Our first session was spent creating characters and getting an hour of play time in ....  our brave intrepid player characters are:

Bron of the spear, a human ranger. (Corey) 

Aravandel, a grey elf fighter/magic-user. (Brian)

Julius of Roads, a young human cleric of Heironeous. (Francisco)

Rufus of Rao, a human paladin. (Jonathan)

Overall definitely a goodly party, and for a small party quite a capable mix.

    They began in the town of Havenhill in the Principality of Ulek. Beginning their adventuring lives they met one another after taking service with a merchant named Otto and his train of goods, animal handlers, drivers, and a small company of mercenary halberdiers and crossbowmen, along with crotchety old veteran guide named Ned. Their destination was the northern reaches of the principality to the town of Dunhill located near where the Suss forest meets up with the foothills of the Lortmils. Upon the Prince's Road they depart!

    After several days into the journey, on the first day of Brewfest of all days, the weather began to turn sour. Ned, being a trusted and experienced guide doesn't like the look of the weather and suggests they take a smaller road that will veer off ahead but head into the hills slightly, because it will provide better cover from approaching bad weather, in the form of rocky overhangs, and caves. Otto agrees and the caravan heads off on the smaller road slightly into the hills. The rain, clouds, and thunder come, a modest late fall storm. After hours on this road it begins to narrow down to a well worn dirt trail barely wide enough for the column of carts. Later in the day Rufus, after watching Ned guide the caravan through this narrowing trail, decided to look into the heart of the grumpy old guide. To his surprise Ned is harboring a dark heart and is of evil bent. He informs Otto who states this is his third journey north with Ned and he has been nothing short of capable, even though the man loves the drink, the dice, and engages in debauchery when in town. Around this time Otto begins showing frustration with then choice of trails and convenes the players characters for a quick meeting. His patience is wearing thin with the slowed pace of this trail and asks the PCs if they would scout a few miles ahead to find out if there is any change in this trail. In the meantime the caravan will halt and make efforts to protect the caravan and animals from the increasing rain while awaiting the PCs return.

The PCs take off forward scouting out the trail and the nearby environs. After nearly an hour the storm changes from modest to extremely terrible. The clouds lower, the rain turns into a driving sleet, visibility is reduced, and lightning is striking all around. They find shelter under a rocky overhang. While waiting out the bad storm Bron notices large goblinoid tracks under the rocky overhang. Hobgoblin tracks. The tracks parallel the trail and head back towards the direction of the caravan, however the tracks are a few days old. The PCs decided its best to go back to the caravan.

As fate would have it, tragedy has struck the caravan. It was attacked, business was done and some of the more valuable goods were missing. There were plenty of corpses, many slain by black shafted arrows. The poor draft horses were all slain. However the PCs note that some people are missing, including Otto and Ned. Bron quickly discovered tracks of at least 10 hobgoblins and it leads off into the hills. He also discovers some human tracks traveling in a tight line with the hobgoblin tracks, captives!

It's now almost early evening and dusk is rapidly approaching. The party decides its best to immediately follow the tracks of the Hobgoblins and find out what happened to the rest of the caravan and to rescue them if able? After a few minutes of travel Bron realizes the Hobgoblins are following a well travelled trail into the hills. Evening comes along with the light of a half moon. Several hours into their pursuit they see the hill begin to crest and level out to their right, and around 500 yards ahead they spy the silhouette of a small ruined keep. Scattered copses of trees and rocky outcroppings mask the way towards it, but at about 100 yards out from it the ground is flat and empty. With the party remaining concealed, Bron the ranger stalks forward to the edge of the cover to see if he can gain a better idea of what's in it. After a few minutes on the edge of the trees and rocks he sees a small cooking light spring into existence in the ruins, as well was several figures tending to it. Still too dark and too far away to spy out much else, he returns to the party and informs them of what he's found. Now they have to decide what to do.

  

It's been almost 12 years ... and it's time for a new AD&D campaign! It will start this coming Sunday, 2/27/2022, and the campaign journal will be here.

The campaign will be set in the World of Greyhawk. I will be using the AD&D 1st edition rules and the AD&D 2nd edition combat rules since they are better written and more clarified.

The campaign will begin in the northern reaches of the Principality of Ulek. More information will follow.

It feels good to be playing & DMing again!

-Derek

Session #3: 5/1/10

The Party now consists of:

Banning (NG human ranger)

Bedwyr (LG human paladin of Heironeous)

Ivarr (N human fighter)

Io The Good (NG elf magic user)

Quarajoki (N half elf druid)

Tiberius (LG human NPC cleric of Heironeous)

& 3 church footman wearing studded leather hauberks, and carrying halberd and short sword, and one mule named "Lucky" laden with supplies and loot

... more to come soon on the third session. It was quite an eventful one.

