Session 1

**Session One, The Ambush at Ambush Bridge** took place on Monday the 25/09/2023. After some housekeeping and tying up loose ends regarding character creation that was unfinished from Session Zero, the game began!

## Introductions

Straight off the bat, the PCs rolled initiative, not for combat but instead introducing themselves, in character, in that order -

1. Althea was first with an initiative of 12, saying very little and displaying her signature distrust of strangers
2. Lowen was next with an initiative of 10, the half-elf sheepishly explained away his gnomish accent by detailing how he was adopted by gnomes from the something something orphanage and grew up in Plover. Otherwise seemed happy to be there.
3. Gul-ik-Garak-Po'Dar was third with an initiative of 10, began speaking in everyone's minds in familiar voices, Lowen heard their voice in the familiar sing-song of their deceased youngest sibling Merynn and noped out of there quickly, severring the psychic link straight away. Althea heard Po'dar as the voice of her friend Amity, who was captured by some mysterious authority for her crimes as a Howling Peak Bandit and is currently on the move as part of a prisoner transport, location unknown. Like Lowen, Althea was not a fan of this representation and severed the link. Oui-leaghas was unusually calm about the alien creature speaking in her mind and was the only one not to sever the link, so Po'Dar introduced themselves solely to Oui Leaghas. The odd thing is that Oui Leaghas heard, not just one voice, but many, competing with each other to be the loudest and to be heard, almost screaming. This did not seem to bother her in the slightest.
4. Oui Leaghas was the last to introduce herself with a 7 initiative and jumped straight in giving orders and shouting commands, as Lieutenant in the Thessian Freedom Fighters, she was technically the commanding officer of this band of miscreants and was quick to demonstrate as much. Thea argued that she wasn't even a member of the militia and had just stumbled onto the camp by mistake, but Leaghas delivered a rousing inspirational speech (and rolled a good persuasion relative to Thea's wisdom save) and had the whole group falling in line in no time. She explained that they were there in Popularis to conduct raids on Castrum Popularis Sanctuarium

## War Council is in Session

With that, the distant echoes of a war horn pierced the crisp morning air as the group and the other warriors in the camp were called to the officer's tent for a briefing, led by their General, Achilles of Thessia. He and Oui Leaghas grasped forearms as comrades while Achilles' right hand man, Bram 'Iron-Eye' looked on with "Bombastic side eye".

In the briefing that ensued Achiles and his right hand man, Bram, let the assembled warriors in on the plan to breach Castrum Popularis Santuarium (Popularis). They lingered on the fact that they needed their best soldiers for a highly unique operation, a squad or crew that could risk it all with a certain set of skills. These soldiers would use/take advantage of a small distraction to approach Popularis, scale the walls burning the wooden slats with their torches as they climbed, pulling the lever on top releasing the mechanism on the portcullis and opening the gate to allow the remaining raiders to breach the fortress. They called out the names of five fighters for the operation, none of which were our heroes. Once they had filed out of the tent led by Achilles and the rest of the crowd dispersed, Bram Iron-Eye let the gang know that they're with him, and that they are the distraction. He pulled down another, shittier map, and describes the operation to set up an ambush for the two elite Parthian soldiers on patrol at the time.

The ambush will take place at Ambush Bridge. A small wooden bridge over a very shallow section of the local river, so named because of how perfect it is for an ambush. There is no need for a bridge at this point with the shallowness of the water and so a squad could easilly wade into the water and hide under the bridge. They could then, when the time is right and the enemy is crossing above, slip their spears inbetween the gaps between the planks of wood that make up the bridge, stabbing upwards and turning their enemies into shish kebabs. The only catch, none of the party have spears... and they aren't provided by the camp. First objective is to craft spears and Po'Dar, being an artificer and craftsperson, immediately volunteered. Oui Leaghas had a private word with Bram then and convinced him to let her take command of this operation and go with Achilles to raid Popularis instead.

Before departing, Bram has Thea sign the standard mercenary contract (10 galleons a day)

Po'Dar begins crafting the spears, and rolls a nat 20. They craft five beautiful spears with a unique and slightly alien design.

## Ambush Bridge... A little on the nose

The party begins the journey to Ambush bridge, diverging from the path to the Castrum at a Y junction and edging toward the southern coast of the Centrala Continent. Marching Order: Po'Dar and Thea take the lead, Oui Leaghas rides on Po'Dar's back like a mount and Lowen brings uo the rear making sure they aren't followed. Po'Dar rolls perception checks as they approach the bridge and rolls a second Nat 20! They see a small green creature in a nearby tree and some spears littered on the ground at the bank of the river either side of the bridge. At first they assume the spears were left there for them by other Thessians for the plan but group investigation checks determine something is amiss.

There is a Goblin Boss in a nearby tree, two Goblins in a hedge and possibly more under the bridge. Althea sneaks up to the hedge and the Goblins there, with their low intelligence, assume she is having a pee and that she does not see them.

## Combat

The fight begins with our heroes getting the jump on the goblins in a surprise round. Simultaneously, Althea and Oui Leaghas attack one of the two goblins in the hedge. Althea gets a good hit in with her magic and Oui Leaghas finishes him off with her daggers, brutally murdering the goblin with multiple fatal stab wounds. Po'Dar gets the first critical hit on the goblin boss in the tree, simultaneously firing an artificer spell at him while also ramming the tree in an attempt to knock the goblin boss down. The goblin boss takes significant damage from the artificer spell and then from the fall damage, only then to be finished off by Lowen with a ranged attack. The goblin boss is dead. Initiative is rolled Po'Dar grapples one of the goblins from under the bridge. Oui Leaghas gets two brutal kills which she executes with frantic, manic knife stabby stabbies like a psychopath. Lowen electrocutes Po'Dar trying to electrocute the goblin he is grappling.

All the goblins are finished off within two rounds of combat. Lowen loots the Goblin Boss to find his pet squirrel who is later named Hammy Lowen also loots Parthian coins; Galleons and Denari, and goblin currency (buttons) and distributes them evenly. Althea receives a Wand of Burning Hands, Oui Leaghas receives a Necklace of Goblin Teeth and Po'Dar receives a Skull Bomb.