DF Novices, Team-A, Session 76 - The Bandit Leader Returns
Here is a basic summary for last week's session, with before and after screenshots.
Party roster:
Ben, half-ogre barbarian, 176 points (PC)
Doran Longbeard, dwarf warrior (knight), 202 points (PC)
Eleanor Bayley, human thief, 233 points (PC)
- Dagne Timar, human priestess of Metallys (cleric), 147 points (NPC Hireling)
Erizax Ofaris, human wizard, 232 points (PC)
Randall, human veteran (knight), 157 points (NPC)
Maximilian "Stout" Grupher III, goblin cleric of Ishtanna, 121 points (PC)
Merrill Tangled Tail, cat-folk martial artist, 139 points (PC)
Fenn, human scout, unknown points (NPC)
Campaign Date: 10 December, Year 645 of the Vycenaean Empire.
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The encounter had started with Ben and Fenn on watch at the cave entrance, while their companions either rested or searched the bandits' cave... At the sound of someone or something rapidly approaching the cave, Fenn called out the alarm. He and Ben soon saw 2 large bipedal semi-humanoid creatures bounding towards them. One of the unknown creatures wielded a huge club one-handed, the other carried a large spear.
With his shield strapped to his arm, but his weapon hand empty, Ben decided to hail the strange creatures. He stepped forward and extended his empty hand in greeting. By way of reply, the creature wielding the big club swung its weapon at him, and Ben just barely brought his shield up in time to take the blow. Fierce fighting ensued.
The two creatures were big, strong, and tough. And as an unusual surprise for Ben, they had the strength to hit hard enough to injure him through his mail armour and thick skin. These two creatures were joined by the one-eyed leader of the human bandits, whom the group had twice encountered before, and whom they knew had supernatural power at his command. The one-eyed man summoned an area of magical darkness (the Blackout spell) at the cave entrance, enveloping several of the party members. This had the effect of splitting the party as some retreated backwards out of the darkness while others rushed forwards instead. The two large creatures were relentless, but not invulnerable. It took many hits to put both of them down, but this was made harder by the loss of visibility and group cohesion caused by the magical darkness. (To facilitate this confusion, I removed VTT tokens (including PCs) that were in the Blackout area from the view of the players, and described only what their PC could hear or feel.)
Meanwhile, the bandit leader was able to operate within the magical darkness unhindered, landing several melee strikes at nearby party members inside the darkness (or outside but within his reach) with relative impunity. He severely injured Merrill, Doran, and Stout as a result.
By the end of the session, both the large creatures had finally fallen. However Doran was struggling to remain standing, Merrill was unconscious, and Stout was now bleeding to death from a Mortal Wound...
The bandit leader is within that darkness, currently hidden to everyone except Erizax (who cast Dark Vision upon himself). Will they go in after the one-eyed man, or somehow flush him out?
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