OSRIC Notes Session 1:

It all started inside the Smokey Tavern in the hunting village of Oakdale. Our five heroes hear about an ancient mine to the north west about 2 days journey into the forest. The mine has been vacant for many generations. It is a place that has had so many rumors spread about it that no one truly knows the real story. It is because of this news that our heroes equip themselves, buy a horse and a cart, hire a stable boy (to watch over the horse), and head out towards fortune and glory.

The mines are entered and the delving begins. The first battle is a shot out of the blue. The dark and lonely dungeon complex jumps to life with the slamming of a far off door and 5 orcs suddenly running up on the heroes. The battle is quick and the exploration continues. The leading 2 heroes in the marching order fall into a pit trap in the floor. This extra damage prompts the party to abandon their exploration and head out of the dungeon to make camp and heal up. Before doing so, the crazy mage comes up with a plan to desecrate the orc bodies so that it would be impossible to pass by without creating footprints in the blood. Maybe footprints could lead to an idea of who or what else may live in the forgotten catacombs. No a bad idea! After an uninterrupted nights sleep, the heroes enter the dungeon again. A quick search of the orc mess reveals no activity, so in another expression of insanity, the crazy mage decides to cut off the head of one of the orcs and he takes it with him. This confuses the rest of the party, but they know well enough not to question the likes of a mage.

Further exploration revealed more twisting corridors and abandoned rooms. The crazy mage demonstrated the usefulness of the decapitated head he collected by throwing or rolling it down the hallways in an effort to possibly spring any traps. Once they would reach the end of the hallway, the head would be collected back up till the next time. A few more orc battles ensued. One particular battle took place around a festering pile of refuse. The heroes who won their initiave roll ran back past the garbage heap causing the orcs to give chase. Once the orcs were in the right spot, a torch was thrown into the pile of garbage, setting it alight along with the orcs that were following. It was perfect.

Late in the session, the shocking encounter with 2 strange metal statues occurs when one of the fighters searches the northern statue and receives a significant electrical burn. Another battle with orcs takes place in this room, but no one touches the statues again.

Later on, the smell of cooking pork fills the air. The heroes notice that behind a door a group of berserkers are cooking a long pig over a fire. The heroes bribe the berserkers for information about the dungeon. The berserkers add to their map and then insist the heroes leave them alone.

Coming towards the end of the session, our heroes explored 2 more rooms. One was the scene of an ancient battle where a lost spirit appeared causing the mage and druid in the party to flee in fear. The party regroups and decided to try one more door before calling it a day. After quietly trying the door handle, they realize it was locked. One of out fighters decides to smash in the door and successfully does so. The orc captain on the other side was caught by the door shattering surprise and is immediately killed. He possessed a +1 Battle Axe, a gold arm band worth 50 gold, and a pouch full of 100 gold.

The heroes leave the dungeon and head back to town and that is the end of our adventures for the day.