I'm marking this campaign inactive. We gave it a go, but it wasn't meant to be.
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Diego moves forward quietly. A barren ridge of black stone rises from the overgrown courtyard. A low stone wall marked with eerie sigils is built atop the crest of the stone, marking a well. A stout block and tackle frame supports a single thick chain that plunges into the inky blackness. A soft moan rises from the well, like a faint cry for help.
It's understandable, Inlaa. Good luck with getting everything sorted out.
Diego sees several footprints in the mud, and there appears to have been no effort to conceal them. A set of tracks leads through the mud to the southeastern tower. Another trail of prints leads to a nearby well . Of concern is that the prints seem to be a mix of different creatures -- human footprints, the tracks of large creatures with only three toes, hawk-like talons, and what appears to be slither marks. Storhan peers down the shaft to look at the runes. He can't quite make them out fully, but it looks like with more time to study them it may be possible to decipher them better. the burning purge,
The group follows Storhan over the blocks he's noted as safe. As the last adventurers get over the blocks, one gives out under all the weight and the blocks collapse and tumble down the slope, causing a deafening crash of stone against stone as large clouds of dust rise into the air, darkening the surroundings. Nobody is hurt, but as the dust settles the dislodged stones reveal a narrow, rocky shaft descending 14 feet before opening into a small cave at the foot of an enormous, rune-carved portal.
As you gather by the collapsed blocks and observe the stones, you begin to discern which ones look safer to climb upon and which ones look unstable.
The group makes their way around the tight corner, staying as close against the wall as possible. As they inch north along the narrow patch of earth, they discover the source of the opening from the courtyard. The keep’s massive wall has collapsed here, spilling cyclopean stone blocks down the rocky slope. The blocks are precariously balanced atop one another, like a titan’s game of dice. The fallen blocks look like they can be climbed with some care to gain entrance into the keep, but it will require caution every step of the way. Some of the blocks look unstable.
Diego checks around the corner of the wall and looks right and left. Beyond the stones of the walkway is a thin stretch of earth upon which the keep rests. It's about two feet wide until it plunges downward. To the right you see a large tower jut out at the far end of the keep . It looks to be daunting to walk over without falling. To the left, the wall stretches about 20 feet and stops in a sharp corner. It looks more feasible to carefully walk along and make the turn, though you are uncertain what may be beyond. Looking into the courtyard, you see some embers of sunlight poke through the western wall, suggesting that a section may be lower than the rest of it.
Garwen starts climbing, realizing the wall is more daunting than it looks. He makes it up about 20 feet with great effort when he puts his foot in the wrong place. The stone beneath crumbles and takes his balance with it. He plummets to the ground below, bouncing off the wall and tearing down moss and growth with him. He lands hard on the rammed earth embankment at the base with a sickening thud!
The dust from the disturbed earth settles and Garwen lies still on the ground, bloody, bruised and broken, his eyes staring emptily into the darkening sky above.
One by one, the group carefully makes it across the planks without incident. The keep is immediately before you all, and is even more menacing and imposing when you're close enough to touch it. You assemble on the crumbling stone walkway leading to the half-raised portcullis. You hear the sounds that Mucks warned about, strange animal-like sniffing and the sound of claws against stone. It sounds to be coming from above you, just beyond the great stone wall. As you gaze beyond opening, you can make out a large courtyard in the distance. It's overrun with weeds and dried plant growth, and in the low light you make out what appear to be ruined husks of structures. Apart from some of the sniffing and scratching, it's quiet. Very eerily quiet, as though things are afraid to make any sound.
Mucks crosses the planks. They creak and dip slightly beneath his weight enough to give him pause, but he makes it across to the other side with the rope. Mucks: After Mucks catches his breath, he hears animal-like sniffing sounds and the scratch of claws on stone coming from above.
Wipan puts pressure on the board and finds that it's sturdy enough to support at least one person walking across at a time, possibly two smaller individuals. It doesn't feel like it can bear any greater load than that though.
For a brief moment, things are quiet as you all listen to the vine horror seeds softly crackle and pop amidst the gentle flames. You pause to reflect on Bekore's passing and can't help but wonder who else may join him before this night is over. You all do your best to put that aside as you remember the purpose of the quest before you and you look forward to see what waits ahead. The dark, moss-eaten gatehouse towers above you, grim and forbidding. Murder holes, fashioned in the likeness of looming toads, threaten to gout forth flaming oil and tar. Black arrow slits pierce the high stone walls. You can hear the flap of the heretical banner above, hidden from sight by the vine-draped battlements. The ancient drawbridge has long since fallen away into ruin, leaving only a few rotting planks placed across the ditch. The heavy iron portcullis stands half-raised, the rusty spikes a mere four feet above slots cut into the stone floor.
