Return of the Son of Remnant

Ladies and gentlemen, meet E. M. Lamb's newest Carcosa character:

David Bowie and Sean Connery had a crotch-bulge-off.
Who won?  The viewers.

Why does he need a new one?  Well, I'll put the whole story up on Obsidian Portal shortly, but it was the most pimp-ass thing I've seen in a long while.

His character (Shako of the Wastes) and Nicole's character (Lilimuth Yogthoth) go to visit The Incomparable Crown to establish some sort of accord, not realizing it's a village of secret cultists.  They eat, the food is poisoned, Lilimuth falls asleep in her stew, Shako doesn't.  Immediately, he's on his feet — he grabs The Incomparable Crown and holds the fork to his neck.  The Incomparable Crown doesn't put up any resistance as Shako tells him to start walking.  Shako's child-slaves are dragging Lilimuth's unconscious body.  There's a little knot of people forming around them, and before Shako can react, one of them lashes out with a spear, killing him instantly.

Lilimuth manages to escape with the help of his slaves, and then both she and his new character die in the caverns beneath Remnant.

And that's how E. M. Lamb lost two characters in one game session.  So next time, he'll be playing the Green Hornet up there with a shiny new raygun.

Puerile Mantis Dogs

I check my blogroll yesterday and find that Maedar Antocus at Songs that the Hyades shall sing drew a Carcosa picture.  Specifically, he drew a picture describing the "dog" purchased by E. M. Lamb and Co. in my Carcosa game (read about that whole fiasco here).

So, without further ado, here's the baby-headed mantis-dog thing:

Return to Remnant

Remnant survives.

A group of twelve entered the Fungoid Gardens, and four returned, converting the town to the worship of the Old Ones.  After the celebratory orgies and revels of the new Remnant (wherein Kra-deera and Uthak learned that Kra-deera's nails can cause unconsciousness), everyone returned to the business of running the town.  Three more travelers came to town the following day: Lilimuth Yogthoth (1st-level Jale Sorcerer), Shako of the Wastes (1st-level Black Specialist), his lizardwolf pups and his two Red child-slaves, and Vebok Barth (1st-level Red/Brown Sorcerer).

That night, all in the village had a dream, prompting them to dig.

Shothothor and most of the villagers took to digging, while Lilimuth, Shako, and Vebok wanted to investigate these "Fungoid Gardens" about which they had heard tales.  A relative newcomer (having only been in the village a few weeks), Shub Shiggashoth (1st-level Brown Fighter) joins them.  Uthak (1st-level Jale Fighter), having previously survived an expedition to the Fungoid Gardens, joins them and decides to act as a guide.

On the way, they meet and destroy a dolm ooze.  It pits and rusts Uthak's new plate armor and destroys Vebok's short sword, although Vebok scoops up a sample of the goop with one of his glass jars.

Continuing to the Fungoid Gardens, the group tries to investigate paths they have not previously taken.  They find a filthy area with bedrolls and more of the slack-jawed Yellow Men.  Leaving them alone, they go down a side-tunnel to find an alchemy lab with a black-clad figure inside.  Uthak recognizes one of the Gardens' inhabitants, and they talk.  He agrees to give them a tour of the upper levels, although he will not descend into the deep one-ridden lower levels.

He gets the group past the Amphibious Ones and they descend into the lower levels.  They wander, fight another dolm ooze (which results in more plate armor corrosion), and investigate the runes that keep a hive of deep ones trapped in these caves.  Deciding that they don't want to investigate too heavily, they ascend.  Before they help the alchemist move to Remnant, offering their protection in exchange for his services, they decide to investigate the nearby chamber devoid of fungus, as the alchemist says he's always had a funny feeling about that place.  Uthak finds that a section of wall is actually an opening blocked by a boulder.  They determine it to be over 100' deep.  Uthak removes her plate armor and decides to climb down.  She slips and falls, plummeting several hundred feet to her death.  The sound of something in the pit suggests that she landed on it and either injured or killed it.

The group helps the alchemist move to Remnant.  Shako tries to fashion the plate into shovels, but breaks it in the process.

The group decides to enslave any wanderers they can find.  They decide to make hunting forays into the Blighted Lands by night.  The first night, they happen across an Ulfire Woman bearing sword and shield, clad in leather and a loincloth.  Strangely, rather than legs, she has tentacles with which she slithers across the rocky ground.  Vebok reveres her, and rather than enslave her, they make introductions.  She is Kakotug Narthok (1st-level Ulfire Specialist), and she agrees to accompany them.

Their foray only finds a carapaced white arachnoid with two orange eyes and covered with small, fanged mouths.  Kakotug gravely injures it and Vebok finishes the job, killing it.

The next several nights are uneventful, as the group finds nothing in the wastes.

When they return on the fifth day, they find that the hole has been completed, and it leads down into a series of caves.  Before they go to sleep, they decide to investigate.

The caverns are covered with a fluffy, dolm fungus.  They find a sack of coins, which they hoist back up to the village.  Then they continue deeper.

