Trollopulous Adjusted Session 87 (Machodor #47); Kidnapped!

   

     

not what it appears

Timekeeping

This session took place on 26/09/2024, and the PCs adventured for 2 days.

Player Characters Present

Slippery Pete (Level 8 Thief, wearer of the Hat of Disguise and wielder of the Black Dagger)

Sever (Level 7 Pegasus Corps Ranger of Machodor, wielder of Were'shbane and wearer of the Girdle of Cloud Giant Strength)

Giuseppe (Level 7 Paladin of Rome, Brovenloft, wielder of a Dragonslayer and the Shield of Protection from Missiles)

Comfort Rod (Level 4 Cleric, wielder of the Hammer of Giant Influence)

Introduction

This session report has been embargoed until now due to certain information it contains (that I won't be drawing attention to apart from this disclaimer). Certain patrons, who until now had been busy establishing themselves or interacting with each other, are finally making moves that the PCs have chosen to interact with themselves. These concerns will dominate the next series of sessions and reports. Keep in mind that none of the dramatics that follow were pre-planned; but are all the direct result of patron actions clashing with PC agency, and impartial DM resolution.

Downtime

With the leaders of the Whyte Company of mercenaries, survivors of the Battle Braunstein session, killed by the Talibandit leader Usama Loot Laden when he attacked Guarda, command of the remnant fell to the Magic-User Blackthorn. He decided he had had enough of playing a good boy, and turned to a life of crime. He choose to strike at the most well known target in Guarda, the Countess. For the party, no downtime occurred as last session ended right before this one.

Session Report

"Countess Echellet has been kidnapped!" 

Having only just returned to Schloss Ragnar, the news came to the party at via the enigmatic Pegasus 6th Company cleric, Sixtus. It seems that he had means of getting this information almost in real time. Details were scarce, but there was no doubt that the Guardan leader, wounded in the previous attack on the town, was gone. 

The party immediately set off to investigate, as they approached the town they could see the place was in an uproar; word had gotten out. Three of the five militia companies in the town were setting off in three different directions to search for the countess. One heading out into the south west was nearly out of sight, while the other two were in a pushing and shoving match with Garrison guards manning the check points leading into the mountains north and east.

The party managed to settle matters down and got the other militia companies, even the one heading south west, to return to their tents. Then started the investigation proper.

Saffira the maid

At Echellet's villa they spoke to the chief maid, Saffira, who told them how she had stumbled upon the kidnappers and was tied up while they escaped with the countess. To cut a long story short, the party were able to confirm her story and turn up the information about the Whyte Company remnants and that they had left town, heading east, just the night before. When asked the Guards pleaded that, after all, they had no orders to stop people leaving; and yes they may have had a wagon or two that could have concealed a person in it.

It had been a long day but the party did not want to let the trail go cold. This was just as well as the patron playing Blackthorn had given me additional orders right before the session, but we'll get to that.

The trail, a score of horses and a wagon, was easily for Sever to follow; but, as the party plodded on in the night a terrific storm rolled in. Fortunately this was not before they found that the trail turned to the south west, heading into the dead end Valley of the Pillars. The party hastened to find shelter nearby to wait out the storm, which finally ceased being lethal near dawn. However, the rumbling overhead made it clear it was still too dangerous for Pegasus flight, so the entire party proceeded at ground level into the valley.

As they neared the middle of the flat valley, they saw the two rows of pillars that gave it its name. If Bonecrusher was concerned at returning to the place Giuseppe had rescued him from last year, he gave no outwards sign. Beyond the pillars, where there should have been an altar, was instead a copse of trees. Giuseppe nudged Bonecrusher forward to investigate, but before he reached the trees he saw a shining glyph take form; they had stepped on a Glyph of Warding and set it off, wounding the war horse and pissing off the paladin. This alerted the men on the other side of the trees and they sprang into action and surprised the party.

Night Raven

Combat #1: Night Ravens, Mounted Crossbowmen and their level 5 Cleric. (MM, Merchants)

Rounds 5: Party Surprised for 1 Segment, Party win,  Enemy win, Tied Initiative, Party win.

Result: Party victory

Highlights: Sadly for Comfort Rod's henchman Domby, his lowly Dexterity of 5 meant he was surprised for 2 segments, and one of those he was the only valid target for the horsemen. With their crossbows firing at triple normal rate (as per DMG pg. 62) he did not survive. Otherwise, even with various advantages, the mounted crossbowmen were able to make little inroads in the party's HP.

Sever skimmed the ground with Convess so as to avoid triggering any further Glyphs (smart) and dispatched the Cleric there before he could complete his spell. Having little to show for a round of missile weapons the riders closed with Giuseppe and Sever while Slippery Pete and Comfort Rod took cover. Although they got in a few more hits, they also fell fowl of the attacks on 0-level by high level fighters rule and got a lot worse then they gave. After this they struggled on a bit longer and then broke for the valley's exit. Again Sever zoomed across at ground level and cut off their escape. They surrendered.

Slippery Pete went forward to examine the trees, and at his touch they disappeared; proving, if such proof was necessary, that he is an intelligent creature (at least for the purposes of an Hallucinatory Terrain spell). This revealed the enemy's tent encampment and wagon, and the altar that in a previous time Giuseppe had rescued his warhorse Bonecrusher. A panel in the altar had been opened, presumably by the enemy Cleric, and the treasure hidden within proved to be lucrative.

There was no sign of Echellet, or the magic user that was supposed to be leading the others. After a short period of extensive interrogation, one of the surviving Night Owls spilled the beans that Blackthorn had taken on the form of a weird oriental dragon and flown off with her and Crokus (a thief), intent on trading the countess to the Master of Winter.

Now, with Sever and Convess able to speed off in pursuit, the question became just how far ahead were Blackthorn, Crokus, and Echellet? Well, the (last minute) instructions were that Blackthorn would use Polymorph Self to change into a Tun Mi Lung Typhoon Dragon (this dragon is not in 1e btw (actually I'm informed it is in Oriental Adventurers)) and then carry the other two with him. All well and good, but at level 8 the spell would only last 160 minutes, not enough to reach his destination (the Master of Winter's valley). Travelling at half speed with the weight of two passengers, I calculated the distance travelled, then allowed that he had set off before the storm had started and then took shelter while he re-memorised another Polymorph Self spell (having also used Hallucinatory Terrain to hide his camp).

DMG pg. 40

So, for a 4th level spell it would take a minimum of 7 hours rest and study. This duration put him pretty much still at that spot getting ready when Sever would arrive. But I couldn't really make an exact call for this, even with all this detail; minutes could be the difference between Sever arriving on time and Blackthorn being gone.

 

Sever found the camp by noticing the tell tale, slightly out of place, forest high on a mountain side. He flew low over the tress in an attempt to achieve surprise and; meanwhile I had whipped up a quick d12 table, with 1 meaning the magic-user was long gone and 12 meaning he was just taking off. I then rolled...12!

