Gaming in March-May 2023

 A very belated update, partly because I'm finding Illmire heavy-going.

• 1 March - The Evils of Illmire (OSE)
• 15 March - The Evils of Illmire (OSE)
• 21 March - Sundays in the Shire (Under Hill, By Water)
• 29 March - The Evils of Illmire (OSE)
• 18 Apr - Sundays in the Shire (Under Hill, By Water)
• 10 May - The Evils of Illmire (OSE)
• 31 May - The Evils of Illmire (OSE)

The Evils of Illmire

The face-to-face group ('The B-Table') I GM for are currently playing The Evils of Illmire.

• 1 March - Session 5: Never Be Rude to Old Women in Fantasy RPGs

As the Party was recovering from the last session's slaughter they were joined by Yancy, twin of the now-deceased half-orc Clancy.  He'd escorted two new PCs and a hirling to catch up with them (Convenient that, eh?  We also had a flashback to the hiring fair).  After introductions - the new PCs were Dalk, a Ranger, and Collum Phobetora, an Illusionist - and while debating what to do next, they had an encounter with another group of cultists.  After a very effective use of the Sleep spell, they tied the cultists up and left them to die of thirst and starvation.  

Then they went to investigate the Misty Lake and Fishfolk (they'd previously been given this quest by the lumberjacks).  Dalk was unnecessarily rude to a old woman who they found living in a cave - he actually said that he wouldn't talk to anyone who hid their face to someone who turned out to be a Medusa!  He paid the obvious penalty.

Fortunately, Connie the Barbarian had earlier had some positive dealings with another Medusa, which included learning their language.  (Both that and this apperance of a Medusa were the result of random tables, nicely tying together.)  This placated her and she gave them some info on the Racoon Tribe/Fishfolk that they'd missed picking up on last session.  She also told them that the secret of getting to the Fishfolks' underwater dwellings was to befriend the Froglings, who had gadgets for breathing underwater.  Eventually, she even de-petrified Dalk.

Another trek led to the Froglings' village in the forest canopy.  An audience with the Matriarch let the party know that she was happy to help on condition that they first rescued some younglings, who had been captured by the dastardly Mantismen (Illmire is a little railroady).   Cue training montage, while the party spent a couple of days in Frogville.  (In retrospect, I realised that I could have had the younglings kidnapped while the the party was learning to use the breathing aparatus - thus removing the obvious quid pro quo and letting the party decide whether to rescue the infants or not.)

They set out into the swamps with a couple of Frogling warriors, and soon had their first encounter with a Mantis ambush.  Through interrogation of a captive they determined that Mantismen have no redeeming qualities and that the children were probably still alive ("they have to be starved for a week to make their flesh worth eating").

We left them as they discovered the Mantis-mound.

• 15 March - Session 6: Hostage Rescue

Reinforced by another couple of Froglings (the Matriarch having had a vision of "much death" if the they went into the Mound by themselves), the Party moved in to rescue the Frogling children.  

With close-quarter, chamber-to-chamber fighting there was indeed "much death".  Before the final confrontation with the Queen, two PCs and a Frogling ally had been killed (one of the PCs by the Mantis' nifty decapitation action) and 21 Mantis we dead.  After that, the Queen was a pushover and the survivors managed to rescue the children (and two replacement PCs).

Back to Frogville, where there was much rejoicing.  They stayed there for a week, training in the Froglings' underwater breathing apparatus and whips.

• 29 March - Session 7 : "Much Death"

Another session with a dispiriting amount of bloodshed.  The Party made an abortive attempt on the underwater entrance to the Fishmen's caves.  Having met Giant Caimen and Electric Eels on the way, they weren't in the best of conditions when they reached there.  A tussle with guards left one PC and an NPC dead without even getting into the caves.  They sensibly withdrew.

There bad luck with random encounters continued.  Having fallen asleep on watch, they were attacked by Vampire Bats, again with fatal results.  They made it to the loggers camp where they picked up their mule [and new PCs].

