Welcome back to the series of Session reports regarding a (currently) nameless road-trip campaign, where I do reports of my D&D games with the LJF crew…more or less in character ^^ Let’s continue with the second module used: Forge of Fury. This part will treat the logs I saved.

Dramatis personæ

Same as part 0’s.

Report

So, we were off to the Glitterhame! We decided both against delivering our beards haul from the Mountain Door to the orcs and following the river in the depths, staying dry on the path to the south-east. Once arrived in a big cave serving as a mausoleum, we decided to go north, in order to get to the part shown on the plan Grack gave us. On our way north, we found a leucrotta — badger-stag thing loving to imitate voices —, some dwarf guards and the Glitterhame’s backdoor, up on the mountain. They could have signaled that better…on our way to the Glitterhame’s entrance — because of course they put the emergency exit outside the complex — we found the lair of some rubbery beasts, just by the door. I guess Ulf’s dwarves amuse themselves by listening to the fights… Once inside, we found an entry hall with two dwarf warriors statues and a door to the east…which happens to be a false door. Triggering the statues axes to brain me and put me down. I hate statues…

After getting saved by Dessia and finding an hidden door behind the eastern statue, we ended up hunting an invisible dwarf fighter in the hall, whom we unfortunately only dispatched after he split us, put an axe into Dever and taunted us about how Ulf is leagues above them. Well, given how unsuccessful they were — their traps for what it’s worth, were very successful — I doubt Ulf will be much of a problem. Unlike that bloody mad druid with his zombie plants… After that ambush, we went into the forge, dispatched the mage blacksmith’s assistants…and he took me down with a fireball. After getting saved by Dain this time, we decided to sleep in the ore storage and I decided to pilfer the unfinished crown, which was apparently Ulf trying to get himself a Supreme Way complete set.

A good night of sleep later, we explored the kitchen — where we found nothing and got attacked by a table —, the dwarves’ sleeping quarters — where we found lots of silver and cooper coins and got attacked by a carpet —, some rooms filled with trash — where we found pricey decorative items and got attacked by murderous dummies —, the library — where we found an extraplanar being or a powerful spellcaster member of the Shion Repeating Things Others Just Said club — and the sub-hall linking all these rooms — where we found skeletons, bodies to give a send-off to, and I got flattened by an earth elemental — before getting back to the main hall. After resting a bit, we visited the Maker of Death’s — aka Durgeddin — lair, where I promptly got dispatched by two giant and frightfully quick skeletons he animated when we entered the place. Alas, there was nothing to show for our efforts in this room, so we went to sleep I the dwarves’ sleeping quarters before tackling Ulf.

The next day, we did a beeline for Ulf’s throne room and fought Ulf, his last dwarf follower, and his two dogs. We beat up the two dwarves — without problems! I knew Ulf would be a pushover — without killing the dogs, ransacked Ulf’s quarters, went back to the orcs to get our bounty and went back to Knurl, leaving the dogs at a farm on our way back.

It wasn’t a bad trip: we got rid of a group of xenophobic dwarves who would have been a terrible headache down the line I just know it, and for once got a fair amount of money for our troubles. Unfortunately, on our way out of the complex, Irina’s sword decided to make itself known and subject Irina to a vision: no rest for the weary…

And here ends my reports of Forge of Fury. So, next time, Expedition to Castle Ravenloft’s session reports!

Welcome back to the series of Session reports regarding a (currently) nameless road-trip campaign, where I do reports of my D&D games with the LJF crew…more or less in character ^^ Let’s continue with the second module used: Forge of Fury. This part will treat the sessions up to the first log I saved.

Dramatis personæ

Same as Sunless Citadel’s, with the following differences:

• Vasco is definitely out.
• Irina passes main tank.
• Naesala becomes more physical damage dealer than tank…when RNGod agrees…and sneak attacks are possible ^^ He definitely passes main scout though.

Report

N.B. : This report was unfortunately done a fair amount of time after the fact and without the benefit of the logs, so errors are to be expected.

We decided to leave Oakhurst for Knurl, accompanied by Dessia who decided to do her pilgrimage with us, in order to look into that letter we found speaking of Durgeddin’s group: from what Dain told us, that group was very orcophobe — not that I blamed them much…at the time — and very dead. So we packed some provisions for the trip across Adri Forest, to Knurl. Once arrived there, I got thrown into the role of “face of the group”, owing to being the only Goblin-speaker and there being no Orcish-speaker. After asking around, we learnt where Durgeddin’s Forge was and realised that there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in Phlegethos that the ruling council would pay for or reward expeditions to Durgeddin’s Forge unless its denizens are either on the war path or heavily perturbing trade. So we had to go at it alone, hoping we would pay ourselves with the forge’s riches or find a noble willing to finance our expedition. We finally ended up deciding to go at it alone and wing it.

On approaching the stronghold’s entrance, we met a priestess and a couple of guards who enquired of our reasons for coming there. After getting told that I came to seek a smithing apprenticeship — and that the group at large came by curiosity — they decided to kill us all and use our bodies for target practice for unknown reasons. We thwarted that particularly ill-thought attempt which prompted Dain to comment that his fellow dwarves were lacking in hospitality. After rushing across the courtyard (uselessly because there were no archers or crossbowdwarves stationed at the murder-holes we spied on the walls), we entered the hold and met the guards we expected to be changing us in pincushions to be chilling out behind the door. Two of them tried to block us while two others tried to cut the rope bridge crossing a chasm just behind the door and the last one fled, presumably to warn his colleagues of our survival. Dain intercepted the two on our side which allowed Irina and I to rush the bridge and take care of the two on the other side, who spent their time calling us greenskin lovers, for reasons that reason ignore.

Once inside, we quickly found holding cells containing people who ran afould of this hold’s denizens: in the first, a couple of halflings merchants we swiftly escorted outside. In the second though, we found Grack, a orc scout from a tribe living there before the dwarves came back and unwilling to just up and leave their home. Apparently he was sent a few days ago to gather information on the dwarves’ defences and got captured: he would be more than willing to bring us to his chief to broker an alliance. Our group being cross at being welcomed with arrows to the face, we agreed to accompany him to the orc-held areas.

Arriving there, after dealing with the priestess and a couple of adepts by a shrine to Clangeddin, we met with Zuhgan, chief of the orcish tribe…who made a point of speaking only Orcish during our meeting. Using Grack as our translator, we got a mission to clear the area from a group of xenophobic dwarves led by one Ulf who decided to revive Durgeddin’s legacy. We were to be paid on killing the leader of these dwarves, paid extra per dwarf killed — to be confirmed by bringing back their beards — and warned by our mission-givers that the dwarf leader had a gong allowing him to call to his side all of his folllowers and got his hands on a magical item allowing him to use some techniques of the Sublime Way. That item could serve as confirmation that we slew him, but we’d get to keep it. So, first port of call, the front of the complex: the Mountain Door!

After looting the dead priestess, we decided to seek the Mountain Door’s guard room, fought a few guards in a hidden room overlooking the entrance — now, why didn’t they shoot us I have no Oerthly idea —, found an abandoned cupboard on our way…and I got hit by poisonous gas for my troubles. Then, after we found and cleaned up the guard room — fight during which I just ran interference, due to being weakened —, we found the barracks, barricaded them and called it a night. We woke up to some sound in the hall…and an ambush on the other side. After fending off the ambush — and confirming that these were the last hostile dwarves in the Mountain Door — we went off to the forge proper.

And here my saved logs begin. So, next time, part 1 of the Forge of Fury session reports!