Last One-Shot of 2021

 

Earlier today was the very last one-shot of the year.  2021 has been... interesting.  Better than 2020 isn't saying much, but yeah... I might do an end of the year wrap-up next week.

Unexpectedly, I cut my hand on one of our plastic childproof locking mechanisms after logging into Roll20, but before the session actually started.  Not letting spilled blood go to waste, I ordained it a ritual sacrifice while concentrating on the Kort'thalis meta-sigil.

Anyway, I had 3 stalwart players in this session...

• Warren of the Wasteland - a Mad Max style human warrior.
• Omar Nasr - a sorcerer from Carcosa who worships The Yellow King and occasionally talks to a little skull tied to his belt.
• Tief - a demon sorcerer played by a guy who's never played in one of my games.  Predictably, there's a bit of a disconnect between my "home game" and whatever official D&D stuff is normally presented.  

Since these were new characters (started at 3rd level with max HP) but 2 of the 3 were veterans of Cremza'amirikza'am, I told them they had only been in the ancient megadungeon a few hours, but that was enough time to get acclimated.

They followed a couple stained popsicle sticks to a demon playing around with a high-tech device.  The PCs believed it might be a popsicle maker, but alas, it was only a portable, electronic chess game.

After some small talk, there was a "cremquake" which just means earthquake mixed with Cremza'amirikza'am because these caves and tunnels are so ancient that instability is its middle name.  During the cremquake, several chunks of stalactite fell from above and a section of rock wall collapsed, revealing several humanoid skeletons entombed within.  One of them wore a turquoise necklace.

Now, Tief had something to trade for the chess device.  Admiring the necklace, the demon said, "I'll probably give this to my girlfriend.  She lives in Ca'anada."

The exchange was made as the PCs wandered down the tunnel, listening to a half-demon explain a bizarre game to several humanoids who were interested in playing to win a magical ring.

A bit later, the PCs fought 5 demon berserkers, dispatching them easily because of sorcery.  Specifically, Omar cast sleep which took out 4 of them.  Tief wounded the last with eldritch blast (I did some conversion work in my head, since there's no "eldritch blast" in Crimson Dragon Slayer D20.  Warren landed the final killing blow.

Looting the bodies, they found a decent amount of gold and platinum pieces.

Just beyond, they spotted a slumbering, green draconic-worm blocking the southern tunnel with its massive bulk (20' long and about 5' wide).  

Before dealing with the dragon-worm, I suggested... or rather, a producer on the show suggested that at least one of the PCs say a few words in the confessional booth.  Warren nominated Tief, and his player did his level best to both understand what the fuck was happening and to play along.

Basically, Tief told everyone about his carnal knowledge regarding a girl in some village or settlement who looked like Kiera Knightly.  

Then Omar hopped on and talked about his companions, specifically Warren, and how he might be converted to the worship of Hastur.  

So, not only is the confessional concept weirdly gonzo and hilarious, it can also introduce new threads of characterization and gameable ideas.

Finally, the party snuck-up to the draconic-worm and attacked.  Warren used the first stress die (communal and first come, first served) to up his damage.  Everyone else let loose on the dragon-worm, as well.  The creature got one attack in before it was burned to a smoldering crisp, nearly killing the sorcerers who were drained of vitality from casting spells.  

That's what happens when you don't have a cleric.  Every time, the new initiative system has been successful.  Everybody loves the new name... TWERPS, which means (in order of who gets to act) thieves, warriors, enemies, retainers, priests, and sorcerers.

I told the players they needed to read the blog in order to find out what was in the pile of treasure behind the dragon-worm's burned corpse.

7 orange and green Easter eggs, a magical battle-axe, 437 gold pieces, 111 platinum pieces, and a huge chunk of shiny green calcite.

Not bad...  Overall, I'm pleased with the adventure.  I know the veteran players enjoyed themselves, but wasn't too sure how the new guy felt about things.  My games are probably night and day different from the usual D&D Roll20 session.

Aside from getting to play at all (which is always fun), and playtesting several new mechanics, I reached a place of comfort with Cremza'amirikza'am that I can improvise encounters without much thought.  I know the place so well that ideas will just come to me and I rarely have to check my notes.  That tells me it's real enough to exist without me.  The next few weeks will be making sure everything is clear enough for GMs who aren't me.  I want them to be able to run it without unnecessary trouble.

Want to be kept up-to-date on when I'm running one-shots?  Follow me on Twitter, MeWe, and this blog.

VS

p.s. Want to attend a gaming convention that's exclusively about old-school tabletop RPGs?  VENGER CON is taking place in Madison, WI this July (2022).  No masks; no mandates!

Back To The Megadungeon

 

I'm currently playtesting a brand-new megadungeon in the works, that will be the main feature of book 3 in the Cha'alt trilogy.  

The megadungeon is called Cremza'amirikza'am, of course.

The Lost City is a ruin on the surface of the planet.  Below the eroded city walls and crumbling buildings is the entrance.  

After attacking several small, robed humanoids and driving them down into Cremza'amirikza'am, the PCs went in after them.  The staircase went on for what seemed like hours, descending down into the bowels of Cha'alt.

Meeting an ooze along the way, the PCs eventually came to the first floor of the dungeon, an octagonal chamber with a door ajar.  A magenta-violet light saturated the atmosphere and little aquatic insects and jellyfish looking creatures swam through the lurid illumination.

The second battle of the session was with a trio of monks wearing vials around their neck - the vials contained a glowing yellow-green liquid.

In both battles, the PCs came out victorious.  Neither battle lasted more than 3 rounds.  Even though it waited patiently in the wings, Crimson Escalation did not come into play.  Another playtest thumbs-up, in my opinion.  When creating a fresh mechanic or sub-system, you don't want it constantly making demands.  Occasionally, such things should remain in the background.

As mentioned in my latest video, I'm channeling Buffy the Vampire Slayer, From Beyond, and Event Horizon... along with all my other influences and pop-culture references.  Cha'alt is still a gonzo parody, after all.

A couple interesting tidbits of note...

• There was a surprise round where a PC shot an arrow at the diminutive humanoids.  I counted that as round zero for purposes of Crimson Escalation.
• A pixie-fairy sorceress cast sleep on the monks after a couple rounds of combat.  Since casting that spell brought her down to zero and made her unconscious, I decided to give the monks a saving throw.  Only one made it, and he quickly fled out of the octagonal chamber.
• After the first (surprise round) arrow, the humanoids took cover, giving the shooter Disadvantage, unless circumstances changed.  I think that's a good way of doing it, so just wanted to share.
• One of the PCs ate/drank a bit of the periwinkle slime they encountered on the infinite stairway.  I asked for a saving throw, and he did really well, though didn't quite make his 1st level's 19+ threshold.  So, I told him he got lucky, that several periwinkle splotches appeared on his body and face - much better than becoming a slime oneself.
• The monks of Cremza'amirikza'am told the PCs that the megadungeon was an entrance to another world.  When one of the PCs asked "What world is that?"  I immediately replied "Hell".  That's just an example of spontaneous remarks becoming worldbuilding concrete.  Yep, that's set in stone.

Another playtest session tomorrow.  Wonder what'll happen?

VS

p.s.  I've still got luxurious hardcover Cha'alt and Cha'alt: Fuchsia Malaise books for sale right here.  And I'm also running an old-school, OSR, and traditional RPG convention next July in Madison, WI.  It's called VENGER CON.