Rolemaster - Gaming Notes #5

When last we left off our heroes had defeated a Lich that was threatening a village with an undead army. But the defeat wasn't permanent - the heroes knew the the Lich would raise from the dead very soon. It's power resided in its internal organs which it cannot go over 100 miles away from.

The ranger quickly detected the tracks of the Lich and it was proposed the party follow the tracks to see where he came from. Before the ranger, cleric, and rogue could set out, a paladin and magician rode up. The paladin and magician had traveled from the village and, having heard about the epic adventures of our heroes, wanted to come along to gaze in awe at the amazing abilities of our heroes (or something like that). The ranger sternly warned them that this was no place for sightseers and they should turn back. Foolishly, they ignored the warning.

The party set off on the trail of the Lich. The trail was easy to follow but there were undead creatures aimlessly roaming the forest attacking anything that moved! The party got involved in multiple combats versus a number of skeletons. In one such combat, the ranger, Mr. Grimes, critically fumbled in a bad way and had his heirloom bow completely shatter. *sob* I don't want to talk about it...

This was sadder than the time we lost Henchy...

Nevertheless, the heroes made it to their destination: The home of the lich! The partially reincorporated lich was surrounded by six stone golems and six urns (each with a Lich organ in it, we supposed). Our plan was simple yet stupid: Attack a golem and send the magician in to attack the urn behind the golem. Unfortunately, our attacks did next to nothing to the golem and when the magician advanced he was taken down in one round by the golem.

That's how the combat went. The paladin was quickly killed. The rogue went down. It was just Mr. Grimes the ranger and Gibson the cleric against six stone golems. Or was it? Mr. Grimes commanded his black unicorn to attack as a last ditch, ace-in-the-hole strategy. He was surprised when, instead of attacking a golem, it attacked a urn! We found out how extremely awesome that unicorn is when he struck with his horn, bashed, and trampled for MASSIVE damage in one turn! (Note to self: Don't EVER make that unicorn angry!) I fired a flaming arrow at the exposed organ and destroyed it. The cleric was destroying urns as well.

We repeated this process for a total of four urns out of six when we heard the lich's voice, "You could be generals in my army! Just stop!" Mr. Grimes had to give this offer some serious consideration but ultimately decided to reject the offer. Perhaps if the lich had offered to be a general in Mr. Grimes's army... but, no. The fifth organ was destroyed and Gibson cracked the final urn. Mr. Grimes retrieved one of his flaming arrows and fired into the crack of the last urn. With a scream the lich turned to ash. The golems all stopped attacking, turned East and started walking back to the tombs.

Yes. Yes we did.

 So, as it turns out, the paladin and wizard should have taken the ranger's warnings more seriously. But what will become of the undead army that was under the control of the lich? Did they die as well or are they now roaming the countryside attacking innocents? What of the tomb - what secrets and treasures did it hold? What about the potential war to the south between two rival cities? Find out next time in.... Rolemaster Adventures #6!