"Preventing A Prophecy" & "Orion Slave Girls Gone Wild" - Virtual Hump-Day Cha'alt Campaign

 

7th Wonder of the Lost World

Dirk, Ka'az, and The Saint were joined with Targ the unkempt, another thief.  What do three thieves and a survivalist see when they climb the spiral staircase to the top of the temple?  The following is a bunch of copy/paste from what I said in the chat-log...

Up the stairs, a few flights, is another door. On the other side is a rooftop temple that looks up at the purple sky. Several fleshy things writhe unnaturally in the light of various light beacons. In the center, on a dais before an onyx altar is a beautiful woman... or possibly man.

Oh, Ka'az, you remember being told by one of the new age priests that your tattoos were not just for show. The angles and spheres resonate true power, just as the starry-void and horned-blood runes from ancient times.

"I await the erupting of Ka'ajarmalaneythta'aniskar. That is when the devourer shall reacquaint himself with Carcosa."

The PCs try to stop what's going on.  The Saint is particularly vocal about it as Ka'az gets in position to attack.

"Silence," she says. Your mouth disappears, ST. Like the circuits are rewiring that area of your face.

Ka’az, you are trapped in a translucent magic sphere and gently floating upward.

She laughs if off as a weird magenta light drifts over to her, like some kind of supernatural aura. Just then, there's a massive explosion from the volcano. Rock and lava and all kinds of nonsense spews out of its mouth. A minute later, there's a huge tentacle made of obsidian with orange glowing lava underneath. The tentacle is rising out of the volcano and undulating slowly.

She smiles and her skin starts to get real hot, it's also glowing. She's growing brighter and brighter.

Time starts to slow as you both stab her over and over again. A yellow-hot liquid light flows out of her wounds. You look around and see something unbelievable crawling out of the volcano's mouth. It's like a Great Old One. It might just be an actual Great Old One.

In a flash, the sorceress vanishes. Ka'az, your bubble pops and you start falling.

The bucket of bolts was not prepared for that maneuver and you almost go over the edge of the rooftop temple. You're hanging on by your mechanical fingers.

From down below, ST can hear what sound like a thousand humanoids chanting a single, though nigh incomprehensible name...

"Ka'ajarmalaneythta'aniskar!"

[Ka’az’ player stimulates the POP-CULTURE Cha’alt X-Card]

A delorean flies overhead and then turns and lands on your rooftop.

The Saint starts to fall

Ok. you all get in. The NPCs in the trunk. He takes off as that molten lava obsidian god of death and chaos opens its unholy maw and starts devouring dozens of people at a time.

It stinks of banana! And dirty whores... just because.  There's already a female passenger named Jessapeequa.

"Now, this might feel a little weird," Mua'adeeb says as he flicks a couple switches up top and then puts the joysitck in one of the lesser used gears.  The PCs make a musical suggestion for the vehicle's stereo.

"No."

"We listen to Don Felder, or you get the fuck out of my time-van."

Ka’az and Targ get freaky with Jessapeequa, and then they land just outside a cantina where Mua’adeeb meets with a tangerine-elf wearing neon mirror-shades and a fedora (just for tipping) who has a bag full of money.

"I need you boys to go back to just before that moment, hours before, and make sure the ritual goes like it's supposed to. But first, I need you to go somewhere in this timeline, a system of caves underground. Cremza'amirikza'am. Yes, it exists... and within its strangeness is a prophecy I'm going to need you to alter."

Targ asks how a prophecy can be altered?  A good question.  The tangerine-elf answers him by handing over a special sharpie with his orange tentacle.  It's magic, and pretty much the only thing that can change the prophetic scrolls of Cha'alt.  

 Then, the adventurers get in a fight with some onery sand-orcs, just as Nicollo, an elementalist mage enters the chat... and cantina.  This was a PC who arrived to the session just as it was ending.  

Before you go, the tangerine-elf says, "My name is Grelz, by the way," hands you a crude map of the cave system you'll be exploring. On the right-side are some instructions. "The Great Old One within the volcano must be recognized by the priest A'akunda, Write that in place of the sorceress Fluavia."

The prophecy is known as the Scrolls of Skela'as. Written on crimson parchment, you can't miss 'em.

"Cremz'amirikza'am is that way, only 2 or 3 hours south."

That's where we ended session 7.

Session #8: The Ocho

Ok, you see a creepy looking demon wearing a black trench coat. He waddles up to you and asks if you know anyone going to Cremza'amirikza'am?  The PCs affirm their destination.

"In that case, allow me to make your acquaintance," he holds out a chartreuse suckered tentacle with some kind of funky fuchsia glove covering the tip. "My name is Classivik. I want something delivered there. Will you take it for a small fee?"

"100 gold pieces to deliver it." With his tentacle, he points to some kind of weird looking coffin or sarcophagus wrapped in chains. "Don't try to open it."

The PCs do some high-level negotiating…

"125, and I'll throw in a girl." The demon flashes a creepy smile and smacks his tentacle against a little bell he's suddenly holding in his other hand. A girl comes out from behind a paper wall. She is green skinned and wearing a slave-collar.

"Excellent. Half now, half later... or would you prefer someone from your party to swear a blood oath?"

The PCs agree to a blood oath…

You clasp hands [Arnold and Action Jackson Predator style]. He pulls a dagger out and slides it between your two hands locked in oathdom. He nods, signaling he's about to slide it up and out while twisting the blade.

He withdraws the dagger. You both bleed together, and the mingling of your life essence binds the two of you with shared purpose. "Shemha'amfora'ash!" he shouts.

Dirk says 6-7, but The Saint ignores it so he doesn’t have to gut a fellow member of the adventuring party.

Then the PCs negotiate some transport so they don’t have to walk… and lug that chained sarcophagus behind them.

The girl is a green-skinned Orion slave girl, and she’s a bit… extra.

"Cool your transistors, metallic dork. I chose to become a slave by my consent." She also has a Karen-mullet haircut. But otherwise, she's attractive... enough.  "Now who's going to help me up?"

Ok, you help her up to the top where there's a sort of ornamental saddle fashioned, additionally, into a bejeweled codpiece for the beast.

She orders someone from the party to rub her feet.

Your reptilian riding spider lurches forward and takes you southwest, into a region of the S'kbah desert that's filled with ruins and bygone cities swallowed by the very sand.

Ok, your beast stops before an outcropping of rock that's actually part of a wall. An ancient wall of a lost city.

Alright, sliding down the scaly fur of the beast, you walk over to the massive stone walls. The walls do have pictures on the them, painted frescos of nubile nymphs frolicking in a lush land of greenery and limpid pools.

The Saint notices a couple of humanoids wearing beige robes further out and down, an exposed level below. The two are standing in front of a door.

