ftp.ee.pdx.edu/2014.02.ftp.ee.pdx.edu.tar/ftp.ee.pdx.edu/pub/frp/stories/adventurers/story004

Text File | 1994-01-19 | 28KB | 639 lines

  Here is part 4 of this story.  This, plus parts 1-3, were played in
the course of two sessions one weekend.  This installment concludes
the party's first adventure (there were 15 in all, over the course of
three years; at this rate, there could be 60 postings or so).  Several
things, before the story:

1)  I hope that the profanities uttered by certain of the players are
    not overly offensive to anybody.  Basically, the players in my
    campaign cursed an awful lot, and so I have tried to reproduce it
    where appropriate.

2)  There are no female characters, possibly because there are no
    female players...they're very scarce around here :)  and I guess
    none of the players were of a mind to run a female character.
    No harm done, I hope.

  And now for part IV...


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

THE PARTY THUS FAR:

Alindyar, 1st level drow elf mage (N)
Belphanior, 1st/1st level high elf fighter/mage (CN)
Ged, 1st/1st level grey elf priest/mage (NG)
Halbarad, 1st level human ranger (NG)
Mongo, 1st level dwarf fighter (CG)
Peldor, 1st level human thief (CN)
Peyote, 1st/1st level half-elf fighter/druid (N)
Rob, 1st level human priest (LG)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------


                           IV.  The Dungeon




  The party, having camped for a two-day period, has memorized spells
and rested.  They now believe themselves to be ready to explore the
bizarre dungeon complex they have found in the middle of a forest, thus:




                                          __
                                   ______| _|
                                  |         |            N
                    __          __|   7   ##|           W+E
                 __|  |________|  |$ _______|            S
              __|  5 X __    __\ 6  |
      ____   |   X  __|  |  |  |____|
     |    |  |_____|   __|  |__      ______      KEY: - _ | = walls
     |  3 |___________|        |____|      |          \     = door
     |__________    __   1 @    ____\  4   |          $     = secret door
                |  |  |________|    |______|          @     = trapdoor
      __________|  |                                  X     = pit trap
     |          \__|                                  ##    = bed
     |   2   ___|
     |______|                                    ("__" or "|" is about 10')





                  (they have only seen area 1 so far)

  The horses are tied outside the hut, with a day's supply of food and
water.
  The ceiling in this place is about 12' high, except in area 1, where it
extends to 20' or so.  The walls and floor are hard-packed clay, and the
occasional tree root is visible.  The place is musty and smells like fresh
earth.  The party opts to check the western exit from the first room...

Halbarad:  We need a marching order here.
Peyote:  Yeah guys.  What's it gonna be?
Belphanior:  I'll volunteer to go in the front!
Mongo:  Me too.  I don't want to miss any of the action.
Halbarad:  Okay then.  I'll take the second rank, with Rob.  Peyote, you
  take the rear, with Peldor...
Peldor:  Naturally!
Halbarad:  ...and the two mages will stay in the middle.
Ged:  Who died and put _you_ in charge?
Mongo:  He's trying to protect your puny self, mage!
Peyote:  It's cool.  This makes sense.
Alindyar:  We should be okay as long as you march in front of Peldor.
Ged:  (to DM)  I watch my back.  If that thief touches me, it'll be a
  fiery death for him.
Rob:  _I_ am not able to fight.  Why did you put me in the second rank?
Mongo:  Don't worry about anything, son.  We'll take care of anything
  that attacks us.  You worry about healing us afterwards.
Rob:  (unconvinced, he pulls out mace for security)
Peyote:  Chill out, man.
Halbarad:  Let's go.

  The party moves westward, but almost immediately the path forks to the
south.  A door is visible down a short corridor.  To the west, the passage
seems to open up into a room.  They continue west, saving the door for
later.  They find a room full of rotted and splintered furniture.  There
are scratches on the walls, and the once-ornate couches, chairs, and
tables here have obviously been smashed by someone.

Belphanior:  I search through the splinters for hidden treasure.
DM:  (rolling)  No treasure, but you get some splinters in your hands...
Halbarad:  Let's try the door to the south then.
Peldor:  Is it locked?  Is it trapped?
Belphanior:  (listening at the door)  I don't hear anything...
Mongo:  I open the door!

