Real World Info
This session was played on November 19, 2009.
Featuring Gamgar Khazam, Sandra, son of Mogwass, Flapgar Trundlebig, Dalamyr the Acolyte, Marrieth the Veteran-Medium and her retainers Apu, Stew, and Klipsan. Locked in with them were Yevgeni the Adept, two acolytes of the Frog and a charmed acolyte of The Master named Dimitri.
Summary
After an indecisive encounter with servants of The Master, the party hunkered down in a small section of the mine. They attempted to lure The Master's followers into an ambush, but the gambit failed. They locked themselves in again, satisfied with killing two acolytes in the exchange and securing enough provisions to continue.
I. Stuff
Our mighty heroes found themselves in a small section of the mine, with naught but locked doors between them and the Master's cultists! Strangely, the elf Victor was lost in the hubbub, but lo and behold, the companions encountered Sandra and… "his" loyal retainer Quimby.
Roll call!
Gamgar Khazam, dwarven adventurer, carries frog cultist holy symbol.
Flapgar Trundlebig, darven adventurer.
Dalamyr, human acolyte of an anti-Chaotic religion.
Marrieth, elven expedition leader with a lithp.
Apu, human mercenary.
Stew, failed locksmith.
Klipsan, human retainer, ex-criminal.
Sandra, androgynous halfling.
Quimby, human mercenary.
Yevgeni, human frog cult leader, in league with Gamgar, pending treachery.
Two nameless frog cult members, all that is left of the cult.
Dmitri, a member of the Master's cult, charmed by Marrieth.
And no food…
The cultists showed the Dwarves where they thought the Dwarven Hoard was, where Obmi told them it would be, but the two stout fellows found only an unfinished Dwarven tomb. No gold.
The fellowship was beset by grave doubts, and fell to bickering. Only slowly did concrete plans emerge from the depressing morass of conflicting schemes, as they tried to manipulate Dimitra and Yevgeni against each other for even the smallest advantage.
II. Sandra Scouts the Storeroom
The plucky halfling convinced one of the frog cultists to disarm the crusher trap so he could scout down the hallways. Past the crusher trap lay a beach, a large gallery with an elevator, and… a storeroom. Shorty skulked down the passageway, and slowly opened the door, only to find three of the Master's cultists guarding their goods! The three gave chase, and the hairy half-pint fled back behind the safety of the locked door just in the nick of time.
However, this gave rise to a clever plan enacted later. But first…
III. Slaughter in the Mine!
Dalamyr had had enough. Trapped underground with not one, but two types of vile cultists! He harangued Dimitri into starting a fight with him. The other boon comrades waded in, and Dimitri was conveniently hamstrung and decapitated by Sandra and Quimby.
IV. Sandra and "Obmi" Strike a Deal
Once the "sore thumb" cultist had been dealt with, the fellowship returned to their clever plan. Sandra returned to the storeroom and talked with a guard. The guard said he wanted to talk to Obmi, so Sandra returned with Flapgar, who posed as Obmi. They bartered with the guards, while Gamgar led the other side of the planned pincer move.
V. Gamgar and the Gnolls
Gamgar and a few others went around to the passageway where they had entered the Dwarven tomb area. Upon peering out, Gamgar spied a gnoll down the tunnel. He beckoned the gnoll over to him and offered the beastly thing a deal. The gnoll asked for quite a lot of gold, and seemed very confident that he and his stinky companions could best all foes. Gamgar was cautious, for they had already Swindled Yevgeni. He had also routed them the day before, and was not yet out of oil. When the gnoll finally threatened to sound the alarm, Gamgar called his bluff and told him to do exactly that! But wouldn't you know it, the gnoll slunk off quietly. Gamgar did not like this at all, so he sounded the alarm himself, barking like a dog, bashing on his shield, and yelling insults in various languages. The gnolls took the bait and charged back, but Gamgar simply shut and locked the door.
VI. Fight and Flight
Meanwhile, Dalamyr, Apu, and Stew took a running charge at the cultists who were standing watch at the end of the corridor, where they could see the door behind which the Companions lay in wait. One guard fled, but regained his courage when he was joined by several more. Stew and Apu decided against those odds and fled back.
In the ensuing melee, two cultist brethren were killed as Sandra, Flapgar, Dalamyr, Stew, and Apu retreated back into their set of locked rooms. After the rest of the cultists backed off, our stalwart explorers looted the storeroom of all it's wealth.
VII. Losses/loot
The charmed cultist Dimitri and two of his brethren were killed. Gamgar got dwarven chain mail.
PCs present who made it out of the dungeon during the next session earned a total of 30xp (divided among them).