SESSION 9: An Infestation, a Deal, and a Lesson

Where the PCs find out that following the plans of others can hurt.  Adventure here.

CAST

Nick:  Cybella - Magic User 1; Jon-O-Tan - Troubleshooter2  (yup, a level 2 henchman!)

Syam:  Brychan - Fighter 1.

Telfer:  Maredud - Thief 1.

Michael: Pelegost - Cleric 1  (Calina of the Twelve Annihilations)

Theresa:  Fokus – Cleric 1 (Frig - Gluttony and Rutting)

Having met Patriarch Chax the PCs were shown to the ground level mausoleum converted to a bunk room and told to make themselves comfortable.  It became clear that the followers of the Orbital God, Furter were engaged in a takeover of the grounds using electro-mechanically reanimated skeltons and zombies and had at least a dozen acolytes as well.

They were fed and retired for the night.

In the morning Vicar Malokai came to visit them.  Showing that he was perhaps more practical the Chax he agreed that in return for the PCs offer of assistance, he would be prepared to turn a blind eye to why the PCs had come here, and even go so far as to consider retrieving the artefacts they had come for as ‘proper rememberation of the dead’ by fulfilling the wishes of the deceased (Dawn’s grandmother). 

He explained the situation in the grounds, how the pit the characters had seen the night before had struck the nest of a pack of dog sized fleas which are in the service of Jackal Mask the Bone Chewer, and that the Ghouls were the servants of Bezonaught; both examples he said of the degenerate way the grounds had been kept until the followers of Furter arrived.

 He then set out a plan to deal with the fleas, which involved the remembrated dead surrounding the sink hole and the party entering from below and assaulting the tunnels to drive the fleas into the killing zone.

Much to the DMs surprise the party agreed to this without modification.  With the dead in place, the party prepared to enter the westernmost ‘messy’ ossuary.  From the sketch map they were given they were reluctant to enter via the undercrypt beneath Torpo’s tomb, and settled on a plan of entry from the top.

(...And so began the scene in the game which has annoyed me the most so far.)

“An opening lies before you which reaches down into the darkened ossuary below.  The air smells dry and stale.  An old and rickety-looking ladder is propped against one wall of the opening and reaches to the bottom”.

The PCs were initially going to lower Maredud the thief down on a rope, but the DMs scary descriptions got too much for Maredud’s and they hesitated and attempted to devise a better plan.  Getting impatient, and perhaps too slow to realise the danger (5 INT) Brychan took the initiative and started down the ladder, and continued to do so despite the DM generously asking  “so you’re going down the old rickety looking ladder and you’re wearing platemail right?”.

This rather unsubtle hint was ignored however, and one third of the way down a sickening crack echoed around the chamber below and the ladder gave way.  The boy-fighter grabbed for the receding rung above as he fell, but failed his save verse breath weapon (reflex save) and fell twenty feet to the floor taking 2d6 damage which while only causing six points of damage was enough to take the already wounded fighter to negative one and a save verses death which he also failed. 

Alas, why did he have to die so young.  RIP Brychan

The death march was hummed and another player character was consigned to the ‘also ran’ list.

(DM’s note -  I’m not sure why but this really annoyed me, Brychan was a cool character and it was such a waste.  This was perhaps indicative of the general mood at the table that night; probably the least successful session we have had for a couple of reasons).

The characters changed tack, and decided to enter through the undercrypt via the 'tidy' ossuary to the east.

Taking their remberated dead with them for support, the PCs entered the messy ossuary, and immediately became aware of a chittering noise in the direction of Brychan’s body.    Eight fleas attacked, going for the living in preference over the dead and a couple of rounds later seven more arrived.  Out in front, Pelegost and Cybella took the brunt of the assault, and both were soon bitten multiple times and reduced to negative hit points.  Fortunately, both made their saving throws verses death and collapsed alive but seriously wounded.

The next action one of the PC's zombies rolled a '1', and tripped into a stack of bones (a keyed location hazard).  Rolling a 1 on a D6 (my usual 'does something really bad happen' check) the stacks collapse on top of Cybella and Pelgost doing extra damage and taking them both to -7 which is below the -6 threshold for permanent effects.

