B/X Stonehell Dungeon Session 4 Dec 26, 2020

Dramatis Personae:

Benji Boggins: Halfling of great bravery, coupled with neither Intelligence nor Wisdom

Isabella Disarono: Thief of prodigious ego 

Oryn: A dwarf of redoubtable strength 

Also present: the retainer Buffalo Head, fighter, and is, I suppose, a Minotaur 

The party narrowly avoided not one, but TWO potential TPKS through a combination of dumb luck, solid tactics, and a good handful of healing potions. It was of course, Murphy’s Law that had them beeline straight for the deadliest encounter on the level, a whole tribe of orcs with an incredibly deadly captain. However, in B/X, great risks yield great rewards: Oryn received the legendary dwarven battle axe “Scar” from the corpse of the Orc captain. They then came upon a group of dwarves documenting the dungeon architecture, who took pity on the bedraggled delivers and healed them up when the party offered them their recently plundered dwarven brandy. Later, the party was then treated to an example of Benji’s less than stellar impulse control when he poked at a midden, which disturbed the giant rats within. There were 10 of them, and they infected some PCs with their many damaging bites, lowering their attack rolls. After the battle, Benji’s poor planning was ironically rewarded when he found a silver dagger in the midden heap. At this point  the PCs were sorely wounded, sickened, but fairly well-compensated. Benji then remembered the goblins in the gatehouse who wanted the orcs dead, so the party took Kargath the Orc captain’s head to them. The goblins were uh, gobsmacked at the news, and rewarded the PCs with their entire hoard, which was hidden in a cache away from the dungeon. In the substantial hoard was a suit of fine, gilded leather armour with increased protective ability, and grants a stealth re-roll to the wearer once per delve. Now the PCs have some added firepower, and the ability to damage foes that are immune to normal weapons. Giving their thief the armour greatly reduces the chance of a TPK, as she is now level 2 and her higher HP total is now just a bit harder to whittle down. All in all, a successful and profitable delve, albeit a bit of a nail-biter at times! 

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