it so those on the close side of the chasm can see their enemies on the far side. The oracle and the elven rogue decided to take flanking positions on their side of the room, while the mad alchemist heard something from the possibly behind the wall to his right! (from the secret upper secret door)
Not caring that he had foes on his side of the bridge, the remaining orc attempted to chop part of the bridge away, hoping that he could dispatch the foes (the cavalier and barbarian) on this side on his own. Sadly, while he hit the rope a good solid shot, it wasn't enough to fully cut the rope (it has _1_ hit point left)....thankful cheers came from the scout because he was still on it! The gnome wolf cavalier thrust her scimitar into the remaining orc, dispatching him quickly so the scout could girlishly gain the solid ground without interruption. Meanwhile, back on the other side, the oracle cast a spell of mending on the rope, "healing" the bridge some. The rogue began searching the wall on the right/bottom side and found a secret entrance...Assuming there might be another on his side, the alchemist watched closely to see if anything would appear. The bounty hunter, meanwhile, rushed across the bridge and made it to safe ground quickly.
While the scout and barbarian inspected the doors on the far side, a secret door opened near the alchemist (top/left for the players). Thankfully, the oracle was in place, ready to stab anything that came through...unfortunately though, his bloody spear got stuck on the door opening towards him and he missed badly (fumbled the attack roll). The alchemist decided that this was the time to show the true power of chemicals, and throw one of his bombs at the new foe....sadly he also missed badly (fumbled) and it hit the wall beside the orc...splashing the orc, the Oracle and himself with alchemist fire! The good side? It was enough fire to kill the orc.
After a few moments, the scout opened the far door and proceeded forward to find a worked passage way that opened up into a large natural cavern with 4 exists (area 5 on the map)...one glowing a slight red and another barred by a weird door/bars (don't ask, the description was screwed up). The barbarian followed the scout, as one by one the rest of the party crossed the bridge and entered the cavern...despite leaving a secret door open behind them!
The scout searched the stuff on the ground in the cavern, but found little of value (a water skin). After a few moments of discussion, some voices were heard by our bounty hunter from behind the bars (area 6), and it was discovered that these were two of the people the Baron sent to inventory what they could find in this old mine. The rogue picked the lock and freed the captives while they told their story to the party. Meanwhile, the scout peeked down the other 3 passage ways but didn't find quickly see anything of note.
The two former prisoners refused the join the party and asked for an escort back home. The party regretfully said they couldn't take them all the way home at this point, but would gladly escort them out of the mountain fortress so they could walk back to the local town. The prisoners agreed to this, and the oracle, inquisitor, and rogue walked them out. The barbarian, confused by their behavior, only waited so long for the wayward party members and went to investigate the room that is glowing red some (area 7).
On their way back, the group who lead the former prisoners away, decided to check out the open secret passage on the first side of the chasm, to see what was up there....while the rogue decided to enter the secret passage that never opened, and explore up there (bottom, 4A). He found only a dead orc, burned in the face from alchemy bomb splash. The oracle and inquisitor meanwhile found a room (area 4) that had 3 dead orc guards, the arrow slit to the outside, and a passage way in the far right corner. They followed it to a dead end. Searched the dead end, and found _another_ secret door. This time, they decided it would be prudent to wait and not open the door.
Meanwhile, back in the natural cavern, the rest of the party (alchemist, cavalier, scout/ninja, and barbarian) checked out the room with red light coming from it (area 7). They found it was a simple cooking room (kitchen) with a fire going. There was a hole in the ceiling for smoke to leave, and the alchemist rightfully deduced (with his godlike intelligence) that this was the smoke they saw from the base of Stone Tooth.
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That is where we ended the first gaming session. But, I have the second one, so, we continue!
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(map link again: http://dnd.sendric.com/adventures/core/htm/images-fof/image16.jpg)
After escorting the former prisoners out and exploring some secret passages, the group is full again and ready to continue their exploration of Silver Tooth mountain. With two unexplored passages (North and Northeast), the sneaky scout melds with the shadows and proceeds down the Northeast passage. That opened up to Y, and he chose the larger, northern passage. Advancing slowly, the scout comes upon a large room that is very dark…his human vision incapable of penetrating the obscurity ahead. He decides to back up a bit and wait for the party.