Maredud ordered the dead into position to cover a retreat (DM note – they should have used them as shields from the start) and dragged the unconscious companions an the corpse of Brychan from the chamber, narrowly avoiding being overrun at the door.  For some reason, rather than continuing to retreat, they made a stand at the door and paid a high price in rememberated dead for doing so, with all but one of their reanimated helpers falling to the fleas before the decision was made to close the door on the last one.

It was late, so we left things there.

LOSSES:  Brychan, the dumb but likeable, alas he was too young!

Be sure to join us here next week, when this list gets longer, oh yeah, the dice go all session4 on their asses!

GAINS:  Allies and information.  Malokai has agreed to help the PCs identify which sarcophagus has Dawn’s grandmother once the situation in the grounds is resolved.

THE (DIS)HONOUR ROLL 
Here we list those brave adventurers who have been tested and found wanting (more hit points).

NAME                           CLASS/LEVEL  PLAYER   SESSION      HOW

Dode Enemy-Breaker     D1                     Nick         2                   Fell into a pit trap.

Fighter guy                    F1        `            Telfer        3                   Throat torn out by Pretender.

Mike’s Wizard               MU1                  Mike         4                  Shot through the back with laser 

Syam’s Elf                    E1                     Syam       4                   Face burned off by energy bolt                       Brychan                        F1                     Syam       9                   Fell down a shaft.

Lazerhawk - Skull and Shark

This has been getting played at our game sessions and in my car.  Creepy electro goodness.  This album makes me think of movies like Predator, Terminator, Commando, Big Trouble in Little China and Escape from New York.









While you're listening, close your eyes and say to yourself "I eat Green Berets for Breakfast!".

Denizens of Lugosi: One Tooth Mary

Where we get to meet the character's early patron, One Tooth Mary, and understand her role in Lugosi.

PISTOLE VERNON:  "Sure Mrs, I can 'elp you out.  That woman in the booth over there, go and say hello.  Her name is Mary, but some call her One Tooth Mary, just don't ask her how she got one tooth".

Later in game, in a night of passion with Cybella, Vernon revealed a little of Mary's background. She was once a widely feared assassin in Denethix, one of the deadliest blades for hire in the land.

He told how there are rumors that she once went by the alias of Black Jenny* and was cursed by a Vampire.  Hints were made that the curse resulted in her growing fangs, and aging (loosing two levels at least!), yet in her older age she would now age slower.

One Tooth Mary.  An imaculately executed self portrait of unknown age.  I got this image from a favourite blog of mine, Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque

Further insight into her background and name are gleaned from hints and rumors which involve a pair of pliers and an intoxicant fueled rage of self loathing.

To date Mary has appeared helpful to the PCs, paying good gold for treasure, and being a good source of leads.

One source of intrigue however is that when asked whether she new any wizards, she said she didn't,but was obviously uncomfortable and the players came to the conclusion that she was not only lying, but that she seemed momentarily afraid of whatever thought the question had prompted.  I rolled the 'doesn't know appears afraid' reaction on a table in the Vornheim supplement and so came up with a reason to explain.

What the players don't know is:  Highlight to read unless you're one of my players, in which case just don't, it's more fun if you don't know.

Highlight from here:

Mary does know a wizard.  A wizard who was once a fellow adventurer who fell in with the Cult of Starry  Wisdom.  Mary is scared of this guy, and it is this mad wizard to whom she has reluctantly passed the Armillary retrieved by the PCs from the Prison of the Hated Pretender*. What this also means is that the Cult of Starry Wisdom now have an astronomical divination device, mwah ha ha ha....
.

End Highlight.

We get to see some of the action side of Mary at the upcoming Festival of Fangs game sessions (when the PCs return to Lugosi from the Obelisk to pick up supplies, and use the festival to recruit henchmen - coming soonish!).  Mary, plus two fellow assassin types return late to Bellas, there are panting and Mary is bleeding.  Write ups for that are a few sessions away.

Shady assistant number one.  A youthful femme fatale, she exudes menace and sex.  Her Jacket is made of tough high quality leather and the beaded front piece adds to the protection (leather). She carries a rapier at her side and has a number of throwing knives among her adornments.

Shady assistant number two.  This tall silent type is wearing a cloak which partially conceals the long slim bladed two handed sword slung over his back, but doesn't conceal the dead look in his eyes.  A pistol crossbow hangs at his side.

