Session 3
Days 5, 6, and 7
Healing and recovery; plus an extra day to get some tasks taken care of. Radegund swaps out her weapon selection, commissions a hook hand, and chats with people all over town. Galswintha plays with the war dog and follows Vulfelind around town.
Grizzba. Chlodomer and Grimoald try to track down “the vomit goblin,” meet with dismal failure, suspect “guild business,” and ask Vulfelind to look into it for them. Vulfelind tracks down Grizzba (and pays a slightly-overdue guild tax) and arranges a meeting. Meanwhile, Chlodomer has a heart-to-heart with Lotharic, and Lotharic agrees to let Grizzba bring ruin and shame upon the party before he kills her (approximately his words). Chlodomer offers Grizzba standard hench rates, and between his CHA +3 and a small bonus for treating a goblin like a human being, manages fanatical loyalty!
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Grizzba the Goblin - Neutral Goblin Hench (0th), 16, Caving,
Mapping. STR -1, DEX +2, INT +1, CHA -1. A well-dressed goblin (fitted tunic,
pants, sandals) with a pointy sense of humor.
Lotharic visits the local medical ward and offers his services, and starts to ask questions about the local goblin. He doesn’t much like the reply: “Which one?”
Day 8
The party buys an updated map from Basina and is disheartened to find that their secret wargame room was found; but the other secrets they know are still clear. Grizzba is discovered to understand maps, and she fills in a few empty spots on the map, although not the connecting passages.
Why? Because Corbus built servant corridors into the top levels of the maze. They’re tiny and require a talisman to pass through, but there you go.
They head back into the maze, and go back to the secret door at the base of the stairwell - that’s where their line map leads, darnit, and that’s where they’re going to go.
Chlodomer parleys with the kobolds this time, and pulls it off, if by the skin of his teeth. The Grim Fist will be allowed safe passage to the next spot on the line map, in return for not brandishing weapons, murdering lots of kobolds, or telling anyone else where the kobold lair is.
The line map takes the party to a tight, narrow, scary-looking stairwell down.
The party descended and with the tenacity that only comes from ignorance, fought their way through a gang of ogres, carried the corpses back, and then returned to find another two gangs of ogres investigating the scene of the previous fight … including the one-eyed runt, who squealed something in ogrish, and all hell broke loose.
The party fled to a narrow door, where Radegund managed a perfect crossbow shot, switched to her mace, and held off two ogres at the door long enough for Galswintha to kill one of them. Then the whole party dropped their packs and ran, with a parting shot from an ogre finally killing Radegund.
They had to leave the bodies of Radegund and the war dog (who took a hit for Vulfelind near the start of the fight, and whose armor slowed it down too much to outrun the ogres).
… and then Chlodomer had to give the fast-talk of his life, when they tried to pass through the kobold territory looking ill-equipped to handle a fight. He managed it, but it was obvious that the kobolds were going to try something sneaky and nasty the next time through.
Still, they returned with all but Radegund (and dog). And missing most of their backpack-contained gear.
Galswintha and Vulfelind pinky-swear vengeance on the ogres. Everyone mourned.
Weeks 2 and 3 (End Day 21)
We ended the session with another two weeks passing, so that some long-term things could be done. Galswintha wanted to see if another war dog could be found; Vulfelind wanted to hire a hench; and so on.
End Session Notes
XP 785 each; haul, 476 gold, including corpses and map sales. Grizzba received 163 XP (1/2 share of kills award + 76 gold) and made level 1. I decided she would progress as a thief rather than a fighter, however - her background (and her contacts with the guild) imply that she had close-enough training already. Chlodomer gave money to Vulfelind to “equip Grizzba well,” and so she did.
After replenishing their packs, that leaves them with approximately 1,000 gold each, which they put in safe-keeping with Basina.
Vulfelind just tipped over second level. Radegund’s player rolled up Lanthechilde (who is presented as a friend of Chlodomer’s who was arriving late to the party). A few party members aquired henches, pulling from the military population of the village.
The party as they stand now (including 10% XP bonuses):
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Chlodomer d'Antioch - Lawful Fighter, 18, Diplomacy, Fighting Style (Weapon and Shield). STR +2, CHA +3. Tall and young, with dark curls and soulful brown eyes ... and a ready smile. A poetic tongue and idealist's heart make him more dangerous out of combat than in. XP 1,389.
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Grizzba the Goblin - Neutral Goblin Thief, 16, Caving, Mapping, Weapon Finesse. STR -1, DEX +2, INT +1, CHA -1. A well-dressed goblin with a pointy sense of humor. XP 69. Morale +6 (Chlodomer CHA +3, fanatic +2, levels +1, calamities +0).
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Grimoald d'Antioch - Lawful Fighter, 23, Combat Reflexes, Naturalism. STR +3, WIS +1, CHA +1. As large and muscular as an ox, reasonably pretty ... a blond farmboy, all grown up. XP 1,389.
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Alaric du Châtel - Lawful Heavy Infantry, 19, Combat Reflexes. STR +1, DEX +1, CON -1, WIS -2, CHA -1. A pudding-faced peasant with poor manners, but a strong back and a strong desire to help. XP -100. Morale +1 (Grimoald CHA +1, loyal +0, levels +0, calamities +0).
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Galswintha d'Antioch - Lawful Mage, 30, Elven Bloodline, Engineering x3. DEX +1, CON +2, INT +2, WIS -1, CHA +1. An apparent teenager with pointed ears, eyes the color of hoarfrost, ankle-length hair the color of a raven's wing, and a distant, wintry smile. She's smarter than you, and she knows it. XP 1,389.
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Vulfelind de Saubruic - Neutral Thief-2, 16, Tracking, Weapon Finesse. DEX +3, INT -1, CHA +2. Tall and slender, with enormous black eyes, dark olive skin, and black hair cropped as close as possible, with a calming, professional demeanor that far belies her years and a smile that is absolutely dazzling when it appears. XP 1,389.
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Thorismund du Châtel - Neutral Slinger, 22, Animal Husbandry. STR +2, INT -2, WIS +1, CHA +2. A mercenary with craggy good looks and a kind heart, but no head for math. XP -100. Morale +4 (Vulfelind CHA +2, fanatic +2, levels +0, calamities +0).
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Ingunde du Châtel - Neutral Slinger, 18, Animal Husbandry x2. STR -2, DEX +1, CON -1, INT +1, CHA +2. A stunningly good-looking mercenary and wife to Thorismund. Does the finances for the household. XP -100. Morale +4 (Vulfelind CHA +2, fanatic +2, levels +0, calamities +0).
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Lotharic le Brun - Lawful Cleric, 20, Divine Blessing, Healing x3. STR +1, INT +2, WIS +2. A sorrowful looking young man with a peasant's tan, muddy brown eyes, and a dominating nose, dressed in the livery of a priest of recent vintage. He cares deeply about people, and has an intuition for the right thing to do. XP 1,389.
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Lanthechilde d'Antioch - Neutral Thief, 20, Healing x2, Intimidation. STR +1, DEX +2, CON +1, INT +1, WIS +1, CHA +2. A low-level version of Rebecca de Mornay's character in The Three Musketeers, before she has her heart broken. Soft-spoken and kind, but a little too clever with the daggerwork. XP 0.