I've recently started a D&D 5th edition game set in "The Keep on the Borderlands". In previous adventures the party explored "The Cave of the Unknown" where they made a pact with a Bugbear and cleared an ancient monastery which was the final resting place of a Wight and several skeletons. After that they fought animated armors and giant spiders in "The Tomb of Ballanor". They then set out of the "Caves of Chaos" to rescue two citizens of the keep who had been kidnapped by Kobolds.
The heroes belong to a mercenary company named "The White Stag Keep Irregulars". Their company specializes in dealing with monstrous threats in their own lairs. Basically they are a company of dungeoneers.
After tracking the kobolds who abducted the beggar Old Gregori and the prostitute Sasha to an area near the Cave of the Unknown before loosing the trail they consulted with their Bugbear contact Thrack who told them where they could find the Kobold's lair. They entered the lair cautiously but unfortunately Anton managed to fall into a carefully concealed pit trap.
The Kobolds sprung their trap attacking the party from an alcove near the trap. Anton fought the entire engagement from the pit while Brigga the dwarf and their Lawbringer cleric Dannika tried to cover the fighter. Although they killed most of their attackers one kobold managed to flee and raise the alarm.
Instead of following the fleeing Kobold the party decided to head down a short hallway where it looked like their might be an empty room to recuperate in. Unfortunately the rubble in the room was infested by rats. Brigga suffered several bites but her stout dwarven constitution saved her from getting sick. Strangely the found one of the rats was wearing an expensive looking necklace as a collar.
When they returned to the main corridor they discovered even more Kobolds waiting for them. This time they even had a couple of archers.
Many of the Kobolds rushed around the edges of the pit to engage the party while their archers supported them. The fight was brief and the party dispatched all the creatures with minimal injury.
As they pressed on the party found a large common room with several sleeping pallets laid out on the floor. There were over a dozen Kobolds in the room who were ready and waiting for them.
Anton eventually managed to break free from the main melee to attack the archers in the back on the room who had dealt a lot of damage to he and his friends. With one sweeping attack he caved in both of the creatures skulls.
Unfortunately however Dannika was knocked unconscious during the fighting after healing Brigga so she could continue fighting. Fortunately Anton and Brigga were able to dispatch the remaining Kobolds. The party barricaded the entry to the large room and rested as long as they could.
Searching the Kobold's food storage room they found Old Gregori and Sasha locked in a large crate. Anton pried the crate open with a crowbar and they decided to escort the prisoners back to the Keep before returning to finish off the remaining Kobolds.
Back at the Keep they ran into Hedge Ironfist a Dwarf they had freed while exploring the Cave of the Unknown. Hedge agreed to accompany them back to the Kobolds lair for a share of the loot. When they got their they began to make their way down a corridor they had not yet explored when they were attacked by four Kobold archers hiding behind a barrel barricade. Brigga and Anton quickly dispatched two of them with crossbow and hatchets and then closed on the others. They managed to kill the remaining creatures easily.
Finally they came across the chambers of the Kobold chief. The door was locked by Brigga managed to kick it in with a mighty display of strength. The chief and his two mistresses were ready for them. Anton took an bolt as they entered the room and the chief sprung out of the corner and attacked Brigga.
Anton rushed the chief's mistresses while the others attacked the chief. Although he managed to dispatch them one of the Kobolds managed to give him a nasty wound.
Even after being wounded badly Anton managed to deliver the killing blow to the chief caving his skull in with a powerful strike.
The party managed to save the kidnapped prisoners and walk away with a modest treasure.
Notes: Well this adventure went pretty well. The party had some tough fights but they succeeded in all of their objectives. I'm using "The Keep on the Borderlands" module as a guideline for this campaign but it is taking a lot of adjustment. 5E definitely makes low level monsters more potent. Of course the Caves of Chaos are all about old school dungeon crawling but I've managed to plant some interesting plot hooks with a couple of introductory sessions. The sandbox nature of the module really lends itself to injecting your own story onto the setting.
