Sellswords of Punjar- Final Stats

DCC53 Sellswords of Punjar
Encounter #10 Slave Pens of Punjar

Round 7.

Riardon- Twin Strike GA2; Miss & Quarry HS6; Miss.

I thought he was meant to be the striker?

Gorliss- DEAD.

HS4- DEAD.

HS5- Shift. Shortsword Kathra; Miss.

HS6- Shift. Shortsword Erais; Hit 6 damage (19 HP).

HS7- Shift. Shortsword Kathra; Miss.

HS1- DEAD.

HS2- Shortbow Erais; Miss.

HS3- DEAD.

GA- DEAD.

Erais- Shift back. Sacred Flame HS7; Hit 11 Radiant damage- DEAD & 2 Temp HP Kathra.

Kathra- Cleave HS7; Miss. Marked.

GA1- DEAD.

GA2- DEAD.

GA3- Shortbow Kathra; Hit 4 damage (33 HP).

GA4- DEAD.

GA5- Shortsword Erais; Miss.

GA6- Move. Shortbow Kathra; Hit 4 damage (29 HP).

Tira- Eyebite GA5; Hit 9 Psychic damage- DEAD.

Time to play 9 minutes.

End of Turn-

The Good Guys...
Kathra Ironforge, Male Dwarf Fighter Level 2 (HP29/44)
Riardon Brightvale, Male Eladrin Ranger 2 (HP25/28)
Erais the Sunlord, Male Human Cleric of Amaunator 2 (HP19/34)
Tira Duskmeadow, Female Half-Elf Warlock 2 (HP33)

The Bad Guys... 1150XP Level 6 Encounter.
Hobgoblin Slavers Level 1 Skirmisher [HS] (x7) (HP4/30 30/30 21/30) 4 DEAD.
Great Ape Level 3 Brute [GA] (HP54) DEAD
Goblin Archers Level 1 Minion [GA] (x6) (HP1) 4 DEAD.
Gorliss the Goat, Dragonborn Warlord Level 3 Soldier [Gorliss] (HP56) DEAD.

Action Points 0 Total 2
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 0 Total 2
2nd Winds 0 Total 1
Crits 0 Total 2
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 0
Bad Guys Daily Powers 0 Total 1
Bad Guys Crit 0 Total 0
Bad Guys Healing Surges 0 Total 1

Comment: It's like we're stuck in some sort of non-hitting (mostly) time warp.

DCC53 Sellswords of Punjar
Encounter #10 Slave Pens of Punjar

Round 8.

Riardon- Shift. Quarry HS5. Twin Strike HS5; Hit 14 damage (23 HP) & HS2; Hit 11 damage- DEAD.

Gorliss- DEAD.

HS4- DEAD.

HS5- Shift. Kathra AoO HS5; Hit 7 damage (16 HP) & Marked. Shortsword Combat Advantage Kathra; Miss.

HS6- Shortsword Combat Advantage Kathra; Miss.

HS7- DEAD.

HS1- DEAD.

HS2- DEAD.

HS3- DEAD.

GA- DEAD.

Erais- Move. Righteous Brand Combat Advantage HS5; Hit 10 damage (6 HP bloodied) & Kathra +3 to Hit.

Kathra- Cleave Combat Advantage HS5; Hit 10 damage- DEAD & HS6 3 damage (18 HP) & Marked. Shift.

GA1- DEAD.

GA2- DEAD.

GA3- Double Move- run out of the chamber screaming.

GA4- DEAD.

GA5- DEAD.

GA6- Double Move- run out of the chamber screaming.

Tira- Curse HS6. Eldritch Blast HS6; Hit 14 damage (4 HP bloodied).

Time to play 9 minutes.

End of Turn-

The Good Guys...
Kathra Ironforge, Male Dwarf Fighter Level 2 (HP29/44)
Riardon Brightvale, Male Eladrin Ranger 2 (HP25/28)
Erais the Sunlord, Male Human Cleric of Amaunator 2 (HP19/34)
Tira Duskmeadow, Female Half-Elf Warlock 2 (HP33)

The Bad Guys... 1150XP Level 6 Encounter.
Hobgoblin Slavers Level 1 Skirmisher [HS] (x7) (HP4/30) 6 DEAD.
Great Ape Level 3 Brute [GA] (HP54) DEAD
Goblin Archers Level 1 Minion [GA] (x6) (HP1) 4 DEAD & 2 FLED.
Gorliss the Goat, Dragonborn Warlord Level 3 Soldier [Gorliss] (HP56) DEAD.