Spearheading the vanguard, the half-orc comes traipsing up to the Y, confused on which direction to take as the scout has given him no information. Suddenly, a few small rocks hit the barbarian’s feet and startle him into preparing to bash anything that appears. After a few moments, the scout whispers the half-orc’s name and, thankfully, the barbarian doesn’t flip out and just start attacking the darkness. The party then proceeds through the northern part of the Y into a large room.
The room itself (area 8 on the map) seems partially man made, with smooth walls on the south and east side. A northeastern passageway is blocked by random materials (in an obvious attempt to bar the corridor), while there is a large well near the smooth walls. The other direction, northwest, is a large opening that continues on a bit. The room itself is filled with mostly junk, some of which was used to block the Northeast passage.
The party decides to split up a bit, each obsessed with their own portion the room. The pyromantic alchemist becomes overly curious with the obstruction to the northeast, the elven rogue becomes engrossed with the well, and most others seem to think the northwestern passage must hold more exciting things.
The alchemist decides that he should pull some of the obstruction away, eventually pulling enough to see a bit behind the manmade obstacle. Meanwhile, the elf ties some garbage to a rope to determine how deep the well is (it’s only about 12 feet deep), and decides that he needs to jump in and explore the water...naked! A bit bored with things, our half-orc and oracle proceed down the large northwestern opening and find that one portion of it loops back around to a place they already were, and the other larger part opens up to a worked hallway. Intrigued by this, they begin to peer both ways, finding a door about 20 feet away to the right.
Meanwhile, the alchemist peers through the hole he made and while he can’t see much in the darkness, begins to hear a slight buzzing noise. This sort of freaks him out, and he backs up quickly, mumbling something about buzzing, pulls out one of his patented bombs, and throws it at the obstacle. Lighting it on fire!! The lone elf of the group, obsessed with the pool of water, is now naked swimming in the well. He feels around the bottom and finds a box, but isn’t strong enough to lift it (it must be stuck in the mud). The rogue then decides to tie a rope to it in the hopes of pulling it out…all the while still naked! Our bounty hunter notices the extreme amount of light coming from the Northeast corner of the room being on fire and decides that maybe he should watch that part for foes. (We are still in room 8 at this point)
In the intervening time, the barbarian and oracle call out to the main scout to look at this door they found up north (to room 11). The wolf rider decides that she wants to check this out as well and follows. Unnerved by the smoke that is starting to fill up the room, the alchemist decides that his chaos is accomplished and trots up the Northeastern passage to the rest of the group. The bounty hunter, seeing how much trouble our poor naked elf is having pulling a rope out of the water (?!), decides to help him and the box is recovered from the well. But instead of picking it up, the bounty hunter just drags it noisily up the passage following the alchemist, leaving the elf to get dressed and put his armor on by himself.
Confident that the door he examined isn’t trapped, the scout opens it only to discover 4 orcs sitting there working on their weapons (room 11). Alarmed at this intrusion, they jump up and take up a defensive formation. The half-orc, oracle, and wolf rider quickly dispatch these inferior foes though as they barely get a chance to react (it really wasn’t much of a combat).
The room is searched quickly, as the barbarian takes the alchemist aside to instruct him on the proper way to perform a raid…”Kill things first, then plunder, then rape, THEN burn things. No burn first, then plunder all gone.” The scout helpfully points out that you can rape before plundering though. After thinking on it a bit, the barbarian agrees that you could do either of those first, but the burning happens last. He’s confident in that part. “Old Joe kept screwing it up”, he said, “and he no longer in this world.”
The bit of treasure that was found (in and old cauldron) was quickly dumped into the magical bag (along with the booty found by the pirate…err rogue at the bottom of the well). Continuing his job, the scout melds with the shadows and proceeds down the western portion of the corridor (away from the room the group is finishing up on, towards 12, 13, and 14). After proceeding about 30 ft., he finds a door to his left (12) and a bend to his right a bit further up. Curious as to what is around the bend, the scout peeks around the corner and sees a shadowy figure about 30 ft away (it’s too dark for him to make out much, but 13 on the map). Scared, he back tracks and lets the group know what he discovered.
