The party, only three members strong with a guaranteed return of Spugnoir (NPC 2nd-level magic-user) realized that they would need some assistance (or meat shields, as they put it) in order to survive. They spent an extra day in Hommlet at the inn asking around to see if anyone was interested in joining their group. They got some interest from one of the potboys at the inn who agreed to hire on as the linkboy for the expedition. They also attracted one of the widow's sons, a farmer from down the road, who was an active militiaman. One of the brewer's apprentices, looking to make some extra coin, also applied for the position. He too was an active militiaman but without much training. The party offered them all standard wages per the DMG, and each rolled reactions and accepted the offers (basically 1 gp/month). Since two of the villagers were militiamen, Elmo, who was also at the inn, offered his services as a heavy footman. The party, impressed with his apparent strength, agreed on the condition that he "kept off the sauce" for the tenure of his employment. He agreed with a wink, and was hired at 2 gp/month (with a bonus of 1 gp if he survived). Little did the party suspect his true motives and abilities. Elmo wanted to keep an eye on the villagers to make sure they were fairly treated and kept safe - I ruled that his family was friendly with the widow and her sons, plus the brewer apprentice was a Cuthbertine, as I assume Elmo is as well. The party then purchased equipment for the men and sent them home to prepare for the next morning. Of course, Elmo switched out his equipment for his own adventuring gear, concealing his chain mail as best he could beneath a tabard of the village militia.
So the next morning the party was 8 members strong, plus a hunting dog and a pack mule to haul treasure back to town.
- Elana Barzan, 3rd level NG human cleric of Pelor (hp: 16)
- Gort Martin, 2nd/1st level LN half-orc cleric/fighter of Wee Jas (hp: 19)
- Trixalix, 1st/1st level N gnome fighter/illusionist (hp: 3)
- Spugnoir, 2nd level CN human magic-user (hp: 4)
- Marshall, 0-level NG human, light footman (hp: 4)
- William, 0-level LG human, light footman (hp: 3)
- Kevin, 0-level NG human, linkboy (hp: 4)
- Elmo, 4th level LG human ranger (hp: 41), posing as a heavy footman
When they got to the bottom of the stairs they turned east and looked around. They noted the piles of debris to the west and opted instead to investigate the northeastern door. Gort opened the door easily (17 Str) and they looked in to see that the place was pretty much empty with another closed door to the northeast. Not wanting to leave potential danger at their backs, they then investigated the southern chamber with the columns. This would prove to be their undoing! First though, Elana tied off her mule to the eastern column of the entry cellar.
Since they boldly marched into the chamber and down towards the torture chamber opening on the east wall, they were in position to be attacked by the dozen zombies infesting this place! They were thankfully not surprised (benefiting from Elmo's ranger ability to reduce surprise chances). However, they were organized in such a way that Gort and Elmo at the front of the party were at the entrance to the torture chamber, and the back of the party (Spugnoir and Elana) were against the cubicle doors when they all opened. Now, I know that the module states that the zombies emerge in pairs, but I assumed that the sudden entrance of the entire party into the midst of the "trap" would cause all the zombies to activate at once and attack. They would still attempt to drive their prey into the torture chamber by cutting off escape to the north and south.
Now, we had to stop and re-read all the passages on turning undead (it's been a while for all of us). Apparently, the cleric has to boldly step forward and command the undead to begone. This implies that the undead have to see the holy symbol. Since most of the zombies were still in the cubicles (except the extra two I placed in the torture chamber) that meant that Gort could only affect two, while Elana could affect those at the openings of the cubicles that could see her. Both clerics of course opted to turn undead on the first round and since zombies go last, they got to go first. Both were successful! Meanwhile, Elmo moved into the torture chamber to attack one of the turned zombies and the rest of the party reorganized to better protect themselves from the oncoming undead. When the zombie ran, Elmo got a free attack and struck it (but didn't kill it). The two zombies in the torture chamber fled to the far corners and would remain thus for 6 rounds. Three zombies in the cubicles directly near Elana also fled to the rear of their rooms and would not emerge for 9 rounds. The rest came shambling forth to attack the party members. Poor rolls were already plaguing the party!
