After resting, the group wandered back to the ledge overlooking the chamber where the goblins were camped. The goblins appeared to have abandoned the area following their fight, but they had left their bedrolls and fires. The group continued to explore until two arrows shot out of the darkness towards Thia.
Before the group could manage to locate the goblins in the shadowy chamber, Thia and Milanthis had both been hit by crossbow bolts. The two goblin snipers put up a bit of a fight while they were hidden in the dancing shadows from the fires, but once they were in melee they were no match for the weapons of Norask and Thoradin.
Charles had fun with limited visibility in this fight. Due to the goblin bonfires, it was hard for us to get a good view at the goblins and so we were forced to stay mobile and hope we didn’t run into ambushes while our eyes adjusted between bright light and the shadows.
Following that fight, the group ventured into a collapsed tunnel and down a rubble-covered slope. At the bottom, they found a wide, deep chasm. Milanthis used fey step to get across, but without any way for the others to cross, they decided to turn back.
Fey step is a great racial power with a lot of utility, but for actually dealing with blocking terrain like this chasm, it would be nice if everyone in the party was an eladrin.
In the other direction from the goblin warrens, they discovered chambers with masonry walls and doors. They began to search through the rooms, but the first few were just small empty chambers with bits of trash and dust. Then in a locked room, they found the dead body of a thin dwarf. The dwarf appeared to have died of thirst, but the investigation did uncover a hidden amulet wrapped around his arm.
While searching a storeroom, Thoradin was struck in the face with some sort of slime that blinded him. The others quickly rushed to his rescue and found a goblin holding a black stick wrapped in leather. Milanthis quickly created a sheet of ice beneath the goblin’s feet while Norask charged and Thia launched a carefully aimed arrow at it. Norask’s charge was interrupted as two more goblins lunged out from their hiding spot behind a shelf. Just as Thoradin managed to wipe the dark goo off of his eyes, Norask unleashed his breath weapon on the two ambushers and downed the goblinoid spellcaster with his spear. The last goblin ambusher managed to slice Milanthis and then down Norask before being slain by a magic missile from Milanthis’s wand. Luckily Thia was able to use her talents as a healer to help close his wounds and get him back on his feet.
I can definitely say that low-level combat feels a lot more interesting in 4E than it ever did in 3E. Thunderwave has been a lot of fun as an at-will power thanks to the ability to control enemy positioning. I am eager to pick up an alternative to magic missile though for targeting enemies when they’re in melee next to the other heroes.
Scott's Game Room 