Greg, Mat and half of Sarah were absent for this session (Sarah counts as half because she was half asleep)… the nett result of which was to cause a curiously disjointed session, at least to my mind. I don’t think the weather was helping. A lot of the customary banter was missing and it was fascinating to see how much less of a “life” the game had as a result.
We did a few useful things though. This morning, I also gathered together the strands of what has happened in the three sessions so far and made it into a “Tale of Years”. Or, more correctly, a “Tale of Days”. Now brought to you by the wonders of Invisotext! (select to see).
Session 1
Day 1: Group ambushed by kobolds on their approach to Winterhaven. In town, the learn of the kobold caves to the south.
Day 2: Group ambushed by kobolds as they leave Winterhaven; they return to town to rest as the battle went against them.
Session 2
Day 3: Proceeded to Kobold caves, killed the kobolds and their leader, but Ea (Sarah) was slain in the battle. Returned to Winterhaven.
Day4-5: Rest. Ea is raised by the village priest.
Day 6: Found where their mentor was and freed him, then headed back to Winterhaven.
Session 3
Day 6 (continued): A caravan had been attacked outside of Winterhaven; the party went to reinforce and first killed the bandits that had attacked it, then tracked and killed those who had taken the guards & merchants prisoners. Back in Winterhaven, they were feted by the locals, and made acquaitance of the local sage who told them about the nearby ruined keep.
Day 7: Expedition to the Keep. The first level of the dungeon was entered and two encounters dispatched – the little goblins in them utterly defeated.
The combats have been getting quicker and quicker as the group becomes aware of how their characters and the system work. At this point, I’m not seeing that much difference with the speed of 4e and 3e behind the screen (and 3e combat was pretty fast for me). Certainly the tougher monsters do take a little more to take down (more than one hit!), but once all the attacks of the party bear on a single individual, rarely can they stand more than two rounds.
Sometime soon (either this or next week) I hope to get H2, which will be interesting to read. I expect another 3-4 sessions of H1 before it is done.