Game summary for November 22, 2011, In Search of Adventure campaign, Keep on the Borderlands adventure; present characters included Nicholae Dragos (cleric priest), Theobald Goblinbane (dwarf swordmaster), and Weland Ironboot (dwarf warrior).
With several allies dead, the team pressed on with retainers Archibald Baker (halfling), Decimus Kozani (cleric), Germanus Andros (fighter), Ma’Kala (cleric), and Wuldric Mineshield (dwarf) as well as newcomer Weland Ironboot (dwarf). The team carefully weighed their options of going down the hallway to the left or to the right. Eventually, they picked one at random and went down it. At the end, they discovered a prison room with numerous chained hobgoblins and bugbears along with a tall massively-muscled human male. The team found the man alive and gave him water. Once set free, they learned this is Uthgar from the far north. He agreed to help them fight and killed bugbears, and they gave him the two-handed sword once used by Edgard. The team then fell upon the hobgoblins and bugbears, knowing them to be too dangerous to set free. They then discovered a moldy cheese wheel, which they fed to Uthgar.
Next, the team traveled back down the hallway and followed the other branch. The soon discovered a second prison full of goblinoid captives. Uthgar barged in and slashed them all to death before he could be stopped. Thinking they had a strong and eager to brawl young ally, the group moved out. As they moved back the way they came, they stumbled upon a pair of ghouls who tore into the group. With three allies paralyzed in moments, the team was in trouble. Fortunately, Nicholae invoked the power of the church of Traladara and turned the two creatures back into the darkness.
The party then moved back down the sloping corridor leading to a room they had previous discovered filled with bugbears. This time, not as many of the creatures were within, but enough were to be very dangerous. As a fight broke out, Uthgar entered a blind rage and bloodlust. He spun about and chopped Germanus into two halves! Bewildered, the party fell back as the berserker engaged both sides. The bugbears spilled out of the room and past the madman to fight the withdrawing team.
Soon, a battle raged in several places down the main hallway. Uthgar steadily dropped bugbears, but they landed blow after blow. The team battered away and dropped several as well but suffered many hits. Then, from the darkness behind them emerged the two ghouls from earlier! They paralyzed and killed Decimus in seconds before Nicholae could again drive them back into the dark.
In short order, the male bugbears were dead, but the females killed Uthgar and advanced. They then killed Weland in a spray of blood. The team closed in on their flanks and killed the bugbears after several hard minutes of battle.
With all the bugbears in the immediate area slain, the team recovered several dozen coins and a silver urn. They then retreated outside to nurse their injuries and flee back to civilization. Will the team hire new retainers? Will anyone work for them now? What, other than gnolls, remains hidden in the caves?
The above summary is for a game session of Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC edition played by the Phoenix Gaming Club.