They find nothing, but as they continue deeper, they find a tunnel.  As they walk, they hear several feet behind them, and they turn to find a group of ten to twenty stunted, dwarfish, reptile people with snake-like faces.  After murdering five of them, Vebok addresses them and frightens the remaining group off.

They continue until they find a metal door.  They pry it open and find themselves in an obviously artificial facility with walls of metal and stone.

Traveling with "left hand on the wall" or "wall-follower" method, they wander through the lightless tunnels until they find an intersection.  Shako wants to go to the right door, and opens it to find a smooth green hexapod with two eyes and a sharp beak.  The group leaps into the fray and savagely attacks the beast, killing it in seconds.  A pile of coins also sits in this room, and the group grabs it before returning to the surface.

All told, the group finds 900 silver coins and 500 gold coins in the depths, along with the five spears they grabbed off the snake-things.

Update: Incidentally, while Kakotug, Lilimuth, Shako, Shub, and Vebok were sleeping, Nyu-an, the Black alchemist from the Fungoid Gardens, took a few of the villagers and made a brief expedition into the well, just to investigate this fungus.  He has determined that it is harmless and edible; if the caverns could be cleared, the fungi could be used as a food source and possibly even cultivated.

Further Information Is Available: E. M. Lamb also made a post about the session.  He's currently playing Shako of the Wastes (1st-level Black Specialist), for those of you following at home.

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Statistical Data: The town started at 45 men led by the Savior of the Prodigals (third-level Fighter).  After the first delve into the Fungoid Gardens, the town was at 35 men led by Shothothor (first-level Sorcerer).  The town has lost an old resident and gained a few new ones, bringing the total number of residents to 38 (39 if one includes Shothothor).

Demographic Breakdown:

Shothothor (1st-level Sorcerer)

38 Men:

• 3 1st-level Sorcerers
• 2 1st-level Specialists
• 2 1st-level Fighters
• 31 Normal Men

Among the Normal Men, there are:

• 1 alchemist
• 1 craftsman (stonework)

Carcosa: The Aftermath 2: The Aftermathening

How could I forget the most important part?

Imagine this in dog size.

The party encountered giant slugs in the Fungoid Gardens, and Kra-deera totally licked one.

I'm already looking at the Fearful Fungi chart on page 222, so I roll with that.

Bam!  Mutation.  Within minutes, her fingernails harden and turn the color of these slugs.

She probably learns that she now has poisoned fingernails when she returns to Remnant and has some time alone with Uthak.  Roll to save vs. poison!

Fortunately, it just causes unconsciousness.  Still, passing out totally ruins the mood.

The Village of Remnant [Carcosa]

One last thing regarding the Carcosa game I ran.

Originally, I assumed everyone would use the core rules to make characters, and that they would likely come from a typical village containing one race.  When it became obvious that everyone wanted to use What Went Wrong, I had to improvise.

Why are all these different races together?

The Village of Remnant

Remnant is located in sub-hex 0403 of hex 2005, thusly placing it somewhere on the southeastern edge of hex 1905.

Until recently, the village of Remnant was a village of 45 men of various colors led by the Savior of the Prodigals, a Yellow Man and a third-level Neutral fighter.  He made a safe haven for refugees from other villages; the villagers are a mix of men of various races, though primarily Yellow and White, all of whom were displaced.  Some left their villages when they were destroyed, others transgressed and were banished, and still others may have been sorcerers driven from their own towns.  Still, the Savior welcomed all, so long as they were willing to aid in defense of the village and stay out of the business of the Old Ones.

All that changed when he tasked some of his villagers with cutting a deal with the nearby Bone Sorcerer in his Fungoid Gardens.  Specifically, he wanted to engage in a non-aggression pact with the sorcerer whereby the Sorcerer would not harm the villagers of Remnant in his experiments.  If this agreement required the death of the Sorcerer, so be it.

Of the twelve men and their retainers who left, only six returned.  The two sorcerers Shothothor and Yaan-krok returned first and demanded a reward of the Savior, and when he indicated he had nothing for them (other than, you know, safety and a free place to stay), they attacked and murdered him.  Shothothor then hoisted the remains of his body and preached to the town about the glory of the Old Ones.  His display of force and rousing speech convinced the villagers, and the celebrations began.

By the time Kra-Deera, Uthak, Ke’pha, and Lotloth returned he had turned to the worship of the Old Ones.  Seeing their opportunity, Shothothor, Yaan-krok, Kra-Deera, and Uthak turned on Ke’pha, and Lotloth and slew them, knowing them to be opposed to the worship of the Old Ones.

Remnant is now a village of 35 headed by Shothothor, a Purple first-level Chaotic sorcerer.

Expect strange events and odd ceremonies to soon occur in Remnant...

A Note on Buildings: Remnant contains 27 thatch huts and three stone longhouses.  One is the mayor's house, currently inhabited by Shothothor.  One is the Haven, what passes for an inn around here (it's really just a bunch of bedrolls on a dirt floor).  It is run by Bolmae, a Yellow Man and skilled cook.  The final longhouse is used for storage and holds Remnant's general store.  It is run by Olloskr, an Orange Woman and craftsman.

