Today we had the largest Labyrinth Lord session ever at Chimera Hobby Shop Appleton. One Labyrinth Lord (yours truly), 10 players, 11 characters, two war dogs, and a war cat:
Grayleaf (female High Elf 3rd level Thief/2nd level Magic-user), with Shadow (female War Cat)
Edrick (male Human 3rd level (later 3nd level) Fighter)
Berefex (male High Elf 2nd level Warrior-Mage)
Andoriel (male Human 3rd level Cleric of the Lords of Light)
Madoc Goldworthy (male Harfoot Hobbit 2nd level Arsonist... I mean, Adventurer)
Alberon (male High Elf 3rd level Warrior-Mage) with Fluffy II (male War Dog)
Gilthas (male Human 2nd level Fighter/3rd level Thief)
Pevel Paladinson (male Human 2nd level Fighter; 17 Str, 17 Cha... 5 Wis)
Drogo (male Human 2nd level Cleric of Jamala) with Bogo (male War Dog)
Sigismond "Siggy" Smallburrow (male Tallfellow Hobbit 2nd level Adventurer)
Cadfrael Jorian (male Human 2nd level Cleric of Qnoth/1st level Magic-user)
This was actually the second session of Raiders of Mylock's Lair, which is an adaptation of an adventure presented in the Judges Guild classic, The Book of Ruins. In the first session, we had only the following adventurers:
Grayleaf (female High Elf 3rd level Thief/2nd level Magic-user), with Shadow (female War Cat)
Edrick (male Human 3rd level (later 3nd level) Fighter)
Berefex (male High Elf 2nd level Warrior-Mage)
Andoriel (male Human 3rd level Cleric of the Lords of Light)
Alberon (male High Elf 3rd level Warrior-Mage) with Fluffy I (male War Dog)
Gilthas (male Human 2nd level Fighter/3rd level Thief)
These six brave adventurers sought out the depths of the former lair of the wizard, Mylock, for it was said that they had become the home of a band of Black Orcs of the Vile Rune, who were raiding and pillaging in the local area. In the first session, the group:
- Discovered a devious double arbalest trap the safe way, and disarmed it;
- Slew three goblins, after putting them to sleep with a spell and slitting their throats;
- Fought valiantly against a small horde of 10 orcs, slaying them all, but losing Fluffy I in the battle;
- Slit the throat of an ogre after putting it to sleep with a spell;
- Slew three more orcs in the forward guard post they happened to miss by taking a different path;
- Found a false door and pit trap the hard way;
- Found themselves trapped in a room after bursting through the doors, commando style, then looking back after the doors closed behind them to discover that the doors had disappeared! They found the "secret" doors, as they were, but did not discover any way of opening them... and so the only way back was forward!
Thus ended the first session...
In the second session (today), we had rather more people show up, so in classic adventure style, *poof*, they were there! Very leery after having the doors close and disappear behind them, the aprty now took to spiking open all doors they went through (well, at first). In the second room, which was all but identical to the first, they found a pit trap that opened when you pulled a lever... so they decided against pulling the lever. They then entered the third room, and there surprised an orc guard sitting at a table, contemplating what it had just pulled out of one nostril. Cadfrael hit it with a mage shot cantrip, then Alberon lept over the table and cut off its head; it never knew what hit it!
They searched the body, then went on to the next room, which was nearly their undoing, as Madoc and Gilthas took to arguing, a fight that nearly engulfed the whole party while a band of orcs snuck up behind them while the party leaders were trying to separate the two troublemakers. The battle against the five orcs and the orc captain was brutal. Madoc the Arsonist ended up burning the table, which the orcs had turned over as cover. After much hand-to-hand work, the orcs were finally undone when Bogo ripped out the throat of the captain on a critical hit! But the fire consumed the table, and spread to anything flammable in the room, as Madoc laughed and danced. The smoke kept the party from effectively looting the bodies, and everyone fled back into the further room, then burst through half-heartedly into the next room, which was, fortunately, empty. When all had finally made it into the room, includng Ed who was dragging along the last, unconscious orc as a prisoner, they jammed the orc's cloak under the doors to keep the smoke out.
They discovered a secret door to the north and found that the room to the east, too, was empty, though there was an untripped trap door right underneath the doors...
At this point, they split the party!
