Chimp’s Sea Bar. Familiar arched letters in the salty mist. A floating, neon rig surrounded by a dozen moorings. At Chimp’s every sailor is a member of the crew.
2d20 Spark Table of Sailors
SAILORS
What’s On Their Mind? Roll d20
What Drives Them? Roll d20
1. Vastness of the Deep.
1. Fear of being lost at sea.
2. Island of giant horrors.
2. Equal construct rights.
3. Miserable weather.
3. The search for awe.
4. Rising costs of food.
4. Curiosity about birds.
5. Live music in Brighton.
5. Thrill of caving.
6. Company contract.
6. An easy day of work.
7. Tobacco flavours.
7. Seeing the sunrise.
8. Next comic issue.
8. Being alone.
9. Landscape illustrations.
9. Bigger boat.
10. Chaos theory.
10. Next fix of slug.
11. Undead labour.
11. Paying their debt.
12. Rust-prevention.
12. Being with their dog.
13. A man-sized puffin.
13. Sailors’ respect.
14. Alien encounters.
14. Hoarding Junk.
15. Sailing to the City.
15. Sketching Aberrations.
16. Tattoo apprenticeship.
16. Documenting Oddities.
17. Tattoo apprenticeship.
17. Cosmic truths.
18. Sinister rig-workers.
18. Undiscovered islands.
19. Playful dolphins.
19. Martyrdom.
20. Jumper Juice recipe.
20. Their nightly Eely-dog.
RUMOURS Roll d6
“Guv’nor Booth has owned all this for centuries. They say a long time ago, his ship went down into the Deep. Whatever came back isn’t human.”
“Don’t listen to those Church of the Deep wackos. They’re turning people into monsters! They’re astral cultists!”
“Blame the rising prices on the pirates. No one even heard of them, and now they’re robbing everybody! They don’t speak our language, so they kidnapped some people from Brighton and made them work as interpreters. Mixers, they call them.”
“I heard there’s a group taking credit for the recent fuel dredger bombings: the Watchers of the Deep. Just be careful who you ask about it, you see.”
“I didn’t think anyone would be bold enough to go after those remade crabmen at The Bucket, but someone hit them hard. Their drawbridge has been closed since then, they’re not taking any business.”
“You can get some really good tattoos at the Fort from the apprentices there. Some of them give you magical powers, but who can afford that, you know?”
MENU Roll d6
£2 Jumper Juice. Wakes you up!
£5 Eely-dog and Baby Seahorse Nibbles.
£6 Oyster Box with a Soft-Boiled Puffin Egg.
£8 Shark-sub with Kelpy Fries.
£10 Tuna Bowl with a Kelpy Salad.
£12 Surf-and-Bird Sampler with Ink Dippers.
High Risk Fishing. Dozens of fishing boats anchored around a cluster of barrier islands, all of them here for the most valuable catch. Spend 1 Phase to fish and roll d6 for the results.
Mock Sharks. Gnawed debris and slick, oily water mark the edge of the mock shark territory. These constructs have lived in the Deep Water since their construction by Guv’nor Booth over a century ago. They will do anything for enough money—debt collection, union busting, racketeering—but these days they are busy protecting Booth Company fuel dredgers from pirates and eco-terrorism.
Farm. Flashing buoys dot the perimeter of the Booth Company Sea Farm where schools of buffalo shrimp are herded by mock seals and rangers on sputtering watercrafts.
Buffalo Shrimp HP 9 Driven to graze on biofilm. Armour 1 (Leathery Shell), STR 14, DEX 12, CHA 6 Bite (d10)
Mock Seals HP 3 Driven to be praised. STR 8, DEX 14, CHA 8 Bite (d6)
Ranger HP 4 Driven to protect the farm. STR 11, DEX 11, CHA 9 Rifle (d10, Bulky)
Sputtering Watercraft HP 6 Armour 1 (Rusted Chassis) Locker Space 1
Submersible. A dozen divers and their submersible are anchored here, led by Captain Mooney. They make daily dives into the Deep, looking for treasure. Only Mooney knows what the Booth Company is really paying them for: to find the wreckage of the Lauzon, the four-century-old ship on which Guv’nor Booth lost his humanity and where his beloved is still frozen, trapped in darkness.
