Attack and retreat

When I first started playing D&D in 1982 the traditional play had already moved on from the more tactical to a more full assault mode. What I mean is the modules I bought noted that players might be best served to marshall their strength and make repeated forays against the dungeon. Resting and recovering in between. I can recall that G1: The Steading of the Hill Giant King noted the location of a nearby safe cave where players could recover between forays against the Giants. By the time I started playing the tactic was to enter and burn everything to the ground until the adventure was complete or die trying.

In the 5th edition, there are mechanics like long and short rests that allow for this recovery. Now that I am running a Swords & Wizardry Campaign I find that the players can only make it through a few fights before the wizards are out of spells and the fighters are down to 1/3 hit points. The group then wisely(?) takes a pass on further advancing into the dungeon to come back later (if ever). It can be a little frustrating for a DM. Especially, when you know that the players have broken the back of the dungeon and just need to push on a little more. Of course, the players do not know that. Once the players retreat the DM needs to figure out how the monsters that remain would react. Would they pick up everything valuable and leave for safer climes? Or do they get reinforced and set up roadblocks and traps for the suspected return of the heroes? I am finding I have to do this more often than not. Like this past week's episode. 

One reason for this is the slow recovery of hit points in Swords & Wizardry from a fight. The Cleric just has a pair of Cure Light Wounds spells per day and resting can only recover 1 hit point a day.

Session 24: Emerald Moon Cheese Co. Part 2

Players: Lakima (Magic-user), Eathwund (Fighter), Carric (Elven Thief), Domago (Human cleric NPC).

Last time the adventurers have broken into the Emerald Moon Cheese Factory and discovered a nest of Wererats. Just as they were thinking of leaving, a number of wererats appeared. As action restarts, we are in the midst of a large melee.

Lakima yells for everyone to get out of the way and casts Lightning Bolt. The bolt arcs across the room striking several wererats in the doorway and in the room beyond as it rebounds off of the wall. When the air clears the heroes can see that only three wererats are still standing and they look badly burned by the lightning strike.

Lightning Bolt!

Eathwund moves forward to attack the remaining wererats followed by the two giant cats accompanying the heroes. Behind Lakima the door to the charcoal room swings open and a pair of humans, a man and a woman, leading a half-dozen giant rats appears. They move toward Lakima. The wizard spots the threat and calls the giant cats back to him to attack the giant rats. The cleric Domago also comes to his aid. Hiding in the shadows near one of the cheese vats, Carric, the elven-thief, fires arrows at the wererats. Eathwund strikes one down and kills a giant rat. Lakima creates one Mirror image of himself.

With all of the attention moving to the rats that have ambushed them from behind, Eathwund finds himself alone defending himself against two wererats. On the other side of the room, Domago strikes the woman, followed by Magic Missiles from Lakima's Wand and an arrow from Carric that finally kills her. The other human looks over the situation and turns and runs away. The giant rats continue to attack but the two giant cats kill two and chase the remaining rat into the charcoal pile. Attention turns to the last wererat that is attacking Eathwund and the heroes work together to kill it.

The immediate danger has passed but several of the heroes are injured (especially Domago). The wererat Kirnon who was charmed by Lakima earlier is still with them but Grendel Orfman ran back up the stairs to the office. Eathwund, Lakima, and Carric check out the room the rats came from and find an open trap door leading down into the cellars. They decide not to investigate. Domago and Kirnon head up the stairs and return with a frightened Orfman. They check another door but find it locked and decide to leave and get the watch. But first Eathwund, Domago, and Lakima drop off the bribe Grendel Orfman gave them at their home. Carric heads over to the Brass Lock Tavern. Once the gold is safely locked away, the heroes lead Grendel Orfman and Kirnon over to the watch station.

Carric enters the Brass Lock tavern and makes his way to the bar. He suggests to the barkeep, Ol’ Pete that he should tell him everything soon if he does not want to get in trouble. Ol’ Pete looks at him like he is crazy. Eventually, after a frustrating conversation, Ol’ Pete asks a bouncer to escort Carric from the tavern. "Don't return, crazy Elf!" Carric stays in a nearby alley to watch the tavern for the next few hours.

Over at the Watch Station, the heroes hand Orfman and Kirnon over to Sergeant Aldemar who inquires about the happenings at the Cheese factory. Once Kirnon demonstrates he is a wererat and works at the factory they get his full attention. Aldemar and seven guards accompany the heroes (less Carric) back to the Emerald Moon Cheese Factory. The guards smash in the front door when no one responds to their urgent knocking. They make their way into the Vat room and are astonished by the number of corpses. Two groups of guards search the remaining rooms in the factory but do not find anything out of the ordinary. The heroes accompany them throughout the search. Once the building has been searched the watch leave posting a guard to watch over it. The heroes return to the Chapter House. Eventually, Carric also joins them.

