Just before Christmas we managed to get in another session in our Isle of Dread campaign. This time the scenario had the character of an encounter, leaving it up to Malcom and his party for how long they wanted to stick around. The story went something like this:
Malcon and his group are still trekking northwards trough the steamy jungle, heading for what they suppose is an ancient temple ruin in the heart of the island. While some riches and much experience has been gained so far, the trip has also begun to take its toll on the party, and two members of the group have died so far.
While scouting ahead the little halfling thief Jolly Drake discovered what he believed to be some sort of old burial ground. He also found a cave in the rocky hills leading into a tunnel. Hurrying back with this message, it did not take long for Malcon to decide that it might be a worthwhile little detour. He thus decided to leave the barbarian Ghimar and two men-at-arms outside the cave, guarding the pack mules and Azza, an amazon the party has taken as a prisoner during the last encounter, and now bringing along as a potential information source or leverage.
In and down underground they went and things soon proved difficult, as the place was guarded by undead creatures. The group succeeded and plundering some treasure, but a host of walking skeletons caused problems and when a huge, undead creature all of a sudden awoke from its slumber, things looked dire. Nevertheless, Malcon and his group succeed in dissolving the undead giant in what only can be characterized as a very close shave. They had collected some gems, a scroll with some spells and a magic cloak, which they decided was enough. The group left the crypt, only to discover that another fight had taken place outside the cave opening, where small kobold-like creatures, armed with slings and clubs, had attacked the men guarding the entrance to the cave. Also here things went in favour of the group, but the pesky little creatures killed one of the men-at-arms, making it a bitter victory for the group, who now could continue their journey northwards. spelunking
So, this was the story in this session. A fun game, which took place at two different tables. This made things slights chaotic, but also fun, as the situations were very different.
As you can see, the “dungeon” was very primitive. It was really just pieces of painted cloth with some dirt here and their. Nothing fancy, but it worked, and may not win any prices for ingenuity, but it was an easy way to get the party below ground, without spending too much time prepping for the scenario. If you fancy sending your minis below ground, I would certainly recommend this type of dungeon, as it gives slightly more than merely painting the thing on paper, but only requires a minimum of extra effort.
This is how It all looked.
The table with the entrance to the cave
The “dungeon”
Malcon and his party going spelunking in the ancient crypt
Ghimar standing guard
Plundering an old grave
Kobold-like creatures sneak up on Ghimar and the two other guards
Ghimar defending the their equipment
More action in front of the cave
The restless dead rise
The dead are coming for the intruders
Peter the Melancholic looking for treasure
The dead are closing in
Still fighting outside the cave
The skeletons are putting the pressure on Malcon and his men
Something ancient stirs in the crypt
Ricco, Peter and Kenza run out to get Ghimar down underground but soon decide that there is no time and return to the cave
Malcon has no choice but to face the giant creature
The final battle in the crypt
Shamutantis 
Was there a set amount of undead to activate and they woke up based on building up points of disturbance? Or more of a random throw thing?
The game looks great and the dungeon quite visually effective. Glad you are still pluggin away at this campaign and documenting it!
Thanks Daveb. We rolled at each potential treasure spot if it was guarded by undead and if so, also determined by dice roll how many. Sadly for the Malcon player we rolled a whopping maximum of skeletons, which proved rather difficult for him to handle. Once combat had ensued within the crypt we each turn rolled to see if the big one would awaken from his slumber. So yes, it was all rather random and quite fun.
Nice dungeon crawl