In Search of the Unknown Session 1

Session 0 was last week and I had two players. This week I had five players (although one dropped off) so I moved the action overland to Quasqueton. The players went through the caverns quickly finishing them in one session. I made a few mistakes but I think everyone had fun. Sometimes large dungeon crawls can drag in online play but this went quickly. The players did not have any character deaths even though the one fighter/magic-user has no armor. He did take a few hits.As before I was using Swords & Wizardry rules and we used Roll20 for the dice rolls, maps, and the voice. Below is the session report if you are interested.

Those who have read In Search of the Unknown will note that I made some changes to the adventure. I made it far more likely that the characters would enter the caverns first. I felt that the most exciting part of the adventure is in the upper level so I wanted it to be last. There was still a chance the players might find the upper-level entrance first but they did not. I also added an iron door between the levels to explain the separation of the monsters in the dungeon as a whole.

The Iron Door

Session 1 report

Players: Marta the Cautious (cleric), Manny Lightfoot (Halfling Thief), Raeish Farstrider (Elven Fighter/Magic-User), Gaeleath Olomaer (Elven Fighter/Magic-User), Daen Shieldbreaker (Dwarven Fighter).

The day dawned in the village of Larm with Manny Lightfoot sleeping one off at the Borderlands Inn and Marta comfortably asleep on the floor of the local church. Manny was joined by Marta at the tavern for breakfast. After breakfast, Manny went looking for Haldo the tavern owner, a good source of gossip. Unable to find the halfling she instead talked to some local fishermen who did not know much about Quasqueton.

There was a commotion in the village common so everyone went out to see what was causing the excitement. The village militia arrived back from a patrol in the nearby hills where they had ambushed a raiding party of orcs (called ruk locally). Manny and Marta pushed their way to the front of the crowd and managed to work their way into the conversation between the village mayor, Claus Oland and Commander Arbogast of the militia. It seems that the militia found a map on one of the orcs that might show the location of a large orc lair or possibly even Quasqueton (the lair was marked with a Q on the map). The Mayor introduced the pair of adventurers to the Commander and he appraised them and asked them to meet him at the militia office at noon. “And bring a few more bodies, you’re going to need them.”

Intrigued Marta and Manny looked about to see any likely muscle they could bring along with them. As luck would have it, the commotion in the village common had brought out every adventurer in the village. They soon spoke to the elf known as Raeish Farstrider, the elf Gaeleath Olomaer, and the soft-spoken dwarf Daen Shieldbreaker. The five heroes made their introductions and agreed they were all game to take on the task set out by the local militia.

Meeting with Arbogast they discovered that the map might very well lead to Quasqueton. The militia commander was not certain. But he was certain there was an orc lair that needed scouting.  He asked them to journey to the lair and report back on their findings. The lair was over 40 miles to the northeast and far outside the area of jurisdiction of the militia but if orcs from the lair could be found within a day's march of the village this needed to be investigated.

The five adventurers decided they would set out early the next morning. They split up and went looking for more equipment but little could be found other than more rations. They did spend a fruitless few hours looking amongst the farms for a draft horse or a cart. Marta resigned himself to a long walk. Raeish (Ray) managed to acquire a large mongrel puppy from a local farmer. He named it Muttley. Some of his fellow adventurers expressed doubts about bringing the mutt along but Ray assured them that the pup would come in handy guarding their camp at night. That evening the five got better acquainted telling stories of their adventures.