  Beyond is a nearly empty room.  In the southwest corner is a pile of
coins of some sort.

Peldor:  Let's get those coins!
DM:  You hear a clicking sound from the area in front of the coins.
Belphanior:  A trap?  Nah...couldn't be.
DM:  It's getting closer...
Belphanior:  I swing my sword in circles in front of me.
Mongo:  I draw my sword.
DM:  (rolling)  Mongo, something whizzes by your head.
Mongo:  Yikes!  Dammit, what is it?!
Belphanior:  I knew I should have brought that bucket of paint...
Rob:  Invisible...
DM:  (rolling)  Mongo, you take a hit.  It feels like a heavy mace.
Mongo:  Fuck this!  (swinging wildly in front of him)  (nicks something)
Belphanior:  I doff my cloak and toss it over in that direction.
DM:  The cloak catches onto something...
Mongo:  I tackle the something!  (rolls high, tackles the invisible enemy)
  Get it!  Chop it!  Kill it!
Belphanior:  (manages to hit the downed, invisible opponent)
DM:  The struggles cease.  Whatever it is has stopped moving.
Mongo:  I feel it.  What does it feel like?
DM:  It's made of bones.  A skeleton maybe.
Belphanior:  I take the skull.
DM:  It's attached...
Belphanior:  No matter, I'm a strong guy.  I rip it off.
DM:  Okay...upon severing the skull, it becomes visible.  It's a bleached
  white, typical skull.  This particular specimen is very old and worn.
Peyote:  It's not cool to play with dead things.
Halbarad:  I see if the skeleton has any rings on its fingers.  (upon
  searching, he finds that this is indeed the case)
DM:  The ring is plain-looking, and the skeleton is dead indeed.
Halbarad:  I try it on so we can confirm its function.  (he puts the ring
  on and turns invisible, then takes it off a second later)
Peldor:  Well, that's nice.  Now gimme that ring.
Ged:  Wrong answer.  Put it into the pile.
Peyote:  Yeah, the pile.
Halbarad:  Why didn't the skeleton turn visible when it hit him?
Alindyar:  I have heard tell of such rings.  Some of them, according to
  legend, render the wearer invisible even when he is attacking.  Could
  it be one such as that?
Peldor:  Let me wear it, and I'll attack Ged, and then we'll know.
Ged:  Quiet, greedy fool.
Halbarad:  We get the silver and go back to the main room, and then
  into the east passage, with the door.
DM:  Okay, there were 78 tarnished silver coins in the pile.  The door
  is locked.
Peldor:  No problem.  (rolls, he can discern no traps, then he tries
  to open the lock, successfully)  Can I hear anything behind the door?
DM:  Nope.
Mongo:  Step aside, thief.  There could be trouble.  (opens the door)

  Beyond this door is a fair-sized room.  There are four rotted corpses
chained to the east wall.  As the party files into the room, the bodies
begin to stir and stand up.

Ged:  Puny zombies!
Belphanior:  They're chained to the wall.  You know what that means,
  don't you?
Peldor:  Target practice!
Halbarad:  Distasteful.
Peyote:  Most uncool.
Ged:  (taunts the monsters further)
DM:  The zombies walk toward you...their chains are old and rusty, and
  as they pull on them, the chains break.
Rob:  Aaa!  Back, foul creatures of the night!  (tries to turn them,
  but rolls an 18)  Eh?
DM:  Rob, your faith is definitely waning.  They continue onward.
Rob:  grumble...
Ged:  Well, now _I_ try.  Turn back, O ye denizens of the dark!  Go
  back whence ye came, I say!  BEGONE!!!  (he is successful, but is
  only able to turn two of the four zombies)
Peyote:  I wish I could do that.
Rob:  Ya don't say...
Mongo:  Well, enough of this mumbo-jumbo.  I attack!
Belphanior:  I second that motion.

  Initiative is rolled, not that it matters much, since the zombies
are going to attack last anyway.  Nevertheless, Mongo gets the worst
possible initiative roll, and will attack about when the zombies do.