Session #2: 4/24/10

The PCs braced for whatever was coming at them quickly through the woods. It sounded like men? Whoever it was they had no concerns of trying to maintain stealth. Crashing through the trees, bathed in the moonlight were five men in armor carrying weapons. The lead man was a tall stout fellow wearing splint mail, carrying sword and shield and bearing a tabard of Heironeous. To his side was a man wearing a similar tabard but adorn in chain and carrying shield and flail. Spread out behind them were three men in studded leather hauberks, carrying halberds with short swords at their belt.

Ivarr hailed the party and asked them their business. The lead man identified himself as Bedwyr the Gallant of Heironeous and said a warband of orcs were in hot pursuit and to ready themselves for battle. Before traditional greetings could be exchanged several black feathered shafts flew out of the dark hitting the trees around them. Bedwyr exclaimed "The scouts! They are upon us!". With that the PCs fanned out, grabbed some cover and waited. They didn't have to wait more than a moment before yells, cries, and taunts came from the wood ahead. Stepping out into their small glade were two groups of Orc bowmen who positioned themselves on the flanks, six total, and eight orcs that charged up the middle at the PCs and their newfound companions in arms.

The orcs charged and met deadly steel. In the ensuing melee Ivarr, Banning, Bedwyr and the flail-carrying fellow, Tiberius the Acolyte, each slew an orc or two. Q the Druid felled an orc bowmen with his sling, and Io conjured up a magic missile and slew yet another. In a few moments of combat the orcs quickly saw their fortunes change and fled back the way they came. Several PCs and one of the church footmen were wounded and the adventurers decided not to give chase. The Runner Banning, felt differently and wanted to make sure the orcs were simply not melting out of sight to regroup and attack again, so he stealthily set forth in pursuit. He followed them for a good couple of miles when at a point of dense underbrush he was surprised and assaulted by three orcs. They pressed the ranger mercilessly, but Banning's swift sword work kept him alive. In short order he dispatched the trio of rear-guard orcs only suffering minor wounds. His question answered, he decided the wise choice was going back to rejoin the encamped party. This he did.

(... at this point the party was comprised of, Banning- level 1 NG human ranger, Bedwyr- level 1 human paladin of Heironeous, Ivarr- level 1 N human fighter, Quarajoki- level 1 half-elf druid, Io The Good- level 1 NG elf magic user, Tiberius- level 1 NPC LG cleric of Heironeous, and three church of Heironeous footmen, out of an original seven, equipped with coats of studded leather armor, halberds, and short swords)

Planting, 15th day, 576 CY: The following morning the party, now nine strong, set out for the caves. By late-day they had at last come to the dark twisted vale lined with cave entrances. From it they saw some whips of smoke, heard some strange music, and overall got a very eery feel. It was getting towards dusk when they finally settled on a plan of action and chose a cave. They chose one on higher ground towards the side they were on. They checked their equipment, made some last minute tactical coordinations and then set forth!

They entered the cave and the chamber before them was rough and natural. For a few minutes they inspected the area. At the end was a passage leading to another chamber, this one was worked and not natural stone. Moments after they shined their light into it several long arrow shafts came flying out of the darkness at them and they heard a sort of hyena dog-like language ahead. Io The Good, immediately recognized it as Gnollish and knew what they were up against. The PCs quickly gained cover by stacking up along the sides of the cave leading up to the passage. After an exchange or two of missile fire between the two Io heard the gnolls yell for two of their number to go for reinforcements. At this the party decided to two do things; toss a torch into the chamber ahead where the gnolls were, and then charge and engage the occupants.

The party raced in with Ivarr, Banning, and Bedwyr leading from the front. It was during this melee that the rest of the party could sense something "special" about Bedwyr when they were engaged with the evil gnolls. Almost as if he radiated some sort of aura, as if this aura somehow protected them or made them more capable in battle.

The party exchanged blows with the gnolls. Bedwyr and Banning were both wounded, but after several exchanges the two gnolls were dispatched. Bedwyr getting revenge on the last gnoll standing, his blow a decapitating strike. No sooner had they secured the room they heard a group of gnolls coming down the passageway opposite of the party at the far end of the room. The party quickly formed up in front of the entrance to the passageway and placed their footman in the second rank with the halberds. SIX large gnolls attempted to gain entrance into their room! The melee felt more like a "last stand" by the party. Throughout the battle Tiberius, standing fast in the second rank, cast heal after heal exhausting his three prayed-for spells. Banning nearly went down, and the gnolls did not break like the previous night's encounter with the orcs. No, these creatures were ferocious! Finally though the last gnoll slumped against the wall the handiwork of the druid's scimitar.

