Dyson’s Delve - Session 10

While exploring into a deeper level than they were really ready for, the group finally ran into another party of adventurers in Dyson’s Delve. Between that and the manticores, they need to do some planning about how they want to proceed with the dungeon.

Bookkeeping

First, I have a couple of characters to level up.

Leveling Up

Chuckles has reached level 3 as a Barbarian, giving him another HD (now up to 26 hp). His skills also increase; for the most part, these won’t affect much, but the extra 1-in-6 chance to hear sounds could be useful, and the +1 to hit and saving throw bonus definitely will be.

Krimkol has also reached level 3 as a Dwarven Priest. While reviewing this information, it seems I’d missed that they have the same Multiple Attacks abilities (against creatures of 1 HD or less) that Fighters have! He’ll also take another HD (up to 15 hp) and a +1 to hit, in addition to the new spell slot and saving throw improvements.

Downtime

I’m continuing to use the Downtime in Zyan supplement to handle downtime activities.

Chuckles

It’s kind of funny to say, but it’s literally possible that Chuckles could end up entirely broke after another night of revelry like the last couple of times. Mechanically, it costs level * 1d4 * 50 gp, which he got max rolls before. That means that could cost him 600 gp, but he has 561 since he blew 2000 gold on those traveling minstrels.

Instead, this time he spends 3 * 3 * 50 = 450 gp out drinking. This nets him another 450 XP, but he really is motivated to go back out and loot some more treasure to keep up this lifestyle.

Khnar

Khnar, the elf fighter, certainly must feel a bit nervous. He’s usually right on the front line, and they’ve been getting into some particularly dangerous territory. As before, he spends his time in martial training and keeping in form

He remains in top form, gaining +1 to hit and damage as well as armor class for the next adventure. With his shield +1, his AC is now an even 20!

Krimkol

Krimkol had previously engaged in revelry with Chuckles, but that was in memory of a lost comrade. This time, he’ll pursue spiritual exercises based on his new staff of healing such that he can roll the healed amount twice and take the higher result.

Putting on my GM hat, I decide that’s a moderate effect and would require three steps of tracker progress. But it doesn’t go well; for whatever reasons, the unnamed dwarven gods are not with him this time and he is at a spiritual impass.

Parouz

Our elfblade previously learned a bit of necromancy by remembering what she’d learned from another fallen comrade. But she’s slightly behind some of the others in terms of XP, whether because of downtime activities or lower prime requisite bonuses. So she spends her time out partying as well, but on her own rather than with Chuckles. Instead, she and Illuin will go out to expand their consciousnesses with the use of various substances popular among younger elves. This costs her 2 * 3 * 50 = 300 gp, but she gains 300 XP. They get into trouble with some rivals; the next time they run into an adventuring group, it will be more folks unfriendly to them (perhaps even the same folks as got into it with Chuckles before).

That’s enough for her to reach level 3 as well! Her gain from her third hit die isn’t that much but it’s a positive number at least, and she now has 12 hit points. She also gains a +1 to hit, improved saving throws, and a third spell available per day. (No new spells, though, as she doesn’t have a high enough Intelligence score.)

Illuin

The young thief, as described above, goes out in revelry with Parouz. She also spends 300 gp and gains 300 XP, but she loses an item! Somehow she misplaced her armor, or perhaps someone stole it when she was unable to perceive reality. Replacing it is less trouble than tracking it down, though.

This also puts her up to third level (meaning the whole party has reached that milestone). That third hit die is only a d4, as is the standard for thieves in Swords & Wizardry Complete (affiliate link), and she has a poor constitution modifier (penalty), so she’s up to 6 hit points total. A solid swing from a goblin could still take her out. It would be a shame if she ran into a surprise attack!

Other preparations

The group has a serious discussion about what to do next.