The pictures depict a happier time on Cha'alt, but beneath the paint, in certain sections, you can see older writing... eldritch and infernal glyphs… familiar writing like "Worship the Great Old Ones or you will regret it, atheist scum."

You eavesdrop on the two men. They are arguing about what will be on the other side of that door, before entering.

They kill one and force the other, named A’ahkmed, to guide them through whatever lies behind the door.

The corpse has a wormskin pouch containing 6 perfectly smooth, lavender discs, with demonic symbols engraved into both sides, like coins.  They have qualities of the 7 lavender demon moons. Probably some kind of currency for demon-loving degenerates who live on Ha'avarti or Mauve Queso.

"This place, it is called wa'avenjour, which means the place before the place.  It is cursed, but rumor has it that there's a sword inside of it that's like infernal-bane. It will prepare us for the wondrous horrors of Cremza'amirikza'am. It's after a series of strange rooms and even stranger trials and puzzles."

"Why did it have to be puzzles? Dios me-oh!" Mid says.

"But first, let us toast to our glorious fortunes." A'ahkmed pulls out a vial of chartreuse gold, that intense Cha'altian liqueur known as zoth. They each take a swig just before opening the door; how it glows in the half-light of this darkened room beyond.

And that was the end of that session.  This week contains an obscure and barely celebrated holiday known as Christmas, so we're playing Tuesday night instead of Wednesday.  And it shall somehow involve a pantomime worm...

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed yourself!

VS

p.s.  Yes, weekend badges are now available for July 2026's VENGER CON V: The Will To Power.  Want a great new TTRPG community where you can hang out with other gamers, get ideas, advice, and training in order to improve?  Look no further than the fastest-growing group on X - it's the Kult of Kort'thalis. 

"If You Build It, They Will Try Climbing Over" and "I Proceed To Trip Balls" - Virtual Hump-Day Cha'alt Campaign

 

Ok, I'm blogging about sessions 3, 4, and now we're up to 5.  Here is thy session report, hoss!

BTW, if you haven't backed my current Kickstarter, please do (and if you can't, share the KS campaign with your gamer friends on social media).  Pulp-Drenched Cities of Cha'alt is a book all about detailing and running cities on Cha'alt, but can be used for a variety of settings.

In session 3, we had Dirk Diggler, ex-military survivalist, Ka'az Shoro the blue-velvet elf swashbuckler, and a couple of other PCs who never made it to the end of the session.  Not sure if they were thrown off by my GMing style - this Sofa King has his own shit going on - or just lost interest, but yeah... they washed-out early on.  Well, early enough.  Finn was ok, a human adventurer and sexual deviant.  But Jinx was just a rainbow elf, and... I don't know what her deal was.  

So, the big wall that stretched forever was scaled because they found rope.  They went over the wall and discovered the Federation Hotel and Casino.  Several security guards with stun guns drove up to the PCs in a golf cart.  The adventures made a valiant effort, but before long they were stunned. I don't think the player who had Jinx liked the way I handled it.  Probably jarring because it seemed, I can only assume, like the PCs had a chance of either escaping or defeating them, but in the end, they were all stunned.

So, the remaining 3 woke up in a holding cell inside the Hotel and Casino.  They throw Jinx' body into the laser bars of the cell and it short circuits.  They escape and wander into a hallway and then the casino floor.  Lots of sexual depravity followed by the death of those same security guards who captured them at the start, and then finally a portal opens.  

It's ST-K1 here to rescue the party!  He tells everyone that they were transported 39 years into the future, but luckily, ST was able to track them down and open a portal out of there.  Actually, it turns out that The Saint still needs to figure out how to get them all back to their original starting point in time.  

Since ST isn't there, I roll for him.  I roll a 1 out of 20.  Oh shit!  That's where we ended session 3.

Session 4, we had The Saint, Ka'az Shoro, and Dirk Diggler rounding out the adventuring party...

You get zapped into a steaming jungle. There are green plants all around you, enveloping you, claustrophobic, like. And it feels so wet... the humidity, you're drenched. Like you're breathing in liquid air.

They headed in a certain direction and eventually saw a volcano, steaming almost ready to blow.  The Saint detected a strong magical presence, perhaps an artifact, so they headed towards it.  

At the base of the volcano were stone steps carved into the mountain, like in Ace Ventura 2: When Nature Calls, and they began climbing while examining that pink stone they looted.  It was an energy crystal of decent size and clarity.  

ST had a fevered recollection in his synapses about orange tang and astronauts just as pterodactyl-demons swoop down and attack the party.  The PCs soon drove them off.  A bit later up the mountain, they find a circular metal hatch with keypad next to it, just off to the side as the stairs open into a little rest area.  The keypad has a big red button that says "don't push me."

After trying the more obvious codes like 58008, the Saint decides to push the red button.  An automated voice tells them the door will self-destruct in [I roll a die; get a 1] one second.  Everyone dives for cover!

There's a woman screaming at the top of the volcano, and the PCs decide to head up there rather than check out the blown-open hatch.  Marching up the volcano as quickly as they can, the adventurers eventually reach the rim.  A blonde woman is chained to a big stone balanced on the rim and several tall, green-scaled black-eyed insectoid-lizard folk stand around ready to sacrifice her.  A shorter member of their species with golden scales stands between the others and the party - he takes out a pouch from his tunic containing a purple powder. 

Eventually, the purple powder goes all over and everyone but ST-K1 is tripping balls.  He's a droid, after all.  Then Ka'az' player did something I did not expect... he stimulated a Grindhouse Exploitation Cha'alt X-Card, desiring to turn the blonde into a protagonist for some rape/revenge movie where she cuts their reptilian-insect peckers off.  

She goes on what you'd call a roaring rampage of revenge!  The blonde runs over to the sleestak who are also tripping balls and cuts their lizardhood like one of those 1970s cannibal films where they decapitate the turtle.  She gets three of them.  It's gross and bloody, and then she cooks them over the hot, rising lava.  By the time she's finished eating them (speaking of cannibal movies), the PCs are more or less lucid.

"Revenge is a dish best roasted over hot lava," ST said.

Mid, the midnight-elf NPC, decides to do something crazy.  He holds a rock in front of his face as a sort of disguise, then unzips his pants and stands next to the blonde, hoping that she'll want to suck on it instead of gnashing it with her hungry teeth.  I roll and sure enough, if works!

"I am Alexia from Kartha'aj. I'm a princess, but my settlement was destroyed by the sleestak. They took me to their fire god in hopes of currying favor with the dark gods of Carcosa."

Long story short, Alexia goes her way (after Ka'az tells her about the glazed donut custom of his people) and the PCs head back down the mountain on the opposite side to find a sorcerer who lives in an ancient temple - he might know where to find a pylon.

As the adventurers reach the temple, they see a massive toad-god statue carved into the side of a hill.  The statue's eyes glow a yellow-orange.  That's where we ended the 4th session.

