Present:
- Balder Dash (gnome wizard) - Jamie
- Donk Platebreaker (human fighter) - Jeff
- Elvis Ghenna (elf bard) - Shane
- Malcolm Gandhi (gnome thief) - Kevin
- Red Feuersturm (human temple fighter of Hob) - Chris
- MARMALADE: Slim Jim (human rogue) - Darryl
- Sophia Beauchamp (half-elf priest 21) - Ian
- Walton Formalin (half-elf mystic of 21) - Andrew
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| Rain and light fell into the shaft |
The weather was a little drizzly and the rain fell down the shaft, but quickly drained into the central stream. The stream appeared from a tunnel entrance on one side of the shaft and wound its way across the shaft to where it disappeared into another tunnel.
It was in this stream exit tunnel that everyone had hidden when the Gnolls appeared earlier.
Suddenly, with a quiet drawn-out whirr, the rope that we had used to descend into the shaft fell to a higgledy-piggledy pile next to where Balder was stretching up to place some seeds into a particularly good spot on the wall.
"What da?" he squeaked, looking up to see three distant heads peering over the edge of the shaft above.
Malcolm, Red, and Sophia were now awake.
Apparently Slim had collapsed, releasing his hold on the rope, and topped to the ground in a Marmalade faint. Having just roused themselves from the same condition, Sophia and Red had watched the end of the rope slither off the side of the shaft and disappear below. Quickly ascertaining the situation, Red had rummaged in his backpack and produced another length of rope that enabled them to recover and reattach the rope system. Thus, the rest of the party were not trapped down the saft with who knew how many Gnalls, Kobolds, and an unknown third group of creatures (which subsequently turned out to be Orcs! Read on)
Before the rope had been reconfigured though, Donk heard some guttural grunting noises coming from the tunnel he was guarding. Quickly, but quietly, he alerted the others, and they all retreated back into the dark stream exit again.
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| Three Gnolls exited the tunnel |
"Sssshh" hissed Balder, as they watched three Gnolls and five Kobolds exit the tunnel entrance, cross the shaft, jump the stream, and disappear into the tunnel on the other side.
Giving the creatures around five minutes to get wherever they were going, hopefully far away, the party re-emerged into the open shaft. Checking that the creatures were not in range, Donk and Walton slipped back into guard duties, while Balder and Elvis communicated with the rest of the party at the top of the shaft, using the magical Whisper spell. It was time to regroup together!
Pretty soon everyone was at the bottom of the shaft, Slim having been cautiously lowered in a makeshift sling, and Malcolm descending last. With a talented flick of the rope, Malcolm detached the upper end, gathered and coiled the ropes, and stored them back in his backpack. Slim was carefully placed into an out of the way corner of the open shaft, near the stream exit, and everyone was soon put to planting duties around the walls.
Again, guttural noises were heard from the tunnel that the Gnolls had previously headed into, so we all scattered for the stream tunnels to hide. This time half the party got to the exit, but Malcom and Balder were closer to the entrance, and ducked in there.
"Oh golly, dis is very ot now!" exclaimed Balder.
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| Orcs crossed the open shaft |
"Dilbert won't be happy if we leave his new verbena plantation in the middle of a goblinoid stronghold" mused Walton, "I guess some cleansing is called for"
Malcom, up to his chest in the now steaming entry stream, looked curiously around after the Orcs had disappeared.
"Hey" he whispered, "dere is a dedge up dere. I go chick it out"
"Oh golly, be saf cousin" whispered Balder as Malcom shimmied up the wall of the shaft and disappeared along the right-hand side of the stream entrance tunnel.
We got back to planting, and after ten minutes Malcolm popped back out of the upstream tunnel, hurried along the stream, and disappeared into the opposite downstream one. He was back again in five minutes, by which time the planting was complete and Balder was happy.
"Oh golly, dis will be a vonderful nursery" Balder proudly exclaimed.
Malcolm reported that the downstream exit continued about sixty meters and terminated in a large pool with a huge rock in its centre, while the upstream tunnel led to another large pool at the base of some waterfalls. There were a series of large steaming rocks in the upstream pool, that were somehow heating the water. There was also a side passage part way along the upstream ledge that led off into a larger cave complex, but there was a cave-in part way along.
