Charles Plemons' Blog

Game summary for January 26, 2012, In Search of Adventure campaign, X8: Drums on Fire Mountain adventure; present characters included Dinendel Telemnar (elf swordmaster-conjurer), Meriwen Arnatule (elf swordmaster-conjurer), Nicholae Dragos (cleric vicar), and Theobald Goblinbane (dwarf hero).

After a night of raucous partying, the group dismissed Symeon Xenakis and Wuldric Mineshield from employment and went to visit Castellan Horvath.  The Castellan thanked them for their services and officially bequeathed them a charter for their adventuring party in the Grand Duchy of Karameikos.  The party chose the title of Conquerors of Chaos and were so dubbed.  Next, he gave them a letter and journal entry sent to him by his cousin from Thyatis, Rollo Bargmann.  In the letter, he asked Castellan Horvath to send the adventurers he had written about (the party) to him in Thyatis to help fight off pirates and the ship-bane in the Sea of Dread.  The Conquerors decided to make the two week journey and boarded a river barge.  They floated down to Kelvin where they paid for passage on a river boat to Specularum.  Once in the city, they sought a ship captain at the Drunken Mermaid tavern.  After paying some gold, they learned of a Captain Krill and his ship, the Windsong.

The party booked passage to Thyatis aboard the Windsong in exchange for 90 gold coins and a daily feeding from Legend’s magical wallet of food.  As they discovered, the sailors were delighted to have the mildly bland but nutritious meal as opposed to the slop served daily by the ship cook, Sloppy Joe.  Legend spent part of every day in the galley alongside Sloppy giving out his crunchings and munchings to the crew.  After a week, the group arrived in the city.

After a bit of harassment by a merchant guild bean-counter, the party was escorted to the home of guildsman Rollo Bargmann.  Rollo welcomed them upon seeing their charter and his letter and spelled out the situation.  He had learned more from the kara-kara captive.  He told of a ceremony about to begin on the kara-kara home island and asked the group to go in and kill the new leader, whom the kara-kara had named their god.  Rollo believes this leader has allied with the ship-bane and caused the upswing in raids at sea.  The party agreed on a sizable sum of coin for their services and set out at dawn after their second raucous party in two weeks.

Following nine days at sea, the Conquerors of Chaos debarked onto the shore of Teki-Nura-Ria island on the far side from the kara-kara village.  The crew then cloaked the ship magically to appear as a great rock.  The party set off into the jungle following a crude map and seeking the Trail of the Dead and a secret tunnel that would lead to the pirate leader.  Their progress through the sweltering jungle was slow due to the undergrowth and their wearing of plate armor.  After about an hour of hacking through the dense jungle, they came upon a circular clearing occupied by a massive tree stump.  Around it the ground was flattened, and Legend could make out numerous bare footprints.

The party moved up close and peered into the stump to see an enormous spider within!  The fast moving monstrosity surged forward and sank its fangs into Legend’s chest!  Filled with poison, Legend began to spasm and twitch, appearing to dance violently.  All those looking upon him felt a compulsion to do the same, and many of the party did likewise.  Fortunately, not all succumbed to the spell and were able to viciously attack the spider.  All three elves in the group cast magic missile, and Theobald and his bug-hating spear stepped forward to finish off the monster.

After finding a string of pearls in the stump, the Conquerors moved on with half their number still dancing and thrashing.  After close to an hour, many collapsed in an exhausted heap.  Will they muster the strength to move on?

The above summary is for a game session of Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC edition played by the Phoenix Gaming Club.

Game summary for January 19, 2012, In Search of Adventure campaign, Keep on the Borderlands adventure; present characters included Dinendel Telemnar (elf swordmaster-conjurer), Meriwen Arnatule (elf swordmaster-conjurer), and Nicholae Dragos (cleric vicar).