Combat #2: Blackthorn (Level 8 Magic User)  & Crokus (Level 8 Thief)

Rounds 1: 2 segments of Surprise

Result:  Solo Sever victory

a sight to ruin any villain's getaway

Highlights: Sever saw the dragon lifting off and clearing the illusionary trees; with a thief looking guy riding on top, and a bundle the size of a woman being carried below. He achieved surprise (they weren't expecting him) and had two segments, one to dive close and one to attack with his lance. The target might have been in dragon form, but Polymorph Self grants no additional hit points or other such bonuses; one lance hit and the mage was dead, and plummeting eighty feet to the ground in human form. The thief, suddenly ride-less, doing the same. Sever's problem now was the plummeting bundle the dragon had been holding; but the ranger had planned for that as well. He launched himself from the saddle* while activating his Wings of Flying, then swooped down and caught the falling bundle; which is a pretty cool ToTM image I think you'll agree.

*quick release being a standard feature on Pegasus Corps saddles

The party had had these for a year before putting them to use.

Landing carefully, he confirmed that the bundle did contain the young woman Echellet, who appeared to be unconscious. He then looted the enemy of spell books and other items, then headed back to meet up with the party. 

As he took to the sky once again, he saw, far off to the east, a force of men marching in his direction (west). They had a number of wagons, and maybe two hundred men; but he was too far away to tell more. It was no time for scouting, so he headed back. When he reached the party, who were part way back to Guarda with the prisoners, Giuseppe was keen to ensure the safety of Echellet; but, after a moment, declared: "That's not her!"

The woman Sever had brought back, still unconscious, looked a lot like the Countess; but the Paladin had spent considerable time with her in the past and he spotted subtle differences. What could it mean? Was the dragon cult involved? Only time would tell.

Addendum

Blackthorn had sent spies after the both bank of Guarda and the countess, I calculated the times required and rolled for success of each operation. It turned out the the bank raid would take much longer to pull off. Frankly when he first gave these orders I was a bit underwhelmed, and then while eating dinner I started laughing like a maniac when I realised the implications of the second plot. He didn't know she wasn't the real countess! But by kidnapping her the players would most likely find out.

Session Statistics: 

Wilderness travel: 42  Miles

Combats: 2

Combat rounds: 6

Treasure and XP

Treasure & Items

16000 gp Gem Encrusted solid Gold sacrifice platter

220 sp, 40 gp loose change

Spellbooks 10800gp (Sarumin is very happy to purchase these from Sever, in addition he is prepared to offer his services for a period of two weeks)

Total Value: 26851 gp.

Shield of the Strict Rule (Identified in Guarda by Comfort Rod) 2000xp

Potion of Healing 200XP

Potion of Gaseous Form 300 XP 

Onyx Dog 200 XP

20 Light Warhorses, 1 Medium warhorse

1 suit of human sized plate mail

20 * Scailmail, Light Crossbow, Longsword

Monsters

13 Night Owls (bandits) 325 XP

7 Night Owls (bandits) Captured and handed over in Guarda 210 XP

5th Level Cleric Malric the Grim  500 XP

8th level Magic-User Blackthorn 1540 XP Soloed by Sever

8th Level Thief Crokus 1600 XP Soloed by Sever

30,586 XP & 26,851 GP Assignment

Slippery Pete (Level 8, E)  7647 XP & 6713 GP 

Sever (Level 7, E ) 10787 XP & 6713 GP 

Giuseppe (Level 7, E)  7647 XP & 6713 GP 

Comfort Rod (Level 4, E)  7647 XP & 6713 GP 

Graveyard

Domby (Henchman with Dex 5), double surprised and turned into a pin cushion in session #87

Luke (Half elf Fighter/Cleric level 1), tragically killed by a normal hydra while trying to cauterise one of its neck stumps in session  #86

Gurt the Green (Paladin level 3),  killed by a hydra bite in session  #86 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Pleasance (Footman level 0), killed by a phase spider bite in session #81

Siegward (Henchman Fighter level 1), killed by a phase spider bite in session #81

Tawadros (Henchman Fighter level 4),  killed by a phase spider bite in session #81 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Patria (Footman level 0), killed by a two headed snake bite in session #81

Deltacron (Dwarf Fighter/Thief level 1/1), threw his last flask of oil at, and was level drained to death by, a Vampire in session #76

Petrov the Prestidigitator (Magic-user level 1), killed again by the toxic gas of an Achaierai in session #72

Petrov the Prestidigitator (Magic-user level 1), wrong place, wrong time; killed by Sever the Ranger in session #72 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Red (Paladin Level 1), always popular with the ladies, he was eaten up by a female Roc in the Pizza Slice of Doom during session #67

Jacques Ocular (Magic User level 1), a fat green worm burrowed into his head and turned him into a Son Of Kyuss in Brovenloft in Session #43

Pino (Dwarf Footman level 0), Killed by a Frost Giant axe in the head in session #39

Paro (Dwarf Fighter/Thief level 2/2)  Killed by Winter Wolves and frozen in session #39

Zabib (1/2 Elf Fighter/Magic User level 1/1), Killed by Frost Giant rocks in downtime prior to session #39

Trollopulous Adjusted Session 86 (Machodor #46); The many heads of the Hydra

  

Local map for the session

     

Timekeeping

This session took place on 19/09/2024, and the PCs adventured for 7 days.

Player Characters Present

Sever (Level 7 Pegasus Corps Ranger of Machodor, wielder of Were'shbane and wearer of the Girdle of Cloud Giant Strength)

Giuseppe (Level 7 Paladin of Rome, Brovenloft, wielder of the Dragonslayer and the Shield of Protection from Missiles)

Gurt the Green (Level 3 Paladin, wielder of the Longsword+3) 

Luke (Level 1 Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric)

Introduction

The party was keen to serve up some payback to the forces of evil running loose in the mountains, and were not keen to follow things up in the PSoD. 

Downtime

Some days ago the party learned that the town of Guarda had suffered and attack by Gnolls, led in some manner by humans (knowns as the Talibandits). During his wanderings Giuseppe had found an alternate and faster route through the mountains near Castle Irish.

Session Report

It was a rainy day as they set off, soon passing through a passage in the mountains that Giuseppe had found. Within was the dwarf fort settlement of the Gumli Clan. They charged a modest fee to pass, which included access to the interior of their fortifications and the common area. The players took a break in the "Short Inn" and found the locals to be enigmatic, then carried on south. They reached the area where the Merchant Company, the Lilac Leaf, had been attacked and largely destroyed by bandits, and here they examined the site, looking for clues. They found some strange ones, including what looked like the claw marks of a very large flying creature on the ground nearby. However, nothing pointed to any particular direction they could find the bandits.

