Dyson’s Delve - Session 6

The adventurers have cleared out the goblins from the first couple of levels of Dyson’s Delve, but they want to head back into the dungeon. The indications of undead infestation have Krimkol worried (and Anela intrigued), and they know there’s something worse deeper down.

The roster is still the same as the previous session. I’d considered having them hire some followers, but they’re still level 1 and I don’t think they need that just yet. If I’m wrong, well, they’re the ones who’ll pay the price.

Returning to the Delve

As before, they’re returning through the cave on the side. Rather than squeeze through the passages over to the ruined portions, though, they want to check out the spiral stairs cut into the cave itself.

Turn 1

Chuckles lights a torch while heading into the cave entrance. He’ll check for any sorts of traps or similar as they go. Khnar and Krimkol will follow behind, shields at the read, and Parouz and Anela will be prepared in the rear. This time, Anela has prepared hold undead, and Parouz has protection from evil.

The floor here is packed earth and natural stone, with plenty of indications of local animals inhabiting the area. There are bones, droppings, and bits of rotting plants and even an old goblin skull. They can hear skittering and sniffling from rodents in the area, but the adventurers are not going into the side chambers beyond peering quickly to ensure there aren’t any goblins ready to spring an ambush.

• Underworld die: 5
• Underclock: 20-5=15

Turn 2

Just before the entrance to the narrow passages, they can see a small set of steps leading down into the earth. Down on the second level, they find a small chamber containing mangled giant rat corpses. They listen and can hear more rats nearby, but it’s hard to tell exactly where they might be. There are two passages leading northwest and southwest. I roll a die to see which way they go: southwest it is.

• Underworld die: 4
• Underclock: 15-4=11

Turn 3

Illustration by Evlyn Moreau, used with permission.

Well, they found the giant rats! There are nine of these cat-size creatures, and they’re immediately hostile. No surprise, so we’ll go right to combat.

• Giant Rat (9): HD 1d4 (1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 4); AC 12; Atk 1 bite (d3); MV 12; Save 18; Morale 8

The second rat (2 hp) is diseased and may inflict a disease on a successful bite. I decide that it’s visibly sick, so the adventurers have a chance to target it.

Round 1: Initiative will be simultaneous this round. Anela will throw a dart at the diseased rat, then the others will move up to engage two rats each in reverse HP order (Khnar and Krimkol on the strongest, etc.) Anela hits it, but only deals 1 damage and so it’s still alive, engaging Parouz. Khnar hits a rat to drop it to 3 hp; Krimkol kills a 4hp rat; Chuckles kills a 2 hp rat; and Parouz misses. In return, two rats try to bite Khnar; he takes 2 hp of damage, going down to 7 hp. Krimkol fends off his attackers. The rat biting at Chuckles connects, and he takes 3 damage (reducing him to 7 hp). Three rats are on Parouz, then, and indeed the diseased rat bites her for 3 damage, another for 2, and the third misses. That drops her to 2 hp, and she saves against the disease. Anela can’t throw any more darts since the rats are in melee. The rats’ morale doesn’t break: they’re hungry!

Round 2: There are now 7 rats left (1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 3). Two will attack Khnar and Krimkol each, and the others will individually attack Chuckles, Parouz, and Anela. Initiative is simultaneous again. Khnar attacks the rat he hit before but can’t get it; neither of them can get to his legs. Krimkol kills a rat with his magical battle axe but neither of them bite him, either. Chuckles fights a rat and kills it, but not before it bites him for 3 (leaving him at 4 hp). Parouz puts the diseased rat out of its misery and dodges its bite as it dies. Anela isn’t able to slice a rat with her scyth but stays away from its teeth, too. With half of them defeated, the remaining rats scurry away.

There’s nothing valuable in the nest, naturally.

• Underworld die: 3
• Underclock: 11-3=8

Turn 4

The adventurers need to catch their breath after that fight and spend a turn eating a ration and recovering their hit points. I think that’s just the one Underworld roll here, though, since nobody’s really coming for them (rats scurrying in the dark should not attract any attention from other, larger monsters).

• Underworld die: 3
• Underclock: 8-3=5

The Underworld die size also increases from a d6 to a d8 now.

Turn 5

They get back on their feet and creep around the corner to the northwest corridor, which leads to a natural alcove. They see a dead corpse dressed in ancient rotted finery, and Anela sees indications of necromancy (necromancery?). They decide to attack it; in fact, they catch the ghoul by surprise!

• Ghoul: HD 2 (5 hp); AC 13; Atk 2 claws (d3+paralysis), bite (d4); MV 9; Save 16; Morale 9

If someone is scratched by their claws, they will be paralyzed for 3d6 turns unless they save successfully. Hopefully the group can beat it down before that happens!

Round 1: No need for initiative this time, since they have surprise. Anela isn’t going to cast a spell on this single surprised ghoul, at least not yet. Instead, they’ll all attack it in melee. Chuckles hits it for 3 damage, but no one else hits it this turn.

Round 2: The ghoul is no longer surprised, and the two sides tie for initiative. The ghoul attacks Anela (determined randomly), perhaps somehow detecting the necromantic energy she wields. It claws her for 1 damage, which is enough for its paralyzing touch; she fails her save and is paralyzed! As it does so, though, she swipes at it and deals 1 damage back to it, and Krimkol smashes it for another 6 damage to destroy it.

