Open Table Session Report (#21) - A Meeting of Hobgoblins
Player Characters
Balgor Mountainkin (Dwarf Fighter 2), accompanied by a medium footman.
Poppy Tumbletop (Halfling Thief 2), accompanied by a heavy footman.
Robin Redwood (Human Magic-User 3), accompanied by a bowman.
Wynn (Human Cleric 3), accompanied by a heavy footman.
Prep
Converted characters to the new system.
No change in the dungeon. Wynn hired a heavy footman (50sp) and bought caltrops (5sp). Balgor hired a heavy footman (50sp). Robin hired a bowman (15sp). Poppy bought arrows (5sp) and hired a heavy footman (50sp).
Balgor was elected Captain of the delve. Poppy took on mapping duties. Wynn acted as Quartermaster.
The party chose to find a staircase down from the first level to the second.
Events
The party entered through the main entrance, proceeding to the secret door they had located in the previous session. They were attacked by a band of Swine and successfully killed the majority, taking the survivor prisoner. He offered to take them to his king and they proceeded north, passing by a Black Talon guardpost near the stairs down to the second level. They spoke to the Talons, who mentioned a strange haunted area in the north of the second level, and killed the prisoner who was leading them into an obvious ambush, then descended.
They emerged on the second level in a room full of strange mannequins hanging from the ceiling. Following directions from the Talons, they headed east and encountered a second guard-post. They were recognised and brought to meet Ent-Sha-Nur, passing through other guard posts and a large forge manned by Ironcursed. Bloodied Dwarfen armour from Ovanelare was visible in the piles of equipment, and Balgor claimed a helmet bearing the crest of that hold. All of the rooms bar the forge were unlit, which unnerved the players.
Ent-Sha-Nur received the party in his shadowed war council chamber, lit by two smoking braziers. He offered to pay the party 200sp for each head of the Red Court - the undead to the south - delivered to him. He claimed that Thekrus - an unknown name - would be weak enough once 12 ghouls had been slain and then the Talons would strike. As a gesture of goodwill he showed the party a spiral staircase rising up to the mountainside from a secluded chamber nearby.
The party returned to Alos, mistrustful of their ally and what fate had befallen the Dwarfs of Ovanelare.
Outcomes
Treasure retrieved: 0sp
Combat XP: 8 x Swine (1HD) - 800XP
New lead: Destroy the Red Court (250XP)
Balgor: 1,550XP
Poppy: 1,300XP - 3rd-level
Robin: 1,050XP
Wynn: 1,300XP - 4th-level
Thoughts
The new system seems to be working well. Converting characters didn't take too long and people seem pleased with the changes - most of them have one or two attribute penalties that are now largely smoothed out. Shared XP is a big hit and I'm enjoying not having to do as much maths at the end of a session.
I've been enjoying tightening up the faction goals a bit now that the players are encountering more things in the dungeon - the Black Talons (hobgoblins, which I'm describing as looking like humans but off-ish) want to find an old Dwarfen forge deeper down and are fending off attacks, the Red Court want to protect their market and attract interesting types to visit and entertain them in their madness, the myconids want to spread across the area and return to the gardens from whence they came. All are at each others' throats, those who are aware of the others' presence anyway.
Nothing much else to report - the regular players have got into a good flow state with the game and this ran very smoothly.