As a plan B they figured they could hunt a hydra that in previous times they had noticed living in the area, it was on the way to Guarda anyway and perhaps there would be more clues to find there.

They spend the night in a narrow gully near the valley the party expected the Hydra to be in, and the next morning the rain that had been falling was cleared by a strong wind. They caught the beast as it was heading out for its breakfast.

Hydra baby photo

Combat #1: Hydra with 11 heads (MM)

Rounds 4: Monster, Party, Monster, Monster

Result: Costly (in  more ways than one) Party victory

Highlights:  These creatures can really absorbed some damage and dish it out. Luke and Gurt killed in battle.

The party had grown much more powerful since the first time they had encountered this hydra; but, as it bore down on their well prepared ambush, they saw that it too had grown. The monster now had 11 heads!

Giuseppe sent his henchmen out to fire from horseback on the creature from its flanks, then he bore in on Bonecrusher. Sever charged with Convess, and so did Gurt on his mount; with Luke, safely at the back of the formation, preparing fire to use on the creature. 

Heads were chopped at a steady rate, but the long writhing necks enabled the remainder to snap at anyone in melee. There was also the (well founded) fear that the heads might grow back, Luke went in to try and cauterise a neck stump, but was sadly bitten in two by one of the still intact heads. Then Gurt got piled on and went down with the exact amount of damage that was enough to kill him, his luck had run out. The mood shifted and the surviving party members grimly continued until the last remain head was severed and the creature went down, not to rise again. It was not the regenerating kind.

With the loss of two party members, thoughts turned to Raise Dead. Logistically they had to get the bodies to either Minas Mandalf or St. Raul, and then find a caster high enough who was available; there was a better chance of cleric availability at the Capital. Another matter was cost, funds were low, they needed to find the Hydra's lair, if they could, and secure any treasure it may have been hoarding. Sure enough, Sever was easily able to follow the creature's tracks to a cave entrance. Inside was an area the Hydra has been using for a bed, it was strewn with shiny objects, and nearby were the remains of what once had been a hidden room; but now the wall separating it from the cave was gone, probably battered down at some point by the hydra moving around. Here there were some clay pots, that turned out to be trapped, but the fighter heavy party just absorbed the damage through the selfless Giuseppe. Inside the pots were a lot of low value coins, some gems, and two pieces of jewellery. Was there enough here to pay for Raise Dead?

The party carried on to Guarda with the bodies of their slain companions, the locals kept a respectful distance, but did let them know that one unit of militia had prepared and stood read to go with them into the mounts to try and exact vengeance on the Gnolls and the Talibandits. Such matters were no long top priority to the party (but that would change later). Here they were joined by Comfort Road and then they travelled to Schloss Ragnar (known for the best prices on gems and jewellery). Their gains turned out to be enough for Gurt, but not poor Luke, the latter was buried in a ceremony befitting the demi-human.

Sever flew to Minas Mandalf with Gurt's heavy body strapped to Convess. Landing at the Scout Regiment level of the Pegasus Corps Tower in the heart of the city, he then rushed to the duty Cathedral. There was a quick check of the resurrection survival table in the PHB, and with Gurt's Constitution of 16 it was an easy roll to make. Now there was a short discussion as to whether this meant the Paladin had lost a point of Constitution; we all seemed to remember it this way. However, but we couldn't actually find a justification for this in the rules. It seems that AD&D 1e doesn't say anything about losing a point, just that your lifetime limit for Raise Dead is your Constitution. 

When Gurt had fully recovered, on September 24th, Sever flew him back to the party at Schloss Ragnar. Feeling like a new man, Gurt had an idea that they could hunt big cats west of Schloss Ragnar (who knows why?) but when the day dawned it was foggy. This wasn't ideal for hunting, but rather than waste another day, the party decided to try their luck anyway. Sure enough, they found something, and it found them. 

Combat #2: 13 Wolves (MM)

Rounds 2: Tied, Monsters win 

Result:  Party victory, 8 wolves retreated into the fog.

Highlights: Comfort Rod, Luke's player's other character, lost his horse.

Using my compass dice, I found that the wolves were approaching from the north west, and so was the wind. This helped explain why they had no inkling of the party's presence until they stepped into view. Sever tried his best to intimidate them, but once they saw horseflesh they attacked. After the victory the party set about butchering and skinning the wolves, and while they were doing so ten Trolls rolled up on them from the East.

The PCs were not about to take on this group
and evaded them before returning to Schloss Ragnar.

Session Statistics: 

Wilderness travel: 51 Miles

Combats: 2

Combat rounds: 6

Treasure and XP

Trollopulous Adjusted Session 86 (Machodor #46)

Treasure & Items

2 Jewellery

6000 gp Ring

8000 gp Comb

Total Value: 14000 gp.

7 Gems 

10 gp Blue Quartz, 10 gp Hematite, 10 gp Turquoise, 150 gp Jasper, 20 gp Moss Agate, 200 gp Star Rose Quartz, 50 gp Hematite. 

Total Value: 450 gp.

3000 cp

3000 sp

5000 ep

200pp

Wolf Pelts 50gp

Hydra hide & heart(250 gp from Professor Dorol)

Monsters

1 11 Headed Hydra 4285 XP

5 Wolves 325 XP

8 Wolves Escaped

10 Trolls Evaded

Total XP

23,025 XP & 18,415 GP Assignment

Sever (Level 7, E ) 7675 XP &  2638 GP

Giuseppe (Level 7, E) 7675 XP & 2638 GP 

  with henchmen Bishoy and Tawadros (F4, E) 3837 XP & 3069 GP

Gurt the Green (Level 3, E)  65 XP & 10 GP  -- wolf battle only

Comfort Rod (Level 4, E)  65 XP & 10 GP -- wolf battle only

Graveyard

Luke (Half elf Fighter/Cleric level 1), tragically killed by a normal hydra while trying to cauterise one of its neck stumps in session  #86

Gurt the Green (Paladin level 3),  killed by a hydra bite in session  #86 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Pleasance (Footman level 0), killed by a phase spider bite in session #81

Siegward (Henchman Fighter level 1), killed by a phase spider bite in session #81

Tawadros (Henchman Fighter level 4),  killed by a phase spider bite in session #81 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Patria (Footman level 0), killed by a two headed snake bite in session #81

Deltacron (Dwarf Fighter/Thief level 1/1), threw his last flask of oil at, and was level drained to death by, a Vampire in session #76

Petrov the Prestidigitator (Magic-user level 1), killed again by the toxic gas of an Achaierai in session #72

Petrov the Prestidigitator (Magic-user level 1), killed by Sever the Ranger in session #72 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Red (Paladin Level 1), always popular with the ladies, he was eaten up by a female Roc in the Pizza Slice of Doom during session #67

Jacques Ocular (Magic User level 1), a fat green worm burrowed into his head and turned him into a Son Of Kyuss in Brovenloft in Session #43

Pino (Dwarf Footman level 0), Killed by a Frost Giant axe in the head in session #39

Paro (Dwarf Fighter/Thief level 2/2)  Killed by Winter Wolves and frozen in session #39

Zabib (1/2 Elf Fighter/Magic User level 1/1), Killed by Frost Giant rocks in downtime prior to session #39

Trollopulous Adjusted Session 85 (Machodor #45); Canoes in the Dark

 

A suddenly and inexplicably popular item acquired last session

     

Timekeeping

This session took place on 12/09/2024, and the PCs adventured for 2 days.

