Well now that I've had the holidays to absorb the new edition I decided I would try to get a group together. I have played in some old school games and a few times in 4th edition (which I wasn't particularly fond of), and my DMing experience is limited to a smattering of old school sessions without any real consistency. Anyway, three players came for the first session. A human bard noble played by Shane, my brother in law, stylizing himself as Steve the Bard, a son far enough down the totem pole to have no hope for inheritance. Angoldear, played by Zach S, a 500 year old high elf wizard who finally ended his apprenticeship. And Gidli, played by Zac H, a gnomish monk, whose religious order has sent him out into the world.
The three met in the Halfway Inn in Payfare village, and overheard an old knight complaining to the barkeep about a the half-ogre Momog and his gang of thieves which recently holed up in an abandoned farmstead a couple miles from town. When the party asked about any potential bounty on the Momog and the gang, the old knight moaned that there wasn't on posted but hinted that the farmstead was built by an old conquistador, and legend had it that his treasure was hidden somewhere on the property.
So the three decided to gear up and head on down to the farmstead. The bard's loud music broke the tranquility of woodland path. After a time the mixture of lute and song threw a black bear into a rage. The Gidli noticed its approach and tossed a javelin into its shoulder. Steve poked the bear with his rapier, only to be bit in return. Angoldear attempted a spell only to have it fizzle in the air. Finally the gnome bashed in the ferocious bear's skull with two unarmed strikes, much to the bard's chagrin. They took the bear's pelt and took a short rest to patch up the bard's bite.
After their rest they continued on until they saw the farmstead. Seeing a barn, windmill and farmhouse they elected to check the windmill first. Finding it empty, dilapidated, and without a roof they decided to dig in the muddy floor for treasure. The others cajoled Gidli to do the bulk of the work and he came up with a some old wheat kernels and a handful of livestock bones. Disappointed, the party continued on towards the barn, Steve playing his lute and singing loudly. Surprisingly, this alerted goblins in the barn to the party's approach. The goblins responded with a volley of arrows through the barn windows, hitting Steve. Gidli threw a javelin right into one of the laughing goblins mouths for their insolence, killing it instantly. Angoldear threw a firebolt at the second goblins face, catching him and the barn on fire. Steve then weaved magic into a cruel joke sending the burning goblin into uncontrollable fits of debilitating laughter.
The party waited outside the barn, as it began to burn. Finally the barn door opened with a goblin dragging out his badly burned companion. Surrendering their weapons and a handful of coins to Steve, they ran off into the forest. The party then decided to camp in the middle of the field for the night. Luckily, no one tripped over their sleeping bodies when they came to investigate the burning barn.
In the morning the party wandered back over the half burned barn. Steve hoisted up Gidli to the second floor to see what was up there. Gidli was met with webs and eight angry eyes and he quickly scrambled out of the barn telling the wizard to set the barn ablaze again. The party readied themselves for a fight, and an spider the size of a horse crawled through the flames toward them. Gidli missed with his javelin and Angoldear's second spell failed. As Steve readied his rapier, the spider shot a web at him and he fell helpless to the ground. Gidli held off the spider until Steve could break free from the web and then they sent it scurrying toward the forest. Angoldear finally succeeded in casting a frost ray spell, stopping the beasts heart. Steve then attempted to harvest the spiders poison but failed.
Steve and Gidli then sneaked over to the farmhouse to look inside. The first floor seemed empty. They then saw an outside basement entrance and opened the storm doors to find a cellar with a lit torch. They sneaked in and passed an enclosed storage room they thought was full of food. At the end of the cellar they found another set of open doors with stairs leading further down. Successfully sneaking down the stairs they saw two hobgolins conversing. Steve cast charm on them, and before the hobgoblins knew it, they felt like Steve was their best buddy.
Steve asked them where Momog and the treasure was. They responded that Momog was out and proceeded to lead the party back up the stairs. They pointed to the storage room as to the location of the treasure. Gidli picklocked the door and they found, among foodstuffs, some coins and gems that were booty of the gang. The party then took the hobgoblins back down with them into the dungeon and wandered down a long hallway into an old armory. They began to look through the rusted swords and armor for anything useful when they began to hear a clanking noise. Getting nervous, they attempted to leave the room only to find the exit blocked by a disembodied suit of armor. The hobgoblins were reluctant to help fight but did shoot at it with their bows. The armor nearly knocked a large bookcase over on Gidli and succeeded in tackling Steve sending him sprawled unconscious on the floor. Eventually they broke the foul magic possessing the armor.
Knowing that the charm spell on the hobgoblins was about to end, they suggested that they test the strength of their rope by tying them up. The party then proceeded to slit their throats. Knowing their badly beaten state, and wanting to rest the party headed back to Payfare to resupply.
Update:
Sadly this campaign was not very well documented and had to end when I moved across the country.