Anela won’t die, but she will need time to recover. The group will carry her back to the rats’ nest area, which is significantly more defensible than this alcove.

Before they do that, they loot the ghoul’s remains. They find 4000 sp, a gold signet ring valued at 800 gp, a decorative key on a heavy gold chain worth 1200 gp, and two jeweled silver bracelets worth 700 gp each. This was the real treasure on this level!

I’ll roll on the Underclock three times and have Chuckles expend a torch, while the elves and dwarf keep watch.

• Underworld die: 7
• Underclock: 5-7=-2

That’s an encounter, and she hasn’t had time to recover yet.

Turn 6

A scouting force of 9 goblins has found them. No one is surprised, but Anela is still paralyzed and thus her reaction roll bonus does not apply. In any case, they wait to see if the adventurers are hostile; in this case, outnumbered and recovering, the adventurers try to defuse potential hostilities. Krimkol will keep his mouth shut (as a dwarven priest) and let the elves do the talking. I think it’s therefore fifty-fifty whether a fight breaks out or not: unfortunately, tempers flare and steel is drawn.

• Goblin (9): HD 1d6 (1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4); AC 13; Atk 1 weapon (d6); MV 9; Save 18; Morale 7

Round 1: Parouz starts to cast protection from evil on herself. The adventurers win initiative and immediately start throwing oil flasks. Chuckles throws one and misses, which still creates a burning patch on the ground for a round. Khnar throws another and deals 1 damage to it, killing one. Krimkol throws a final one (from Anela’s equipment), which misses but still sets another part of the ground ablaze. The goblins pass their morale check, though. I decide that only half of them can get through the fire to attack, so they’ll target Khnar and Krimkol. Khnar is hit by two separate goblins for a total of 5 damage, but Krimkol is unhurt. Parouz finishes her spell, giving her +1 to AC for an hour and a bonus on saving throws from any attacks by evil creatures. Anela is still paralyzed.

Round 2: Again the adventurers win initiative. The fire still holds off half of them, so each member of the party can attack one. If they kill it, that person won’t suffer a counter-attack this turn. Chuckles misses, Khnar kills his, Krimkol misses, and Parouz kills hers. The goblin fighting Chuckles hits him for 1 damage, and the one fighting Krimkol misses. Since there are still more than half of their group, the goblins don’t need to make a morale check this turn, and all of them can join the fight with the oil burning out.

Round 3: Unfortunately, the goblins win the initiative roll this round and rush forward. Two will attack Krimkol, then one each to the other three adventurers that are up and fighting. Krimkol takes 3 damage, Khnar takes 6 but allows his shield to be destroyed instead (reducing his AC to 13), and Chuckles & Parouz both dodge out of the way. In return, Chuckles kills a goblin, leaving them at five.

Round 4: The adventurers win initiative, which just might save them. All four of them kill a goblin, and the one survivor fails his morale check, turns, and runs! The group survives!

• Underworld die: 7+1=8
• Underclock: 20-8=12

The Underworld die is now up to a d10. They’ll need to get out of here soon.

Turn 7

Chuckles is on a new torch, which should last through the end of turn 13. They want to scout a little more, though, and so they move forward cautiously. Anela is moving again but quiet and thoughtful. Past the alcove where they fought the ghoul, they find another ancient nook full of bones of the ghoul’s previous victims. The bones are fully dead; hopefully, those victims didn’t suffer too much.

• Underworld die: 9
• Underclock: 12-9=3

With the Underclock at three, the group gets an omen of danger: a swirling wind from below blows out Chuckles’ torch, and he must light his final one.

Turn 8

They creep down another set of stairs, deeper into the dungeon than they’ve ever gone. The stairs are cut from the bare rock of the earth. As the adventurers pass under a natural archway, even with his ability, Chuckles does not notice the loose ceiling above. A rock falls and hits Khnar; he fails his save and takes 3 damage. Another falls on Anela and deals 9 damage - squish! The necromancer is dead, despite the group’s efforts.

That’s enough for them and they decide to retreat back to civilization. I’ll make one more Underworld roll (on level 2, not here on level 3): fortunately, it’s a 2, leaving the clock at 1, and they leave without further incident.

Experience and Rewards

• Monsters: 9 giant rats @ 5 XP each; 1 ghoul @ 60 XP; 9 goblins @ 10 XP each
• Treasure: 4000 sp, gold signet ring (800 gp), decorative key (1200 gp), 2 jeweled silver bracelets (700 gp each)
• Feats of Exploration: 2 minor (clearing 5 rooms, finding the path to level 3) @ 240 XP each

That’s 45 XP for the rats, 60 for the ghoul, and 90 for the goblins, for a total of 195 XP. The treasure is worth 800+1200+700+700=3400 gp, plus another 400 from the silver pieces, for 3800 XP. And they get 480 XP for the feats of exploration, which is a total of 4475 XP. Divided by 4 (with the loss of Anela), that’s 1119 XP each, which will put all of them up to level 2. But the crypts remain to be explored, and they’re likely to find another adventurer to join their group.

Honestly, having only one of them die is not bad, and the fact that it’s the most suspicious of them all makes good narrative sense. Before the next expedition, I’ll need to roll a new character, level up the others, and likely hire some retainers for the group.