After some discussion, the team decided to reduce their retainer numbers to Borislav Petrovic, Elasha, Ma’Kala, Symeon Xenakis, and Wuldric Mineshield.  The group re-equipped and headed back to the Caves of Chaos intent on destroying the gnolls.  They decided to utilize the secret entrance from the store room in the cultist caves but found the gnolls had discovered the door judging by the sooty black tracks Legend found.  They decided the door may be trapped, and despite hearing gnolls talking on the other side, made their way back around to the main entrance.

The group cast light on a coin that Legend put in his pocket while Ma’Kala carried a stone enchanted with silence 15’ radius.  They tried to sneak into the caves in darkness, with the humans guided by the dwarves and elves who could see in the dark.  Unfortunately, the four gnolls standing in the cave could see them too.  An oddly quiet battle erupted with one gnoll running away and three dying to the party’s blades.

The team moved further in and saw the door to the gnoll chieftain’s room had been replaces with some crudely hung planks.  Meriwen concocted a plan.  They sent Legend, under the cover of invisibility and elven boots, down the hallway with a scroll inscribed with fireball.  The elf peered unseen or heard through between the planks and saw two gnolls, two gnoll skeletons, and a thoul!  He stepped back and recited the scroll, blowing all five inhabitants into flaming bits.  They then stole the loot surviving in a smoking chest.

The party then went deeper into the caves and discovered the last remaining gnolls who put up a stiff resistance.  Several blows were traded, but the gnolls were driven back into a corner and cut down.  At last, the heroes had cleared the evil denizens from the Caves of Chaos!

The group found a keg of ale which they took back to Castellan’s Keep and used for a celebration.  Nicholae set off to find someone willing to sell him a farm while the others sold the loot, made deposits at the bank, and settled in.  The next day, they received a summons from the Castellan.  What new adventures await?

Thus concluded 19 game sessions to complete B2: Keep on the Borderlands using BECMI / RC Dungeons & Dragons rules.  Next up, X8: Drums on Fire Mountain.

The above summary is for a game session of Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC edition played by the Phoenix Gaming Club.

Game summary for January 12, 2012, In Search of Adventure campaign, Keep on the Borderlands adventure; present characters included Dinendel Telemnar (elf swordmaster-conjurer), Nicholae Dragos (cleric vicar), and Theobald Goblinbane (dwarf swordmaster).

After 24 hours of preparatory madness, the Castellan mustered half his forces, 76 fighting men, and sent them to battle the orcs and undead.  The team worked hard to inspire the troops, discuss tactics, and get ready for the fight to come.  The troops marched to the Caves of Chaos and engaged the massed orcs, skeletons, and zombies!  The fighting was brutal and went on for three days before the army of men proved victorious!  As the sun went down, only the evil priests of Chaos remained and engaged the party in melee.

The high priest coiled his snake staff around Legend trapping him!  The adepts pounded maces against shield and plate but found the party’s defenses solid.  A few blows landed, but the team proved more deadly.  In moments, one adept lay dead but Legend and Nicholae were both badly injured.  Theobald impaled the high priest with a spear-led charge, changing the course of the battle!  Legend got loose of the snake and struck down another adept while Nicholae hammered down the third.

Cheers erupted from the army of men as the last agent of Chaos collapsed on the ground!  The forces of men collected their dead and wounded while the team moved through the now empty orc and cultist caves searching for treasure.  They emerged with thousands of coins worth of gold and magic.

After discussing their knowledge of the caves of Chaos, they deduced only the gnoll tribe remains.  They decided they would eliminate the gnolls before moving on so that the caves would be completely cleared and conquered!

The above summary is for a game session of Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC edition played by the Phoenix Gaming Club.

Game summary for January 5, 2012, In Search of Adventure campaign, Keep on the Borderlands adventure; present characters included Dinendel Telemnar (elf swordmaster-conjurer), Meriwen Arnatule (elf swordmaster-conjurer), Nicholae Dragos (cleric priest), and Theobald Goblinbane (dwarf swordmaster).