Action Points 0 Total 2
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 0 Total 2
2nd Winds 0 Total 1
Crits 0 Total 2
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 0
Bad Guys Daily Powers 0 Total 1
Bad Guys Crit 0 Total 0
Bad Guys Healing Surges 0 Total 1

Comment: When two encounters become three-

The Goblin Archers flee into the next chamber, a wooden walkway spans two rocky ledges, below is another beach, and another waterway.

On the wooden walkway, hidden in the shadows is Drazen the Drow, a Rogue and a Slaver. Down a wooden ladder and onto the beach below are a pair of muscled Gnolls (Wrix and Reiko) carrying loaded treasure chests to a large row boat; and standing by the row boat- directing operations, is Vermouth the Eladrin Wizard, the head of the Slavers.

Needless to say the fleeing Goblin Archers alert the Slavers to the PCs presence.

And so, as I stated above, two encounters become three, god bless Goodman Games.

DCC53 Sellswords of Punjar
Encounter #10 Slave Pens of Punjar

The Bad Guys... 1700XP Level 9 Encounter.
Hobgoblin Slavers Level 1 Skirmisher [HS] (x7) (HP4/30) 6 DEAD.
Great Ape Level 3 Brute [GA] (HP54) DEAD
Goblin Archers Level 1 Minion [GA] (x6) (HP1) 4 DEAD
Gorliss the Goat, Dragonborn Warlord Level 3 Soldier [Gorliss] (HP56) DEAD.
Reiko & Wrix, Gnoll Overseers Level 2 Brute [Reiko & Wrix] (x2) (HP34)
Drazen, Drow Thief Level 3 Lurker [Drazen] (HP35)
Vermouth, Eladrin Mage Level 3 Controller [Vermouth] (HP46)

New Initiative 24 Drazen the Drow & Riardon 22 Vermouth, Eladrin Mage & Hobgoblin Slaver (one left alive) 18 Erais 7 Kathra 6 Wrix & Reiko, Gnoll Overseers 3 Tira

Round 9.

Drazen- Move back. Stay Hidden. Ready Action.

Riardon- Move. Spot GA3&6 screaming down at someone/thing. Twin Strike Prime Shot GA3; Hit 9 damage- DEAD & Prime Shot GA6; Hit 9 damage- DEAD.

Vermouth- Screams at Wrix and Reiko to get up the ladder. Ready Action.

Gorliss- DEAD.

HS4- DEAD.

HS5- DEAD.

HS6- Move back. Kathra AoO HS6; Hit 11 damage- DEAD.

HS7- DEAD.

HS1- DEAD.

HS2- DEAD.

HS3- DEAD.

GA- DEAD.

Erais- Move forward. 2nd Wind (27 HP).

Kathra- Double Move onto wooden walkway- spot the Mage et al, scream for PCs. Readied Action Vermouth Force Bolt Kathra; Miss.

Wrix- Move up ladder. Whip Kathra; Miss.

Reiko- Move up ladder, and beyond Wrix. Kathra AoO Reiko; Hit 10 damage (24 HP) & Marked. Maul Kathra; Miss.

It's not as if Kathra is impossible to hit- she has AC 20, most of the bad guys need around a '14', Vermouth needed a '7' with his Force Bolt against Kathra's Reflex of 14.

GA1- DEAD.

GA2- DEAD.

GA3- DEAD.

GA4- DEAD.

GA5- DEAD.

GA6- DEAD.

Tira- Move. Curse Wrix. Eldritch Blast Wrix; Hit 14 damage (20 HP).

Time to play 15 minutes including set up of map and minis.

End of Turn-

The Good Guys...
Kathra Ironforge, Male Dwarf Fighter Level 2 (HP29/44)
Riardon Brightvale, Male Eladrin Ranger 2 (HP25/28)
Erais the Sunlord, Male Human Cleric of Amaunator 2 (HP27/34)
Tira Duskmeadow, Female Half-Elf Warlock 2 (HP33)

The Bad Guys... 1700XP Level 9 Encounter.
Hobgoblin Slavers Level 1 Skirmisher [HS] (x7) (HP30) 7 DEAD.
Great Ape Level 3 Brute [GA] (HP54) DEAD
Goblin Archers Level 1 Minion [GA] (x6) (HP1) 6 DEAD
Gorliss the Goat, Dragonborn Warlord Level 3 Soldier [Gorliss] (HP56) DEAD.
Reiko & Wrix, Gnoll Overseers Level 2 Brute [Reiko & Wrix] (x2) (HP24/34 & 20/34)
Drazen, Drow Thief Level 3 Lurker [Drazen] (HP35)
Vermouth, Eladrin Mage Level 3 Controller [Vermouth] (HP46)

Action Points 0 Total 2
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 0 Total 2
2nd Winds 1 Total 2
Crits 0 Total 2
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 0
Bad Guys Daily Powers 0 Total 1
Bad Guys Crit 0 Total 0
Bad Guys Healing Surges 0 Total 1

Comment: Kathra (Iain) spots the treasure chests and... well, the PCs are not going to be giving up this haul unless they really have to.