"Only us mall Gnomes can be vitting through der" Malcolm stated, "So mostly ded end for you"
But this seemed like a great place to retreat into for the night. There were only two hours before dark, and it was already very gloomy at the bottom of the shaft. Using the ropes, we all clambered up the wall of the shaft at the stream entrance and advanced along the ledge, following the narrow path upstream towards the side passage. Manoeuvring the marmalading Slim was quite challenging, so he was carefully wrapped and placed securely on the ledge, well out of sight from the open shaft. [The DM declared that transporting Slim along the ledge would require rolls against Dexterity, and it was considered less risk to leave him safely near the entrance than to risk a drop into the now near-boiling stream below.]
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| Someone had been caught in the cave-in |
Walton cast a small Light and led the rest of the party along the ledge to the side passage, and about forty meters along the passage to the cave-in. In the glow of the light, skeletal remains could be seen protruding from beneath the rocks of the cave-in.
"Poor blighter" whispered Walton.
Malcom scurried up the face of the cave-in and slipped through the small gap at the top of the rubble.
"A bigger gavern back ere" came Malcolm's whisper from the other side.
"Sum natral light from a shaft up in da roof, and another dead body on dis side"
"Also, an exit tunnel over dere, but signs of some large furry creature currently living in ere"
Elvis, always hoping for a valuable find, cast a Detect Magic spell and excitedly reported there was something magic on the far side of the cave-in.
"I can't see nothing dere" noted Malcolm as he slid back through the gap and dropped nimbly to his feet in front of us.
"Better leave exploring there till tomorrow" suggested Sophia, "We are all mostly out of magic, and Donk is pretty injured"
We cast Cures and settled in for a night of rest and recovery, safe in the hidden caves.
But almost immediately a low growling noise was heard from the other side of the cave-in. Malcolm was on the first watch, and he alerted the others that the occupant of the cavern beyond the cave-in was home, and that everyone should be particularly quiet. Which was fine, until the morning when Elvis woke with a stretch and yelled out ...
"What's for breakfast Donk?"
"Grrrrrrrr" echoed over the cave-in from the other side, and a scratching crashing noise began.
Everyone hastily retreated from the tunnel, back to where Slim was comfortably resting on the hidden ledge, just short of the main verbena shaft. All together again, with Divine and Arcane points partially restored, the party sent Malcolm off to explore the Orc cave. This cave began at the main shaft and led off towards the "outside" of the cliffs that we were currently inside. Hopefully this would be the start of our way home to Toluene. Malcolm was back in ten minutes and reported that the tunnel quickly opened into a large steamy cavern with multiple pits in the floor. Beyond the steamy cavern was another short passage that opened into a further cavern which was full of the sounds of snoring and guttural speech, and the smells of food cooking.
"I not going in deer" Malcom noted, "So not shore how many!"
"Oh golly" exclaimed Balder, "I got just ding for dis"
Casting his Hide spell [The second level Arcane spell which is equivalent to the old Invisibility, although the notes do say "Cannot move" so we may have stretched the spells potency a little in our application here, and in the subsequent applications described below] on Malcolm, Balder turned him invisible and he was sent forth on a more thorough reconnaissance of the second cavern. When he returned, he reported that there were five Orcs sitting around a small cooking fire, all wearing armour, with their swords stacked beside them. The cave continued on beyond the cooking cavern for about forty meters where it exited to the outside at the bottom of the cliffs. Two further Orcs stood watch just inside the cave, and a large wolf rested at their feet.
The planning went something like this ...
The steamy cavern erupted every ten minutes or so with noisy geysers of steam and boiling water.
This noise would mask our approach, and hopefully mask the sounds of combat from the open shaft behind us, where Gnolls were known to occasionally frequent, and the exit cave in front where the wolf and two more Orcs waited.
The day was bright and sunny, so Kobolds wouldn't be able to cross the open shaft in any event, although the Gnolls definitely could.
We had the ability to cast three sleep spells, pretty much simultaneously.
Five minus three is only two, and we had three fighters in the party.
Plan A seemed quite appropriate, provided timing was reasonably aligned.
What could go wrong?
We set up in the steamy cavern, away from the pits, and waited for the next eruption.
Slim was a dead weight, so he was left behind on the hidden ledge of the stream.
The eruption began and we leapt into action.
The Orcs were Surprised, and we got the jump on them.
Three Sleeps were cast, but only two Orcs went down.
[Casting Sleep on an opponent is an opposed roll, the casters Arcane 1 skill vs. the targets Magic Defence skill. Thus, you might cast Sleep successfully, but the opponent may not be affected due to a good Magic Defence roll. One Orc made a great Magic Defence roll!]
