Edge Ov The Twilight Queen's Domain: Mvrkmaal's Tunnel Delve 2!
Finally getting to relax this weekend with some Dunjuns und draguns after 6 days of working (Bruh Moment)
In this short half hour session of D&D I ran for my partner's Birthday, they became the first person to both completely loot a Treasure Room in Mvrkmaal's Tunnel and also die in the Dungeon!! x33
Gaerma, the Gortsy Fighter arrived in the dungeon after a small description blurb and 3 rolls for rumors. She was accompanied by the Hireling Josefi, designated torchbearer/loot holder, and the javelin wielding soldier Ivanich. Together, in formation they went into the Western Hallway first (Same as Dylan ;3).
Unlike Dylan however, Gaerma's reaction to hearing some commotion from beyond the Northern Archway was to quickly break the Locked Southern Door open! The party quickly fled into this new 20' hallway and closed the door behind them!
The hallway led to a Hexagonal chamber, the air so still it was suffocating... The smell of Oxidizing metal here was stronger than ever! Within the chamber, what appear to be a bunch of P.O Boxes lining the Eastern Walls each with a name on them (Written in Dwemer) and a keyhole. To the West was a small 10' hallway to an identical looking chamber, with a portcullis separating the two. Gaerma searched the room for signs of a master key, and nearly met her end at the expense of some hidden Rot Grubs in the Key Nook!
After a minute of contemplation, she decided to obliterate and smash every box open! Within each of them was another key, with the same name etched on them as the box they belonged to. Gaerma, being the Thief she is took every last key. Together, the party lifted the Western Portcullis and entered the identical chamber!
Stacks upon stacks of lockboxes, each with the same Dwemer names on the P.O Boxes in the last room! ;33 Together with the keys, Gaerma's party spent about an hour going through each box for loot. 860 Silver Coins, 120 Gold Coins, a Potion of Heroism to go with a Potion of Flying, and 2 Spell Scrolls were the haul in this place!
Josefi, now carrying a sack of treasure with a lit torch, followed Gaerma who in turn followed Ivanich wielding a Javelin... Together, they returned to the original Hallway they went down. Ivanich quietly checked to see if whatever had been out there was still lurking about.
And it was! 5 Skeletons in the hallway!
Gaerma's crew quickly launched an assualt! Ivanich, attempting to push 2 skeletons into the Northern archway, and Gaerma attempting to deal with 2 Skeletons on her right and 1 on her left.
The first few rounds of combat went smoothly, if unexciting... A miss here, a successful hit there... Some skeletons beaten back, 1 dead but 2 still flanking Gaerma...
She was unable to defeat the skeletons in time, and was slain! Her hireling and hired soldier rolled high enough for morale, and so dragged Gaerma's body out of the dungeon and buried in an unmarked grave nearby.
Together, they returned to town with all the treasure they had collected. Now, the question remains as to what 2 NPC's in D&D-Land are to do with all this treasure?... Nowhere nearby to pawn it off to. The nearest settlement is Gortsy affiliated, which may draw Queen Sacha's attention to the area... The nearby City-States are miles away, and no one in the immediate area possess enough wealth or goods to trade with...
So they await the next Adventurer who decides to take on the Delve into Mvrkmaal's Tunnel! :33
Takeaways
I am beginning to get more used to running combat now, which was always a hurdle for me in the past. Side Based Initiative, D6 for all weapons and no crits makes for a quick nice little mini-game x33.
I do believe things are pretty decently balanced as far as the random encounters go, though I do want to see what happens with some of the tougher stuff roaming around level 1.
Those skeletons seem to keep generating from the random rolls in that Northern Archway off the Western Hallway in the Entry Chamber, so that must be canonized somehow! The stuff in that room has yet to be discovered, but offers good explanation for why skeletons keep appearing in that area...
More bones now litter this place, that Southern Door in the hallway is also now permanently broken open lol. I am very much enjoying the experience of having my world be altered in permanent ways that can be seen/discovered by other players. The excitement continues to build over the idea of multiple parties running around this place ;33.
Those fucking hirelings too! They're in town now, which leaves me so many options!
Rival Adventuring Party?...
More expensive Journeymen Hirelings?...
Perhaps they'll even decide to go over to Krepost Bey-Khart (Gortsy Fortress, actually the Thieves Fortress of Badabaskor :33) to sell that treasure and retire. Or! maybe they'll simply wait for a new adventurer to follow...