Zombie#1:  (cowering in a corner)
Zombie#2:  (likewise)
Belphanior:  (slices a zombie, opening its chest to the world)
Zombie#3:  (stares down at the opening in its stomach, looks back up
  at Belphanior, and grins)
Halbarad:  (has drawn his weapon but isn't in any position to attack
  right now)  Peyote!  Peldor!  Watch the rear for suprise attacks!
Peyote:  Right on, man.  (turns around)
Peldor:  Hm.  Peldor is not one to waste his time hacking away at
  gutless ghouls anyway!
Ged:  (thinking about a magic missile)
Rob:  (gets his mace ready)
Alindyar:  (wondering what good fog is against zombies)
Mongo:  Die, you fucker!  (hacks at zombie#4, hits and lops one of
  its arms off)
Zombie#3:  (gropes at Belphanior, doing significant damage with its
  rotting claws)
Zombie#4:  (swings at Mongo with its remaining arm, clubbing him over
  the head)
Belphanior:  (badly wounded)  Can I get infected from this?  I retreat.
Halbarad:  (moves up to take his place)

DM:  Round 2...
Halbarad:  (hits zombie#3, killing it)  See!  They CAN die!
Mongo:  (first attack misses, second one hits at the same time that
  the zombie hits back)
Zombie#4:  (dies with its head cleft)
Mongo:  (seriously wounded now)  Groan...
Rob:  Who needs healing?
Belphanior:  Urk!
Rob:  (heals Belphanior with two spells.  Mongo declines healing for
  now, since Belphanior is much more direly wounded.)
Belphanior:  Much better!  (looks around)  I pick up that severed arm
  and put it in my backpack.
Halbarad:  We search the chamber for treasure.
Alindyar:  I use my esteemed elven abilities to, perchance, detect any
  hidden doors or passages.
Ged:  Someone needs to put those other two zombies out of their misery.
Mongo:  I'll do it.  (sees to it.  Although Mongo is good in alignment,
  he realizes that this is the right thing to do, as whoever animated
  the zombies obviously did it for an evil purpose.)
Peldor:  I see if the zombies still have any pockets.

  The room is empty, and no treasure is to be found.  The party goes
back into area 1, to head north, but they are met by a wandering monster
of some sort.

DM:  A small red monster is walking towards you.
Mongo:  Oh really?  I move to intercept the little guy.
DM:  Okay, roll initiative.
Mongo:  (goes last yet again)  Fuck!
Little Red Monster:  (swipes and bites at Mongo, hitting with one claw
  and the bite)
Mongo:  Agh!  You're toast now, shithead!  (swings, hits)  Hah!
Belphanior:  I stay out of this.  Let Mongo finish it off.
Mongo:  Yeah!  Let me!

DM:  Round 2...
LRM:  (slices Mongo twice with tiny razor-sharp claws)
Mongo:  (swings, gets a solid hit for maximum damage)
LRM:  (giggles)
Ged:  Maybe I should cast detect magic.
LRM:  (hisses at the party)

DM:  Round 3...
LRM:  (bites Mongo, who is now down to 1 hp)  hiss!
Mongo:  Shit!  Fuck!  Shitfuck!  I flee!  (runs back)
LRM:  (chases Mongo as he retreats)
Belphanior:  I move to stop it.  (hits the thing with his sword)
LRM:  (turns on Belphanior)

DM:  Round 3...
Belphanior:  (hits it again, for 7 more hp)  What's the deal here?
Alindyar:  Perhaps 'tis a magical beast...
Ged:  Yea!  Where did that magic weapon go?
LRM:  (chomps Belphanior's leg)
Peldor:  C'mon, you wimp!  It's just a little red monster!
Halbarad:  I use the magical axe we found to hit the monster.  (he
  rolls, hits, and kills the thing)  Hmm.  Most passing strange.
LRM:  (carcass melts away into nothingness)
Peyote:  Far out!
Alindyar:  (calling upon his knowledge of monsters)  Methinks it was
  some kind of sub-demon.  Perhaps it was left on this plane by
  accident.
Mongo:  That thing almost killed me and you're calling it a freakin'
  accident?!
Halbarad:  Well, it proved vulnerable to this fine axe (eyes the axe
  lovingly)
Ged:  (casts two healing spells upon Mongo)  Well that's it folks.
  I'm out of healing magic.
Peyote:  I still have some.  Let us probe on...

