Spur of the Moment Game Report:

[scottyg]

Some of my old players were over recently, and we ended up doing some spur of the moment gaming. I DMed and used the DMG monastery as the dungeon. There were three players:
Mike: a NG human fighter named Milrick.
Doug: a LG human paladin, starting at 1st level thanks to a lucky social class roll named Draxalthor
Paul: a NG half-elf cavalier, starting at zero level named Dasharazon.
In the Village of Oak Haven tales that something strange and terrible dwells within the ruins of an old monastery not far from town have long been part of local folklore. Recently, rumors that somebody has been trying to put together a party of adventurers to explore the ruins have been circulating through the village. Eventually, our brave PCs heard these rumors, and after a few inquiries discovered that the instigator is staying at the Axe & Arrow Inn. Without delay the PCs made their way to the inn and were introduced to an out of work caravan guard named Malak. Malak confirmed that he was looking for fellow adventurers to explore the monastery. After a brief discussion the PCs agreed to adventure with Malak, but they wanted to recruit a couple more villagers too, and they added the cleric Shandor and an elf fighter/magic-user named Tharendell. Once the party was set, they agreed to meet at the inn the next morning.
The following morning the party gathered as planned and made their way to the ruins. Draxalthor, Dasharazon, and Malak rode horses, the others walked along. The Monastery was built in a boggy lowland area about 2 ½ miles from Oak Haven. An even narrower overgrown causeway led from the narrow overgrown trail they were following to the mound the Monastery complex was built on. The entered through the open gate in the crumbling walls and surveyed the scene. After poking around through some deserted outbuildings, the party entered the main structure. It was really nothing more than a burned out shell, but they did discover steps leading to the dungeons beneath. Malak lit a torch and the party descended.
The steps led to a 30’ square chamber. Corridors led off to the east, south, and west. A pile of garbage littered the center of the floor, and a stack of old sacks were piled in the southwest corner. The party proceded to search the chamber. Milrick went to check out the sacks. Draxalthor started poking around through the rubbish in the center of the floor. Just as the paladin noticed a skull in the debris, a large spider attacked from above, dropping from the web covered ceiling. The spider missed. The next round the spider won initiative and lunged again, but missed. The rest of the party rushed to his aid as Drax swung at the spider, hitting but not killing it. The party won initiative next round and quickly killed the spider.
After catching their breath the party resumed their search. Milrick examined a few of the sacks and discovered they contained just moldy grain and flour. Some silver coins were discovered in the rubbish, and Drax found a small gem in the goblin skull.

[scottyg]

The party opted to head west from the entry chamber, where the corridor ended after just 20’ at a door. Listening at the door revealed moaning sounds. “Zombies” was the party’s assumption. Drax put his shoulder into the door and flung it open. A cold blast of air gusted out of the chamber and extinguished the party’s light. They players screamed like little girls, and the PCs stumbled back the way they came, seeing the faint light coming down the stairs they rushed back up to the surface.
After regrouping they lit another torch and descended the stairs again. The west door was still open and the wind was still gusting. The party decided to send their two demi-humans in to scout with their infravision. Beyond the door was a partially worked natural cavern, roughly 20’ E/W x 40’ N/S. A narrow stream and pool were present along the west edge of the chamber, and several barrels and buckets were about. The demi-humans saw enough and retreated, closing the door behind them.
Back in the entry chamber, the party decided to explore east. After a short distance the eastern passage turned north. The party ignored a branching passage east and continued north for another 40’ or so until the passage ended. There were doors east and west. The party listed at the doors and didn’t hear anything. The opened the west door. Standing on the other side of the door was an armed human. The party immediately attacked. The guard cried out a warning before the party cut him down. Passed the guard station there was a short passage that lead to a lighted chamber. More humans appeared and soon the party was taking crossbow fire. The party decided to charge with Milrick, Drax, and Malak in the front, but Malak refused, stating he needed better armor before he could engage in such a situation, so Tharendell jumped in. The party advanced. After a few rounds the bandits, as the party guessed, were dead, and the party had but a few nicks and scratches. A search of the room turned up some useful mundane supplies, and a few coins on the bodies, but nothing else, so the party moved on.

