June 27, Thursday - The first major encounter for the party was with a group of bugbears and their grimlock slaves who were in a large cavern harvesting zurkhwood, a huge mushroom with a stalk tens of feet tall that is like wood. Zurkhwood is prized in the Underdark as a ready substitute for wood, being used for bridges, rafts, boats, houses and all manner of other construction. Surprise and a good tactical plan made the fight easy.
The party continues to work its way further south and deeper into the Underdark. A notable encounter happened at a location called "Giant Steps", where the group began descending a huge set of stairs, only to find themselves high above an unsuspecting group of goblins on a parallel route below them. The party rained fiery death down on the goblins, who quite literally never knew what hit them.
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| "Giant Steps" and slaughtering goblins |
June 28, Friday - At a rift crossing on an old wooden bridge, the party encountered a troll. Due to the fact that the party was split up during the crossing, this was a very tough fight, and Badric the cleric and Thalmyr the paladin were both near death before the creature was overcome.
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| Crossing a rift...and finding a troll |
The group decided to investigate the side passage that the troll had come out of, and spent some time exploring the series of caverns and passageways that made up the troll lair. Another troll, the mate of the previously encountered troll, attempted to surprise the party, but was unsuccessful. She died after a short but violent fight.
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| Exploring the troll lair..and another troll |
Next - Onward...
GM Commentary - I am really enjoying these Underdark sessions. The crafting I have been doing (a hobby unto itself) has really paid off in terms of enhanced gameplay.
