Session report 1

Ok, even though not everyone has posted their backstories, I thought I'd better start with the promised session reports, before I forgot. I figure I'd give a sketch of events, and make some dm comments. Everyone else can feel free to add details or comments.

After character introductions, I gave everyone a description of the Cauldron area, and brief history notes. (I decided that everyone would 'take 20' on knowledge history or knowledge local to see what they knew about history, together with some additional tid-bits based on backgrounds.) I then told them that there was a rash or recent missing-persons, and also had everyone roll of the 'rumors' table to see what they had heard recently. (The rumor table was interesting, and contained true, false, and some-what true rumors.) Then, on a dark and rainy night...

Our heroes were wandering around the city streets of Cauldron, when they stumbled upon three thugs beating a priest of St. Cuthbert. There were 8 that came to the priest's aid: Alice, a gnome wizard orphan and her magically trapped mentor Usula; Fyn, a fellow orphan and a ranger; Sirrach the wizard; Talula, a rogue; Vesper a halfling rogue; Yarrow, a crazy bard; and Syd, a monk or noble birth, returning to Cauldron to find his missing parents. The 8 dispatched the thugs, but was warned by another lurking in the roof-tops, that 'the children are lost.' The priest explained that 4 kids from Alice and Fyn's orphanage had disappeared the other night, and the church of St Cuthbert had taken up the task of finding them. The group escorted the priest back to the church, where they received an offer from the church's second in command, Jenkas: find what happened to the kids, and return them (dead or alive). After the group agreed, Jenkas gave them some healing potions, and also a cryptic divination that she had received.

The group of 7 met the next day at the orphanage (Yarrow had overslept after a drinking binge). They asked some questions, and checked out the door and window locks, and found them undamaged. Following some clues, the group spilt up; Sid, Alice (with Usula), and Sirrach decdied to try to gain access to the Blue Water Academy library for some research, while Fyn, Vesper, and Talula went to question the locksmith. The first group could not gain access to the library. The second group questioned the locksmith, but a fight broke out, and they killed him. During the fight, Fyn was attacked by a dark, creepy, small creature. But the ranger and two rogues finished it off in a flourish. The whole group re-assembled, and searched the locksmith shop/home, and found a secret door leading to a dark staircases heading down beneath the city. They group decided to rest before investigating....