Statistical Update (1-29-2012): Remnant is now a village of 38 headed by Shothothor, a Purple first-level Chaotic sorcerer.  Read more here.

Statistical Update (7-1-2012): Remnant is now a village of 34 headed by Shothothor, a Purple first-level Chaotic sorcerer.

Carcosa: The Aftermath

So.  Carcosa.  It happened.

I've talked about Carcosa before, but here are a few more thoughts.

Carcosa is like Dark Sun meets Gamma World.

Carcosa is great.  It's the only game I can think of where a young caveman can steal Grey technology, grow up to be Iron Man, and fight the Great Old Ones.

Finally, if you haven't read it, Jim Stutz has a review of Carcosa on RPG.net.  He didn't care for the game, but he gives us this completely accurate gem: "What we end up with are dinosaur-riding sorcerous cavemen exploring ancient ruins and pursuing the Greys for their nifty rocket launchers while being pursued in turn by Nyarlathotep and some undead mummies.

"Why?  Fuck you, that's why."

(For the record, I'll comment on one of Jim Stutz's criticisms when he says, "we're told that 'on a lifeless island of black stone stands the alien city of Carcosa.' So, 'unkowable to Me' serpent-man alien? Non-Euclidean Cthulhu-style alien? Invaders-from-Space alien? We don't know, because that one line is all we get about the city of Carcosa. One could say that the beauty of the setting is that it allows me to answer these questions for myself. One could also say that that's what I paid the writer $21 to do for me."  The answer likely has something to do with redundancy, as there is already all this stuff that references Carcosa.)

So, I ran Fungoid Gardens of the Bone Sorcerer, included in the Carcosa book.  I think people had fun.

E. M. Lamb already catalogued the session if you want to read it, so I'll only provide a few thoughts here.

I made six pregenerated characters, five using the standard Weird Fantasy Role-Playing rules and one using Jeff Rients' "What Went Wrong" supplement (that's a direct link; you can see the original post and some reactions here).  The six players were given the choice, and all chose the "What Went Wrong" supplement.  So there are five characters of guaranteed competence and seven characters of varying degrees of competence.

Also, some of the players wanted to keep with the random theme and rolled 1d100 for their ages.  Three characters ended up over sixty, allowing me the opportunity to test Weird Fantasy Role-Playing's aging rules.  Bonus!

Also, for the record, Uthak and Kra-deera are lesbian lovers, as both were around the same age and both were lesbians.  Thank you, Jeff Rients.  And I didn't even have to use his romance chart!

That would make for a disturbing Carcosa game.  Love in Carcosa, like A Midsummer Night's Dream but with more Lovecraftian monsters and horrific rituals.

That can only lead to tentacle hentai, so I think we're going to skip it.  Moving on.

So, here's the interesting part (and a spoiler alert, though you knew that already).  Reading through the adventure, I felt that the first few rooms of Fungoid Gardens hold nothing suggesting that combat will happen.  The white lotus thralls are picking flowers.  The sorcerer is wandering around, doing experiments.  His acolytes and the alchemist are hanging out.

The adventurers could have had a relatively easy time of it.

As it was, combat only starts when the adventurers are in the white lotus gardens, and the phrase "kill the sorcerer" is uttered.  Pretty much by accident, as they're discussing what they want to do within earshot of the white lotus zombies.

Poor Pheebo.

Pheebo, Uthak's loyal retainer, was the first to die.  Although he totally broke a lackey's neck with a solid right hook.

Kra-deera's loyal lizardwolf took some punishment but held its ground.  Yaan-krok had Boy the slave and some sort of spider-dog thing (he was one of the WFRP guys, so he actually bought those with starting money).  They survived, too.

When the party split, I would later learn the chaotic types were plotting to let the other party members deal with the Bone Sorcerer, and if he killed them all, they were just going to plead ignorance and pledge allegiance.

The Bone Sorcerer would have been a little more frightening if he weren't overwhelmed by about ten dudes, and if the Mind Blast didn't weaken him considerably.  Then again, the fact that a lone man held off about ten armed people for about half a minute is a fairly impressive feat.

But really, that's about it.  The characters were murderhobos and went around murdering everything (including a Spawn of Shub-Niggurath that was completely immobile).  The backstabbing PCs were actually the ones who didn't kill anybody, instead hanging back.

You know.  To murder everyone later.

Shothothor and Yaan-krok were the ones who arrived before the others and slew the Savior of the Prodigals.  Shothothor turned the town to the worship of the Old Ones almost single-handedly.

I hope to play again, and I suspect future games will involve the adventurers trying to get stuff together so that they can make Remnant autonomous.

We shall see.

Addendum: I totally forgot about Kra-deera's toxic fingernails.  Read about it here.

Also, I'll repeat the fact that E. M. Lamb recorded the plot of the game session with more detail than these vague notes about running the game.  You should check it out.