They all traipse forward and converge on the area of the door to the south and the hallway to the north. After peeking around the corner with a light this time, the group sees the shadowy figure was simply a statue at the end of the hall with a door on the left. The half-orc and bounty hunter decide to stand at their end of the hallway and cover the rogue as he walks up to the statue to check for traps. Unfortunately, in his zeal, the rogue didn’t check for traps on the FLOOR, as he steps on a pressure plate (shaded area). The statue opens its mouth and green gas billows forth covering the rogue, the barbarian, and the bounty hunter in the noxious fumes.
Reacting quickly, the rogue holds his breath and the bounty hunter covers his mouth. Sadly, half-orcs aren’t known for their intelligence as he took a big deep breath in surprise, sucking the poisonous vapors down into his lungs (failed his saving throw). The oracle casts a spell (guidance) to help the half-orc resist the lingering effects of the evil gas trap as the scout and the bounty hunter begin to check out the door to the south.
Our obsessive elven rogue sees that the armor on the statue isn’t a typical metal and decides that desecrating some old dwarven memorial is no big deal as he tries to take the armor off the statue. Meanwhile, the scout and the bounty hunter decide that they are going to check out the southern door (area 12), while the wolf rider wonders if this group has any discipline!
Sure that there aren’t any traps, the scout ducks down and attempts to open the door. He isn’t strong enough to budge it, but unfortunately for him the searching alerted the resident of the room….A huge ogre and his pet wolves! The ogre throws open the door and bellows out a challenge, while releasing his wolves to attack the poor scout.
Madness ensues at this point, as everyone decides that they are the one that needs to take the ogre down…well, everyone but the scout who is actually in the front! The wolves leap forward and bite at the scout, bloodying his dark clothing. The bounty hunter backs up and fires an arrow at the ogre, enraging the foe even further. Before the scout can retreat though, the alchemist decides that _now_ is the time to show the group the power of his mighty bombs. He throws one over the heads of the scout and the wolves, scoring a direct hit on the ogre! Flames burst all around, hitting the wolves as well as the poor scout (Explosive Bomb discovery, and he forgot to use his Precise Bomb discovery… the scout is not having a good day is he?). “Oops, my bad” the alchemist says as the half orc reminds the pyromaniac that it’s kill, plunder/rape, THEN burn!
Eventually, the scout is able to get out of the way and allow the wolf rider and half-orc to take the ogre down. Screaming loudly at the ogre, the barbarian is actually able to intimidate the larger foe as he strikes at one of the puppies. The wolf rider slips forward and attacks the ogre, missing with her scimitar, but her wolf scores a solid hit to the ogre’s leg. The oracle decides to cast a spell to further hamper the efforts of his opponents (Bane), and while it affects the wolves, Shrek is able to shrug off the effects.
Somehow, in all the ensuing chaos, the alchemist takes a hit from the ogre, dropping him to the ground. The bounty hunter and oracle proceed to argue over who can stabilize the guy, as the elven rogue finally gives up on the armor from the statue for a moment and pulls the bloody alchemist back away from combat. The oracle stabilizes the alchemist, while the elf proceeds to pour a potion down the alchemist’s throat healing some of the crazy man’s wounds. Then, figuring he can’t do too much to help combat, the rogue goes back to the armor on the statue (OCD anyone?).
As the battle is starting the wind down, the door up by the statue (that no one has paid much attention to, area 14) opens and 5 orcs come rushing out! Not even noticing the rogue near the statue, one runs right by him, going after the alchemist on the ground across from the door. The orc takes a small wound from the rogue, but that doesn’t stop him from skewering the alchemist (sending him back into negative hit points). Two others rush to the back of the party, trying to take on some of them, while another orc, who saw his friend stabbed as he ran by, steps forward and scores a mighty hit on the rogue.
The last orc in the room (with scale mail, a shield and hand axes) steps forward and throws an axe at the barbarian. Thankfully, the throw is poor and it bounces off the wall missing its target. The battle goes poorly for the new orcs as the barbarian hasn’t even stopped his wild and crazy combat tactics (raging). Most are taken down quickly, leaving only the orc who is battling with the rogue left standing. Seeing his comrade in arms dead, the orc decides to run back into the room he came from. The bloodthirsty rogue though, chases him down and skewers the poor orc in the back.
Much looting ensures at this point, netting lots of gold and silver, and even some magical vials. A very powerful vial of magical enhancement is discovered, but the alchemist learns that more of the liquid is needed to truly make a weapon or armor magical. The party decides that at this point, some healing and resting is needed. They store up in the ogres room (12 on the map) and rest for the evening.