DCC53 Sellswords of Punjar
Encounter #10 Slave Pens of Punjar

Round 10.

Drazen- Stay hidden. Ready Action- needs PC to get closer.

Riardon- Move. Quarry Reiko. Twin Strike Wrix; Miss & Reiko; Hit 14 damage (10 HP bloodied).

Vermouth- Fey Step onto the far stone ledge. Force Bolt Kathra; Hit 6 Force damage (23 HP) & no Push (Stand Your Ground).

Damn I forgot about that- I was aiming to push Kathra off the walkway.

Gorliss- DEAD.

HS4- DEAD.

HS5- DEAD.

HS6- DEAD.

HS7- DEAD.

HS1- DEAD.

HS2- DEAD.

HS3- DEAD.

GA- DEAD.

Erais- Move. Lance of Faith Wrix; Hit 11 Radiant damage (9 HP bloodied) & 2 Temp HP Kathra.

Kathra- Cleave Reiko; Miss. Marked.

Wrix- Whip Kathra; Miss.

Reiko- Maul Kathra; Hit 9 damage (16 HP bloodied).

GA1- DEAD.

GA2- DEAD.

GA3- DEAD.

GA4- DEAD.

GA5- DEAD.

GA6- DEAD.

Tira- Move. Curse Reiko. Eldritch Blast Cursed Wrix; Miss.

Time to play 11 minutes.

End of Turn-

The Good Guys...
Kathra Ironforge, Male Dwarf Fighter Level 2 (HP16/44)
Riardon Brightvale, Male Eladrin Ranger 2 (HP25/28)
Erais the Sunlord, Male Human Cleric of Amaunator 2 (HP27/34)
Tira Duskmeadow, Female Half-Elf Warlock 2 (HP33)

The Bad Guys... 1700XP Level 9 Encounter.
Hobgoblin Slavers Level 1 Skirmisher [HS] (x7) (HP30) 7 DEAD.
Great Ape Level 3 Brute [GA] (HP54) DEAD
Goblin Archers Level 1 Minion [GA] (x6) (HP1) 6 DEAD
Gorliss the Goat, Dragonborn Warlord Level 3 Soldier [Gorliss] (HP56) DEAD.
Reiko & Wrix, Gnoll Overseers Level 2 Brute [Reiko & Wrix] (x2) (HP9/34 & 10/34)
Drazen, Drow Thief Level 3 Lurker [Drazen] (HP35)
Vermouth, Eladrin Mage Level 3 Controller [Vermouth] (HP46)

Action Points 0 Total 2
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 0 Total 2
2nd Winds 0 Total 2
Crits 0 Total 2
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 0
Bad Guys Daily Powers 0 Total 1
Bad Guys Crit 0 Total 0
Bad Guys Healing Surges 0 Total 1

Comment: And still the PCs are holding out, and not resorting to their Daily Powers or further use of Action Points.

DCC53 Sellswords of Punjar
Encounter #10 Slave Pens of Punjar

Round 11.

Drazen- Shift- still Hidden. Hand Crossbow Combat Advantage Kathra; Hit 14 damage (2 HP bloodied).

I had a great plan for Drazen but none of the PCs were going to get any closer, to keep him hiding any longer on the off-chance would be just foolish.

Riardon- Twin Strike Wrix; Hit 13 damage- DEAD & Quarry Reiko; Hit 14 damage- DEAD. Quarry Vermouth.

Vermouth- Force Blast Kathra; Miss 4 Force damage (-2 HP dying) & Erais; Hit 9 Force damage (18 HP) & Tira; Hit 9 Force damage (24 HP) & all Push 1 and Prone. Vermouth screams at the PCs to 'clear out', although with a few extra swear words for encouragement.

Gorliss- DEAD.

HS4- DEAD.

HS5- DEAD.

HS6- DEAD.

HS7- DEAD.

HS1- DEAD.

HS2- DEAD.

