Who's bored? How about an online game?

[Solomoriah]

Okay, we're definitely down one, and maybe two. The first two alternates who speak up now get those spots (if Buster's son is still in, just the first one). I need confirmation at my email address solomoriah@basicfantasy.org by tomorrow at 1:00PM CDT so I can get you into the game and started on character generation.

[BusterBluth]

Sorry, yes, my kid is unavailable as well.

[Solomoriah]

Nobody is interested?

[APWill]

He Chris, I’m still interested. Just give me the scoop and I’ll be accommodating as humanly possible.

[Solomoriah]

I need an email from you. solomoriah@basicfantasy.org

[johndice]

Thats too bad Buster, I really enjoyed playing with you guys! Maybe until a next time

[BusterBluth]

Yeah, I'm sorry guys. I'm getting pulled into a new project at work where i have to meet w/ teammates in China 2 evenings a week. Of course, one of those evenings is Weds.

Given my username, i should instead work in an Arrested Development joke and blame it on being wiped out from all the recent Mother's Day celebrations.

[Artanisace]

Sad to hear that Buster :/ hope we play again someday! Take care, was great to play with your kid also see you and good luck with everything!

[Solomoriah]

So here's a rundown of the session from last week. Last time, the adventurers encountered smugglers in the tunnels under the city. They captured eleven of them through the use of a sleep spell, though a few got away, and almost accidentally rescued Agatha, the serving girl that had gone missing from the inn.

So, after resting and recuperating and transcribing some spells from the captured spell book from the previous adventure, our heroes tried to return to the dungeons. However, they discovered that the abandoned building where they found the staircase that led into the tunnels was now owned by the mysterious and somewhat shady Lord Margrave, and was now off limits; two of the city watch were already nailing the door shut, and later in the day workmen would come and fill in the staircase with rocks.

They decided to go to the city watch commander, from whom they had collected a tidy sum as a reward for apprehending the smugglers. They chose Theodore, human magic-user, as their spokesman, despite the fact that two other characters had Charisma bonuses and he did not, and one disastrous reaction roll later they were in a confrontation with a watch lieutenant and a few of his men. To their credit, they did not let it escalate into actual fighting, but walked away.

As they were discussing what to do next, Horald the dwarf heard a strange hiss from an alleyway, and following the sound met a young boy, obviously poor, he told them that he could get them into the tunnels beneath the city by another route, for a price. He turned down the offer of a copper piece from the cleric Schiff, called Humble by his friends, but accepted a gold piece when it was offered by Pepik the gnome. The boy led them to an old well, and indicated that if they climbed down they would find a breach in the wall just above the water level. Pepek descended on a rope, their own rope rather than the decrepit one attached to the well head, and found it exactly as the boy had said. The party descended the rope without incident, worked their way down and narrow, roughly dug tunnel, and found themselves in a short section of finished hallway with the door in front of them. Of course, they opened it. It took them two tries, and the banging at the door was enough to warn the hobgoblins on the other side of their approach.

A fight ensued that resulted in all but one of the hobgoblins being defeated, that one having successfully run away. They had seen these hobgoblins before, and had spiked the door to prevent them from following on that occasion. So they elected to try a door they hadn't looked at before, and somehow managed to follow the right corridor directly to the office of the smuggler boss, Zeno, despite having no idea where he was.

Zeno was attended by his man Karg, a huge and powerful warrior, as well as Culder, the leader of the smuggler group, and several of the rank-and-file smugglers. One end of the office was piled high with boxes and barrels, goods that the smugglers had moved from the cave after its location was compromised. Again it took two tries to force the door open, so the smugglers were not at all surprised. However, this fight was quite short, as Pepik the gnome cast sleep while Theodore laid about him with his wand of paralyzation. In short order they had defeated the entire group, and rather than killing the helpless opponents they tied their hands so they could march them out of the dungeon and collect the reward.

But did they actually do this? No. Pepik had seen Zeno trying to open a secret door to escape, so Pepik went to the door and puzzled out how to open it. He found a short corridor leading to a blank wall, and assuming that there was a secret door there, searched for and found it. He opened the door and discovered Beyond a large circular room, the base of a tower apparently, and the party decided that it must be the lowest level of Lord Margrave's tower which they had heard about earlier. They were not sure how they were going to get the captured men out of the dungeon, and this seemed an obvious solution.

After they fought off the giant serpent that guarded staircase, of course. It very nearly killed Pepik before they defeated it. A quick healing spell from Schiff put him back to rights.

However, the adventurers being distracted by all of this activity allowed the smugglers who were now awake (but not paralyzed) a chance to try to escape. After all, half the party were down the corridor in the tower basement, and the other half (Pepik and Schiff) were in the room but not paying attention. I rolled for all of them, and Karg (who unsurprisingly had a Strength bonus) and one of the mooks got free. They ran for the door, but were intercepted by Pepik and Schiff. As Schiff battled Karg, who was fighting unarmed but still in his armor, the other smuggler continued trying to flee. He was brought up short by Pepik's charm person spell. It seemed he had little loyalty to his former crewmates, as he went on to assist the party with leading the rest of the captured smugglers, after Horald and Theodore arrived to assist with the defeat of Karg.

So now it seemed all they had to do was round up the captured smugglers and take them up the stairs in Margrave's tower, thence to the street and then to the jail. Simple enough, you'd think.

At the top of the stairs was a trap door, and upon opening it they saw a huge man, bigger by a significant amount than even Karg, sitting in a chair leaned back against the wall, sleeping, with his great sword leaned against the wall beside him.

As the party members argued, in whispers, about how to pass by him, Zeno (who was in the train of smugglers behind them) yelled out, "Og Onygson, you a$$, get up and fight!" And at that, the huge man tipped his chair forward, stretched, lifted his great sword in one hand and began to do just that.

It was very nearly a massacre. Schiff went down, reduced to exactly 0 hit points; Horald and even Theodore followed, reduced even further, leaving only Pepik standing. He fled down the stairs, discovering as he did that all the smugglers had escaped except the one he'd charmed, who seemed confused. Og, crazed and bloodthirsty, ran past the charmed smuggler (who he must have believed to be an ally) in pursuit of Pepik down the stairs, even as the gnome made for the secret door.

Then Pepik heard a thud behind him, and turned to find Og Onygson prone on the floor, dead, with a dagger between his shoulders. Where the charmed smuggler got the dagger was not at all obvious, but Pepik was thankful nonetheless.

This is where they ended, with Pepik and the charmed smuggler racing upstairs to bind the wounds of the dying adventurers (with Schiff being stable at exactly 0, he required no immediate intervention).

In case you're wondering, when Og ran down the stairs after Pepik, he had just one hit point remaining.

[Artanisace]

I couldnt believe it that this 'charmed friend' took him down xD 1 hp explains it. When I heard a body going to the floor, I thought it was him!