Planning

Khnar, as somehow the de facto leader, lays out three options:

Figure out how to rob the manticores. This is highly dangerous; despite their growing capabilities, taking on creatures of that scale presents a great deal of risk. They would need a plan and potentially quite a few retainers.
Continue exploring the fifth dungeon level. They’ve run into some competition from other adventurers, with whom some of the group have some harsh rivalries, but so far that level has also had significant rewards and likely holds more. Would they want to deal with the kobolds if so?
Go someplace else for a bit. I’d need to find another dungeon appropriate for a party of third-level adventurers to do this, but of course there should be a lot of those.

For meta reasons, I don’t really want to do the third one, and I personally don’t have a good plan yet for them to take one one or two 6 HD monsters! So they’ll go back to the fifth level. This time, if they run into other adventurers, they’ll look for ways to get an advantage over them. That doesn’t necessarily mean hostilities per se… but it doesn’t not mean that, either.

Spell Preparation

With that in mind, Krimkol needs to choose his spells. He prays for detect evil and protection from evil, though whether the dangers they have been encountering could be considered “evil” is another question. But with his staff, cure light wounds is far less useful than it was, and he does not have access to second level cleric spells yet.

Similarly, Parouz reviews her spellbook to decide what to prepare. In her book, she has:

detect magic
hold portal
hold undead
light
magic missile
protection from evil
read magic
shield
sleep

With that in mind, she prepares magic missile, read magic, and shield. This is because she has two scrolls, sleep and protection from evil and thus ensures a bit more flexibility. And, should they encounter more magical writing, she will be prepared for it.

Equipment and Supplies

Once a group has completed one or two delves, this doesn’t matter that much. Still, I want to note here that I continue to ensure that they have enough arrows, lamp oil, rations, and other consumable items. In this case, the shopping list only includes 10 dried rations (suitable for dungeon exploration), since they still have enough oil (probably) and arrows (definitely). Illuin will likely resupply on the arrows next time, though.

That said, I want to look at their retainers again. Krimkol has a dwarf-at-arms:

Dwarf: HD 1 (3 hp); AC 15; Atk weapon (1d8); Move 6; Save 15; Morale 10; Special: +1 to attack rolls (+2 total), +2 to saves and morale (included), darkvision 60’, detects attributes of stonework. Speaks Dwarven and Common.

Chuckles has a pair of former soldiers in his service:

Human, Soldier (2): HD 1 (4, 5 hp); AC 12; Atk weapon (d8); Move 12; Save 17; Morale 8

Neither of the named adventurers have any real bonuses from charisma, but Krimkol has a special ability as a Dwarven Priest.

Should they hire any more? Or should they bring along a “special hireling” (classed follower)? I don’t want to do the latter, both because the needs of a solo game are different (i.e. I’m already controlling all the group myself) and because “Downtime in Zyan” has some special options for that, but I haven’t engaged with them yet.

Instead, I think Khnar is going to break out the gold purse and hire an additional 4 human soldiers. In addition to carrying swords and wearing leather armor, they’ll each have heavy crossbows (provided by Khnar) to volley against any particularly dangerous foes. That’s a total cost of 140 gp to hire them, plus another 96 gp for rations and the missile weapons. (This is also why I don’t pay a lot of attention to weight anymore, since the retainers can carry any surplus.)

Human, Soldier (4): HD 1 (4, 5, 7, 7 hp); AC 12; Atk weapon (d8); Move 12; Save 17; Morale 8

Before they head out, I need to reset the marching order a bit. Assuming they can go two abreast, as in most cases, it will be:

Front rank: Khnar and Krimkol
Second rank: Two human soldiers (with crossbows)
Third rank: Chuckles and Parouz
Fourth rank: One human soldier (crossbow) and dwarf-at-arms (oil flasks)
Fifth rank: Two human soldiers (no crossbows)
Rear rank: Illuin and one human soldier (crossbow)

Chuckles carries a lantern as does the soldier with Illuin. Should they assault in this formation, the rear rank won’t really be able to attack, but they can hopefully maneuver into a flanking position if needed.

Of course, this assumes that enemies don’t simply turn and run upon seeing a force of 12 people coming at them. But that’s the best outcome in almost all cases.

