Lugosi: The Festival of Fangs

The Festival of Fangs is referred to as a one liner in the Anomolous Subsurface Environment 1 description of the town of Lugosi.  The PCs started there, so naturally there has to be festival.

As the players lick their wounds from Session 10, the decide to head back to Lugosi to restock materials and hire more help before returning to finish the job at the Obelisk.  This happened to coincide with the Festival which has been counting down in-game for three weeks since the PCs heard of it. 

The festival runs for three days and is focused around the tomb topped hillock which serves as a roundabout in central Lugosi next to which lies the all-domain, essentially a free caravan park.

The festival gets it's name from old tales of the Vampire, which struck an agreement with the Baron's ancestors, a story which will be expanded in the play report where a random encounter sees the PCs witness a street puppet show telling the story.

I made some tables and determined to play out the festival with them and that the last five entries on the D30 table would be best kept for the third and final night of the festival, which this time falls on a full moon.

Gypsies arriving in Lugosi on their way to the All-domain.

LUGOSI:  FESTIVAL OF FANGS D12 RUMORS

1. Some travellers say they have seen the old man screaming from that old tower again.  50% chance they hear this from Mary
2. Lycanthrope problem, heck, this area hasn’t been crawlin’ with so many biters since the times in those legends about Torpo the Cannibal.
3. Did you hear about all that stuff going on at the Obelisk down South?  Roll on the rumour table for Obelisk of Forgotten Memory.
4. Sinister agents claiming to represent The Vampire have announced that an appearance will be made at the festival.  (False, there are no agents)
5. Some rivals are trying to muscle in on Mary’s turf.  They have ties to the other adventuring group in town at the moment.  Roll on the d21-50 (D30) Table THE FESTIVAL OF FANGS – RANDOM ENCOUNTERS to determine who it is.
6. Have you heard there are two groups of adventurers in town right now.  There both gearing up and both looking for help.  That sort of competition is good for guys like us, ya know...
7. Eyewitnesses to a murder describe a huge man feeding on a victim.
8.  The Baron grows frustrated with the Denethix bureaucracy turning it's gaze toward Lugosi.
9. A whole caravan of those Starry Wisdom acolytes came through here.  Pulled up their caravan at the All-domain and did big business with some slavers before heading out west.
10. Roll on the Denethix Treasure Rumors Table
11. Roll on the Dungeon of Signs blog Denethix Treasure Rumors Table.
12. Have you heard about the Fist?  They have 50% either a Victorious Win or a Crushing defeat in some battle far to the southwest.  They say the invaders were nomad led by militant Snakemen!  Never heard of Snakemen mate, ever!

D30 table entry #09:  Tax Collectors from Denethix are in town, hide your purses adventurers. The picture is by the French artist Bilal.

LUGOSI:  FESTIVAL OF FANGS D30 Encounters (To use in the ASE setting, roll D50 with the Town Encounters table from ASE being 1-20, and this being 21-50)