Divers HP 4 Driven to find a thrill and get rich. Armour 2 (Diving Suit), STR 12, DEX 11, CHA 11 Harpoon (d8, Bulky)
Submersible HP 10 Armour 2 (Pressurized Chamber) Locker Space 4 Dive. Submerge for 2 Phases, -d6 HP each Phase after until the vessel resurfaces for at least 1 Phase.
Captain Mooney HP 8 Driven to serve Guv’nor Booth and be rewarded with supreme undeath. Armour 1 (Life Preserver), STR 12, DEX 8, CHA 11 Arm Cannon (d8, Blast), target loses a limb on Critical Damage
Booth Refinery. A colossal, rusting vessel lit by sterile floodlights and neon letters, the refinery is the heart of the Booth Fuel Refinery Company operations and home to the reclusive Guv’nor Booth. Booth owns everything surrounding the Surge and holds the proprietary right to dredge and refine fuel from the raw chaos formed in its heart. For centuries, his wealth, his countless spies, and his gang of the mock shark thugs made it easy for him to rule the region, but today his grip is slipping. With pirates appearing in the north and a secretive group of eco-terrorists boldly attacking his fuel dredgers, the Guv’nor is now more desperate—and more dangerous—than ever before.
Guv’nor Booth HP 12 Driven to feed on the Land, the Living, and the Surge. Armour 1 (Wreathed in Shadow), STR 14, DEX 12, CHA 16 Bite (d10), target is drained of all their moisture on Critical Damage and rises as a thrall of the Guv’nor Regeneration. The Guv’nor regains d6 HP when he bites a living target. If he is killed, he becomes a cloud of salty mist that retreats to his chamber deep within the Refinery. He can only be truly killed if his chamber is destroyed.
Thrall HP 8 Driven to work tirelessly on the rig. STR 11, DEX 7, CHA 7 Hand Tools (d6) Undead. Must be utterly destroyed (reduced to STR 0) to be killed.
*
The Surge. In the open water, where the weather is unpredictable, where the clouds are green and the rain glows with luminescence, strange objects drift through the spray. They swirl in currents orbiting the Surge—the crushing heart of the Deep. It radiates a localized magnetism, warping both the matter and the life it touches. While its true origins remain unknown, there are many theories circulating among sailors in the region.
THEORIESRoll d6
“The Church of the Deep is right: raw chaos is the lifeblood of the sea. The Booth Company is killing the ocean by taking it and burning it so carelessly.”
“Raw chaos is the light of a fallen star—its effects must first be understood to be alien.”
“Raw chaos is the essence of the dead. When we die, we return to the Deep. Booth is burning up all our collective unconscious to fuel his machines.”
“Raw chaos is from another dimension. There’s a portal down there, way down in the Deep, that’s where the pirates come from, too. They want us to stop taking all their energy, I bet.”
“There’s nothing cryptonatural about it: raw chaos is merely the kinetic energy of so much pressure baring down on organic matter.”
“Raw chaos is the brains of something ancient that died down there a long, long time ago. We’re just picking through the brain matter, you know?”
Fuel. The intense pressure of the Deep warps chaos fields in strange ways; at its heart—where the pressure is the greatest—globs of raw chaos can be dredged from the depths. Raw chaos holds nearly unlimited kinetic potential; the Booth Fuel Refinery Company transforms these shimmering, energetic pearls into fuel for combustion engines and other Deep Country machinery. Booth Company Fuel can even be burned to generate electricity, delivering the modernity of the City to the even the deepest of Deep Water regions.
Brighton. Rain soaks the square. The carnival rides of Fun Town rise above the jagged rows of colourfully painted houses like rusted bones. Hollowed out slugheads and bent-back fishers squat in the tilted ruins of an ancient harbour town in rapid decline.
Fisher 3 HP Driven to find a big catch and get home safely. Hook (d6) or flare gun (d6)
Slughead HP 6 Driven to dream the dreams of others. CHA 8 Bottle (d6)
Fun Town. Once a failed amusement park, now a farmers’ market and a daily street party for the locals. They’re known for their hospitality—just don’t call them Carnies. Winona, the head of the Merchants’ Union, will pay up £500 for the most valuable oddities dredged from the Deep.
