Session 2: Snare and Snap

DM's Note: The "Triboar Trail" has been renamed to Chemin de Ronceval (Ronceval Road) to better fit the feel of the setting.

Campaign	Lost Mines of Gelwood
DM	Jax
Players	Gabe, Sean, Kristina, Jordyn
Location	Jax's Folks Place
Date	August 5,26, 2025

In the second session, the party continued their adventure in Gelwood, taking time to gather information and supplies before heading back out on the road. They interacted with a dwarven shopkeeper, an overly enthusiastic town master, and a local smith, learning more about the history and key locations in the area. The firstparty's sessionartificer, Jen, arranged to rent the smithy to craft her own tools.

Returning to the site of the campaignprevious introducedambush, the adventuringadventurers party, who were hired to escortfollowed a wagonhidden of suppliestrail to the small townmouth of Gelwood.a Whatcave. beganThey aswere immediately caught in a simplerope tripsnare quicklytrap turnedthat intohoisted atwo fight for survival whenof the party wasmembers into the air. After a brief but tense rescue, they were ambushed by goblins who had the home-field advantage. The combat was challenging, with the goblin boss employing a surprisinglyclever organized grouptactic of goblins.teleporting Thebehind sessionhis wasallies definedto byavoid abeing chaotichit. andIn incrediblythe close battle that nearly resulted in a Total Party Kill (TPK) beforeend, the party limpedpersevered, intotaking Gelwooddown the goblins and clearing the way to deliverenter theirthe cargomine.

The session concluded with the party taking a much-needed short rest to heal and receiveprepare afor newwhat quest.lies ahead in the goblin-infested cave.

The Party

• Zephrael Night Flame (Gabe) - The party's stoic Paladin of Vengeance. Jumped right into the fray to protect his allies.

• Sea Nathan (Sean) - A disabled elf Fighter with a military past. Proved to have sharp eyes and an even sharper crossbow bolt at the start of the fight, though his luck with a spear was another story.

• Genevieve "Jen" Sinclair (Kristina) - The group's resident steampunk-inspired Halfling Artificer. Jen was quick to jump into the action, slinging spells and trying to keep the goblins off balance.

• Wren (Jordyn) - A quiet and observant Tiefling Warlock. Ren stayed on the outskirts of the initial combat, a decision that would prove crucial to the party's survival.

Key Events

The GoblinTown Ambush

of Gelwood

TheAfter sessiona kickedmuch-needed offlong with some classic D&D action. While traveling down the Ronceval Road,rest, the party discoveredwoke up refreshed and ready to explore the scenetown. They first visited **Barthan's Provisions**, where the dwarven shopkeeper expressed her gratitude for their delivery of asupplies. recentThe attack.party Seawas Nathan,unable spottingto goblinsfind hidingany potions or medical supplies in the thicket,shop, alertedbut they did learn some local history about a former adventuring party, the party."Ruby InsteadHand," and a missing alchemist.

Next, the adventurers met the town master, a perpetually drunk but well-meaning man, who rattled off a list of walkingquests intorather than rumors. The party also stopped by the trap,smithy, they decided to turn the tables, pretending to investigate the scene to lure the goblins into a false sense of security.

The Battle of Wild Swings

The combat that followed was both intense and comical. It began with a bang when Sea Nathan scored a natural 20 on his opening attack, instantly taking downwhere one of the ambushers.characters, However,**Jen**, thisarranged earlyto successrent wasthe followedforge byto acraft longjeweler's and brutal series of missed attacks from nearly everyone involved. The dice were cold, andtools for a while,personal itproject. seemedFinally, likethey visited the adventurerstown's andshrine, goblinsa wereplace justwhere tradingmany blowsdeities withare worshipped, where a player was told their deity had no dedicated shrine.

Return to the air.

A Near TPK

Trail

The tideparty turned when more goblins, including a spellcaster, joined the fight. The encounter quickly became a desperate struggle.

• Zephrael was the firstdecided to fall, taken down by a critical hit from a goblin archer.

• Jen was knocked unconscious by a powerful fire bolt from the goblin sorcerer.

• Sea Nathan was also overwhelmed, leaving Ren as the last one standing against multiple enemies.

The Bag of Holding Incident

In a bizarre and memorable moment, one of the goblins began stuffing the unconscious Sea Nathan into its Bag of Holding, presumablyreturn to take him as a prisoner or a snack for later.

Ren's Clutch Victory

With her friends down and one being abducted, Ren became the party's only hope. She repositioned herself and unleashed a perfectly aimed Magic Missile spell, taking out the last two goblins and saving the party from a certain wipe.

Arrival in Gelwood

The battered but whole party finally arrived in Gelwood. There, they met the brother of their employer, Ruden Rockseeker. He was distraught to learn that Ruden had been captured by the goblins. He explained that his brother carried vital and secret information about the location of the long-lostprevious mine rumoredambush to holdfind immensethe richesgoblins' hideout. A successful survival check led them to a hidden trail behind a thicket. Shortly after, the trail revealed a trap: a rope snare that hoisted **Wren** and powerful**Gabe** magic.20 Hefeet pleadedinto the air. With some quick thinking, their companions were able to cut them down, though one of the characters took a minor fall.

The Goblin Cave

Following the trail further, the party arrived at a cave entrance screened by thick briars and a stream. A character scouting ahead discovered a goblin lookout post. A tense combat ensued, with the partygoblins getting the jump on the party. The adventurers struggled against a tactical goblin boss who kept swapping places with his allies, making it difficult to trackland thea goblinshit. back to their hideout, rescue his brother, and recover the map.

The Miraculous Revival

AfterDuring the battle, Ren**Wren** stabilizedwas Seaknocked Nathan. Believing Zephraelunconscious and Jen to be dead, the survivors began burying their fallen comrades. Inincurred a shocking twist, both Zephrael and Jen returned to life, clawing their way outlevel of theirexhaustion, own shallow graves, leavingbut the party stunnedeventually rallied and took down the remaining foes. They were able to take a short rest and successfully healed their wounds, preparing to venture into the depths of the cave.

The session ended with the players expressing their excitement for what lies ahead. One player hopes to find a special artifact, another wants to find what's in the cave, and a third hopes to get a new weapon. It looks like the next session will take the party deeper into the goblin stronghold.

Stars & Wishes

Kristina

•  Liked hearing about the Ruby Hand.
•  Making some cool magic items.

Gabe

•  Like the traps, and hate the dice!
•  Hoping to find a scripture of something, like a spell, or something...

Jordyn

•  The banter about the gods, the traps (the swinging and save eachother)
•  Find the reason for theirthe revivalfrosted key.

Sean

•  Liked the town interaction, except for the Gaint.
•  I want a mystery.
  sword.

Arrival

in Gelwood

The battered but whole party finally arrived in Gelwood. There, they met the brother of their employer, Tharden Rockseeker. He was distraught to learn that Ruden had been captured by the goblins. He explained that his brother carried vital and secret information about the location of the long-lost Mine, a mine rumored to hold immense riches and powerful magic. He pleaded with the party to track the goblins back to their hideout, rescue his brother, and recover the map.