I'll post sessions 5 and 6 after the 6th one happens this Wednesday night.  We still have an opening if someone wants to play.  Just give it a try, no pressure... first one's free.  ;)

VS

p.s.  Yes, weekend badges are now available for July 2026's VENGER CON V: The Will To Power.  Want a great new TTRPG community where you can hang out with other gamers, get ideas, advice, and training in order to improve?  Look no further than the fastest-growing group on X - it's the Kult of Kort'thalis. 

The Burning Man

 

It had been ages since I'd run a session on Roll20, way before VENGER CON.  

After all, I didn't need these infrequent fixes now that I've got a bi-weekly Cha'alt campaign going into its 9th month, and 2 or 3 times a year, I'm a GMing fool at conventions, running shit all weekend long.

Nevertheless, I missed my 90-minute, text only, 18+, virtual sessions that used to be my gaming bread and butter the past few years.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of running Cha'alt: Burning Man for Charles H. (he did a post-game audio clip) and a guy named Paul I found on Twitter who was interested in getting Cha'alt for himself.  So, I said, why not try it out for yourself to see if it fits?  

The characters were a half-human / half-lizardman elemental sorcerer named Nicolo and a Mi-Go type crustacean priest working to bring back Cthulhu named Erka'al.

Usually, when I set these Roll20 sessions up I try to think of a cool sounding name that evokes a simple and gameable concept.  I don't always follow-through with that concept, but it gives me a starting point.  This being Cha'alt, I'm happy to use something topical to get the ball rolling - getting that ball to initially roll is usually the hardest part.

Since the Burning Man festival was in the news, I used that.  And since most of my Cha'alt one-shots start with the PCs wandering the desert, it seemed like a no-brainer!  The PCs stumbled upon some kind of large gathering which turned out to be a ritual with a mysterious purpose.  As I do, the Burning Man idea was conflated with the Wicker Man - PCs saw humanoid slaves caged inside the abdomen of this gigantic man made out of wicker or bamboo.

An elf filled them in before he took off on his reptilian riding spider, giving Nicolo (who had asked if he was holding any drugs) a glass vial of zoth.  A storm was coming, dark purple clouds appeared on the horizon, moving towards the valley where this ritual was taking place.

Various other attendees caught their eye - a man blowing into a translucently violet conch-shell, an insectoid slaver leading three slave girls by their collars down to the wicker man, and a High Priest who drew a sigil into the sand while chanting.  The sigil became a pool of liquid.  The High Priest dipped his tentacle into it and withdrew it wreathed in flame.

As the fire was set at the base of the wicker man and the slaves were yelling for someone to help them, the PCs assessed the situation, trying first to glean more information via Erka'al's psychic abilities.  He discovered that these celebrants were attempting to summon a conqueror worm in order to rid themselves of an otherworldly entity living in a nearby cave.

Nicolo inquired about purchasing a blonde slave who had been flirting with him.  He didn't have near enough gold, but the insectoid slaver told him that if he killed the neza'ateem (that's what they called the thing in the cave... in the ancient tongue it means "something birthed by the unknown"), he could have the slave girl free and clear.  

In old school tradition, Nicolo asked if there was some secret, some scrap of information, a trick or weakness... something to help them slay this neza'ateem.  The slaver gave the sorcerer his necklace, a tentacled entity fashioned out of purple-jade that would hopefully bring him luck.

As the flames licked higher and the storm was directly overhead, the adventurers made their way to the cave (about a mile away from the valley).

Just outside was a stone marker with carvings, the topmost being an eye inside a triangle.  A few humanoids had followed them and gathered outside the cave, waiting to see what fate was in store for them.

They went inside and saw crystals embedded in the rock walls, just up ahead was a body ripped in two and the gruesome remains gnawed at by the beast they were hunting.  The tunnel forked, and the PCs went in the direction that didn't have bloodstains.  They found slabs of stone with bodies laying on them.  This was some kind of mausoleum.  

Nicolo took a purple crystal from wall, drank the vial of zoth, and tried to vision-quest his way into answers.  Being 3rd level and only two of them, it seemed apparent that they needed an edge.

In this vision, the sorcerer saw the entity being cut in twain by a magical sword.  He tried reaching out to locate the sword and Erka'al, who was watching his companion, saw Nicolo's hand extend like a tentacle, going for something beneath a death-shroud laying upon one of the bodies.

It was a sword, and the sorcerer could feel its magic.  The two of them looked around to see if there was anything else they could loot that might help them slay the neza'ateem.  Erka'al found a badass helmet in the likeness of a winged serpent.  it wasn't magical, but it was well-made and mighty to behold.

Without too much screwing around (there wasn't much time before the session was going to end), the creature approached - tentacles, teeth, and bad breath.  It made its way towards them as the priest shot it with his luger.  The bullet went in, spurting emerald-green blood as it did so, but that didn't even slow the beast down.

Charles asked me about Advanced Crimson Dragon Slayer as he was looking for a way to even the odds. I told him he could either spend a point of Divine Favor to get Advantage on his attack roll or call upon one of the infernal lavender moons of Cha'alt, allowing him to do what would normally be impossible.  He chose the latter.

"Just roll a d6," I said.  He did and it came up a 6 - critical success!  I narrated how he swung and hacked into it, the blade going cleanly through, bringing the entity down into two pieces that flowed with green blood.

Afterwards, the adventurers exited the cave, were met with rejoicing and praise, Nicolo got the girl, and someday there might be more to come.

It was a good, solid, and satisfying session.  I was stoked to try out the "epic deed" mechanic for a 3rd time (every bit of playtesting helps).  It worked as intended, a decent chance of overcoming an insurmountable obstacle that makes sense, that's immersive... according to the campaign setting.

The players had fun and want to do it again, so we'll see how our schedules go.  I'm aiming for every other week, as that seems doable.  This session went over by 10 minutes or so, but generally speaking a 90-minute scenario isn't too exhausting in-between my requisite Game Mastering duties.

Thanks for reading!

VS

p.s. VENGER CON III: Revenge of the OSR is open for registration, so get your weekend badge before we're capped at 100 attendees.  Also, hardcover Cha'alt books are still for sale!

Crystals of Chaos [session report #8]

 

Before diving right into this session report for the 2023 Cha'alt campaign known as Crystals of Chaos, I have a bonus session report to squeeze-in first.

The day before session #8, I ran a quick 90-minute game on Roll20.  It was in the eldritch, gonzo, science-fantasy, post-apocalyptic world of Cha'alt using the same old Crimson Dragon Slayer D20 for both sessions (fuchsia burn was mentioned, but never used).

During the Roll20 one-shot, the 3 players (started with 4) were gamers I knew from social media.  So, after the game, I got to hear their positive feedback via Twitter...  

