Charles Plemons' Blog

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.

Game summary for November 17, 2011, In Search of Adventure campaign, Keep on the Borderlands adventure; present characters included Nicholae Dragos (cleric priest) and Theobald Goblinbane (dwarf warrior).

With a mighty team assembled to face the bugbears, the group only had one remaining order of business: the use of the mysterious cold cube they had found in the caves.  They had traded a wand of paralyzation to Ursula Botsaris in exchange for her research into the item.  She revealed that it combined the powers of a mystical ice cube and a cube of abilities.  Known for his clumsiness, Nicholae decided to risk the power of the cube of abilities and found himself gifted with far above average manual dexterity for his efforts!  Encouraged by his good fortune the team, including retainers Archibald Baker (halfling), Decimus Kozani (cleric), Edgard Zeklos (fighter), Germanus Andros (fighter), Ma’Kala (cleric), Rusalka (elf), Ursula Botsaris (magic user), and Wuldric Mineshield (dwarf), set off to the bugbear caves.

Again, the team found the welcoming sign outside the cave giving directions.  This time, the team went to the left instead of right.  They found a single bugbear in a room with a glowing brazier.  The bugbear tried to run up some stairs as the party filed in around him, but they cut him down quickly.  They then continued up the same stairs and found a locked door.  Unable to enter, they went to the second closed door.  Within, they discovered a disheveled bedroom occupied by the massive bugbear chieftain and his favored mate.  The two engaged the party in a vicious melee, both darting around the room to the consternation of the team.  The goblinoids proved deadly, slaying Edgard with a crushing mace blow to the skull and a lethal stabbing of Rusalka the elf.  Archibald found himself terribly injured, and Wuldric bled a bit as well.  However, the team fought on and took down the two brawlers.

The group searched the room and found a chest atop a wall niche.  Inside they discovered several pounds of silver and ivory as well as potions of healing.  Theobald discovered a magical hand axe also.  While searching, they found a secret door leading into the caves of the minotaur they had explored the previous day.  Noting such on their map in case of emergency, the group then took the chieftain’s keys and entered the other locked room.  Within they discovered heaps of food and drink along with a platter filed with catnip.  Wuldric noticed some kind of leather strap sticking out of the catnip, and the group learned it was actually a shield +1!

With several new magical trinkets, the group collected their dead and moved further along.  They encountered a guard room filled with spear-toting bugbears!  Ursula slipped through the ranks and blasted out a cone of her wand of paralyzation to freeze two of the bugbears in place while Germanus cut down a third.  The two unfrozen bugbears surrounded the magic user and impaled her on a spear, killing her instantly.  The team moved in and dispatched the two rather quickly but too late to save Ursula’s life.

With three dead retainers, the team regroups.  What further horrors and treasures await in the caves of the bugbears?

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

Game summary for November 10, 2011, In Search of Adventure campaign, Keep on the Borderlands adventure; present characters included Nicholae Dragos (cleric adept) and Theobald Goblinbane (dwarf warrior).

The team introduced themselves to Captain Timotei Miklos of the watch as he trained some new recruits.  The team discovered he had heard of their exploits with the goblins and owlbear.  They spent some time teaching the recruits a few pointers.  He agreed to speak to Captain Maximinus Polymeru of the guard about potential opportunities for employment.  They decided to meet up later in the bar.

The Captains came and told the characters about a missing knight, Sir Valentinus Mardas.  They provided a map where he was expected to have entered a cave and disappeared approximately two weeks earlier.  They described him and his ornate plate armor as well as how the knight’s family is offering a 500 gp reward for his rescue or proof of his final fate.  The team set out at once.

The team returned to the Caves of Chaos and stopped to speak with the Bloody Fist orcs.  They talked with one of the guards and were able to locate what they believed to be the correct cave.  The team asked if he knew what was within, and he replied that he thought it very close to the bugbears and too far from the gnolls.  He had seen cattle enter on several occasions but had not been inside.

The team then approached the cave and did find hoof-prints in the mud leading to the opening, including some around the entrance.  Ma’Kala ignited a torch, and the group advanced.  Within the walls began to waver and move, a sense of vertigo sweeping over the party.  In moments they were hopelessly lost in a maze of corridors.  They discovered the partially consumed carcasses of some stirges down one branch.  Wuldric then had the idea of taking the paint they found the day before and marking an “X” on the wall.  The group was quickly disappointed to wander about and find the “X” several times.

As they moved about, they noticed a red light down the hallway approaching quickly.  Along with the light came numerous click-clack noises.  Nicholae urged them to hide in ambush, but Ma’Kala’s torch proved the undoing of that plan.  Seconds later, three fire beetles ran down the corridor to attack!  Nicholae moved into the hallway to engage backed up by Wuldric and Germanus.  Nicholae cracked the carapace of one beetle, and Germanus finished it off with his glaive.  Theobald used his spear, enchanted against bugs, to blast a hole through another.  The third beetle clamped its vise-like mandibles on Nicholae’s armor but could not penetrate.  In moments the third insect lay dead as well.  The group decided to then extract the glowing red glands from the bugs to use as a light source.

