Well that was lucky...

Fireday the 26th of Polvius, 2044
Father Cathon paced in the cathedral. It was the third day since the small band of adventurers had left to retreive Weracy and the little girl Karry, and still no sign of them. Her father Dalan had barely been absent from the cathedral, and comforting the grieving father was draining him. Why had they not returned? What could have happened? What if they were in trouble... or worse?

Xavier relaxed in his room, counting his take from the day's endeavors. Caravan duty doesn't pay so well, but it keeps you fed and leaves your enemies behind you. Plus, the bonuses aren't bad provided you know how to get them. He'd arrived in Belm the previous day with a caravan from Louchester, taken his pay (and his bonus), and begun to explore. He'd spotted potential mercenary work with the Town Guard and left his address if they had anything which paid well enough. And if nothing came of that, he'd have a few days to figure the strength and presence of the local thieves guild before trying his hand on the streets. Opening his window he gazed out at the street below. The air felt good in his lungs. Another day, another city.

A tall figure nimbly ascends the Belm Cathedral steps and enters the gloom. Cathon sees the stranger enter and rises to greet him, noting with surprise that the stranger is an elf. 'Greetings. Welcome to the monastery of Belm' Cathon says, trying to hide the strain in his voice. The elf introduces himself as Laén. 'I've just arrived and I'm looking for work. I hunt undead, preferably, though I have other skills. Have there been any incidents lately which could use my talents?' Cathon furrows his brow and prepares to refer the elf onwards when an idea strikes him. 'Wait here' he tells the elf, and heads for Cardinal Gleam's office.

'You want to send another group?' Cardinal Gleam frowns sternly.
'What else can we do?' said Cathon. 'You want to involve the Knights Lonusso? Officially we'd have to request permission from the Sepinus Fairarch himself to enter the grounds, and we're not exactly on speaking terms. We haven't heard from the adventurers or the monks of Sepinus, so somethings definitely going on at the Stantor Monastery.'
'Yes Cathon, our hands are tied, and I don't like interfering in Sepinus affairs. We're already in hot water if that gets out.'
'But that's my point. If we do nothing now we're not only done for, but we're turning our backs on our friends. Look, there's an elven undead hunter in the foyer asking about work. I have a friend with the Knights of Paeso who I think... well he'd be in. I figure we can rustle up an extra merc or two, and we've got a scouting party.' Gleam folds his arms and leans back in his chair.
'Okay, perhaps you're right. Gather a small group and send them to scout. May God's blessings be on them.'
'Uh, there is just one other thing...' says Cathon, embarrassed. 'We have to pay them.'

There is a knock Xavier's door. 'Yes?' he responds.
'There are some visitors here for you. They say it's about work.'
'I'll be right down.' Xavier emerges into the common room minutes later. There are three men and an elf waiting below. He greets them: Kriam, his contact at the city watch; Cathon from the cathedral; Korban from the Knights of Paeso; and the elf, who introduces himself as Laén. Kriam excuses himself and returns to the watch. Cathon explains the task at hand. It seems a party left for a nearby monastery three days ago and hasn't come back. Cathon wants to know what's happened to them, and to provide whatever assistance they need should they still be alive. Could be dangerous, but at a whole five gold for a day's honest work is not too shabby. Why not.

And so, Laén the ranger, Xavier the rogue, and Korban the paladin travel to the Stantor Monastery in search of the first party. As the spire of the chapel appears over the hill they dismount and approach cautiously on foot. They find the remains of a dozen or so hobgoblins, butchered in their score and partially decomposed. The entire grounds are eerily quiet, and a heaviness hangs in the air. They explore the buildings and find the trapdoor leading into the catacombs beneath the chapel.

The catacombs are empty, however signs of battle are evident. Skeletal remains and dust litter the floor. They press onwards and downwards, climbing bravely into the bottomless pit and emerging on the level below. They progress forwards examining each room and finding signs of battle and destruction, but only undead remains. They find the three paths of Sepinus and follow the path already traveled. They beat back the illusions from their minds as they wander through the last corridor, and find themselves in a storm of action. A man, a high man and a dwarf are standing off against a demon on a platform suspended by chains from ceiling. A halfling and a young man sprint past them at top speed, heading for the exit. That would be Milo and Weracy.

