I don't quite understand where you want to go now. From your current position, you can only go forward and left. Do you mean that you take the left passage and, at its end, go right?

We'll stay to the right and keep going straight ahead, not taking the left-hand passage is what I meant.

Looks like it's lullaby time again...!

In reply to Nanes-Il (msg # 124):

Outside of Nane's sleep spell, the other idea I can think of would be to pull all but one or two planks off the trap, then have one of us lure the nasties to it and use missile fire to pick them off while we stand on the opposite side.  My impression, though, is that we're weak on missile attack and they seem to have spears.  Am I misreading what everyone's written about their characters and we're actually stronger on missile attacks than what I thought?

Sling +2 to hit, d3+1 damage... Not great.

Burn them out? Parley?

In deference to the declaration that we've adventured together long enough to get to level three, I'm going to ask this and assume we've talked through similar questions by the campfire on our adventures.  Does everyone feel like using oil on a bunch a kobolds is evil?  I was a little surprised by the decision to turn the last bunch over rather than kill them off but I've also been playing a really long time in darker games or at least a darker character in game so I'm likely tainted by that.  "Once you turn to the dark side..."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:35, Wed 26 July 2023.

Tar-Orag has oil.

Heeey, good point, Aradock!  I've been in mostly "neutral" adventures, myself... though, in the one outright evil game I was in, my Wight did some really neat, but really upsetting things to a cellar full of frightened villagers!


For Nanes-Il's part, I think I decided that, despite the lack of an alignment system, she was Neutral?, but I typically read that as "True Neutral, Neutral Good with True Neutral tendencies, Neutral Evil with True Neutral tendencies, Lawful Neutral with True Neutral tendencies, Chaotic Neutral with True Neutral tendencies".

She was being TN-NG when she opted to turn in rather than execute the kobolds, but that was a small group... and this is a whole cluster of 'em!  Her desire to live is going to override any qualms she might have about making marinara of them.

So, Let the Record Show: Everyone knows Nanes-Il to be "Neutral".  She'll do the thing, but if she can she'd just as well avoid it.


That said... Nanes-Il hasn't got oil on her, but here's how I rank each suggestion.
-Best: Oil flasks
-Moderate: Trap trick -- Nanes-Il's only got two daggers and a club on her.   :'(
-Worst: Sleep.  Normally, a nap and a throating is the ticket, here, but these guys might be too numerous to affect.  And, even if we do knock all of them out, they could wake up before we get to them all...
Next time, if you think it might do us better, I can memorize darkness.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:30, Wed 26 July 2023.

I've been dealing with too much fast paced work in real life so I definitely didn't write exactly what I meant in my post.  I'd forgotten that there's no alignment in this system, nor did I want to suggest that we'd pull out the marshmallows and roast smores over the oil-soaked kobolds.  I had just realized that I'd had a complete blind spot pointed out earlier.  I'd been doing the (see monster => kill monster) assumption so I'd not thought about trying to take the kobolds by the trap prisoner and wanted to make sure there wasn't a general feeling that we shouldn't kill unless forced to.

Aradock doesn't have any oil. Unless Tar-Orag's got a lot of oil or others have a few flasks, I'd say we go back IC and talk about picking a better place for this battle or avoiding it right now.

It's the whole 'murder hobos' conundrum of early FRP's right? Everyone suited up, grabbed instruments of destruction, and went out to kill and steal stuff. Are kobold's monsters? Not really, especially when you've just entered their home unasked for, planning to take their good gear.

Anyhow, Gilly has a short bow -- 1d6 damage, decent range. But a dozen little critters sounds like half a dozen too many.

Can we communicate or sweet talk one of those we caught to be our spokesgob? Does anyone speak Gobbo?

Yeah... I hear ya, there, Gilly.  Maybe, if your character's on that page, he can help to make Nanes-Il a little more morally palatable to be around for Paladins and Rangers that think they're in Advanced 1st Edition!

Yes!  Along with Common and Elven, Hoss!

You speak Hoss?! Wow, that'll be amazing when we find a unicorn!

If we can't draw them out, maybe we can intimidate them into not coming at us from the rear...?

Dunno. I get the feeling this part of the adventure, or maybe the entire adventure, is meant to be a little murder-hobo-esque. In that case let's consider ourselves doing a good deed! ;-)

The DM told us that we're running through one of the oldest adventures TSR put out. From back in the time that monsters existed, more or less, as set pieces in a dungeon; like homicidal Disney animatronics that come alive when an adventurer wanders past.

In reply to Aradock (msg # 136):

Pretty much. This one in particular is even infamous for having a monster composition that doesn't even make much internal sense and since those adventures didn't have much in the way of story or ready-made quests, there's not even an official explanation for it (but it's not hard to think of something). Although due to the deadliness of those old adventures (and systems), it's not always advisable to kill everything in your path and more to pick your battles. Nanes-Il's attempt to talk with the kobolds first, while it didn't work, wasn't bad at all.

Also, it seems there's a misunderstanding here. There's nothing indicating that someone's approaching your group (and Gilly in particular can tell that the voices are "stationary"). The voices only got clearer because you were approaching them.

Thanks for pointing that out. I have edited my reply in response.

It's been a while, but it's not clear what you're going to do now. Do you go the northern passage to the next fork?
This message was last updated by the GM at 17:34, Tue 08 Aug 2023.

This is what I had in mind:

In reply to Gilly Buck (msg # 140):

That's more or less what I assumed as well

That was my impression :)

I'll be gone in the mountains with some of my boys on a pack trip until Friday. NPC as needed.

It's still not clear what you're doing now. Do you head to either of the passages or do something else?

Tar-Orag is still watching the party's six. I fear we may get ambushed from the rear for not incinerating the chamber full of... whatevers. But I understand the RP. Also, if we come up with a way to get them on our side, perhaps there are secrets to be learned. Who knows? But I think Aradock and Nanny have indicated they wish to follow their stomachs.

Does the food location end at that upper dark line, or is that as far as we can see?