ROSTER
- Elana Barzan, 3rd level human female cleric of Pelor, NG (hp 16)
- Gort Martin, 2nd/1st level half-orc male cleric/fighter of Wee Jas, LN (hp 19)
- Trixalix, 1st/1st level gnome male fighter/illusionist, N (hp 3)
- Elmo (NPC), 4th level human male ranger, LG (hp 41)
- Spugnoir (NPC), 2nd level human male magic-user (hp 4) (must rest one week)
- Kevin, hireling linkboy (hp 4)
- Mort, Gort's trained hunting dog
While the fighters stood watch with the linkboy, Elana and Trix looted the gnolls in the outer chamber. They recovered a 10 gp gem, 11 gp, and several coppers and silvers. Then they headed into the gnoll den and looted some more silver pieces, copper pieces, 2 great bows, and 22 large arrows in 2 quivers. All the treasure was placed on the mule which was led inside. At the north end of the gnoll den, a pile of furs lay beneath an image of a flaming eye painted on the wall in blood. Disgusted, the party left the scene, not even moving the gnoll bodies from where they fell.
They then started examining the doors on the south wall. They opened the southwest door and found an empty 10' cubicle. Trix looked for secret doors but found none. They opened the middle door and found a blank wall behind it with a slack chain pulled out from a hole in the wall (the other trap release). Finally they opened the southeast door and revealed a long corridor from which cool, damp air flowed. The party headed south down the corridor, noting the diagonal side passage and the fact that it ended in a closed door. They continued south to the head of a staircase where they turned west and continued to follow the corridor. This led them into the crypts.
The party got really cautious when I mentioned the smell of decay and freshly turned earth. They noticed the niches in the walls and even investigated a few of them before revealing the curious ghouls in the western section. Neither party was surprised but the characters needed no hints to tell that the creatures were hostile (one was gnawing a leg bone). The party lost initiative on the first round and this allowed the ghouls to cross to the front-line fighters. Everyone else took up fighting positions and Elana got ready to turn undead (she wanted the undead to come closer so fighters could get parting shots; she learned from the zombies!). Mort, freaked out by the smell of the undead, retreated to the mule and Spugnoir in the rear of the party.
On the second round of combat, the shit hit the fan. The ghouls won initiative and attacked the fighters. Both Elmo and Gort were hit by claw attacks, and Gort was also bitten! Elmo and Gort both failed their saving throws vs. paralysis as well! Gort ended the round at -1 hp. Since it states that the paralysis is rigid (not simply loss of muscle control) they remained standing there like statues! At the end of the round, Elana managed to turn all the ghouls, but the fighters were in no shape to attack with parting shots. Elana got a result of 8 rounds for turning duration so the party had to think quick. Trix applied first aid to Gort as Elana cast cure light wounds on him, saving his life but he would be comatose for 5 turns. The next round, Elana and Kevin dragged Gort out into the corridor at 3" movement while Trix took the lantern and stood watch over Elmo. Then Trix fished out his rope from his backpack and began tying a loop. When Elana and Kevin returned, Trix told them to bring the mule over. They then affixed the rope around Elmo and used the mule to drag him out to Gort (much faster speed this way). They then tied up Gort in a similar fashion and Kevin, Spugnoir, and Trix led them back out to the main chamber while Elana made sure the fighters were not overly damaged by dragging. When they returned to the gnoll chamber, they realized that the ghouls would still hound them and they had no place to go! So they pulled out the oil pot (the one from the shelves by the stairs down) and dumped out 6 flasks worth of oil in front on the door. Then, using Gort's candle they lit it from the lantern and tossed it at the pool of oil. The oil immediately caught and started burning the door. Then the party continued to drag the unconscious fighters back to the bugbear chamber where they waited in nervous anticipation.
Now, while this was happening, the ghouls DID decide to pursue and chased them as far as the stairs. They were moving at 9"/turn since they were using scent to track, instead of moving fast down corridors they knew well. I rolled randomly and they chose to go down the stairs. Not finding the party, they headed north and checked the diagonal corridor. When they got to the door and found no trace of progress (I had them smell the floor for traces of blood - since Gort and Elmo probably had blood on their clothes and were dragged across the floor) they turned and headed north to the door. I rolled surprise as they opened the door and luckily they were not surprised and managed to jump back from the flames. The door is now open and burning; the ghouls hissed in aggravation, but broke off pursuit.
