This is the second journal entry for my Barrowmaze campaign using Old-School Essentials. For most of the players this is their first time playing in an OSE campaign. Let's dive in.
Session 2: Secrets in Stone
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| Byung-ju Bong |
Downtime
On the 29th of Springwane, 1041, the adventuring party gathered once more at the Rogue Willow tavern in Tamhill after a period of personal endeavors. Barry and Kazrik's trip to Murkwater involved buying weapons and anti-venom, as well as securing Barry's earnings' transport to his tower in the Cairn Moorlands. A mysterious cleric named Psteve joined them on their return to Tamhill. Narion improved his crossbow into an experimental repeating prototype, while Francis indulged in revelry, leading to a brief jail stint. Brother Gwyn recovered from his injuries, upgrading his armor and acquiring a gorget for added neck protection.
The as unnamed adventuring group consists of...
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Barry, Barbarian 4. Formerly of the "Buff Bastards" adventuring group. Expedition leader. Played by Zi. |
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Francis, Thief 1. A shifty and lazy sort. Played by Stony. |
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Gwyn, Cleric 1. An acolyte of St. Ygg searching for answers. Played by Todd. |
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Kazrik, Dwarf 1. Dwarven shipwright of Clan Boatstone. Played by Ryan. |
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Narion, Elf 1. An unusual elven smith and tinkerer. Played by Andrew. |
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Psteve, Cleric 1. Enigmatic prophet bound to the lords of Chaos. Played by Andy. |
| Hirelings | |
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Harvey. Porter & torch-bearer. |
Return to the Barrowmaze
The group braved the spring rain and trekked across the miserable moorland, returning to the Barrowmaze through a hidden entrance they had discovered earlier. After revisiting known chambers, they encountered carnivorous flies in the desecrated shrine to the south, dispatching them with only minor injuries to Kazrik and Psteve. Turning north, they found an ancient, vandalized statue of a woman, looted of its gemstone eyes. Further exploration led them to a room containing six robed undead, whom they opted to barricade behind a door rather than confront.
Their noise attracted a group of tomb-robbers, who offered warnings before moving away. The group's attempts at questioning yielded mostly threats. Proceeding through double doors, they came upon a hallway filled with small rooms. Two interconnected rooms concealed a sinister trap – five ghouls waiting in ambush! Barry used his might to barricade one of the doors, confining four ghouls, while Psteve used his faith in Chaos to turn the fifth, allowing for its disposal. Among the dispatched ghoul's belongings, Francis found exquisite leather gloves.
Their skirmish alerted two more robed undead, but Psteve successfully turned them away. Deciding to retreat from the perilous hallway, they changed course, journeying east and then north. Along the way, they discovered a makeshift stone pyramid, which Kazrik felt compelled to rearrange, and a warning about the dangers of "hollow clerics and their virulent touch."
Within this chamber, Francis detected voices behind a door, prompting a knock. Upon opening the door, they found it empty, its occupant having fled. Piles of copper and silver coins, and a few gemstones adorned the room. Kazrik identified a shoddily concealed secret door on the eastern wall, leading to a small room, which, in turn, revealed yet another secret door. Beyond it lay a vast corridor with a collapsed section of ceiling.
In this corridor, Gwyn and Francis heard ominous groaning and shuffling from the north. Narion discovered another secret door on the eastern wall, leading the group to hastily escape whatever was approaching from the north. Beyond the door, they encountered an intersection of hallways and an upward staircase. Investigating the staircase, they found it partially collapsed, requiring excavation to ascend.
They then turned east but were met with a dead end. Narion detected yet another secret door to the north, leading them to a dark altar adorned with onyx gemstones, arousing the group's curiosity.
With the session drawing to a close, the party had spent approximately three hours exploring the depths of the dungeon.
Final Thoughts
The session started by discussing the player's downtime activities. I had brought up the possibility of letting characters engage in carousing to gain XP for future characters, which several people took me up on. Sadly, the rules I decided to use (3d6 Down the Line's Arden Vul Carousing Rules) did not prove popular.
The players didn't like the randomness of the expense, preferring tighter control over how much gold their PC spends if they engage in carousing. The group and I plan to spend some time coming up with a system that gives the players better control of how much their characters spend but still provides them with ways to have their characters further engage with the game world outside of the dungeon. This is important to me, because it provides a much needed money sink in the world beyond simply building a castle or a wizard's tower.
During the delve itself, the group was fairly lucky. By all accounts, they should have had at least one or two characters fall to encounters, but good decision making (barricading the doors with iron spikes) or poor rolls on the monster's part saved the day. The ghoul ambush in the hallway could have proved especially deadly had the dice been less in the group's favor.
Later in the session, the group decided to follow the secret passages they discovered, which puts them deeper in the dungeon. I'm not sure if they are doing this intentionally, or it was simply the path of least resistance. Either way, this area certainly contains more danger and the possibility of more loot. Let's see if their luck stays with them next session!
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