The Dungeons and Dragons Encounters program is basically a way of getting new and old players to try out the 4th edition rule set. It’s a weekly campaign made up of short, usually two hours or so, encounters that take the adventurers into Undermountain. As a newcomer to table top games I figured this was a good way to get my feet wet. This first encounter was a blast and I’ll definitely be going back each week and hopefully I’ll survive till the end in June. On that note consider this the first in a weekly article series telling both the tale of our grand adventure and giving you my little insights and experiences rolling the dice.
Our cast
“Shar” the Monk
“Hal” the Warden
Lyndy the Rogue
“Andy” the Druid
Sey the Shaman
Hawthorne the Bard
Hawthorne Tomas, Bard extraordinaire, master musician, and teller of fabulous tales sat in a corner of a dimly lit tavern sipping from a rather watered down glass of wine. His eyes were half lidded but his ears were open. He’d joined a group of adventurers, listening to their tales between sets. As they discussed recent events his attention was stolen by the site of a flame haired half-elven maiden. It took a moment for his ears to follow his eyes and for him to over hear her negotiations with a mage and dwarf. Mention of gold and the Underdark grabbed his attention, so much so that he missed two other, less respectable fellows, who sat nearby and were staring at the woman nearly as intensely as he himself.
In all honestly he missed it because I made a lousy perception roll. In fact I was rolling lousy most of the night, but we will get to that.
Eventually the woman led her two comrades out into a back alley to complete their discussions, likely for both the quiet and the privacy as the mentioned coin had been of a large amount. Luckily one of Hawthorn’s new companions, the Goliath Shaman Sey had noticed the two men, and as they went to follow the woman he nudged his fellows and they stood to follow as well. Being the curious sort, and having little else to do of any interest Hawthorne followed. Quite a sight really, a trail of people slipping quietly out the back.
Upon stepping outside they found themselves in a small alley way that was split down the middle by a massive sewage ditch. The twenty foot drop was crossed only by a small rickety bridge, and the woman, her companions, the brigands, and two more he had likely been in wait were already across it. The maiden lay upon the ground, her hands above her head as two of the bandits laid blows upon her. Apparently they’d meant to steal the mentioned gold, but alas the woman was at least smart enough not have it on her. Thus the ruffians were taking out their frustration on her body. The noblest of Hawthorne’s new companions, a Monk who he’d decided to call Shar, cast aside stealth and yelled out against the bandits.
Both for role play purposes and because some of the names were just too hard to pronounce I gave several of my companions nick names, which is what I’ll be using here. Shar’s real name was very long and complicated with several apostrophes. But then he was a Githzerai so I suppose that was to be expected.
The first to strike was the Warden, Hal. he charged across the bridge but was met halfway by one of the bandits. The two began exchanging blows and while that battle was fought high above the rank river of sludge the mage raised his wand and sent a fireball across the gap. Andy the groups druid was bathed in flame, in retaliation the Shaman Sey summoned up his companion, a earthen spirit whose rocky form rose up out of the ground behind the mage and took a savage swing. Unfortunately he proved faster than expected and dodged the blow.
The rogue Lyndy sent a bolt twanging from his crossbow back across the gap and into the chest of the dwarf. Unfortunately the bastards dense skin kept it from being lethal but first blood went to the adventurers. Hawthorne meanwhile began casting insults at the bandit on the bridge, though not nearly as sharp as Hal’s blade they cut deeper and left the fool distracted long enough for Hal to cut deep into his side.
The only successful roll I’d have for the rest of the night actually.
Shar finally decided to match actions to his words and leapt forward. He vaulted over Hal’s shoulders and the head of the bandit and landed amongst his foes, then he became like a whirlwind of fists and feet, striking three of the villains in rapid succession, and leaving the arrow struck dwarf bloodied. Though left in a dangerous position he had struck a mighty blow.
Watching this was actually amazing. It took an Acrobatic roll coupled with a roll on an encounter travel power, then three to hit rolls. Everybody at the table was blown away and he likely would have gotten the MVP award for it, however as the battle progressed an unlikely hero would emerge from the battle.
Andy finally had a chance to respond and did so by sending a thorn covered wine swinging through the air to wrap around one of the bandits, with a swift jerk and sent the fool falling into the muck below, never to stand again. He beat out the flames upon his cloak as he stepped forward to meet the next foe.
The hafling, nearly forgotten in the chaos stepped from the shadows and launched a swarm of stones from his sling, as luck would have it only Hawthorne failed to dodge the flying stones, and though hurt he struggled on.
Shifting away from the earthen spirit the mage laid eyes upon the shaman and cast cures upon him that left him slightly dazed the moment he tried to move. The dwarfs turned their ire upon the monk in their midst and sent him hurtling off the bridge. Luckily he had quick hands and caught the edge in time to halt his fall, a quick flip allowed him to drop to the ledge below and avoid plunging into the murk. Hal traded another hail of blows with his bandit opponent, who easily ignored Hawthorne’s continued attempts to distract him. Sey sent his companion against the dwarves moments later but had little impact. However the swift return of Shar from below and another hail of arrows from the rogue dropped one, while another bandit soon succumbed to the druids vine whip.
With the bridge cleared the group swarmed across and surrounded the remaining dwarf, mage, and halfling. The monk sent the mage to his end a few moments later with another flurry of strikes, while the halfling soon followed the bandits via the druids deadly vine. The last dwarf was felled by the Shaman’s companion and the woman was saved.
All told the tally was one kill to the shaman, or at least his pet. One to the monk, one to the rogue, and three to the unlikely power of the druid and that deadly vine whip. Hawthorne meanwhile helped up the girl and did his best to charm some extra reward from the whole thing. Once again I failed the roll.
With a quick search of the corpses for gold, and a short discussion with the girl back in the warmth of the tavern it was decided that the newly formed band of heroes, Hawthorne in tow, would take the contract and delve down into Undermountain.
Thus ended encounter one of the series. All told it took a little under two hours for the whole experience. The future parts should take about the same, maybe slightly longer. I really enjoyed this little introduction and I look forward to further adventures. Hopefully you’ll enjoy my little tales here as well each week. Until next time ladies and gents.