• "Rules light, loads of RP, and action packed."
• "His game might be the best of the OSR games. He throws out a lot of unnecessary bullshit and gets to playing."
• "After today's session, I definitely want to pick up a book or two."

After a 3-month break from running virtual games, glad I haven't lost my touch.  ;)

I posted a generic title for the session when advertising for players on Roll20, but now that it's "in the can," I'd call this one A'agrybah Has Fallen.  Basically, the Federation has had it up to here with the people of Cha'alt.  They just decided to invade and take the planet by force, starting with the most populist city - A'agrybah.

Simple set-up... the PCs' mentor is dying and asks the adventurers to take something special (in this case, it was a vial of tangerine zoth) to the mentor's priest friend who's currently holed-up inside the Temple of Yog-Soggoth.

I won't go into further detail as I'll probably run that particular scenario again, but obviously it was a crowd pleaser.  And that goes into something mentioned on Raven Wulfgar's Cha'alt part 2 video here.  It's a 2-hour beast featuring both the Red Room and my friend and Crystals of Chaos player, Colin.  In the video, the co-host (I think) mentions that Cha'alt can be run many different ways.  It doesn't have to be slap-stick sleazy gonzo... unless you want it to be.  You can run it like grim and dirty survival horror or a space opera quest to save the planet and/or galaxy a la Star Wars and Dune.

Anyways, it was loads of fun, and I'm looking forward to more Roll20 one-shots maybe this or next week.  Stay in touch with me via Twitter, the Conservative OSR facebook group(s), and this blog.

Need a recap?  This is session #7.

5 players, the only one missing was Zagreus the dwarven thief.  Everyone is 6th level now, except the latecomer Gath who is now 5th.

So, the PCs burst into the room looking to take out the generators that create the phase-shift around various planets, including Cha'alt, but find out a few unfortunate things... Ro-Robard's invisibility spell has worn off, there's an anti-magic zone in this room, and Commander Andrak is waiting for them with 10 Federation soldiers (the elite kind, not the ordinary stormtrooper scrubs) ready with blasters on stun.

I thought about springing the whole "Hey, relax, you were only stunned." thing after everyone went down (assuming they did), but didn't want to create a TPK panic attack when things went according to likely probability.  Of course, I had a contingency plan, too, in case the PCs somehow got out of that mess.

So, what I did was if the blasters (set to stun) hit, the PC would have to make a saving throw to stay conscious.  If they succeed, no damage is taken and really nothing happens.  But if they fail, they're effectively "stunned" for several turns.

The adventurers find themselves strapped to big circular tables set at a 45-degree angle, naked except for their underwear.  The Commander and a Federation doctor is there to administer a drug.  He injects the PCs in the neck, which makes them more susceptible to some horrible creature contained in this transparent tube.  The creature gives off these vibrational waves that make it more difficult to lie, and when you do, it floods your brain with unwanted thoughts.

There was a lot of funny scatological humor as lies caused a PC to feel like the creature was peeing on his head or shitting on his chest, gross stuff like that.  When I re-use this bit, I might go for less humor and, instead, go into darker nightmare territory.  I'm thinking of that "re-education torture" part of the V-miniseries where the blonde is being terrorized by a huge lizard, but it's only happening in her mind.

Ok, so the enhanced interrogation did a couple of things.  First, it evened the playing field because now the Federation knows more about the PCs and what they're up to, also the resistance, etc.  Second, it refreshed the players on what they'd been doing and how much they've overcome various obstacles. 

Additionally, I had the Commander ask the PCs about a set of three ancient stone tablets that were recovered on Cha'alt awhile ago.  The Federation encased the tablets inside transparent aluminum, which also displaced their weight.  I came up with that on the spot, but think it works well.

The sorcerer could read the tablets' glyphs - they described a defensive artifact buried underground, something that could save Cha'alt in the event of a planet-wide attack, and seemingly connected to the mystical rainbow-hued crystal keys they were given by the nightmare clown in weird space.  The stone tablets also gave the artifact's location - inside the carcass of Cara'akis (a Great Old One renowned for his gargantuan size).

Afterwards, the PCs were imprisoned on the Federation base, behind laser bars.  I had just seen Dude, Where's My Car? the night before, so Andy Dick as a fellow prisoner was firmly in my mind, and I did my best to do an impression of him.  Zik the disheveled prisoner with many, many personal problems.  "Why can't I be your robot cat?"

Long story short, Ro-Robard (being part cyborg) tried to seduce the detention-droid, but that didn't work.  However, the detention-droid (OZ-13) was interested in joining their gang.  He had been a justice-droid before his re-programing, and didn't like his daily life on the Federation base.

They got their stuff - the Federation cleaned everything and re-charged all the energy cells (which was very nice of them).  They sliced and diced some random troopers and I.T. guys, found where the anti-magic technology was being housed, destroyed that, freed, Garren Voy and Graaawl, and then went back to blow those generators.  Ro-Robard, realizing at the beginning of the session that he was practically useless in a fight without his magic or a blaster, had successfully disabled the forcefield around the generators.

So, when the PCs returned, they blasted the shit out of it, then the sorcerer fireballed a second wave of troopers, scorching the crap out of Commander Andrak, as well, who teleported away just as he was in Crandol's tentacled.

They rigged the base to blow before heading for the impound and getting their ship, Jefferson, back.  Once in the air, they destroyed the rest of the base that didn't get blown-up earlier, dropped Ro-Robard down a rope-ladder to retrieve the stone tablets of Cha'alt.  The transparent aluminum made them easy for the cyborg-crystalline-dwarf sorcerer to carry back up to the ship.

The PCs high-tailed it for Cha'alt.  They flew over A'agrybah to see the gigantic banana peeled and a thousand banana-men had taken over the city.  Jefferson was ordered to strafe the city (killing about 80 banana-men), and then the PCs devised a plan while the sorcerer's player had to take an emergency work call.  I decided that Ro-Robard was likely working out the finer details of the stone tablets as his companions plotted their own take-over of A'agrybah.

The others ordered the ship's A.I. to create a short-lived virus deadly to bananas.  Yes, they were prepared to commit fruiticide.  Luckily, only 10% of the population needed to be killed off before the banana-men leader gave up control of the city to the PCs.

Just as the PCs were celebrating, a message came through the palace throne room or wherever the adventurers currently were - the brains behind the banana-men brawn revealed himself.  It was a new antagonist (or is it?!?) calling himself The Black Skull.  After The Black Skull swore revenge, the PCs had Jefferson triangulate his position, far, far to the south.

And, that's where we ended it.  Ro-Robard, and his player, was surprised to learn the PCs took over A'agrybah so quickly.  Below are some funny things that came out of the session.