Feats of Exploration

This time, the Total XP Needed is 7000+4000+7000+7000+2500=27500. That means minor feats at 2% are worth 550 XP, major feats at 5% are worth 1375 XP, and grand feats at 10% are worth 2750 XP.

Delving

As they enter, the Underclock is set to 20 and the Underworld die is a d6 (although I’ll have a tweak to that on certain levels).

Descent Encounters

During the descent, the rolls are 2+(6+3)+4+5=20, so on the second level they have an indication of what could await them: Krimkol smells the peculiarly sweetly pungent odor of undeath. The Underclock resets to 3, but then they continue down.

On the third level, I roll another 3 and this time they can hear the groaning of undead who have not been able to pass onto the afterlife before resetting the clock to 3. But then I roll a 5 so the Underclock resets to 20 and we have an encounter: a ghoul!

Ghoul: HD 2 (7 hp); AC 13; Atk 2 claws (d3+paralysis), bite (d4); Move 9; Save 16; Morale 9; Special: immunities to sleep and charm, paralyzing touch

(I just realized that ghouls should make two separate claw attacks and thus I have inadvertently been nerfing them. Perhaps that compensates for not having all of my own adventurers with access to multiple attacks use them. It all comes out in the wash.)

No surprise occurs and the encounter starts off at 60 feet.

Round 1: The adventurers win initiative. Khnar and Krimkol put up their shields and prepare a defense. The soldiers immediately behind them fire their crossbows at the approaching ghoul, but both miss. The ghoul is not in spear range for Chuckles, and Parouz is not going to waste a spell on this monster. It gets to melee range, but Khnar and Krimkol get to attack it first. (The Multiple Attacks ability does not apply here.) Krimkol does hit it for a decent chunk of damage, but Krimkol absolutely destroys the thing.

That’s it for this one. They’ll continue downwards.

With the Underclock back at 20, I roll 5+(6+1)=12 which decrements it to 8 as they enter the…

Fifth Level

One thing I did not notice previously is that this level has a significantly reduced chance of encounters. On the levels above this, the chance in standard mechanics was 1-in-6 or perhaps 1-in-8. But on this level, it’s 1-in-12. To reflect this, I’m stepping down the Underworld die by one while on this level, making it a d4 for now.

Turn 1

Again they stand in the Howling Room, where “quarter-circle wells in the western corners pipe a strong wind into the dungeon.” There’s a statue on a small dais, but they’re not necessarily interested in trying to remove it right now. Instead, they’ll continue to follow the passageway towards the kobolds.

Underclock: d4=2 => 8-2=6

Turn 2

The kobolds still live here, but (befitting their inventive nature) they built a suspended ceiling to avoid the various “marauding scavengers” that come through here. This time they have a friendly reaction, and the group discusses the nature of the threats here. The kobolds tell them that they have more of their “settlement” in the room to the south and to watch out for the big “square goop” (gelatinous cubes) as well as “giant bugs” (carrion crawlers).

That’s not actually new information for the group, but the kobolds also mention that some other kinds of things have been seen from time to time: weird packs of hobgoblins that don’t act like hobgoblins. The group isn’t quite sure what that can mean, but the warning is well-received. In exchange, Khnar gives them 100 gold and promises friendship with them. (Perhaps, should the adventuring party run into significant trouble, they will be able to call on the kobolds for help?)

Underclock: d4=1 => 6-1=5

Turn 3

For the sake of completeness and curiosity, the group goes through the rest of the kobold lair into an empty chamber. It holds absolutely nothing and has spotlessly clean walls. They conclude this area has something to do with the gelatinous cubes. There’s a door on the north side of it, but they have already been to that so they don’t bother with the effort to open it, which could attract unwanted attention if they struggle with it.

Underclock: d4=2 => 5-2=3

With the Underclock at a 3, they get a warning of the next encounter (“Shadowing Event”), which in this case means they can see a little bit of the acidic slime from the gelatinous cubes in the area.