Curiously, and reinforcing the Twin Peaks Black Lodge vibe at Bellas, Mary's constant assistants (introduced at the first meeting and encountered a few times since) are a trio of near-identicalb small bald men in suits of slightly different cuts in matching brown corduroy.

*Black Jenny appears in Prison of the Hated Pretender, an excellent introductory adventure by Gus at Dungeon of Signs.

SESSION 8 – The Obelisk of Forgotten Memories aka A Tactical Lesson

Where we continue Gus' ASE module The Obelisk of Forgotten Memories.  Make sure you download it.

CAST

Nick:  Cybella - Magic User 1;  Jon-O-Tan - Troubleshooter2  (yup, a level 2 henchman!)

Syam:  Brychan - Fighter 1.

Telfer:  Maredud - Thief 1.

Michael: Pelegost - Cleric 1  (Calina of the Twelve Annihilations)

Theresa:  Fokus – Cleric 1 (Frig - Gluttony and Rutting)

ASSUMPTIONS AND HOUSERULES

We agreed to use the Dungeon of Signs counterspell rules.  Roll D20 plus level and INT bonus against AC10 less caster’s level and INT bonus.

WHAT HAPPENED

We left last session on a cliff-hanger.  The PCs had arrived at the Obelisk, and investigating sounds from the woods of someone apparently muttering to themself Maredud came face to face with a rather scary undead ‘ghoul’.

The horror before him, clad in green cloak and copper scale armour, has blackened fingers gnawed or rotted to the bone, and blackened flesh around it’s mouth which has partially receded, and partially been bitten away.  It hisses “what do we have here then”.  END SESSION.

SESSION 8  Tactical Lessons

Maredud shouts a warning and positions himself between the creature and Jon-O-Tan, receiving the attack as Jon-O-Tan moves to assist.  A frenzied assault and two failed saves verse paralysation see them both go down, a creeping stiffness spreading through their bodies.  The creature attempts to carry Jon-O off, but is thwarted by the others arriving. 

It tries to get away, but the PCs give chase, Pelgost unleashes his recently acquired the war dogs.  The dogs catch the creature which turns to defend itself and drops both dogs with it’s paralyzing claws.  Brychan catches up and attacks, and receives a vicious swipe across the jaw in reply but he makes his save.

Pelegost invokes Calina to drive off the foul thing but the creature feels it’s master is the stronger; it turns to run regardless as it doesn't know how many more there are.  Reassessing the four paralyzed figures before him Brychan wisely lets it go.  The party arrives and Pelegost uses cure light wounds on Jon-O-Tan, annihilating the fugue, and Fokus casts the same on Maredud, a lusty vigour overcoming the paralysis.

The PCs retreat to the three statues just outside the obelisk grounds and set camp.  Firewood is gathered from the treeline but they aren't keen to venture further into the woods.  The PCs all consume a PPP (protein power pill) to each regain 1hp.  Sadly the random encounter rolls do not go the DM’s way and the night passes uneventfully except for some noises of movement and muffled shouting coming from within the grounds during the morning watch.

In the morning the PCs decide that instead of investigating the rest of the grounds that they will head in the direction in which the ghoul fled the night before, and soon come across a strange cottage in the woods.  It is made of a ceramic type material with a thatched roof, slit windows and two doors. 

The PCs approach unseen in a skirmish line (they’re learning) with Maredud leading the way, and sneaking up to the cottage he peeks through the slit windows.  In a workshop is one ghoul, ranting and tearing up books while attended by two others, and in a living room, two more ghouls crouch among broken furniture.  He also spies a trap in the living room with a swinging log set to smash anyone coming through the door.  He identifies one of the ghouls in the living room as the one from the previous day’s encounter.

The party discusses what to do, and the DM gives the ghouls a one in six chance to notice as the PCs haven’t moved away before having their chat.  Options discussed include setting fire to the roof.  The ghouls roll a one, and when they are noticed one ghoul goes to warn the others, and one tries to get out the door which Brychan quickly holds closed.  Fokus also holds the door, and thinking fast Maredud runs around to the other door and starts spiking it shut (nice encounter changing move).

