Charles Plemons' Blog

Game summary for July 14, 2020, Classic Quest campaign, Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Darados (Elf played by Casey Scruggs), Garadal Davster (Halfling played by Parker Harmon), Joseph Joestar (Human Thief played by Andrew Renfrow), Riccon Guerrier (Human Fighter played by Peyton Harmon), Timotei Kiraly (Human Fighter played by Preston Harmon), and Vespasian Thanou (Human Thief played by Chris Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons. This was a Roll20 session.

The team sprang to action and started trying to scale the barricade.  Several made it to the top while Vespasian hurled a torch over the wall.  The goblins extinguished the torch, which was the only one lit, plunging the cave into darkness.  Only Darados could see as the goblins hurled daggers at the team, injuring several.  The party lit several more torches and ignited the barricade!  Darados grabbed one of the goblins and pulled him into a grapple.  For his trouble, he got cut several times and hit with a hammer while the rest of the team moved back off the barricade.  Darados body slammed the goblin down to the ground where his teammates accidentally set it on fire while he was still holding on to it.  Burned, hammered, and stabbed, Darados limped to the back where Kalana cast cure light wounds upon him. 

The group killed one goblin but was forced to retreat from the billowing smoke filling the cave.  They retreated out the front entrance and looked about to see if they could find smoke coming from any other entrances.  They noticed some and found another entrance.  The party crept in, and Timotei plunged into a pit!  The team lowered a rope and extracted him for Kalana to heal.  Vespasian tried to use acrobatics to jump the pit and plunged to the bottom as well. 

Game summary for July 7, 2020, Classic Quest campaign, Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Darados (Elf played by Casey Scruggs), Garadal Davster (Halfling played by Parker Harmon), Riccon Guerrier (Human Fighter played by Peyton Harmon), Timotei Kiraly (Human Fighter played by Preston Harmon), and Vespasian Thanou (Human Thief played by Chris Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons. This was a Roll20 session.

The team left the goblin lair and decided to head toward the mine on the map they found.  Along the way, they saw the black stallion in the woods once again.  After a short pursuit, it disappeared right before Darados’ eyes.  They then headed back on the trail.

Before long, they came across a trapper named Gregory.  They talked for a while, and he told them where he thought the Viper clan goblins might have a lair.  The group searched along the creek and found the cave and a raft on the far side.  They tried throwing a rope across to snag the raft but had nothing with which to grapple it.  Next, they started trying to swim across and half the party nearly drowned.  Eventually, Darados made it across, secured a rope, and brought the raft across.  The team then crossed over to the cave and chopped down the door. 

Inside, they explored for a bit and found a barracks type room with a large red tapestry depicting a black chalice.  Further into the caves, they found a door marked with a snake sigil.  Beyond it were a few goblin skeletons and a patch of strange fungus surrounded by a cloud of glowing blue spores.  The team backed away slowly. 

Further down the hallway they found a barricaded hallway.  Suddenly, a goblin popped up and hurled a dagger at them!  It missed, and the goblin disappeared behind the barrier and began arguing with someone. 

Game summary for June 30, 2020, Classic Quest campaign, Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Joseph Joestar (Human Thief played by Andrew Renfrow), Riccon Guerrier (Human Fighter played by Peyton Harmon), and Vespasian Thanou (Human Thief played by Chris Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons. This was a Roll20 session.

Joined by Vespasian and patched up by Kalana, the group delved back into the lair and found the remaining shrews.  A quick battle ensued, and the vermin were slain.  With them dead, the group was free to enter the guarded chamber.  Within, they found a tapestry of a red dragon, some terracotta jars, a wooden chest, and a pillow with a large red gem resting in the middle.  They tried to open the chest and caused the red jewel to explode into piercing shards that wounded the entire team.  After patching up, they unlocked the chest and took the contents. 