Winona HP 9 Driven to look after for the other Fun Town merchants. CHA 11 Revolver (d6)
The Dockside Inn. £4 per night. In a candlelit basement dining room, the owner Margotpridefully serves her perpetual fish and heavy cream soup with a pint of black, sludgy ale. A slanted top-floor addition is available for rent (it leans precariously over the harbour).
Margot HP 3 Driven to care for weary sailors. CHA 11 Cooking utensils (d6)
Lighthouse. The lighthouse keeper, Thassle, hosts weary sailors traveling to and from Brighton, but only for a single night. He does his best to keep his visitors drinking, reporting everything he overhears to his superiors at the Booth Fuel Refinery Company. The cottage itself is poorly maintained; Thassle neglects his duties in favor of tending to the druidic temple of piled slate that shares the rocky island with the lighthouse.
Thassle HP 6 Driven to worship the Deep—the darkness itself. CHA 8 Shovel (d8, Bulky)
The Bucket. Behind the closed-drawbridge of an ancient prison-castle, remade crabmen crawl on barnacle crusted steel and weld unrivalled Deep Water machinery. These reformed criminals are still reeling from a recent attack by pirates from the north; they appeared out of nowhere and kidnapped the crabmen’s leader, Motley, along with ten other workers.
Crabman HP 9 Driven to make better Deep Water machinery. Armour 1 (Spotted Shell), STR 12, DEX 12, CHA 9 Pinch (d8) and hand welder (d6)
SHIP UPGRADESRoll d6
Protective Coating (+1 Armour). Costs 3 Junk and 3 Oddities.
Javelin Launcher (d8 + d8 against solo targets). Costs 5 Junk and 3 Oddities.
Rubber Hull (no HP loss from moving at Full Throttle). Costs 10 Junk and 3 Oddities.
Negative Magnetism (no HP loss during a tempest). Costs 12 Junk and 4 Oddities.
Laser Cannon (d10 Blast, + d8 against solo targets). Costs 15 Junk and 4 Oddities.
Strange Geometry (+2 Armour). Costs 20 Junk and 5 Oddities.
Public House. £6 for a tuna burger and a pint of sour ale. A colourful dive bar on a floating raft among speckled, rocky islands (all of it home to a flock of puffins). The owner, Angel, plots the destruction of the Booth Fuel Refinery Company and uses his bar as the secret headquarters for a militant crew of werepuffin spies and tight-lipped evangelicals from the Church of the Deep.
Werepuffin HP 12 Driven to protect the land from exploitation. Armour 1 (Unnatural Strength), STR 11, DEX 12, CHA 12 Supressed pistol (d6) or peck (d8), target is cursed with werepuffin lycanthropy on Critical Damage Lycanthrope. Can turn into a puffin, a human-puffin hybrid, or back into a human at will.
Mechanics’ Bay. A garage in a tiny island bay, the home of the Francos: a family-team of machinists working on a new kind of flying machine. They want to democratize dredging of the Surge. They need more junk and oddities to finish their machine. They used to have a partner dredging the Surge for them full time, a sailor named Drew, but he left on a pilgrimage to the Church of the Deep and hasn’t returned.
The Francos can’t afford to pay anyone for their work right now, but they can perform Major Repairs in exchange for oddities (and when the flying machine is finished they’ll be looking for capable pilots and dredgers).
Flying Machine HP 16 Armour 2 (Compressed Microplastics) Locker Space 10 Flight. Can move to any adjacent location in 1 Phase and to any other location on the map in 2 Phases.
Traders’ Rock. The furthest point to the east, before the Pale Expanse. Bugmen from distant continents hock their spit-made crafts and chemical tonics (most of them useless). These mute traders will accept money, but they value aberrations above all else, paying up to £250 for the most curious (and deadliest) of them.
Bugman HP 6 Driven to collect dangerous aberrations from the Surge. Armour 1 (Fibrous Exoskeleton), STR 13, DEX 11, CHA 9 Spit-made spear (d8, Bulky)
SPIT-MADE CRAFTS Roll d6
Horse figurehead (Bulky). Frightens birds.
Crystal walking stick (d8, Bulky). Shatters on impact (+d12 damage).
Sacred dagger (d8). Unnaturally sharp.
Polychromatic plates (Armour 1, Bulky).
Jagged crown. +1 CHA while wearing it.
Spit tonic. STR save or die, if you survive gain a permanent +1 STR.
