by Michael Eckenfels, 2 July 2023
Champions of Krynn AAR: Part 11, Tunnels of Not Love
The party is fairly excited at the prospect of eventually getting an actual Dragonlance to wield.
Yet, at the same time, filled with trepidation at the prospect of facing foes that such a weapon would be required for.
Continuing deeper into the halls of this wretched hive, we run across yet another party of Baaz that are trying to hotfoot (hotclaw?) it out of there with their ill-gotten eggs.
With the price of eggs these days, can we blame them, really?
I’m going to Attack, of course. Why would I flee these things?
The Baaz are cornered in a small room, with their backs against the wall.
No escape. Heh-heh-heh.
They don’t last long, and we hardly break a sweat.
Moving onward, we find a gaggle of bad guys whispering sweet naughtiness in the ruined hallways.
“Who’s that?” Candygram for Mr. Mongo!
Just a group of Warriors and a handful of spellcasters – two Clerics and one Black Robe Mage.
The battle isn’t too much of a chore, with the bad guys falling fairly quickly.
In the aftermath, we find a scrap that may be of interest.
Journal Entry 72:
A bit of intelligence on Gargath Keep, with areas laid out, as well as possible treasure locations.
Which probably means ‘traps,’ but we will see. We have enough to focus on for the moment.
A bit further, we find a small 10 x 10 room that is actually something of a treasure horde.
The money is nice, and the items, most likely magical. I’ll immediately hand the Hoopak over to Izzie and the Bracers over to Waxhon. The Wand also goes to Waxhon, and the Potion goes to Izzie, too.
So YOU say, Gold Box game.
Well, I’ll trust it. I Encamp, then we Fix our wounds and re-memorize spells.
And, save the game. You gotta save the game often.
Moving onward, we find this place is not without its charms.
And welcome wagons.
But, it’s nothing we can’t handle. We get a few scrapes and bruises, but nothing life-threatening.
Yet.
We delve ever deeper where we’re obviously not wanted.
And as I said, I save often.
And something I’d forgotten about this particular game…
Ugh.
About every 10 or so saves, it throws this copy protection stuff at you. Unlike the Pool of Radiance game, which had a code wheel where you entered a code based on what the game asked at the start of a game, this one does it every so often. So if you save a lot, like me, you’re going to need to deal with this.
Eventually, we come to another door. Opening it reveals a rather trippy moment.
Sir Fsup~ “Wow, man…like, faaar ouuuut…”
Waxhon~ “It’s like, lights, you know?”
Wynn~ “Raaadicalllll…”
Cheech~ “Far out, maaaan.”
Sir Fsup~ “Wait, where did YOU come from?”
Chong~ “From where he did, man.”
Izzie~ “It’s like a Kender Tuesday in here.”
Waxhon~ “Waitaminute…”
Bearded Lady Warrior~ “I’m not really sure about this. Should we proceed?”
Male Shopkeep~ “Why, yes, we should…”
Male Bare Chest Warrior~ “…if I get to take my shirt off!”
Waxhon~ “Wait, what the f…”
Waxhon, apparently the only intelligent one among us (as far as that goes, of course), points out that we’re looking at an illusion, and warns us all before an ambush falls upon us.
Of course, they’re all the way across the room.
Now, I’ll be honest. I don’t like starting encounters at long range like this. Usually, they’re way too far out of our magic-throwers’ ranges, and you can’t melee them with your best warriors if they’re that far away.
Plus, charging across open ground against a numerically superior enemy group is asking for trouble; they WILL surround you and whittle you away to nothing.
So, I keep the party in the corner (right where baby belongs), waiting for their charge.
Their charge isn’t terribly effective, as you see here.
It DOES drop its fair share of loot, however,
And honestly, we did take a few hits in that battle. Again…nothing terribly dangerous. But there was a lot of them. We’re obviously getting closer to something important.
A little bit of saving, healing, and spell memorizing, and we’re on our way again.
We’re near the western end of this particular stretch, when we come to a corner and hear voices ahead of us.
So, some kind of straggling group lets fly with a few zingers, including…White Dragons?
Oh, no. That’s well above our pay grade.
Yet, we have to keep pressing. These Gold Box games often throw mega-encounters in, and…this sure sounds like one.
But these guys, they’re probably low rent like the rest of the scum we’ve run into in these catacombs so far.
Let’s find out! How many licks DOES it take to get to the center of the mass of bad guys?
Hmm. Mages, Clerics, Warriors, and Baaz. Quite a rear guard.
How about a Hold Person for YOU…
And, a Hold Person for YOU…
Hey, EVERYONE gets a Hold Person!
…okay, well, not EVERYONE, since we’re limited to three targets…but those three are frozen in place for this combat.
And YELL from Izzie sets the others into a tizzy of offendedness.
Someone in the party accidentally cuts the cheese, for good measure.
That tavern ale just ain’t made like it used to be, I guess.
Soon, we’ve whittled the enemy rearguard down to nothing, though not without our own bumps. Again, it’s a simple matter – always Save, then Fix, and then rememorize Spells.
If the game sees fit to sic an ambush on you while you’re resting, you just close the game and re-load, and try again.
Ambushes don’t seem to happen too often in this game, but when they do, it’s right when you least expect it1.
We’re attacked a few more times by stragglers, but nothing that’s ever a real threat. We brush them aside fairly easily and move forward, inexorably.
Eventually, we find our way into a cave system. However, we are still hot on the heels of the enemy.
End of Part 11
CHAMPIONS OF KRYNN AAR
PART ONE ~ PART TWO ~ PART THREE ~ PART FOUR ~ PART FIVE ~ PART SIX ~ PART SEVEN ~ PART EIGHT ~ PART NINE ~ PART TEN
PART ELEVEN ~ PART TWELVE ~ PART THIRTEEN ~ PART FOURTEEN ~ PART FIFTEEN ~ PART SIXTEEN ~ PART SEVENTEEN ~ PART EIGHTEEN ~ PART NINETEEN ~ PART TWENTY
PART 21 ~ PART 22 ~ PART 23 ~ PART 24 ~ PART 25 ~ PART 26 ~ PART 27 ~ PART 28 ~ PART 29 ~ PART 30
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There once was a game called Krynn,
With warriors, mages, and dragons within,
In Champions of might,
They battled all night,
For glory, for honor, to win.
The heroes were brave and true,
Fighting foes, both old and new,
With spells and with swords,
They faced their rewards,
To vanquish the dark and break through.
From the streets of Solace they roamed,
To the lairs where dragons called home,
With quests to fulfill,
And battles to thrill,
Champions of Krynn, on they’d roam.