After leaving their allies in the clutches of the orcs and wicked high priests, the team regrouped with Dinendel “Legend” Telemnar and tracked down Meriwen.  She agreed to accompany them back to the keep where she kept trying to get a few minutes alone.  Paranoid Nicholae wouldn’t allow it, and finally the elf broke into a rush down the street.  The party ran after her, with Legend cloaking himself in invisibility, Theobald diving into the dirt trying to catch her, and Nicholae shouting for assistance from the watch.  Meriwen put some distance between them and slipped away under the cover of her own invisibility spell.

The group was unsure what to do but sent their tracker, Legend, after the elf using his folding horse, Myth.  Myth and Legend came upon Meriwen heading for the river, and Legend tried to coax his fellow elf back to the keep.  When that failed, he snared her with a lasso and tied her up.

Once back at the keep, Nicholae and Theobald tried to pry the helm off Meriwen’s head, but it wouldn’t come off.  In fact, they caused her some damage in their efforts.  Legend uttered “munchings and crunchings” to activate his magical wallet of healing food and repaired the harm.  The group then decided to seek out some divine assistance.

The team asked around and discovered a visiting priest of Nicholae’s faith, a cleric of the church of Traladara named Silvestru Ristani.  Nicholae talked to the three men, one of whom sneezed several times which seemed to bother him.  Nicholae grew uneasy around the mean and noticed their robes and symbols were not properly arranged and oriented.  He talked his way out of the room and bolted, much to their surprise.  Not trusting them, he gathered up the party and sought out Didymus Mavroudis, cleric of the church of Karameikos.

Didymus was able to determine Meriwen’s helm was cursed, and for a small (substantial) donation in gold agreed to remove it.  Once the curse was broken, Nicholae and Theobald smashed the helm to pieces.  Unfortunately, this did not seem to break the compulsion affecting the elf.  Further investigation revealed a demonic spell had possessed Meriwen and was drawing her back to the cult of chaos!  After many more rituals, that had only a chance of success, Didymus freed Meriwen of this evil spell as well.

Afterward, they agreed to destroy the relics that had caused Meriwen’s possession.  However, they realize doing so puts the lives of all their retainers at risk.  After talking to Didymus about the scores of undead as well as dozens of orcs massing in the caves, the priest agreed to get them an audience with the castellan.

Now, the soldiers of the keep are assembling and preparing to eradicate the scourge of evil from the caves.  Once again, the party will stand in the ravine of the caves in the melee of war!  Who will survive, and what will be left of them?

The above summary is for a game session of Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC edition played by the Phoenix Gaming Club.

Game summary for December 29, 2011, In Search of Adventure campaign, Keep on the Borderlands adventure; present characters included Dinendel Telemnar (elf swordmaster-conjurer), Meriwen Arnatule (elf swordmaster-conjurer), Nicholae Dragos (cleric priest), and Theobald Goblinbane (dwarf swordmaster).

After defeating the gnolls, the party opened the door and sent an invisible Dinendel and Meriwen down the hallway to scout.  The pair made too much noise, attracting half a dozen gnolls to investigate.  A battle broke out with four of the gnolls slain but two getting reinforcements.  Soon the sounds of many laughing gnolls rolling something heavy echoed down the hallway prompting the team to secure the door and retreat back through the secret door.  A few minutes later, an explosion rocked the complex but the secret escape route seemed undamaged and undiscovered.

The team then investigated a large, slightly rusted, iron door that was engraved with symbols of Chaos and bolted shut.  Theobald and Nicholae hammered out the bolts and opened the passage once Elasha detected magic on the other side.  The group carefully inched down into the tomb and discovered the source of the magic to be from one of the back sarcophagi.  When opened, it crumbed into rumble and a fearsome shrieking wight screamed up out of the grave!  It reached out and sucked away part of Nicholae’s soul before it could be put down with magic spells.