• Ludicrous speed - everyone's clothes went plaid (including the halfling's purple cloak).
• The PCs were grateful for the Federation's OCD, and even logged onto Zelp! after their escape and gave the Federation base and prison colony a 5-ztar review.  "Greatest prison ever!"
• I wanted to do a cut-scene at the very end of the session where we see a Federation guard / janitor refitting a fresh energy cell onto the PC's confiscated blaster, but I forgot all about it.
• In the prison cell, everyone got bathrobes - they even had terrycloth sheaths!
• Heighten Chancery Philthrop III proclaimed "I'm working for the glory of the next zoth hit," as he was asked what his function was on Cha'alt by Commander Andrak.
• We learned that the crystal part of Ro-Robard might be female.  I blame the current year!
• Sharp tang somehow goes well with dark taint... but don't ask me how.
• Lots of banana puns (not really puns, but names for stuff with banana at the beginning) and such, like banana-speeder, banana bones, banana organs, banana brains in their banana skull, banana zombie apocalypse, getting sand in their peels, bananenchmen (banana henchmen), banana-cution, etc.
• The PCs lured OZ-13 to their side with promises of taking him to Alpha Blue so he can get it on with female droids.  They were going to buy him a space station brothel multi-pass for not only Alpha Blue, but other space station brothels.
• Oh yeah, and they managed to steal 30 spice capsules of refined zoth (each capsule goes for about a thousand credits).
• Also, the PCs dropped Garren Voy and Graaawl off in the S'kbah desert and later picked-up both Karl and Sa'ab.

Ok, I think that's it.  Next game in just under two weeks.  I'm looking forward to it because it'll get everyone back to Cha'alt and back to a "normal" type of gameplay... possibly an all new megadungeon?

Thanks for reading!

VS

p.s.  If you want your own Cha'alt campaign toolkit, here you go.  They are signed, numbered, and personalized deluxe hardcovers that are so high-quality and well-built they should last you years and years and years.  Also, don't forget about VENGER CON II: Electric Boogaloo this July in Madison, WI.  It's just going to be me, 20 - 30 gamers and nothing but an entire weekend of old-school, OSR, and traditional roleplaying games (plus, eating, drinking, joking around, and talking about tabletop gaming).

Cha'altian Session Reports

 

I was able to squeeze two virtual sessions in this week.

Both were on Roll20 (I gave a couple other platforms a shot, but quickly got confused and abandoned my quest for an alternative), 90 minutes, text only, 18+ (even though we never got to explore anything sexual or erotic... hey, it happens!).

The 90 minute structure is something I'm extraordinarily familiar with.  A lot of people don't like it.  I receive a decent amount of criticism for running shorter sessions.  All I can say is that if you have 5 kids and a day job, then you know how difficult it is to carve out 4 hours on a weekly or even bi-weekly schedule.

Both sessions involved exploring a network of tunnels and caves.  Another similarity is that both sessions had two players by the end.  I accept random drop-ins, so that's to be expected.  People are flaky on the internet.

For those curious, I usually don't have anything specific in mind when constructing these maps.  I just start drawing.  Automatic drawing is a technique invented by Austin Osman Spare.  I've forgotten more than I remember about him, and don't think scribbling lines via my mouse counts as a magical act, but it is part of the greater whole.  And I do view my current roleplaying sessions as magic rituals.

As usual, I gazed upon the Kort'thalis meta-sigil as I prepared for my sessions.

Before I get into more detail, here's a list of guidelines that have appeared out of play...

• If a player has not chosen a race for his character, I'm just going to assume he's human.
• If a player suddenly disappears, the GM (me) will roleplay his character - assuming there's a small party of adventurers.  It's not fair to a pair of adventurers who go in a dangerous environment when they believed there were three of them.  If the party wouldn't miss a character, then I occasionally describe his gruesome death as that abandoned PC steps in a trap or fiddles with sorcerous runes discovered on a cave wall.
• Engagement is crucial!  With noobs, I'm constantly inviting them to take part in the action, make decisions.  "While the thief is scouting up ahead, what is Ba'ab doing?" Stuff like that.
• If players make leaps of logic, I'll usually let the first one or two go, but then will quickly put the kabosh on that stuff when it seems less likely and/or taking advantage.  For instance, Vindl, a thief cyborg wanted to use the phosphorescent fungi in the cave system for energy, and be able to turn his mechanical arm into a blaster.  So, I said sure.  But shortly after he wanted to construct a shield out of scales picked off a dead creature.  I told him it would take time and the proper tools.

Halfway through the second session, I took over the missing player's character, Ja'ay the demon warrior.  Every GM worth his essential salt knows that GM NPCs shouldn't overshadow the actual PCs.  So, I used Ja'ay as an interesting background character, spurring action like taking one tunnel over another when the PCs couldn't make a decision.  Precious minutes ticking away.

The second session was the first game after vocalizing my theory... the GM's paradigm should make its presence known every single encounter!  While I've been doing that, more or less, unconsciously for years, this session I consciously looked for opportunities to make the game's reality feel more eldritch, gonzo, science-fantasy, and post-apocalypse.  Did it change the session dramatically?  No, I don't think so.  But going back and observing the session a day later, I'd say consciously trying to infuse my chosen paradigm into every single encounter improved immersion and the game in general by about 5-10%.

Going back to the first session, the couple of PCs were too intimidated to fight the giant Lovecraftian spider things in their network of tunnels and caves.  You know me, I'm all about quick and easy minimal rules.  So, each PC incurred an attack of opportunity whenever they ran past the creature in order to evade it.  I think that worked well.  It happened a couple of times and each time one PC was wounded.

Oh yeah, I got to use my Eldritch Hit Location table over on my SubscribeStar page (publicly available). I think the players got a kick out of slashing or bashing large, scaly rodents in the umthra'ax.  I'll need to use it once or twice more before seeing the true value of something like that.

I don't want to ruin the endings of either adventure because I like running the same adventure (with small variations each time) with different players.  Both were fun, though!

As sometimes happens with my open and welcoming drop-in approach to running sessions, I popped someone's roleplaying game cherry.  That player had never played before, and somehow wound up at my virtual table.  Introducing people to the hobby is definitely a highlight of my weird journey.

Will probably run another session or two next week now that ALL KICKSTARTER CHA'ALT BOOKS HAVE BEEN MAILED OUT TO BACKERS!!!  Yes, I finally got to the end, and it feels fantastic.  Gonna make the most of my free time - it's all about playing, well mostly about playing.  I'd say at least 85%.  Writing and designing game mechanics and such is absolutely worthwhile, but creating a world through the act of roleplaying is something that's above and beyond the background construction.

Last night, I tweeted something out that seemed profound at the time when I was not totally baked.  I'd like to share it here.

"Creating tales of pulp sword-and-sorcery is all that is."

That's it.  That's the tweet.  Lol.  Focusing on that, while leaving all the peripheral bullshit fiddle-faddle outside, will restore your faith in this hobby.  And that's something I believe is in short supply.  

