DF Novices, Sessions 5 & 6 - The Dead of Night

      Two sessions have happened since the last update. I won't always have time for a detailed summary, which is why I try to encourage my players to contribute with their own IC take.

Session Dates:    Tuesday 25 October 2022 and Tuesday 1 November 2022

Party roster:

Agis Keylar, wood elf cleric, 64 points (PC)
Borgergorg, half-ogre barbarian, 65 points (PC)

Doran Longbeard, dwarf warrior (knight), 65 points (PC)

Eleanor Bayley, human thief, 65 points (PC)

Erizax Ofaris, human wizard, 65 points (PC)

Fenn Shepard, human scout, 65 points (PC)

 Some notes from my recollection:

    Not far from the camp site, the NPC pilgrims buried the two dead from the caprinid attack: one of their own, and one of the caravan servants. The pilgrims reported back that they had found a previous burial site with a couple of empty graves; it looked like some previously buried bodies had been subsequently dug up. Borgergorg inspected the site, and found grizzly remains of a finger, the flesh only half eaten. (Grotesque details obscured to protect the squeamish.)

    The watch that night seemed quiet at first. Fenn spotted a young couple sneaking off together and then later coming back. Nothing else unusual was noticed by anyone. In the morning someone was found to be missing; a young servant woman had disappeared. Fenn traced her tracks for several yards from the campsite to where she had stopped (presumably to take care of business), however there the tracks disappeared. After a search, the body was found a little ways from the camp; she was dead. Fenn found evidence of another creature's footprints; a bare humanoid foot with claws. Agis inspected the body. The monster had strangled the woman and then removed one of her kidneys. The body was buried by the pilgrims. As with the other two bodies, the pilgrims performed the proper burial rites. The pilgrims otherwise keep to themselves, and are given a fairly wide berth by the rest of the NPCs in the caravan. This was revealed to be because they are followers of the god of the underworld; not Evil in any metaphysical sense, but certainly not loved by ordinary folks, and as much feared as respected.

    The following day the caravan proceeded on its journey. The day was uneventful other than mundane transportation difficulties, but during the night the camp was attacked by zombies. The PCs and NPC guards dealt with the first wave of 10 zombies largely unscathed, however one caravan staffmember was badly bitten before he was rescued, and the zombies killed two of the mules before they could be stopped. There was an additional scare a minute later, when those dead mules rose again and had to be quickly put down.

    After the first wave everyone had only a couple minutes pause before the next attack. The caravan guide (and the guards' immediate boss) has called for the camp to rally round and for the guards to fall back rather than advance. However this has been largely ignored by both the PCs and the NPC guards, probably largely because both Doran and Cynric (a tattooed half-naked NPC "Gheltic" warrior) have competitive dispositions. The pilgrims and their priest have also moved up to support, although other than carrying torches it is not clear what "support" they provide or if they will merely get in the way.

    The second wave has so far been a horde of large rats (cat-sized rather than the typical dog-sized "giant" rats). These have been fairly easy to slaughter, although one of the rats did manage to bite Borgergorg's foot! In addition to the rodents, there are other humanoid figures (these also look to be undead), some of which are carrying torches. These are standing near the camp but have not yet attacked, seeming to send the rats in first. Are they waiting? Will they attack?

    The fight resumes tomorrow....

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Here is a close-up screenshot of the PCs and NPCs at edge of the camp.

   

And below is a wider screenshot of the whole campsite.