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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 3753002" data-attributes="member: 16069">I must admit, at times our (my) game can survive, for a good while, on a steady stream of hack-and-slash. I think these people have work-related demons they need to exorcise. Funnily enough Bob, one of Miss E.'s earlier characters, was one of my favourites to DM, I could second guess his actions, which would result in Bec getting into all manner of terrifying situations-Being captured by a Grell, constantly passing his Palayzation saving throw, fighting the thing as it bore him off, hacking at the tentacles holding onto him as the Grell floated higher and higher. Eventually killing the thing and plummeting out of the air only to land in the only bit of deep water in the cavern.I also remember Bec fighting a Huge Water Elemental, as represented on the gaming table, before I got my miniatures, by a can of Sprite, from the inside- and winning, while taking constant damage and with lots of minuses.Or plugging a doorway while a horde, at least twenty, Trogs tried, and repeatedly failed to get past him.The above all from the Temple of Elemental Evil.I can safely say- I liked Bob a lot, still do, although he's not had a run out in over three years; he's a job to do, and he always does it.So back to Bec, he's not a role-player, at least not a lot but he does the same job.Miss E. who plays Bec is perhaps just plain shy, there, I've said it.And so onwards, ever onwards... further into the mire.Thanks again Richard.Dungeon Crawl Classics #2 The Lost Vault of Tsathzar Rho An Adventure for First Level CharactersTurn 18: A Little ArmyDay three beckons in the deep dark underground, Cas is back in the land of the living, and thankful, he’s particularly thankful for his new sword.“I don’t know what to say.”“Makes a change.” Newt states polishing his bed-side manner.“Anyway we must get on.”Ala frets, to herself, for a change.Cas is briefed on what has transpired since his sudden lie-down, he knows some of the story but the others fill in the gaps. Newt even finds the time to tell them about the ledge he thinks is out there- somewhere, weaves it into the story, without letting on he’s been for a midnight wander.An hour later, after a decent breakfast, the gang are back on board the rafts and are paddling with all their might, across the current towards, towards… well who knows what.They’re spotted, at some point on their journey; a crossbow bolt thunks into the lead raft, maybe it was the two burning sunrods that gave their location away, a necessary risk- as I’ve already stated they have no idea where they’re going.More crossbow bolts rain down; they paddle on in silence, until Newt is hit- a bolt lodging in the back of his thigh.“Feckin’ buggerations.” The Gnome screams.There’s a splash in the water behind them- are they throwing things? Actually it’s a Kobold who in all his excitement slips off the ledge above- the creature sinks without a trace; heavy armour meets water- a fatal flaw.“It’s up there.”Newt points, there’s a fleck of light, a brazier on a ledge only ten feet above the water, but now a way behind them. The first raft grounds, they’re ashore, the second soon follows.The group disembark, Ala gathers them quickly, Blesses them all in the name of Corellon. Anya coats herself in her Mage Armour, and is ready with Swish- to let him loose.The gang jog up a gradual incline towards the outline of a cavern ahead.“Charge.”“Destroy the foreign infidels.”“In the name of Abomination.”They seem to be expected, a steady line of heavily armed and armoured Kobolds rush down the slope to greet them, there must be a dozen of the creatures.Ala Summons a Celestial Badger into the Kobold ranks; it distracts a couple of them but does no actual damage. Newt stops where he is.THUNGA Kobold falls dead. The two sides clatter into each other, battle erupts, the Kobolds fare better than the Goodman Gang, Jim manages to slice a one dead however he’s cut on the back of his hand. Cas too suffers, a blow to the side of his head, nothing much but it bleeds a little. Bec is sliced twice, across both legs. Ala gets away with bruised ribs, painful, but not terribly damaging.As the battle rages four more Kobolds arrive in the cavern entrance ahead, set up for shooting practice, crossbows at the ready. That makes around fourteen of the heavily armed creatures in the fight.Two Kobolds break off and rush towards Anya, “Smidgin”, one of them hits the cold cavern floor, dead. The other is blocked by Swish, the two dance around each other for a while, trying to land the first blow, then Swish whacks down on the Kobold’s unprotected head- brains it, dead.The Celestial Badger is proving more of inconvenience than a threat, as is Ala, as is Bec, as is Jim. Cas however stabs at a Kobold trying to get past him- to Newt, runs it through and then turns and slays another, the new sword is working well. The Badger meanwhile fades to smoke. Bec suddenly sprouts a crossbow bolt, dead centre of his chest, it