  The party goes into the north leg of the place.  The passage splits
in a T-shaped intersection, and they go to the west, into an open room.

Mongo:  Hey!  This place is empty!  (falls in a pit)  AAAaaa...
Belphanior:  (looks down into now-opened 10' deep pit.  Mongo is
  sprawled unceremoniously across the bottom of the pit.)  Hey Mongo!
  Are you hurt?  Are you dead?
Mongo:  (not too damaged; his chain mail seems to have saved him from
  more than just bruises)  Get me the @$#%&* out of here!!
Halbarad:  I throw a rope down to him.

  They pull their comrade out of the pit, and carefully advance further
into the room.  Peldor finds a second pit trap and springs it without
anybody falling into it.  The room is very dusty, but otherwise empty.
The group heads to the east, to area 6.  They find a locked door.

Peldor:  (checking for traps)  A trap!  There is a small needle on
  this door handle.  Poison!  (uses a small hammer to flatten the
  needle, rendering it harmless)  There, the door is open.  Don't all
  thank me at once.

  They enter the room.  It is an ancient study, with many books all
over the place lying in pieces.  The wall is lined with shelves, many
of them broken or sagging.  Very few of the books here are even close
to salvageable.  They cover a wide variety of topics, ranging from
styles of furniture to poorly written fiction.

Halbarad:  We search all of the shelves for hidden trinkets etc.
DM:  (checking)  (to Ged)  One of the shelves seems to be in somewhat
  better shape than the others.  It is in the northeast corner.
Ged:  I examine it more closely.  Is there anything behind any of the
  volumes?  I cast a detect magic spell and look around the room.
DM:  Nothing in this room is magic, but you do find that the shelf is
  loose.
Ged:  Hey Mongo!  Come over here and help me with this.
Mongo:  What?
Ged:  Let's see if we can move this shelf.
Mongo:  (applies great strength, pulls shelf out.  There is a plain
  door behind it.)
Peyote:  Good job, Ged.
Halbarad:  There are no knobs...
Belphanior:  Push it!  (reaches out and pushes the panel inward)
DM:  You smell an awful stench...

  Beyond is revealed an old bedroom.  There is a closet containing a
number of rotting garments, a dusty old chest, a dresser and a
mirror, a huge collapsed bed, and a worktable.  A pentagram is cut
into the floor in one place.  Something under the bed is moving...

Belphanior:  I go over to the bed and lift the sheets with my sword.
DM:  A grimy hand swipes out at your blade.  The bed shakes violently
as a number of gray-skinned humanoids swarm out from underneath it.
They approach the party as a pack, attempting to surround them.

Ged:  Egad!  Ghouls!  Foul abominations, I command you to LEAVE!
  (he rolls much too high, and fails)  Aaa!  Oh shit.
Rob:  (turning also, he manages to turn four, who promptly flee, but
  there are still ten left.)
Belphanior:  We're fucked for sure now.
Mongo:  What use are babbling priests anyway?

DM:  Round 1...
Halbarad:  (he and Rob have moved around to better protect the others)
  (slices at ghoul#1 with the magical axe, wounding it grieviously)
Belphanior:  (slices ghoul#3, injuring it)
Peldor:  (moving around Rob to try and engage some opponent in melee)
ghoul#1:  (scores on Halbarad with a claw and a bite)
Halbarad:  (fails to succumb to the ghoul's cold touch)
ghoul#2:  (bites Halbarad on the arm)
Halbarad:  (fails save, falls to the ground paralyzed)  Damn!
ghoul#2:  (preparing to eat Halbarad)  hiss!
ghoul#3:  (claws Belphanior for a minor wound)
Belphanior:  Hah!  Your foul attacks will not stop me, vermin!
ghoul#4:  (bites Belphanior)
ghoul#5:  (only a claw gets through to hit Mongo)
ghoul#6:  (misses Mongo on all 3 attacks)
Mongo:  (saves easily)  You fuckin' cannibals!  Stay the hell away
  from me!  (swings his sword and decimates ghoul#5, splitting its
  slimy head in half)
Rob:  (swings his mace, hits ghoul#7 for a light wound)
ghoul#7:  (bites Rob)
ghoul#8:  (claws Rob)
Rob:  (fails 2 saves, paralyzed, at 1 hp, falls)  Urk!
Peldor:  (defending Rob's body)  (critical hits ghoul#8, killing it)
  Stay away, ghoul!  Only _I_ may loot his body!
Ged:  (blasts ghoul#2, who is ravaging Halbarad's inert form, with a
  magical missile)  Eat this, monster!
ghoul#2:  (recoiling)  Sss!
Alindyar:  (preparing his wall of fog but lacking a good target)
Peyote:  (staying out of combat because he has the only healing spells
  left, he casts entangle on the ground where a large number of the
  monsters are standing)  (ghouls#1,2,9 are rooted, literally, to the
  ground and scream in frustration)  Be one with the earth, vile things!

