Pool of Radiance AAR: A GrogHeads™ Experience

[Sir Slash]

Damn BC. Joe Dirten looks just like you. Does he know your mother?  ::)

[BanzaiCat]

The trolls are the bane of my existence right now.  I had them down to 2 trolls with around 10 hp each.  Killed 1 and the other down to 3 hp, yay me!  Then a troll stands up where the other died.  Then all freaking hell broke lose.  My party was wiped by a series of 3 and 4 hits and the other trolls standing back up.  Damn you trolls!

Use that Fireball scroll - it helps tremendously.

If you need just a bit of XP to level up, go west to Kuto's Well and find some random encounters to deal with. There's Lizardmen there, and they're worth more XP than the Kobolds (not much more, but definitely more).

[bbmike]

[JasonPratt]

  I wondered where Mirth was supposed to be in that screenshot. Fixed by BBMike now!

[Bison]

The trolls are the bane of my existence right now.  I had them down to 2 trolls with around 10 hp each.  Killed 1 and the other down to 3 hp, yay me!  Then a troll stands up where the other died.  Then all freaking hell broke lose.  My party was wiped by a series of 3 and 4 hits and the other trolls standing back up.  Damn you trolls!

Use that Fireball scroll - it helps tremendously.

If you need just a bit of XP to level up, go west to Kuto's Well and find some random encounters to deal with. There's Lizardmen there, and they're worth more XP than the Kobolds (not much more, but definitely more).

Hmmm....I'll need to look to see if I got the fireball scroll.  I don't remember getting one.

[Sir Slash]

Anything Fire or Acid related works on Trolls if I remember correctly.

[Bison]

Learned something interesting today.  First I won the troll battle yay me!  Then I screwed up and left without claiming my treasure boo!  However the items were a scroll a ring and something else don't remember.  Second time I win the battle yay me!  Loot?  Club and 2 magic user scrolls.  I had no idea that treasure was randomized like this in the game, which is why I don't have a fireball scroll.  I have a magic missile scroll.

[JasonPratt]

The game can do random treasures, or set treasures, or a mixture of both. You probably got FRUA when you bought the Gold Box package, right? It's an instructive look at the engine, if you've got the time someday to poke through it.

That was a big draw for my brother and me, when we were playing through the series, and when we had been playing the Tunnels of Doom game for the TI-994a, which the Gold Box series is more-or-less remaking in proper AD&D2.0 details (but without the Diabloesque randomized 99 level dungeon.)

[BanzaiCat]

That treasure was indeed randomized. I didn't get a club after that battle...can't remember offhand (it's upthread but I'm lazy), but I think a Composite Long Bow +1 was one of three magic items I received. A suit of armor was another I think.

[Bison]

If you scored magical platemail, I'm so jealous!

[BanzaiCat]

If you scored magical platemail, I'm so jealous!

Nah. It was either Chain Mail +1 or Leather +1 - can't remember which.

[BanzaiCat]

Entry #13
Into the Well of Not Souls



Do I want to climb down into a well? No. In reality, there is no treasure in the drain pipe.



But since this is D&D, of COURSE there's treasure down there. And things to murderize!



Uh...hey guys, this is like, total deja-vu!

I think we're all almost afraid to ask, MIRTH.

It smells like Orc feet down here.

I'm NOT going to ask how you know that's a thing, BBMIKE.

Whoa...for a second there I was, like, totally thinking we like passed into my home...like totally because of a Dimension Door or something, ya know?

Huh? Wait, this...reminds you of home?!?

Umm...well, yeah...except, y'know...I had a totally bitchin' set of irons on that wall, and like this awesome trapeze leather thingee hanging over there...

Aye, laddie, so we're'n yer sex dungeon then?

It...kinda looks like my insides down here.

...

After silently avoiding a continuation of that particular conversation, we suddenly had our hosts appear. Fortunately they had nothing to do with MIRTH's insides, though no doubt they wanted to make all of ours see the dank air of this cave.



And then, they disappeared.

After some words of wisdom from BARTHHEART ("Oi, mate, this heres'a thievin' den, best look out fer traps, like a MIRTH Butt Plug +2 or somethin'...") I put the party into Search mode and started moving to our west. I wanted to be sure we detected any traps OR secret doors that might be nea...



Well, isn't THAT fortuitous.

Seems to me that whatever slime-ball that's running this little guild of sneaky bastards might be hiding behind a secret door. And here we find it within a mere few steps of the entry to this dungeon. I think we just saved ourselves hours of exposition and pincushioning.

Just to be safe, I save the game here.

Aaaand we enter, totally uninvited...because D&D, you know.



Holy CRAP.



Dude, lay off the peyote!

Of course, we told him where he could stick his terms (something that no doubt MIRTH was very, very proud of), and a battle began!



Norris the Grey is apparently a Hobgoblin, and a damn near difficult one to hit, too. I had myself (BANZAI-CAT) and GUSINATOR trade blows with him; KYZBP the Cleric was stuck on the front line too, and he tried to pick away at Norris's hide, with little success. Meanwhile, MIRTH and BBMIKE cast Sleep spells with royal abandon, putting his Lizardmen and Kobold henchmen to sleep (and a swift weapon strike ensured that remained permanent).

