(or, "Are you sure somebody lives here?")
(This is foner’s test drive of AD&D first edition, played entirely by-the-book. The module is “Trial by Fire” from Judges Guild.)
PCs
- Kalem, Elven Mage, played by BlueLightning
- Reggio Emilia, Gnome Illusionist/Thief, played by skidoo
- Torlock, Human Fighter, played by dorje
NPCs
- Kenny, a spear carrier
- Cael, a spear carrier
- Cartman, a linkboy
The party leaves Udayan and Dragonfly behind to guard their massive new chest of a few gold pieces. They stop in town to upgrade Cael's armor from the damp and sweaty padded sort to the totally biker leather kind. The party also finds a young lad by the name of Cartman, who would rather carry a torch into The Secret Fortress than work the farm.
The party returns to the unexplored clerk's room in the west, the site of their battle with the troglodytes. The corpses are gone. The light-ball in on again. Emilio searches the desks, and finds a gold piece under an inkwell pot. Profit!
Exploring the hall to the north, Kalem discovers two more secret doors. The souther door links to an already-mapped hallway. The north leads into a library. Shelves are covered in books and manuscripts on military themes. There is a valuable bronze statue as well. The party discovers a door in the ceiling of the closet to the north. The party suspects it to be a trap, possibly prepared by ancient jerks. Emilio ties a rope to the handle, and the party returns to the library. From this safe distance, Torlock yanks the rope, opening the door. Rocks disgorge from the cavity above.
The party decides to return to the farm, with the statue and sacks full of books in tow.
Casualties:
None.
The next day, the party purchases a few more supplies, paying extra to silence the local merchants. They then return to the Secret Fortress, exploring to the NE this time. As they make their way, they discover the grisly remains of Kalem's fellow elves, gnawed to bits and ransacked of their gear.
Kalem declines the need to give them a burial, instead preferring to almost join the fellows in death, along with Emilio. The two overconfident demi-humans press up a passage ahead of the party, and plunge into a pit trap. Torlock, a man of strong arm and slow wit, nonetheless takes command. The rope is in the pack of the unfortunate Emilio, so Torlock convinces Kenny to let him lower the hireling into the pit. From there, Torlock hauls up the unconscious Emilio and Kalem, and they are carried back to the farm.
Casualties:
Kalem (unconscious, rested for one week)
Emilio Reggia (unconscious, rested for one week)
During the recuperation, Emilio asks Kenny to read some of their new books to him. Kenny accuses Emilio of playing a joke on him, since the pages are… empty! All of the writing on the books has vanished!
Meanwhile, Torlock commissions a collapsible bridge from the local carpenter, Bob the Builder, and the local dwarven smithy, Longbeard McSweeney. Torlock also locates two 11' poles, which he disguises as fishing poles, lest any of the locals suspect the party is doing some typical dungeoneering trope.
The party returns to the Secret Fortress, and uses their new bridge to cross the pit. They discover an ancient chapel on the other side. It seems like a Good Chapel, not a Bad Chapel. It's covered in dust, except for the top of the white marble altar, which is mysteriously clean. Kalem throws a coin on it, to no effect.
Traveling south, the party discovers a trophy room, filled with plaques and awards to mighty warriors. Inlaid in the floor, white marble tiles on a red background spell out the message "To those who serve." The party cannot deduce the meaning of this, beyond the obvious, although Torlock suggests it might have to do with a bartender or waitress. Emilio puzzles over the fact that this room conflicts with another room on his map. Did the party descend a level in the nearby passage?
The party explores passages to the west and south. In the south, they find a mess hall with a shiny green floor. There are murals of men fighting&drinking&running&eating, tables, a bar, and a dartboard with a barbarian's face in the center. Sensing a mysterious need to wrap it up, and thankful for the monster-less delves, the party exits the fortress, determined to investigate these last three rooms more thoroughly next time.
Casualties:
None.
Treasure:
1 Statue worth 50gp
1 gp from under inkwell
150lbs of (blank) books
written up by skidoo
Addition: The coin Kalem tossed on the altar was silver, in case we want try other things at our leisure later. He also knocked it off with one of the poles, so nobody touched the altar yet.— BL