Ed, Pevel, and Madoc stayed behind to "question" the orc; the rest went on to the north, into the corridor beyond the secret door. When the awakened the orc by spilling a canteen on his face, the orc cursed them in Orcish... and then the three of them realized none of them spoke Orcish! The orc grinned and spit in Madoc's face; at that, Madoc thrust his lit torch into the face of the orc, who promptly screamed in pain!
Meanwhile, the others had discovered that the corridor turned after a long while, then ended in a short corridor with double doors on each side and double doors before them. Opening the doors to the left, they discovered a charnel pit, upon which were four ghouls. Though they were unafraid of attacking, wiser heads prevailed for the moment, and Brother Drogo turned the ghouls, which fled into the corners of the room...
Back in the other chamber, Madoc said, "Screw this guy," and decided to leave, taking the torch with! Ed fortunately had another one, so the two humans weren't left without light. But even as they lit the second torch, an ogre walked through the doors of the further chamber (beyond the closed pit), saw them, and gave a battle cry. They slammed the doors shut before them, crying out to the others (who did not hear) for help!
In a chaotic battle that followed, Pevel Paladinson earned the epithet Pevel Pissbreeks, as the moment the ogre burst through the doors he fled through the secret door into the dark corridor, leaving Ed alone to face the ogre! Ed and the ogre exchanged several mighty blows, back and forth, as Ed led the ogre back to the wall and turned him so that he faced away from the secret door, in case allies might come from behind and stab the ogre in the back. Finally, after screaming for help while feeling his way down the dark corridor, Grayleaf, Madoc, and Brother Drogo turned to help... while the others foolishly decided to attack the ghouls cowering in the corners!
... And now several days later, when I return to finish this post, I realize I've forgotten much of the minor details...
As I recall, the battle with the ghouls went better than expected by many, with the elves being immune to paralysis, and most attacks occuring from a distance. Either way, they finished off the ghouls, then looted the room. Completely randomly, I'd determined the treasure included a sword +1/+3 versus undead, and a scroll of ward of protection against undead! My dice just had that kind of sense of humor that day, I guess.
They found a secret door in the room, too, and went to explore the hall beyond. After everyone left, Madoc the Arsonist decided to use the last of his powerful spirits to burn the bodies... and once again, left behind them a roaring fire, with no idea if there was any exit in the direction of the secret door! Fortunately, they found a pair of corridors each ending in double doors... no traps were found, but Grayleaf didn't like it at all, nor did Gilthas. they went through the right-hand corridor, and found that both sets of double doors opened into a small 20' x 10' room beyond, with one odd-shaped corridor narrowing as it went off into the distance. "Oh yeah, trap," said Grayleaf.
They didn't discover it until several of them were already deep into the corridor... a giant ball of stone, right above the head of Gilthas, that would fall, smush anyone in its way, then block off the narrowing corridor. As they all retreated back into the original corridor, save for Siggy and Grayleaf, they heard a terrible, evil cackle... Siggy and Grayleaf ran down the narrow corridor, thinking it had come from there, to stop whatever it was that was about to trip the trap... then with a thud and roar, the stone fell and roared into place, blocking the corridor behind them and separating them from the party.
Fortunately for them, Mylock the Wizard-Wight was on the other side of the stone with the rest of the party, which suddenly was faced with a magic-using undead and six plate-armored, two-handed-sword-wielding zombies!
Four of the six zombies were quickly turned. Ed took a level in damage from the touch of the Wizard-Wight, but in turn Mylock was undone by the undead-bane blade. The fight against the zombies went badly for a bit, until they got in some lucky shots, with Madoc taking one out and incinerating it with his torch!
Meanwhile, Graleaf and Siggy were still running, trying to find whatever had caused the rock to fall. They followed the corridor for several twists and turns, until they came to a door... which turned out to be a secret one-way door back into the very first room, where the doors had closed behind them and disappeared! And now, it and the two rooms beyond (for they had spiked toe doors) were occupied by at least six orcs and an orc captain, who had recently put out the first fire started by the Hobbit!
The seven orcs, startled by the opening of the secret one-way door, looked to the pair. They blinked, looked back, and then Siggy said, "Man, I wish we were back with Ed and thge guys..." BAMPF! And so they were, one wish used on Siggy's ring of three wishes!
Fortunately for them, it happened moments after Mylock was dusted, so they got there in time to watch Ed wince in pain over his lost level and experience points...
And that's where we left off... with four zombies having fled through the (now obvious) illusory wall down an unknown corridor... and with all other avenues of escape cut off by fire or orcs!
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