1. Drunk would-be adventurer types looking for work.
2. Gypsies, doin’ gypsie stuff, like selling dogs, and herbal cures
3. Elven gypsies, doin’ gypsie stuff, like selling dogs, herbal cures, and asking if anyone has any human babies they would like to swap.
4. Trader D12  1-2 Food, 3-4 clothes/textiles, 5 Tools, 6 Weapons, 7 Curios (roll on the Hobo treasure table Dungeon of Signs), 8 Finery/Drugs/etc.  9-12 roll on Gus' table of travelling merchants here:  Quality of work:  D6 1 poor, 2-3 average, 4-5 good, 6 excellent.
5. The Veterinarian (met previously) who wants to bring people’s attention to the spread of the Black. Has d4+1 guards now.
6. Performers D8  1-4 Musicians, 5-6 Dancers, 7-8 Puppet Show:  Punch and Judy style tale of a blood sucking being of great power who arrived in the land.  The Baron in the tale, who's lineage is of the star-nobles fought with the creature.  In the end they agreed that the vampire would only hunt on those nights of the festival that occurred on a full moon and another condition YOU make up on the spot.  It's been so long since this has occurred it is often considered to just be tall tales. .
7. Religious Acolytes of Iithius, aspect of flowering plants and herbs (randomly determined on the ASE religion tables). 
8. A tall, handsome and charming black-skinned Egyptian-featured man wants to meet magic users.  He has (cursed) items to trade.  He will claim no knowledge of the Cult of Starry Wisdom if asked.
9. Representatives of The Council of Proper Apportionment.  They have rented an office and will expect the PCs to make an appointment for the purposes of assessing tax. 25% chance they also belong to a Denethix Thieves' Guild and are trying to muscle in on Mary's turf in Lugosi.
10. Drunken revellers.  25% it is someone the PCs know. 10% demi humans or exotic or whatever:
11. Locals.  There is a 20% chance they have heard what the PCs did for the Jeffersons and so will be well disposed.
12. I heard about you from the Jeffersons, I know the beast’s secret, but we will need to find her in time...
13. Dawn.  She’s happy to see them but disappointed they have come back to Lugosi empty handed.  
14. A messenger being chased D8 1-2 by mercenaries, 3-4 by The Fist, 5-6 by the Baron’s men, 7-8 agents of the Council of Proper Apportionment, 9 Starry Wisdom Cultist, 10 The other (rival) adventuring group in town.
15. Quitarros.  From a Swords and Stitchery table, this is an ancient metamorph who is looking for it’s lost lover.  Met by PCs by random roll in caves at Southdeep sinkhole floor.
16. A Space Phantom (treat as a wraith) come through time following the cosmic trail left by the Lover of Quitarros. (Describe it’s presence as very frightening – it's only fair given it has level drain).  It might want to 'sniff' the PCs.  A large humanoid shape of utter darkness, a purple flashing makes it seeth with inter-planar pulsations in which if looked at for too long will let the viewer see deep into the heart of the cosmos.  Looking at it for more than three rounds requires a save vs petrification or the character will be 50% either transfixed, or recoil and flee in gibbering terror.
17. The Lover of Quintarros.  A swords and sorcery space merc who had an affair with the ancient metamorph ‘Quintarros’ before falling through a dimensional hole to here.  He’s travelling with D8  1-2 Gypsies, 3-4 Traders, 5-6 Alone, 7-Other, 8-Another 'hero' npc made up on the spot as suits.
18. Werebeast. D6 1-5 human, 6 beast.  Beast is hungry, as a human is hungry on 2 in 6.
19. Rival Adventurers on the other side of the road/dancefloor/whatever.  1-4 Stare, 5-6 Heckle
20. The Fist. 2-16   roll D6  1-3 Foot, 2-5 mounted, 6 recruiting.
21. Baron’s ‘men’. 2-5  D6  1-3 Foot, 4-6 Mounted
22. Sherrif’s ‘men’.  1-6
23. A Doctor.  A tall striking woman who comes from far away.  She is well versed in philosophy and medicine, and is introducing some new medical techniques to the local doctors. Her dagger is her guardian and acts as a very powerful dancing sword. 
24. The Farmers Girls from session, or Boys from session.  40%girls, 40%boys, 20% both
25. Crier  40%advertising that the PC’s are recruiting help, 40% advertising rival group’s recruiting session, 20% something else.  These percentages can be adjusted by the PCs spending more gold.
26. Gorpo, descendent/cousin of Torpo the Cannibal (or is he just a cheap pretender?) a cannibalistic blood drinking meat axe.  Is it a werewolf?  Is it a vampire?  No! It’s Gorpo.
27. Three alien travellers wearing masks over masks.  A ‘Vampire’, a ‘Werewolf’, and a ‘Witch’. Underneath these masks they have horrid alien faces with leech-like mouths.  These are also masks, underneath which they are extremely beautiful and one is a powerful machine.
28. 2-5 Secret Hipster faction revellers from Alpha Complex who have snuck out “for a groovy time man”.  They are all Troubleshooter class, levels D4-1.  Leader adds +1, they have good happy drugs to share.
29. Coloured lights fly over and land in the field behind the caravan all-domain.  A short time later tall beguiling ‘relatives’ are greeted by the Baron, and they join his table at the festival. (I ran this one anyway).
30. Oh go on, the town got it's name somewhere - A Vampire! Go to town.  The vampire is very hungry and It will only feed, one person (or two levels) each round for D6+1 rounds before fleeing.   It will not interact; tonight it is the epitome of a hungry supernatural beast. 

Entry #29  One of the Baron's strange 'distant relatives' who it appears arrived at the festival by flying machine.

The vampire, whatever 'it' is, is oathbound to the Baron's lineage not to feed outside of very predetermined times.  The beast has possibly been in a torpor like state for a very long time, and not even in the stories told to the oldest residents when they were the youngest of children, has the vampire of town mythology made an appearance.