Kellar's Keep

[Mistral]

So, after almost 5 years we FINALLY managed to start the much anticipated expansion to the original quest book (as detailed under the Revenge of Morcar thread further down).
I even had to un-punch the cardboard tiles and tokens from my copy that I managed to get way back in 2006 (Australian version turned out), which hurt me a bit spiritually destroying a mint cardboard HQ sheet.

Warning: spoilers ahead for those who haven't already played through the expansion!

The Emperor and his knights are besieged by the hordes of Chaos in distant Karak Varn. The heroes decide to postpone their personal quests and start a rescue mission, but it will not be an easy task. They will have to journey through the Halls of Belorn and half a mountain in search of the four parts of Grin's treasure map to find his hidden pathway.
The rules concerning full health and mind points and resetting spells remain, but due to the nature of this long quest there will be no chance to shop or get extra men-at-arms between quests. The crossbowman from the last quest returns and they choose an additional crossbowman, a halberdier and a scout to join the party. The Wizard player couldn't make it so Mentor sends an unnamed wizard in training with the heroes. The Barbarian player was also occupied but he will resume his role in the future, so for now we have 2 players that play 2 heroes each, with 4 men-at-arms at their back. A bit overkill for the early stages, but we will see.

Mentor gives his usual meta briefing and leads the rescue party to...

The Great Gate

The first part of the upper dwarven halls, who indeed turn out to be infested with orcs and goblins. But the greenskins are no threat for a well-trained party of adventurers.



The players are always searching for traps and manage their turns very carefully, so there are very few monsters left to retaliate. And when they do, I roll the combat dice so badly it doesn't matter.
But then the Elf decides to scout ahead and a few secret doors open, after which the revealed monsters get a free move action! Surrounded by greenskins the players do their very best to defeat as much of them as possible before the survivors can attack the lone Elf. In the end, the Elf is slightly wounded, but all monsters dead. Jaques the Dwarf investigates the statue of a Gargoyle and finds it is magically linked to a chest nearby. They decide to ignore the chest (and miss the 200 gold within). The Wizard searches for treasure in the room with a weapon rack, after which it turns out to be a Mimic (Chaos magic!). It manages to land a wound on the Wizard before the Barbarian utterly destroys the piece of furniture. Fun times!
Traps are found before anyone can walk into them, but the dwarf is always wounded when removing them so he figures they might as well just walk into them and set them off like that.



Then a large room with more orcs and even a Fimir is found, but the heroes slay all monsters before any real harm can be done. After a few empty corridors a staircase is found leading downward and to another iron door. The crystal of Mentor glows red and the old wizard contacts the heroes for his meta briefing and instructs them concerning...

The Warrior Halls

The training grounds of the dwarves of old, riddled with powerful illusions and traps. Jaques mocks that illusions harm no one, but he couldn't be more wrong. At first it's mere goblins and pitfalls to test if the heroes are awake, but after some rooms skeletons guard the doors and vicious spear traps riddle the corridors. The heroes are very careful not to lose their men-at-arms (1 hit point) to a mere trap. Then, a cruel twist of fate (thank you very much) removes two blockades and four Fimirs (meant for the last part of the dungeon) are released on the unsuspecting hirelings. Morcar laughs in his faraway keep! The one with the halberd gets killed, while the others manage to land some wounds on the heroes. The wizard has to heal his companions.
Then they open the central chamber and four massive armored constructs start to move and attack Ahnuld the Barbarian and Jaques the Dwarf. The fight is long and hard (and memorable)! Afterwards, the Wizard has to heal some more. Potions are also used.



A few chambers with goblins and mummies remain, but they are no threat for the heroes. Morcar has one last surprise when a Chaos spell summons four skeletons next to the Wizard and attack him and some nearby men-at-arms. The luck of the combat dice is strong and the Wizard is left standing with 1 mere hit point, while the men-at-arms are unharmed. Boo!

A massive gate is found leading further into the deep of the mountain. Mentor's crystal starts to glow red again. But that is for next time...

To be continued (in 2 weeks if all goes well)...

For those wondering; the yellow tokens mark rooms that have been searched for treasure. We're getting a bit older and our short-term memories aren't what they used to be.
Blue = mind points, red = body points

[Mistral]

It took a bit longer than expected but we managed to squeeze some games in.
Our Barbarian pulled the plug so 2 players each playing 2 heroes plus some men-at-arms.
The heroes finally reach...

The Spiral Passage

A massive spiral staircase descending ever deeper into the mountains, with some traps and surprises along the way. The heroes have just entered the hallway when a massive boulder drops from the ceiling and dangerously closes in...



Our heroes dive into the nearby chambers, inhabited by foul orcs! But most prefer fighting orcs above getting squashed by the boulder (especially the men-at-arms with their 1-2 hit points!). Morcar (that'd be ME) plays a Chaos card and summons a whirlwind on the Elf who cannot move for one single turn... Enough to get squashed by the boulder and drop to a mere 2 hit points. Panic at the disco! Fun times!



While the others slay orcs and goblins, the Sorceror has to heal his wounded companion. The hallways are riddled with traps, due to an enchantment (a hazy mist) only the very first is visible. Time is lost... rather boring but those are the rules. The players keep guarding their men-at-arms very well, knowing how precious (and expensive to hire each adventure) they are. After the trapped hallways... more greenskins!



After disarming more traps (with the Dwarf getting wounded about half of the time), a lone goblin surprises the Scout, who gets stabbed and killed on the spot. 1 less man-at-arms!