Among the rubble, the group found a jeweled dagger, a protective scroll, a powerful sword, and a magical helm.  Dinendel claimed the sword, Nicholae the scroll, and Meriwen took the dagger and donned the helm.  She then searched another coffin to make sure no more valuables were within.

The group then returned into a main hallway and advanced deeper into the caves.  Within, they found an unholy domed chapel with a checkerboard floor and a frightening altar.  The palpable evil disturbed several of the clerics who decided to destroy the altar and the bloodstained bronze items on it.  Before they started, Meriwen scooped up the bronze items which released a surge of magic that stunned Elasha, who was using detect magic at the time.  Nicholae then slammed his warhammer into the altar, which caused the toning of a massive bell.  Behind, marching feet resounded down the hallway.  The team scattered into the hallway to take defensive positions.  However, they discovered dozens of undead falling upon them and fled.

The group ran toward the orc caves, except for Meriwen who fled into the forest with the bronze items.  Nicholae and Dinendel bought the services of the orcs to fight against the advancing undead and clerics from the temple.  With the orcs by their side, the party stood ready.  The high priest, his writhing snake staff in hand, demanded the bronze items.  Unfortunately, the group did not have them.  They tried to start a war, but they discovered the orcs were in league with the clerics!

The high priest sent Nicholae and Theobald (and Dinendel, who slipped away invisibility) to find Meriwen and recover the bronze items.  They have six days or the clerics and orcs will kill all the party’s retainers!

The above summary is for a game session of Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC edition played by the Phoenix Gaming Club.

Game summary for December 22, 2011, In Search of Adventure campaign, Keep on the Borderlands adventure; present characters included Darius (cleric priest), Dinendel Telemnar (elf swordmaster-conjurer), Meriwen Arnatule (elf swordmaster-conjurer), Nicholae Dragos (cleric priest), and Theobald Goblinbane (dwarf swordmaster).

Down in the dungeons, the team was joined by a traveling priest named Darius and the son of an elven lord named Dinendel “Legend” Telemnar.  The team attracted the attention of the torturer, and a battle erupted.  The group closed in, but not before he could put his axe to vicious use.  None of the party died, but blood was spilled.  Fortunately, the team overpowered him easily and took his keys.

The group then returned to the cell where Theobald unlocked the door.  Looking in, he found a medusa!  He was nearly turned to stone but was able to shake off the effects.  The party closed in to cut her down, and Nicholae met her gaze!  He struggled to break free and shook off the effect but found himself on the receiving end of one of her snake bites.  The group took down the medusa, and Nicholae was fortunate in not succumbing to the deadly poison.

Meriwen and Legend used invisibility to scout ahead and found a large storeroom swept clean of debris.  Within, they discovered several piles of bones.  Elasha used detect magic and discovered a wand of enemy detection.  Moments later, a gelatinous cube approached from the rear!  Legend jumped upon a crate, still cloaked in invisibility, while the rest of the team cleared the hallway.  Darius and Wuldric marched straight up to engage the ooze, and the team brought it down quickly with a death blow from Legend’s arrow.

The elves searched the room and discovered a secret door in the back.  Moving through, the team found the body of a human with a broken leg.  Legend found several gemstones in his crumbling purse as well as a pair of elven boots!  When Legend put them on, his footsteps were as silent as a mouse.  Next, the group found a dead end and searched to locate an additional secret door.  They triggered the latch and found a room filled to bursting with a gnoll chieftain and his entourage.  The snarling dog men eagerly sprang forward to attack!

A terrific battle ensued, with heavy blows landing on both sides.  Borislav proved again the might of his sword, as did the dwarf maid, Thyra.  The archers showed the value of ranged attacks, and the healers were sore pressed to keep the combatants on their toes.  The fight was nasty and short, ending with Wuldric knocking one of the female gnolls unconscious.  The group tied her and searched the room.  Next, they plan to ask her questions about where they are and what to expect.

The above summary is for a game session of Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC edition played by the Phoenix Gaming Club.

