First off, I’d like to welcome anyone visiting here from RPGBloggers.net. I’ve recently joined this great community and hopefully will meet some great people as time goes on. Welcome one and all!
Now, on to our show!
When we last left our intrepid band of heroes, they had just cleared out the orcs from the dining hall of the new Tolbin manor. They then discovered that the room next door seemed to house even more that apparently were oblivious to the recenet battle (Thank Tymora). Needing time to think and look over the rest of the house, the group opted to baracade the door to the next room in hopes of delaying the orcs inside.
In a stroke of possible genius, the gnome also tried to rig a trap using a large pot of boiling stew in the room in hopes that forcing open the door would douse the orcs and floor making footing treacherous. Gond would have been proud.
Meanwhile, Liarra, along with Lagazi, decided to see what lay beyond the other set of doors leading out of the room. They slipped out into a courtyard where several more orcs were on watch with a couple of trained Fire Beetles. Also, within several pens reseved for stock animals were the remainder of Dameris’s hirelings.
Debate ensued as the two slipped back inside and informed the others of the orcs. Eventually, they settled on simply charging the orcs in the courtyard while Grengal would zip out the watchtower to make sure there was no more than one orc guard there.
The battle was a success, though there were numerous grumbles from the dwarf as Lagazi made use of her skills. The remaining people were freed and helped to escape the grounds, using the last of the party’s horse. Exauhsted, the group decided to rest in the dining hall to keep an eye on the barracaded door, which now seemed to have a number of orcs on the other side [unsuccessfully] trying to beat it down.
Unfortunately, their needed rest would be cut short as the Orc in charge decided to make himself known. Having heard the fight below, the chief thought he could charge into the group from the second floor, taking the group by surprise and trying to cut down the weakest first in hopes of demoralizing the rest. However, he found Varrack at the base of the stairs less that responsive to his fairly forceful demand to move (Bull Rush). So instead, the fight was a bit one sided as the chief tried to hold the group off while on the stairs down.
Fortunately, as the battle turned against him, the Chief’s Bodyguards were able to join the frey, giving him a chance to try and escape. He let his guards and pet Drake keep the party busy whle he slipped out through a window upstairs and fled, vowing revenge on the retched adventurers.
Eventually the remaining attackers fell and the group found a moment to catch their breath once more. However, to be certain, Ryndon zipped up the stairs to see if he could catch a glimpse of the Orc Chief (no luck), most likely to finish the job. Lagazi and Liarra decided to make sue the rest of the floor was clear of trouble, examining the ruins of the guest rooms above. Varrack decided to just take watch upon the stairs, feeling a need to rest his beaten bones.
All seemed peaceful and quiet; a quiet that suddenly seemed to worry them as the incescent pounding on the barracaded doors had ceased. Concerns were high that the orcs found a way out and that another fight may be inevitable. They decided to try and slip into the room to find out if the orcs were still present. Sneaking in, Lagazi and Liarra discovered that the orcs had cleared out, apparently by means of a hidden trapdoor in the floor.
Realizing they still had work ahead of them, the group decided to take as much of a break as they could before venturing down into the darkness before them.
Summary: This session was a bit shorter than our normal summer sessions, so all that happened was a couple of lengthy fights. These battles seemed to drag not because of difficulty, but mainly due to our constant referencing of rules. Being fairly new to 4e, we fund ourselves consulting the PHB repeatedly to be sure we were understanding what we were doing. All was well though as both the players and myself realized that this sort of consultation was needed.
There was a bit of grumbling at one point due to the session being just a few battles. But discussing the need to understand the rules as well as explaining that this was not a standard dungeon crawl seemed to quell complaints. Of course, depending on the party’s next course (and how much time we’ll have as an unexpected delay could cut our game time considerably this weekend), it could mean a nice spot of RPing or more combat.
Which means I need to prepare for both. I better get cracking.
The previous session starts here.