They all draw weapons, and Laén fires several arrows in rapid succession at the demon. Xavier and Korban rush for the stairs.

Up on the platform the fight hangs in the balance. 'Ge on, lad. Git outta here! I'll cover ya' grunts Tungdil the dwarf as he deflects another blow from the demon's massive sword. Uther swings out onto the chains as Tungdil covers his retreat, then tries to follow. As he spins the Demon spots the gap in his defense and strikes him hard between the shoulder blades. Tungdil hits the deck once more.

Bùmak the demon laughs... demoniacally, and kicks the stunned Thorhal from the 40ft platform who lands with a crunch on the hard floor below. Absent of enemies and playthings he looks around, and spots a paladin rushing up the stairs to him. It must be Christmas. Bùmak leaps from the platform, swings across the chains, and heads down the stairs toward his prey. Korban spots the demon descending upon him and readies his longsword. It must be Christmas. Laén continues to pepper the demon with arrows, taking him several times in the legs and torso. The demon and paladin clash on the stairwell, trading blows with full might and furor. Xaver crests the stairwell and begins descending the other side, behind the demon.

Uther looks over his shoulder and sees that the demon has left the platform, with Tungdil lying unmoving at its edge. He swings back across and uses the last of his healing ability to seal Tungdil's wound.

Korban draws forth the power god and swings. Xavier arrives and prepares to leap into the frey. Laén sends more arrow shafts into the demon, catching it in the neck and staggering the beast. Korban and Xavier both see their opportunity and strike, driving their blades into the demon's front and back simultaneously. Bùmak lets forth a roar of pain and frustration as his demonic taint wanes and dies within him. His huge frame crashes to the floor, and the battle is won.

But it is not over yet. With the last of the evil purged, the ulcer begins to close and recede back into hell. The room begins to shake and the smoke and black energies retreat into the maw. A wind starts to blow as air is sucked into the maw. Crashing can be heard as parts of the ulcer crumble in the corridors beyond. Soon the entire ulcer will collapse, trapping whatever left behind in hell.

Korban's first priority is to secure the demon's head as a trophy, and then swings over and heals Tungdil. Xavier picks up Karry, the little girl, and notices an recession in the wall which was not there before. Laén is sure he saw Xavier stuff something into his backpack, but Xavier later explains that there was certainly nothing there.

They run. They climb. They dodge falling rock and earth, and hold onto the walls for support as the earth around them shakes, and eventually, they emerge from the church. The taint has been lifted, and the ulcer has been closed. They become acquainted with the rest of the party as they travel, and after an hour's ride return to Belm.

Cathon greets them as they arrive. Karry awakes and runs to Dalen's arms. Weracy sweeps up his girlfriend and, in a rare public display of affection, kisses her. He announces that he is giving up his priesthood with the church, and a week later they marry. Xavier and Laén get paid. Korban knows a good taxidermist in Belm (who does the eyes really well), and mounts Bùmak's head above his fireplace. The birds sing, the sun shines, and they all live happily ever after... at least, until the next adventure.

The party spend the next week relaxing in Belm and acquainting themselves with the new city. They attend Weracy's wedding and sell the weapons and armour they stripped from the hobgoblins. They buy some healing potions from a priest in the town market.

Fireday the 5th of Vatelion, 2044.
The trouble begins when Laén gets pick-pocketed en-route to the weapon smith. It was a considerable amount of coin, but he has no chance to find the guy. At best he has a fleeting memory of a guy who bumped into him, going the other way. Xavier lends him his share of the pay to buy more arrows. As they return home, another pick-pocket attempt is made, this time at Xavier. They catch the guy in the attempt, and he takes off. They both pursue, and are led into a dead-end alleyway. Xavier rushes in and draws a short-sword when a door open and another two armed men step out next to their comrade. Two men step into the alley way behind him, blocking the way back. A fight ensues, long and bloody. Laén arrives and starts firing arrows, downing them one by one. Xavier retreats and drinks a potion, which sustains him long enough to come out on top. The last thug is badly wounded and attempts to run, but is easily caught. Xavier moves around the downed thugs and finishes them off. The remaining thug begs for his life and spills the beans. Apparently there is a new thieves guild starting up, and the attack was a test to see if they were competent enough for the new guild. They chose the targets because they are both outsiders, and likely easy marks.