Game summary for December 13, 2011, In Search of Adventure campaign, Keep on the Borderlands adventure; present characters included Meriwen Arnatule (elf swordmaster-conjurer) and Theobald Goblinbane (dwarf swordmaster).

Having defeated a group of zombies, the team moved further into the cavern complex to discover a massive chamber filled with a dozen skeletons.  On a raised dais across the room sat a sturdy throne embedded with gleaming garnet gems.  Theobald cautiously moved across the floor and jumped up into the seat.  As soon as his dwarven rump touched the throne, the skeletons sprung to life and attacked!  The resulting melee was brutal but short, with Wuldric taking a hard blow from a charging skeleton and Theobald suffering a flesh wound.  An attempt was made to provide Wuldric with aid, but it resulted in deepening the wound.  The party then turned to magic cure light wounds spells to heal him.

The group moved back up the corridor to find a sloping passage and two doors.  Theobald nudged one open to discover four acolytes moving to attack.  The team wiped them out in moments and locked the bodies in the room.  They then proceeded through the other doorway and down a set of stairs into darkness.

At the bottom of the steps, Meriwen used invisibility to cloak herself and do some spying.  She found a locked cell with several skeletal remains and an occupant singing in boredom.  All she could see of the cell’s inmate were a pair of shapely human legs.  Meriwen also discovered a torture chamber occupied by a massive man with a large axe.  The group decided to go to the cell but found the iron door locked.

The group suspects the torturer has the cell key.  They are now formulating plans to get his attention and ambush him.

The above summary is for a game session of Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC edition played by the Phoenix Gaming Club.

Game summary for December 8, 2011, In Search of Adventure campaign, Keep on the Borderlands adventure; present characters included Nicholae Dragos (cleric priest) and Theobald Goblinbane (dwarf swordmaster).

Once back in the Keep, the party released the halfling retainer Archibald Baker from his contract.  They decided to hire on some more experience help from the tavern.  Inside, they negotiated with Florencia Sekula, a young and attractive Thyatian woman with skill using the long bow.  After haggling over her retainer fees, she agreed to join the team.  Next, they spoke with a mountain of a Traladaran, Borislav Petrovic.  At 6-foot-4, 273 pounds, and thick accent, Borislav seemed just the type of intimidation and muscle the team needed.  Encouraged by his enthusiasm to break goblins and other creatures, they hired him on.  Finally, they negotiated terms with Symeon Xenakis, a male Thyatian cleric with military experience.  They were particularly intrigued by his spellcasting talent and skill with the mace.

Thus equipped, the new team included Nicholae Dragos (cleric), Theobald Goblinbane (dwarf), Borislav Petrovic (fighter), Elasha (elf), Florencia Sekula (fighter), Ma’Kala (cleric), Symeon Xenakis (cleric), Thyra Delvewalker (dwarf), and Wuldric Mineshield (dwarf).  The team set out back toward the Caves of Chaos to explore a mysterious entrance on the third tier.

The team found the entrance surrounded by twisted and blighted trees.  The hewn rock walls were of red and black veined stone.  From within, they could hear moaning and shrill piping sounds.  Cautiously, the dwarves examined the entrance for stonework traps and found nothing.  Ma’Kala ignited a torch, and the team began their delve.  As they walked along, their footsteps and creaking armor echoed all about.  They came to a halt but could still hear echoing footsteps.  Moments later, eight cleaver-wielding zombies in red and black uniforms shuffled into the light!

The zombies and the party both reacted at once, with the undead closing in around a tight formation of warriors.  Arrows and sling stones sank into putrid flesh while Borislav gleefully diced dead men to pieces.  Symeon and Wuldric took an injury or two, but overall the fight was fast and effective.  The group searched the bodies, recovering several amulets and then said of few words of prayer over the remains.  Confronting a decision to go left or right, they flipped a coin and proceeded to the left.  Soon, they came upon a strange intersection of corridors and flipped another coin.