No sooner had the party breathed a sigh of relief, glad to be alive after such a battle, they heard more footfalls coming from down the passageway. This time they decided their fate rested in the druid's magic. A plan was quickly concocted that the party would flee the cave, sit outside a good hundred yards and when the gnolls chased them out the druid would entangle them with his magic.

Outside the party waited ... and they waited. The gnolls did not pursue them out of the cave. What the PCs did not know was the gnoll chieftain did not attain his rank within the tribe by being a fool. He looked around, saw that eight of his best warriors lay slain but not one enemy was left for dead. He decided it was time to use the agreement he had made with the nearby clan of orcs. He told his remaining warriors and women folk to pack up everything they could, take the young and under cover of the deepest of night they would leave their lair for another.

The party realized the gnolls would not take their bait so they fell back several hundred yards into the wood. Setting up a rotation of double watches they rested uneasily. Fortune or the gods was with them, not a wandering monster came close to their camp. Banning, ever hale and hearty (high CON!), decided he was best fit to maintain a sleepless watch on the gnoll cave throughout the night. This he did and in the earliest of morning he saw a group of gnolls leave the cave and travel down into the vale and enter another. With this information he was pleased...

Planting, 16th day, 576 CY: Banning went back to the party and woke them at first light. Tiberius was already up sitting in prayer. After a meal of hardtack fried in bacon grease, along with some smoked fish and ale, the party gathered their gear and entered the gnoll cave. They searched all through it and found it truly abandoned. In their searching they found several things. First off the gnolls left much of their armory behind, including ,after some searching, a magical long sword that shed light when pulled from the scabbard. The party also found what was the chieftain's quarters and searched it high and low. They found a loose flagstone that contained a small secret compartment underneath, but whatever was stored here was taken by the wily chieftain. The adventurers spent hours carefully searching the entire lair. Their dedication to the task did pay off for they found a secret door that lead down a long well worked passage. Not too far into the passage lay the remains, probably human, of some poor bastard who didn't make it out of the caves alive. There was nothing of real value on him except his boots. Oddly enough while the rest of his armor and clothing had along rotted, the soft leather boots were in perfect condition. Ivarr examined them, then promptly switched them out for his own. For a man girt in banded mail, he walked completely silent. Hmmmm .....

The party followed the secret passage and it ended in a smooth wall. Their experience beginning to add up, the party decided a careful search for secret doors was in order. VIOLA! They found one, amazing! Through it they carefully went Banning leading the way. The room beyond contained one passageway out. Within the room were boxes, crates, barrels all filled with various supplies. Everything from rope, tinder, oil, ale, preserved food, candles, torches, spears, axes, knives, crossbow bolts, sacks, blankets, and mining equipment. The party engaged in searching through the equipment worse than children in a toy store. Luckily for the adventurers Ivarr was maintaining careful watch on the passage leading out and suddenly he saw several bones and coins suspended in mid-air moving towards them from down the passageway (this room and the passage way had torches in sconces mounted along the wall- odd they noted). As it got closer they could see to their horror it was not merely some loose material suspended in air, but a LIVING CUBE that seemed to sense their presence and was aggressively moving towards them.

The adventurers quickly fled this abnormal monstrosity down the secret passage and slammed the door behind them. The door was made out of wood but made to appear as stone. After several tense minutes they could see the cube was pressing up against the door on the other side and they were hearing a faint hissing sound, the door was slowly being DISSOLVED! The party quickly decided to soak the door in oil and light it ablaze. This was done just in time because no sooner had they finished soaking it and put a torch to it, it weakened and the cube broke forth into their chamber. It was burning in some parts as the PCs backed up against the wall hoping the flames would put this oddity to its end. It did not. As it neared the party it attempted to touch them with his surface. Fortunately it failed to do so and several blows from the swordsmen of the party laid it low. The adventurers did notice that its contact did pit their blades, new ones they needed and soon. In his triumph Bedwyr claimed the magical blade gained from the gnoll's armory. It was at this point the player characters decided to rest for 4 hours secure in the secret passageway so that Tiberious could pray to Heironeous and regain his curative magics. This is also where the second session of the campaign ended.

Session #1: 4/18/10

The band of adventurers consisting of Jannish, Ivarr, Banning, Io The Good, and Qaurajoki having met a week ago along the border region between The Yeomanry and western Keoland made their way to the Keoish village of Dunhill on the western hill-covered eaves of the Dreadwood. Rumor has it some strange things were afoot in the humble village.

