The Tentacles of Tsathagg-kha are Strong [Cha'alt campaign, session 17]

 

This current Cha'alt campaign has now achieved the length of the last - 17 sessions.  Besides wanting a fresh start with new PCs, I suppose there wasn't really a reason for ending the last campaign.  Same eldritch, gonzo, science-fantasy, post-apocalyptic world or worlds, same great flavor.

And this 2nd Cha'alt campaign will continue on.  I don't know how long, but I'm not worried about losing steam.  All aboard, hoss!

We did the whole thing that if you roll a 17, it's a crit.  I think only a single 17 was rolled, so it didn't make much difference in the overall scheme.  What will we do when we're at session 20, a player asked?  I'll come up with something interesting, I replied.  And so I shall... ideas are percolating.  

Only 3 players because our usual 4th wasn't returning from his vacation until later that night.  So, it was Jua'an the crystalline warrior, Gorra the sand-construct priest, and Nix the demon-clown thief.

As soon as the PCs entered the cave containing the pylon they were after, they noticed a wizard who was waiting for them.  He had looked deep into the multiversal stream, saw the various permutations of dimensional potentiality, and realized he needed the Crimson Bastards' help.  The adventurers tried to play it off like they weren't who they actually were, but the wizard saw right through that shit.

The wizard asked the PCs to fetch him 3 chartreuse crystals for the matrix table inside the pylon.  With that, he could make all the simulated worlds real.  That meant everything the PCs were experiencing wasn't currently real, only a simulation (which they already strongly suspected).  This wizard would be able to change all that if he only had those crystals.  And those 3 chartreuse crystals were hidden in a subterranean vault beneath the purple-men cave - where those other guys were venturing to attack the vulnerable purple-men.

In exchange, the wizard would allow the PCs to keep all the other items and use the pylon for wherever they wanted to after he was finished exalting Carcosa, Cha'alt, Alpha Blue, and all the other A.I. generated micro-universes through infinity.  As a little bonus, the wizard (eventually named Da'azar) gave each of them a red pill.  "It will allow you to know... kung-fu."  They each swallowed a red pill.

They accepted (the wizard had put up a force field protecting the pylon from intruders just in case the PCs decided against this fetch-quest) and went back out of the temple dungeon.  On the way, they noticed a couple (man and woman) eating and drinking at a little white outdoor table and chair set as if they were having lunch at a French cafe.  "Good show, old boy.  Yes, give 'em Hell," they said laughing.  The PCs weren't sure what to make of them, but interacted with the couple a little before they vanished.  Nix, I believe, asked the couple if they were betting on the Crimson Bastards?  If they hadn't before, they would be now.

Outside the temple, the larger shining tetrahedron was on the ground and several lemurians were investigating and beating on it with rocks, sticks, and bones.  Nix and Gorra searched the entire thing, hearing muffled voices inside and eventually figuring out how to open it - which they did.  

Two translucent and veiny mutants were inside (Kal and Zaymart).  Gorra used his magic item that fooled them into thinking they were ship inspectors.  After some talk, the PCs figured out these guys didn't so much rule Carcosa as oversaw things from within a city beyond the invisible barrier.  Convincing the mutants to give them a lift, they used the ship to cut a hole in the top of the purple-men cave so they could infiltrate it quietly.  

I determined there would be 1d4-1 multiplied by 5 purple-men around them ready to do battle.  As it happened, I rolled a 1, so there were zero.  But Gorra convinced a lower-caste purple-man that he was at least partially divine.  The purple-man took them to the only one he knew, besides the chief himself, who could open a way down into the lower cave - where the magnificent treasures could be found.

Donning the deep-purple robes that foreigners customarily wear, the purple-man led the PCs to the shaman.

The shaman was being tortured, hanging and whipped by 3 others.  What did he do?  Have a turn with the chief's new harem-girls after the PCs stole the others away.  The PCs blasted the shit out of the torturers and freed the shaman.  Meanwhile, the players and their characters remembered the last prisoners they freed, and how they were supposed to interpret the law and lore of the purple-men.  Well, that's how these cave folks got casual Fridays and Purple Mondays!

The shaman needed to make a pit-stop to munch on the jale lotus that grows elsewhere in their cavernous home.  He did, Gorra did, and Jua'an took some for later.  The shaman started tripping balls as he told them about the statue to Tsathagg-kha - "The tentacles of Tsathagg-kha are strong!" as well as, the statue's missing eye which could be found in the belly of a glowing ooze in another cave.  

After all this was revealed, Jua'an declared that he wanted to cut the shaman's head off.  In that moment, as I sometimes do, there was a feeling of sorrow and pity for the almost nameless NPC who was about to die.  I had fun roleplaying him, using Brad Dourif's mentat character in Dune as a character guide.  "Just on the off chance that you roll a 1, roll the die," I said.  Do you believe in unlikelihoods?!?  Sure enough, the d20 resulted in a 1, and not wasting the opportunity, I described how the shaman sidestepped Jua'an's attack, then pulled out a handful of jale lotus dust and blew it in Jua'an's face, making him very susceptible to suggestion.  "I am your master, now." the shaman said, and Jua'an went along with it - even hopping on one foot to prove the point.