Pelegost starts spiking the door that the PCs are leaning on shut.  The ghouls come out of the other room.  Two try to force the door open, two leave the room headed around back, and the leader runs up to the window and assessing the situation casts sleep, rolling enough HD to take out the whole party.  Cybella recognises the spell and not having acted attempts to counterspell rolling a 19 to successfully counter the sleep spell.  The Lead ghoul then unleashes a magic missile at Cybella and a very tense moment is had until the DM rolls a 1 resulting in (a disappointing) 2 points of damage.

Realising they might be up s#$t creek facing five angry ghouls, Pelegost wisely jacks up the syringe with the skull emblem (a potion of undead control rolled as random treasure in a previous adventure!) and sets about negotiating with the now willing to chat (less murderous) three ghouls in the living room, the leader of whom claims to speak for Bezonaught, one of the Orbital Gods performing service at the Obelisk.  A deal is struck in which if the PCs deal with the Cult of Furter and bring the ghouls their corpses, then the ghouls will not eat the PCs.  The leader calls the other (unaffected by the undead control) two through and explains this to them, but they do not look happy and keep licking their lips regardless of the deal.

The PCs leave, passing by a a large reflecting pool.  The PCs examine it at length, sorrounded by mist,noting that it is four feet deep and the walls are inscribed with names,  'LT. Ripley' in particular giving the players a giggle.

Moving further up the main path they head towards an large object they can make out through the mist, which is the shrine.  Inscriptions an reliefs around the door show the exploits of a fierce fanged warrior.

Upon entering they encounter Vicar Malokai, accompanied by two cultists, and two 'animated dead'.  He is talking to Furter in the God’s Eye.  Malokai is very much in line with proper fashion for gentlemen sporting a frock coat over scale mail and a top hat perched upon his big hair.  Malokai is initially suspicious that the PCs are grave robbers, and rants about the degeneracy of Bezonaught and Bonechewer’s followers and how that is no way to honour the dead with such foul creatures. Malokai agrees that he will speak to his boss about accepting the assistance the PCs offer.  The PCs like the idea and feel much better about allying with these guys than with the ghouls.

Vicar Malokai, just add top hat and scale mail under a frock coat.  I scanned this from a play program, the whole time I was watching the play I was thinking "that guy is so Malokai".  A surprisingly competent cleric and astute 'relationship manager'.

Malokai instructs the PCs to stay put and heads to the Mausoleum to talk to his boss, at which time Pelegost attempts to activate the God’s Eye, and succeeds in achieving contact, but with Furter.  Seizing the opportunity Furter instructs Pelegost that he is to go to the Mausoleum and offer his assistance to Patriarch Chax.  The PCs go to the Mausoleum and are met with eight zombies and eight skeletons guarding the entrance.  An acolyte lets them into the main entrance and they wait.  Patriarch Chax* arrives a short time later along with Vicar Malokai and others.  “Welcome to the team”  says Chax distractedly, along with “Tally ho” and “Have at ‘em”.  A deal is struck whereby a small contingent of undead will be made available to the PCs and the groups will work together to destroy the fleas and destroy or drive out the ghouls.

*Chax reminds us of the buffoonish Prince in Blackadder 3, except I am playing him as more distracted rather than stupid: he has a sharp mind when it is focused on something.  It would appear that the characters will mostly deal with Malokai, who despite the foppish Denethix fashion comes across as competent and passionate as befits his rank.

LOSSES:  None, but oh so very nearly the whole party, twice!

GAINS:  Treasure –none.  XP – Dunno yet, Allies - Both factions met so far (you know this is going to end badly).

THE (DIS)HONOUR ROLL 
Here we list those brave adventurers who have been tested and found wanting (more hit points).

NAME                                     CLASS/LEVEL        PLAYER                SESSION                   HOW

Dode Enemy-Breaker        D1                             Nick                        2                              Fell into a pit trap.

Fighter guy                            F1        `                  Telfer                     3                              Throat torn out by Pretender.

Mike’s Wizard                       MU1                       Mike                       4                              Shot through the back by ‘High Programmer’ with a high intensity laser while carrying 8 flasks of oil in backpack.

Syam’s Elf                               E1                            Syam                       4                              Face burned off by energy bolt from nano-poo-monster in water recycling plant.

