Saturday, the 16th of May 2026
Players, characters and retainers
- Ash was playing Kristi, a level 1 Mage
- Emory was playing Mabel, a level 1 Friar
- Kyle was playing Julius, a level 1 Knight
- Marcus was playing Lament-of-Broken-Bones, a level 1 Elf
- Nick was playing Rodger, a level 1 Thief
If you missed the introduction to this campaign, check out this post.
Session report
Chime, the 16th of Iggwyld 1661
From 17.00 to 24.00
Clement, cheery weather
From 17.00 to 24.00
Clement, cheery weather
Returning from their Haloo through the Wailing Hills, the party came upon chaos on the roadside. A pair of pilgrims and Moss, a weary cleric of St. Sedge, had been cornered by eight brigands. A cart stood abandoned in the mud, one pilgrim screamed beneath the weight of a fallen horse, and the battered cleric appeared moments away from surrender. Hidden from sight, the adventurers watched the scene unfold — and noticed something else as well: something enormous moving through the thickets south of the road.
The adventurers attempted a cunning scheme. Mabel and Julius strode boldly onto the road, demanding the brigands surrender at once, warning them that soldiers were fast approaching. Meanwhile, Rodger and Lament-of-Broken-Bones slipped through the brush, snapping branches, blowing whistles, and creating the convincing illusion of a marching force descending upon the ambush site.
I want to encourage my players to come up with creative ideas, and this shenanigan was just believable enough. I decided to resolve it with a morale check for the bandits. When Kyle rolled a 12, the matter was easily resolved.
The brigands broke immediately, retreating in panic. At the very same time, from the thickets emerged a monstrous figure nearly ten feet tall: a leathery-skinned Ogre dragging a stripped tree trunk like a club. With horrifying ease, the creature pulped one fleeing bandit into the dirt before bellowing, “Shining! Little-Brother likes shinings!” and pointing greedily toward the stranded cart.
Designing this encounter, I intended to place a far too strong opponent at the very beginning to teach the group that not every fight is worth approaching head-on and retreating is always an option… this may not have worked as intended.
While Lament distracted the brute with a minor enchantment, Mabel and Julius attempted to bring the creature down by tangling its legs in a rope. The plan failed catastrophically. Little-Brother smashed Mabel aside with a single brutal swing of the trunk, killing her instantly. Rather than flee, the remaining adventurers threw themselves into the fight with desperate determination.
Several of their tricks proved useless. Kristi discovered that the Ogre was too powerful for her sleep enchantments, while Rodger quickly realised the creature was simply too massive for a precise backstab. Still, through grit, luck, and sheer determination, the battered party slowly wore the monster down. Julius was left gravely wounded, but at last the Ogre collapsed into the dirt beside the road.
During the encounter, I rolled for Morale for Moss the Cleric, who joined the fight after a successful roll, and for Little-Brother, who attempted to flee when reduced to 1/4 of his hit points. I introduced as well my HR for critical success, which deals full weapon damage, and Fumble, which causes the loss of the following round. I asked Emory to roll for a new character; she created the Enchanter Sciera, and we decided that she was none other than one of the two pilgrims who joined the group out of gratitude.
While the battle raged, Kristi quietly slipped away to loot the cart, stealing a valuable relic Moss had been escorting to Ragged Hollow. Distressed, the cleric blamed the brigands for the theft. Later, as the group travelled onward, Lament-of-Broken-Bones convinced Moss to join him as a retainer, on the condition that the adventurers conduct themselves honourably and aid both Ragged Hollow and the shrine of St. Sedge.
Upon reaching Ragged Hollow, the party found the settlement in turmoil. Nearly the entire population had gathered before the Abbey of St. Sedge, staring in horror at a shimmering barrier of golden light encasing the church. From the frightened townsfolk, the adventurers learned that the barrier had appeared around noon, trapping inside the clergy, including all the town council, several villagers attending service, and most of the children who had been present for lessons.
This scene was designed to introduce the party to their relations in town and give them information about the main problem surrounding the scenario. I prepared a personalised encounter for each of the characters, but because Mabel met an untimely death, I had to improvise a little bit.
Rodger reunited with his brother, who introduced him to a gang of reckless local youths led by three fierce girls calling themselves the Ragdolls. The group had spent the afternoon experimenting with ways to breach the barrier, though every attempt had failed spectacularly. Even crossbow bolts fired at close range were repulsed by the glowing surface. Their only discovery was that the tip of the church’s weather vane protruded slightly beyond the barrier atop the bell tower.
Julius met Omar, the herbalist and owner of Alchemical Solutions. Distraught over his two sons trapped within the abbey, Omar promised a generous reward to anyone capable of freeing them. Julius sold the Ogre’s severed head to the herbalist and purchased a restorative remedy to hasten his recovery.
Kristi, after meeting with her uncles, one of whom had been transformed into a toad, decided to visit her master, the elderly mage Radomir, proprietor of Arcanic Mechanic. Though ignorant of the strange events engulfing the town, Radomir showed immediate interest in researching the phenomenon. He identified the stolen reliquary as magical — though divine rather than arcane in nature — and declined to purchase it. However, he expressed considerable interest in acquiring any Mossling artefacts the party might discover.
Lament, after reuniting with his old friend Sharp at the general store, accompanied Sciera to the Lost Ox Tavern. There, they found Kenan the innkeeper, three outsiders gambling by the fire, and Justin, a young acolyte of St. Sedge. Justin appeared to be the only member of the clergy not trapped inside the abbey, having been sent out to buy milk when the barrier manifested. Nervous and clearly overwhelmed, he revealed that Lady Constance and her squire had met privately with the abbey leadership the previous night.
I informed the group that the Ragged Hollow community, as a famous pilgrimage destination, was in the habit of renting any spare room available and, therefore, even characters with friends and family in town would not have been able to get a bed for free.
Kristi, Sciera, Lament, and Moss rented rooms at the Lost Ox. Rodger instead visited his Aunt Susanna, intending to gift a pair of boots to his cousin Tobias. He discovered Tobias had left town several days earlier in pursuit of treasure and glory. Susanna eagerly awaited his triumphant return, convinced he would soon stride home laden with gold. Rodger rented Tobias’ empty room for the night.
Meanwhile, Julius, having heard Omar’s suspicions that the Witch of Gloom Wood lay behind the town’s troubles, ventured alone at night along the banks of the Upper Hamet to investigate.
Then, at midnight, the bells of the abbey rang out — not twelve times, but thirty-six, perplexing the entire town. The session closed with Julius alone on the riverside, witnessing a dreadful crimson spectacle: a storm of red meteors streaking across the darkness like tears of blood falling from the stars.
All the setting and the art belong to the Merry Mushmen.
All the elements of the Dolmenwood System belong to Necrotic Gnome.
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