Turn 4

Having completed their circuit of this potion of the dungeon, they head back to the tapestries room. The wind is still loud here, causing the tapestries to flap and making it difficult to hear any approaching threats.

Underclock: d4=1 => 3-1=2

Turn 5

The adventuring party heads back through the hall with whistling gargoyle carvings to the room where they previously had encountered other adventurers. Since that group doesn’t really dwell here the way that regular monsters do, I decided that on subsequent visits there would be a 2-in-6 chance of one of them being present, and this time they are not.

From here, there’s an archway leading to another corridor ahead (south).

Underclock: d4=3 => 2-3=-1 (encounter and reset clock to 20)

Turn 6

A gelatinous cube comes up behind them! They knew it was in the area, but not its exact location (and Chuckles didn’t bother tracking it). Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to realize they are there yet., and with its slow movement, they can easily stay ahead of it.

It proceeds into the room, then (rolling randomly) heads back into the hall of gargoyle carvings. Should they head through there, perhaps they will encounter it again, but for now, they can continue to avoid it.

Their corridor splits to the side but they continue straight ahead.

Underclock: d4=3 => 20-3=17

Turn 7

At the south end of this corridor is a door. Chuckles and Krimkol listen together at the door; they can hear some sort of movement inside, but it’s not clear to them what it might be. They have never heard anything like this before.

Assuming it’s dangerous, they decide to regroup a bit. Khnar and Parouz will force it open, and call for a volley if they see a threat. Between the two of them, they have no difficulty opening it on the first try.

Inside, they found an irregularly-shaped room with “massive sculptures of leering gargoyles” on the walls, but they can smell something bad. This is a good opportunity for Krimkol to cast detect evil, which lasts for an hour and does what it says it does. After a moment, he realizes that this room contains four undead of a type he has never seen before.

I decide there’s no chance of surprise here and the group engages in combat. While stats for this monster are not in S&W or indeed in OD&D, I can use the B/X stats with a bit of modification.

Thouls (4): HD 3 (13, 3, 11, 10 hp); AC 13; Atk 2 claws (d3+paralysis); Move 9; Save 14; Morale 10

A thoul is a magical combination of a ghoul, a hobgoblin, and a troll (a creature explained in the D&D EXPERT Set). Except when very close, thouls look exactly like hobgoblins, and are sometimes found as part of the bodyguard of a hobgoblin king. The touch of a thoul will paralyze (in the same way as that of a ghoul). If it is damaged, a thoul will regenerate 1 hit point per round as long as it is alive. After a thoul is hit, the DM should add 1 hit point to its total at the beginning of each round of combat.

So that’s what they’ll be fighting, using the tactics previously described. The rolled distance is less than that from the door to the back of the room, so I’ll just assume the shorter distance of the two (20 feet).

Round 1: Despite the detection, the thouls win initiative. That gives them the chance to get out from behind the gargoyles. However, in the missile phase, I think that should give the group the chance for one singular volley on their approach. That’s enough from the crossbowmen to take down the weakest thoul. Illuin misses with her shortbow, Chuckles misses with his spear, and Parouz throws oil at one of them, leaving only a flaming patch on the floor that will, as before, block one enemy from melee in this round. From here, the front rank has Khnar and Krimkol in the center, two human soldiers on one flank, and Chuckles and Parouz on the other. Illuin and the remaining retainers are behind the center, preparing to reinforce flanks where needed. With three thouls left and one blocked, I’ll roll randomly to see which of the six party members are attacked: one human soldier and Khnar. The soldier is hit for 3 damage (leaving him at 3 hit points) but succumbs to the paralysis. Khnar fends off the attacks successfully. In return, Khnar strikes one thoul for 9 damage (down to 1 hp) and Krimkol hits it for another 3, destroying it. Chuckles and Parouz both miss, and Illuin isn’t engaged in melee. The remaining front-line soldier also misses. The remaining two thouls pass their morale check.

