D&D Next - A Side Quest

Session 3 continued from here

Cast

Aha - high elf sorcerer
Darrien - human cleric of Pelor
Erevan - high elf rogue
Rajabu - dwarf fighter

Erevan and Rajabu were now down in level two of Stonehelm Citadel dungeons, the ghoul lair.  The ghouls transferred them to some musty but serviceable guest chambers while they waited for the rest of the party to be delivered by the orcs above.

I use the slower healing rules in D&D Next for the campaign.  The idea of 100% healing after a Long Rest doesn't sit well with my sense of logic.  So, the night that Erevan and Rajabu spent in the ghouls' guest chamber, they rolled their Hit Dice and healed some of their prior damage.

During their conversation with the ghouls, they inquired about armor and weapons.  While Erevan still possessed all of his gear, Rajabu had been stripped down to his street clothes.  The ghouls weren't aware of any armor or weapons available, as they are happy to attack with their paralyzation-inducing claws, but they did mention that there was an unexplored area of the dungeon, an area they called "cursed".  None of their kind would venture into that area.  Their curiosity peaked, Erevan and Rajabu decided to investigate this area on their own while they waited for their companions to (hopefully) be delivered from the orcs above.

Glustonok, the ghast, led Erevan and Rajabu down a main corridor in the ghoul lair.  Side tunnels branched off at regular intervals, and the shadowy shapes of eerie figures peered at them from the darkness as they marched forward.  Soon they came to a doorway, and Glustinok informed them that the area beyond was cursed, and that he would lead them no further.

The two heroes opened the ancient door and stepped into a twenty foot wide, very long, hallway.  In the center, about a hundred feet away, they witnessed a faint, shining globe of light, centered on a thick stone support column.  Carefully advancing closer, they made out a humanoid form slumped on the floor, leaning against the column.  They discovered that this was the dessicated remains of a cleric of Pelor, and his skeletal hand was tightly gripping a holy symbol and holding it forward.  There was still an expression of steely determination on his long dead face.  In his other hand, he gripped a mace.  Erevan issued a brief prayer of thanks to Pelor, and the two removed the items from the remains.  At this point, the supernatural glow ended, like someone turning off a light switch.

The two had just discovered their first magic item of the campaign, the Mace of Retribution.  It had been instilled with divine power during the last days of the cleric's life, as he doggedly kept hordes of undead at bay, and continued to keep them at bay during the decades after his death.

Erevan and Rajabu pressed on, and explored a small group of rooms connected to this hallway.  They encountered a wight's tomb, and defeated the raging undead warrior.  They found a secret door, and looted an armory, finding much needed armor and weapons.

I had them roll for random weapons using the D&D Next equipment list, and also let them roll for the number of "antique ringmail" that were there.  The antique ringmail could be worn, but since it was so old and in need of care, each successful hit against it would reduce its AC by 1, and reduce the resale value of the find by 1-20%.  Rajabu donned one of the ancient armor suits.  But, since it had been made for a human-sized wearer, I ruled that the dwarf would incur a -5 movement.  The armor was "heavy", so already brought with it a -5, so this brought poor Rajabu down to a speed of 20'.

They also found an ancient scribing room with heaps and piles of papers, journals, and scrolls, inscribed with indecipherable runes, symbols, formulae, and sigils.  In the back of the chamber, a narrow spiral staircase had been cut in the stone, and they ventured up, into a natural cavern.  There they found a massive stone circle, with similar bizarre symbols engraved all over its surface.  Deciding that there was not enough time to complete a thorough investigation of these mysteries, they made their way back down.

With a successful side mission completed, Erevan and Rajabu returned to the guest chambers, impatiently waiting to see what fate awaited their companions Aha and Darrien.

Session 3 continued here