Planting, 13th day, 576 CY: It was a windy, stormy night as the party made their way towards Dunhill. About a mile out as the path wound up the hill they stumbled across some corpses laying off the side of the road, four to be exact. Upon closer inspection they appeared to be men-at-arms bearing brown tabards. Shortly after inspecting their undead rotting bodies sprang to life and attacked the party. Several moments of swift combat felled the zombies. Upon entering the village the party made for the Green Griffon Tavern, Dunhill's sole establishment. There was a modest crowd and the PCs saw to it to dine and imbibe some fine ale. In the process they learned from some commoners and the tavern keep, Garn, that there was indeed strange events happening. Evil things. Villagers gone missing, the dead walking, the local cemetery no longer safe, and a large scale humanoid attack months prior that slew their old mayor, and captain of the militia. The local priest of Heironeous barely survived and his mind cracked and he is now a witless wreck.

They met several notables as well in the tavern consisting of the surly new Sheriff (Sheriff Conrad) and his two corporals. Stern men, veterans indeed. The new priest of Heironeous, a real dandy by the name of Wilfred Eldon also entered the tavern and welcomed the party of adventurers offering any aid required. Banning also met and briefly spoke with an adventurer of sorts, by all looks another ranger, named Edrek. Wilfred encouraged the adventurers to meet with the new Mayor Halbert Dunston and get any assistance he could offer.

Planting, 14th day, 576 CY: The party, having spent the night at the Weathered Hearth Inn, awoke and made haste to see the mayor. On the way they noticed two temples to Heironeous, an older ruined one, and a newer one. The Mayor was a portly but kind man adorned in furs and a large golden necklace. He spoke of the dangers the village has faced, the fact the last humanoid attack slew the previous mayor and the captain of the militia, and fears the next one. He told them the source of the troubles were a series of caves in a dark twisted vale about a day's travel away. They are called The Caves of Chaos. If the caves could be cleansed and their inhabitants put to the sword then Dunhill would be saved. The mayor even agreed to help provision the party in terms of a mule, and some extra supplies.

The PCs next stop was Nalin's Provisions, the general arms and supply establishment in Dunhill. Its owner, Nalin the Dwarf was a no nonsense bargainer but reluctantly agreed to provision them as the mayor saw fit. One thing they noticed was that Nalin wore a coat of studded leather and carried a hand axe in his belt openly. When asked he replied that Dunhill is no longer safe and didn't survive Red Hill Goblin Wars in order to be slain by a walking corpse. Having received their supplies, including a mule named "Lucky" the PCs departed.

The next stop was the ruined temple of Heironeous. Here they found the previous priest. Quite a wrecked man, his mind was broken. He babbled of "evil", "they all died", but then for a brief moment it was as if his mind cleared and he warned the PCs that the mayor is evil.

It was mid-day in Dunhill when the party set out for the caves. They travelled on the road out of town until the late afternoon. It was around 6pm when they found the knotted pine which was the point they needed to head east off road and into the forest. Upon leaving the road they noticed three horsemen behind them several hundred yards on the road. It was the sheriff and his two corporals. The party went a hundred yards or so into the woods and waited. The sheriff and his two men rode up to the point the PCs entered, and then marked strange runes on a tree. Then they left riding back towards Dunhill. Banning strode out of the Dreadwood and did his best attempt to deface the carved runes. It wasn't quite clear what they meant.

The party made their way east into the eaves of the Dreadwood. When it was nearly dark they pitched camp. This was right around the time Jannish noticed a mannish face watching them from behind a tree some 50 yards away. Immediately he sprinted after the man in black. After chasing the man for some two hundred yards or more the man's pace was no match for Jannish's elven quickness. Jannish slashed at the man from behind, wounding him and they began to battle. Jannish cut the man a second time and the dark garbed figure was beginning to stagger grievously wounded. Unknown to Jannish the man was not alone and his two compatriots, similarly dressed, crept in behind Jannish and slew the elf with a mighty backstab! Jannish the elf lay dead in the wood. Back at the PCs camp several hours passed by with no sign of the elf. Banning, by the light of a torch went forth to search for tracks and picked up Jannish's trail. Close to a couple hundred yards out Banning found blood pools on the ground and saw a man in the shadows to his front. He immediately turned tail and ran back to the camp. He told the others what he saw, the tracks he saw, etc.

The others quickly formed a defensive perimeter and took cover behind tree and log. Several hours passed, it has now turned the next day and nothing .... then all of a sudden they heard men, traveling fast, making noise coming from the east. They braced to receive them. The session ended.