We kept the combat slow in order to make sure that we did not miss anything important. I had to make quite a few rulings on situations, like using a column for cover, switching weapons in combat, where characters could move and what situations would affect them during the combat. Relatively quickly, things went south for the party. The 3 hp gnome got his ass as far away from the melee as possible, ending up in the torture chamber with the two turned zombies. He decided to switch to his short bow and began plugging away (but missing terribly). Elmo was doing great against the zombies with his 18/43% strength and magic battle axe, but even he could not be everywhere. The rest of the party was holding its own at first - then the NPCs began dropping. First Spugnoir was knocked unconscious (down to 0 hp with one hit), then William slumped against the column from a zombie back-hand (also at 0 hp). Marshall hung in a good long while before he was felled with a mighty blow (down to -2 hp) and began bleeding out. Kevin the linkboy actually took out one zombie with his dagger before he fell to a massive blow (down to -3 hp and dying). Elmo was moving among the combat as he was able, slaying zombies as we went, but poor Gort had trouble hitting the damn undead things. Rolls of 1, 2, 5, 7, and 9 repeatedly stymied his chance to cleave the zombies. His dog, Mort, was terrified but was coerced to attack by the half-orc who was by this point surrounded by fallen comrades and advancing zombies. Elana and Trix fell as the turned zombies eventually shook off the fear and advanced (both reduced exactly to 0 hp). Healing spells were being used but the rolls simply were not high enough. Eventually, even the mighty Gort was felled (-3 hp), leaving Mort the hunting dog and Elmo to take out the remaining 3 zombies.
But apparently, the dice were being malicious. This combat had dragged on for about 15 rounds at this point and I forgot to roll for wandering monsters. Wouldn't you know it - I rolled a 1! A curious small ogre came out of the northern door to see what all the commotion was about and spotted Elmo fighting a zombie by the column to the south. He advanced, bellowing in rage about intruders....
Elmo and Mort were able to defeat the remaining zombies, then the dog ran from the fierce ogre since his master had fallen. Elmo alone remained to tackle the ogre while several of the party members lay unconscious or dying on the floor nearby. Several rounds passed with both Elmo and the ogre swinging wildly (missed on both sides for about 8 rounds). Then Elmo scored a hit and did max damage, essentially a one-shot kill! Unfortunately, it was too late for Marshall, Kevin, and poor Gort, all of whom bled out from their wounds. Trixalix, Elana, Spugnoir and William were still unconscious and Elmo had no way to revive them. The terrified dog licked its wounds and whined in the other room. And this is where the session ended after nearly 4 hours of gaming....
If the clerics simply waited for the zombies to all emerge before turning, they would have been able to affect more of them. Of course, their rolls for number affected were not very good, so who knows. Having the zombies emerge in pairs might have affected the combat too, since it may have forced the turning to occur prematurely. A cleric can only turn once per group of undead if they are all of the same type (per the rules). The fighter/illusionist had no offensive spells; he also was too scared of dying to enter the fray as a melee combatant. The party really planned their attacks well, but the rolls were just pitiful (on both sides, since I was also rolling pathetically for the zombie). The combat lasted well over 20 rounds, but should not have in my opinion. All rolls were made openly and no punches were pulled on my part. My opinion of the T1 dungeons remains the same - the module is a meat-grinder!! Given the amount of XP likely to be accumulated by a group of 6-8 1st level characters, there is no way they could survive this level. Even these 2nd to 3rd level characters had trouble with a bunch of hirelings and NPCs helping.
Now, we intend to continue the experiment, but since the half-orc is not viable for raising from the dead, that player must now roll another character. Unfortunately, I see no easy way for these characters to be saved. Elmo has no chance of rescuing all the characters involved by himself, and to leave them here after such a combat (after the ogre yelled out) would mean that Lubash would eat well for his next meal. Unconsciousness in the dungeon pretty much means death in this case. The frequency of encounter checks is 1 in 6 every turn! An encounter of giant rats, bugbears, or gnolls would result in the removal of the fallen characters to stew pots or death by rat scavenging. With only one mule, and help 2 hours away, that's a LOT of encounter checks. Now Elmo is also wounded (down to half his hit points), so meetings with multiple creatures could also spell his doom. I can see no good outcome of this if the logical paths are followed. Elmo could retreat to an upper room, barricade himself inside with the survivors, and rest until they are able to recover their hit points and revive. This seems the best option, since the encounter rolls above are only 1 in 12 per turn and the worst that could be encountered would be giant rats and brigands. I think this is what will have to happen. Elmo could not, in good conscience, leave the fallen to die horribly while he goes for help. Besides, if Elana can be revived, she can use her healing to bolster the others and increase their chance of survival. The dead should be taken back and given a decent burial. Elmo will also reveal himself as a ranger in service to the Viscount, and a defender of Hommlet. I'm certain that the Cuthbertine clerics or the druid would approve of healing if Elmo spoke on their behalf. Elmo could also urge the party to return to the ruins in order to eliminate any other threats therein, since it is obvious that some evil force is working to strengthen the forces of Elemental Evil once more!
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