This (Dis)honour Roll has been static for a while.  Just wait for the next couple of sessions, aye, there will be some tears ;-)

SESSION 7 - A Change of Heart and a Cliff Hanger.

(The adventurers leave Denethix and return to Lugosi to take Dawn up on her offer.)

CAST

Nick:  Cybella - Magic User 1

Syam:  Brychan - Fighter 1.

Telfer:  Maredud - Thief 1.

Michael: Pelegost - Cleric 1  (Calina of the Twelve Annihilations)

Theresa:  Fokus – Cleric 1 (Frig of Gluttony and Rutting), Velegerd – Thief 1.

SESSION 7

As we join the PCs they have arrived in Denethix, done a bit of shopping and now the’re tired.  The majority go to a middle of the road inn, while Pelegost splashes 150gp at the Inn of Alabaster Surprise, as an act of annihilation to Calina and has the night of his life.  

In the morning the PCs want to go shopping again.  They’re sure that if they hang around the markets long enough I will give tem some special treasure.  Well I have just the thing actually,  Gus’ table of ‘magic items’ for adventurers to waste money on.  

The players were offered the Wasp Gun, Druag's Spine, and the Thunder Stick.  There was no way they could afford the thunder stick, but paid 300 for Druag’s Spine from beyond the Lanthanide Wastes and 110 for the freaky Wasp Gun from somewhere called the Psychonian Chaos Wilds. 

Druags Spine is the skull and spine of a humanoid with sharp canines.  For this necromantically powered weapon the skull and spine have been reinforced with metal rods.  It is still ‘alive’ and can be swung to bite foes.  It is mechanically the same as a flail.  As it says in the description on the table, ‘Very Metal’.

The Wasp Gun is a weird compact wasp hive of three inch wasps attached to a large pistol like frame with a power cell, that fly/shoot out and attack foes for damage when the rigger is pulled – mechanics as a light crossbow - awesome.

The Trader was initially friendly and told them he had heard ta the battles out on the lower Certopsian was The Fist fighting an army of normally non-expansionist tribesmen led by a hardcore of militaristic Snakemen! And that they had some dinosaurs.  Cybella weary of the Wasp Gun now that her player had guessed nothing on this table was a ‘super weapon’ quite aggressively warned the trader that she would be back if it didn't work as sold.  The trader had a fellow a marketeer witness his word bond that he would return some of the price if it was returned non-functional (he wanted the money) but he didn't seem as friendly anymore.

The players then decided that they wanted to leave Denethix and take up the offer to assist Dawn, the young lady back in Lugosi who wants her grandmother’s heirlooms back.  So they leave Denethix and head back to Lugosi.

In the middle of the day, when the sparse farms outside Denethix have given warn to the dead flat, a hex of dead flat land covered in shallow craters or pools.  The water therein is of a wide range of colours and can change with the clouds.  The edges of many of these pools and mini-lakes are often crusted small crystal deposits.  Leaving the dead hex they enter a forest, and rolling a ‘1’ for an encounter we consult the Good Clean Country Violence table and get:

A young Denethix/Lugosi woman in a torn dress stumbles out of the forest, a confused look on her face.  Seeing the PCs her face snarls into a muzzle and she runs in to attack.  She takes a bite at Pelegost but misses, and having rolled “50% in a ‘bite and run mood’” then takes off into the woods on the other side of the road, and jumps and yelps as Maredud puts a silver crossbow bolt into her back just before she disappears from view into the trees.

Relieved no one was bitten the finish the journey to Lugosi.

Meanwhile back in Lugosi, Fokus, Paragon of Frig, the Orbital God representing Gluttony and Rutting has finished his latest bender, but this time Vernon is annoyed, and we suspect the Fokus may not be able to remember just how far he went.  Valegerd, Fokus’s henchman is also seemingly unimpressed with his employer’s behavior and failing a morale role decides to quit. As Velegerd is leaving Dawn the well to do farmer’s daughter from session 6* comes in and approaches Fokus, and after buttering him up with the whole “Are you an Adventurer?” line then asks him for his help.  He has just agreed to help when the rest of the PCs arrive, and together they all agree to mount a journey to the Obelisk to retrieve Dawn’s grandmothers heirloom items.  