Round 2: This time the adventurers win initiative. Krimkol considers attempting to turn the undead, but suspects that these are powerful enough that he might as well just strike them down. Khnar will attack one while Krimkol gets the bonus for attacking “from behind”; the initial swipe hits it for 4 damage (down to 9 hp) and Krimkol hits it for 10, destroying it. Chuckles screams at the remaining thoul and misses, but that gives Parouz an opening who deals 8 damage to it (2 hp remaining). Illuin misses again, but a soldier hits it for 6 damage and the threat is ended.

No deaths on the party side, but one retainer is paralyzed. They’ll rest here for a bit to recover (two Underworld rolls) and then continue on. During the rest, they find a secret compartment in the mouth of one of the gargoyles, so Illuin goes to work. She finds and disables a poison needle trap, then recovers three pieces of jewelry worth 1300gp, 1200sp, and 600gp, respectively.

During this time, Krimkol takes detailed notes on this new type of undead, qualifying for a minor feat of exploration and leading to a downtime activity (assuming he survives).

Underclock: d4=(4+3)+(4+1)=12 => 17-12=5

The Underworld die steps up to a d6 after the rest (d8 in the rest of the dungeon).

Turn 8

After regrouping, they go back up to the side corridor they passed earlier. It terminates with two doors on the left and right. Chuckles listens at the left door (success) and Illuin at the right (success).

At this point, I realize I swapped two rooms’ contents. I’ll just handle the other room now. Chuckles and Illuin both hear nothing, although they don’t know those were successes. They decide to open the right door, and Khnar gets it open on the first try.

This is another irregularly-shaped room, but this one has a “dozen candles magically levitating between five and ten feet off the floor.” I need to roll to decide if the group experiments enough with them to figure out how they work (likely, given the presence of an elfblade): yes, they realize that they can be extinguished to turn off the levitation, then relit to restart it. Parouz puts these in her own pack.

Underclock: d6=2 => 5-2=3

That results in another Shadowing Event, and they can hear skittering sounds somewhere in another part of the dungeon.

Turn 9

Khnar needs Chuckles’ help to open this door. When they fall inside, they see six iron statues of warriors. On inspection, though, Parouz realizes that two of them are Living Statues made of iron. However, the statues attack!

Living Statues (2): HD 4 (15, 25 hp); AC 17; Atk 2 strike (d8); Move 3; Save 14; Morale 11

They’re quite slow, though, so the group can easily evade them and leave them behind. That’s not a fight they’re interested in taking.

Underclock: d6=3 => 3-3=0

The skittering sounds get louder, with a bit of clacking. The Underclock resets to 3.

Turn 10

The adventurers make it back to that northern corridor where the gelatinous cube had gone. Is it still around (unlikely)? Yes, and this time it moves to attack.

Gelatinous Cube: HD 4 (13 hp); AC 11; Atk engulf (2d4); Move 6; Save 13; Morale 12

The encounter begins at 40’ of distance.

Round 1: The adventurers win initiative. Unlike cold and lightning damage, the rules do not indicate any special handling for arrows and similar “piercing” damage, so we’ll let fly with missile attacks. That’s four crossbow shots; one hits for 3 damage and another for 6, reducing it to 4 hp. After Illuin’s shortbow misses, Chuckles and Parouz both throw flaming oil at it, setting it aflame and dealing a total of 3 damage.

Since the group is much faster and can pull back while it burns, it’ll go down before anyone is in danger.

Underclock: d6=2 => 3-2=1

Turn 11

There’s a door at the end of this corridor. Chuckles hears low muttering. They decide to open it and are prepared for combat if needed. Krimkol has no trouble opening it on the first try.

Inside are 6 adventurer types, surprised by the group, 60 feet away. I decide that, given the existing enmities, they’ll get a -2 to their reaction roll, and indeed they are hostile. But because they’re surprised, one of them (the second in line) drops his weapon! The others will get to act, since we waited to see their reaction.