HS3- DEAD.

GA- DEAD.

Erais- Stand. Daily Cascade of Light Vermouth; Miss 8 Radiant damage (38 HP).

Oh what a shame!

Kathra- Death Save- Success.

Wrix- DEAD.

Reiko- DEAD.

GA1- DEAD.

GA2- DEAD.

GA3- DEAD.

GA4- DEAD.

GA5- DEAD.

GA6- DEAD.

Tira- Stand. Curse Vermouth. Eldritch Blast Vermouth; Hit 6 damage (32 HP).

Time to play 14 minutes.

End of Turn-

The Good Guys...
Kathra Ironforge, Male Dwarf Fighter Level 2 (HP-2/44)
Riardon Brightvale, Male Eladrin Ranger 2 (HP25/28)
Erais the Sunlord, Male Human Cleric of Amaunator 2 (HP18/34)
Tira Duskmeadow, Female Half-Elf Warlock 2 (HP24/33)

The Bad Guys... 1700XP Level 9 Encounter.
Hobgoblin Slavers Level 1 Skirmisher [HS] (x7) (HP30) 7 DEAD.
Great Ape Level 3 Brute [GA] (HP54) DEAD
Goblin Archers Level 1 Minion [GA] (x6) (HP1) 6 DEAD
Gorliss the Goat, Dragonborn Warlord Level 3 Soldier [Gorliss] (HP56) DEAD.
Reiko & Wrix, Gnoll Overseers Level 2 Brute [Reiko & Wrix] (x2) (HP34) 2 DEAD.
Drazen, Drow Thief Level 3 Lurker [Drazen] (HP35)
Vermouth, Eladrin Mage Level 3 Controller [Vermouth] (HP32/46)

Action Points 0 Total 2
Daily Powers 1 Total 1
Healing Surges 0 Total 2
2nd Winds 0 Total 2
Crits 0 Total 2
PCs Ko'd 1 Total 1
Bad Guys Daily Powers 0 Total 1
Bad Guys Crit 0 Total 0
Bad Guys Healing Surges 0 Total 1

Comment: What was I just saying about Daily Powers, me and my big mouth... A little more precarious for the PCs now.

DCC53 Sellswords of Punjar
Encounter #10 Slave Pens of Punjar

Round 12.

Drazen- Darkfire Tira; Miss. Hand Crossbow Tira; Hit 6 damage (18 HP).

Riardon- Move forward. Evasive Strike Prime Shot Quarry Vermouth; Hit 21 damage (11 HP bloodied). Action Point. Twin Strike Prime Shot Quarry Vermouth; Miss & Hit 12 damage- DEAD.

Bugger- that's torn it.

Vermouth- DEAD.

Gorliss- DEAD.

HS4- DEAD.

HS5- DEAD.

HS6- DEAD.

HS7- DEAD.

HS1- DEAD.

HS2- DEAD.

HS3- DEAD.

GA- DEAD.

Erais- Move. Righteous Brand Drazen; Hit 6 damage (29 HP) & +3 To Hit for Tira.

Kathra- Death Save- Fail (Fail x1).

Wrix- DEAD.

Reiko- DEAD.

GA1- DEAD.

GA2- DEAD.

GA3- DEAD.

GA4- DEAD.

GA5- DEAD.

GA6- DEAD.

Tira- Move. Curse Drazen. Eldritch Blast Drazen; Crit 22 damage (7 HP bloodied).

Shot through- damn the PCs, I'm done.

Time to play 10 minutes.

End of Turn-

The Good Guys...
Kathra Ironforge, Male Dwarf Fighter Level 2 (HP-2/44)
Riardon Brightvale, Male Eladrin Ranger 2 (HP25/28)
Erais the Sunlord, Male Human Cleric of Amaunator 2 (HP18/34)
Tira Duskmeadow, Female Half-Elf Warlock 2 (HP18/33)

The Bad Guys... 1700XP Level 9 Encounter.
Hobgoblin Slavers Level 1 Skirmisher [HS] (x7) (HP30) 7 DEAD.
Great Ape Level 3 Brute [GA] (HP54) DEAD
Goblin Archers Level 1 Minion [GA] (x6) (HP1) 6 DEAD
Gorliss the Goat, Dragonborn Warlord Level 3 Soldier [Gorliss] (HP56) DEAD.
Reiko & Wrix, Gnoll Overseers Level 2 Brute [Reiko & Wrix] (x2) (HP34) 2 DEAD.
Drazen, Drow Thief Level 3 Lurker [Drazen] (HP7/35)
Vermouth, Eladrin Mage Level 3 Controller [Vermouth] (HP46) DEAD.