Being part of the magic, fashioning awesome stories of wizards, warriors, dungeons, and dragons will get you closer to PSYCHOCOSM than worrying about campaign lore, balanced encounters, extensive PC backgrounds, the unfairness of monsters critting, and "racist" flying squirrel-monkeys in space.

Lose yourself in the fantasy, and that becomes reality.  

VS

p.s. My new Kickstarter campaign for Encounter Critical III just got approved, so will launch that early next week (probably Tuesday).  

Cha'alt Session Report

 

I'm taking a little break from things starting tomorrow.  Between off-line and online stuff, I need to decompress and relax for awhile.  Sorcerers need mental health days, too!

Before that, let's talk about my recent session of Cha'alt on Roll20.  First, I invited my awesome subscribers on SubscribeStar to join.  If you'd like to support me at $5 a month, that would be cool.  You get the occasional freebie, too.

Second, I blanketed the social media landscape with links to my game in search of players.  While I do have a small stable of devoted players who jump at the chance to play (when they're not busy), I enjoy reaching new players, teaching new blood...

The first session scheduled was canceled because of a work-related emergency.  The second was scheduled a day later.  I was mostly bummed because the original date was H.P. Lovecraft's birthday (August 20th), and I wanted to do something special, marking the occasion.

I was also upset that a few people didn't see my cancelation announcement and were waiting for me.  Luckily, I thought, a couple of those folks re-joined for the raincheck session.  However, what I discovered might literally blow your mind!

Lol.  Anyway, those same people weren't there to play.  One guy was posting links to some OTHER game being held on guilded for some fucked up reason (I was even 5 minutes early).  And the same guy poaching my players wanted to play in my game, too, but as a "NSFW frat-boy".  All this was sounding eerily familiar as another legit player told me that he also remembered that dude and wanted to have gay sex with another PC that was supposed to be his brother, and also some kind of dog fetish or some crazy shit like that.

So, down to only two legit players, I booted that troublemaker and we proceeded as usual.  I cued up some dark ambient music on YouTube, gazed upon the Kort'thalis meta-sigil that's a portal to Cha'alt, in order to actively engage the PSYCHOCOSM, and we were off!

We started with giant scorpions surrounding an elf who'd already been stung multiple times and was about to die.  He was holding a silver key, bequeathing it to the PCs before collapsing.  Both PCs got stung by a scorpion as each flubbed his roll to grab the silver key without harm.

Eventually, the golden gates of A'agrybah opened.  Sausage, a halfling thief who got his name by beating a man to death with bratwurst, and Fujiwara, an overly-trusting human warrior entered the city in search of adventure.

A festival was taking place, so the PCs made a bee-line to the center of it, talking to folks, looking around, and picking pockets as they went.  Fujiwara gorged himself on BBQ centipede and mango-curry bug bars as Sausage looked for a priest to heal him from that scorpion sting.

I can't reveal too much, but the city's priests and reclusive astrologers got into a brawl that soon turned into a riot.  Tentacles every which way as far as the eye could see!

If you want the whole story, you'll have to actually play.  In a fortnight, when I get all these Kickstarter reward books out to backers, I'll resume weekly, 90-minute, virtual, Cha'alt sessions on Roll20.  Only an hour and a half?  I know, I know, my life rarely allows 4-hour games.  Think of it as a tightly-paced movie!

See you in a bit,

VS

p.s. When I return to the internet, I hope to discover a few Cha'alt: Chartreuse Shadows reviews!  You've had the PDFs for months and some of you already have the hardcover.  Now's the time, hoss.  

Crimson Initiative

 

Before I get any further, I want to run a Cha'alt session tomorrow with enough players to test out this new initiative system I'm working on.  

It's nothing fancy, complicated, or revolutionary, but more players is better than fewer in this instance.  Here is the Roll20 link.

I don't dislike the initiative system I've been using for years, but just looking for a small change of pace.  

In some areas of RPGs, such as mechanics, perfection is an illusion.  There's no ultimate end-state where everything will always be rainbows, unicorns, and lesbian cheerleader porn forever.  

Even things I love, stuff that feels perfect in the moment, must evolve for them to keep being enjoyable.  In this case, evolve might be the wrong word because things aren't always getting better and better.  Sometimes, they're just different... and that difference makes things better than keeping things the same.  Variety is the spice of life, as the cliché goes. 

Ok, without further ado, here are the basics...

• A round is one minute, broken into six 10-second segments.
• Each player rolls a die, and that initiative order lasts for the entire combat... thieves roll a d4, fighters and clerics a d6, and sorcerers roll a d8.
• Similarly, the GM rolls a d6 per group or faction and that initiative order lasts for the entire combat.
• Lowest result goes first.  Rolling a 1 means you can re-roll in hopes of getting another 1, which gives you a surprise-attack before the first round.  If a 7 or 8 is rolled, the sorcerer attacks first on the following round (spells take longer to cast + combat hesitancy for scholarly types).
• Instead of an initiative tracker, the GM will call for 1s to go first, then 2s, followed by 3s, etc.  All a player has to remember is what number he rolled.
• Those doing stuff in the same segment are considered simultaneous actions.

If that's too crunchy for the average Crimson Dragon Slayer D20 player (which is entirely possible), here's another...

Initiative order goes as follows: thief, fighter, monsters/NPCs, clerics, and sorcerers.  Doesn't get much more rules-light than that!  :)

Ok, that's it for now.  Thanks for your feedback and hope to see you at the virtual table, hoss!  BTW, Misha Burnett assisted me with both methods when we discussed initiative via email.

VS

p.s. I'm running a holiday special on Cha'alt books... $90 for both luxury hardcovers of Cha'alt and Cha'alt: Fuchsia Malaise; signed, numbered, and personalized by me (PDFs included).  That price includes shipping within the USA (outside, add another $40).

When The Setting Comes To Life

 

I have an addictive personality.  Luckily, I also have a short attention span.  

Binge watching Rick and Morty put me in the Rick Sanchez vibe.  It worked, not because the role of Rick Sanchez was assumed by me, but Rick Sanchez happened to be an appropriate form for the God running my game.

Aside from stray affectations, I didn't get much from the Game Master persona today, except for this... the GM persona is mostly just a personification of the campaign world.  Being or pretending to be Rick Sanchez, Anton LaVey, Aleister Crowley, John Malkovich, or even Mister Rodgers doesn't change things enough for the players to notice.  If you want to enter that mindset, cool.  But if the game's setting is to take center stage, whatever persona the GM inhabits must first serve the world, it's themes, tropes, aesthetics, and vibe.  

The right frame of mind allows the GM to spontaneously create when the world is personified through him.  As the GM is god of the game, fashioning that god into something that fits the campaign setting should be the goal.  Personification might be the wrong word... deification is probably more accurate.