Veterans (6): HD 3 (11, 16, 16, 6, 23, 12 hp); AC 14; Atk weapon (d8); Move 12; Save 14; Morale 8

Round 1: The adventurers will take the initiative in this case. Parouz will cast read magic (to read her sleep scroll). Four crossbow bolts fly, two at each of the first two veterans: one hits the lead veteran for 5 damage (down to 6 hp). Chuckles and Illuin also launch their missile weapons (spear and arrows) at that first enemy, and the arrows hit for 4 damage (down to 2 hp). Two flasks of oil come from a couple more retainers, hitting the second veteran who isn’t holding a weapon for 2 damage (down to 14) and setting him ablaze. Khnar and Krimkol move up to melee range and get to work but can’t quite get through their opponent’s armor. Only one of the two soldiers in the front rank can attack, and he tries to hit Khnar (randomly) but misses.

Round 2: The adventurers win initiative again. Parouz casts sleep on the veterans, but that won’t take effect until the melee and spells phase. In the meantime, the crossbowmen volley at the second rank of veterans. This hits the third veteran for 5 damage (down to 11 hp) but misses the fourth. Two more flasks of oil get lobbed as well, missing one (but blocking him for one round) and hitting the weaker of those two for 4 damage (down to 2 hp). The second veteran takes another 1 point of damage from the blaze, reducing him to 13 hp. Illuin fires at the fourth veteran, hitting for 4 damage and killing him before additional fire damage can happen on the next round. Khnar and Krimkol continue to hack away, hitting the first enemy for 10 damage (killing him). Parouz finishes her casting, putting two of them to sleep. That will be the 23 hp veteran and the front-line soldier who is now at 13 hp. The other two must make morale checks; the one all the way in the back turns and runs down a flight of stairs. The other one is still in the fight and attacks Krimkol to no avail.

Round 3: This remaining enemy wins initiative and stands at 13 hit points. He attacks Khnar this time but doesn’t hit him. Khnar swipes back for 4 damage (down to 9 hp), then Krimkol hits him for exactly 9 and drops him as well.

Unlike with the goblins, the group here isn’t so bloodthirsty as to execute the humans on the spot. (I don’t know that that speaks particularly well of them, but at least they have some limit.) Instead, they’ll use the rope that Chuckles carries to tie them up. They’re not so tightly bound that they won’t be able to get out of it, but it will take them a bit of time. Hopefully they recover and do so before some gelatinous cube or other dungeon denizen comes along. They take 2x 500gp gems off the leader.

This also represents the entrance to level 6 of the dungeon, which counts as another minor feat of exploration. In fact they’ll head down to that level now! After all, they haven’t really suffered too much in the way of casualties. (This will require some additional Underclock rolls when they leave.)

Underclock: d6=2 => 1-2=-1 (encounter and reset to 20)

Turn 12

Before they can do so, another single thoul comes up behind them. They’re not surprised, fortunately.

Thoul (1): HD 3 (4 hp); AC 13; Atk 2 claws (d3+paralysis); Move 9; Save 14; Morale 10

It’s 40 feet away at the start of the encounter.

Round 1: Krimkol starts to cast turn undead since it’s all the way in the rear of their group. Initiative occurs simultaneously. Illuin and the rear guard soldier fire missile weapons; a crossbow bolt hits it for 6 damage and takes it down immediately.

Underclock: d6=4 => 20-4=16

Turn 13

Finally they’re down on level 6. I haven’t actually looked at this level in years, so I’m just as curious as they are. As they come down the stairs, they find themselves at a T intersection. The left-hand path doesn’t go very far, but the right goes to a door and another side passage. They’ll head to the door first, which has a chain and a heavy padlock holding it closed from this side. Both Chuckles and Parouz will listen, but they don’t hear anything.

This level has the normal encounter frequency, so the Underclock will actually count as a d8 here.

Underclock: d8=6 => 16-6=10

Turn 14

Rather than open that door for now, they’ll contine along to the side passage. After a short distance, it turns to the right with an odd stone wall on the left-hand side; I imagine it has scrapes and gouges in it. They’ll follow it around to a ruined statuary with broken gargoyle remains on the floor.