The three fighters, Donk, Red, and Walton, engaged the three Orcs still up.
The sounds of serious combat rang out in the cavern as swords swung.
Balder and Elvis moved forward to watch against the two other Orc guards and the wolf.
Malcolm and Sophia stayed back to watch the open shaft against the Gnolls.
After his first massive strike, Walton struggled to damage his target again.
Donk killed his opponent in the second round of combat and assisted the others.
Red, with Donk's support, killed his opponent in the fourth round of combat.
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| The wolf leapt at Balder |
At that point, Elvis ran screaming across the Orc cavern, yelling "Wolf"
Balder, left by his little Gnome self in front of the charging wolf, bravely cast a Magic Missile, which did one point of damage, just before the wolf leapt onto him and crushed him to the ground.
[The wolf started with three attacks per round, all three of which hit Balder in the first attack and caused a massive ten points of damage. Balder would have been unconscious on zero points, having suffered a Major Wound, and been bleeding out. A roll against his CONstitution would need to be made every round until attended to with a Cure, or First Aid assistance, by another member of the party. Determining that his character was likely to die as a result, Jamie chose to spend three of his Luck points and reduce the damage taken by D6 points. This significantly altered the outcome of the fight by reducing the damage by enough that he was still conscious. Still able to act, no Major Wound, and no requirement to roll against his (low) CON. But he did stay down, pretending to be dead, as the wolf leapt over his "body" and advanced down the cave towards the Orc cavern and the rest of the party]
Donk and Red, having dispatched their Orc opponent, stepped in front of the cave exit where the snarling wolf was advancing over Balder's body, and poised to dispatch it as it advanced into the cavern. Walton battled on behind them, while Sophia watched on and waited for her opportunity to assist. Elvis had temporarily disappeared, and Malcom was still keeping a close eye of the open shaft to make sure no Gnolls snuck in from behind and surprised us.
With a ferocious snarling, the wolf leapt onto Donk and raked a viscous scratch across his shoulder. Red's strike [The second (and third etc) of multiple attackers onto a single target gets a bonus dice to hit (roll twice, take the best) which is opposed by the target's attack roll against the first attacker] cut the empty air where the wolf had just passed.
In a whirlwind of claws and jaws, Donk was knocked back into the cavern, falling unconscious as his armour was ripped apart, his body ripped open, and blood spraying around the cavern. [Donk was subject to two critical hits (rolling 1 on the D20 attack roll) by the wolf. Since the wolf had three attacks each round to Donk's single attack, it had three opportunities to beat Donk's single roll, and critical hits do massive amounts of damage! It was quickly realised that multiple attack creatures were much too powerful under the new FSS combat system, and subsequent adjustments immediately made. Jeff also chose to spend three of his Luck points to reduce the damage taken, rolling a 6 on his D6. But he still dropped to 0 hit points (0 is as low as you go, there are no -ve hit points), was still unconscious with a Major Wound, and bleeding out]
As Donk toppled backwards, Red stepped in and engaged the wolf. [In a fluke of statistics, the wolf also hit Red with a critical hit in its first attack against him, but luckily its damage rolls were low. Red initially took fifteen points of damage, with three absorbed by his armour, leaving twelve points applied. This would have dropped Red to one hit point remaining, so Chris chose to spend three luck and reduce the damage by D6 (rolled a three) so was still on four hit points at the end of the combat round]
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| multiple critical hits were rolled! |
Fortunately, the roles were immediately reversed and Red, in a fit of Hob anger and frustration, got in a brilliant strike [critical hit with a 1] and took off the wolf's head.
Walton had finally dispatched his little Orc, and Sleep spells took care of the remaining two Orc guards. Walton quickly tended to Donk, attempting to cast a Cure Major Wound spell to eliminate his threat of bleeding to death. But the spell failed. [Andrew rolled over his Divine 2 skill, lost the 2 magic points, and the spell did not activate. Jeff was successful in his roll against CON and Donk didn't die that round] Sophia then cast multiple Cures, bringing Donk back to consciousness, the bleeding stopped, but he still had his Major Wound and the consequential reduction in efficiency. [All rolls, including combat, are at a disadvantage, two rolls, take the worst]
"Shhhhh" whispered Malcom, "Gnolls"
Malcom, still on watch at the cave entrance leading to the open shaft, had spotted three Gnolls cautiously exit the cave on the other side of the open shaft. They scanned the shaft, then one went over to the stream entrance, and another to the stream exit. They both scrambled up onto what we had thought were hidden ledges and disappeared for a few minutes. The third stayed right next to the cave and watched our entrance, where Malcolm was crouched in the shadows. Then the two Gnolls returned, one with a groaning Slim slung over his shoulder. They all disappeared back into their cave.