The next morning their housekeeper Edda finds a dead black cat at the door. The cat is covered in small bites indicative of rats. They take it as a message from the Rat King. Carric becomes concerned that the rats might be spread throughout the town under the floorboards. He spends the morning pulling up floorboards in the Chapter House and checking underneath. At first, he finds nothing, but in the kitchen, he finds a bricked-up entrance under the floorboards. Huntley is sent out to bring back a local mason. Willy Bruch the mason agrees to open up the floor and they discover a damp, debris-filled three-room cellar beneath the chapter house. Willy quotes them a price of 120 gold to repair the cellar properly. Carric impresses Willy on the need to keep any work done in the Chapter House secret.

Eathwund, Lakima, and Domago go to the watch post that afternoon and meet with Sergeant Frans. They ask to see Grendel Orfman. During the conversation, Orfman moans about his business that will be ruined if he does not return to it soon. Especially the wood golems they use for forming the cheese. Lakima asks more about these golems and learns that Orfman has a ring he uses to control them. His grandfather made the golems. He tries to convince Lakima that only Orfman blood can use the ring but Lakima does not believe him. Sergeant Frans takes the ring and gives it to Lakima. Frans also leads them down in the dungeons to visit Bregor Stannon. The man is being kept in the unlit dungeons two levels below the streets. They look in on him and then depart.

Carric spends the day speaking with street urchins in the Low Market. One boy named Maik tells him he knows of an entrance to the sewers near the shop of a man that stuffs animals. He hid in the sewers once to escape the watch. He tells Carric how to find the entrance. Carric suggests the boys help him search the Docks neighborhood for entrances to the sewers but Maik tells Carric that the area is unsafe because it is the territory of a rival named Rofa. Carric then heads back to the Chapter House and meets his companions who are also returning. They decide to go to the Dancing Dragon Inn for dinner.

The next day the adventurers discuss the course of action. Lakima wants to check on the wood golems at the factory. But first, he is looking for some more back up. They head over to the apothecary and speak with Malyn. Malyn examines the ring and tells Lakima that this ring would have been created when the golems were created and should control them. He warns that wood golems are very simple and prone to erratic behavior. He does not offer any magic to help them but does mention that he knows a guy who is a real nasty rat (personality-wise) that could be persuaded to help them. They decline. They then walk over to the nearby Church of St. Cuthbert and let Marta and Abbot Afton know what they are up against. The two priests, unfortunately, do not have any suggestions on how to deal with King Rat.

Meeting with their old friend Marta

They do decide to head back to the Cheese Factory to ensure it is secure. They find it is locked and shuttered. Light from the Continual Light globes still shines through the cracks around windows and doors. A guard is on watch at the front door. They ask to enter and the guard asks them to wait while he goes to get instruction. While they wait, Carric circles the building and finds a rusty, broken, sewer grate just where Maik told him it would be located. The guard eventually returns and lets them in the building. They head straight for the pressing room and after Carric is unable to pick the lock Lakima uses Atanzibar’s Acrid Finger to burn the lock off of the door. Inside is the pressing room and twelve small wood golems each 2 feet tall. Lakima finds he can give them simple commands. But when he tries to get them to follow him out the door he finds the golems cannot leave the building. He takes them back to the pressing room and tells them to wait. The rest of the adventurers do a quick check through the building. They find no evidence that the rats have returned. The trapdoor to the cellars is closed and a barrel is placed over it by the watch. In other areas of the building, they find that the watch guards have cleared out everything. They do find that Orfman’s secret room is undisturbed. Carric opens the chest in the room and finds a spellbook and three bags of gold. Lakima takes the spellbook but tells Carric to leave the gold for Orfman. The elven thief tries to argue that they should take it for safekeeping for the rightful owner. He is unable to get Eathwund or Domago to agree with his logic and they leave the gold in the chest. They return to their House but not before scaring the watchmen by mentioning the wood golems in the factory.

The next day the group sits down to breakfast and discuss their next move. Domago wants to go right after King Rat. But the rest are against it. They decide they need more back-up and pay the town crier and message boards to advertise for some hirelings. Meanwhile, they discuss a jaunt to the Northern Hills in a quest to capture Hippogriffs.