Player Characters Present

Slippery Pete (Level 8 Thief, wearer of the Hat of Disguise and wielder of the Black Dagger)

Sever (Level 7 Pegasus Corps Ranger of Machodor, wielder of Were'shbane and wearer of the Girdle of Cloud Giant Strength)

Giuseppe (Level 7 Paladin of Rome, Brovenloft, wielder of a Dragonslayer and the Shield of Protection from Missiles)

Sheamus (Level 6 Irish Fighter of Brovenloft, wielder of the Drewblade) 

Gurt the Green (Level 3 Paladin, wielder of the Longsword+3) 

Luke (Level 1 Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric)

Introduction

Some players love the Pizza Slice of Doom, while other players hate that they've been stymied at what seems like every turn. This session had something for both camps.

Downtime

The two weeks or so of downtime were spent travelling to Minas Mandalf with Prince Barin the Ranger, and his company, with a stop over in St Raul. On the way word caught up to them that Guarda had suffered an attack by Gnolls.

Session Report

The player packed their canoes once again and set off to the PSoD, there they retraced their steps (metaphorically in places), until they had reached the "bowl" area where last week they had found Prince Barin. The prince had said his men would have continued down a drain like exit to the bowl room if they had not encounter the PCs. He had also given his ring to Sever as a token of thanks. More than a token, this ring could open otherwise locked doors in the Sky City.

I have to someone shamefully admit to using the Wilderness Survival Guide for rules on Canoes.

Lifting the panel, they could see it was just as the Barin had described. Below was a channel heading west. The water there was just deep enough to use the canoes, so they lower them down and cautious began exploring. The water flowed gently in the same direction, and as they explored the water depth increased. Turning south, they soon found a landing just above the water line, with a door visible on the nearer wall. This temptation proved too much and they piled onto the landing and tied off the canoes. Using the ring provided by Prince Barin, Sever found that the door opened for him easily. The room beyond had a some trapped chests, tied to a paralysis beam firing from the ceiling. Slippery Pete failed to find it and, once triggered, a secret door opened and let in a bunch of hungry metallic beetles.

Combat #1: 14 PSoD Beetles (MM)

Rounds 2: Monsters win, Party wins.

Result: Party victory

Highlights: This trap could have been much deadlier. Even though it was set off, the party's tactic of just leaving the room and letting Sever open the chests paid dividends.

After collecting the treasure and a sample of the beetles, the party took to the water again and headed east. The passage widened and deepened and turned north, where another landing could be seen. This too had a door and the party repeated the process from earlier, this time finding nothing of interest. However, something of interest found them. I had rolled a 1 on the random encounter d6 and a 20 on the monster table. Due to the layout of the dungeon, I had already decided that any level VIII rolled would be a Purple Worm, but I never expected it to pop up right here when the party weren't even in the water.

Combat #2: 1 Purple Worm (MM)

Rounds 6: Monster wins, Tied Initiative, Party win, Party win, Party win, Party win.

Result:  Party victory

Highlights: Heroics from Slippery Pete and Sever, a near death experience for Gurt.

There could be no other interpretation, the monster was IN the water, and, as the party floundered about getting ready to push on, it struck. The 50' long worm opened its maw and in went Gurt, just like that. The other canoes, paddling for a better fighting location, first had to check to see if they capsized (WSG p 45) and by some miracle they stayed upright and buoyant. With Gurt in peril would they stay and fight, or what? No, they advanced in the hope of luring the worm to a battleground better suited them. All but Slippery Pete that is, who, in a fit of heroism, dived into the water and attempted to back stab the giant purple worm. This had mixed results and he ended up with his black dagger buried to the hilt in the hide of the creature and hanging on for dear life as it pursued the rest of the party.

Now, as they were not attempting to evade (which would mean leaving Gurt for dead), but to lure the creature after them, I didn't use to the evasion rules but instead simply went with initiative; if the worm won it would move first and attack, if it moved second the fast canoes would just out pace it. On the plus side, it could not get an attack in with its tail while chasing them. The first round was tied and the monster again tried to swallow a PC, missing and also just managing not to capsize the boat that PC was in (I forget who now).

And so several rounds passed with the party on a streak of initiative win; mapping was impossible as the subterranean river corridor first passed under the section where they had begun, then turned east and widened significantly. Along with this the speed of the water also increased. Meanwhile, Slippery Pete was stabbing away from the outside while Gurt, having had the prescience to prepare a dagger by dangling it from his mouth tied to a handkerchief (!), was stabbing away from the inside; although each round he was loosing the strength to do so.

unknown to the Paladin, he had 6 rounds to get out.

Suddenly everything changed, ahead a waterfall was rushing towards them, spilling out over empty space into the dark, and there was no missing it! The canoes were going over, but the players chose to approach the 50' fall in their own ways. Luke leapt out of his canoe, jammed his oar into the side of the rock and hung on for his life. Giuseppe and his henchmen, along with Sheamus and McScales, all jumped clear of the canoes to splash down into the water below. All but McScales and those in magic armour now had to try and get back to the surface to breath. 

But that was not the biggest issue. Of course, as well, over went the worm in pursuit of them, it didn't seem at all perturbed at doing so while Slippery Pete clung on to its back. Sever had chosen this moment to activate his Wings of Flying. These have a very limited use period, but were perfect for this situation. Next round with the other characters bobbing around and their stuff all over the place under water, the Purple Worm surfaced ready to chow down on them; the daggers of Slippery Pete and Gurt weren't going to stop it. And that's when Sever dived and let loose with Were'shbane. He chopped the creature with so much damage that I paused to calculate whether he had hit the section of the worm where Gurt was (some other MM entries specify this for creatures that can swallow their prey whole). He ended up being quite a distance away from the mighty slash, and so still had a job ahead of him to get out of the now dead monster; but soon enough he burst forth, having cheated death by seconds.

This was all pretty cinematic, but once they had scooped themselves and their loot back into righted canoes, and Sever had flown back up and rescued Luke, they had to asked themselves where the hell they were. Certainly not in the Pizza Slice of Doom anymore. After Sever had done a short survey until his wings were nearly exhausted, they realised they had passed into in the belly of the extinct volcano that the dungeon sat on. Water had come through via a break in the volcano wall and filled a large area, the edge of which Sever had not found, but they theorised could not be as far as the huge cave worm holes they had found here in the past. There was a gentle current heading south, but they chose to strike north, hoping to hug the wall of the place and work around until they reached a dry surface.

