Saturday two weeks ago, the premiere session of Flintlock Fantasy took place. The players - a Thief, two Elves, two Halflings, a Fighter and a Magic-User* - an eclectic bunch of adventurers, pseudo-archaeologists and roustabouts, have just arrived in the town of Burg, located in a northern province of the newborn Burgundy Republic. The first session was spent in getting to know the locals and tapping the bar for rumors in the Brewer's Inn. Run by the middle-aged but vigorous innkeeper Eus, the Brewer's Inn is a hotbed of adventurers, scoundrels, traders and hustlers all looking for a take on the rich and hidden history of the surrounding countryside.
(* We are using a houseruled Old School Essentials crossed with True20 for a ruleset. I might post about houserules in future installments.)
Spending a few hours - and coin on drinks - in the Brewer's Inn they learned various rumors: about shady figures near a forgotten king's tomb north of Burg, about an ancient sorcerer's lore hidden in the dunes west of town, and about shifting stones near the southeastern lake. But the rumor they decided to pursue came directly from innkeeper Eus himself: the hoard of gold hidden in a ruined abbey down south.
Entering the ruined abbey, the Thief climbed the walls to claim a vantage point over the ruins. She discovered a large altar to the northern end of the main building, surrounded by colored tiles. When stood upon, some of these tiles clicked down and once a number of them were pressed simultaneously, whirring and clanging could be heard from the dungeons below. Determined to investigate, one of the Halflings went down a staircase to the cellar, but lacking light sources (and nearing the end of the session), the party was unable to push on.
Yesterday, the adventure continued. The party started by purchasing some torches, flint and steel, rope and sacks (to carry the loads of treasure in they would undoubtedly liberate from the dungeons) from Trader Janszen in Burg's market square. They asked Janszen if there was anyone in town with magical knowledge. He directed them to a dilapitated tower behind the Council Hall. There, they met a sorceress by name of Wanda, who confirmed the party's suspicions that the color of the tiles in front of the abbey's altar had something to do with the four primal elements of Fire, Earth, Water and Air. This raised more questions for party members than answers, so it was decided they would come back to Wanda once they had more clues or ideas on the matter.
Plunging the dungeons beneath the abbey, they quickly chanced upon a slanting corridor to the second dungeon level. Making successful use of the Magic-Users continued casting of Sleep, they confronted an Owlbear, three Trolls and a chained Hydra, before making off toward town again with an assortment of coins, two necklaces, two rings, a jeweled belt and a potion of healing.
