LIB 28 – The Throwback Campaign, Session 11: Get a Real Job!

Duration: 5:38

This session started out deflated as Rob got his days mixed up, and was out drinking at the time, so he did not participate.

We picked up the combat to enter the cave where we left off; Ornery Ex-Cooper threw a rock, and off we go!

The Pit

We fell victim to the two-archers-behind-a-pit pattern. Big Jim moved passed some front-line feebs to get to two Hobgoblin archers before they picked us apart. He moved his normal move, and I suggested he run and he could get to them. Good idea right? Well Big Jim plummeted into a pit.

It took us a few rounds to get up the archers and occupy them so Jim could climb out of the pit. I stopped in the middle of the combat to try to remember if we had seen a magic shop back in town. My AC sucks; I really need some ring/bracers of protection, or maybe some Boots of Springing and Striding. I started to discuss this with the other Acen’s Angels, but it was too intense, so back to the fight.

Here we discovered that 6 damage is “a clocking”, sometimes, depending upon the motion of the club.

Big Jim’s first attempt to climb out of the pit looked successful, until Goblin 10 broke away from his opponent long enough to boot Big Jim in the face as he reached the apex. Sending him tumbling down.

Skon made an impact; stepping up and hitting a Hobgoblin archer with his trusty crossbow – a critical to the eye!

There was a little apprehension when Apical spied a Bugbear (his icon was twice the size of a normal man) lumbering down the hall.

Big Jim’s managed to climb out of the pit with his grappling hook, and after a little refreshing from Jernix, strode up the the bugbear and dispatched him with a critical.

We learned that doing a single point of damage, by Louis’s perverse scale, is “glancing”.

When we continued we quickly encountered 3 more Bugbears, which sent Disturbed Jester running out of the cave. Apparently he will not do ANYTHING for a creepy laugh.

I’ll note here that Spandau spent almost the entire session moving his swarm around, but that it is particularly effective. Either the victim gives up any action, defending against the swarm, or they ignore it and take a good amount of damage. And, as is critical to any Rob spell-caster, it keeps him well out of harms way.

We made up for a normal lack of mighty blows with and inordinate number of criticals this session. Big Jim felled Bugbear 3 with a critical for maximum damage.

Another Bugbear finished off Spandau’s swarm before we finished him.

We paused for a moment as Big Jim nabbed all 5 goodberries and shoved them in his mouth at once.

Filthy Room

We next proceeded into a large, filthy room where the cave inhabitants dumped garbage, old food, and solids. As we contemplated wading into the filth a youthful Otyugh shambled around the corner, from another room off the back of the filth room. Big Jim charged the beast, having no fear of filth from his days on the farm, and was quickly wrapped up by both tentacles. The massive muscles of Big Jim Umbrage broke himself free.

Apical strode into the filth and now had “Bugbear vomit on your left shoe”; gritty.

The Otyugh grabbed and bit Disturbed Jester, who was left barely alive submerged in the filth. His future was at an end.

Spandau, of course, refused to enter the filthy pool of crap, but zapped the Otyugh repeatedly with his ever-present swarm.

Apical was next to be grabbled, taking a triple hit (tentacle, tentacle, bite), but on his turn broke free because he is super awesome.

We finally downed the Otyugh and rooted around in the filth and corpses for an hour, scavenging. Around the pelvic area of a corpse we found a silver music box; wrapped around an arm bone we found a belt buckle with a polished stone (how it remained polish after floating in shit is a mystery); inside a half smashed in skull we found an ivory locket holding brain bits, and finally, we uncovered a warhammer of exceptional quality, along with some coins and trade goods.

We dragged Home Invader, and the caked body of Disturbed Jester outside for burial. We propped the incapacitated bodies of Leonard of Acen and Filthy Brawler outside the cave entrance and camped outside for the night.

The Great Chase: Part I

We re-entered the cave the next day and decided to finish clearing out the corridors before checking out the door we found the previous day. We quickly moved icons through the corridors, but Big Jim was mighty impatient with the slow movement of the torch bearers. We ran into some more Hobgoblins. Skon was quickly disabled by a critical from a Hobgoblin with a guisarme, nearly dying before we got back to him later. Big Jim narrowly avoided another pit, heroically leaping it, only to fall in and climb out meekly.

10 points of damage is devastating.

