Topic: [AP] Stonehell with noobs
We started an (I hope) continuing sandbox campaign with LotFP tonight. I've got a bunch of modules prepped: all of LotFP's, plus Stonehell Dungeon and Tomb of the Iron God. None of us have ever played anything pre-3.5e D&D; so it's a bit of an adjustment. Me? I'm already there. And I think most of the players were bought in. We always have one guy who's a 4e diehard, but there you go.
I can't remember the character names, but there were 2 fighters, and halfling, and a dwarf. They were pretty poor starting out, but, through pooling their resources, they managed to get reasonable armor and equipment and set off for Stonehell (although, of course, they didn't know of it as such).
During the session tonight, they made 2 forays into the dungeon. The first foray cleared the north half of the gatehouse; the second cleared the south half and explored the roof. None of the encounters were really an issue. The goblins in the gatehouse (5 of them) had a great reaction roll toward the party, half of whom decided to use it to slaughter everyone there. The other two PCs jetted and closed the door behind them. Afterward, though, everyone was cool.
Upstairs, they found the satchel and wine cask guarded by the giant wasps. A quick dash in and out secured the satchel. For the cask, they took an hour or so and smoked them out by breaking a hole in the door with a previously purchased crowbar and lighting a fire right next to the door, wafting in the smoke with a cloak. It was just mop up from there on out.
But then new logistics problems appeared: this cask is *heavy.* It's got extra-vintage wine in it. What do they do? At this point, they figure they might as well head back to town and sell this junk. They've got the (correct) feeling that it's going to multiply their current net worth by 2 or 3 times. So they heft it between them for a hard two-days march back into town.
After selling and reequipping, they've got a horse, a cart, and a guard (paid double so he'll travel with them), Jonathan Witcherton, who got dishonorably discharged from the legion for some reason and has this thing for potatoes for some other reason. By now they've pooled corporate assets, elected officers (e.g., VP of Human Resources, VP of Execution), and they're back to clear the south portion of the gatehouse.
They do, with the halfling taking potshots from the roof and the wandering wildlife, and then, what do you know, it's 8.30p.m. game time and midnight realtime. That's when we break. They're taking the horse into the gatehouse for the night and giving Jonathan Witcherton the night off-duty, hoping for an increase in his morale score (which is terrible: 4, although they don't know that).
So, yeah, not a whole lot *happened* aside from the goblin-slaughter and the barbarianish fighter's near-death experience with giant centipede poison--a save right on the money. Oh, and a Bushcraft success let them gather enough of the poison for a lethal dose. And I was like "Do y'all have a container for that poison?" And the barbarian said "I've got a pint of beer in a glass here." So now they have poisoned beer. You know, in case they ever need it.
*But,* even though not much happened, I had a blast. I think, at the end, everyone was getting a handle on the flow of the game. It's a much different experience than any RPG we've played so far (D&D3.5-4, plus a variety of indie stuff). I'm really hoping this campaign continues. In particular, I'm looking forwarding to seeing the contrasts between playing this classic-style megadungeon module and playing LotFP's modules--especially Death Frost Doom.
Last edited by Vanoj (2011-10-01 07:40:15)