Underclock: d8=3 => 10-3=7

Turn 15

As they continue around the hall, the elves notice a secret door in the odd wall. But the corridor is short, so they can hear some human voices ahead. They decide to go through the secret door and see what’s on the other side before visiting the humans.

On the other side are more hallways and archways, including a spiral staircase leading down. They haven’t really found that much treasure on this delve, and while they’ve only seen a small portion of this one, they know that there are potential threats nearby. Should they leave those threats at their rear, or should they go back and deal with them? Chuckles and Parouz want to head down right away, but Krimkol and Illuin counsel a wiser approach. After a moment, Khnar casts the deciding vote: they’ll go talk to the humans first.

Underclock: d8=6 => 7-6=1

Turn 16

In a corner of the hall, they find several human adventurers in arcane robes. (This is another fifth room for another minor feat of exploration). The group isn’t surprised, but they seem a bit uncertain what to do. Do Krimkol or Parouz recognize them (50/50)? No, they don’t know what those robes mean. Khnar tells them they are just exploring the dungeon after getting rid of the goblins above, and that they don’t need to be enemies. The humans seem wary, and after a moment of consideration, they nod at each other and begin magical incantations. This alarms the adventurers, as it should.

Mediums (3): HD 1d4 (3, 4, 4 hp); AC 10; Att weapon (1d4) or spell (respectively: Charm Person, Light, Magic Missile); Move 12; Save 15; Morale 7
Magic User (1): HD 3d4 (8 hp); AC 10; Att weapon (1d4) or spell (Hold Portal, Sleep, Web); Move 12; Save 13; Morale 7

They’re already in the room, which is quite small, so they’re at 20 feet.

Round 1: The mage begins to cast sleep on the adventurers, and two of the mediums starts to cast charm person (on Chuckles) and magic missile (on Khnar). Uncertain whether they represent evil, Parouz decides simply to cast magic missile on the mage. Unfortunately, the other group wins initiative. In the movement and missiles phase, the remaining medium throws a dagger at Parouz, hitting for 2 damage and interrupting the casting of the spell (it is lost for the day). They also yell for help! In the second part of this phase, Illuin and one crossbowman fire at the magic-user but miss. The other three crossbowman volley at her as well; all three hit, turning her into a pincushion and collapsing her to the ground, dead. The dwarven retainer throws oil at one of the mediums casting spells; he doesn’t know which of them is casting what, but he randomly hits the one casting charm person for 1 damage and setting them on fire. This interrupts their casting as well! In the melee phase, one medium finishes casting magic missile and hits Khnar for 2 damage. In return, Khnar strides forth and slashes around at all these arcane folks, hitting the one who threw the dagger for 3 damage (down to 1 hp). Krimkol also hits that one for 9 damage, which kills him, and Parouz hits another for 6 damage, killing that one. Chuckles hits for 2 more damage, the only survivor. Somehow, that medium passes his morale check.

Round 2: The group can hear shouting and the pounding of boots from around the way. The crossbowmen are busy reloading. Initiative happens simultaneously this round. In the movement and missiles phase, four more veteran adventurers come down one of the corridors! (Stats below.) Chuckles will throw a spear at one of the lead ones and Illuin will fire her shortbow at the same one, and they both hit for a total of 13 damage (2 hp remaining). The dwarf-at-arms tosses flaming oil at him as well, but misses and just blocks him for a round. In the melee round, Khnar and Krimkol go for the other tough veteran, hitting him for 6 damage (down to 6 hp). Parouz attacks the medium and the two weaker veterans, missing all three. The medium attacks Parouz with a dagger but can’t even get close. The remaining veterans attack Krimkol (miss), Khnar (hit for 1 damage), and Parouz (hit for 1 damage). No morale check this round.