The next morning, under the overnight ministrations of the oracle, the barbarian recovers most of his lost strength from the poisonous gas. Everyone asks around to see who is hurt and needs additional healing. The half-orc stating that he isn’t too bad (down about half way), while the bounty hunter complains of a few bumps and bruises (he’s down like 5). After everything is settled, and the oracle heals the barbarian a bit more, the group heads out. The only two passages not checked out at this point, is the lower passage from the room with the well and the opening burned away by the fire obsessed member of the group (both in room 8).
Deciding they want nothing to do with buzzing, the group checks out the lowest corridor. Sadly, it quickly comes to a dead end. Everyone retreats, except for the rogue who says to himself, “Ya know…there have been quite a few secret passages in this place. Maybe the end of this tunnel has one.” He proceeds then to ask if there is one there, but the wall doesn’t answer. Not to be deterred, the elf then searches for a secret door and finds one! Not really telling anyone else, he looks down the passage and sees that it goes about 15 feet and turns right.
Confused by this, he shines a light down the tunnel and, low and behold, it _still_ goes about 15 feet and turns right. Shrugging, the elf walks down to the turn and looks again. It goes about 10 feet and turns left now. After that? What do you know, it goes about 15 feet and just ends. Figuring it must be another secret door, the elf decides to search for one and finds it. With a huge boost of confidence, the rogue opens the door up, only to find 3 orcs in there over a bubbling cauldron!
The main orc turns, smiles and casts a spell directly at the elf. It blasts him right in the face, and the rogue starts to feel drowsy. He is about to take a nice nap, when he remembers he’s an elf and immune to magical sleep! The other orcs take up position on both sides of the entrance, while the rogue runs away screaming like a little girl for the party to come save him. They charge down the corridor, with the barbarian in the lead, ready to smash the face of these stupid orcs. The spellcaster again casts a spell directly at the barbarian and says “Boo!” (Cause Fear). Scared out of his underoos, the barbarian runs away as fast as he can.
The wolf rider says “Screw this, I’ll get her!” and charges in past the orc guards at the door. They take a swipe at her as she rides by, but she is too quick for them. The wolf rider then proceeds to impale the spellcaster, wounding her grievously. Meanwhile, the scout goes invisible (ninja vanish!) and sneaks into the room, cutting off the escape route of the main orc. Not to be out done, the oracle enters the room and slashes at one of the guards, killing him instantly.
The barbarian continues to run away like a little girl.
Seeing that the battle is not going well, the spellcasting orc decides to run away into the room to the north (10). Unfortunately for her, that is where the scout is standing. She runs right into his blade, but is able to grab a torch and still stumble into the next room, waving it above her head for some unknown reason. Not wanting her to get away, the cavalier cries out “Ride wolfy!” and charges at the fleeing spell caster. The wolf rider impales the poor girl on the end of her lance and she falls to the ground.
Meanwhile, the barbarian starts to think “hmm, why was I running away? That was stupid. I didn’t even get to rape or pillage!” So he then proceeds to run back to the rest of the group.
The last orc is dispatched quickly, and the room is searched for more treasure. Some silver is found in a few leather sacks, and that is added to the magical bag of holding. The rogue who started all of this, sheepishly enters the larger room to the north and his curiosity gets the better of him. He simply MUST look down the big hole (A in room 10) in the middle of the floor (maybe he is part kender).
When the elf looks down, he hears a loud buzzing noise, and 4 insects (Stirges) fly up and attach themselves to him, sucking his blood! He begins to feel very weak as the rest of the party tries to figure out what the hell just happened. Trying to help, the scout rushes forward and uses the flat of his blade to squash one of the bugs, and is successful. Taking his lead, the bounty hunter does the same thing, squashing another bug. The barbarian enters at this point, seeing these weird bugs attached to his raiding friend, turns to the alchemist and says “Ok, fire man. If those things every stick on me, you have permission to use your fire on me. Just get them off. Bugs are freaky strange.”
The rogue pulls out a dagger and cuts a third off of him, as the fourth continues to suck his blood (weakening him further). The oracle decides that his glowing body of light is no longer needed and blasts the final bug off the rogue.
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That is where we ended after 2 gaming sessions. If readers are enjoying this, I will be glad to keep posting our recaps
Shalandar