Action Points 1 Total 3
Daily Powers 0 Total 1
Healing Surges 0 Total 2
2nd Winds 0 Total 2
Crits 1 Total 3
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 1
Bad Guys Daily Powers 0 Total 1
Bad Guys Crit 0 Total 0
Bad Guys Healing Surges 0 Total 1

Comment: Time to get Drazen out of there fast.

DCC53 Sellswords of Punjar
Encounter #10 Slave Pens of Punjar

Round 13.

Drazen- Move- Dive into the water below. Erais AoO Drazen; Miss. Drazen Athletics Check '1'- 10 Falling damage- breaks neck and DEAD.

The humiliation of it all.

Erais scoots over and Healing Check Kathra- no problems and he's up in an instant.

Time to play 3 minutes.
Total time to play 2 hours & 17 minutes- the longest single (although that's a bit of a misnomer) encounter yet.

End of Encounter-

The Good Guys...
Kathra Ironforge, Male Dwarf Fighter Level 2 (HP-2/44)
Riardon Brightvale, Male Eladrin Ranger 2 (HP25/28)
Erais the Sunlord, Male Human Cleric of Amaunator 2 (HP18/34)
Tira Duskmeadow, Female Half-Elf Warlock 2 (HP18/33)

The Bad Guys... 1700XP Level 9 Encounter.
Hobgoblin Slavers Level 1 Skirmisher [HS] (x7) (HP30) 7 DEAD.
Great Ape Level 3 Brute [GA] (HP54) DEAD
Goblin Archers Level 1 Minion [GA] (x6) (HP1) 6 DEAD
Gorliss the Goat, Dragonborn Warlord Level 3 Soldier [Gorliss] (HP56) DEAD.
Reiko & Wrix, Gnoll Overseers Level 2 Brute [Reiko & Wrix] (x2) (HP34) 2 DEAD.
Drazen, Drow Thief Level 3 Lurker [Drazen] (HP35) DEAD.
Vermouth, Eladrin Mage Level 3 Controller [Vermouth] (HP46) DEAD.

Action Points 0 Total 3
Daily Powers 0 Total 1
Healing Surges 0 Total 2
2nd Winds 0 Total 2
Crits 0 Total 3
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 1
Bad Guys Daily Powers 0 Total 1
Bad Guys Crit 0 Total 0
Bad Guys Healing Surges 0 Total 1

Comment: That was titanic, and the PCs absolutely loved it... just a little bit more each time- Goodman Games scenarios are so easy to run this way, I love them. I guess I should try for more like this in future adventures, or at least when it feels right. This was a Level 9 encounter, that's pretty awesome- Level +7, and but for maybe two rounds of attrition (when the PCs and the bad guys were not connecting) then it was a roller-coaster ride.

After a short rest the PCs are quickly on the beach, having secured the area as best they can, the chests are hauled up, the dead Slavers et al thoroughly searched and all findings deposited in the now bloody Greathall.

The PCs then back track to the slave cages on the first beach, spring three of the inhabitants- two beautiful young women, one of noble status, and the old guy- who turns out to be something of a sage. The Beggars that alerted the Slavers earlier are left to think about their actions.

The ex-slaves, captured from the streets of Fallcrest, tell what little they know- a sad tale about Beggars working with the Slavers, alas no information is forthcoming regarding the Beggar King. In fact the Beggar King seems to be entirely absent, none of the rescued citizens of Fallcrest have seen or heard him...

A mystery.

The PCs note a strange, partially collapsed tunnel- back in the passage that lead to the greathall, the passageway was clearly once sealed, with an ornate... seal. Darkness beyond and a set of shallow stairs leading up- the passage is particularly cramped- the PCs figure they can come back here later.

Stats: A real gulf in this fracas, the PCs connected 74.63% of the time, the bad guys 40.74%- that's a 30% divide, and with the PCs making 67 attacks (50 hits), and the bad guys 54 (only 22 hits), then the outcome was fairly inevitable.

This is further reinforced by the fact that the PCs managed to do 45.08 HP damage/turn (on average), the bad guys only 11.31 HP- only just shy of four times as much.

The connection rate for all of the PCs was in excess of 70%- are they all Strikers?

72% Riardon (18 hits from 25 attacks)
75% Erais (9 hits from 12 attacks)
76.47% (13 hits from 17 attacks)
76.92% Kathra (10 hits from 13 attacks)

Note the actual Striker is first (lowest connection rate) on the list- odd that.

