Hriston
Dungeon Master of Middle-earth (He/him)
Our last three sessions were posted about here.
It had been several months since our previous session when we finally got around to playing again. In the interim, I had rolled up the next wandering monster the party would encounter in the dungeon, an ogre named Blozug. To telegraph the possibility of encountering the ogre and to clue the players in to the personal treasure carried by the orcs the party had just defeated, I backed up the action to just before the party released the two orcs they had captured in the battle.
I told the players the dead orcs in the chamber had pouches attached to their belts, some of which had opened when they fell, and that some shiny yellow coins had spilled out onto the floor. I also told them the two captured orcs they were about to release had similar pouches of their own and asked if they wanted to order the orcs to hand over their coins before letting them go. They said yes, and I described the orcs reluctantly handing over their loot and that one of the orcs (Turge, I think it was) snarled at the party, angered by the mugging.
“It’s alright,” I described the other orc as saying to Turge, encouraging his friend to leave with him, and then added ominously, “Blozug will get them,” after which they both ran off in the direction of the dungeon’s entrance.
In total, the party gained 22 ep from the orcs’ personal treasure in addition to the coins in the coffers they had been guarding. I informed the players they had now been in the dungeon for four hours and twenty minutes. They decided to continue through the door into which the orcs who fled during the battle had gone, and I awarded Inspiration to the characters who had used theirs in the battle (Ham, Ozmir, and the Rogue) for once again choosing to brave the dangers of the dungeon in pursuit of their goal of seeking treasure.
After travelling for another thirty minutes through the dungeon’s passageways, the party encountered Blozug. To check for surprise, I rolled a Dexterity (Stealth) check for the ogre which beat the passive Perceptions of everyone in the party and determined that Blozug had jumped out from behind the corner of a side passage the party was approaching and had surprised them. Because ogres are intelligent and the party, although surprised, was an obviously superior force of six well-armed humanoids, I followed my procedure and described Blozug taking in the strength of the party upon seeing them and turning and running back down the corridor out of which he had emerged and that a jingling of coins, coming from a large sack he was carrying, could be heard as he ran. The party, however, was not enticed and decided not to pursue, so we ended the session.
We played again less than a week later. I reminded the players they had now been in the dungeon for four hours and fifty minutes and asked if they wanted to explore further or to head back towards the entrance. They decided to head for the exit this time, and, after walking for twenty minutes, the party came to an intersection. No one had been mapping, neither at the table nor in the fiction, and the players said they didn’t remember which way they had come. I told them they could either guess or they could choose someone to be the navigator and that I would ask that person to make a DC 12 Wisdom (Survival) check (DC 12 for level 2) and would tell them the correct direction whether the roll succeeds or fails. On a failure, however, I told them, it would take ten minutes to figure out which way to go which would incur an additional wandering monster check, and if combat starts the navigator would be automatically surprised. I also reminded them that they could fill an empty skill proficiency slot with Survival because we had left many of the PCs’ slots empty at character creation to be filled in later.
My son said the Druid would take Survival and succeeded on the roll. They continued on for another twenty minutes, passing through the chamber where the fight with the orcs had taken place, and came to another intersection. My son made another navigation check, this time failing the roll, but the wandering monster check did not result in an encounter.
They continued along a ten foot wide passage, and it was time for another wandering monster check, but this time the check resulted in an encounter with a clan of five badgers which I described running up behind the party and coming into view on the edge of the radius of the cleric’s light spell, 40’ away. The party chose to run and were able to outpace the badgers because they are Tiny creatures with a speed of 20’, but the badgers pursued them relentlessly. I told the players they were probably trying to defend their territory. Eventually the party came to a door which I said was stuck and asked for a Strength check to open it. They got the door open and had just enough time to all pass through and close it. My daughter said her character Ham, the fighter, wedged a piton in the door to hold it closed. I asked for a Strength check, and the result was high enough there was no way the badgers could force it open, so that was where we ended the session.