Round 3: The enemies win the initiative, and since they’re all engaged in melee, Illuin and the soldiers will attack by hand. First the medium attacks Parouz, hitting for 2 damage. There are four veterans engaged with Khnar, Krimkol, Chuckles, Parouz, and six human soldiers plus the dwarf-at-arms. The first one misses one of the human soldiers. The second veteran hits Khnar for 3 damage. The third misses Krimkol, and the fourth is unable to hit Khnar. At this point, Parouz has taken 5 damage (down to 7 hp) and Khnar has taken 6 damage (down to 14 hp). Khnar counterattacks that heavy veteran but can’t hit him. Krimkol does as well, but gets a bonus for attacking someone who is already engaged with another opponent which is enough to deal 2 more damage (reducing him to 4 hp). Chuckles lays about with his bastard sword, attacking the medium and two weaker veterans, killing the medium. Parouz goes for those two survivors with a bonus, killing one and leaving one still up at 1 hp. Illuin goes for a backstab on a heavy and hits for 8 damage, killing him. The dwarf-at-arms and the six human soldiers all try to hit the remaining heavy; three of them hit for 15 damage and kill him. The remaining veteran fails his morale check and runs off, down the stairs.

Veterans (4): HD 3 (15), 3 (12), 1 (7), 1 (1); AC 17; Atk weapon (d8); Move 6; Save 13, 13, 15, 15; Morale 8

Among the bodies, they find a helm of alignment change and a map to an area of this level that can’t be reached directly from here (requiring access from a lower level).

Note that they have plenty of rations left and haven’t taken too much damage. They could take a rest here and continue to explore, or they could fight their way back up. With the map, they have enough knowledge to finish out most of this sublevel before heading back.

Underclock: d8=4 => 1-4=-3 (encounter and reset to 20)

Turn 17

While deliberating over their planning, a scraping sound comes from the east. They turn and find 2 gargoyles approaching!

Gargoyle (2): HD 4; AC 5[14]; Atk 2 claws (1d3), bite (1d4), horn (1d6); Move 9 (fly 15); Save 13; Morale 11; Special: +1 or better magic weapon to hit

They’re 40 feet away at the start of the encounter. However, only a few of them can do anything here. Krimkol carries a battle axe +1. Parouz has a sleep scroll, but that will only affect one of them. This isn’t a fight they can win without preparation; it’s time to run. How can they evade them? I think they need to run down the other half of the square.

That said, they are surprised when they run into a group of four wererats on the southeast corner of this foursquare hall! The wererats are surprisingly friendly, as they had intended on waylaying the arcane robed treasure hunters themselves. “Friendly” doesn’t mean “self-sacrificing,” though, so the group quickly offers a piece of jewelry from the next level up, worth 1200sp. I decide that will give them a +2 modifier to the roll, and that is definitely enough!

With that, our adventurers at least conclude their delve on this level for now.

Return Rolls

I’ll make two appropriately-sized Underclock rolls on each level as they return, resolving encounters as they come up.

Level 5: 2d6=1+1=2 => 20-2=18
Level 4: d8=(8+8+4)=20 => 18-20=-2

The clock resets to 20 as they pass through the vestibule area on level 4. Fortunately, they just encounter the lizardfolk, with whom they have previously established relatively friendly relations. (That may be something they want to engage with again in the future.)

Level 3: 2d8=2+2=4 => 20-4=16
Level 2: 2d8=5+4=9 => 16-9=7
Level 1: 2d8=2+4=6 => 7-6=1

After all that, they manage to escape successfully with no deaths.

Rewards and experience

Monsters: 1 ghoul @ 60 XP; 5 thouls @ 240 XP each; 1 gelatinous cube @ 240 XP; 3 mediums @ 15 XP each; 1 mage @ 120 XP; 10 veterans @ 30 XP each (averaged)
Treasure: Jewelry: 1300gp, 600gp; 2x 500 gp gems; 1 helm of alignment change
Feats: 3 minor (thouls, five rooms, entrance to next level) @ 550 XP

Adding this up, they get 1965 XP from monsters, 2900 XP from treasure, and 1650 XP from exploration, for a total of 6515 XP, divided five ways for 1303 XP (before bonuses) and 580 gold pieces each. Nobody levels up, but downtime and preparation next time will likely take even more effort than this time did!