Against the Giants: In Absentia

When I came back some weeks ago, the party was missing several faces and had a few new ones, both in and out of character.

Firstly, four players had decided to quit the game. What I learned was that, with the introduction of some new players and their newbie antics, they had collectively decided to throw in the towel and find a game elsewhere. Bob, player of Leia, Carl, player of Kenneth, David, player of Cared, and George, player of Coleth, were the more serious players of the group, always more concerned with “getting the job done” and “Serious role-playing”. They were always more quiet, and, it seemed to me, rather disapproving of some of the more comically-minded antics of our group. It seems that the influx of newbies and the consequences thereof have been the last straw, and so we are down four veteran players and four very powerful characters, including most of our front-line. From here on out I tried to have ore of a command role in the party and offering suggestions for plans. When I began playing in this campaign a few years ago, I too had little experience with actually playing D&D, as opposed to simply rolling up characters and going through a couple 1-on-1-sies with Dad. For whatever reason I thought that I knew what was going on, and everyone else was a moron.

Or, if not how I was consciously thinking, it was how I acted towards the other players.

A series of un-heroically splattered 1st and 2nd level characters told me to not mess with the DM, and getting my butt chewed out in several in and out of character discussions taught me the value of keeping ones mouth shut. I am now a much more level headed (I hope. Maybe my journal has proven me wrong) player, who has fortunately managed to keep at least one of his favourite characters intact.

So I suppose I shouldn't be judging the newbies too much; they have been making some of the very mistakes I once did, I.E not taking the views and actions of other players seriously. Still, what's been happening over the past two sessions has been rather irritating (mind-boggling for the others, but I think I have a pretty grasp of what's been gong on through these guys heads)

Where to begin?

Well, lets start with the players themselves.

All of this is hear-say, because I did not get back until we found the second dragon. Since then I've listened and gathered notes when I could.

John is a 16 year old that started playing 3.5 and 4th Edition, then heard about this 1st Edition game and decided to join. He brought along two of his friends, Mary and Charlie.

Mary just grabbed a character from the DM, this being her first D&D game ever, but from what I heard Charlie and John insisted on making their own characters. They flipped through Unearthed Arcana and the PHB and found The Cavalier.

So they both rolled up level 3 Lawful Good Cavaliers, that happened to be brothers.

And then started saying that they were “gladiators from ancient Rome”

From what I heard, they'd been watching a movie or tv show on gladiators and decided they were the most awesome thing ever. I roll my eyes at this, but the DM said it was OK, and when the session started we had two new warriors that popped in from a magical gate.

All this took place shortly after the incident at the Cthulu-esque temple. Which reminds me of the effects of that Great Eye.

Oaklock was killed, Great Scott purportedly lost most of his strength (18/50 to 4) and Tovenaar and several other characters were struck paralyzed. With the exception of Oaklock, all this was rectified by the party's clerics, and with a new character for Oaklock's player (I believe a human wizard.) The party gathered up who they could and one of the Clerics threw a log of ever-burning at the alter. They found another set of tunnels that led deeper into the earth, and so we trekked down, slaughtering trolls and drow alike.

I am told that sometime during all of this the party found a Red Dragon sleeping atop a gigantic pile of gold. For whatever reason Crexis decides to try and sneak up on it to steal some treasure. Altru tries to grab and hold them back, but he's too late. The dragon wakes up, roll for initiative.

The dragon breathes, and...

A gas cloud appears, covering Crexis, stoning him. The party rushes it, and a Scroll of Destruction and a Lightning bolt from Rhonda kill the thing, but not before it breathes again on Altru and Spartacus. In-character they realize "Oh, that's not a dragon" and get turned to stone.

This is about the time when the other players decided to leave, I'm told.

So... Altru's player takes a wizard, as does Crexis; names of Caier and Bhotan, respectively.

Since Altru held the portable hole, most of the party treasure is now inaccessible. A small debate is held amongst the party about what to do. Nothing is found amongst what is left that could turn stone to flesh. Gareth, the thief that we rescued from the dungeons, pipes up, saying that she had originally come here to steal the Fire Giant King's treasure, and that it was hidden in a secret vault, likely untouched by our first rampage.

So it is that the entire party tramps to the upper halls in search of this vault. It is eventually found, and Hwonalon and Gareth both set to work on finding and disabling traps.

Whether by accident or design, a chest that Gareth had pronounced “all clear” sprang on Hwonalon when he attempted to pick the locks. He was stabbed, and keeled over dead before anyone could do anything.

So now Gareth became the only thief in the party. Hwonalon's player takes another character from the DM's long stack, a cleric by name of Red. There are no more incidents, and a Potion of Stone to Flesh is indeed found, along with a Limited Wish scroll and a Wish scroll. The party heals Altru, who finds a scroll of stone to flesh in the hole, healing the rest. Bhotan and Caier are still in play, however.

So the party catalogs the treasure and marches back down to the lower corridors, and this is where I come back in.