Murdicog's Manse Session 6: "Bekhtar" Brigands, Booze, & The Rescue of Lil R
Players: Osric III of Shophalbelah (EvilTables), Xaldun of Portage Town (roguewithwhimsy), Simon Vanade (Jake), Bekhtar Ziphar (Shy Owl), Buster Jortsman Diamantis (mustuh), Kurgha (boreal), Grappadora Hamaques (Jay_zer0)
Summary
Once again, a party of adventurers set forth from Bar Udartophir to brave the depths of Murdicog's Manse in search of locks for the four color-coded keys retrieved during Expedition 4. Since being told by Enki of Alindrath that the locks could be found on the "5th level", they opted for the higher rear entrance, as last time.
They retraced their steps past the dead spider & room containing dead palms to revisit the room that formerly contained the mechanical butler. Exploring knorth, they chanced upon seven Kobolds sharing a cauldron of spider stew. After a brief attempt at communication, the party withdrew, not wishing to initiate hostilities.
In a room to the ouest, the adventurers heard the sound of lively conversation & drinking songs. Upon entering, six rough-looking armigers in tattered House Bekhtar livery offered glasses of strong, bitter, herbal liquor. Bekhtar Kothar, initially pleased to see fellow retainers of his noble house, began to suspect that they might not actually be who they claimed. Osric raised the possibility that they might be Doppelgängers. Kothar baited them into nodding along to a misleading allusion to dandelion wine in Kal Obaloyoroth (Bekthar's base of power) removing all doubts.
Any remaining conviviality was shattered when Osric threw his glass to the floor. The ensuing fight was fast & bloody. Three Brigands were felled, but one was able to slay Bekhtar Kothar. A use of Sleep by Buster neutralized the remaining three.
After mourning Bekhtar, slitting the throats of the three sleeping Brigands, and becoming acquainted with the newly-arrived Grappadora Hamaques, the party explored a long hall to the Knorth. In room with murals painted on the walls, two hungry Albino Penguins began to harass the adventurers, but were placated by Buster's Lunar acorn. In a room to the Psouth, two Giant Ice Beetles were killed.
With their remaining time, the adventurers decided to return to the palm tree room & explore the diagonal passage to the knortheest. It turned out to be a long zig-zagging corridor. A single door connected it to the Kobold room. (Here, Simon's offer of the Brigands' liquor & a tune played on Grappadora's viol sufficed to secure the weasel-folks' friendship).
After following a further zag, the long corridor merged with an area of metal walls & floors. A patterned tapping sound was audible from the knorth, & behind a loose wall panel an aged, power-depleted Cyberian was found tapping distress signals on a conduit & clutching a scroll of Knock & Protection from Arthropods. The adventurers decided to rescue the robot, dubbing it "Lil R", & thinking that The Electron Sovereign might be able to help recharge its batteries.
The party exited through a large pair of metal doors. Outside, they met Pig Pulper, Ogre, who charged them each 5gp to pass.
On the way home, a being wearing Enki of Alindrath's face appeared to the adventurers, but its exhortations to follow it into the woods were rebuffed.
Aftermath
Treasure Found: 36gp found on dead Brigands, 2 bottles of Antarctic Malört (50gp), 1 Ice Beetle cold sac, Scroll of Protection from Arthropods & Knock
Foes Encountered: 7 Kobolds (befriended), 6 Brigands (killed), 2 Albino Penguins (placated), 2 Giant Ice Beetles (killed), 1 Doppelganger (rebuffed)
Rumors:
- What book is Pig Pulper reading?
- Who is Lil R?
Deaths: Bekhtar Kothar, slain by a brigand
XP Awarded: 465
Notes
- In last week's report I mentioned being unsatisfied with the Chainmail man-to-man to-hit matrix. This week, I felt better about it -- both combat encounters went fairly quick. Here's what I changed:
- I started using the Meatheads damage matrix. Since hits are relatively rare, the matrix makes them more impactful while preserving some of the randomness of a d6 damage roll.
- I allowed Armigers (fighters) to pick two weapons to get a +1 bonus with (not sure if this was used by all players, though -- will need to double-check)
- I got better at running combat. For the discord dice bot on Big Purp, it helps to have players type in what weapon they are using after attack and damage rolls (e.g.
r2d6+1 glaive) - In general, I'm going to be more judicious about assigning monsters the "large & armored" category. I think that should be reserved for Dragons, Hyrdas, & Balrogs, whereas big bugs should be treated as plate or chain.
- Rolling a random encounter with a Doppelgänger after speculation that the Brigands were Doppelgängers was a lovely bit of serendipity.