Following this systematic method of exploration, the team found themselves in a side chamber filled with another eight zombies!  Again, the team brought the fight to the undead, with Borislav leading the charge.  The massive man laid waste to the creatures bolstered by some fine work from Symeon’s mace, Wuldric’s axe, Nicholae’s hammer, and Theobald’s magical spear.  Ma’Kala and Florencia kept a steady barrage of ranged attacks while Elasha hurled her spear and darted around the battle attacking with her short sword.  Again the party proved victorious.

Now, over a hundred feet into the winding corridors, what will the team discover next?

The above summary is for a game session of Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC edition played by the Phoenix Gaming Club.

Game summary for December 1, 2011, In Search of Adventure campaign, Keep on the Borderlands adventure; present characters included Nicholae Dragos (cleric priest) and Theobald Goblinbane (dwarf swordmaster).

Once back at the castellan’s keep, the team hired on a new retainer, Thyra Delvewalker (dwarf).  So, the retainers now also included Archibald Baker (halfling), Ma’Kala (cleric), and Wuldric Mineshield (dwarf).  The party asked to speak with Castellan Horvath, but he would not grant them audience for several days.  However, they ran into Captain Miklos who told them of some missing caravans from the south.  They started asking around at the keep and went to the pickle merchant, Vasile Goral, whom they had rescued from the Caves of Chaos.  He told them he was missing an entire shipment of cucumbers from the south.  The group went and hired a guide, a logger and woodsman named Vlad Bodnar, a talkative but ugly man with a single large united eyebrow.

The group bought supplies, as directed by Vlad, and set off to the south.  They crossed over a bridge and down into the swamp.  The found evidence of the trade skiff route and started following it.  As darkness fell, they encamped on a hill of dry ground.  In the middle of the night, sentries Thyra and Theobald noticed eyes approaching erratically.  As the creatures entered the ring of firelight, the dwarves realized they were under attack from giant toads!  One of the amphibians snatched Thyra with its tongue and began gnawing on her.  In moments, the entire team was up and rushing to battle.  In seconds one toad was driven off into the swamp while the other was slain.

The following morning, Vlad led the team deeper into the bogs until he found where a skiff had veered off course.  Tracking this new trail, they came upon skiff wreckage and crates.  Within, they discovered some textiles and others filled with cucumbers!  The team made note of several reptilian tracks heading further off alongside a set of humanoid prints.  Seeking survivors, the party dashed through the swamp.

After a bit, they tracked the footprints to a gruesome scene.  Half a dozen lizard men held a stripped and bound female elf in a metal cage over a growing fire.  Seeing the woman still alive, Nicholae charged forward as quickly as he could in the muck and attempted to bargain with the creatures.  The lizard men seemed uncertain what he was saying but decided the party would make a nice addition to the cooking cage.  Battle ensued as the elf worked herself out of the gag and began to scream.

The brawl was fierce and violent, with the fast moving lizard men falling upon the party in a mad dash.  Theobald tried setting his spear against the charge but was unsuccessful.  Ma’Kala and Archibald set up a barrage of arrows and sling stones while the three dwarves created a wall of stubborn resistance.  Nicholae waded in hammer first and held his ground as well.  Both sides scored telling blows, but Ma’Kala and Nicholae used their divine magic to keep their team strong.  Before long, the lizard men were all dead.

Nicholae, desperate to save the lovely naked elven female from a fiery death, plunged through the muck, mud flying.  He burst the lock and dragged the woman from a gruesome fate.  The elven maid, Elasha, had been one of the caravan guards on the doomed skiff.  In appreciation for saving her life, she agreed to travel with the party as a retainer free of charge for a period of one month.

With the rescued elf in tow, the lizard men slain, and an answer to the fate of the lost trade goods, the party returned to the keep to seek additional adventures.

The above summary is for a game session of Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC edition played by the Phoenix Gaming Club.

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.