Salkan Soiree Ep17: Return to the Crystal Sanctum

Run Date: November 29, 2023

PCs
Thea: Lv2 Barbarian
Ham: Lv1 Fighter
Lucy: Lv1 Thief
Helvezia: Lv1 Paladin

Hench
G'Mhattamantura aka Matt: Lv0 Dunestrider
Vasher: Lv0 Fighter
Leena: Lv1 Priestess

Return to the Crystal Sanctum

Today was the debut of a new player and character, as well as one of the stretch goal additions to the Revised Rulebook (Paladin, Warlock, Witch, btw). The players took the initiative and explained to the new guy the various hooks available, and some of the nuance of previous sessions. Once the pleasantries were over, the group settled in and started their trek outside Sherbin to meet up with Sarvus; who by this time looked more like an overgrown statue.

The trek back to Ogavaka's Sanctum was uneventful, but I did rehash the description of the light playing off the crystal for the benefit of our new guy. After staying the night in the usual kitchen, the party opted to hop straight into the dungeon and get hunting. Sarvus guided them to the meeting area, provided the metamphora, and wished them luck. At this time, I also got to explain the blood-activated fuller for the door.

Thea took point with Helvezia and the party marched down the spiral staircase into the first landing. What they didn't expect was to come across a failed ambush. After the taste of blood some time ago, it seemed the mutants had gotten wise to where the party would come in from. It's too bad that they also got bored waiting for fresh meat. The party made quick work of the mutants and chased off their pet gorilla; which roared in a panic and fled down the south hall. With that out of the way, the plucking of eyes began.

It took a few to get everything sorted, but nothing came to strike at the group. After a short discussion, the party decided to go ahead and hit the enemy lair they discovered last visit. As they marched down the hall, however, they discovered that the creatures had been ready for them. A pair of mutants stood behind a poor knockoff of a palisade with spears while another group flung stones and charged from further down the southern hall. For the rear flank was a gorilla that had wandered too far from its caretakers.

The party was beset on all sides, but fought valiantly. Vasher took a blow from the gorilla and held it off while Helvezia and Thea took down as many mutants as they could. A pair of mutants with spears charged from the southern darkness and managed to strike the line, felling Ham and Lucy. The battle continued in earnest as Leena offered support and Matt took potshots at enemies he got a clear shot on. By the end, the party had come out victorious, though severely weakened. Fate blessed Lucy and Ham, though they momentarily experienced a strange hell of monstrous craps tables and a thick haze of smoke. After quickly patching the wounded up, the party returned topside.

Sarvus paid the party for their very quick foray, and the group returned to their resident kitchen to take a breather and spend the night. The following morning, they attempted a second delve.

We all know the process by now; blood, eyes, try not to die. This time, the group descended with a fury and conviction to clear out the mutant lair once and for all. They ran into zero resistance on their way to the double-door bearing Ogavaka's visage. Thea tried to bash it in and hit a barricade, alerting the creatures within. A second heave busted it open and revealed the creatures had moved their not-palisades within the doors to funnel invaders. The party didn't care; these things would die here.

Helvezia and Thea filled the frontline and forced their way into the room as a hail of stones and spears battered at them. The gorillas soon joined the fray and the two found themselves surrounded. Meanwhile, Leena put up a Holy Circle to assist, Ham and Lucy took opportunistic strikes while reaching through the palisade, and the others brought up the rear. Somewhere in the chaos was an interesting interaction of Blind Sight and Precise Shot that nailed the Chieftain that was shouting commands from the safety of darkness.

The fight was brutal and bloody, but Thea had leveled to Lv3 thanks to the pittance from before and began to open up space for her allies. Helvezia stood strong and glorious. Lucy managed to squeeze in and take advantage of the new Vulnerable rules to Backstab and drop one of the gorillas. I don't recall who fell during this (probably Ham), but the party came out victorious.

After executing the chieftain for his eyes, the party picked the room clean of valuables; a mix of copper and brass decor, rolled tapestries, and Ogavaka's old sitting bowl, and some loose change. The party also picked the bone trinkets and fetches off the bodies. Well-laden and soon patched up by Leena, the group headed topside. While they didn't meet the Master of the Sanctum, Sarvus explained that he was quite happy with seeing items he "lost in the move" and had proffered a bonus for nostalgia.

With that, the group spent another night in the kitchen then headed back home.

Rewards (Totals)

First Delve:
85xp
33gp

Second Delve:
285xp
218gp

Afterword

The change to Wednesdays butts against my work schedule so the write-up ends up delayed for several days. My notes were also poor, but I think I got the gist down (aside from who dropped each fight). I need to improve that in the future.

Now seems a good time to review something that had come up probably a month or two prior regarding GP and XP gains. Level pacing is often a point of discussion, and many people prefer skipping the first 1-2 levels. Due to the nature of random rolls, you can see based on my previous sessions that there are huge swings in rewards. The party is only a few rooms into the Sanctum's first level, but the lairs within roll on Treasure Table E, and man have the rolls been low. JJ suggests when building a dungeon to consider an average of 4gp:1xp a monster gives. Since everything is randomized, and I do little, if any, prep; I often roll these into trinkets or other prizes the monsters may have. To this end, Ogavaka's sitting bowl, the bone breastplates of the Chieftain and his lieutenants, and other small items are examples of this in play. Moreover, it doesn't require me to know the entire dungeon ahead of time.