Dwarrowdeep #8

The Upper Halls was retaken with heavy losses, and afterwards the dwarves took control of the road north, to the point where the road turns into a bridge that crossed a chasm, before entering another hall.

Our heroes (see PC profiles here), the party of dwarven adventurers called The Outcasts, and the Orlesian party called The Foxes were sent to scout out the hall, and to see if the darkspawn were planning another attack.

The three parties crossed the bridge to find themselves in a cavernous hall that was once the site of the dwarven foundry. Here it seemed that coal from the south and ore from the north was brought together to be smelted in three large furnaces that dominated the main hall. There was evidence that the furnaces were once worked by bellows driven by waterwheels, now long in disrepair. The Outcasts found signs that the furnaces were until recently being used to smelt iron, likely by the darkspawn for the production of their weapons. Curiously, there was no sign of the darkspawn.

The three parties decided to split up, with the dwarves taking one avenue from the main hall, our heroes another, while the Foxes would stay in the main hall as sentry and back-up, and summon the rest with a whistle if there was trouble.

Our heroes explored down one avenue, finding as in other halls the remains of long dead dwarves and darkspawn and abandoned dwellings and stores, but no sign of the darkspawn.

Suddenly the silence was broken by a shrill whistle. Our heroes rushed back to the main hall to find The Foxes missing. Before they could find out what happened to the Orlesians, they heard cries of fighting coming from the avenue that the Outcasts have gone down, and so they ran towards the sound.

Arriving at what was once a meeting hall, our heroes found the Outcasts on the floor, add dead from wounds. As they moved into the hall the doorway collapsed behind them, and darkspawn come out of a doorway on the wall to their left.

Our heroes were able to despatch the darkspawn warriors after a quick fight, but then another darkspawn warrior, wearing a horned helm and wielding a large axe arrived, and he seemed proof against their spells and their blows.

Our heroes fled out of the hall through a door in the far wall, and they could hear the helmed axeman following them.

The party arrived at what was once a feasting hall, and here Milgrim became ensnared in the webs of a giant spider. It was with much effort that Zunn and Lorca were able to free him, and the trio were able to flee just before the axeman arrived with more darkspawn warriors.

The next entered an ancient armoury guarded a living statue, and were able to use the guardian to fight the pursuing darkspawn warriors while they fled deeper.

Eventually they came upon a forge with heavy steel doors that were lifted and closed by the means of a chain attached to a winch on the outside. Our heroes were able to lure the axeman into the forge and flee through the door and trap him inside.

Retracing their route, they arrived back at the hall where the Outcasts were slain, and dug their way through the collapsed doorway. But when they returned to the bridge across the chasm, they found the axeman on the bridge, blocking their way. Lorca threw caution to the wind and charged at the axeman, and so ferocious was his blow that he pushed the axeman off the bridge, sending him plunging to the darkness below.

Soon afterwards they heard the sound of The Foxes coming from behind them - they had been attacked by darkspawn and had to flee into one of the avenues, and had just shaken off their pursuers.

Vowing to return to reclaim the bodies of the Outcasts, our heroes cast one final glance upon the foundry hall, and turned back south.

Prepping and Running the Game

It being Halloween, I decided to make it a themed session. I started by having the PCs have the same nightmare where they were immobilised and hearing that they had to be burnt because they had been tainted by darkspawn.

I tried to play up the horror factor but slowing the pacing of the introductory part of the game until the PCs met the main character for the session: the slasher. My players were quick to catch on to the theme, and fled from the slasher when it appeared that he was immune to their spells and weapon damage - in truth he was not immune to weapon damage; the PCs just haven't done enough damage to kill him until the very final scene.

For the locales I had a list of rooms with features, and let the players roll to see which one the party arrive at next, with the encounter on the bridge over the chasm being the last one they would face before the game ends.

After the end of this session four PCs have reached level 4, which is the level I have set for their first specialisation. As part of the story for Lorca becoming a Reaver, the next session will feature a dragon hunt.