This information flummoxed some of the relatively newer players.

The water was strange, driven by the varying amounts of heat from below, some sections were almost too hot to paddle through and had to be navigated around, others were cold. Aside from their trusty Continual Light stones the place was very dark, and the light attracted many small fish to the surface to gawk at them. Oblivious to the risk, they went on until a Giant Catfish was attracted to the teaming fish around them. Fortunately Sever's Ranger senses tingled in time to avoid another aquatic battle (but I probably should have penalised the chances for this due to the light situation, oh well). Later, a similar thing happened with a pair of Giant Gar, also content to feed on the small fish and not bother the party. Eventually the group struck land and hid their canoes among the rocks.

Here the session faltered, there was a puzzling situation to solve: how to get back into the dungeon; but it was totally open ended. In the end the players instead focussed on the puzzle of just how to get the hell out of there. They went east into the steamy area of the vast underground chamber, again narrowly avoiding an enemy, in this case 50 Firenewts, and continued on. They had hit upon the idea of traversing to the other side and attempting to climb up out of the steam vent that they had reason to believe led all the way up to the ears in Mel Gibson's head (it's a long story). I wasn't going to rule out the method, but it wasn't going to be a quick or easy process, even with Sever's strength belt doing a lot of the work.

Finally they decided on an alternative plan, rest long enough for Sever to be able to use his wings again, then he could (hopefully) fly up out of the chimney like structures into the cyclopean city above, from there he could cross to the Irish outpost, get Convess and fly back to pull them out one by one. The night passed uneventfully in a miserable cold camp. Sever flew out to the surface above safely, but had to walk most of the way across to the Irish camp, at one point narrowly avoiding a shapeless horror moving about the ruins of a many cornered building.

United once again with the Pegasus, the remainder of the rescue was time consuming in game, but eventually the rest of the party were ferried back to the Irish camp, with Giuseppe holding the fort until then.

Session Statistics: 

Wilderness travel: 6 Miles

Mapped Dungeon area traversed:  1600 ft

New Dungeon corridor mapped: 270 ft

New rooms mapped: 2

Combats: 2

Combat rounds: 8

Total time in the Dungeon (approx): 4 Turns

Treasure and XP

Trollopulous Adjusted Session 85 (Machodor #45)

Treasure & Items

3500gp

Beetle carapace

Purple Worm stinger

Monsters

14 Beetles 300 XP 

1 Purple Worm 6120 XP

1 Giant Catfish Evaded

2 Giant Gar Evaded

54 Firenewts Evaded

1 "shapeless horror" Evaded

Total 6420 XP

9920 XP & 3500 GP Assignment

Slippery Pete (Level 8, E) 1322  XP &  467 GP

Sever (Level 7, E )  1322  XP &  467GP

Giuseppe (Level 7, E) 1322  XP &  467GP 

  with henchmen Bishoy and Tawadros (F4, E) 661 XP & 233 GP

Sheamus (Level 6, E) 1322  XP &  467GP 

  with McScales (Level 2, E) 661 XP &  233 GP

Gurt the Green (Level 3, E)  1322  XP & 467GP

Luke (Level 1, E)  1322  XP & 467GP

Graveyard

Pleasance (Footman level 0), killed by a phase spider bite in session #81

Siegward (Henchman Fighter Level 1), killed by a phase spider bite in session #81

Tawadros (Henchman Fighter Level 4),  killed by a phase spider bite in session #81 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Patria (Footman level 0), killed by a two headed snake bite in session #81

Deltacron (Dwarf Fighter/Thief level 1/1), threw his last flask of oil at, and was level drained to death by, a Vampire in session #76

Petrov the Prestidigitator (Magic-user level 1), killed again by the toxic gas of an Achaierai in session #72

Petrov the Prestidigitator (Magic-user level 1), killed by Sever the Ranger in session #72 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Red (Paladin Level 1), always popular with the ladies, he was eaten up by a female Roc in the Pizza Slice of Doom during session #67

Jacques Ocular (Level 1 Magic User), a fat green worm burrowed into his head and turned him into a Son Of Kyuss in Brovenloft in Session #43

Pino (Dwarf Footman level 0), Killed by a Frost Giant axe in the head in session #39

Paro (Dwarf Fighter/Thief level 2/2)  Killed by Winter Wolves and frozen in session #39

Zabib (1/2 Elf Fighter/Magic User level 1/1), Killed by Frost Giant rocks in downtime prior to session #39

Improved Simulacrum

 

The expense involved in casting the level 7 Simulacrum spell proved to be too much, given the variability of the results. This version of the spell is very similar to having a guaranteed maximum result of using the original.

Improved Simulacrum (Illusion/Phantasm)

Level: 8 Components: V, S, M

Range: Touch Casting Time: Special

Duration: Permanent Saving Throw: None

Area of Effect: One creature

Explanation/Description: By means of this spell the magic-user is able to create 

a duplicate of any creature. The duplicate appears exactly the same as the real. 

There are differences: the simulacrum will have 60% of the hit points of the real creature, there will be personality differences, there will be some areas of knowledge which the duplicate does not have, and a detect magic spell will instantly reveal it as a simulacrum, as will a true seeing spell. At all times the simulacrum remains under the absolute command of the magic-user who created it, although no special telepathic link exists (unless of course the subject possesses telepathy), so command must be exercised in the normal manner. 

The spell creates the form of the creature, but it is only a zombie-like creature. A permanency spell and a clone spell must be used to give the duplicate a vital force, empowering the duplicate with 75% of the knowledge and personality of the original. The level, if any, of the simulacrum, will be 50% of the original creature. The duplicate creature is formed from ice or snow. The spell is cast over the rough form, and some piece of the creature to be duplicated must be placed inside the snow or ice. Additionally, the spell requires powdered ruby. The simulacrum has no ability to become more powerful, i.e. it cannot increase its levels or abilities.

So, what did all this cost?

Dungeon Masters Guide Page 115, Spell Research                                       Improved Simulacrum

Although a great library of arcana was created in the Minas Mandalf Keep, for this spell the University Library was used for reference. 

Duration of research: 8 Week base (minimum 9)

Chance of Success: 10 base +20 (Int) +16 (level) - 16 (spell level *2) = 30%

Note that according to the above formula, adjusting the chance of success upwards is VERY expensive. A domain would need to be at least an order of magnitude more wealthy to consider such spending.

However, when you consider the conditions under which spell research is possible, the cost in time may well be a bigger loss; if you have the money then finishing the spell research ASAP could indeed be worth it.

Results

Base cost 1600gp per week.