To convince the party a scroll of identify is bargained, which immediately gets their cooperation.  Vernon is pleased that the rest of the PCs are here and that they will be taking Fokus away for a while.

They book a suite for the night, and talking to Vernon and Mary discover that a bunch of cultists following an Orbital God named Furter had booted out the other orbital god aspects from the grounds of the Obelisk which has traditionally been served by many.  The also inform the PCs about a place to stop, Southdeep, which though marked on the map is difficult to find without knowing the landmarks that mark the beginning of the road to Southdeep.    

Successfully locating the marker bluff for the not so obvious Southdeep path, they set off along the path though the woods. After a couple of hours the travelers are a little surprised  as the trees give way to the edge of massive shallow sinkhole, two hundred metres across.  A road winds down, and at the bottom is a fissure.  Caves dot the road down, and in many instances buildings are built into the face of the earth.  There is some light industry or small mining operations, and there is some evidence of mining spoil off to one less used sides of the crater.

They visit the Subterraininn and find a nice nook near a bunch of happy/angry Halfling miner/bikers decked out in well worn working leathers, straps and buckles (Effectively all studded leather).   The Halflings are friendly and relate to the characters that refugee pilgrims have fled the Obelisk and had passed through here.  The Halflings are drinking and arguing and having an ambiguously good/bad dysfunctional sort of time.

Not so much 'leather, straps and buckles' but you get the idea.

Half the characters get rooms at the Inn. Pelegost and Cybella decide to stay in one of the public domain caves down below.

When they have chosen their cave, well away from the fissure, Pelegost, Cybella, Jon-O-Tan receive a vist from a number of men and women at arms.  Corporal Xavar of the Fist is here on secondment and Sherrif Irena and her ‘friends here’ are the law around Southdeep.  They let the PCs know that they are welcome to stay the night, but if anything comes out of the fissure they must raise the alarm, and that if they do stay down here they must move on in the morning. The PCs agree and an uneventful night is passed, with Pelegost performing his usual midnight prayer of annihilation for the annihilation of the day.

Moving on the next day the path south takes them back to the road, and they journey until they can just see the top of a structure above the woods far far in the distance that they arrive at the junction where the path to the grounds of the Obelisk begin.  The area is wooded in old twisty trees and has very low hills, through which the path winds.  The woods are dense and dark by the time the come to a small clearing, and there, stretching up high above the trees is te Obelisk.  To the side of the path are statues of Bezonaught, Furter and Delphina (download this module if you want to see the picture).

A little further on the come to the entrance.  They decide to wait and listen at the edge of the woods, at the low escarpment to the right.  Maredud hears something, and the agree that he should sneak off into the dark woods and see what it was.  Maredud hears muttering, and sees a figure. 

He also hears Jon-O-Tan moving into the woods behind him, and as he sights the back of a figue in a hooded green cloak wearing armour underneath and sneaks up behind with his crossbow.  He decides to shoot it in the back for the first backstab attempt of the campaign and rolls a ‘2’ or something.

The quarrel wizzes past the figure’s ear and thuds into a tree right in front of it.  Starteled realisation turns into action, and the copper scale mail clad figure turns, it is gaunt, pale, has blackened bones for fingers where the flesh has rotted and the face has been partially chewed away around the mouth which is also black with decay.

It fixes it’s full malevolence on Maredud and it hisses “Well well, what ‘ave we got ‘ere then?”

...with it getting late I played Maredud’s encounter for full effect and ended the session, with the first level thief facing down a scary ass thing, solo!

*This was a recent edit to Session-6.

LOSSES:  Valegerd the Thief, ahem, ‘resigns’.

GAINS:      Some cool gear.

THE (DIS)HONOUR ROLL 
Here we list those brave adventurers who have been tested and found wanting (more hit points).

Dode Enemy-Breaker, Dwarf-1,  Session2,  Fell into a pit trap.

Fighter guy,  F1,  Session3,  Throat torn out by Pretender.

Mike’s Wizard,  MU1,  Session4,  Shot in back with laser while carrying 8 flasks of oil in his backpack.

Syam’s Elf, E1,  Session4,     Face burned off by energy bolt from nano-poo-monster in water recycling plant.

