An Ending, For Now

Last night marked the seventh (and last, for the time being) game in the Shadows of the Past campaign. To sum up the events of the last two games:

Ulbarun's Raiders, also known as the Wolves of the North, set seige to the Keep. The players managed to hold them off quite well; the bandits weren't well prepared to take a fortified position, and they certainly weren't expecting to be roasted alive by Kedrin's magical stick. After their first encounter with that particular item, they had to seriously reconsider their options.

The bandits didn't have much time to reconsider things. Tolbert, one of the Keep's ghosts, reminded Herger of his promise to put Lady Gallaigh's ghost to rest. One way to do this would be to show her proof of her husband's death, and Tolbert had seen the necessary proof upon the finger of the bandit leader: Lord Gallaigh's golden signet ring.

The characters launched an attack on Ulbarun's camp, laying their enemies low. Some good rolls, not to mention an exceptional critical hit, ensured the fight was shorter than it might have been otherwise. The heros did not emerge unscathed: Blair, the NPC fighter who's been with the party since the first game, all those years ago, was killed by a lucky hit that separated his head from his body.

Victory and sadness, in equal amounts.

The remaining bandits, leaderless and unwilling to continue the seige, packed up and rode off. Of course, Herger's sworn enemy, Toral, survived, and rode off with his bandit pals. Perhaps they will run into him at another time..?

Athael managed to finish the ritual, which tied a spell of masking into the shadowy nexus that lies within the bowels of the Keep. The keep, obfuscated from sight, will be largely ignored by any passers-by who might otherwise notice it. Those who do know of it, but who are not living within its walls, will lose their memories of it over time, unless they are somehow reminded of the place on a regular basis.

And so the game ended. The player characters, now 6th level, will begin their next adventure when next we meet to play Midnight. When will this be? Who knows. Perhaps later this year, closer to autumn. For now, we had a good run, the game came to a satisfactory conclusion, and all seem content with the resolution...for now.

Thanks for the game, guys.

No Kedrin!

Alex was unable to attend last night's game, and Kedrin (his character) was, for the moment, used by the others for menial tasks and trap and monster detection (ie, walking out in front of the party at a distance of at least 10 feet). He suffered surprisingly few wounds from this abuse, only losing his left leg at the hip when the dire tyrannosaur attacked.

Okay, okay. April Fool's.

Alex was absent, though, but Kedrin was assigned babysitting duties for the first half of the game, and became Athael's gopher once the PCs returned to the keep.

Leaving the harpy's lair proved to be exciting. The worg that had escaped last session ran off to warn some hobgoblins who were manning a watchpost on the south end of the crevasse. Two hobs returned with the worg, and set up an ambush in the bridge chamber (where the "foot bridge," which was discussed at some length, was located).

After the attack started, Bridie managed to notice that the bridge's rope supports on the opposite side of the chasm/pit seemed to be frayed, but not before Koko ran across, breaking them with his weight, and plummeting head-first into the depths. He was last seen clawing at a balrog as the two fell ever deeper into Kazad Dum.

April Fool's again.

Koko actually fell a whopping distance of 10 feet, but he was immediately set upon a by a giant spider that lived in the pit, while the hobgoblins (safely on the opposite side) riddled the party with crossbow bolts (though they weren't particularly effective).

Everyone ended up in that pit at one point or another (with Herger's attempt to cross the span of the pit with a running leap being one of the more spectacular accounts), and with the spider slain by one of Koko's thrown darts (which pinned it to the wall like a bug in a museum display, albeit a large one), everyone began scrambling at the wall, trying to get out.

Easier said than done. In the end, Blair was the only one who couldn't make the climb, and a rope was lowered to him when the coast was determined to be clear.

Once out, the group began the travel home. The following morning, Toral, the Dornish man the party rescued from the goblins, bade the group his farewell and thanks, but not before checking out Herger's magic spear. Another two days later, the PCs arrived back at the Keep, to a warm dwarvish welcome. Athael, the black sapphire in hand, went off with Kedrin to begin the preparation of the spell that will ultimately mask the keep.

Of course, four days later, a virtual army of mounted warriors appeared on the horizon, and proceeded to surround the keep. Prior to dusk, they sent a small contingent for parley. Their demands: that the PCs surrender the keep to their master, Lord Ulbarun, the Wolf of the North. As payment for saving Toral from the hobgoblins, the bandits are allowing them to leave with their lives.

After giving Toral a withering look, Herger stomped off. I guess Herger's short-term goal is to feed Toral his spear, one inch at a time. Bridie told the bandits that they would have their answer in the morning, and the parley was over.

So, here endeth the session. No one increased a level, as the action wasn't quite as heavy as it might've been. My emergency ankhegs were not needed. Shucks.

Alex, don't miss next game. They will need you, and your nuclear staff, to make a dent in a force of 30+ bandits...

Post Script
Just in case you guys were wondering what your resources in this matter are, I thought I'd tell you. The breach in the north wall of the courtyard has been repaired, but the work is far from complete; if there's a single weak spot in your defenses, it's the northern wall.

As for manpower, there's the four PCs, Blair, Athael, Rasha, and the nine dwarves. Athael is somewhat busy for the time being, so don't count on him lending a high-level hand to the proceedings. Being a child, Rasha doesn't really count for much, though I'm sure you can eat her if you need to.

Speaking of eating, that's your one big problem: there's not a heck of a lot of food in the keep at present. Given what little rations the dwarves may have left over from their trip, as well as the amount of grub the group has stored up (read: none), you're liable to have some very lean times if any sort of siege lasts for an appreciable amount of time.