The Spiral Passage in all its infamous glory

After descending even more stairs the heroes reach the exit... or that's what they think! Another trap with a small regiment of orcs, led by a Chaos Warrior!



The Barbarian holds the door while the Elf uses his Spear to wound orcs diagonally. After another staircase the true exit is reached and all descend towards...

The Dwarven Forge

The title gives away the surprise that the legendary Dwarven Forge of the old tales can be found here, hidden from the greenskins! As a result, the expectations of Jaques the Dwarf are very high. Also the first part of Grin's map is to be found here. To work!

As the Barbarian enters the hallway and charges a lone orc, the foul creature bellows in alarm! As a result, the nearby door opens and a small regiment is revealed, ready to attack! The heroes are too powerful and the greenskins fall before their superior power. A passage through the rock is found which leads to a hidden library and a strange Fimir that eats away at the heroes' weapons and armor. The infamous Rust spell! In this case the scale mail of the Dwarf is lost, who realizes he wasn't actually wearing it and rolling one die short every time when defending. Players!
Finally something that truly scares them and takes away some of their power, turning the scales a bit. I decide to give ALL Fimir on this level the same spell. I am that evil.



The poor Fimir is killed off very quick by the Dwarf and Elf.

A hidden passage leads to the Dwarven Forge, where the first part of Grin's map is found. The forge bellows fire across the room, but the Dwarf turns out to be immune by blood to its damage while the Barbarian is wearing a Fire Ring, negating all fire damage. The others safely wait outside. Yawn! Another hidden trap reveals a (trapped) chest containing 300 gold pieces! The heroes aren't impressed by all the treasure, expecting more from a legendary and centuries old dwarven relic. I can only agree but it is what it is.



With the first part of the map secured, the heroes decide to search for the exit. They run into a group of greenskins, led by another weird Fimir. Its Rust spell removes the Elf's crossbow from the game. Good!



The final room reveals a band of... puny Goblins. The Barbarian is almost insulted and slays them like the vermin they are. Poor things.



The Elf scouts ahead and is surprised by a lone Fimir guarding the exit. He loses his sword to another Rust spell, after which he enchants the creature with a Sleep spell. So now there's a sleeping Fimir blocking the only exit.



Crossbowman Wilhelm Von Claque and the Sorcerer with No Name finish off the sleeping Fimir, after which the heroes continue their journey into the mountains...

To be continued...

I must admit even I was underwhelmed with the Dwarven Forge, having a special piece of furniture and all. It doesn't really do that much (nothing in our case), and there aren't even any adversaries in those rooms. In hindsight I should have put a custom Fire Elemental or something to spice things up a bit... Too late now!

[Mistral]

One month after the previous session, we play in my garage because it's just too hot in the gaming room (the downside of sunny weather).

Hall of the Dwarven Kings

The heroes follow a hidden path deeper into the mountain that leads to the old tombs of the Dwarven Kings of legend. When they nearly reach the end of a long passage, angry noises can be heard coming from behind them... a mob of greenskins is hot on their trail! Haste is of the essence and soon they reach the old tomb of none other than Belorn himself!



But this seems to be a dead end! While Jaques the Dwarf and the Sorcerer with No Name frantically search for an exit, the angry mob draws ever closer! More orcs, goblins, fimir and even worse reinforce the horde, which Ahnuld the Barbarian manages to hold back on his own.
More crypts are uncovered containing the skeletons of other Dwarven Kings, but they are not as dead as expected... rather undead! Ahnuld charges the first skeleton without thinking and all undead turn hostile. The last crypt contains a lone zombie instead of a skeleton, which the heroes see as a "clue". Smart fellows!



Crushing undead bones while the Barbarian keeps slaying greenskins at the entrance of the tomb, it is the Sorcerer who discovers a secret passage! Behind, an empty room leads to two surprised goblin guards who aren't a match even for a lone Sorcerer! Conveniently they are guarding the second part of the map they seek. Such coincidence!
The others quickly follow in his footsteps while Ahnuld holds the tide of Chaos at bay as Chaos Warriors have joined the gang. One turn later all heroes jump through the exit, leaving a bitter and cursing mob of greenskins behind. To their surprise they arrive in...

The Great Citadel

Or the stronghold beyond the mountains where the forces of Chaos are plotting their next move against the Empire. With the element of surprise the heroes seize the opportunity to strike first and slay the minions of Chaos before they can make a move. My dice rolling is truly abominable the entire evening, rolling black shields for attack and only skulls when defending. The heroes roll their dice like bosses, so the forces of Chaos never stand any chance. In one of the first rooms they search, the third map piece is found.
Jaques the Dwarf stumbles onto an ancient, closed door but also a regiment guarding the exit. An alarm is raised after which the entire Citadel heads towards the heroes, who decide to make their stand in the central chamber. Smart!



The Chaos Sorcerer who was meant to be a threat is killed off by the Sorcerer's infamous "Air Spirit" spell and his Chaos Warriors suffer from my bad dice rolling and pose no threat to the Barbarian guarding the doorway. As a result, the entire Citadel is wiped clean/wipes itself clean in a few turns. The heroes suffer almost no injuries.



Jaques desperately wants to investigate the closed door. To his agony it turns out to be the Elf that manages to open the ancient dwarven passage. Apart from undead guardians and a disappointing potion for treasure, nothing else is found there. So the heroes move on to the next challenge...

To be continued...