MAGIC ITEMS AND TREASURE FROM THAT STRANGE DUNGEON ‘ALPHA COMPLEX’.

(I haven't got the next session report ready yet so here) HAVE SOME LOOT

Protein Power Pills (red ones).  An Alpha Complex staple; you can only get by on recycled food and soylent red (what is your security clearance?!) for so long.  Come in (red) boxes of ten.  Rog-R-ger and Ram-R-Jet swear by them.  Game effect:  Heal 1hp of damage (and maybe +1 to save verses disease).

Radios.  Two old valve radios similar to the one that used to sit on your grandparent’s mantle piece.  A PC with knowledge of design might be able to tell that these do not fit with the design approach exhibited by the other items from down the hole. The right person could rig these up for point to point communications.  

Belt Buckle - Personal Shield:  Provides a protective force field which also scrambles ‘field effects’.  Game effect:  As a Ring of Protection +2 (+2 AC and Saves).

Red Laser Pistol.  A very basic red coloured frame with a detachable red barrel.  The barrel has six bands on it, one of which becomes a darker shade each time it is fired.  Six shots.  Game effect:  1d6 damage, as ASE laser pistol. Attached barrel has three shots left, spare barrel has six.

Totally borrowed this from this paranoia play by post.

White laser pistol.  As for red but coloured white.  This white version is higher power and only available to ‘High Programmers’.  Game effect:  1d6 damage.  Reduces armour by three.  Attached barrel has four shots left.

Three syringes (potions):  three hi-tech looking syringes with orange coloured bands on them.  All have pictograms.  A happy face (Hypnotism), a skull (Control Undead) and a dotted human outline (Invisibility).

Stun Baton.  A large orange rubber ‘baton’ with metal inlay at the business end.  Game effect: 1d4 damage (non lethal) and if the activation button is pressed save verses paralysation or be stunned for 1d4+1 rounds.  Could have up to 20 charges, but this one has only d4+1.

Armour Tunics.  All wear as leather armour but have the following armour classes:

• Red - AC8
• Orange or Yellow - AC7
• White - AC6*

*As tempting as it was to make the white even better, and the orange worse to accommodate green, blue, indigo, and violet, I wasn't ready to give the first level party what would effectively be a suit of leather +3.  So AC6 it is.  Besides, it's just daywear right.

SESSION 6: A Farmboy, a Moktar, and a Moustache.

(The adventurers go to Denethix for a look around)

CAST

Nick:  Cybella - Magic User 1

Syam:  Brychan - Fighter 1.

Telfer:  Maredud - Thief 1.

Michael: Pelegost - Cleric 1  (Calina of the Twelve Annihilations)

Theresa:  Fokus – Cleric 1 (Frig of Gluttony and Rutting), Velegerd – Theif 1.

Ha ha, a whole crew of all five players, and yet a shrinking character cast.  

SESSION 6

Having a bit of time on their hands before the Slavers leave for Denethix the characters kill time in Lugosi for a day or two. 

The PCs are approached at Bella's by Dawn, an attractive well spoken young woman, the daughter of a well to do farmer and less publicly an heiress to a line of female familial witches.  Her inheritance, her grandmother's 'tools', had been interred against her will along with her corpse at the Obelisk of Forgotten Memory and she needs the PC's help to retreive the items because she heard it was dangerous down there now.  Amazingly the players didn't go for this, thinking she was too nice to be genuine.   

Oh please brave adventurer's, please go and get my loot inheritance for me.

Rolling for a random encounter the next morning produces six angry farmers’ sons wanting to know why their sisters have returned home so upset.  A demand for compensation or satisfaction accopanies a challenge being made to determine how much the PCs will pay.

A strapping bruiser of a farmer’s son squares off against Brychan for fisticuffs.  Brychan loses initiative and farmer boy rolls a natural twenty for the grapple followed by a one in a roll under your strength contest to put the clinch on and humiliate Brychan.  Laughing, the farmers sons take their spoils and head off.  Mutterings are made about how this is all Fokus’ doing (who is notably absent). The PCs maintain a low profile around town afterwards until the next morning when the slavers they have hired on with leave for Denethix.

Helping guard the slave caravan for the trip to Denethix proves largely uneventful, with the slave bosses making it clear that they did not talk to the help, and the guard leader having little in conversational ability beyond ‘if shit happens, you all fight’.

