Session 7 – Wherein the Healer proves that she has a not so gentle touch...

This session was... interesting, and on reflection I have one major regret. However, more on that in a moment.

When we last met, the party was just about to charge through a double door, beyond which they believed were bandits that needed righteous smackdown.

So, they threw open the doors and... got confused.

The room beyond the doors was a theatre, complete with tiered seating, stairs down the sides and a stage at the far end. On the stage was a play in mid-scene. A number of bodies were lying amid pools of blood, and a pair at centre stage were enacting a bloody execution. One had his head on a block and the other was raising a headsmans axe.

As the party scrambled to prevent the execution, they were set upon by zombies hidden in the aisles. A melee ensued in which zombies proved to be tough customers, one dropping Narmak (one of the hirelings) and then dropping Bomani himself the next round before being dispatched by a thrown spear!

After the fight was over, Quill hurriedly examined the wounded. Narmak was in shock and had suffered a severe back injury whilst Bomani had, unfortunately, suffered grievous genital damage. Oh dear.

The actors on the stage had disappeared during the fight, and Paige discovered an area backstage which appeared to be safe. They made the decision to use this room as a safe spot, and leaving Bomani, Narmak and 2 of the other hirelings here the others opted to continue exploring.

Whereupon they discovered a large chamber that was completely overgrown with strange molds and fungus. Believing that the room was potentially dangerous, Yannick proved braver than most and ventured carefully across the room and Paige followed even more carefully. Quill went back and told Bomani what they’d found. Between them, Paige and Yannick discovered a number of skeletal remains beneath a stand of giant mushrooms, and a haul of silver coins (and 3 gems), which they duly looted.

Then things went horribly awry. The rest of the party turned up and started to walk across to Paige and Yannick, kicking up a cloud of spores. Unfortunately, this included poisonous spores from the myriad of species in the room, and 4 (I think) of the characters (all hirelings as luck would have it) breathed in the deadly air. 3 of these failed their Saving Throw and began to choke to death.

Here’s where I feel I made a mistake.

I had the affected hirelings choke to death within a few minutes, and although it led to an extremely surprising event, I feel it could have been handled much better if they’d had a long lingering death, where it wasn’t at first clear what had happened. Everyone had breathed in spores, so it would have produced more tension if everyone was coughing those that had been poisoned had started to show more symptoms. Hey ho. Lessons for the future I guess.

As it was, Bomani and his hirelings escaped the chamber as quickly as they could (but not quick enough to save Narmak from a horrible suffocating death a few minutes later).

Quill meanwhile, realising that nothing could be done to save her men (A natural 20 on a healing check), opted to spare them from the suffering she knew was sure to come and under the guise of trying to help them, got them down on their hands and knees to vomit out the poison. Then she stabbed them in the back of the neck as quick as you like, slaying them both, instantly. (This took me by total surprise and was absolutely hilarious.. Remember kids, clerics are good guys!)

The third of these hirelings (the 3 spearmen the party had recruited in the village some sessions before) completely freaked out and attempt to kill Quill, who eventually disarmed and calmed him down.

Unfortunately we ran out of time to explore what happens next so we’ll have to wait until the future for repercussions. Suffice to say I’ll be making some rolls on the Hireling Loyalty tables...