Anyway, let's get down to the play report business.  I had 2 players in the middle of a Wednesday afternoon, which was fine by me.  Sometimes, the less the merrier.   3rd level, max HP... let's go!   

These are returning players, but only one was familiar with Cremza'amirikza'am (which I didn't remember until after the game when I got his feedback - see below).  

If this was a Netflix show, the three tags you'd probably find would be "Depraved", "Sleazy", and "Infernal".  I've talked about the usefulness of tags before.  It helps to have reminders about what the world is about, how the adventure feels, the way it tastes on the players' lips.

• Shiraz - reptilian cleric of Dagon
• Za'aren - half-demon thief

That's all the detail we needed for a 90-minute session.  The duo began their adventure in the subterranean demon city known as Lex Talionis.  They saw a few weird, sick things on their way to ask beggars for information.  After that, a trip to demon sorcerers in a cave.  The sorcerers were creating a flesh shell for this infernal shadow entity.

Going back a bit, asking beggars if they know of any work to be had wasn't part of the adventure I had planned.  One of the players mentioned that would be a good place to look for tips, hearsay, and whatnot.  I didn't disagree.  But I didn't have anything compelling to add to the encounter... until I decided to do a bit of worldbuilding. 

"Safe passage through suffering on all sides," the beggar said.  I told him it's something he's heard before from demons in Cremza'amirikza'am, basically meaning "have a good trip".  

That player asked if there was a typical response.  You've heard other demons respond with "Cha'alt", I said.  To them, it means more than just the name of this planet.  And if you, dear reader, know the meaning of the word Cha'alt, then I don't have to tell you why that's an appropriate reply.

The demon sorcerers needed more flesh (don't they all?), so the PCs looked for humanoids they could ambush.  Another frequent saying down here is "Don't make long-term plans in Cremza'amirikza'am."  Turns out, there's a reason for that.  No sooner did the adventurers make it up to level 4 when they were ambushed by night clowns looking for fresh prey.

While I love the initiative system I've been using over the last couple years with Crimson Dragon Slayer D20, I decided to try out something new.  I won't go into detail because otherwise this blog post would get too long.  Besides, I need more than a single play-test session under my belt to see if it's seaworthy.  

Combat with the night clowns went well.  It was the thief player's first time with Crimson Escalation.  Shiraz started things off with a natural 20, killing one of four clown attackers with a BBQ fork while Za'aren missed.  

The clowns wielded these massive purple jelly double-headed dongs with nails driven through them.  Two of the three survivors hit the PCs, one rolled a natural 20 for a crit.  Since the PCs were 3rd level, the damage wasn't life threatening.  

Za'aren decides to grab the double-headed dong away from the clown who hit him and "go for the eyes".  He rolled a 19, which was a crit on round 2.  So, he rolled double damage.  That, plus Shiraz connecting again meant there were only two clowns left standing.  I rolled for morale and the night clowns fled deeper into the network of caves.

The PCs decided to follow, which led them into an enormous cavern containing multiple demon factions, more clowns, and some sort of sleeping Old One at the center.  Realizing they were on the precipice of an angry hornet's nest, Shiraz and Za'aren slinked away back to their previous victims.  Two corpses in hand is better than a TPK in the bush... or something like that.

Apparently, you can't even leave dead bodies lying around in Cremza'amirikza'am.  Magenta intensifies!  As the PCs approached, they saw an elf having sex with one of the dead clowns.  Trying to get his necrophilia on, the elf was easy pickings for Shiraz, who smashed the purple dildo full of nails into the elf's skull... killing him.

Now, with three bodies ready for skinning, the duo head back down to the demon sorcerers to get paid.  And get paid they did.  But not before rifling through clothing for treasure, after a little reminder from me.  Something fell out of a clown's pocket...

As an aside, it sometimes surprises me how often players forget to have their characters loot the bodies after the battle is over and the smoke has cleared.  Personally, I like to think that's it not mere forgetfulness, but that the players feel truly immersed in the game world to the point that going through the pockets of a dead guy is the last thing on their minds.  They're too busy wondering... WTF was that?  Wow, we could have gotten killed back there.  Did you hear that noise?  Will I survive the next 24 hours?  What does this thing do?  Why are clowns attacking us outside a city of demons?  Where is that magenta light coming from?

So, the PCs heard a violet, metallic key-card fall out as the bodies were being hefted over shoulders.  Aside from that, they picked up some gold, platinum, embers, and a rainbow hued rabbit-lizard's foot.

After collecting the bounty for skins, Shiraz and Za'aren called it a win and we had to stop there.  

Interestingly, I talked with one of the players after the game and he provided some great feedback, so I'm going to copy/paste what he said...

Hi, Venger, I thought I would give you more feedback while I still had today's game in my head. I've only played in your games twice, but I definitely noticed a slightly different tone and choice of language as we played. I'm not sure if I can put my finger on it exactly, but you didn't feel like the same GM. In the first session I played with you you cracked a lot more jokes, and things were much more quickly paced. This time, the game felt more structured, like you had some hook for us to discover or adventure for us to have. I think there was a definite mismatch going on between the agenda of the players. [The other player] clearly wanted to carry on with the character he's already played and expand that PC's influence on the campaign world. Proselytizing, making contacts, etc. I was in it to play a one shot with a throwaway character and help you test mechanics. So, I was looking for the quickest way to get into trouble. Even if it was dumb trouble, like picking a fight with an evil cultist like a standard-issue D&D mook. It meant that we were pushing for very very different outcomes. In the end, I didn't want to step on the toes of the player who wanted to play his character a second time. I couldn't tell if it was the player dynamics or your gming voice experiment that changed the tone and experience for me.

In response, I told him that Cremza'amirikza'am had a completely different vibe, which called for a GM voice distinct from the usual Cha'alt stuff, even The Black Pyramid; although that's in the same ballpark.  

When running Cremza'amirikza'am, I go out of my way to establish the right tone - shades of nihilism.  I've been trying to personify that vibe when running this particular megadungeon.  Looks like my work is paying off.

If you want to read my previous blog post where I get into the GM persona concept, it's right here.  Ok, that's it for now.  Thanks for reading, everyone!

VS

p.s.  If you want non-stop old-school, OSR, and traditional gaming experiences in Madison, WI - July 2022, consider attending VENGER CON.  Get your badge today!

GMing as Rick Sanchez

 

Last night, I ran yet another 90-minute one-shot within the Cremza'amirikza'am megadungeon on Roll20.  That's nothing new.  I'm probably up to a Devil's dozen by now.

It was a night game.  So, that was new.  I borrowed my daughter's magenta lamp, turned the lights off, put on some dark ambient music and did my thing.

The way I introduced the session was also new.  I thought it would be funny if the "meet and get plot hook in a tavern" trope was tweaked a little.  So, the PCs were summoned to a strip club.  And it was so loud and distracting that the PCs didn't really hear or remember what they were supposed to do, other than get something from someone in Cremza'amirikza'am.