hurts, but only when he laughs. Anya steps from behind the raging melee, gets a good eye full of the Kobolds with crossbows, “Smidgin”, one falls dead. Back in the melee Ala slashes hard, connects, and slays another. Newt’s crossbow jams, he throws it aside in anger, bloody Kobolds, draws his heavy mace and wades into the storm. Cas swings wildly, misses by a mile, smashes his hand into the cavern wall, drops his new sword, so much for that then. Bec is sliced again, they’re all just little cuts and bruises, but he’s accumulating hits fast. “SANDWICH.”Bec Rages, if only for the hit points.THUNKCas is hit by a crossbow bolt, doubles up, the pain, grabs his sword, and then comes up swinging again. Jim slices clean through a Kobold Footman, and-“FoooooR CAS.”Charges at the artillery, he’s very loyal.And that seems to perk everyone up a bit.“Smidgin”, Anya’s getting the hang of this; she’s adopting various poses while pointing her wand- vogue-ing. Ala swings, blood spurts, and another Kobold bites the dust. Newt likewise smashes one about the head with his mace, the creature slumps- dead.“Foooor PELOR.”Cas charges at the artillery, there are two of them left, they retreat, firing as they go. Jim catches another crossbow bolt, it skims his arm leaving a bloody trail. Bec faces of against the last of the Kobold Footmen, slices the creature in two, and runs on towards the artillery, who abandoned all pretence and leg it.“Smidgin”, another one drops down dead, that leaves only one left.“Everyone forward, follow them. PELORRRRRR.”Cas urges them on. Ala charges up to Bec on the way, fires healing energy into the giant man. Cas alleviates some of his own pain using his magical healing ability. Newt darts back for his crossbow; he’s not that stupid, and then sprints off after them.They’re heading down again, a natural looking cavern passage, wide- nearly fifteen feet, with a high ceiling, they head west. Pass a cavern opening on the left and chase on, as the passage twists to head north. Bec races ahead, puts on another burst of speed, catches up with the last fleeing Kobold, and SLICE, kills it dead. There are shouts ahead.“Kobold Elite Squad forward.”CLUNG-CLUNG-CLUNG-CLUNG“Halt.”A military formation, two lines with six Kobolds in each, the front row with swords, the back row with crossbows.“Fire.”And they do, the gang run, back the way they came.Cas is hit in the shoulder, he’s feeling woozy, decides this isn’t the place to have a lie down however.“Charge.”The six Kobold Footmen come rumbling forward. The adventurers stop, they’re not going to get far, it seems battle number two is about to be joined.Anya keeps running back, then turns swiftly, wand out and… “Smidgin”, another Kobold falls dead. Newt too makes for the rear ranks, sets to fixing his crossbow, and miraculously in half-a-moment the blockage is clear.The front line, Jim, Bec, Cas and Ala stand their ground, meet the Kobold charge with full force. Cas upper-cuts unpeeling the Kobold charging towards him- dead. Bec, who has changed to his great club since coming ashore, smashes the thing down on one Kobold, who crunches to the deck in an instant; he swings the club around and brains another. Jim, alas, is cut in the action, another minor wound to the upper arm. There are only two Kobold Footmen left, oh and all the ones with the crossbows, talking of which.“Fire.”Bec’s scratched as a crossbow bolt flies by leaving a trace along his cheek. Jim’s not so lucky, a bolt buries itself in his upper thigh, he sinks to one knee, and then struggles up again, he’s on his last legs.“Retreat and reload.”The Kobold artillery march backwards, in step, and set about reloading for more fish-in-a-barrel type activity.Anya screams, “Smidgin”, it’s getting to be her catchphrase; one of the Kobold artillery hits the deck. Newt steps in, sights his prey, and fires- another Kobold hits the deck, only four of the artillery left.Ala stumbles backwards, swings wildly, two Kobold Footmen turn her, she’s up against the wall, she takes a cut to her side, but fights on. “CAS.”And he’s there keeping the two at bay.Jim and Bec share a look, the way ahead is clear. The Kobolds fire.“CHA…”A crossbow hits Jim in the arm and he’s down, Bec charges on, scatters the firers as he swings, they drop their crossbows scuttle back grabbing for melee weapons.“Smidgin”, another Kobold drops, Anya poses. THUNGAnd another Kobold lies dead, courtesy of Newt, of course. Ala and Cas keep up the fight, the Kobolds score no hits, but neither do the heroes. Bec only has two enemies left before him, he swings hard, smashes one into the middle of next week, the other sees its chance and stabs its shortsword deep into the Barbarian’s leg.Then the Kobold notices, perhaps for the first time, the rapidly diminishing odds- it flees, and is cut down, actually smashed down in an instant by Bec.The other two Kobolds, facing Ala and Cas, also think better of it, and scamper. They dodge past Cas and Ala, who swing wildly, with no success, dodge past Bec, confusing him by going one either side of him, and at the same time.ThungNewt’s crossbow bolt careens off a wall- misses.