The Lizardmen are not as easily put to sleep as Orcs, Goblins, or Kobolds, but occasionally one will get lucky. Besides, it's not like these guys are tough fighters or something.



BARTHHEART snuck around the back door



Okay, okay...he 'outflanked' the enemy, getting behind



Oh Jesus Chri...

Gee whilikers, that sure sounds like that might be blasphemy a'comin'...

OKAY OKAY already...





It didn't take long to bring these guys down. Norris got in some good hits, but once we started connecting he didn't last long.



Journal Entry 50, you say?

An official-looking notice.
'Assemble a group of at least 30 of your followers. Meet up with a hobgoblin assault force at the small docks to the west of town. ou and your group will be under the command of the hobgoblin leader. Follow his orders. Upon completion of the mission you will be rewarded with food, treasure, and many slaves.'

Signed,
The Boss.

THIS guy again? No, not Springsteen. Some amateur-hour villain thinking he can run us into the ground...well I have news for you, buddy, that little failed assault force was a few Entries ago...

Scribbled on the back of these orders is Norris the Gray's unsent reply to The Boss:

'I will never follow the orders of a hobgoblin. I don't go on missions until I know exactly what we're supposed to do. And I don't go on missions for an unknown amount of food, treasure, and slaves. I do go on missions where I am in command; where I know exactly what the target is; and where I know exactly how much I'll get paid. Don't send me another order unless you can meet my terms.'

Signed,
Norris the Gray

Such proper punctuation usage for such a low-class thief! 

Well, I guess he told him. Or...he didn't, because he's dead and I'm holding his letter right now.  >:D



As this is officially classified now as a 'bandit hideout' and not 'recreation of MIRTH's lower intestine,' no doubt there is a stash hidden around here somewhere.



Gee, kids, what's the answer to that? Plunder a bad guy's treasure hoard? Perhaps save it for orphans and refug...



Hahahahahaha, no, mine.

After gathering up this mini-convention of rich stuff, I think we'll go ahead and move forward with the Podol Plaza mission since we're right here next door anyway. I just hope we don't jingle too much.

[mirth]

I just hope we don't jingle too much.

And my character immediately breaks into a round of "Jingle Balls"

[BanzaiCat]

Entry #14
So Much for That, Now for The Other

Our wanderings through the sewers of the well (why can't thieves' guilds ever be holed up in nice places?) now leaves us adjacent to Podol Plaza, and yet another mission given to us by the City Council. Namely, there's a weapon of much power being auctioned off to the scum and villainy that seems to hang out around there. This time, they want information, and not a body count.



So, we have to sneak in and try to get as much info as we can, then skedaddle, and report back. Upon returning, if we're lucky here in Podol Plaza, we'll get rewards for two missions at once.



Hordes of monsters doesn't exactly scream "throw caution to the wind" as an effective strategy to deal with them. And I don't trust our sneaking ability as we're loaded down with coin and characters that have two left feet. So, disguising ourselves is the way to go...I hope.

We wander around the outskirts of the mob, trying to be careful and not noticed, until we are directly north of the auction area. We take a breath and take our first step towards it, when a wild Orc appears!



We're...uhh...well we're here to see the weapon, of course!

You no look like the others around here.

Not everyone is blessed with hairy, son.

Hmm...you look like monster. The others look too pretty to be evil.

Aww, that's so nice of you to say, because you know, there's no way I could fit in with you creatures anyway...

What you mean, "YOU creatures?"

Just leave us alone, okay? We're here to spend money and get a weapon of unimaginable power!

GREEN LIVES MATTER!

So much for cover.



A few Sleep spells and prodigious use of arms puts down most of our opponents.



Meanwhile, Joe Dirten makes himself absolutely useless by casting stupid spells on himself (and only himself).

Surprisingly, this little fracas didn't bring the entire Plaza down around our ears. Apparently brawls are not out of the ordinary. I guess we get a few weird looks but most of those around us don't want to challenge a group of six 'creatures' that just took down three times their number.

We step closer to the auction block, and...



So, we might get a look at this Boss character? Interesting. We approach closer, to the fringes of the crowd, just as an auctioneer steps up and raises his voice to be heard over the crowd.



We can barely hear him, so we edge closer into the crowd. I don't want to get too close, because we might draw attention, blow our cover, and not learn anything about this weapon.

As we edge closer, the monsters get thicker (and smellier), and we get some looks from some of them, pissy at our shouldering them aside.



That's good to know, at least for me. Good enough. I don't want to get any closer.



A man in plain clothes, next to an Ogre. Bodyguard, no doubt.

Nobody else in the crowd is apparently rich enough to top a 5,000-gold bid, so they remain quiet. The auctioneer, perhaps sensing trouble, ends the auction quickly with the standard 'going, going, gone' spiel.



How easily an Ogre can "disappear into the crowd" is a matter of perception I guess, which speaks to how many giant-sized creatures must be about.

We make our way out of the dispersing throng, keeping our heads down as we head east towards the exit to Kuto's Well and our path to Phlan beyond.

We apparently keep our heads down really well, because we bump into a party of Hobgoblins.



Uh-oh...

[Sir Slash]

Asian-Themed Hobgoblins are the worst! Both as opponents and as racial stereotypes. Hit them with your magical +1 Bag of Rice and Chop-Sticks.