Approaching Denethix the characters find an unwalled city, a mish-mash of architechtural styles with some large structures at the centre.  They approach through the factory part of town through the coal smoke.  An old woman hawks the PCs a map at the gate for ten gold pieces, and seems surprised when they accept, quickly handing over a scribble and departing with their cash.

I'm sure she would hate me for this, buy hey, this is D&D okay, it's important and all that.

They make their way up the the Street of Industrious Efforts which features factories, warehouses, the stink of pollution and chemical run-off, and turn along the Street of Lesser Men.  Here they encounter wooden tenements with tin roofs, often a few stories high, obviously the home to many of the city’s poor; sitting in doorways, leaning on posts, and collecting in alleys are the disadvantaged, down on their luck and downright shady.

Making their way to their destinations, the Street of Tormented Flesh, a collection of tenements tucked between slave warehouses, flesh markets, auction courtyards, hospitials, and brothels.  The slavers order the guardmaster to pay the PCs and they set off to explore Denethix.

What it would look like if this was a movie (Image:  Slave Market by UdonCrew)

What it probably looked like.

As they head up the Street of Worthy Servitude, the main raod in Denethix they pass the palaces and tower of Feretha.  The Palais Immaculate, a ten story marble edifice which serves as the palace of the Vizier, head of the Council, Feretha’s tower, a 200’ white sphere atop a 1000’ tower, and the Palais Indomitable, a massive heavy looking fortress of dark stone with turreted towers which houses Feretha’s army, the Unyielding Fist.

The PCs decide a trip to the Bazaar Incomparable is in order.  On the way the pass a formation of Fist equipped with chainmail, spears, swords, and rifles accompanied by an armoured, tracked and turreted Steel Leviathan.  The troops are forming up and looking serious so the dventurers waste no time in moving on

Passing the Bank Inviolable, they cannot resist a look inside.  They are greeted by a dapper floor manager who explains the banks terms and relates that he hopes the PCs will return to open an account.  The characters are all amazed at the bank’s two guardians, twin 20’ tall armoured humanoid constructs which both look every bit as powerful as the manager implies. 

They keep going and a bit further down the road come to a demonstration.  They are told the demonstration was started by some ‘students’ and the players turn off the road to head through the built up area to avoid the trouble.  A short time later the clanking of treads can be heard behind them followed by heavy machine gun fire and screams.

It’s early evening as the PCs get off the main thoroughfare and the PCs are keen to hit the bazaar.  A random encounter (ASE Denethix Table) turns up street urchins, who are friendly and helpful, only too happy to tell the characters the best way to get to the bazaar through the back streets and by the time the PCs realise their mistake, the smaller less obvious urchins have made off with about 10gp.

Wandering through the bazaar another random encounter (ASE Denethix Table) sees two drunk moktars test their muscle against the PC’s resolve.  Brychan quickly cuts one down, severing the hand from the arm, and the other flees.

Moktar!  Feel my furry... err... fury.

Into the markets and the character look for weapons merchants (a theme).  They find a caravan (like an old combi wagon rigged to be towed by donkeys or horses) displaying weapons for sale attended by a man who calls himself The Scouser.  The Scouser is dressed in a black string singlet, leather trousers and black leather suspender/harness and sports permed black hair, a large and moustache, two nunchuckas tucked into his belt and various throwing stars on his person. (Think Napoleon Dynamite meets the drummer from Frankie Goes to Hollywood).

"You know, like nunchuku skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills... Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills." (Napoleon Dynamite)

It was getting late at this point so we called it a night having not really got much done.

LOSSES:  Nil

GAINS:  A few gold.

THE (DIS)HONOUR ROLL 
Here we list those brave adventurers who have been tested and found wanting (more hit points).

Dode Enemy-Breaker, Dwarf-1,  Session2,  Fell into a pit trap.

Fighter guy,  F1,  Session3,  Throat torn out by Pretender.

Mike’s Wizard,  MU1,  Session4,  Shot in back with laser while carrying 8 flasks of oil in his backpack.

Syam’s Elf, E1,  Session4,     Face burned off by energy bolt from nano-poo-monster in water recycling plant.