tabletop-ramblings

Here a new player joins the campaign, playing an Elf named Wilh, and one of the magic-users hires a thief retainer named Tricks.

Springswane 16

On a swelteringly hot day, the group sets out to confront the bandits to the southeast and take their tower. It takes until mid-afternoon to spot the tower, guarded by five bandits on the top floor along with a menacing guard dog. Tricks makes an unsuccessful attempt to covertly take out the guard dog, and combat begins proper.

Himbus, Tricks, Uzhor, and Wilh dogpile the dog and attempt to nonlethally take it down while Charles and Darwoshi charge into the tower, finding themselves facing six bandits on the ground floor, with footsteps above suggesting further reinforcements are soon to arrive. Thanks to the Cleaving house rule, they're able to hack their way through the first wave of bandits with little trouble.

The rooftop guards realize what's going on and fire their bows down at the outside group, dealing severe damage. Meanwhile, the bandit leader and four more of his men come down the stairs and enter the fray. Himbus knocks out the dog while Wilh narrowly manages to get off a Sleep spell to subdue the archers on the roof before everyone outside is shot down by a second round of arrows.

The bandit leader, who couldn't make into melee the previous round and was stuck barking orders from the staircase, is felled by Tricks and Wilh's arrows and a flask of burning oil thrown by Himbus. The remaining bandits on the ground floor quickly surrender after their leader's death. Wilh hurries up to the roof to tie up the sleeping bowmen.

While looting the place, Tricks notices that the captain's fancy sword is in pristine condition despite the burning oil. He calls over Uzhor, who casts read magic on the runes engraved on the sword's blade, finding them to be catechisms of the Authority and similar dogmatic phrases of Law. Taking the sword into his hand to study it closer, he finds himself possessed by another entity, which stands Uzhor's body up straight, scans the room, locks eyes with Charles, and demands in the Lawful tongue that the sword be wielded by him. As soon as the sword leaves Uzhor's hand, he regains control of himself back. The sword introduces itself as Haylatron-Who-Thwarts-The-Wicked, and claims to be the sentience of an Angel bound within a +1 longsword (+3 vs the undead!). Charles agrees to wield Haylatron, though there are concerns amongst the party of how Haylatron will react to the Chaos-aligned Hector.

Himbus sets himself to befriending the former guard dog while Charles gives an ultimatum to the surrendered bandits: serve under him, or be killed. After making an example of one defiant bandit by pushing him from the roof of the tower, the rest fall in line. As promised, Himbus is granted permission to dig tunnels beneath the tower, and him and Charles perform a traditional Dwarfish ground-breaking to commemorate their contract.

The experience points gained from the battle and looting the bandit's coffers was sufficient to get Himbus to 2nd level, and for both Darwoshi and Charles to reach 3rd level. Uzhor is less than 500 experience points away from 4th level, which would make him the highest level character in the party.

My Notes

This was a great session, many of us agreed that it was one of the best (if not the best) of the campaign so far. I'm very satisfied with the ever-popular Cleaving rule for the fighters, they were loving being able to hack through multiple bandits a turn.

I was also pleasantly surprised that a combat with over 20 combatants was able to be resolved in under 45 minutes.