The next morning the five adventurers and one dog set out on foot toward the destination noted on the map. The map showed that the quickest route was to follow the Dolm river north into the mountains and then strike out directly east.  It took 4 days to reach the location marked on the map and the trip proceeded without incident. Once they came to the location on the map they found themselves in an area of heavily forested rocky outcrops at the foot of the mountains. Ever outcrop looked about the same as every other and there was no sign of an orc camp. They spread out and searched. After an hour Gaeleath called everyone over to some tracks he had found on the bank of a small stream. Orc tracks headed through the brush. They followed the tracks for an hour to another rock outcrop. The tracks continued around the tall hill but they also saw a tower on the hill. Although it looked like a difficult climb, they decided to leave the orc trail and set out for the tower. Manny discovered an overgrown trail up the side of the hill leading to the tower. The tower itself was recently built (in the last 20-30 years) but never completed. It was the shell of a tower with no roof or floors. Building material was stacked nearby overgrown with bushes. Ray climbed to the top of the tower for a look around. He found it was the highest point in the region but he could not see anything interesting. Disappointed, they trudged back down the hillside. Picking up the orc trail again they circled around the hill and came upon another entrance above a field of rock debris. An open cave on the side of the hill 20 feet up. A crude staircase led to the opening. Manny moved up silently and spotted an orc resting just inside the entrance apparently on guard but not very alert. Everyone came up the slope quietly. Then they moved to attack. There was a quick exchange of blows, Gaelaeth was pierced once with a spear. Then Ray cast sleep on the orcs and the creatures promptly fell over in slumber. (NOTE: I messed up the rules here. Ray was wearing chainmail and should not have been able to cast a spell as per the Swords & Wizardry rules for elves).

Marta argued that the orcs should be tied up and left behind but the rest of the adventurers felt a more permanent solution was needed. Manny delivered the killing dagger thrusts to the helpless orcs.

The lantern was lit and handed to Marta. The two elves and the dwarf could see in the dark and while the halfling could not see in the dark, she liked to hide in shadows away from the lantern light.

The cave entrance led to a much larger cavern. They spread out and checked the cavern. Gaelaeth spotted some orc tracks headed south but also a few tracks heading east to an empty alcove. Searching the alcove, the two elves found a loose stone that activated a secret door and revealed a secret passage. The passage showed signs of a lot of use by the orcs judging by the foot traffic. It led to another secret door that opened into an enormous cavern. A beam of sunlight high up on the wall shone into this cavern. The floor was covered in a foot of bat droppings. Heading east they found a few more cave tunnels. One tunnel led up into a cave where they discovered a sleeping orc. Manny moved silently up to the orc and killed it in its sleep. A search of the chamber revealed a few coins and a magic spear +2 claimed by Ray.

The group headed south again and passed into a cavern with the old litter of excavations that occurred to open up these caves. Suddenly, they were ambushed by six goblins running at them from out of the darkness. Ray, who had gotten a fair amount ahead of the rest of the team, was attacked by two goblins. But using his new magic spear he quickly dispatched them. Manny dropped two goblins with his sling stones and Gaeleath got the last goblin. Marta got into the fight but found it difficult to pin down the agile creatures. One goblin seeing the plight of his friends turned and ran off to the south. Following cautiously, they saw glowing purple fungus ahead. The five conferred briefly and decided to avoid the fungus and went east down a side passage. Almost immediately they came upon a door barred from the outside. Gaeleath removed the barrier but struggled to open the door. After several thumps and some sore shoulders, the door finally ground open. In the cave beyond, two angry troglodytes sprang forward and immediately attacked. The troglodytes were killed but not before releasing their sickening musk that briefly sickened Ray. Gaeleath was also injured in the fight.

Not finding anything in what appeared to be a prison cell for the troglodytes, they headed north and came to a flooded cave. A very cold pool of water sat below a wooden ceiling far overhead. In the water below something sparkled. A few efforts were tried to fish it out of the water with a grappling hook but all they caught was part of a human skeleton. Manny removed her armor and dove into the pool. She almost drowned in the frigid water but she did come up with a silver holy symbol of Law. Marta requested it and placed it in his pack.

Heading south again they walked for several minutes before coming upon a section with stone block walls and flagstone flooring. In the center of the wall was a heavy iron door with no locks or latches. A message on the wall read, “Once spoken, I am broken”. Gaelaeth immediately said “Silence” loudly. Everyone looked his way, then the door let out an audible clank and swung open.

Beyond the door were some chambers with stone block walls, floors, and ceilings (supported by wooden beams). Also, visible was a stairway leading up. Perhaps into the lost stronghold of Quasqueton?