DM:  Round 2...
ghoul#3:  (claws Belphanior twice)
Belphanior:  (cuts ghoul#3's chest open, dripping green fluid all over
  himself as the ghoul dies)  There!
ghoul#10:  (claws and bites Belphanior, putting him into the negative
  hp zone...)
Belphanior:  ... (keels over)
ghoul#4:  (claws Mongo)
Mongo:  (saves against the paralyzation)
Peldor:  (slices the wounded ghoul#7, killing it)  Die, bitch!
Ged:  (whips out dagger)  Being out of spells will not stop me!
ghoul#6:  (claws and bites Mongo)
Mongo:  (saves, fails, paralyzed)  Dammit!  Why do I always attack last?
Peyote:  (rushes forth and attacks ghoul#10, wounding it and driving it
  back from Belphanior's body)
Alindyar:  (follows Peyote in and surrounds ghoul#10 with the wall of
  fog, then he and Peyote drag Belphanior's body back from the front
  lines)

DM:  Round 3...(remaining are Peyote, Alindyar, Ged, and Peldor; they
  face ghouls 10, 4, and 6 plus 1, 2, and 9 who are entangled)
Peldor:  (charges forth to attack ghoul#6, hits)  I'm a thief.  This
  isn't in my contract, you know.  I hope I'm getting paid extra for
  combat...
Peyote:  (healing Belphanior)  Sure, sure.  Whatever you say.
Alindyar:  (stabs at the fogged-up ghoul#10, somehow hits)
ghoul#4:  (swipes at Ged, hitting with a claw)
Ged:  (bashes at the ghoul with his mace, to little effect)
ghoul#6:  (hits Peldor with a claw and bite, wounding him badly)
Peldor:  (fails save, paralyzed)  Well, I guess I won't be looting
  the paralyzed party members...
ghoul#10:  (wanders out of the fog)  Rrrrk!

DM:  Round 4...(Peyote and the 2 mages vs. three ghouls)
Peyote:  (hits ghoul#10, killing it)
Ged:  (misses ghoul#4)
ghoul#4:  (hits Ged with a claw, sending him to -1 hp)
Ged:  Uh-oh!  (incapacitated)
Alindyar:  (throws holy water onto ghoul#6, who shrieks at the pain)
ghoul#6:  (running around screaming)

DM:  Round 5...
Peyote:  (hits ghoul#4, killing it)
ghoul#4:  (claws and bites Peyote simultaneously as he kills it)
Peyote:  (fails save, paralyzed)  Rude deal, man!
Alindyar:  Err...(stabs at ghoul#6, perchance rolling a 20!)
ghoul#6:  (dies...it only had 5 hp to start with and just happened to
  be the last one left)
Alindyar:  (looking around at the decimated party)  It seems that I am
  in a unique situation here...

  Alindyar, to his credit, does not take advantage of the comatose and
paralyzed party members (some others definitely would have).  Instead,
he binds the wounds of all who are badly off, and blocks the door into
this room, and makes sure that there are no more ghouls under the bed
(the four who were turned ran under there though).  He pours oil into
their lair and holds a lantern ready in case they recover before some
of the paralyzed party members do.  Soon enough, at least some of the
party can move again, including Peyote, who uses healing magic on those
who are direly wounded.  Those who use bows dispatch the ghouls in the
pit with missile fire.  The pit and the room are searched...