Shortly thereafter the city watch arrive and take the man into custody. Laén puts in a good word and the man is offered a deal of a lighter sentence if he helps nark on his contact. The man agrees.

Incredibly, the same thing happens to Tungdil, Wanda and Thorhal. They detect an attempted pickpocket and chase him into a similar abandoned alleyway. More thugs arrive and a fight ensues. None are left conscious, but Thorhal does his best to heal the wounded, but insists that they face the full punishment of the law. Unless they have powerful friends, they will be taken to the city watch, healed, face a court hearing, and then be summarily hung for attempted murder. Thorhal ensures that their goods are handed to the proper authorities as evidence.


GM's Notes:

• Two new players joined, sporting the characters Xavier and Laén. Thankfully Alex was there to help with the character creation. I'm interested to see how they will integrate with the group. It was great to play again. Now Jürgen's back too, so with luck there should be some more games in February.
  
  
• Obstacles overcome:
  Búmak, Demon of Deceit, CR7 => 3600/6 = 600XP (lvl3), or 3200/6 = 533XP (lvl4)
  5 Muggers (Xavier & Laén), CR6 => 2700(@lvl3)/2 = 1350XP each
  4 Muggers (Tungdil, Wanda & Þórhal), CR5 => 1600(@lvl4)/3 = 533XP each
  
  Xavier & Laén: 3000 + 600 + 1350 = 4950XP (65% to level 4)
  Þórhal: 6320 + 533 + 533 = 7386XP (35% to level 5)
  Tungdil: 7307 + 533 + 533 = 8373XP (59% to level 5)
  Wanda: 7207 + 533 + 533 = 8273XP (57% to level 5)
  Milo & Uther: 7207 (30% to level 5)
  
  
• Post-game Analysis:
  I'm pleased how the session went overall, particularly with two new players joining and finding credible ways to include them in the quest. I liked how everyone roleplayed their characters for a while after clensing the ulcer. It gave me time to collect my notes and think. :) The split party combat went pretty well too I thought. Was a good way to split the party up without leaving players behind.
  
  Regarding game balance, the encounter with Bumak is designed for 2nd level characters. I simulated a play-test of this encounter when I first read it, and the party didn't make it up the stairs. Our party made it without permanent casualties, but I was very soft on them. Feather-like, really. Was I too soft on Roland? I think so. *sigh*... I'm a soft DM. I'll probably pay for it later, but I just couldn't look into Roland's big watery eyes and tell him his Dwarf had bled to death.
  
  For example, the Búmak that our party fought:
  - used the stats which stated +12 atk 2d6+4 dmg (instead of +12/+7 atk 3d6+4 dmg)
  - moved only 30ft (instead of 50ft)
  - had no damage reduction 5/good (I scrapped it deliberately mid-session)
  - didn't use many of his spell-like abilities, such as using Major Image to create fake chains hanging from the ceiling, or Hallucinatory Terrain to make fake platforms, or Invisibility or Unholy Blight (which deals 5d6 dmg to humans or 7d8 dmg to dwarves & high-men, shudder).
  - didn't get the +2 enchantment bonus & +2d6 damage bonus to those with the Divine Spark, as all Demons usually get.
  - didn't attempt to summon another Galpharus (with a 40% chance of success)
  
  Take into account the green energy balls flying out of the pit and the fact that you have to take on the little girl first, and it becomes clear that there's no way that a 2nd level party could ever hope to get past the first adventure.
  
  While I'm griping, I occasionally noted discrepancies in the stat blocks which confused me until I realised they were mistakes and adjusted them.
  
  HOWEVER, I realise that this adventure has been quad-statted (meaning that the same campaign is available for HERO, Rolemaster, Harp and DnD) and I imagine that game balance issues such as this are likely to crop up when converting one system to the next. Despite its faults the 'fluff', or story-telling aspect is fantastic. The world is immersive, the plots are intriguing, and I look forward to see where the story leads us.