We threw the various Orc bodies, and the wolf, into the steam pits. Walton had a final crack at casting the Cure Major Wounds, which exhausted all his remaining magic points, but was also successful. Donk was back to full fighting prowess, although only with a few hit points. But Gnolls would be no problem, right?
Just them a long-drawn-out scream rang out across the open shaft.
"Slim" confirmed Sophia.
Realising that in our current situation, discretion would be the better part of valour [Chris had left for the night, so we were temporarily down one of the main fighters], we retreated out of the cave system and found a good defensive camp some hours away. It was pretty early in the day still, but magic points were well depleted, and hit points were low. Balder and Walton took their recovery grapes, and Sophia her recovery wafer. They were all out for around nine hours. Elvis just laid his head down and started snoring, requesting a wake-up tap if anything happened. Nothing happened.
That evening, when Walton and Sophia came around, they decided that a repeat would be necessary and took another grape/wafer and were out for another ten hours. The rest of us set up watches, settled down, and prayed for an uneventful night.
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| Was it in fact the White Stag? |
"Phew" whispered Elvis, "That ain't no undead spectre then"
Malcom reckoned he saw a white deer shape just before the glow disappeared back into the deeper bush, and in the morning we saw that the undergrowth all around where the glow had been, was refreshed and revitalised. New growth was sprouting, and flowers were budding.
"The verbena could probably use dat guy over in the shaft" mused Balder.
But Slim had been captured, and the party had rested overlong in their recovery! Now was the time to reconnoitre and plan a rescue. Donk figured the Gnolls would be expecting us to return through the Orc caves that we had escaped from, so we planned a raid on the main tunnel entrance, assuming we could find it. Approaching the rocky cliffs again, REAL's gloriously bright light shining down, we did find the other tunnel entrance, and it appeared unguarded. On the outside anyway.
Balder cast the useful Hide spell on Malcom, who then crept off to gather useful intel regarding what we might face in the tunnels ahead. When he returned, he reported three linked caverns, one near the entrance with three alert Kobold guards, a second one with four Kobolds, a few dozing, and the third one with three Gnolls, torturing poor Slim, naked and slung up from the roof. Two other Kobold guards were stationed just inside the tunnel to the open shaft beyond the third cavern. The various caverns were relatively close together and any noises from one would likely be heard from the next!
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| The general shaft and cavern layout as represented on the live action whiteboard. |
Plans were made, spells considered, magic points and hit points tallied, and action taken.
Elvis and Walton cast Armour spells on themselves.
Silence was then cast into the first guard cavern and the three fighters rushed in simultaneously. Donk, Elvis, and Walton took one Kobold each and silently dispatched them in short order. Retreating back towards the entrance to clear the silence effect, Hide was cast on Donk so he could insert himself into the tunnel between the four Kobolds and the Gnolls, just in case any of them decided to run during the impending battle action. Another Silence was cast into the second cavern, and led by the fighters, the rest of the party charged in. The fighters attacked, while the spell casters paused at the edge of the silence effect and cast their Sleep spells. Not very effectively as it turned out, and Walton was forced to take on two Kobolds. Malcolm engaged one, and Elvis bravely took on the fourth. Balder employed his excellent Dodge skill and danced around his poor Kobold, who was unable to land a blow. And as soon as Donk saw that no Kobolds were running, he engaged from the rear.
The battle was quickly completed, with all the Kobolds silently killed. But not before Donk, Elvis, and Walton all received critical hits and nasty wounds. Elvis was reduced to one hit point, but was still up, and excitedly gloating that he had actually managed to kill something!
Retreating out of the silence effects again, we dragged off all the bodies, to dispose of them in the sunlight outside, and considered the next phase of the rescue.
Were we still healthy enough to take on three Gnolls?
Did we have enough magic points to cast cures, or other useful spells?
Would Slim survive as he recovered from his marmalade state and finds himself naked and hanging from a cavern roof in front of three angry Gnolls?
Watch this space for the next exciting instalment of the adventures of our intrepid heroes.
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