Halbarad:  Check the bookshelf, and the closet, and the dresser.  You,
  Peldor, you get to work on that chest.  Also we examine the bed, and
  lower Mongo or me down into the ghoul pit to search for treasure.
  Rob, you check the worktable.
DM:  The chest is solid iron...
Peldor:  So?  I still check for traps.
DM:  The bookshelf contains a few old tomes, nothing exceptional -
  though you do notice an archaic cookbook.
Mongo:  Yeah!  Grab that!
DM:  ...most of the stuff in the closet is rotten and torn.  There is
  one worn-out yet intact robe, and another is full of ants.
Peyote:  I check the pockets of all the robes.  Not the one with the
  ants though.
DM:  You find two small topazes and a paring knife in one pocket.  In
  the dresser are rags and shreds, and a black pearl.
Peldor:  (to Halbarad)  Don't forget to check behind the dresser and
  the mirror.
Halbarad:  We look there.
DM:  ...Behind the mirror, set into the wall, is a lockbox, containing
  a wand.  The bed is well-made, but old and fragile.  Nothing is to
  be found there.  On the worktable is some old equipment and a number
  of potion bottles:
    a) (clear) marked "excellent"
    b) (yellow)
    c) (green)
    d) (blue)
    e) (red)
    f) (black) marked with skull & crossbones
    g) (purple) marked "humans only"
Peldor:  (disarms trap and unlocks chest)  Okay, it's open.  What do we
  see?
DM:  You find a sack of gold, another sack of small gems, a ring, a
  sceptre, a short sword, and two potions.
Peldor:  (checking for false bottoms, finds one)  Aha!  Nothing can be
  hidden from Peldor!
DM:  Under the false bottom, you see a ring and a scroll.  There is also
  a large iron bolt holding the chest to the floor.
Halbarad:  That explains why the ghouls didn't take the chest...
Mongo:  What about in the pit?
DM:  There are a lot of bones, that's it.  Apparently the ghouls stayed
  under the bed most of the time...it stinks something fierce.

  The party rests here (despite the stench, it is the safest room in the
place) for fully three days.  Ged, Rob, and Peyote heal the others and
themselves at their leisure, while Ged casts magic detection on all the
things they found.  The worn robe, the shortsword, the two potions, the
ring and scroll, wand, and bottles a, d, e, and g are magical.  Only a
single incident of note occurs...

Rob:  I open the green potion bottle.
DM:  It's bubbling now...
Rob:  Okay, I drink it.
DM:  What?!?!?!?
Halbarad: !
Peldor: !
Ged:  (muttering)  You fool!
DM:  It's acid, Rob.  Save.
Rob:  (saves, barely, against death)
DM:  Okay, Rob, you saved.  You were obviously able to pull the bottle
  back in time.  So only your lower lip is gone.  That'll be...3 hp of
  damage.
Belphanior:  Three whole hit points?  For a LIP?  Come on!
Rob:  AAAAA!
Peldor:  Oh well.
Ged:  I'll heal him, since he can't get the verbal components right
  anymore to cast his own cure spell.
Rob:  (blubbering)

  They leave the dungeon and travel for the next several days through
the forest, with no significant encounters except four ghouls, who
don't last long.  Peyote and Halbarad do their best to get the party
out of the forest safely.  About a week after the dungeon, the group
emerges in a plains area, across which they peacefully ride for two
days.  In the late afternoon of the second day, they reach a river
and take a moment to rest.  Riders approach...

Man#1: (dismounts)  You made good time.  We had trouble keeping up
  with you.  Now that we're all here, why don't you just give us
  the tube and we'll all be friends.  After all, we wouldn't want
  any trouble, now would we boys?  (The others laugh, and dismount)
Ogre:  (puffs his chest out proudly)  I is Korg!
Ged:  Any relation to Krug?
Man#1:  Korg here likes to eat troublemakers.  Now I _know_ you all
  are not troublemakers.
Belphanior:  Bank on it, pal.
Halbarad:  Leave us be, or suffer the consequences.  I warn you
  only this once.
Man#1:  Fine.  We will take what we want.

