Game Play Journal - OSRIC campaign. Assassination!

Woohoo, I get to be a player! With Nick as DM, I rolled up 4 characters using the newly arrived OSRIC hardcover (looks great, highly recommended even if you have the old books for the greater clarity and better layout).

A Dwarf Fighter (Anrid), A Dwarf Thief (Gladric), a Gnome Illusionist (Dennis Slyfoot!), and a Human Cleric (Benedict, the Acolyte). I have never played an illusionist, or even been in a game with one. Never having had the chance before, I went for it - this gnome fellow is never going to be able to get past 5th level though, due to race limitations. I figured he'd probably never make it that far anyway, so why not.

The game started out in a tent settlement in a somewhat barren, hilly/mountainous area - the party having been attacked while searching for a lost religious relic in a burial ground (ok, there might have been some grave robbing). Chased through the wilderness by bandits, they ended up in a large "beer tent", for lack of a better term. There they began recuperating with a few watery beers when a paladin they were setting near and whose conversation they were listening to, was assassinated in broad daylight (there's something you don't see in OD&D). The party (with some local help) attempted to subdue the killer, but when he took out another knife combat ensued. One dwarf nearly split him down the middle with his battle axe, and the other ran him through with his short sword.

The cleric attempted to revive the man, but to no avail. A strange, gray and gold ooze dripped out of the dead assassin - the cleric had never seen anything like it. Fearing evil magic or disease, the party recommended that the body be burned along with all of the personal belongings. The paladin's body was searched - a small sum of gold was found, a sealed letter from a duke, and arrangements were made with the proprieter of the establishment to acquire a coffin and pack animal. With these, the party transported the body to the edge of town and built a funeral pyre. A Ranger approached on horseback, hostile at first but he was quickly convinced that the party was not an enemy and were seeing to the final rites of the deceased. They were invited then to join him as a companion of the late paladin, on a quest to destroy a certain evil group of marauding monsters. At first the party declined (the dwarfs are all chaotic neutral and didn't see the profit in it) but the neutral good cleric talked them into it once they determined that paid mercenaries were sought by local duke to assist with the quest.

A lot of time in making characters tonight, much more than is involved with LL or S&W. I used the fast packs listed here previously, adjusted somewhat for AD&D use. OSRIC is terrific - Very nice to use in comparison to the old PHB for generating new characters. We were able to play for about 3 hours (obviously left out a lot of details above), a decent amount of time. We played over Skype, and I found myself closing my eyes and visualizing certain interactions. I haven't rolled dice to hit (as a player) in so long, it was a lot of fun.