Ferocious Love - Cha'alt campaign (session 19)

 

I can feel it, coming at the end of night... the 2nd Cha'alt campaign is almost over.  

This was the penultimate session, and it positioned the adventures right where they needed to be.  Nine glorious months of gaming that will conclude in just under 2 weeks.  I'm hoping as many players can play as possible since this past session there was just the essential-3 (as opposed to the doomed-2, core-4, 5-guys, or happy ending-6... it's a working title).

Jua'an, Drogon, and Nix found themselves back on Cha'alt.  They could see the Old One, Uma'at-Allah, floating above Qada'ath.  However, his familiar eldritch-green eye had become a milky white... as if the ancient dark god was hibernating or had succumb to a malady or spiritual imprisonment - a'anxt.  

Just over the next dune, they heard a couple of stoners walk towards them talking about freedom rock, man.  Apparently, at the city center, authorities of Qada'ath are giving out these drug-geodes.  Crack them open to seen blue-glass like crystals on one side and fuchsia malaise colored crystals on the other.  Put the two halves back together and shake to get a shimmering violet mush that provides euphoria and also extreme lethargy.

The PCs took a sample of this new wonder drug in a vial, put the stoners who seemed subservient to their sworn enemy Isa'ac out of their misery (then proceeded to try out multiple decapitations in a single throw with Nix' new super-glaive or zlaive), and head towards the city.

As they stood at the top of a dune, they noticed a long line of people wanting to immigrate into Qada'ath, going back as far as the eye could see.  It took about an hour for the PCs to walk to the city gate.  4 sandblade guards asking humanoids entering the city to relinquish any and all personal property, as well as, pledge their undying loyalty to Isa'ac, representative of the New Gods and bringer of light and joy!

Alongside the immigration entrance was a whored of prostitutes (Lol, that's a real thing, by the way.  I just looked it up).  Wanting to get their bonus on and do what red and green-blooded adventurers should be doing, the PCs arranged to have sex with them.

This time, all 3 of them rolled the milky-white dice upon the centerfold of some blonde woman from a 1998 (probably, I didn't verify) issue of Hawk magazine.  Two of the PCs got 6 and the other got 4 sleaze points.  Non-transferable, but you can use them to boost any die that you rolled.

The PCs noticed that all the whores had a strange symbol interwoven into their slut-glyphs, a sort of negative or anti-glyph, indicating the New Gods.  Since the PCs didn't have any nu-talons, they traded sex for glyphs, but then Jua'an wanted another glyph that helped him attract sluts.  One prostitute just wanted a neck tattoo of a purple scorpion fucking an amazonian goat that implanted the "ferocious love" concept into her slut-glyph.

Oh yeah, Nix bequeathed his +3 ring of power and purple wormskin gloves to Drogon because "he needs it more than me."  Also, they got notification that everything the PCs acquired on Alpha Blue was waiting for them on the space station of lust in storage locker A23-11.  While Gorra had an ultimate weapon, but couldn't use nor bequeath it because he wasn't there (I suppose we'll just say that there was a dimensional time delay whilst coming through the gate), Nix did have his own ultimate weapon... which led me to declare that this was the campaign of too many ultimate weapons, as I'm sure a third (make that fourth) will crop-up next session.

Now that it was confirmed that the zlaive could decapitate multiple enemies at once, Nix took it out for a spin.  At least 3 of them were de-headed as another (probably) took a blaster to the chest.  They wanted to loot the bodies before entering the city.  I had to use the restroom and told the players I wanted them to come up with "something interesting" found on one of the murdered guards.  Upon my return, they assured me that a worn-out, bleached flesh-light was on a guard's person... probably in his fanny-pack (I'm guessing).  "Is this an item you wish to take with you?"  They all agreed it was not.

The PCs sauntered in, hungry, and found a place that sold sushi and gelato.  They also visited a fortune teller (with a third nipple) next door who told them a few things... that a new lover would enter their lives.  It was weird because all the PCs got the exact same fortune when they rolled the d12.  She also said that the final battle will take place soon and in a place of water... and she saw the color orange... tangerine gnosis.