After some more wandering, the group stumbled into a wider section of caverns.  From the shadows charged a massive bovine form, a chainmail-clad minotaur!  The horned monstrosity impaled Arathorn the elf and hurled his lifeless, broken body against a wall.  Undaunted, the team engaged to land blow after blow.  Despite scoring many hits, the minotaur kept swinging, injuring the party greatly.  Finally, the hammer of Nicholae slammed into the creature’s spine from behind, breaking its back and killing the horror.

The party then ransacked the caves, no longer afflicted by disorientation, and left with a wealth of coins and jewels.  More importantly, they discovered the ornate armor of Sir Valentinus Mardas.  The group took the horns of the minotaur as a trophy as well and delivered the carcass to the orcs for a roasting.  They then returned to the keep.  Once there, they were able to speak with Castellan Horvath who rewarded them with 500 gp as well as the knight’s magical armor!  In addition, and more importantly to Theobald the dwarf, he decreed that there first drink every night in the tavern be on the house!

Wasting no time in taking advantage, the party went to the tavern.  Within they talked with all the mercenaries gathered and hired every one of them for a single mission: eradicate the bugbears!

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

Game summary for November 3, 2011, In Search of Adventure campaign, Keep on the Borderlands adventure; present characters included Nicholae Dragos (cleric adept) and Theobald Goblinbane (dwarf warrior).

The party, along with retainers Arathorn, Germanus, Quintinus, and Wuldric, proceeded into the caves.  They sifted through the debris uncovering a single copper coin along with a rusty cargo hook.  Theobald searched for traps and made enough noise to draw the attention of a cave denizen—an owlbear!  The creature attacked, mauling Theobald in moments.  The team tore into the ferocious beast, which only made it attack more violently!  Theobald fell back, and Nicholae stepped up only to be mauled as well.  Quintinus sank arrow after arrow into the beast while the twin glaives of Arathorn and Germanus worked it over.  Wuldric battled on with his mighty axe, holding the line.  It was the mighty arm of Theobald, however, who brought down the beast with a savagely hurled spear!  The team skinned the conquered beast and took its talons and beak as trophies.

Within the lair of the owlbear, they discovered a partially eaten gnoll and a bone scroll case containing a scroll of protection from undead.  The team then moved down a side hallway into a chamber wherein they found a corner radiating frigid cold.  After shifting the accumulated debris about, they found three geometric shapes carved into the wall:  a circle, a square, and a triangle.  After fiddling with it a bit, they discovered the triangle turned.  Soon thereafter, they succeeded in pushing the square.  Thinking for a moment, they pulled on the circle, which opened a secret compartment!  Within lay a stone cube radiating unearthly cold.  The team placed the cube in the owlbear skin for storage.

The team then moved into another chamber to discover an orc corpse slain by a goblin javelin.  Nicholae, drawing on what he had learned with their recent alliance with the orcs, performed an acceptable funeral rite over the maggot-infested body.  As they turned to leave the area, they found a gray ooze slithering down the corridor.  The horror surged forward to engulf Quintinus, stripping the flesh from his bones and killing him in seconds!

The party scattered, and Germanus landed a telling blow on the ooze.  It succeeded in touching other party members with a pseudo pod but failed to inflict the damage it had on Quintinus.  Theobald threw the cold-emanating cube at it, which it did not seem to like.  Nicholae rushed forward and pounded the ooze into inanimate slime with his warhammer.

With this monstrosity dealt with, the team moved north and found a room with a murky pool of water with something metallic shimmering on the far side.  The group got into an argument with Arathorn, who refused to go in after the golden item.  Finally, a disgusted Nicholae waded into the pool to find a jewel-encrusted goblet.  Unfortunately, two more gray oozes floated up and attacked.  The party started to flee, with Wuldric and Arathorn holding the line of retreat.  They dispatched one ooze and bolstered their confidence.  The group stayed and fought with the other until it too was slain.

The team then took the owlbear carcass to the orcs who cooked and ate it at a great feast while the party told tales of the encounter in the cave.  Later the team walked back to the castellan’s keep to sell the chalice and owlbear skin.  They patched up their relationship with Arathorn as well as hired on a mysterious dark-skinned young woman named Ma’Kala.  She was brought on due to her clerical training and knowledge of mysticism, religious ceremony, and healing.

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

Game summary for October 11, 2011, In Search of Adventure campaign, Keep on the Borderlands adventure; present characters included Nicholae Dragos (cleric acolyte) and Theobald Goblinbane (dwarf veteran).