As you go about dealing with the dead, you notice that one of the corpses is carrying a short sword and a dagger.
Like its companion, the corpse splits open upon death and countless seeds spill forth onto the ground, slowly moving as if searching for a new host. The group stands triumphant as it has achieved its first victory against the forces of darkness! Perhaps, just perhaps, you might stand a chance in this foolish endeavor!
INT DC5 (Local Knowledge): As you look at the remains of the two corpses, your recognize them as Keary and Alban, sons of the village smith. The brothers vanished from the village eleven days ago.
The host corpse falls to the ground, lifeless again, and splits open. Thousands of small seeds, slick with mucus, pour out of the corpse's shell onto the ground and start moving at an extremely slow pace, just barely noticeable. The standing Vine Horror whips the long vines coming off it's arms like flails, striking at Bekore and Storhan!
Bekore is struck as the vine lashes across him leaving a bloody streak on his chest. Storhan is luckier and the other vine misses him.
Mitsy's stone hits one of the corpses in the ankle, causing it to slide to the ground. It slowly rises again, animated by the vines which entangle and feed from it, and it is joined by the other corpse as well. They shamble toward the townsfolk without sound and raise their dead arms in striking position. Hyregoth Init:
Bahbrahb Init:
Inlaa Init:
Mogthrasir Init:
Vine Horrors Init:
We are. I got slammed with some unforeseen work stuff this past weekend and I'm still getting caught up.
The thrown chest misses one of the bodies by several feet and lands in a mess of weeds and vines. The bodies continue to sway and move beneath the vines.
As you get closer to the hill, you observe there may be multiple ways to enter the keep. The nearest is an old dirt road, now overrun with weeds and sickly vines, rising towards the ruined citadel. A grisly sight bars your way: a pair of bodies, secured to poles by long ropey vines. The wicked vines have wormed their way inside the bodes’ eyes, ears, and mouths. To your horror, you realize the bodies are still moving. Looking beyond, you see that the keep’s walls rise 30 feet from their rammed earth embankments. It looks from afar that parts of the top of the wall are uneven, suggesting there may be collapsed areas.
Yeah, I'm just waiting for the remaining players to check in. I'll have a post up this evening if things don't move along.
Mitsy: You recognize the banner as belonging to the Chaos Lords. You'd heard tales when you were young of a pair of brothers, vicious, cunning and merciless. Legend says they raised this keep and pursued a reign of terror upon the nearby lands, until an allied force of humans, dwarves and elves rallied together in a crusade against them.
Gameplay is live!
A rash of abductions has been plaguing your village. You've heard rumors and tales of a horde of vile beastmen inhabiting the ancient keep on the hill. Bent on stopping the abductions, you and your fellow villagers have finally decided to do something about it and set off to investigate the keep and put an end to the horrors once and for all. The keep looming high on the hill has long been a source of fearsome tales and terrible legends. The locals are steeped in superstitious lore surrounding the keep; some of the tales ring with truth while others are misleading wives’ tales or the fanciful mumblings of a town drunk. Hyregoth:
Some of the villagers kidnapped in the night return as feral, bestial monsters! Uthraed:
The keep was ruled by chaos lords. Even after their defeat, their corpses were never discovered. Bahbrahb:
Beware the well! It has swallowed many a poor soul. Mogthrasir:
The great treasure vault of a lost dynasty remains hid- den beneath the keep. Inlaa:
Nothing good can come of disturbing the evil ruins. You’ll only unleash the horror beneath the hill. You stand before the ruined keep, which squats atop a low, craggy hill, its walls of toppled stone and massive granite blocks hinting at forgotten battles and the clash of mighty armies. Now the ruins seem host only to creeping vines and the foul miasma that drifts down from the keep. The air is overrun with pestilence. Fat flies bite at you incessantly, and clouds of small black insects choke your every breath. The long- abandoned land is strangled with thorny vines that drape the sickly trees and hang from the ruined walls. There is an odor of rot and decay, as if the hill itself were decomposing from within. A sight gives you pause: a ragged banner, depicting a crimson skull on a black field, stands high atop the ruined walls. Whatever lurks within has terrorized you and your village for far too long. You turn to your companions and ready your meager weapons. The time for retribution has come.
Welcome to the gameplay thread.
