OSRIC Session Journal: Pork Tenderloin

(I’m a player in this campaign, not the DM. Why do I refer to it as the OSRIC game, instead of just AD&D or 1e AD&D? Well, the DM is using OSRIC and no other books AFAIK. I also just like to help publicize the existence of OSRIC. Besides being a great resource, I hope it helps preserve the game as our books from the ‘70s and ‘80s continue to molder away...)

--
We climbed the tower with the rope we’d left dangling from the previous session, but there was some concern for the horses, tied up not far from the base of the tower.

Ouze (the cleric) and Dennis Slyfoot (the gnome illusionist) decided to return and camp near the horses, while the others sheltered in an empty room in the tower after spiking the door shut. It was a good thing the two had returned, because during Ouze’s watch, he awakened Dennis having heard “snorfling” noises. Dennis sighted a large boar by virtue of his infravision, and instructed Ouze to light a torch in order to perhaps dissuade the beast or be better able to spot it should it attack. The light must have offended it somehow, because it charged.

At this point Dennis Slyfoot cast Phantasmal Force. With it, he created the illusion of the rabid or diseased bear the party had earlier encountered and slain, fixating the illusion to always be directly between the boar and the horses and themselves. Dennis proved his worth, his illusion grievously wounded the boar, which was eventually slain by the cleric’s hammer. The two of them were very proud of themselves, and looked forward to sharing with the rest of the party the story as well as the coming breakfast of fresh uncured bacon! In addition, they were able to replenish their rations (running very low) after slicing up the beast and bagging the meat in its own hide. Ouze had magic to purify the meat once it went rotten, and so the party’s store of rations went up considerably. I was relieved at this and also thought the meat might come in handy with an enemy as bait or something to slow it down in retreat, but also a bit worried that the stench of it might actually attract attention. Ouze will be busy keeping it stank free.

The party was also able to continue up the tower, entering a room which freaked out several members. It would seem that the room directly above produced sounds of scales gliding over one another in some serpentine fashion, or perhaps of spiders moving about. They weren’t sure what it was, and their imaginations got the better of them, esp. Vadco who had to be calmed down by Gladric more than once. They also discovered an armory. A usable set of chain mail was found, upgrading Vadco’s armor. Vadco also found a slightly rusty long sword here, an improvement from the self-made spear he’d been carrying. Continuing down a hall and then up another stairwell, they found the splayed body of a gnome apparently attempting escape by fleeing downwards. His face, twisted in fear and pain, seemed to indicate the cause of his death as poison - there were no large wounds on the body, but a spot on the back of one of the legs seemed much more necrotic. The corpse was searched and stripped, and a possibly magical dagger was gleaned (Dennis nearly came to blows with Demurarg for this item, ultimately using the claim of gnome kinship at which she acquiesced). His armor was removed for possible future trade or sale by Anrid, though this seems a bit silly now.

This was the first time in a long time that I’ve really felt in the groove of playing, with all the expected trappings of a good solid dungeon crawl. Good times.