Into the orc lairs!
This session was played on Sunday, February 28, 2011.
Featuring the PCs:
Vith and his dwarven man-at-arms Thurdir and his human henchman Hillgax
Binford and his dwarven man-at-arms Morag
Scratch and his human torch-bearer Ulix (promoted to man-at-arms mid-adventure)
The action started immediately in this session as the heroes set out from Threshold and were waylaid by Renata and her band of thugs. Renata stood proudly with her unit of thugs at her command and a powerful wizard by her side. She shouted for the party to lay down their gold and all their magical items. Of course this meant it was time for a fight.
The thugs attacked in full force, taking out Ulix who luckily made his save vs. death. The party knew the situation looked grim and thought about throwing down gold and fleeing, but decided that they could not outrun the group of bandits. The party immediately ran for cover and Morag took out a thug with a palpable hit from his crossbow. Vith decided it would be a good idea to try and subdue the wizard as a first order of business but a mirror image spell casted by him ruined Vith's plans.
After a few turns and a couple of close calls, which included Thurdir being reduced to 0 and making his save vs. death, Vith got off a sleep spell uninterrupted on his second try. Binford also demonstrated an impressive display of magic by paralyzing a dangerous looking female warrior with a battle axe. At this point, things looked bleak for Renata, so she and her wizard fled. Vith tried to finish the already injured wizard off with a pink orb, but the wizard trekked on towards safety.
After the battle, gold and items were looted from the felled thugs. About 250 gold was found along with the The Notched Axe and a set of +1 Chainmail.
Following the battle with Renata the party returned to the Orc lair from their previous foray. Vith cast invisibility on Scratch so he could scout out the cave. Scratch found that the orcs had barricaded themselves in the front hallway with ranged weapons. Deciding that there was no way to break through the defenses, the party headed to another cave down the way.
Below: Scratch's view as he re-entered the first orc lair…maybe this isn't such a good idea.
Scratch once again scouted ahead and found a large tar soaked net hanging from the ceiling. Upon closer inspection, Scratch found a trip wire in the hallway that would set the trap off. The mighty Halfling tried to disable the trap, but when it came down to it, the net was much to heavy and the trap sprung (while the party was safely outside). Scratch fled the cave, but the noise from the great net falling alerted the attention of about 15 Orcs who piled into the hallway standing on top of the net.
After Thurdir narrowly avoided Death again, Ulix stepped up to the plate and threw his mighty torch among the orcs. This started a large conflagration, barbecuing the pig faced orcs instantly. For his effort of taking out 10 orcs single-handed, Ulix was promoted to a man-at-arms! WOOT! Ulix shall be known as Ulix The Orc Slayer henceforth!
Some other orcs who were not engulfed in flames attacked afterwards, but they were dispatched fairly easily. The party searched the caves and found a magic rope, a chest with 50 platinum pieces, and a silver bowl. The party also found a secret door that led to an empty room. No other secret doors were found inside or leading into the empty room. Mysterious.
The party remembered to collect the orc heads (5gp each when presented at the gatehouse to Threshold) and headed back to town to celebrate their finds, and to toast the exploits of their surprisingly courageous hireling with some dwarven ale!
Totals to Date:
PCs Killed: 1
Hirelings Killed: 16
PCs/Hirelings Reduced to Zero HP: 15
Goblins Put to the Sword: 58
Kobolds Dispatched: 14
Hobgoblins Killed: 25
Orcs slaughtered: 21
Owlbears De-Clawed: 1
Ogres Downed: 1
Skeletons Destroyed: 70
Zombies Destroyed: 35
Ghouls Killed: 7
Giant Spiders Killed: 2
Giant Centipedes Exterminated: 3
Gray Ooze De-Slimed: 4
Brigands Killed: 19
Giant Rats Exterminated: 20
Plundered Goods: 13333 gps of value
Days in Campaign: 59
