A motley crew of degenerate mercenaries
is here making its way up the road toward
Drachen Keep. A watchful party, proceding
through the woods or farmland with caution
and alertness, will hear the ruffians
shouting at each other when the characters
reach a point within 120 feet of the section
of road marked D. The looters will not be
visible from this point and the party will be
unable to clearly distinguish words or languages.
A party that fails to behave cautiously
or is blindly running will not hear
the looters until closing to within 60 feet of
them. In these circumstances, the looters
themselves will hear the noise of the party's
approach and will immediately cease their
talking and draw their weapons. The party
will thus he unable to surprise the looters.
Because of the trees or crops, neither group
will be visible to the other at this point, the
looters will not leave the roadway to investigate
the noise, but will warily continue on
their way.

This band is a savage and unsrupulous
lot: 2 town guardsmen, 2 hobgoblins,
a gnoll, an orc archer, a half-orc..fighter/
assassin (all of the above in chain mail, the
guardsmen with <large> shields, a bandit from
Scumslum, and a thief (the latter two in
leather armor). Their statisitics are given on
a table for easy reference.

Looters

Looter	AC	MV	HD/LVL	hp	#AT	D	Weapon	THACO	XP
Guard #1	4	6"	Ftr 1	9	3/2	1-8<+2>	longsword <specialist>	19	46
Guard #2	4	6"	Ftr 1	6	3/2	1-8<+2>	longsword <specialist>	19	40
Hobgoblin #1	5	9"	1+1	8	1	1-8	longsword	18	36
Hobgoblin #2	5	9"	1+1	7	1	2-8	<broadsword>	18	34
Gnoll	5	9"	2	13	1	1-10	two-handed sword	16	54
Orc	5	6"	1	5	1	1-6	cinquedea or short composite bow	19	15
Half-orc	3	6"	Ftr 3	15	3/2	<1-8+2>	longsword <specialist>	17	145
Bandit	8	9"	0	4	1	1-6	short sword	20n1	9
Thief	6	9"	2	9	1	1-6	xiphos	20n1	77

This unsavory lot was outside Suderham,
drinking and gambling, when the earthquake
hit. As the town tumbled down, the
thief instantiy realized that Drachen Keep
must likewise have fallen, and he persuaded
the others to go after the great riches they
think are kept within. Each is trying to
impress the others with his ferocity and
toughness, and they will certainly attempt
to slay anybody they encounter, just to
show each other they can't be pushed
around. However, if 5 of them are slain
or otherwise knocked out of the fight, the
others will have 2nd thoughts and
attempt to flee.

When they attack, the guards, hobgoblins
and gnoll wade right into the melee. The
half-orc will try to attack the most powerful
party member, while the bandit will be
looking for the weakest or most-wounded
opponent. The orc archer will try to pick a
good spot from which to shoot, and the
thief will attempt to slip around to the enemy's
rear to try backstabbing.

The looters have the listed treasure:

Guard #I: 5 gp
Guard #2: 5 gp
Hobgoblin #1: 2 ep, 7 gp, 10 gp gem <blue quartz: 6>
Hobgoblin #2: 12 gp, 2 pp
Half-orc: 15 gp, 3 sp
Bandit: 2 ep, 8 sp
Thief: 12 ep, 3 pp, 25 gp, 10 sp, 50 gp gem <citrine: 100>

>>E.