It had been several months since our previous session when we finally got around to playing again. In the interim, I had rolled up the next wandering monster the party would encounter in the dungeon, an ogre named Blozug. To telegraph the possibility of encountering the ogre and to clue the players in to the personal treasure carried by the orcs the party had just defeated, I backed up the action to just before the party released the two orcs they had captured in the battle.
I told the players the dead orcs in the chamber had pouches attached to their belts, some of which had opened when they fell, and that some shiny yellow coins had spilled out onto the floor. I also told them the two captured orcs they were about to release had similar pouches of their own and asked if they wanted to order the orcs to hand over their coins before letting them go. They said yes, and I described the orcs reluctantly handing over their loot and that one of the orcs (Turge, I think it was) snarled at the party, angered by the mugging.
“It’s alright,” I described the other orc as saying to Turge, encouraging his friend to leave with him, and then added ominously, “Blozug will get them,” after which they both ran off in the direction of the dungeon’s entrance.
In total, the party gained 22 ep from the orcs’ personal treasure in addition to the coins in the coffers they had been guarding. I informed the players they had now been in the dungeon for four hours and twenty minutes. They decided to continue through the door into which the orcs who fled during the battle had gone, and I awarded Inspiration to the characters who had used theirs in the battle (Ham, Ozmir, and the Rogue) for once again choosing to brave the dangers of the dungeon in pursuit of their goal of seeking treasure.
After travelling for another thirty minutes through the dungeon’s passageways, the party encountered Blozug. To check for surprise, I rolled a Dexterity (Stealth) check for the ogre which beat the passive Perceptions of everyone in the party and determined that Blozug had jumped out from behind the corner of a side passage the party was approaching and had surprised them. Because ogres are intelligent and the party, although surprised, was an obviously superior force of six well-armed humanoids, I followed my procedure and described Blozug taking in the strength of the party upon seeing them and turning and running back down the corridor out of which he had emerged and that a jingling of coins, coming from a large sack he was carrying, could be heard as he ran. The party, however, was not enticed and decided not to pursue, so we ended the session.
We played again less than a week later. I reminded the players they had now been in the dungeon for four hours and fifty minutes and asked if they wanted to explore further or to head back towards the entrance. They decided to head for the exit this time, and, after walking for twenty minutes, the party came to an intersection. No one had been mapping, neither at the table nor in the fiction, and the players said they didn’t remember which way they had come. I told them they could either guess or they could choose someone to be the navigator and that I would ask that person to make a DC 12 Wisdom (Survival) check (DC 12 for level 2) and would tell them the correct direction whether the roll succeeds or fails. On a failure, however, I told them, it would take ten minutes to figure out which way to go which would incur an additional wandering monster check, and if combat starts the navigator would be automatically surprised. I also reminded them that they could fill an empty skill proficiency slot with Survival because we had left many of the PCs’ slots empty at character creation to be filled in later.
My son said the Druid would take Survival and succeeded on the roll. They continued on for another twenty minutes, passing through the chamber where the fight with the orcs had taken place, and came to another intersection. My son made another navigation check, this time failing the roll, but the wandering monster check did not result in an encounter.
They continued along a ten foot wide passage, and it was time for another wandering monster check, but this time the check resulted in an encounter with a clan of five badgers which I described running up behind the party and coming into view on the edge of the radius of the cleric’s light spell, 40’ away. The party chose to run and were able to outpace the badgers because they are Tiny creatures with a speed of 20’, but the badgers pursued them relentlessly. I told the players they were probably trying to defend their territory. Eventually the party came to a door which I said was stuck and asked for a Strength check to open it. They got the door open and had just enough time to all pass through and close it. My daughter said her character Ham, the fighter, wedged a piton in the door to hold it closed. I asked for a Strength check, and the result was high enough there was no way the badgers could force it open, so that was where we ended the session.
