Play Report - Slime Baroness (Session Two)

Click here to see all the other sessions' play reports, as well as my blog post series on my full dungeon writing process for Slime Baroness and the Lady of Unterbranch Keep. 

This session, my two players (a butcher warrior and a potentially-homeless garden wizard) headed down to the main level of Unterbranch Keep, got into a couple scuffles, went back and forth between the village to sell some treasure, and left a hireling to die after being struck in the neck by some flying pots and pans. 

Imagine one of these metal bois straight to the neck. Ouch. 

Highlights from Session Two: 

• They found a ton of treasure, including going back to the Chapel to pick up the golden eagle talon which they disregarded in Session One. 
• They made 1200sp selling treasure, which pleased them greatly.  
• They finally reached the Barbican, which should have been the first room they entered through the front door. 
• They fought the animated suits of armour and almost perished! I thought that this would have been an easy introductory fight to set the tone of Unterbranch Keep. 
• This was funny, given that they had easily dispatched the Slime Baroness herself in Session One, a fight which I had expected to come later in the delve, and at much greater risk of danger. 
• Their hireling fell in the snake door pit trap in front of the Grand Hall, but luckily they had tied a rope around her before sending her to investigate, so they pulled her out. 
• There has been a lot of stress about acquiring basic gear these two sessions, like rope and water. I regret the way I set up their starting gear. I should have just run gear like straight Into the Odd/Electric Bastionland: all expeditions are assumed to have lanterns, basic climbing, mapping, camping equipment, and rations.
• They fought the puppet brigands in the Grand Hall and found the pocketful of diamonds.
• They didn't roll the random rumour about the diamonds being stolen by the brigands so I'm going to introduce that information next session. 
• They have been making great use of the iron bee bracelet taken from Robert Fish the skeleton librarian. The ability to levitate an enemy up in the air and out of reach at the beginning of combat is excellent. Maybe their next enemy should have throwing knives. 
• They had their deadliest combat yet when they entered the Kitchens!
• Eight flying pots and pans doing d6 damage to everyone made quick work of Henrietta the hireling. The garden wizard was soon downed as well. 
• The butcher dragged out his unconscious companion, and I told him that if he went down to the village to seek medical attention, the hireling would die. 
• They were both fine with this (as any savvy adventurer should be) and abandoned poor Henrietta to her fate. 
• I had no idea this fight would be so difficult. We were playing Into the Odd style, without the ganging-up rule from Electric Bastionland. With that in place, it might have been different. 
• Very funny that a flying muffin tray to the neck killed the first adventurer, when a magical Slime Baroness and her minions barely made a scratch. 
• The local surgeon healed up the garden wizard (for a fee) and they rested for a day. 
• That is where we ended the session. They will probably hire someone else (maybe Henrietta's son who came to demand 100sp for his mother's funeral costs) and head back to the Keep for more treasure. 

For Next Session

• I am going to start the next session with them overhearing someone mentioning the diamonds being stolen from the hetman to be used for back taxes, meaning they will not be able to sell them in town without arising suspicion. 
• I also replaced all used entries on the Encounter Table with a goblin funeral procession for the goblin they poisoned last session, in the hopes that they will have to reckon with being perceived as murderers. 

This was another very fun session! I am looking forward to the next. I have been really enjoying the freedom of running everything straight from my printed booklet, with no need to flip between tabs on my laptop or google things or whatnot. I love it.