It didn't even seem to matter that the bad guys had, all told, 475 hit points- that's even more than Encounter #3 in the Bazaar of the Bizarre, in which two PCs lost their lives.

The PCs seemed remarkable restrained, only spending three Action Points and one Daily Power- they also only used four Healing Surges in total- and three of them were for Kathra. They did however find the '20' on the dice on three separate occasions, that's got to make a difference.

Combined Stats: This was only the first combat at Level 2 so there's not much to say about the new PCs, except to say perhaps that they seem to be combining pretty well- at last, they were very fragile at times in some of the previous encounters at Level 1- here they seem much more solid.

DCC53 Sellswords of Punjar
Encounter #11 Hoard of the Beggar King

A thorough search of the Slavers Greathall turns up a small concealed chamber, inside of which is found a Amulet of Protection +1, which could turn out to be very useful.

Soon after a false wall into a separate chamber is found, inside of the rough chamber is a very large chest- the PCs are certain it must be trapped, and yet... fifteen minutes later and no trap can be found, and the PCs have taken it in turns to creep into the cramped chamber to take a look around.

Finally Tira is elected chest-opener, the price paid for claiming the Masterwork Thieves Tools earlier. A spear shoots down from the ceiling, none of the PCs had looked there- and misses Tira, just (by 1). Acid flows from some broken container above the spear- that could have been nasty.

Eventually the chest is dragged out, and safely opened, there are 3 gold coins within- which doesn't go down well with the players.

Next the coffers grabbed from the Slavers on the beach, Tira is action again-

Chest #1- Trap easily disarmed, within lots of coin- almost all of them coppers.

Chest #2- Not trapped, but alas it cannot be opened- beyond Tira's skill.

Chest #3- Not trapped and easily unlocked- more coins, a brief moment of jubilation but the platinum coins within turn out to be painted coppers.

Chest #4- Again the trap is easily disarmed and the chest unlocked, within a entire set of Thieves gear, make that an Assassin- with plenty of Poison, and another (even better) set of Thieves Tools.

Chest #5- Unlocked and not trapped, within 15 silver ingots.

The money is quickly divided up, adding in all that the PCs have found so far, for the first time the PCs feel that the reward has been worth the effort, a good haul.

Encounter complete- 30 minutes to play.

Caustic Spear Trap Level 5 Ward (200 XP)- in cramped chest chamber.
Arrow Trap Level 2 Ward (125 XP)- on Chest #1.
Hail of Needles Trap Level 2 Blaster (125 XP)- on Chest #4.
Level 1 Encounter.

DCC53 Sellswords of Punjar.
The Defiled Seal.

The PCs back track to the broken seal and the cramped passage behind it they found earlier. Riardon examines the area and determines that the seal had remained unbroken for quite some time- an age, it was broken two weeks ago (or so) it seems- a single set of footsteps lead in- and not out.

Care is taken, Riardon and Tira are convinced to take a look within.

A flight of roughly cut stairs lead up to a shadowy hexagonal chamber, there are lit candles on the floor, and carvings- it looks like some sort of ceremonial chamber. Mystery over- the body of a robed individual lies sprawled in the centre of the chamber.

The PCs decide on extreme caution, after throwing stones at the body on the floor- it doesn't rise, Riardon dashes in- grabs the corpse by a foot and drags it out clunking back down the stairs.

For dead guy read dead Wizard, complete with Ritual Book and a pair of cheap, but silver plated bracers are taken.

The PCs vote to head on, whatever strange ritual or rite took place in the strange chamber, the PCs are not inclined to hang around to investigate.

DCC53 Sellswords of Punjar.
Loathsome Shrine of Niramuth.

Onwards, over the wooden walkway, into a dull stone corridor, a metal door on the left-hand wall, and... another mystery- a loathsome statue of a giant rat, and by giant I mean nine feet from snout to the tip of its tail.

And with fist sized rubies for eyes, and before the statue a sprawl of golden coins and a beautifully crafted dagger.

There follows a brief, actually very brief, conversation- the result of which is the PCs ignore the statue and its treasure completely and move over to the metal door.

I know... I know- call themselves adventurers but these guys are pretty wary (and its only their second adventure, ever).

Iain assures me (out of game, obviously) that they'll be back to trigger the trap after they've dealt with the Beggar King- that'll be nice for me. I think I'm being patronised, how lovely for me.

The metal door is warm to the touch...

That's not what they expected.

Very warm...