They then went and tried removing some of the bricks in the far room.  They found a passageway beyond and threw in a torch.  The back of the few bricks they removed were marred from some kind of chopping tool or blade.  They then went around and removed the barricade and knocked down the door to the other room.  This room connected to the bricked up tunnel.  Exploring, they found a long dead dwarf lying in a heap with a battered and dulled axe.  Beside him lay a goblin skull.  Vespasian searched the body and found a fluid-ruined letter that talked about a mine to the north and included a crude map. 

Game summary for June 23, 2020, Classic Quest campaign, Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Darados (Elf played by Casey Scruggs), Garadal Davster (Halfling played by Parker Harmon), Goorin Bibs (Halfling played by Chris Harmon), Joseph Joestar (Human Thief played by Andrew Renfrow), Riccon Guerrier (Human Fighter played by Peyton Harmon), and Timotei Kiraly (Human Fighter played by Preston Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons. This was a Roll20 session.

The team set out down an unexplored hallway and could hear rats in the distance.  They found a large room with multiple doors.  Exploring through one, they came across a gibbet with a human skeleton within.  As they approached, it animated and reached for them!  The group slowly backed away.

Up another hallway, the found a dead human hanging from a chain and covered in maggots.  They took the man down and laid him to rest in the cave.  They then found a door barricaded by a table anchored by iron spikes.  They decided it must be holding something in, so they left it for now.  In another room, they found an iron chisel and a corridor bricked up with nice bricks but crude bricklaying work. 

The team circled around down another hallway and found themselves back in a large room and discovered the rest of the rats they had driven off.  They engaged the rodents and finished them off.  Garadal found an odd clay tablet with undecipherable writing and a picture.  The group figured it out it was a map pointing to something in a fairly nearby lake. 

They then backtracked to a large iron-bound oaken door they had passed earlier.  Jojo was able to pick the lock.  On the other side was a pack of starving giant shrews!  The vicious creatures charged forth and tore into the party.  The team suffered severe injuries, and Darados led the retreat toward the exit!  The group managed to slay four of the six giant shrews as they fell back, but Goorin went down under their gnashing teeth and died a quick and horrific death.  The last two shrews let the party flee as they feasted on Goorin’s remains.  The rest of the party regrouped at the entrance to the lair. 

Game summary for June 16, 2020, Classic Quest campaign, Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Darados (Elf played by Casey Scruggs), Garadal Davster (Halfling played by Parker Harmon), Goorin Bibs (Halfling played by Chris Harmon), Joseph Joestar (Human Thief played by Andrew Renfrow), Riccon Guerrier (Human Fighter played by Peyton Harmon), Sensei (Human Fighter played by Todd Hughes), and Timotei Kiraly (Human Fighter played by Preston Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons. This was a Roll20 session.

The team rested at Fyodorll’s and met and hired a cleric named Kalana to accompany them.  They then headed toward the goblin lair.  After a day of travel, the team found a rough door and a crude painting of a red blade.  Old tracks showed lots of traffic had been in and out of here in recent weeks but not in the last few days. 

The group opened the door and moved into the cave.  Within, they were attacked by a flock of stirges!  The vicious creatures lodged their proboscises into the team and began draining blood.  The group fought valiantly and were able to eliminate the menaces without too much injury to themselves. 

After the stirges were slain, the team examined two doors and decided to head to the south.  They went down a hallway and found some kind of shrine decorated with red blades painted on the walls.  From behind they heard skittering, and a hoard of giants rats came rushing down the halls!  The team began to fall back, and Darados took out his flask of oil and doused many of the rats around him and the floor.  Unfortunately, the rats got around him, and he was cut off from the rest of the party.  He was standing in a pool of oil and shouted for Goorin to throw the torch and save themselves.  Goorin was reluctant to throw it, so JoJo snatched it out of his hand and hurled it!