DM’s Commentary:
The party actually missed a pretty good haul here. There was a secret trapdoor that the bandit leaders fled through while the party was bottled up in the hallway. A passage led to a secret room that the bandits used to stash their treasure. There was a nice monetary hoard and one of the bandit leaders wore a cloak of elvenkind.

Back to the party:

Now the party opened the door across the hall to the east. Beyond was a large storage area. Once filled with provisions of all kinds, rot and rubbish were all that remained. The party poked through, but nothing of value was discovered.

The party backtracked south, heading towards the passage east the passed earlier. Before they got there, a pair of giant fire beetles wandered up the hall towards them. With no missile weapons available, the party rushed to attack. The beetles were quickly dispatched, but not before one of them dropped Dasharazon with a nasty bite. The half-elf was not killed, but unconscious, so the party decided to head back to town to rest.

[scottyg]

After resting and healing in town, and stocking up on some standard dungeon exploring equipment, the party returned to the dungeon and headed for the eastern passage. The followed it east for a while, ignoring some side passages heading south, until the passage turned south. The continued south until the came to an archway to the east. A reddish glow emanated from within. The party was not surprised to find three more fire beetles. It was déjà vu. A short combat resulted in several dead fire beetles and an unconscious party member. Back to town to rest and heal.
After resting and healing again, the party returned to the dungeon. The returned to the spot where the left off before. The continued down the south passage until they came upon another chamber to the east. A now painfully familiar reddish glow emanated from within accompanied by the usual clicking of giant beetle legs on stone. “Not again”, stated Tharendell, and the beetles fell victim to the elf’s sleep spell. The room was some sort of library or records chamber with rotted books and papers scattered about, but nothing of value was found. The party started exploring south again, but someone then stated, “Why don’t we take some of these glowing bug guts and throw them in that pool to see if there’s anything in it”. The other PCs thought it was a good idea, so the returned to the entry chamber. One character bashed open the door while the other party members waited in around the corner. The rest of the party approached, and their new lantern resisted being blown out by the wind. First they did a more complete look around of the chamber, examining the barrels and buckets; a few contained water. A few fire beetle glands into the pool revealed some fish, some weird mineral formations, and rocks. Disappointed by the anti-climax, the party examined the stream. Nothing. Debate on a course of action. “Lets go”, There has to be something in the pool”, Etc. Milrick decided to take another, closer look into the pool. “Looking closer, you notice that the mineral formations actually look like a skeleton. “A-ha!” They decided to have Tharendell poke it with his spear. After some probing, the party noticed a cylindrical object rolling out from under the skeleton. Quickly heading for a small hole to the south that was too small for the party to enter. “Oh no!” Dasharazon jumped in to try to grab it. He missed the rolling cylinder, and it disappeared through the small exit. Frustrated, the half-elf decided to take a closer look at the skeleton while he was in the water. To his surprise he discovered the skeletal fingers on one hand still clutched a key. The party dragged the half-elf out of the pool and they returned to the entry chamber. After a quick discussion they decided to try the south passage.
The passage south went 70 or 80 feet before ending in a 50’ square chamber. No other exits were evident. The chamber appeared to be empty. The party spread out and searched the place. The only notable feature discovered were holes in the southern wall, 6” square and about 8” deep. A closer examination revealed that some of them contained wood scrapings. The party poked, and prodded, and probed for several minutes to no avail. A sketch of the south wall with the layout of the holes caused a light bulb moment. The noticed the holes were in rows, and guessed that something may have been built there at one time. The party built a human/demi-human pyramid and searched for secret doors above the upper row of holes. A lucky roll indicated they found one on the first try. The half-elf on top opened the door and climbed in. A part of me really wanted to roll a ghoul wandering monster encounter here, but no encounters were indicated. A rope dropped down and a few minutes later and the whole party was in the secret passage.