DM:  Round 1...(there are two men, four orcs, and the ogre)
Belphanior:  (slices man#2, killing him)  What a wimp!
Mongo:  I want the ogre!
Halbarad:  (to the orcs, in orcish)  I am Halbarad, better known to
  your kind as Sharku.  Prepare to meet Gruumsh.  (attacks, kills
  orc#1 with a single blow)
man#1:  (hits Belphanior, for minor damage)
orc#2:  (misses Halbarad)
Peldor:  (hits and kills an orc)  Hah!  We told you not to fight!
orc#4:  (attacks Peyote, inflicts a minor wound)
Peyote:  (wounds orc#4)  Whoa.
Alindyar:  (casts phantasmal force toward the ogre)  Have a demon!
Ogre:  (bats at the illusion with his huge mace)  Ugh!
Ged:  (magic missiles man#1, wounding him)  There, fool!
Rob:  (attacks orc#4 but misses)
orc#5:  (hits Rob for near-fatal damage)
Ogre:  (attacks Mongo, but misses)  Stand still, dwarf, and I crush.
Mongo:  Die, O enemy of dwarves!  (stabs ogre in one leg for serious
  damage)

DM:  Round 2...
Peldor:  (looking around him)  (backstabs orc#5, whose back is turned
  as he faces the prowess of Rob)
orc#5:  Urk!  (dies from damage overdose)
Halbarad:  (attacks orc#2, hitting and killing it)  Die, wretch!
orc#4:  (flees)
Halbarad:  I chase him down...(pursues the orc)
Rob:  (bonks man#1 with his mace)
Peyote:  Spare him, so that we may question him!
Belphanior:  (stabs the man, too late to hear Peyote's cry.  The guy
  is slain)  Uh...sorry.
Ogre:  (hits Mongo for heaping damage)  Korg smash puny dwarf!
Mongo:  (uses both attacks on the ogre, one hits)  Dammit!

DM:  Round 3...
Peldor:  (moving fast, he is already in position to backstab the
  hulking ogre, and does so, delivering the coup de grace)
Mongo:  Hey!  I was doing fine by myself.
Peldor:  You're welcome.
Halbarad:  (returns)
Ged:  What happened to the orc?
Halbarad:  (holds up a pair of bloody ears)
Mongo:  Oh.
Peyote:  (to Ged)  When he was a child, an orc tribe killed his family.
  Now he is sworn to destroy any orcs who knowingly commit an evil act.
Ged:  I see.

  The party gains a grand total of 39 gp and 121 sp from the attackers.
No clues are found as to who wants the scroll tube so badly.  They go
on for a couple of hours, after binding wounds.  They reach the Celene
border by dusk, and ask for the whereabouts of Belegard and Courwood.
They camp on the plains overnight, unmolested by anything.  The next
day, they ride on to Courwood, and find Belegard in the affluent
section of town, in a manor.  They inform him of what has transpired
over the last few weeks; he regrets the loss of Cassius, and surmises
that rivals of his are after the tube as well.  He never does tell the
party what's in it, but he does pay them, in cash, that day, and also
sets them up for a week in a fine tavern, near several places where
various party members can train (Courwood is a big city).



The Loot (magical items only are listed):
   battleaxe +?
   scroll (cure serious wounds & spiritual hammer)
   ring of water breathing
   dagger +?
   ring of invisibility
   robe of protection +?
   shortsword +?
   2 potions of healing
   ring
   scroll (magic missile, levitate, burning hands, taunt)
   wand of magic missiles
   potion a (determined to be invisibility)
   potion d (determined to be extra-healing)
   potion e
   potion g (undetermined, but they were offered 500 gp for it)



Alindyar gets the robe of protection and the wand
Belphanior gets the unknown ring and the mage scroll
Ged gets the ring of water breathing and a potion of healing
Halbarad gets the dagger and the potion of extra-healing
Mongo gets the axe and a potion of healing
Peldor gets the shortsword and potion g
Peyote gets the ring of invisibility
Rob gets the priest scroll, the potion of invisibility, and potion e






...training, where appropriate, is forthcoming...


_________________________________________________________________________

NOTES:  Yes, this was a bit magic-heavy for a first adventure, but this
is how I run campaigns.  The bad guys have just as much, at later levels
of play.  I also give a lot of bonus xp for actions, use of skills, any
deeds in concordance with alignment, personality, etc. and I gave a LOT
out this time.  Halbarad, as a 2nd edition ranger, had to pick an "evil"
race as an enemy; he picked orcs.
  Next up:  adventures in the old dwarven mine.