[ODnD] Goblin Hunting in Blackmoor

Set-up:

This week I was the DM for our second OD&D game.  We’re using Labyrinth Lord game system and the game is set in Dave Arneson’s Blackmoor.  Four player characters – an elf maiden (Laora), a female Halfling (Ada), a dwarf (Baldric) and a cleric (Dorin) of Hersh, the god of luck: all 1st level.  Using a D&D 3E module called Scourge of the Howling Horde that I’ve hacked into LL stats.  The party accepted a job to clear out the area near a burgeoning village from a tribe of goblins that have recently started attacking them heavily.

Scenes:

• Dorin (cleric) asked to borrow a wagon at the village.  The party posed as merchant leaving the town in hopes of being waylaid by the goblins.  The plan was to capture one for questioning.  However, due to simultaneous action (in LL, the players all act at the same time), the last two goblins were killed by Ada (halfling) and Dorin (dwarf).  Whoopsie!  One player asked Dorin (cleric) if he could use his one spell to heal a goblin back up, hah
• The party rummaged through the goblins’ stuff, finding only some weapons, a few copper pieces and a small non-magical poppet (a rag doll) that was flesh colored (that was a completely random thing I threw in)
• Unperturbed, the party set the dead goblins up as themselves and laid in wait during the night in hopes of a second goblin attack.  I ran a cut scene (with players as spectators) of Bronk the Bugbear receiving a report that the goblin raiding party hadn’t returned, and he orders another pack of goblins to attack at first light)
• During the night, Laora (elf) rides her horse back to the village and has the spear identified that Ada (halfling) had picked up off a goblin shaman they’d killed previously; Laora (elf) is told the spear is magicked against mortals – man
• In the morning, the party is attacked; Laora (elf) uses Charm Person on one goblin and plans to ask him to lead them to the goblin lair.  Unfortunately, elves don’t speak goblin in LL, so the player had Baldric (dwarf) translate.  This led to an amusing scene of pantomime and language barriers.
• The goblin, saying his name was Dibbner, agrees to help his “new friend” find the lair and that he didn’t like his bosses much anyways, asks for a sword that he doesn’t get and then asks for the poppet; after some back and forth between the party, they agree to give him the poppet, which he puts in his shirt collar with the head poking out
• Dibbner leads the party to the lair and agrees to run interference with the guards at the mouth.  The party attacks and one guard nearly gets away, but Dibbner helps stop him.  After the fight, Dibbner picks up a short sword and the party enters the cave…

To be continued (next week!)