On the was back to the village the party encountered three wolves.  Having killed one and driven the others off, they found that they had been protecting a litter of cubs.  The imediate reaction was "Yah! We have wolf cubs!".  But as they tried to removed them the vanquished wolves returned and wouldn't give up until they were killed.  The reaction now was "We've killed all these wolves, the cubs can't survive, we can't care for them.  We'll have to kill them!".  In the end [after a lot of debate] they took them to the loggers' camp to be raised their.

• 10 March - Session 8: Back to the Plot, or Not?

Stephen

Heading back to Illmire Village, the party encountered a Lizardman, who turned out to be a servant of the Medusa ("My Missstresss calls me...   Ssstephen").  He offered them a side quest - to recover a Blue Jewel from a wizard's tower.  His Mistress would offer a suitable reward.

Arriving at the village, they went to the house of an associate, which they found empty.  And stayed their for the night.  The next morning they went to the mill/bakery, where they learned that things hadn't improved in the days they'd been away.  The associate they had wanted to visit had died of the Illness, and his son was now staying with the miller and his wife - but she had also come down with the illness.

Our Ranger determined that it was time to consume some mushrooms in order to determine just what was going on.  After some false leads, he finally discovered that the water from the village well was poisoned [at which stage the Druid pointed out that she could have told them that...].  While the Ranger still had the ability to discern magic, they went back to the abandoned druid's hut and gave it a good turning-over.  The Ranger, who had the munchies, raided the vegitable patch.

Then it was time to talk to less friendly villagers [most of whom were confused as only one of the party survived from their last visit to the village].  After selling loot to the jeweller, they met the tanner's wife, who asked them to search for her missing husband - they had to tell her that they'd found his body in the mantis-mound.  In her distraught state, she let slip some clues about his cultist activities.

Back to the inn, where they had surprisingly little difficulty picking up the post for their dead predecessors.   They decided to have a good look in the cellars so, later that night...

...They went down and found that the inn was kidnapping lone travellers.

• 31 May - Session 10: Burning Bridges

[The rescued travellers were convenient, as we had a new player and were able to introduce her PC.]  As well as the prisioners, there was extensive evidence of Cultist activity, include the dreaded mindphage worms [which are quite squidgy and easy to kill] and a rather convenient letter that proved the the Cultists were on the Party's trail.  To nobody's surprise the inn's cellarman turned out to be a cultist.  To Dalk's (fatal) surprise he had access to a suply of potions.  The gaff being up, the Party sent a message to their allies, letting them know that they should leave the village and meet them at the loggers' camp.

A few days were spent at the camp, making plans and nursing wounds.  It was decided to take up Stephen's offer of a side-quest.  The first attempt to get to the tower was stymied by an encounter with a [familiar-looking] Ghoul and another withdrawal to the loggers.  Having finally got to the tower, they found a bear's lair [fortunately empty], stirges and animated furniture.  Two of the party had the indignity of being killed by a table [one by falling into its burn wreckage while drenched in oil].

Sundays In The Shire

• 21 March - The Great Raddish-Nobbling Scandal

See my detailed write-up here.

• 18 April - The Great Goblin Battle Re-Enactment

Despite side-plots concerning the Friends' rivalry with the drinkers from the Bear & King and Ebs finding that his nemisis and rival tax-collector has unjustly seized a cow (filed away for further use), the session was mostly concerned with the anniversary of the Great Goblin Battle.  

Let Justice Be Done!

This aniversary was to be marked with a re-enactment organised by Capt Bigglesthwaite of the Little Wincing platoon of the Knights of the Old Road (assisted by the long-suffering Sgt Oldbarrow). 

Naturally, everyone wanted to take part, and auditions were held.  Three-quarters of the village turned out dresses as Doughty Misstress Oldbottom, who had helf off the Golblin Horde by throwing well-aimed turnips until relieved by the Brave Lads.  Sadly, none of the party got the star part, being evenly split between Brave Lads and Goblin Horde.  The re-enactment went well, despite the contingent from the Bear & King unjustly targeting the Friends.

The Friends had gathered together the makings of a Great Feast, which they held after the celebrations.  There was a rather sordid side-plot to catch Beryla Hogspen (the rival tax-collector) and Capt Bigglethwaithe in a compromising position, but (fortunately) this came to naught.