They went to that cave to kick the ooze's ass.  The shaman was given Jua'an's plasma bazookoid while the crystalline warrior sunk his blade of the conqueror into its amorphous and luminescent pudding-like flesh.  The creature did score a crit on Jua'an, since he was up close and personal with it.  Rolling 2d20 for the damage, it could have really hurt, but only did 21 points of damage.  Shortly after that, it was slain, and slowly evaporated or leaked down through the cracks in the floor - leaving behind the Old One statue's eye.  The statue of Tsathagg-kha had three faces so it could see the entire cave it was centered in.  They put in the ruby eye which opened a secret passage leading down, then removed the eye, determining that they didn't need to leave it there, stealing it for themselves as they made their way to the open door.

But just then, the chief and a handful of his warriors attacked.  The chief (first name Gordon) shot Jua'an with a weird device (he made his save, thankfully) that essentially turned him into a ghost.  He was incorporeal for a time.  The PCs took out a couple of their warriors before reasoning with the chief that he could let them go and they could live - just pretend that the adventurers got away.  Satisfied with that compromise, the PCs descended the spiral staircase to loot the vault beneath the purple-men cave.

There was a whole lot of debris before they could get to the riches, and spent some time sifting through the ruins of a thousand year old civilization.  Brace yourself, hoss.  What they found will shake you to your very core!  

A big sign that read "A'agrybah Plaza," a menu from the Hot-Pink Wormhole featuring BBQ insect table-service while receiving a lapdance... only 11 talons, a calendar marking the date of Zevra'an the 4th when the people of Cha'alt celebrated their independence from the Galactic Federation just after the apocalypse, and last but not least a broken marble statue of Isa'ac (who, as you may remember, took over Qada'ath and prompted the PCs to hop worlds looking for his weakness).

What was the meaning of this?  Nix understood instinctively when he said, "They blew it up!"  But it took a few moments for them to fully realize (plus some meditation confirmation by the shaman) that they were back on Cha'alt - only a thousand years in the future!  Still reeling from this sudden revelation, they explored the back of this cavern to find...

• Ion cannon 
• Hover-tank
• Disintegrator beam
• Black case containing 3 chartreuse crystals
• Samurai-ranger power armor (red)
• 30,000 New Gods Republic Credits... along with an empty can of New Gods Coca-Cola

The PCs discovered that pretty much all of the stuff was out of juice, the power-cells had run dry a looooong time ago.  So, they grabbed what they could and made their way back to the temple.  Before leaving entirely, the PCs wondered if the chief had any new stuff in his quarters since the last time they looted it.  I had someone roll and it was a crit of sorts... they found a ring of Carcosa kryptonite that would weaken the natives of this planet.  Taking it with them, the adventurers got the Hell out of there.

The wizard was still there waiting for them.  He did his thing while the PCs were philosophizing about what to do now, what it all meant... did Cha'alt devolve into Carcosa because of Isa'ac, because the PCs eventually went back in time to defeat him?  Did they defeat him?  Would Cha'alt have a different future if the PCs took certain actions?  Should they state in Carcosa and rule over it, or return to Cha'alt to perhaps avert whatever disaster caused it to become Carcosa?  Or was Carcosa the positive outcome?

By the time the PCs were done, the wizard declared that he was finished, asking if the adventurers had felt anything, like the multiverse move?  The PCs lied, like a prostitute faking an orgasm, saying that they had definitely felt it.  Next, the wizard helped them get to The Vortex, which is the mutant city behind the invisible barrier.  

When they appeared, the mutants tried to "rebirth" the PCs in one of their incinerator temples due to some prophecy where a band of adventurers would eventually go back in time and mess things up so that current events in Carcosa would never have taken place.

Alas for the mutants, the PCs were too smart for them.  After blasting a couple of them, the party forced them to give the adventures a ship, plenty of energy cells, and 3 women for company.  The PCs were now determined to find the sorcerer Irro back at the Nameless Plateau, so he could get them to Quorta'ath.

And that's where we ended the session.  I introduced some new background music to the campaign - the original Planet of the Apes soundtrack and first season of the LOST soundtrack.  I bought a third, but wanted to wait for that one.  Not only was it time for me to upgrade my dark ambient ways and means, but I thought it would be cool to have something fresh for VENGER CON III in 2 weeks.  Details and weekend badges here!

I'm hoping to have about 40 attendees, so that's almost double of the last couple VENGER CONs.  As mentioned in my last few videos, I'll have some of my latest hand, or should I say tentacle-drawn, maps to show off, allowing GMs use them in their games.  Some of them turned out really cool, and I'm continually reminded how important Harrison Butker's commencement address was, containing this essential wisdom - "Do hard things.  Never settle for what is easy."

Before I forget, a few choice words and phrases from the session...

• "We'll just have to give them the Crimson Bastard hello."
• "First looting is best looting."
• "That's more of a 3rd or 4th date kind of move."
• "Sexual compatibility is important.  I'm not going to spend the rest of my life jerking off on this planet."
• "I don't know about quantum physics, but as I've proved with Cha'alt, you can always keep adding dimensions."
• "I probably would have seen how that turned out when scrying the continuum stream, but I drank a Big Gulp before gazing and have a small bladder... I frequently had to leave so I could go to the restroom."

Ok, that's it.  Thanks for reading, and let me know your feedback... if any. 

VS

p.s. I still have hardcover Cha'alt books, signed and numbered.  If you want the best deal, get them through the current Kickstarter where I'm trying to raise money for another Cha'alt webcomic called Lavender Moons of Cha'alt.