In the castellan’s keep, the team reunited with Germanus, and Illithor departed for other opportunities.  They returned to the Hearth and Road tavern to recruit new retainers and re-hired Wuldric Mineshield and Arathorn.  Additionally, they hired archer Quintinus Metelko.

Re-equipped, the team returned to the lair of the Bloody Fist orc tribe and began working on preparations for the upcoming battle with the Finger Gnawers goblins and Blades of Doom hobgoblins.  They provided the orcs with the maps they had made of the goblin and hobgoblin lairs.  Nicholae gave a stirring speech to rally the orcs, and Arathorn encouraged their bravery.  Theobald led the orcs through a number of exercises to limber up for the fight and taught them several ways to improve their preparations.  Quintinus and Theobald conferred on military strategy for a while and determined that was better left to the rapier minds of the violent orcish brutes.  Nicholae visited the Get the Gruumsh orc tribe in a nearby cave and tried to talk them into joining the fight.  After failing to appeal to their altruistic nature, he paid them gold.  With a several dozen orcs now ready for war, Nicholae conducted a religious ceremony to bless the battle.

The orcs and hobgoblins met blade-to-blade in the valley of the caves of chaos, and blood ran deep.  The preparations by the party paid off, and the orcs proved extremely deadly.  The battle raged for half an hour as the orcs drove the goblinoids into the caves.  Using the knowledge scouted by the party, the orcs were able to negotiate the terrain readily and slaughter even more goblin scum.  Meanwhile, Nicholae and Theobald worked to treat the wounded orcs and keep them in the battle.  After an hour of battle, most of the goblinoids had fled into the night or lay dead or dying.  The marauding orcs stripped the bodies of valuables while Nicholae collected left ears to prove to the keep the number of goblinoids eliminated.  The orcs then claimed the bodies as dinner and returned to their caves.  As agreed, they left the inner goblin caves to the party.

The team worked through the caves scaring off the occasional goblinoid straggler and stripped the caves of any valuables.  They recovered a small fortune in silver, pewter, and gemstones along with assorted coins and a well-stocked armory.  All told, they recovered several thousand gold coins in value.

After a several trips to the keep to unload spoils, make bank deposits, and restock, the team set out to explore the furthest cave on the lowest level of the ravine.  They discovered an entryway filled with leaves, branches, bones, and decaying corpses.  Sifting through the reeking mess, they discovered a number of loose coins.  However, the rattling of the leaves attracted a swarm of giant rats!  The vermin swept into the party like a tide of chittering teeth.  Several of the retainers were injured, but the party made short work of the rodents.  Afterward, they resumed their search through the garbage and had to fight off another trio of rats.

With the second set of rats defeated, the party stood ready to proceed deeper into the caves in search of glory, riches, and enemies of humanity.

Game summary for October 6, 2011, In Search of Adventure campaign, Keep on the Borderlands adventure; present characters included Illithor (elf veteran-medium), Nicholae Dragos (cleric acolyte), Stanislav Dmitros (fighter veteran), and Theobald Goblinbane (dwarf veteran).

The group returned to the caves and met with the Bloody Fist tribe, including the chieftain, Right Fist, whose hand was coated in dried blood.  The orcs agreed to team with the party to wage war against the goblins and hobgoblins in two days’ time.  Meanwhile, they suggested the party cause disruption and chaos, as they had been, among other tribes.

The party asked about some of the other caves, and Right Fist pointed out where to find kobolds, goblins, hobgoblins, gnolls, and bugbears.  Stanislav informed the party that bugbears were some of the largest and more violent goblinoids, and the group decided to visit them.  Outside the cave, they discovered a sign written in kobold, goblin, and orcish stating, “Safety, security, and repose for all humanoids who enter—WELCOME!  (Come in and report to the first guard on the left for a hot meal and bed assignment.)”  The promptly entered and went to the right.

The team’s light alerted the guards to the left who called out to them in the guttural language of the goblins.  Ignoring it, they pressed on down a slope and opened a door to find a room filled with bugbear men and women who snatched up axes and swords.  Meanwhile, the bugbear guards from down the hallway closed in on the other side, catching the party between a dozen armed and violent goblinoids!

The team fought valiantly but quickly found themselves nursing grievous injuries.  Several bugbears went down, but the party could not hold the line.  Germanus found well with his glaive, and Stefan stepped up to swing his hammer, but even the two warrior retainers were not enough to turn the tide.  The team opened a way through toward the exit and fled at full speed.  The bugbears cut off the escape route of Germanus and Stefan while others ran after the fleeing party.

Stefan fled deeper into the caves, Stanislav was cut down in his tracks, and Germanus fled another direction.  Nicholae was surrounded and beaten into unconsciousness.  The bugbears then bargained with the survivors and ransomed Nicholae for 25 platinum coins.

With Nicholae recovered along with the corpse of Stanislav, the team ran back to the keep to lick their wounds and learn from what went wrong.

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