Dungeon Crawling Fools Episode 23





Background

A blast from the past as we continue our Moldvay Basic D&D game. It is an open table format with who ever turns up heading into the dungeon...

Player Characters

Character Description
Gibbit Legitimate Businessman clad in Leather armour
Nelson Our Lantern bearer and would be Mage.Looking like a circus performer with his collection of throwing daggers
Berg The drunken Dwarf in Plate Mail with Sword and Shield
Galan Foxflower Elven Warrior in Plate Mail with Sword, Shield and a mind full of spells
Karensa Elven Warrior in Plate Mail with Sword, Shield and a mind full of spells
Elenya Elven Warrior in Plate Mail and you know the rest
Cnut the Great Human Swordsmaster. You can guess what he is wearing?
Brigum Young Preacher, no sword this time it is Mace to go with all that Plate!


Chapter 23: Lairs and Lizards

The troupe of Elves walk into the inn and find it bustling with adventurers today.  A large group gather and as they walk down the cliff path decide to explore a new cave today.  After a couple of hours travel they arrive at ragged crack in the canyon wall through whitch a long straight corridor of well dressed stone can be seen.  Berg and Galan lead the party into the dark depths.

The first room entered is empty but we see entering the cave system behind a group of Orcs.  Using the room as a choke point the party hold the door as the green-skins charge one after another to their deaths.  Searching the bodies is seems these raiders have been busy as they almost a grand of jewelry in a bag.

Continuing on we find the second chamber is also empty and its exits are portcullises rather than doors.  Lifting the one to the door we find a large dinning room with a checker pattern floor.  As this room has another portcullises on the south-west corner we think the rooms will link up and open the other portcullises in the second chamber leading us into another large room with mystical sigils encribed on the ceiling.

The sigiled room is home to family of giant weasels.  These creatures claws are not able to Peirce the plate armour that almost everyone is wearing and quickly die.  Searching the room we find a horde of gold (750gp) as well an illusion covering a secret door and that the portcullises leading into the Dinning room is trapped.  Good job we did not go through that one!

Behind the secret door lies the lair of the giant lizards.  One of them takes a bite out of Gibbet but he will live to fight again.  It is turning into a good haul as amongst the remains of the lizards last meal we find over 500 gold and a scroll.

We continue through a few more chambers and end in a passageway that looks to go around and link up with the entrance we used.  Behind us we hear the flapping of screeching of Stirges.  As such a large mob could be problematic for the party a few arcane words sends most of the flock dropping to the floor sleeping.  The rest are quickly slain.

Turning the corner we find a small chamber with another portcullises between us and the long passageway to exit the caves.  While it is made of wood none of us can move or open it or the other door in this room.  We cover both in oil and set them on fire.

Backing out into the corridor we wait.  While doing so Galan foolishly opens the scrolls and feels himself bathed in baleful magic weakening him.  With the fire making little impact on the portcullises the party retreats back down the route they used.

As they enter the lizards lair a large group of thugs come in the other door.  Not wanting to mess around Galan and Eleyna mutter arcane words causing them to slump to the floor sleeping.  This adds another couple of hundred gold to the party coffers.

Almost out of the caverns a wandering Ogre blocks the way.  She is quickly entangled in magical webs and hacked apart as she tries to break out of sticky mass.  This turns into the most profitable encounter as she had a sack containing 1500 gp, an expensive bracelet and a strange turban that may be magical.

Once again we make our way out of the caves and the long walk back up to Rift City.  Galen heads off to the street of Temples to see how much it will cost to get his curse removed.
Image Credits
Lizard by Ritusss
Old D&D Art by Larry Elmore

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