The Ever Expanding Dungeon: Sessions 21 and 22

"Zombies!"

Dleggit's shout came over the squeaking of the flood of giant rats plowing through the room. Movement became incredibly difficult. And of course, Sister Linkat, the best possible party member to face off against an undead horde, was clear on the opposite side of the room.  Perceval and Manchiver, who had gone to check out the door in the north wall, found themselves cut off from providing any assistance to Dleggit

[How far are the zombies? about 20 feet away

Do the rats attack the party? Chaos 4, 50/50. 54, No

roll d6, no but they will hinder movement until they get out. for 2 rounds party must save vs turn to stone to move, and then dex to avoid falling ]

The rats, as it turned out were not interested in attacking, only running through, ostensibly to get away from the shambling corpses behind them.

Still, the mule was frightened by the moving knee-high carpet of fur and kicked and reared, its reign ripping from Waldu's grasp.

[Does Waldu drop the torch? 50/50, 51, no]

Initially this would turn out to be a boon, as the mule tried to stomp and bite at the squeaking mass. It was unsuccessful and perhaps fueled on by this failing, turned on Waldu as he tried to regain control of the animal. Fortunately the damage was minimal (1 HP. But, at 4 HP, 1 HP is kind of scary none the less).

[Perceval save vs stone: 14, rolls 4  he's unable to even find a way through the rat pack

Sister linkat: 14, rolls 18, she makes her wy into the living carpet Dex is FOUR, rolls a SIX she trips and crashes to the ground

Manchiver -needs 13+, rolls 6, he's unable to wade into the rates

Waldu - to grab the mule's reins he'll have to hit an AC of 5(mule is 7, but the rein is moving too) - needs a 15 or highr, rolls 19. Waldu proves his worth and grabs ahold of the rein and works to calm the mule down]

Sister Linkat, in her efforts to cross against the current, lost her footing and ended up on the floor, rats running over her for the door she had been guarding.

[The rats are intent on getting out, but linkat is down, do they attack her? unlikely 77, no]

Again the mule broke free from Waldu, but with luck and force of will he again, and more firmly, took control.

"Confounded dang blasted no good beast of burden" 

The shouting from Waldu echoed down teh halls.

[Wandering monster: 4 phew]

Perceval was finally able to make it to Deleggit's side, where they slugged it out with the first rank of zombies. But, it was Sister Linkat, once she had hauled herself to her feet, who turned back the bulk of the horde by her faith in the Hedonistic Lumberjack. The remainder were quickly dispatched with hammer, mace and sword.

With the threat neutralized, Sister Linkat cast Cure Light Wounds on Waldu. As both a villager and his employer she believed she had more than reason to use the spell on him.

As expected, she wanted to pursue the undead. She continues to be concerned by the growing number of encounters with them and the meaning that might have for the village.

Perceval agreed, and the remainder of the party saw no need to argue. 

A short time later, she was forced to use the remaining two Cure Light Wounds on Dleggit who had suffered damage at the hands of the zombies, and then fell down a 20' pit trap. 

The party debated continuing - their healing resources were used up, but figured another room or two wouldn't hurt.

After triggering a scythe trap when a door was opened, the party was momentarily overcome with some relief when the room was empty save for 3 stone chests. Dleggit used his natural given Dwarven abilities to try and check for traps. With no traps found, Perceval pried the lid off the first stone chest.

And was promptly struck by a poisoned needle fired from the ceiling. He died immediately. For a cache of 600 sp.

The party took a serious blow to their morale. 

They loaded Perceval's body and the lousy 600 silver he died for onto the mule and prepared to exit the dungeon to make their way back to town. As a native son, the townsfolk would want to say their goodbyes

For the party, their anger was made worse in that there is no one to extract revenge upon; it was the work of the dungeon itself.

Somberly, they made their way out of the dungeon and back to town.

****

Perceval was the sole surviving member of the original expedition into The Ever Expanding Dungeon. He started as a simple 0-level porter but soon found himself embroiled in combat (and the rules are quite clear that once XP is earned, 0-levels pick a class). A valiant fighter who sought glory and fame beyond his village, he was rather ignominiously struck down by a poisoned trap. And, as i noted above, his death really can't be avenged in any traditional sense.

I was, in fact, genuinely down about his loss. I had hoped he would live to maybe make a stronghold of his own. On the other hand, I am glad that I did not fudge the roll. As a solo player, I feel there is a certain sanctity in preserving dice rolls that affect the characters' fate - damage, attacks, attributes, saves, etc. 

I failed the save and so Perceval met his fate. 

The dice do not always give us what we want but they are a neutral judge, jury and executioner.

To put a positive spin on this, I have been noting my preference for Sister Linkat over several sessions - she has such a clear drive to protect the villagers no matter the cost, that she is easy to role play. Similarly, her efforts to spread the word of the Hedonistic Lumberjack provide for ample narrative opportunity for activity between adventures.

Plus, I almost always play a cleric when I play b/x.

Dleggit is so close to 3rd level after this delve. Given he is currently the only dedicated fighter in the group, he is likely to be the party's tank. Surely the loss of his friend to a trap he didn't detect will bring something out in him. Perhaps, as a dwarf, he WILL find a way to extract revenge against the dungeon itself or perhaps I'll find some way to instill him with a berserker rage when he scores a 20 to hit.

Manchiver is too new to be deeply affected. Frankly, he's just trying to survive.

The party will undoubtedly have to make some efforts to attract additional bodies via full fledged members or hirelings.