Day 1, Star Trap Cage Fighting

After the running battle in the goblin halls that marked the 1st session of our Star Trap campaign, the party ponder where they might rest to relearn their most powerful spells and powers as well as regain some curative ability. Lucan the elven thief crept stealthily through  illustrated and dank dungeon corridors, revealing more of the map and discovering a way up into what might be the chambers that the rain of arrows came from as they entered Star Trap. They also worked out that a side room, which held another door and was occupied by what was probably more goblins as well as a taller figure trapped in cage, might have a secret door into the great wide hallway that seems to run endlessly into the heart of the level. Searching for it however revealed nothing, but Helja the dwarf knight heard a strange and ominous hooting, like that of a great owl, coming from the dark. The high-elf wizard Riardon recanted the tale of the owlbear, a huge ghastly magician's experiment that crossed an owl with a great bear and resulted in a beast both huge and vicious. The party decided not to investigate in that direction further, but to surprise the goblins in the side chambers. Just as the plan was started, horrors from the dungeon appearing marching down the corridors, undead skeletons! The party dealt swiftly with them, the warpriest Thanus proving his worth against these necromantic nightmares, although the skeletons were snapping off their own ribs and using them as darts. Then they returned to exploring more of the goblin's lair.

Lucan mustered all his subtle might and shot the shaman of Maglubiyet who was commander four goblin warriors, between the shoulder blades causing serious injury. The rest of the party then charged into the room, with the wizard sticking to the rear. A vicious battle ensued, with Helja taking the brunt of the goblins attacks and everything seemed to be going well until a goblin warrior ran to the cage and opened the door to the prisoner, who threw of it's ragged cloth and revealed itself as a putrid zombie. It immediately set about attacking the goblin. Helja bravely bull rushed the goblin, hoping to push it and the zombie further into the cage where they could be contained or fight it out between each other. Such was the force of charge that the goblin and zombie were thrown to the back of the cage, but the recklessness of the knight (a 1 may have been rolled) meant that he too went into the cage, and the door slamming locked behind him. The goblin threw himself at Helja's mercy while the zombie drooled a single word - "braaainzzzz". Desperately Lucan tried to pick the lock of the cage, but to no avail and while Helja held off the zombie, Riardon enspelled the zombie with a bewitching psychic assault. This caused the zombie to momentarily pause, and Lucan, having heard from Thanus that zombies are vulnerable to beheading then succeeded in a trick shot, shooting two wide bladed arrows into the neck of the zombie. Victory!

The remaining goblin fell to it's knees and begged for clemency, and although it seems nobody speaks goblin the party are set to interrogate the weasel about the map they have been drawing.   

It was a classic session, and really enjoyable for me to run. The combats, while fairly decisive went back and forth, the party started learning that to survive they need to work together and they now fear a creature they have not seen.

Best of all was that there was no way this kind of story could be told through CRPGs. People who have claimed that 4e is a MORPG clearly have poor players and DMs.