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Wow, just finished up session 4 and starting the final session.  The encounter almost decimated the PCs which told me the encounter was too powerful, and need some adjusting.  Got great feedback and a big thanks to all that participated.

Kauldron

Rod of Dovache: Act 1


Our heroes left the safety of Fallcrest and traveled along the King's Road towards Harkenwold.  After traveling for three days their spirits started to falter.  On the fourth day, they came upon the remains of a traveling caravan.

They found three survivors, a Dwarven arms smith named Asgerand Hammerton, a minor lord Oren Ederton and his daughter Anara.  They were all that remained of a caravan heading towards Fallcrest.  They found a surviving guard that told them of the fierce attack by the orcs.  The attack was organized as he died in the arms of our Drow hero Cindy, a loud explosion and a screech sound.  They realized that the explosion came from the north and the screech was from a scared owlbear.

Before they could find out too much an Owlbear and three orcs set them up.  The battle was fierce and orc pyromaniac escaped during the battle.  The two other orcs were slain in short order.  Afterwards, Finn provided aid to his injured comrades and healed those who needed healing.

Asgerand lost his sample weapons that he uses to get sales.  His weapons were of high quality and worth a fortune.  His offer to our heroes to retrieve them was six Astral gems, an extremely high price for such wares, even high quality ones.  Is there more to these weapons than meets the eye, were they meant for someone special or dangerous.  Our heroes readily accepted his offer.

Lord Ederton explained to the heroes that he and his daughter were heading to meet her fiancé with her dowry.  They begged the heroes to bring it back to them so they may continue on their journey.  The offer of 100 gp was enough to convince our heroes to take on this quest.  Our heroes followed the northerly trail left from the escaping orc.

Our heroes found several orcs guarding a concealed entrance to an underground location.  Is this the secret entrance to Dovache's hidden laboratory?  Our heroes would soon find out.  They faced their foes with determination, they dispatched all resistance and followed steps down.

At the bottom of the steps, they found two more orcs and eliminated them with easy.  They found the orcs cache of stolen goods.  They searched the goods and the large room.  In the pile, they found the dwarven weapons they were to retrieve and supplies including several healing potions.  They found a hallway to the east.  They could go back up the stairs or face danger and follow the hallway.  Our heroes mustered their courage, taking the dwarven weapons went down the hallway, they still had not found the dowry.  What dangers lie in wait for them.

As they traveled down the hall, they stumbled on their first challenge, a trap of vicious spinning blades that spring out of the wall and then back again.  Our fearless thief Cindy made her first attempt at disarming the trap, only to be injured and nearly killed by the wicked blades.  Our heroes mustered their courage and helped their friend.  Who made a second attempt, with acrobatic flair made it through the trap, and disabled it for her friends.

Our heroes passed their first test.  As they traveled on, they followed some stairs down and were faced with a long cavernous pit with almost no way across.  In the middle of the pit high above was a stone beam.  It was itself almost fifty feet away and 20 feet high, would they be able to reach it with a rope and swing across the cavern.  They realized that there was more to this puzzle.  Using a staff they checked the edge of the cavern for anything useful and found a possible path, but the path could not be seen and there was no way to know where it went.  A bag of grain was retrieved from the orcs stash and handfuls were thrown over the void revealing a hidden path.

Once again, our heroes successfully passed the test.  At the end of this pit was solid ground of tiled stone.  They could go south along another hallway or in addition, the west was great double doors.  Our heroes first ventured to the doors and found them locked, after ten minutes of trying they realized the complicated lock would take a long time to crack and so they continued their journey south.

There they found a door that opened in to a room.  In the room were a set of double doors to the south and north and a set of stairs across from where they came in.  Our heroes slowly and quietly entered the room.  They could hear movement up the stairs.  Theirastra and Cindy stealthily moved towards the stairs and easily dispatched two orcs guarding the landing.  They can see light filtering in from the late afternoon sun.  They slowly make their way up the stairs and surprise four orcs.  An orc witch doctor, a bolt thrower and two orc drudges.  They press their advantage and attack.  The four orcs fell easily to their onslaught.  Tired and weary from the day’s adventure they rest and make camp.

What will the next day bring, will they survive?  What was behind the door they did not open.  They rest satisfied with their accomplishments and prepare for what tomorrow might bring.

Granted it has only been a few days since I started looking for gamers in my area, I thought there would be at least one other person, but I guess I was wrong.  Where have all the gamers gone.  Had one friend post that I should join WOW, been there done that, not gonna happen.  I enjoy the get togethers and human interaction.

Still going to keep looking, hopefully there are some gamers in my area.