The last bit of newness came from the weird state of consciousness I was in (not totally baked).  Unconsciously, I probably take on aspects of other people when I'm GMing (as if I'm also roleplaying right along with the players), but last night was on a whole other level.  

I consciously became a hybrid of myself and Rick from Rick and Morty while I was GMing.  And I had a quick conversation with myself, asking me if I was being Rick in a joking ironic way, or if I was committing to the bit and was pretending, acting as if I really was Rick, except in my body with my knowledge of the game.

Yeah, it was trippy.  But the session was fun, at least from my perspective.  The players said they had a good time, too, but let's be honest here.  Can we ever truly know how players feel about the games we run?  If they stop attending, that's a dead giveaway.  But sometimes I wonder if I know the full story.  And then, sometimes, when I'm feeling deeply cynical and jaded, I ask myself if it matters... if I really care what they think.  

After all, am I not above everyone else?  Literally, the messiah?  The One?  The magus to end all magi!

There I go again, or maybe residual Rick fluid, chartreuse or fuchsia (?) hasn't been flushed clean just yet?  Or perhaps I've contracted some awful GM disease from that Alexis dude's blog.  Gross!

Anyway, I was showcasing a new part of Cremza'amirikza'am - the predominantly demon city called Lex Talionis.  Think of Escape From New York mixed with A Clockwork Orange, except with a lot more demons walking around.

I've got some more work to do on it, but what I presented had a real impact, I think.  A lot of flavor.  Maybe it was the lighting and music and drugs, but it felt kind of real.

One way of determining immersion, in my view, is to gauge how many missed opportunities there were in a session.  Mostly from the players perspective, but there's a case to be made for the GM, too.  If the world is vast and rich, there will be dozens of avenues, alternative ways where things can go.  Realizing missed opportunities makes us feel slightly annoyed, like we missed out on something.  But that's the way life is.  That's reality.  It's weird to think that lessening a certain amount of enjoyment in one area can increase the amount of enjoyment we feel in another, but I think that's the way it works.

Feel free to weigh in on that... or anything else, by the way.

Eventually, the PCs march up to the Big Bad of that particular level.  Realizing, I hope, that they were severely under-prepared, the adventurers tricked the Demon Lord Null into hiring them to assassinate the dude who sent them to Cremza'amirikza'am in the first place.  

One sack of gold later, the PCs were looking for a way out of the megadungeon.

There was a really brief combat at the session's beginning and another right before the end.  The second combat began with a surprise attack, but the first full round I let the PCs crit on a 19 because two of the players rolled 19s and time was running out.  

Was it a fudge?  Maybe, who cares?  I'm the GM, the god of all gods.  I do what the fuck I want, bitch!  Yeah, some Rick is still lodged inside me somewhere.  

As you can tell, I'm trying to keep the length of this blog post manageable, as well as, avoiding spoilers.  If you really want to smell the inside of Cha'alt adventure, play in one of my games.

Have a great weekend!  I'll announce another Roll20 session sometime next week.  Follow me on Twitter, MeWe, and YouTube [speaking of which, here's a related video entitled Game Master Persona] for notifications.  Also, keep visiting my blog.

VS

p.s. I'm running a sale on luxury hardcover Cha'alt books (limited edition, signed and numbered).  $50 for one or $90 for both Cha'alt and Cha'alt: Fuchsia Malaise within the USA (foreign shipping is an extra $30 for one book and $50 for two).  

Physical book purchases get you free PDFs, as well.  Paypal me at: Venger.Satanis@yahoo.com 

Crimson Escalation

 

The full title of this blog post should be Crimson Escalation while playtesting the Cremza'amirikza'am megadungeon, but I think that might break the internet.

Speaking of internet breakage, I didn't want to overpromise on this little mechanic until I had properly playtested it.  

Even though I've only tested it once, I believe this could be the single greatest combat-related system improvement since 5e came out with Advantage and Disadvantage.

I'm calling it Crimson Escalation.  In the simplest terms, it's a progressive critical-hit range.  The first round, crits happen on a natural 20.  The second round, crits happen on a natural 19 or 20.  Third round, it's a natural 18-20, etc.

Some optional fiddly-bits could be added, but that's the basic premise.  As I theorized, here are the results...

• Combat was shorter - without it, combat would have dragged on longer.  More misses and lower damage leads to longer combats.  Boring!
• Combat was more brutal - I think we can all agree, watching someone whittle away at the trunk of a tree is less satisfying than seeing it chopped in twain with a battle-axe. 
• Combat was more tense - as combat continued, the stakes grew higher because every round it became easier to hit with a higher probability of greater damage.

I assumed that last one (heightened tension) might be the case, but as mentioned, I didn't want to promise it before seeing for myself.

When I was asking for feedback on social media, a couple people wondered if PCs would delay their action in order to attack later in the battle, which didn't make any sense to me then and still doesn't now.  

Another point was raised about reinforcements - if a couple fresh goons rush into the battle halfway, how do you account for that, regarding crits?  Personally, I'm not going to track multiple crit ranges during combat, so everyone's at the same range.

As soon as the Cha'alt After Dark PDF is released, I'm asking my layout team to include Crimson Escalation in Crimson Dragon Slayer D20.  I'm not going to wait for next year's revision - it's that good.

I'm not going to go into detail about delving into the Cremza'amirikza'am megadungeon below The Lost City, but I'm going for a mix of Stuart Gordon's From Beyond and my Metebelis III interpretation of Lovecraft's dreamlands.  It's still very much a work-in-progress.

However, the session culminated in an epic battle between a local warlord death-priest and his guards versus the two 3rd level PCs (both fighters).  It lasted 5 rounds, which is kind of the max for a routine (but still thrilling) combat, according to my sensibilities.  As you'd expect, there were multiple crits.  It was an exciting battle as we anticipated the outcome - the longer combat lasted, chances increased that it would get exponentially bloody!

By the way, the two PCs won the battle.  They were both injured, but survived thanks to being 3rd level.

A short combat is usually a round or two (usually over in 10 minutes).  Medium combat is somewhere between three and five rounds (somewhere around 15-25 minutes).  Anything more than five rounds is long (at least a half-hour) and considered too much, unless it's some kind of major boss battle.  

A primary reason I enjoy old-school D&D is shorter combats.  That leaves more time for adventuring... and even more battles each session!  Dear God, when I think back to my time running 4e and 60-90 minute combat [shuddering].  Never again.

Anyway, my mind blew-up (in a good way), and this is my life going forward - Crimson Escalation now and forever, hoss!

VS

p.s. Want the deluxe Cha'alt and Cha'alt: Fuchsia Malaise hardcovers?  Boom!  Want to attend VENGER CON next July?  Shazam!