[scottyg]

The secret passage went south for 70’ and then ran into a 20’ wide corridor heading east and west. Another 20’ wide side passage headed south shortly to the east. The party decided to go west and after 30’ the passage turned south. At 30’ they reached another intersection. The passage they were in continued south, a 20’ wide passage headed off to the southeast, and a 20’ square alcove was attached to the west of the passage. A 10’ wide passage headed northwest at the back of the alcove, but before they had time to survey the setting, five skeletons rushed out of the alcove waiving swords and shrieking maniacally. Shandor tried to turn them, but failed; melee was on. The combat was quick, the skeletons were destroyed, but Milrick took a nasty slash. Shandor cured him to full, and they debated their course of action. The location of the skeletons and the northwest passage led the party to assume they were guarding the passage, so they chose that route. The passage was a meandering one that eventually turned north. They passed two looted burial niches as they travelled and eventually reached a sacked and desecrated shrine of the god Rao. A thorough search of the place revealed a secret door with a keyhole. The party tried the key they found in the pool, it fit, and they opened the door. A short, cobweb stewn passage led to a pair of chambers. The place was obviously a repository for treasure, but age and the damp underground environment had taken its toll. Tattered and rotted tapestried and once fine garments hung from the walls or littered the floor. Exposed books and parchments crumbled at a mere touch. Several intact chests were discovered. The party debated who should open the chests. Malak volunteered to try a small coffer. After looking it over intently, he tried it and it was not locked. Draxalthor noticed Malak trying to pocket an item from the chest and confronted him. The item he tried to steal was a huge fire opal. Malak apologized profusely. The put the incident out of mind for the moment as the debated who would open the last chest. Malak squeezed through and volunteered, stating he owed it to them, but as he was squeezing past, Drax again caught him trying to pick pocket the fire opal he had secured in his pouch. This time the party drew their weapons. Malak raised a flask over his head and told them to stay back or he would throw it and incinerate all of them. Malak tried backing away, but the party followed. Malak had almost backed up to the secret door. Suddenly he pulled the cork on his flask and raised it to his lips. The party rushed him, and thanks to a decisive initiative win, reached him quickly and hacked him down before he could finish the potion. Again the party fell into debate about what they should do. Somebody had the idea to patch Malak to interrogate him later, but by then he had bled to death. So they searched him. He had another potion in his pouch, and his secondary sword, a short sword, glowed when the party unsheathed it. The party also discovered a set of thieves’ tools and were totally surprised to find out that Malak had actually been a thief. The last chest held some more coins and a wand. The party scooped up all their loot and headed back to town. On the road back to Oak Haven, a giant snack slithered out of the bog. The party killed it with only Drax’s horse taking some damage. Soon after they reached town, and we called it a night.

[maxvale76]

This is a fun read Scotty; thanks for sharing!

Quick question: Did you punish the good members of the party (particularly the Paladin) for just attacking a human with no fore-knowledge that he was Evil or an enemy?

(I'm just curious....as after watching one of my players whose running a CG Fighter do this about half a dozen times; I finally made him CN and he took a bit of an XP hit...)

[scottyg]

I'm assuming you man the bandit guard? I would penalize the players for being stupid if they didn't attack. When you're exploring a dungeon located in a bleak bog where something strange and terrible is rumored to dwell and you come across a scurvy looking armed individual who is obviously a guard, attacking is a perfectly acceptable option.

[maxvale76]

Well; the way it sounded to me was that without a thought; they just attacked a guy....as for who might be in a Dungeon; looking scruffy...I don't know...ADVENTURERS?

I guess I'm a little harsher with my Paladins and other LG types; basically...in my opinion; killing something/someone with no warning is kind of against thier "code". To each thier own though.