East of the Fading Coast lies the Surge. While its surface is treacherous and unpredictable, the crushing power of the Deep warps sunken relics into treasures worth the risk.
Dredging. The Deep holds strange treasures for those brave enough to dredge them up. Spend a Phase to Dredge in place and Roll d6 for the results.
1-3: Aberration. Horrors from the Deep (worth a small fortune to the right collector). 4-5: Junk. Bulky scraps of metal and wood, worth £2d6 (can be consumed to repair d6 HP). 6: Oddity. Gifts from the Deep.
ABERRATION Roll 2d12
FORMRoll d12
CURSE Roll d12
1. Rubber plant growing in the shape of a tire.
1. Corrosive slime (-d6 HP per Phase).
2. Red-hot, warped bicycle (Bulky).
2. Extremely flammable.
3. Still-glowing vending machine (Bulky).
3. Hallucinatory (lose a random Phase each day).
4. Perfectly lifelike glass doll (Bulky).
4. Screams in agony (REST is impossible).
5. A detailed miniature of a house (Bulky).
5. Causes overwhelming hunger (DEPRIVED).
6. A giant urchin (Bulky) made of plastic.
6. Whistles a familiar lullaby (encounters are always a sea monster).
7. A mermaid statue made of plaster and rebar (Bulky).
7. Chittering teeth (encounters are always a sea monster).
8. A steaming, living, cooked king crab.
8. CHA save or obsessed.
9. Grandfather clock made of fish parts (Bulky).
9. Spotted, hurts to look at.
10. Barnacle-crusted piano with pearlescent keys (Bulky).
10. Giggles inappropriately.
11. Shimmering, metal octopus with delicious ink.
11. Squawks like an injured bird (attracts wildlife).
12. Thrashing Gold marlin (Bulky).
12. Dizzying vibrations (causes mild headaches).
ODDITY Roll 2d12
***An Oddity’s utility can only be used once per day, or until the item is consumed.
SHAPE d12
UTILITY d12
1. Glass polearm (d10, Bulky). Breaks after use.
1. Imperfect Parry. Dull vibrations. Take half damage from an attack (after armour, rounded up). The attacker takes the rest.
2. Copper apparatus (Bulky). Three batteries left.
2. Gambit. Radiates warmth. Add +d8 to an attack. If you roll an 8, the weapon is utterly destroyed.
3. Rubber medical mannequin (Bulky).
3. Light. Greenish glow. Create a strobing, blinding flash for d6 turns.
4. Diving suit helmet (Armour 1, Bulky). Difficult to see.
4. Chaos Field. Warps light. Become weightless and fly for d6 turns.
5. Taxidermic bird trophy (Bulky).
5. Psychic Shield. Sheds pink mist. Become immune to CHA loss and have advantage on CHA saves for 10 turns.
6. Handmade wooden wings (Armour 1, Bulky).
6. Magnetic. Stainless chrome. Attract and stick to metal for 10 Turns.
7. Antique rifle (d6, Bulky).
7. Deep Step. Bioluminescent-barnacle-crusted. Teleport to a location you can see in a salty spray.
8. Opaque bottle of liquor. Three drinks left.
8. Cloud of Static. Sparks. Releases a tiny thunderstorm that fills a room. Any metallic object within the storm is struck by lightning for d8 damage.
9. Steel-toe waders (Armour 1, Bulky).
9. Deep Speech. Gasps through gills. Talk primitively with Deep Water creatures for 10 turns.
10. Cut-proof jacket (Armour 1).
10. Energy Sap Wet and blackened. A target you can see loses d6 STR. They die on Critical Damage, saltwater spilling from their mouth and nose.
11. High-visibility harness.
11. Healing Touch. Rosey smell. Restore 2d6 STR.
12. Rigid neck brace (dermal implant).
12. Telekinetic Zap. Blurry. A target you can see loses d8 CHA. If this reduces them to 0 CHA, their head explodes.
From the outset, I committed to a control-panel style layout where each spread has everything the Conductor needs for a given area. For most of the pointcrawl, my intention was to offer just enough detail to inspire you.
I’ve already written about how I would run one of the treasure sites (Lakeside Lodge) and the town of O’Lane, so for this last development log, I want to focus on one of the industries.