Weekly variable of 800 to 3200gp for additional materials. 

Duration of research: 8 Week base (with a minimum of 9)

Macho Mandalf was successful on week 9, and the total expenditure ended up at 32,800 gp. Let's hope this results in a saving compared to the original!

Trollopulous Adjusted Session 84 (Machodor #44); Prince Barin

     

Is this the Ranger they are looking for?

Timekeeping

This session took place on 29/08/2024, and the PCs adventured for 2 days.

Player Characters Present

Sever (Level 7 Pegasus Corps Ranger of Machodor, wielder of Were'shbane and wearer of the Girdle of Cloud Giant Strength)

Giuseppe (Level 7 Paladin of Rome, Brovenloft, wielder of a Dragonslayer and the Shield of Protection from Missiles) with henchmen Bishoy and Tawadros (F4)

Sheamus (Level 6, Irish Fighter from Brovenloft, wielder of the Drewblade) 

Gurt the Green (Level 3 Paladin, wielder of the Longsword+3) 

Luke (Level 1 Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric)

Introduction

not just a time saver

This adventure is the culmination of what happened when I followed this instruction for random character party encounters from Appendix C. Doing so, all by itself, has had a great domino effect on the last few sessions in particular.

The highest level character was a Ranger, so he was the leader. I also came up with a real rarity, a Bard. In the context of the Pizza Slice of Doom dungeon it was easy to say these were also guys that had been captured by King Vultan at some point and let loose in the forest level for hunting purposes. The source material provided the rest of the inspiration for this NPC, but it also clicked with something else going on, a side quest given to Sever from the Pegasus Corps Scout Regiment to find a high level ranger cleric that scrying had indicated was somewhere in the mountains.

Initially there was a particular spot that this party were in the dungeon, but as weeks passed I determined that they would not just be sitting around, so plotted their movements as they tried to find their way out. In this session those movements intersected with the party's.

Session Report

The prospect of navigating the watery areas in the dungeon focussed the players minds, and they hit upon the idea of bringing canoes with them. Sever's incredible strength made this a physical possibility; but, of course, there was not much call for canoes at Castle Irish in the middle of the mountains. Instead the party readied their one remaining orc battle wagon and made a detour to Eigermatt, where the wandering mountain river was accessible. Here they found canoes of good quality for sale. With this done they returned to the extinct volcano.

A suddenly and inexplicably popular item

The Irish camp at the entrance to the Pizza Slice of Doom reported no unusual occurrences, so the party retraced their steps from last session into the maintenance level. As usual, they easily made it as far as the broken elevator room without any trouble, but then saw that something drastic had happened to the dungeon at this point.

The way ahead was filled with tall grasses and enough water to create a localised swamp. Though it appeared to be navigable, the party were not about to just jump in; so they sent McScales (Lizardman henchman to Sheamus) forward with a rope tied to him. Being able to swim well, he was uniquely suited to this assignment and soon made it well into the area ahead. It was the lair of a large group of 8' tall bird creatures.

Combat #1: 10 Eblis (MM2)

Rounds 6: Monsters Surprise, Monsters win, Monsters win, Monsters win, Party win, Party win

Result: Party victory

Highlights:  I had a major issue adjudicating this fight, as I couldn't really believe the Eblis had 4 attacks with their beaks, since their description did nothing to confirm the stat block. The normal pattern for this is that No. Of Attacks reflects the number of distinct methods of attack; Claw, Claw, Bite for example. I didn't think 4 attacks with the beak was correct, not without it being mentioned in the details which it was not. However, 1-4 damage seemed to also argue in favour of multiple attacks, so I would do that next time. McScales earns his pay.

This group had one special member possessed illusionist spells (as per the MM2 entry) with Change Self and Hypnotic Pattern. My original idea was that he may impersonate a party member as they passed through, and exploit the ensuing confusion, however the party were reticent to even get their feet wet, and so tied a rope to McScales and sent him forward. The lizardman was uniquely suited to this role, and he swam forward without any idea of the danger. The tricksy Eblis transformed himself into a likeness of McScales, cut the rope and the followed it back to the party. The PCs got one look at what they thought was McScales returning, and then were hit with Hypnotic Pattern. Tragically, Sheamus in the front rank failed his save along with Comfort Rod and Tawardros; all were mesmerised. The other Eblis rushed forward to attack.

DMG p70

Beaks stabbed over and over at the Irish Fighter and, with the above bonus, they inflicted 32 hit points damage. He was in dire trouble. After this first round the party tried to fight while at the same time protecting the mesmerised. This is no easy thing in the abstract combat round of AD&D. I normally adjudicate general melee attacks by randomly rolling against all party members in combat, so, in this case, for 7 party members attacked by 10 Eblis I would use a 10d7 and then do the appropriate number of rolls to hit and damage. In this case I reduced the chances of the mesmerised players being targeted by using 10d14, with each active player getting get attacked on a range of two results (e.g. 1&2 for Sever) and mesmerised players only on one result (e.g. 14 for Shaemus). I've grown to rely on dice bots for quickly resolving large numbers of attacks like this, it really speeds up resolution.

With this settled the battle, still chaotic, stabilised somewhat and the two sides were able to inflict steady damage on each other as rounds went by. The turning point came when McScales, wondering where his rope went and hearing the sound of combat, returned to find the duplicate of himself and Sheamus nearly dead. The hitherto non-combatant former slave took decisive action, killing the Eblis shaman and thereby ending his spell.

Afterwards the party got in their canoes and paddled forward, carefully examining the swamp-like territory ahead, and found some hidden treasure consisting of two magical daggers.

Clear of the Eblis lair, they continued on and rowed their way into a new section of the dungeon. The area was like a big bowl; through which a lot water had washed through recently, leaving debris of all kinds everywhere and a trickle of water remaining. When they had last seen the area it was full of water and had mobile islands floating about, it was deemed by the party then to be too dangerous to explore, but now things were very different. In the middle of the bowl was an accumulation of flotsam, like the plug hole in a bath tub, and they coasted to this spot, stopped, and took their bearings. Nearby was the remains of a tree creature that had been hacked to pieces (this was the source of the vine attacks from an earlier session). There were also a number of crudely carved canoes gathered together by the water. It appeared that someone had been very active in the area recently. The ceiling high above was a mess of huge tree roots; it was impossible to tell what, if anything, was up there.

Combat #2: 8 Diakk (MM2)

Rounds 5(9): Monsters win, Monsters win, Party win, Monsters win, Monsters win

Result:  Party victory

Highlights: Comfort Rod immediately set out to cast Chant as soon as the party stopped in the centre of the bowl, this allowed the spell to take effect in the middle of the battle and on a least one round saved Sheamus from being hit twice.