“Smidgin”, the second to last Kobold grips the cold stone floor.“He’s getting away.” Cas goes to run after the creature, Ala grabs him. Bec limps into a trot.“Wait.”Bec stops, looks back, at Newt who’s aiming.“Wait.”Newt breaths in- fires.ThhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhUNGThe last Kobold falls, scrapes along the floor a while, and then comes to a stop- deceased.The gang head back down the passage, out of sight, swig potions, Ala sets to work with what’s left of her Healing Kits, and at the end of it Bec, Cas, Jim and Anya are all still injured- Jim and Cas the most severe. There are no Healing Potions left, or at least that’s what everyone’s saying, but if I were you I’d not believe Newt, or Anya.Newt, with a little help from others, has recovered 21 more three-fingered golden pendants, 26 if you include the five he has just stuffed in one of his pockets.The gang stumble into the cavern they passed in their initial charge, the passage beyond splits, climbs left, while the right hand passage leads into a chamber with a number of braziers burning in it, it’s another guardroom- empty. A routine search, led by Newt, nets a number of pieces of uncut Agate, the party is a little richer, as is Newt- he grins, like taking candy from a baby.And then on, into a second guardroom, although smaller, and much neater, it has an old tapestry that serves as a curtain so as to guarantee it some privacy, perhaps they’ve found the officers quarters.“Sniff. You can smell it.” Newt states.“What?” Jim enquires.“Treasure.”Suddenly the two beds in the chamber are upended, turned on their sides to form makeshift barricades behind each a strange, pale-faced, wild-eyed, and haired, Dwarf appears, dressed all in black and pointing crossbows, nasty looking ones at that.FWOUNFWOUNThe first bolt smashes through Cas’ armour, he drops his sword and shield, grabs at the bolt, thinks to pull it out, then notices just how much blood he’s already lost, he drops to his knees, blood spurts from the wound. Pelor save me, he thinks, and then the poison hits him, ravages him, he slumps forward smashing his face into the stone.The second bolt hits Bec, gouges a huge hole in his upper right arm and shoulder, he doesn’t bother to ask Pelor for anything, the poison hits, he falls backwards, twitches and foams at the mouth on the cavern floor.The Derro drop their crossbows and charge.“Into them.”“Death to the top-siders.”Jim barrels into the first one, stabs wildly, and connects leaving a bloody scar from the Dwarves belly to its chin, the creature staggers back. Ala leaps over Cas, attempts to repeat Jim’s feat, slices only air.  ThungNewt’s crossbow sings, but as it turns out, it’s out of tune, he misses.“Smidgin”, the Magic Missile thumps… hang on, blinks out of existence just as it was about to hit.“Damn. Spell Resistance.” Anya tuts.The Derro facing Jim swings desperate to connect, misses by a mile, Jim plunges his longsword through the evil Dwarf, head butts him for good measure, the Derro is dead.“For Cas.”Ala tries it on for size, she swings and misses, and the Derro buries its shortsword in her gut, she sinks to her knees, the Derro readies his sword for the killing blow, and-THUNGSuddenly sprouts a crossbow bolt from the middle of his forehead- dead, thanks to Newt again.Anya is quickly at the fallen, checking for pulses, they’re all still in the land of the living.“GO.” She orders.“Back to the rafts.”And they’re off again, in retreat, dragging Cas and Bec, Ala now up but staggering, it’s a rag-tag bunch, except for Newt who dodges back to the Derro and rifles through their pockets, he’s soon caught up however, carrying an impressive, but impractical, looking shield, a mixture of gold and silver. His pockets also bulge with gold and a beautifully cut diamond. He’s the only one grinning as they paddle their way back over to their official lair, the graveyard.Once in they settle down again to wait the latest lot of injuries out, Bec and Cas are unconscious, Ala fades in and out, Jim looks like a man who has been kicked in the balls, repeatedly, for half-an-hour.Newt’s polishing, and sneaking glances at his new found items, and Anya, believe it or not, is playing nurse maid- badly.“Shut up moaning, bloody softy, Bec’s not complaining.”Bec is of course unconscious, a line of bloody drool anchoring him to the cavern floor. Cas turns over to see, wincing and groaning in pain, he blinks once, twice- then passes out.“That’s better, bloody moaner…” Anya gets on with her nursing.And with that the second session of this scenario draws to a close.Next Turn: Feck, Kobolds.It become apparent at the ceremonial adding up of the experience points at the end of this session that Newt has enough to go up to 2nd level, it’s decided that he can have the hit points, the saves and the to hit improvement; but the feats and the skill points only come with training. Either way Newt’s happy.</blockquote>

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