Their curiosity and hunger defeated, the PCs went to the temple of the New Gods, built upon shards of that tower of black glass they explored many sessions ago.  They saw many worshipers and a half-dozen of them were selected for a private audience.  The PCs followed them to an inner chamber where Isa'ac was about to absorb them all as fuel.  However, the adventurers stopped the process, which meant Isa'ac would be at his weakest.  

Battle commenced.  The PCs took minimal damage as they themselves did heaping handfuls of dice worth of damage.  Isa'ac monologued a bit, telling them how humanoid life on Cha'alt was pathetic and failed the New Gods, which is why they'd all soon be dead in 3 days.  Nix made good headway with his zlaive, and apparently Jua'an's sword of conquering was also a kind of ultimate weapon, as he also did beau coop damage.  It wasn't long before Isa'ac collapsed into a pillar of salt.  

His safe was there, but it required a talented thief, a crystal-rimmed jaccard, and the carnal essence of a tentalced whore.  They had 1 of the 3, and made way for a nearby brothel named Uzku, which means desert stream of many fishes (it was a brothel and fish fry joint).  They only had one tentacled prostitute, and she was very, very busy according to a pimp named Drexel.  I still love Gary Oldman's portrayal in True Romance.  I could honestly watch an entire movie following Drexel around just doing pimp type shit.

The pimp was cagey, eventually tricking the party into catching a purple 4-ball from the dilapidated pool table in the living room.  That ball sent the PCs - all of them (oh yeah, Jua'an stayed behind with the safe to make sure nothing happened to it, since it contained their only lead) into the purple labyrinth.  They appeared in an octagonal purple room where a beholder faced them down, rejoicing in the knowledge that after defeating the PCs, he would take their weapons and form his own k-pop boy band.

It was a hairy battle, Nix was nearly killed, brought down to -5 HP (since he was 9th level,  he would have died at -10).  Slinging him over another PC's shoulder, they found their way to a portal that led back to Uzku.  By then, Nix had recovered enough vitality to take revenge on Drexel.  The pimp went down easy after the demon-clown critted.  Then, the trio searched the brothel for a tentacled whore - and found her with some dude.  They gave him 4 seconds to finish with her (which he did), and they took her to the temple.

Before I forget, they searched Drexel's body and he had a leopard skinned crystal-rimmed jaccard!  What luck!!!

Upon lubricating the jaccard with tentacle whore juice, Nix was able to pop the safe open.  Sure enough, inside were plans and prophecies detailing a ritual that must be performed in a temple below the old aquaduct far to the south that was operational before the apocalypse.  

In 3 days, there would be a triple-lunar eclipse as Cha'alt gets bombarded with a thousand mega-lux of zeta rays, killing every humanoid (and probably most living things) on the planet's surface.  This would allow the New Gods to remake "man."  Not in their own image as the Old Ones had done, but as a primitive, servile race.

Before looting the temple, the PCs searched around.  They discovered a small recording studio where Nix delivered a message to the people of Qada'ath, telling them that Isa'ac was dead and they were all free, and that the New Gods were false and everyone should stick with the Great Old Ones.

Additionally, Nix sent a telepathic communication to Uma'at-Allah, that they will keep fighting against the New Gods and plan to win, but the Old Ones have to do their part, as well, and awaken in this, their hour of need.

Uma'at-Allah responded in the affirmative, and the PCs set out for this southern aquaduct temple.  But not before the recording studio tech had an idea... "What if we followed you guys around, recording your adventurous deeds for posterity?"

The PCs liked that that, and allowed the tech and his assistant(s) to accompany them - I'm pretty sure they're also bringing the tentacled whore. 

We did laugh a bunch, but there weren't enough lines to do a whole thing on it.  One of my favorite moments is when Jua'an said, "Oh, we should do __________, like the narrator said."  That's the kind of 4th wall break which keeps the gonzo flowing like zoth.

Speaking of gonzo, only 2 weeks left to fund Primordial Chaos: Gonzo Like A Fucking Boss.  Help me bring it into reality, won't you?  Here's the link - please, share it on social media!

Saturday, August 31st is the last session of the 2nd Cha'alt campaign.  After that, we'll take a break and maybe do a one-shot of something.  Plus, I want to run another investigative (cosmic) horror game in October.  And after that... who knows?

Thanks,

VS

p.s. Happy Birthday to my personal hero H.P. Lovecraft.