Lair Of The Orc Lord - Deep 1 (Part 1)

Two weeks between posts, ha! Well, good intentions don't always move in the direction we want and so after a busy month involving work, illness and playing World of Warcraft (awesome), I have finally got back to this blog.

The previous gaming session was 22-09-2006, the one before that was 19-08-2006. Both were relatively short sessions, 3-3½ hours duration, and I am sure the players feel as though we are creeping along, especially since we are only getting through two or so rooms per session. Though even this is not unfamiliar to the experienced players who know just how long combat in RMFRP can take.

We occasionally discuss the length of RMFRP combat compared to D&D. D&D combat does seem to move along quickly, however, in my experience it is the number of rounds that does so. You could easily go through 10 or more D&D rounds of combat in which PCs and enemy alike hit and miss. In RMFRP we rarely go beyond 6 rounds, except in extreme circumstances, due to the deadly nature of the criticals. As GM I believe this is a more exciting and "sit on the edge of your seat" experience.

The scenario the PCs are moving into now is one that comes from Warhammer Quest (WHQ), a game by Games Workshop that is no longer in print. This particular game is an expansion set called Lair Of The Orc Lord and the scenario is titled The Doom of Grishnak, it is a three level dungeon crawl.

Due to the fact that the PCs are low level (1 & 2 mix) I have reworked the denizens of the dungeon and essentially moved all creatures one level down to the next level creature. Well, almost all anyway. This means that what are classed as WHQ Goblins (RMFRP level 2B) will now become RMFRP Kobolds (Level 1B), WHQ Orcs (RMFRP level 2B) become RMFRP Goblins (Level 2B and slightly less threatening) and the big nastier guys, including the boss, will become ...... (you'll find out soon enough if you read this blog). There are other surprises here too, other creatures that will scare the PCs and require a change of underwear.


The game continues...

These last two sessions saw the young adventurers start their exploration into the depths below Hightower Tor. After having climbed down a 70 foot shaft the PCs found themselves in a room with a single exit to the west. This leads the party into room 3 from the direction of the arrow at the bottom right of the image.

Immediately obvious is the odour. A pungent stench is emanating from the barred well in the centre of the room into which a chain leads. A strange green slime can be seen on the floor which has started to eat away the short sword lying in it. There is a skeleton on the floor in the corner of the room. Two doors can be seen; one north and one leading to west.

The PCs explore the room and as they do so are attacked by six Kobolds coming from the western door. The fight lasts a few rounds then the Kobolds run away. A laugh is heard from the T-intersection (2), just as the head of a Kobold flies into the room of PCs. The PCs quickly lay an ambush for the remaining Kobolds and whatever else is "encouraging" them back into the fight. The Kobolds come into the room with a big brute following. Another few rounds and all is quiet, except Xera who is hurt pretty badly (a bleeding wound), the rest of the PCs escape any serious harm.

The western door is closed and provides a sense of safety to the group. The north door is checked and is found to be locked. Able to stomach the foul stench from the drain, Cavell discovers a key is located at the end of the chain. It can't be removed from the chain but it does reach the north door. The group unlock the door and head on down the corridor to another door (5).

This door is opened easily and the adventurers move forward. Cavell and Rikku lead and open the door at the end which opens into to another corridor (6) heading west to yet another door. Just as Cavell opens the north door and as Xera, who is bringing up the rear, decides to close the southern door she hears a yapping sound and her lantern is snatched from her hands. Blurred movement and then the south door is closed with a "click" telling the PCs the door is now locked behind them. Cavell quickly casts Projected Light so all the PCs can see, not just the three with low light vision, although it is just like a modern day flashlight.

Nothing to do but move west. Does this feel like a trap to you? Hmmm....

Shashari lights her lantern to provide more light to walk by for the others (she doesn't need it) than just the scraps thrown about by Cavell's movement.

Heading west and opening the door into room 7.

This room seems to swallow up the light projected into it without giving up the secrets of its shadows. However, the light does reveal a spiked club on the floor and another exit from the room. There is a scratching noise in the dark and you sense that you are being watched.

The party, having moved into the room identify debris in the SE corner and the door to the south. Yapping sounds are heard again, just as another six Kobolds attack. Light floods the room completely now as the thief of Xera's lantern opens the hood fully.

Xera, wanting to fight, but concerned her recent wound will reopen, backs off into the corridor. Shashari is targeted first by two Kobolds and is quickly overwhelmed and bleeding. She hears the call of the long sleep and so backs off just like Xera. The remaining Kobolds tackle Cavell and Rikku who handle the pressure well. Kodos takes out two Kobolds with bow shots from behind. Luckily he didn't miss otherwise he would have hit party members. Asmodeus and Rikku dispatch one each. With four Kobolds easily dispatched the remaining two flee down a small hole in the floor under the debris.

Shashari drifts in and out of consciousness as Xera tries to save her life. No good, the bleeding is just too great. They have to pull out some magical herbs to stem the flow of blood and bring Shashari back from the edge of death. Cavell heals Shashari and Rikku. Xera gives Shashari a couple of her precious Mirenna berries; healing 10 hits a berry. With everyone healed everyone can be involved in the room search, not just Asmodeus, Rikku and Kodos.

The PCs find 40 or so bronze pieces in the debris as well as a short sword with an icy blue gem embedded in the hilt. This sword has a 15% chance of inflicting double concussion damage with each attack. Shashari gets the sword but decides it is not of much use to her because, although she has one-handed edged weapon skills, she doesn't have short sword specialisation and so will be attacking with a -15 OB. She decides to swap the sword with Rikku for the belt he found earlier. The belt hadn't been checked for magical effect, but within minutes it is found to be a Lifter's Belt that provides a +5 ST bonus to carrying capacity only. This is more useful to Shashari since it allows her to carry more when walking or flying.

Experience points for the combat are distributed with Kodos gaining the most with two kills.

And so the game continues ...