In the bugbear chamber I had the party all make listen checks - only Mort (the dog) heard the sound of the hissing ghouls. He perked up his ears and stood at the corridor. The party quickly untied the fighters and laid them to rest in the chamber. Kevin filled his empty flask from the oil pot (leaving just 1 flask worth within). The party was trapped and unable to get out!
Trix and Elana decided that the only way to survive this was to get out through the portcullis. They would elicit the help of the gnoll to do this. So they cut him down from the bars and convinced the gnoll through pantomime to help lift. I had Elana roll the check, adding all their strength percentages for lifting gates, and she made the roll! While Elana and the gnoll held the portcullis up, Trix led the others through the opening. Elana twisted out from under the gate but the gnoll let it fall in front of him. He was now free of the humans and would let them live so he could return to the den and recover his axe. The party made it up the stairs and holed up in the ogre's antechamber until the paralyzed members regained mobility. This happened after a total of 4 more turns. Gort was completely out of it, but alive. Elmo helped the others prepare for the journey back. Gort was stripped of his armor and heavy gear to allow him to walk at 6" (which was the party's base move rate anyway). There were no more encounters in the moathouse and the trip back took 2 hours.
The party hobbled into the village at 6 pm and this is where we ended the session!
* * * * *
Gort's player was upset that he fell so soon in combat - he was helpful though, nudging the others with suggestions (like the oil, lifting the portcullis, etc.). The others were completely flustered. Trix kept coming up with silly ideas and Elana kept shooting them down out of hand. This group is so used to winning that losing makes their heads spin!
I'm glad that we got to see some really classic maneuvers - lighting oil to break a pursuit, use of the death rules AS WRITTEN, and lifting gates rolls! Luckily there were no more wandering monsters this time! That could have spelled death for the party. It was interesting to note that some metagaming was happening when the moaning noise was heard. Someone suggested a possible ghost but one player noted that a ghost was a high-level undead and not found in such a low-level adventure. Correct, but still metagaming! The ghoul combat only lasted 2 rounds, but the pursuit dragged that out to 18 rounds! I had to roll wandering monster checks during and after the pursuit ended - again, some luck was with them as nothing was encountered.
I was dismayed that nowhere in the book is it listed how long oil burns when poured on the floor. I could find the duration for a direct oil-grenade hit, but nothing else. I ruled that since one flask burned out in 2 rounds, that 6 flasks probably burns out in 12 rounds. A lantern is a controlled burn that uses a wick, so that's why that lasts so long. I have yet to see if the door itself did burn or not. Either way, if the party returns, they have to lift the portcullis again to get by.
Gort and Spugnoir must rest one full week before they can adventure again. It's unlikely that the others will adventure on their own without them. From what I've read, they can be healed, but cannot perform any activities for a week. Elana will have to memorize lots of cure light wounds spells to heal everyone! News of humanoids in the moathouse is likely to cause an uproar in the village. This smacks of the Temple of Elemental Evil again, and they will likely make sure that the place is cleared out for good! That is if the players report this to the appropriate authorities (namely the mayor). I think it's time the party met Burne in any case.
Anyway, the party did survive and is safely back in Hommlet. They left with only a few coppers, silver, gold pieces, and a small gem. They also have the necklace which will be the lion's share of the treasure (but not likely to get them full value at the moneychanger's shop). People are close to next level (both Gort and Trix for their fighter levels) and this might be enough to get them there, but then they will lose XP if they can't train (and neither has enough to do so). I could roll some reaction checks in town and see if Rufus could train one of them for free (in service to the Viscount). I'm not sure how I'm going to rule on this yet, but it could be a moot point. Then again, Trix might survive better with 1-5 more hit points. A week off will also change the dynamic of the dungeon and might get the players killed in the village if evil forces learn of their activities. The commander of the moathouse forces might even set up an ambush in the tall reeds near the moathouse, or set spies to warn of more incursions. The wheels are in motion now!
Whew, I've put off posting about these adventures due to the hidden things in the dungeon, but most of those have now been revealed so I whipped out all 5 report posts in just a few hours. I'm exhausted - time for an ale!
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