And then there were 5. I'm opening the discussion thread if you want to dot in. I'm hoping to get the introductory gameplay post up tomorrow.
Welcome to the discussion thread. Gameplay will begin tomorrow hopefully.
Uthraed, you don't mean this post, do you? Or did you have something else posted after that? We can try putting the characters in spoilers. I had suggested just putting OOC tags around their dialogue/actions. We're probably going to have some trial and error with this since it's a bit different from your run-of-the mill d20-based game.
Alright! We've got four so far. We're getting closer, though if we don't get anymore bites, I could run this with 4 players / 12 characters. Things might get a little crazy though.
Unfortunately OSR-style games aren't really that popular around these parts. Someone recently did post for another DCC game using the Black Powder, Black Magic western campaign setting, so I figured it might be worth a try. I'll bump it every couple days to see if anyone else takes note.
This is a recruitment for up to 5 players using the Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC) system. Since time immemorial you and your people have toiled in the shadow of the cyclopean ruins. Of mysterious origins and the source of many a superstition, they have always been considered a secret best left unknown by the folk of your hamlet. But now something stirs beneath the crumbling blocks. Beastmen howl in the night and your fellow villagers are snatched from their beds. With no heroes to defend you, who will rise to stand against the encircling darkness? The secrets of Chaos are yours to unearth, but at what cost to sanity or soul? An introductory adventure for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game, Sailors on the Starless Sea pits a mob of 0-level adventurers against the legacy of the Chaos Lords and their corrupted hordes. Delving beneath the crumbling ruins, the characters discover ancient crypts, a starless sea, and an ancient ziggurat, where death and treasure await in equal measure! This adventure is designed for up to 5 players controlling 10 to 15 0-level characters. Each player should have 3 characters. You are not required to be familiar with Dungeon Crawl Classics to play. The links below will get you started. DCC Quick Start Rules - Free PDF Download
About Dungeon Crawl Classics You’re no hero. You’re an adventurer: a reaver, a cutpurse, a heathen-slayer, a tight-lipped warlock guarding long-dead secrets. You seek gold and glory, winning it with sword and spell, caked in the blood and filth of the weak, the dark, the demons, and the vanquished. There are treasures to be won deep underneath, and you shall have them. Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC) is an old-school style RPG based on a streamlined version of D&D 3E. Characters are randomly rolled and start as 0-level ordinary people. If they survive what's called a "funnel" adventure, such as this one, they advance to level 1 and become adventurers proper. There are no feats (though there are Mighty Deeds starting at level 1), there is no optimization. You build and go, and hope one of these plucky upstarts survives to adventure on into greatness. Character Creation Follow the Quick Start Rules to generate 4 0-level characters. Drop the one with the lowest stats. You may determine gender and name. Everything else is rolled. Create a 1-3 sentence description for each character (seriously, keep it short and quick). 1. Roll ability scores (3d6 in order).
Gameplay
Gameplay will begin when there are enough players and characters generated. Posting Frequency will be around once per day. Other quick & dirty rules: I will explain these as gameplay goes on. Combat
Saves
- Ability scores are described below
Agility: Balance, grace, and fine motion skills, whether in the hands or the feet. Your Agility modifier affects Armor Class, missile fire attack rolls, initiative rolls, and Reflex saving throws, as well as the ability to fight with a weapon in each hand. Stamina: Endurance, resistance to pain, disease, and poison. Your Stamina modifier affects hit points (even at level 0) and Fortitude saving throws. Note that a character earns a minimum of 1 hit point per character level regardless of Stamina. Characters with a Stamina of 5 or less automatically take double damage from all poisons and diseases. Personality: Charm, strength of will, persuasive talent. Personality affects Willpower saving throws for all characters. Personality is vitally important to clerics, as it affects the ability to draw upon divine power and determines the maximum spell level they can cast, as shown on table 1-1. Intelligence: Ability to discern information, retain knowledge, and assess complex situations. For wizards, Intelligence affects spell count and maximum spell level, as noted on table 1-1. For all characters, Intelligence affects known languages, as described in Appendix L. Characters with an Intelligence of 7 or less can speak only Common, and those with an Intelligence of 5 or less cannot read or write. Luck: “Right place, right time;” favor of the gods, good fortune, or hard-to-define talent. Players would be well advised to understand the goals of gods and demons that shape the world around them, for they are but pawns in a cosmic struggle, and their luck on this mortal plane can be influenced by the eternal conflict that rages around them. Luck affects several elements of the game.
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