Gaming Notes: AD&D 1e (OSRIC) #5

Having entered the Caves of Chaos and met with some initial success, we returned to town to deliver the prisoners we had freed. We rested, healed, restocked, and returned to the caves.

We wanted to retrace our steps to make sure monsters hadn't reentered the portions we had previously cleared out. Along the way, we noticed that although the bodies of our fallen foes weren't removed, they were covered. Obviously, the enemy is aware of our presence.

Taking a new route, we discovered a goblin dining area. There were dozens of women, children, and men in this area. The party was split on tactics so we decided to go in without a plan. The ranger just ran into the room, trying to block the exit of our foes. He was quickly charged by multiple combatants, thus forcing the rest of the party to enter the room to bail him out. After a sleep spell, most of the goblins had fled the room. We pursued down the hall where we found a locked door. Forcing it open, we discovered the goblins that had fled and dealt with them to the last.

The next encounter would be nothing but routine, however. Deciding to go up some stairs, we encountered two guards standing in front of some doors. We engaged them and were in the middle of fighting them with six more guards came out from behind the door along with a big, bad orc general in full plate. The battle dragged on and on. The druid was the first to go down (not dead, just unconscious). Next, the cleric bit the big one. The barbarian was down to one hit point when he retreated. Then the thief/mage was knocked down to -5 hp. My brave hireling, Pillman, stepped into combat valiantly when called upon. This left the ranger and I as the only two active combatants. We couldn't hit the orc general to save our lives! Luckily, he couldn't hit me either (thank you -1 AC!).

Eventually, we wore him down and he was cut down. Whew. Still, the party has suffered its first death and was decimated in the combat. We beat feet and got back to town as soon as possible.