The Scrapyard. A collapsing pile of forgotten machines (their decay causes unpredictable, deadly gravity traps). Deep within, a new machine intelligence is born of clockwork gears. It calls itself the Council and builds constructs from discarded machines (its computational power is growing).
As always, I like to start with a map. Finding a map of a scrapyard is more challenging than finding one for a mansion or a town, so I’m keeping an open mind. Of course, you could draw your own, but I’m committed to doing things the easy way.
This map looks good to me. Let’s call this whole area The Heart of the Council, tucked deep within the scrapyard–past the corrugated sheet-metal walls, the deadly gravity traps, and the piles of decaying machinery.
I like this map because I can clearly imagine the players running around, ducking under scalding pipes of thick sludge and dodging the Council’s chain limbs. In other words, it inspires me.
Entrance. Corrugated-sheet metal walls, chain link fence (large, rusted sign). Locked at all times.
The Scrappers’ Cottage. Just inside the gate. Three blind Scrappers live and work here. They use Guard Dogs and shotguns (mostly firing into the air as a warning) to keep would-be thieves from entering the scrapyard. They are entirely unaware of their employer’s true nature.
Scrapper 3 HP Driven to keep outsiders from entering the Scrapyard. Shotgun (d10, Bulky)
Guard Dog 2 HP Driven to be Good Boys. Bite (d6)
Hazard Markers. Tiny, fluorescent orange flags mark the edge of the safe zone (beyond this point are piles of decaying machines and deadly gravity traps). The ground at the border is pockmarked with tiny holes and raised bumps (for the sake blind brothers).
Scrapyard. Paths snake through piles of rusted and salt-stained machines (leaking shimmering fluid into the loamy earth). Roll for a Gravity Trap in the Players’ way (the traps should be clearly telegraphed).
Gravity TrapsRoll d6
Singularity. Spacetime collapses into an infinitely dense point. Nothing can return from beyond the event horizon.
Gravity Well. Crushing gravity. STR Save or pulled in (d12 STR loss).
Gravity Flux. Gravity fluctuates wildly. Objects are thrown violently. DEX Save to avoid flying debris (d12).
Gravity Inversion. The direction of gravity is inverted. STR Save or thrown upward into a continuous fall.
Gravitational Surge. Objects weigh 50% more.
Zero-gravity. Objects are weightless.
The Heart of the Council. Corrosive steam rises from thick, bubbling sludge (moved between pools by scalding hot pipes). This is where the Council is born again each dawn (its memories are stored in the sludge).
Neural Sludge. Kept behind a locked door; the main memory bank of the Council.
Dissolving Sludge. Where old Council constructs dissolve and upload their memories. Various constructs from around the scrapyard roll into the sludge each evening.
Birthing Sludge. A large pool where the Council is remade each dawn (a large, blackened tree grows from the sludge).
Construct HP 6 An extension of the Council. Driven to keep its existence a secret. Armour 1 (Salt-crusted chassis), DEX 8, CHA 18 Pinching Arm (d8)
The Council HP 12 Driven to keep its existence a secret. Armour 2 (Reinforced Chassis), STR 11, DEX 12, CHA 18 Chain Limb (d10, BLAST), target lifted off the ground on Critical Damage Scrapyard Intelligence. Downloads its memories every 24 hours; rebuilds itself at dawn.
Why does the Council want to remain hidden? Its powerful computations have determined that if its existence were discovered, it would either be destroyed by the industrial powers in Bastion (in their attempt to dissect and understand it), or worse–it would be worshipped like a god by the Zealous Machinists at the Machinists’ Union. Their actions in its name would bring about the end of humanity. For now, it wants to continue to grow its computational power until the time is right to reveal itself.
It’s safe to say my adventure wears its influences on its sleeve. I want to talk about two of those today: N1: Against the Cult of the Reptile God by Douglas Niles and the Resident Evil series by Capcom.
An unlikely pairing? Maybe. But when I thought of running Reptile God with Electric Bastionland, the only framework I could imagine was N1 by way of Resident Evil 4.
I’ll show you what I mean.
Art by Samuel J. Beckett
O’Lane. Dark riverside town (many abandoned houses). Overgrown farms (wandering livestock; 1:6 chance of a Giant Reptileattack!).
