Introduction
All three players were available tonight, and they brought a slew of PCs with them. This group takes the idea of “multiple Characters per Player” in a slightly different direction than Tuesday.
DM NOTE: I allow the use of multiple PCs as it is a self-limiting endeavor. By running more PCs in a session, rather than hiring men at arms or seeking out Henchmen, the PCs reduce the amount of treasure and XP awarded to each of the characters. At the time of writing this analysis (three months after the events of the session), this has been borne out by the fact that Tuesday’s group has PCs in the 3rd & 4th level range, while Thursday’s PCs are still 1st & 2nd level.
EDIT: One player has two PCs that have just trained for Level 3.
Arad, the Kordu MU
Funeral, Kordu Cleric, Keeper of the Keys
Barber, Kordu Fighter
Three-fifths, Berz Fighter
Baron, Berz Fighter
Boris, Berz Cleric
Crow, Berz Fighter
Raven, Berz Fighter
All of the PCs are first level.
PART ONE
Today they travel to Tonisborg to delve into the mysterious dungeon structure.
Funeral has met up with the senior priests in the Temple of Hades, and been invited to join the Keeper expedition to Tonisborg. They give him a scrip for passage to Rizeka and entry to the dungeon. They move in a beeline toward the last place they had a fight, only to discover a pool of congealed blood and drag marks going south toward the door.
The dead men at arms they left behind are nowhere to be found.
They burst through the door to the room (last time it was full of giant ants!) and find it basically empty. There are 3 rectangular voids in the filth on the floor, crusty ichor from ants, and scraps of ant exoskeleton.
They move through the next door, and down a long passage, checking for traps and pits as they go.
At the end they find a door marked with the symbol of the Keepers. They open the door, on the floor in front of them, blocking the passage is a terrible glyph, to try to cross would mean death!
Looking around to see what was being guarded, they spot two crossbows, on stands at the end of the hall, pointing away from them, toward another door. This second door was also marked with the holy symbol of Hades.
It occurs to them that this glyph and the crossbows are for keeping something IN, beyond that door. They choose the better part of valor and move on.
The next door also has a symbol of the Keepers, and is barred on this side. They listen and can hear snuffling and some tapping.
Arad decides to tap back.
There are several rounds back and forth of the tapping, with Arad knocking out nursery rhymes.
They pick up as many ant exoskeleton pieces as they can carry and bag them for loading on the donkey.
The group decides to head in the opposite direction now, back to the zone they discovered was being claimed by the Keeper expedition. After a brief discussion about ways to assist in the fight against the undead, Brother Borislav leads them to a stairway guarded by friendly Gnolls!
PART TWO
They follow these stairs down for a hundred steps or more, before it crossed through a cavern.
The cavern is dry and quiet, with an opening on the far side.
Arad begins creeping toward the opening, being stealthy, in order to listen and observe, in case there is a monster down here.
He fails to detect a group of Kobold guards hiding behind some boulders, and a trio of javelins is launched his way. Sadly, one of the javelins pierces Arad's torso for enough damage to end his adventuring career.
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| Arad art by Brian Rideout |
RIP Arad.
DM NOTE: The Original Edition Dungeoneering rules that come with the Tonisborg book do not include the Thief class. On purpose. All of the players are expected to “do thief-ey things”, making Ability Score checks to determine success. For this, I am not including a thief class in the Campaign. We are still working out the best way to referee these challenges.
The group start to fire arrows into the area they believe the javelin came from, and see some Kobolds flee, further back into the cave. They follow in hot pursuit.
Their rush is brought up short by the next chamber, which is strung with a rat’s nest of cords, ropes and strings, running every which way in a nearly impenetrable web.
Barber begins trying to puzzle out some of the cords and springs a trap on himself, getting caught in a snare, hanging upside-down! So he grabs another vertical rope and climbs up enough to be able to reach the rope around his ankle. He draws his sword, cuts the rope, and falls to the ground. Well, almost to the ground, because he gets caught in another snare and drops his sword.
Baron decides to drive the donkey into the web of ropes by poking it with a blade. It manages to get a ways in before it, too, is caught up in a snare and gets a broken leg. The screams of the donkey are deafening! Suddenly, the screaming stops, as a javelin has sprouted from the donkey's neck.
Frustrated, the PCs begin simply hacking at the web of snares and forge their way to where Barber is hanging, then cut him down and catch him as he falls. Barber snatches up his sword and the party decides to exercise the better part of valor.
On heading back up the stairs, Barber drops a handful of silver coins and a bottle of poisoned nectar (meant for the giant ants) on the steps, to dissuade any kobolds following.
On the way out they stop by the Keepers’ zone and report their findings. They leave the dungeon and return to Sojenka. They are able to sell the ant parts they collected for 150 GP.
XP LOG
Total = 150 XP
21 XP each from Harvest
Grades:
Funeral - 1
Barber - 1
3/5 - 1
Baron - 1
Crow - 1
Raven - 1
Boris - 1
PC Death Toll = 4
Downtime
Barber is going to try to buy two large Stone spheres. Ideally, he's hoping that Mason will trade some of Arad’s gear for them. He's a cheapskate and doesn't want to pay in silver if he can help it.
Ten pounds, 6" diameter sphere of limestone- each takes 1 encumbrance slot
3 May 1023
The senior priest of the Temple of Hades has introduced two magic users to Funeral and the group. He tells you about a shrine on the shore that has been re-occupied by unknown persons with an unknown agenda. The Temple wants it cleared out. Bring back the miscreants, dead or alive.
Campaign Notes: After a month in the setting, we have only had a couple of abbreviated forays into the dungeon. Each expedition has been costly to the players, and only one has yielded a real profit. Trying to map the twisting, angled corridors is tedious and time-consuming. This is both a bug and a feature.
However, as we shall see in forthcoming Reports, the costs of adventuring in Tonisborg are high and lead to the Players making different choices than I had expected for the campaign.
Stay tuned!
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