Session Report #4

Last night saw a return to Languedoc 1230, the year after their first failed expedition. The PCs were a new set of inquisitors sent to stamp out witchcraft and demonic activity. The core of their information was derived not only from the rumors from the area, but from the sole surviving member of the failed expedition. They went in knowing that something evil lived in the mountains and that strange lizard-like demons prowled the forest.

The knight woke to strange dreams filled with fear, sadness, and fevered activity. Strange turns of phrase echoed in his waking mind, like "defib", "clear", and "we're losing him". A pall of dread was cast over the day.

The town had suffered during the winter since the last party had arrived. There were no children, not anyone under 30. Only the elderly remained, with the exception of a single able-bodied man. All others had been kidnapped, starved, or fled.

The PCs sent that only able-bodied man to the nearest town for supplies (a 1 week trip). Their letter to the church there explained the situation and authorized help to be sent immediately.

The PCs then scouted out the forest and encountered a little girl, Marie. She seemed scared and hungry, but they were able to befriend her. She told them that monsters wandered the forest. But there were monsters in town as well. The monsters in town looked like normal people, but you could tell they were monsters at night when their eyes flashed silver in reflected firelight.

They were split as to whether they should take Marie to the nearest village for safety (1 day trip), continue exploring the mountains, or head back to town to investigate these hidden monsters. Doubt was cast on the reliability of Marie's information and whether she was in congress with the devil. The decision was made to split the party, with the alchemist taking Marie to safety while the knight and knave investigated the town.

That night, the alchemist and Marie encountered a strange monster that sounded like a horribly tuned organ. They hid and it passed them by, but not without some resolve loss. The knave scouted the town after dark and saw some one's eyes flash silver. He followed him to a rendezvous with an older woman where they argued about what to do with the party. One wanted to "do something" while the other wanted to "let the devil's servant finish them off". In the end, the conspirators decided to wait it out and let the devil take care of them.

The PCs were 2nd level again. I added some options to give them bonuses at the cost of putting themselves in more danger. I'm hoping that will help offset the higher hp and resolve totals they have. They're still placing higher emphasis on constitution and willpower, even though they're playing "smarter".

This was the first adventure where we didn't hit a natural conclusion, either through TPK or completing the adventure. We'll pick it up again next week and see how far they progress.