JoJo’s aim was terrible, and the party’s only lit torch careened down the hallway way off the mark and slammed into the end wall.  It broke apart and fell sputtering to the floor and went out!  Plunged into the darkness, the team was paralyzed with indecision.  Darados could still see, but he was surrounded and started trying to fight his way out.  Kalana was able to take out her tinder box and ignite a torch.  With sight restored, the group was able to engage and drive off the rats and save Darados! 

Game summary for June 9, 2020, Classic Quest campaign, Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Darados (Elf played by Casey Scruggs), Garadal Davster (Halfling played by Parker Harmon), Riccon Guerrier (Human Fighter played by Peyton Harmon), and Timotei Kiraly (Human Fighter played by Preston Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons. This was a Roll20 session.

The team traveled south through the Dymrak Forest toward the goblin lair.  As they moved through the woodlands, they were attacked by five giant vampire bats!  The vicious creatures were tenacious but not terribly accurate with their attacks.  The party proved likewise, so the battle drew out for quite some time.  Most of the bats were dead when a squad of hobgoblins led by a hobgoblin king astride an ice wolf attacked!  The hobgoblins proved more dangerous with their swords and the freezing breath of the wolf.  Several of the party were badly injured, but they took down the hobgoblin foot soldiers and the rest of the bats.  The mighty hobgoblin king swung away with a massive two-handed sword, but the team was able to injure his mount badly enough that it ran off with the king still in the saddle! 

The group nursed their wounds by rubbing random plants from around the forest in them, since they had no healer.  They then looted the bodies and lamented they had no healer.  They decided to turn back to Fyodorll’s camp to rest before seeking out the goblin lair. 

Game summary for June 2, 2020, Classic Quest campaign, Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Darados (Elf played by Casey Scruggs), Garadal Davster (Halfling played by Parker Harmon), Goorin Bibs (Halfling played by Chris Harmon), Joseph Joestar (Human Thief played by Andrew Renfrow), Riccon Guerrier (Human Fighter played by Peyton Harmon), and Timotei Kiraly (Human Fighter played by Preston Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons. This was a Roll20 session.

Debating in Cherkass, the team decided perhaps Stephan was with the Wolfskull goblins who went Northwest from Sukiskyn.  They traveled back to the homestead and followed the goblins to Misha’s Ferry to find it burned to the ground.  They then followed the tracks back toward Ilyakana before the trail veered to the East back to Cherkass.  Along the way, they found a dead trapper and Red-Blade goblin who had killed each other in a fight.  They took the man’s pack mule and pelts.  The team ran across a group of refugees from Segenyev and learned the goblins had destroyed it.  After debating a while, they headed south and ran across the track to Fyodorll.

The team met up with the very, very angry elf from whom they stole horses and wagons.  She was furious, but the team ended up giving the pack mule, pelts, and weapons to Fyodorll and agreed to pay her for the horses they stole and return the wagons.  In exchange, she provided them a crude map to a goblin lair she knows the goblins to utilize in the southern woods. 

Game summary for May 26, 2020, Classic Quest campaign, Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Darados (Elf played by Casey Scruggs), Garadal Davster (Halfling played by Parker Harmon), Goorin Bibs (Halfling played by Chris Harmon), Riccon Guerrier (Human Fighter played by Peyton Harmon), and Timotei Kiraly (Human Fighter played by Preston Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons. This was a Roll20 session.

The team agreed to seek out Pyotr’s brother, Stephan, and try and rescue him from the Wolfskull goblin clan.  They set out in the morning backtracking the goblin army heading toward Ilyakana.  Along the way, Darados temporarily misplaced his bow, costing them about half a day’s travel.  They came across the burned out homestead of Hokol.  North of Hokol, they walked through a clearing and encountered a trio of white horses and a black stallion.  They tried to approach, and the horse whinnied.  The party’s horses did likewise, and then all four of the horses sped off into the forest. 