We narrowed the enemy down to a last archer, who took off down the corridor. Given the checkerboard of hallways and the light source situation this led to an exciting chase throughout the cave. We managed to corner the Hobgoblin Archer 3 in front of the filth room. An arrow dealt him major damage, but he managed to run past Big Jim and the chase continued.

The twisting halls prevented full out runs. Dan remarked, “This is the most fun I’ve ever had in a cave.”

We finally managed to bean the wiry prick, ending the chase.

Darkness

The rest of the caved thoroughly exercised, we marched to the inviting closed door. We all crammed up to open the door, only to find it opens out, so we all took an unceremonious 5 foot step back. Having lost Skon and Home Invader, our thiefly types, Jim laid an ear to the door. He heard merely a simple dog.

We threw open the door, and discovered 2 attack dogs, Dark Wizard, Dark Monk, and Dark Cleric! Dark Wizard immediately webbed half the party in the corridor, and trapped more behind it. Big Jim quickly felled the first attack dog, and Jernix broke free of the web.

At the 3:46 mark Dark Monk stepped into view. We waxed about his distinct icon, with his total bald-head, and how he thought he was so cool with his face tattoo. Dan remarked “that won’t go so well when he wants to get a real job”.

Dark Wizard threw up four mirror images, and Dark Cleric stunned several of the party with Sound Burst.

Big Jim was stunned by the Sound Burst and Dark Monk’s stunning blow for two rounds, while Apical was digging his way free of the web.

Big Jim: “Can we parlay? We were just here to give them a muffin basket.”

Unmoved by his over offer of breakfast, Dark Monk took down Jernix with a critcal.

Finally free from several rounds of stunning, Big Jim ran up to Dark Cleric and rolled and 8.

Also freeing himself, Apical focused his anger and obliterated his new arch-nemesis, the Dark Monk.

Dark Cleric demonstrated a strong passion for Dark Wizard as Big Jim left Dark Cleric to attack Dark Wizard. She chased after Jim, screaming hysterically. We later learned Dark Wizard was just using her for sex.

Apical and Big Jim then surrounded Dark Cleric and took her out, leaving only the elusive Dark Wizard.

Apical dismissed a mirror image.

Cornered and alone Dark Wizard jumped 20 feet, over our heads, but fucked up the landing and fell on his ass.

Jim brought his blade down upon Dark Wizard, only to dismiss another mirror image. Followed by a third mirror image dissipating at the bequeath of Apical’s fist.

In a bad way, Dark Wizard stood up and dropped a Globe of Darkness.

Apical found his way out, and in an educated guess charged back into the darkness, colliding with a pillar.

Dark Wizard passed Apical in the darkness, and out towards the room exit. Jim and Apical yelled and floundered until the escaped the darkness. Dark Wizard was now trapped between them and the web filled corridor.

Dark Wizard lit a torch and dove into the web, putting himself, the swarm, and Sniveling Wayne on fire (“now he’s got something to snivel about”). However his maneuver did burn a path through the web and disabled Wayne.

Having removed the web, Wayne, and the swarm from his path Dark Wizard was still trapped in a corridor between the remaining four party members.

After a flurry of a sword, a first, a dart, and a rock – all missing, the undeterred Dark Wizard leapt over Ornery Ex-Cooper like a hurdler.

Big Jim plowed over Ornery Ex-Cooper in pursuit, and another chase began.

Dark Wizard bolted towards the cave entrance, and freedom, and was promptly tripped by a waiting Filthy Brawler.

Dark Wizard surrender, which threw the party for a loop as Big Jim said, “this never happened before.”

Dark Wizard is from the East, and after a line of questioning, and throwing out a lot of bewildering and blasphemous info, we agreed to present Dark Wizard as a prisoner (of Dark Monk and Dark Cleric) to the Crusade, and after they let him go he can show us the secret pass where the East’s raiders enter the West. The party could then explore the East if they like, or turn the info into the Crusade.

The Dark Wizard, Gomwell, was born in the Eastern city of Olestra, to a Dark Elf father.

The session was then suddenly interrupted as someone named Cirus joined the session. He was bored, and jumped on random server, wanting to watch. Next time Louis needs to add a password to the MapTool session. Strange.

Big Jim and Apical reached 4th level, and obviously the party needs to hire a wizard.