Session 7, 24/06/25
VALEUCOUX, Fighter 1 CLOVIS, Fighter 1 PROINSIAS, Thief 1 And a temporary Druid 1, played by the same person as Nissa, but Nissa wasn't here when they got captured so she just played a temp. Featuring Eight Angry Salt Miners
Having slain their original guard, the party advances cautiously out of the cell block. They see a group of guards with crossbows laying a barricade next to a great stone pillar, and devise a pincer attack - one group, with swords, to attack the enemy's flank, while the other will charge the front with spears. Valeucoux and the Druid charge the front with the spears, while Proinsias and Clovis attack from the flank. The flankers eat a lot of crossbow fire, but it almost all misses, and are met by the enemy's sword-wielding bodyguardr. They're followed up by a charge with spears, which routs the crossbowmen and cuts them down while they flee, before wheeling in to flank the swordsmen. With victory in hand, they flee into the mines before more guards come to pursue them; they encounter a body of men working a salt face, under light guard. The guards see the advancing rebels and hail to freedom, unlocking their wards, just as a group of javeliners move in to attack from the rear, but are quickly overcome.
The party continues on; they're told that just up ahead are the beetle pens, and find a little rough-hewn room over a long, sloping corridor out to the surface. They see the light of a fire beetle coming down and prepare for battle - the beetle-driver sees them, armed and armored, and starts to wheel the beetle. The Holdman cleric starts to cast Bless on his followers, but eats three javelins - Proinsias climbs aboard, backstabs a guard, and immediately jumps clear, losing half her HP. Valeucoux climbs after the thief, and accounts himself commendably, slaying one guard and holding the other until the following escapees can catch the beetle. They mount the beetle up and ride out the exit, fleeing into the surface streets of a town on the Thysrus hillside. Nobody stops them as they flee into the hinterland.
That night, hiding out in a farmer's barn, a random encounter is rolled. I set a group of Holdman city guards on them - 7 0-level men, a fighter in the lead, and a magic-user. The Holdmen find the party, and are immediately charged by the fighters and the spearmen. Valeucoux is struck unconscious - and then, horror of horrors, the Holdman magic-user casts Sleep on the party's zero-levels! Prosnias, arriving a round too late, backstabs the M-U to death, while the druid leads the unarmed, unarmored slaves in a desperate charge with picks (and also the javelin-men.) They crash into the line just in time to rescue Clovis, who is surrounded on all sides. The thief is slashed and falls unconscious in turn, the pale lilac of Holdman's chitin stains red with blood, and after a gruelling battle the escaped slaves truly are free.
The next day, they reach Kelling. After the sale of a scroll (Magic Missile, Dispel Magic, Wall of Ice, Leomund's Secret Chest) and the allocation of some of the money to Nissa the Magic-User, the M-U levels up, with the rest of the party not far behind. That's where we called the session.
Overall, I think it went well. This was the last session for Clovis's player (had to go back to her home country) and the first session for Proinsias's, and both were happy with the game. The combat rhythm is starting to hit its stride. Hopefully, second level will go by faster than first; now they can do some actual work, so it should be good to see how that goes. I ended up giving the player who was here last session but not this session some "ghost XP" for the treasure she collected - equal to a full share among the present party, but not diminshing the value they received. Not sure if I'll do it that way going forward.
RUNNING MILLIWHACKS: 160