From all around started up strange hooting and cawing sounds, and here and there could be seen the weirdest bird-like creatures yet encountered in this place. They had the look of something at once a mockery of nature and demonic. Was their presence at all related to the actions of the Eldritch Horrors in residence that the party had long sought to defeat? Who knows. There creatures were of two kinds, one resembled a huge stork with a human-like head and face and thin, human-like arms. The other resembled huge squat pelicans with foreshortened bills on human-like heads. The sounds the creatures made were not just disconcerting...

they were deadly

I didn't expect the party to sit there and let this build up, but as Comfort Rod had immediately launched into, "The Lord is my shepherd", they were waiting for his Chant spell to take effect. So, 4 rounds later Sever and others failed their saves and became weakened, greatly reducing their damage potential. They did benefit from the overlapping protection from evil zones of Giuseppe and Gurt. The evil birds bounded in and out, causing much damage, but then some bounded away and did not return, leaving a smaller number behind that appeared ready to fight to the end. Battle continued.

Then, there was something new; enchanting pipe music, not at all like the sounds made by the monsters. They could hear it all around them, but its source seemed to be in the direction of the roots in the ceiling above. Some of the party failed their saves versus bard charm, but all stood back and watched as green clad men rappelled down. One of them, a dashing looking man with a moustache, blasted the last remaining bird with a Hawkman hand crossbow. It was the Ranger Sever had hoped to find, Prince Barin he was called, and, after a short discussion, the two parties decided to leave the dungeon together and later travel to Minas Mandalf.

Session Statistics: 

Wilderness travel: 20 Miles

Mapped Dungeon area traversed:  1400 ft

New Dungeon corridor mapped: 180 ft

New rooms mapped: 1

Combats: 2

Combat rounds: 6

Total time in the Dungeon (approx): 11 Turns

Treasure and XP

Trollopulous Adjusted Session 84 (Machodor #44)

Treasure & Items

Dagger +1, +2 vs. creatures smaller than man-sized 100 XP

Dagger +2, +3 vs. creatures larger than man-sized 200 XP

Monsters

10 Eblis 2400 XP 

4 Diakk  6672 XP

Total 9072 XP

9372 XP &  0 GP Assignment

Sever (Level 7, E ) 1562 XP &  0 GP

Giuseppe (Level 7, E) 1562  XP &  0 GP 

  with henchmen Bishoy and Tawadros (F4, E) 781 XP & GP

Sheamus (Level 6, E) 1562  XP &  0 GP 

Comfort Rod (Level 4, E) 1562  XP & 0 GP

Gurt the Green (Level 3, E) 1562  XP & 0 GP

Graveyard

Pleasance (Footman level 0), killed by a phase spider bite in session #81

Siegward (Henchman Fighter Level 1), killed by a phase spider bite in session #81

Tawadros (Henchman Fighter Level 4),  killed by a phase spider bite in session #81 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Patria (Footman level 0), killed by a two headed snake bite in session #81

Deltacron (Dwarf Fighter/Thief level 1/1), threw his last flask of oil at, and was level drained to death by, a Vampire in session #76

Petrov the Prestidigitator (Magic-user level 1), killed again by the toxic gas of an Achaierai in session #72

Petrov the Prestidigitator (Magic-user level 1), killed by Sever the Ranger in session #72 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Red (Paladin Level 1), always popular with the ladies, he was eaten up by a female Roc in the Pizza Slice of Doom during session #67

Jacques Ocular (Level 1 Magic User), a fat green worm burrowed into his head and turned him into a Son Of Kyuss in Brovenloft in Session #43

Pino (Dwarf Footman level 0), Killed by a Frost Giant axe in the head in session #39

Paro (Dwarf Fighter/Thief level 2/2)  Killed by Winter Wolves and frozen in session #39

Zabib (1/2 Elf Fighter/Magic User level 1/1), Killed by Frost Giant rocks in downtime prior to session #39

Trollopulous Adjusted Session 82 (Machodor #43); From Saint Raul to the Dungeon

    

The Machodorian City of Saint Raul

Timekeeping

This session took place on 15/08/2024, and the PCs adventured for 5 days.

Player Characters Present

Sever (Level 7 Pegasus Corps Ranger of Machodor, wielder of Were'shbane and wearer of the Girdle of Cloud Giant Strength)

Giuseppe (Level 7 Paladin of Rome, Brovenloft, wielder of a Dragonslayer and the Shield of Protection from Missiles)

Gurt the Green (Level 3 Paladin, wielder of the Longsword+3) 

Luke (Level 1 Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric)

Hawken (Level 1 Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric)

Introduction

For the first time in a long while the bulk of the players began the session outside of the Bandit Mountains and in Machodor proper; in the city of Saint Raul the Cyclopean, patron of the misborn. Founded in the aftermath of the nuclear attack on Minas Mandalf on the eve of Brovenloft 2022; the city of 12000 souls, lead by High Paladin Sir Lansabit, is largely populated by former Trollopulous residents who survived that attack in possession various mutations (via Gamma World 1e) and converted to lawful good and the true faith as a condition of citizenship. Since its founding the population has increased rapidly and now other mutants from the wastes to the south, as well as normal humans from the west, are present in roughly equal proportions. It was really fun for me to see this area come to life in a session; as downtime actions here and there have really fleshed it out since the party first passed through on the way to their first foray into the mountains in Machodor session #1.

Downtime

With only 2 days game time between sessions, and both of those days with bad weather, little downtime activity was possible for the players. Most of them rested in the "Ajax Inn" where they met a new adventurer, Luke, while Giuseppe managed to have his dead henchman raised from the dead by the High Priest of Saint Raul, Heliophon. This worthy had also indicated his amenability to casting Speak With Dead on the body the party had recovered in the dungeon last session. Such a thing could easily have been done in downtime as well, but it turned out to be a fun thing to do in session.

Session Report

As the party made their way to the Cathedral at the center of town, the booming voice of a town crier could be heard, his mutation giving his voice the power to carry like a bull horn: "Extray Extray, hear all about it: Saint Raul happenings! Inn of ill repute, the 'Denuded Clam', burnt down over night; the 'Society of Reformed Trollops' believed responsible!" 

After some knowing looks, sadly, the players ignored this fantastic and totally original hook and proceeded on their way. 

Passing a long line of mutants lined up to receive healing from lower level clerics, they were greeted by Heliophon's men and shown to his chapel. Because he is level 12, Speak With Dead would last 1 turn (10 minutes) and allow for 4 questions. I explained that I would start a timer when the spell was cast (1:1 time for reals). After a bit of discussion, Heliophon cast the spell, the dead man sat up, and Gurt lead the questioning: 

• "What is your name?" Gurt asked, followed by, "Do I wait for him to answer before asking my next question?" "Yes," I answered, not believing my luck, "You have two 2 questions left." Ha! What a hoot, anyway, I'm not actually that mean; the dead man's name was Verden. Gurt followed up with;
• "Where are you from": Aboria (a place unknown the party);
• "What were you doing in the PSoD": I was aiding my liege, Prince Barin the Ranger;
• "How did you die?": I got separated, lost, and then eventually killed by spiders.