When the team arrived at Ilyakana, they found Captain Kalanos roaming around, but he fled from them.  The group looked around a bit and then tracked the goblins to another burned out lumber camp further up the river.  After looking around for a while, they tracked the goblins to yet another ransacked homestead.  A burned sign revealed the name Cherkass.  From there they could determine the goblins had been there twice, once from the south and once from Ilyakana.  They decided the goblins must have come up from out the southern woods. 

Game summary for May 19, 2020, Classic Quest campaign, Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Darados (Elf played by Casey Scruggs), Garadal Davster (Halfling played by Parker Harmon), Goorin Bibs (Halfling played by Chris Harmon), Joseph Joestar (Human Thief played by Andrew Renfrow), Riccon Guerrier (Human Fighter played by Peyton Harmon), Sensei (Human Fighter played by Todd Hughes), and Timotei Kiraly (Human Fighter played by Preston Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons. This was a Roll20 session.

The team caught the fleeing goblin, Tori, and spoke to her for some time.  She offered them her pet rock, Dori.  They eventually learned Dori became her best friend after being used to kill another goblin who was bullying her.  She tried to flee, but Taras took his revenge for his slain wife by shooting her with an arrow. 

The group tracked the missing horses to a little used track in the forest which led to a sign reading “Mss L. Fyodorll – Equine Entrepreneur – Dealer in Fine Horses.”  They discovered an elven woman and four armed men along with a corral holding dozens of horses.  After some discussion they learned this woman bought the horses from the goblins!  She offered to sell the horses back at cost for 50 gp each.  The team did not have that money but discussed a partnership where she, the team, and the homesteaders would all get a portion of the sales of the horses to the elves.  Taras was against the idea, but the group eventually talked him into grudging acceptance. 

After making camp nearby, JoJo the thief revealed his plan:  steal all the horses.  He recruited the party into the heist.  Sensei stood watch with two of Fyodorll’s guards and ended up in a distance spitting competition with them.  He used that to distract them and bashed both of them unconscious using Dori.  JoJo then crept into the wagon where another guard was sleeping and knocked him out with Dori.  With three of the guards tied up, JoJo tried to pick the lock on a wagon but accidentally woke the man up.  As he emerged from the wagon, JoJo knocked him out with Dori as well.  He then used some rope and made it difficult to open Fyodorll’s wagon. 

The team then hitched up two of the wagons to horses and drove the entire herd away into the night with the furious elven trader screaming at them from inside her wagon.  After returning with the horses to Sukiskyn, they found several men from the Ilyakana lumber camp had arrived after being attacked by goblins.  They had sad news.  Captain Kalanos and Pyotr’s brother Stephan had been taken by the goblins at the camp! 

Game summary for May 12, 2020, Classic Quest campaign, Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Garadal Davster (Halfling played by Parker Harmon), Matius Lars (Human Fighter played by Chris Harmon), Riccon Guerrier (Human Fighter played by Peyton Harmon), and Timotei Kiraly (Human Fighter played by Preston Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons. This was a Roll20 session.

As dawn broke, the team could see the Wolfskull goblins leaving the battlefield, and the forest seemed serene and empty.  The team helped re-fortify the homestead and agreed to help Taras go after the lost horses.  The group took some provisions and headed out following the trail of the herd.  Before too long they noticed a trail of dire wolves following the horses.  After about half a day journey, they came to a clearing filled with slaughtered goblins, horses, and wolves.  Feasting on the corpses were six oil beetles!  The hungry vermin came charging across the field in search of fresh meat. 

A pitched battle soon ensued.  The beetles’ hard exoskeleton proved hard to penetrate, but the beetles had no problem biting the party.  When they bit, they spewed a blistering oil making it difficult to fight through the pain.  The team ran around the field firing arrows and trying to avoid the vermin.  However, Matius proved a bit too slow and died in the mandibles of a vicious insect.  As the last beetle was finally slain, a goblin dropped down out of a tree and tried to run away!