Welcome back, adventurers of Esthia! In our fourth session, we will see the players foray further into the world of Esthia, this time as mighty level 2 heroes! The flight from the dragon has left them rattled and sore, so let’s see how they deal with navigating an unexpected landing caused by a very underwhelming crafting check!

In this entry, you will find the full EBC Radio Dispatch detailing the commotion and fallout caused by our heroes, the detailed Campaign Diary covering the party’s delve into a once-abandoned dwarven fort, and a look at the mini for Dwoin!

Session 4 – Outpost Kholmar

The air crackled as the party slammed into the stone beneath them, the taste of metal in their mouths, the heat of the wild teleportation magic giving way to the coldness of the dark stone room as quickly as it arrived. A door cracked open, stone grinding against stone as the heroes regained their footing, rubbing their sore elbows and knees as they did so. A chill wind was admitted to the chamber, as well as a head clad in a functional iron helmet. The head retreated, only for the door to open fully and reveal the ten or so armoured dwarves now advancing on the newcomers with their weapons drawn. 

An older dwarf in more official looking armour asked them their business with a growl. Dwoin quickly recognised the Fireforge runes emblazoned on their gear, and immediately asserted his kinship, displaying the master smith’s hammer he had retrieved from the bandit fort. The introductions however, we cut short by cries alarm from outside. Gruffly, the older dwarf bade the party help; it seems their bumpy arrival had triggered a cave-in and they were now under attack. 

Hastily agreeing to his terms, the party headed into the courtyard to be greeted by a vision of tall mountains all around them, and a gaping hole in what appeared to be the courtyard of a mountain outpost. Wasting no time, they quickly descend, fighting off giant scorpions and oozes while rescuing two of members of the outpost who had become trapped by the rubble. 

Now much more receptive after the fight, the old dwarf introduces himself as Roric Stonehand, commander of Outpost Kholmar, and welcomes the newly arrived adventurers more formally. He bids them stay the night to get their bearings. It is also discovered that the manner of their arrival has broken the outpost’s teleportation circle which they use to receive supplies from the Fireforge Clanhold. Roric states that a team from the outpost will be dispatched immediately to inform the Clanhold and to secure materials for fixing the teleportation circle at once, though this journey will likely take several days. Garz offers to assess the teleportation circle, and is able to reduce the time needed to fix the circle considerably using his knowledge and crafting prowess, but it will likely still take a lot of time and specific material from the Clanhold before it can be fixed completely. 

While staying at Outpost Kholmar, Dwoin trades the master smith’s hammer as part of a deal to inscribe his axe with a potency rune, thereby adding +1 to his attack rolls with the weapon. Nugg’g spends his time exploring the outpost and listening to those around him. Doing so, he learns that a party of humans have been spotted in the mountains, heading to the North-West. The scouts he is listening to seem confused, as nothing is in that direction but the abandoned village of Galangholm. He also learns that a bridge nearby has become infested with strange flora that the members of the outpost are regularly cutting back, only to find that it has regrown in an unnaturally quick time. 

Meanwhile, Dwoin and the others seek out Elder Borin, after Dwoin had been assured that he was the dwarf to speak to about the history of the clan. The conversation concerned the nature of the totem and the metal of which it was made. Elder Borin reluctantly told a brief story of the Darkforge, the name given to that splinter group of Fireforge dwarves intent on working with strange and eldritch alloying techniques in the name of crafting more powerful metals. He tells the party the Darkforge were banished centuries ago, and it is now considered taboo to discuss even their existence. Past that, he knows no more, but suggests that someone at the Fireforge Clanhold likely would, though he doubts Dwoin will have any luck getting them to talk. 

The party discuss matters over dinner with Roric, Borin, and the other dwarves and decide that they will head towards Fireforge Clanhold in search of more information and assistance. To aid them, Roric marks the route on their map but advises them that it will likely be a treacherous journey as the path has not been used in many years. 

In the morning, the party head out and follow the path laid out by Roric. As they do, they come across a cave in the mountainside. From within, they hear high pitched laughter and animalistic groaning as if a beast is in great pain. Some quick reconnaissance work courtesy of Freja’s pest form, reveals that a bear is within the cave, being tortured by sprites of the kind the party encountered in the woods (Session 2). Not wanting to leave any animal to suffer, Freja charges into the cave and the fight is joined by her compatriots.  

Sadly, the bear has become maddened, both by the constant torture, and the mushroom-like growths now protruding from where the sprites had stabbed it with their tiny, wicked blades. Seeing no way to calm the beast, the party regretfully end its life and its suffering. Inspecting the corpse after the fight reveals tendrils digging their way into the bears flesh from the wounds it had endured. At the back of the cave lay a body clad in leathers, now torn to shreds by the hungry bear. In its possession, the party found a map of the area showing a marked trail to the town of Galangholm as well as a schematic of the town itself featuring a red “X” painted over one building in particular. 

Mysteries building and determination in their eyes, the party check their gear and head off into the mountains once more. 

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Post-game GMs Thoughts
This was a satisfying session for world-building. Watching the players interact with the Fireforge culture and start to pull on the threads of the “Darkforge” taboo was a highlight. I must admit, the players didn’t choose to pursue the quest hooks I’d laid before them in the order I’d expected, but that’s always a risk and a great exercise in improvisation Now the mystery of Galangholm is now firmly on the table, and the discovery of the “Red X” map has given the party something to keep in mind as they traverse the hazardous peaks to Dwoin’s old home.

Miniature Spotlight – Dwoin

The forest does not forget a slight; it simply waits for the rot to settle before reclaiming what was stolen

Iron only bends when it’s beaten, and Dwoin hasn’t met a problem yet that couldn’t be improved by a few heavy blows and a well-placed curse.

Fighters in Pathfinder 2e

In Pathfinder 2e, the Fighter stands out as the undisputed master of the d20, moving far beyond the “basic attacker” trope found in other systems. By starting with Expert weapon proficiency, a tier above every other martial class, Fighters benefit from a permanent +2 accuracy advantage that leverages the game’s “Success +10” rule to turn narrow hits into devastating critical successes. Something that we have seen frequently at our table! This deadliness is further bolstered by Reactive Strike, an ability that mimics an “attack of opportunity” found in other systems that is only granted to a sparse few classes in Pathfinder 2e. These tools can help make the PF2e fighter a tactical engine of pain that sits well in any party composition.

Painting Techniques

With this mini, the cloak was painted using basic layering techniques going from dark to light red, mixing in a little orange for the top highlights to avoid desaturating the colour. As with Freja, the leather components were painted with citadel’s Snakebite Leather.

Dwoin’s armour and trusty axe were painted using a Non-metallic metal technique. I mixed in a little blue to the transitions to mimic the effect of the shiny metal under a blue sky.

If you’d like to see more of my minis, you can find me on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky by hitting the buttons below!