Sever's ears perked up with this information, it happened that the Pegasus Scout Regiment had tasked him with a mission to locate a certain high level ranger, but the details provided were few. I was pretty happy with these results as the players in the subsequent discussion were able to discern quite a bit from the answers. 

There was one more thing the High Priest could do for them, he could read the writing on the magic plate mail the dead man was wearing. "Armati sumus, sed quid ante profuerunt arma ulla contra....armatura?" "We have arms, but what use are they without armour?" This was a common decoration of machodorian armour, and the players guessed that Verden must have picked it up somewhere since arriving in this world.

Gurt then paid to have Verden buried and the party resolved to return to Castle Irish and then on to the Pizza Slice of Doom. Giuseppe arranged to leave his henchman Bishoy to look after Tawdros (his other henchman) during the latter's recovery period from being dead, and the rest set off while it was still pretty early. As the day turned to night Sever spied up ahead what looked like a merchant company making camp. It flew a flag he did not recognise, so he decided not to approach them, but to make camp elsewhere. The night passed uneventfully and in the morning to merchants broke camp and moved off in the direction of Saint Raul. A couple more days travel later the party reached Castle Irish and after resting the night were ready for the Dungeon. I really love this aspect of AD&D play, the players have the agency to target what they want to do, but a few days of wilderness travel means virtually anything can happen on the way.

The Irish camp at the entrance to the Pizza Slice of Doom reported no unusual occurrences, so the party retraced their steps from last session into the maintenance level. They easily made it as far as the broken elevator room without any trouble, but then saw two large reptilian creatures slowly stalking towards them:

Combat #1: 2 Subterranean Lizards (MM)

Rounds 3: Party won, Monsters won, Tied Initiative

Result: Party victory

Highlights: The lizards rolled very well, but not so well that anyone was swallowed whole. These guys were so big that I consider having them try to over bear, but in the end decided to go with conventional bite attacks which certainly took a toll. Injuries were mitigated by party healing after the battle.

Once they reached the next level they went west and then north. Here they spent time clearing the vines at the north end of the passage, managing to do so without attracting the attention of wandering monsters. Clearing away the vines revealed a huge submerged area (A) that was filled with the water from the river they had mapped last session (north west). Experiments with a rope and grappling hook showed the opaque water to be 20 feet deep, accumulations of organic and non-organic debris had collected into little islands, some of which were able to float around freely. Fearing that exploring further in this direction would be a death trap, the party gave up on this area and instead went north west to explore the room (B), and here they found the remains of a camp fire and a secret door. In the corridor beyond the door the ceiling was damaged, with organic matter and rocky protrusions visible where they had pierced it in various places.

Undeterred by this, the party marched down the corridor and into the killing zone of a large family of Piercers. According to Appendix C, level 1 monsters like these on lower levels have their numbers augmented by a like number of the same sort of creatures for each level of the dungeon beneath that of the assigned level of the monster type encountered. So in this case six times the normal number were present. The monsters surprised the party and coordinated themselves so that each PC faced two or even three of them: 

Hawken pictured

Combat #2: 11 Piercers (MM)

Rounds 3: Surprise 1 segment, Monsters Initiative, Party Initiative

Result:  draw

Highlights: The monsters inflicted their damage and, thanks to their numbers, even with their 1" movement rate were able to get back up into the ceiling before the PCs could kill more than a few of them. Hawken was hit by a 3HD piercer and reduced to -3 hit points. Luckily for him, his hearty constitution of 17 prevent this from being a death blow, but he was not in a state for more combat. 

Faced with the prospect of another volley of living stalactites, the part chose to withdraw by advancing down the corridor and finding that it joined with another section of the dungeon they had been to previously.

They got their breath back and readied to leave, but, deciding to explore a bit, first mapped out the corridors leading to the toxic waste room (C) and then opening both doors on the west side. Finding no easy way of reaching the exit to the room to the south (all the access ramps to the central platform had been destroyed or were missing) the party decided to retreat back to Castle Irish, which they managed without incident.

Delve 2. After a night of rest and a slight change in personnel, the party returned with what I was sure to be a plan to get past my cunning 'no ramps' puzzle; but I was wrong, instead they explored, and re-explored, other areas of the map. Apart from some repeated encounters with large numbers of Fire beetles (the chances for which were pretty damn low), this part of the session yielded little of direct benefit for the time invested and danger risked; but, by the end, their map was certainly more accurate and complete than ever before. And that will help in future delves.

Session Statistics: 

Wilderness travel: 70 Miles

Mapped Dungeon area traversed:  1400/360 ft

New Dungeon corridor mapped: 180/80 ft

New rooms mapped: 2/2

Combats: 2

Combat rounds: 6

Total time in the Dungeon (approx): 11/17 Turns

Treasure and XP

Trollopulous Adjusted Session 82 (Machodor #43)

Treasure & Items

None

Monsters

2 Subterranean Lizards 702 XP

3 4HD Piercers 255 XP

Total  957 XP

957 XP &  0 GP Assignment (no longer weighted by level)

Sever (Level 7, E ) 191 XP &  0 GP

Giuseppe (Level 7, E)  191  XP &  0 GP 

Luke (Level 1/1, E) 191 XP & 0 GP

Gurt the Green (Level 3, E) 191 XP & 0 GP

Hawken (Level 1/1, E) 191 XP & 0 GP

Graveyard

Pleasance (Footman level 0), killed by a phase spider bite in session #81

Siegward (Henchman Fighter Level 1), killed by a phase spider bite in session #81

Tawadros (Henchman Fighter Level 4),  killed by a phase spider bite in session #81 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Patria (Footman level 0), killed by a two headed snake bite in session #81

Deltacron (Dwarf Fighter/Thief level 1/1), threw his last flask of oil at, and was level drained to death by, a Vampire in session #76

Petrov the Prestidigitator (Magic-user level 1), killed again by the toxic gas of an Achaierai in session #72

Petrov the Prestidigitator (Magic-user level 1), killed by Sever the Ranger in session #72 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Red (Paladin Level 1), always popular with the ladies, he was eaten up by a female Roc in the Pizza Slice of Doom during session #67

Jacques Ocular (Level 1 Magic User), a fat green worm burrowed into his head and turned him into a Son Of Kyuss in Brovenloft in Session #43

Pino (Dwarf Footman level 0), Killed by a Frost Giant axe in the head in session #39

Paro (Dwarf Fighter/Thief level 2/2)  Killed by Winter Wolves and frozen in session #39

Zabib (1/2 Elf Fighter/Magic User level 1/1), Killed by Frost Giant rocks in downtime prior to session #39