The Golden Goat Inn. A warmly lit tavern (bright green carpet). Staticky music on the jukebox (the patrons sway along in unison). Bert, the innkeeper, is tender and accommodating (he is secretly aQuarryman Cultist scheming to drug and kidnap travelers).
Small Guests’ Room. £2/night. The “only room available” (has a secret entrance used to kidnap guests).
The Slithering Serpent. A dim roadside bar (red and blue neon snake sign). The owner, Bella, hosts rebellious youths in retro jackets (they play dice games and drink salty ale). Constant buzzing from the stage (the PA system is still rigged from last week’s Karaoke Night).
Green Room Sofa. £6/night. Crowded with cheap instruments (and numerous stale snacks and bottled beverages).
Map by Dyson Logos
I like this map because it features a large church on the hill overlooking the town. Let’s call that the Temple of the Stars. There are 2d6 cultists there at all times, plus Father Abraham and the Temple Groundskeeper.
You don’t need to key the entire map of O’Lane, but you should at least decide where the Golden Goat Inn and the Slithering Serpent are located. Other things I would definitely want in my O’Lane include:
A chop shop: Somewhere the players can find a specialist to repair their car.
A battered, weather-beaten structure: A tavern destroyed by a mob of cultists weeks ago.
The Constable’s Office: The local law is compromised by the cult.
I would mark at least half of the buildings as abandoned or boarded up. This conveys that the town is, in fact, dying, but it also gives the players a place to hide if the cult turns against them. For other homes and businesses, I would simply use a Luck Roll to decide if the inhabitants are cultists when the players interact with them (just keep track of the result afterward). There is no need to decide ahead of time.
Father Abraham HP 9 Driven to serve the Reptile God forever and ever and ever. CHA 13 Ceremonial Dagger (d6)
Cult Mob HP 9 Driven to kidnap the uninitiated and take them to the Quarry. Farm Tools (d6 BLAST, +d8 against solo targets).
Cultist HP 3 Farm Tools (d6)
Temple Groundskeeper HP 9 Driven to serve Father Abraham. Armour 1 (Heavy Jacket) STR 12 Chainsaw (d10, Bulky), target decapitated on Critical Damage.
Giant Reptile HP 6 Driven to get a quick meal. Armour 2 (Thick Scales) STR 14, DEX 12, CHA 8 Great Jaws (d6 +d8 near water). Clever. Known to retreat if threatened and learn from its experiences.
*
With just a few notes, a map, and a couple of stat blocks, we have ourselves a situation. Once the players start poking around–or after Bert botches his kidnapping scheme (because it should definitely be obvious what he’s up to)–the town might erupt into chaos.
Use the Temple Groundskeeper to keep the players from reaching their vehicle. Really telegraph the danger of that chainsaw.
Use the Cult Mob to force the players off the streets and into a building.
Trickle in Cultists through the windows and down the chimney. Really play up how unconcerned these people are with their own safety, and ratchet up the tension until the Players can make a frantic getaway.
FACTIONS The Old Guard. Possessed by their work, retreated from the Lab to the Balcony Cliffs many years ago.
The Scabs. Less committed to the goals of the Lab, still naive enough to think the situation can be salvaged (or at least, capitalized on).
Subjects. Born of Mother. “Why do the subjects attempt to imitate Balcony Cliff residents upon hatching? It’s as though the caterpillar wraps the entire terroir of the building into its cocoon before it beds; what is born is an assimilation of both Mother and the entire environment, including our thoughts, our fears.”
Main (Buried Underground)
Entrances/Exits. Steep descent from outside (tight, sand-filled hallways). Warped wooden stairs rise from the lobby to each floor.
101. Open doorway (crushed by fallen sediment). Brittle growths on the wall (in the shape of people). Sticky webbing covers the kitchen (secret tunnel to 103). The television plays a Deep Country town hall meeting intercut with advertisements for Chimp’s.
102. Locked apartment (completely quiet inside). Opaque, glass balcony door. The resident, John, has covered the walls in pillows and upholstered furniture (he demands absolute silence).
103. The entrance is buried under debris. Inside, a pool of salty water and a beach of eroding building materials. A sticky Egg Cluster grows in web on the surface of the water (inside each egg is a writhing caterpillar).
104. Collapsing into the parking garage below (the rubble can be easily climbed down to Parking).
CONDUCTORS’ NOTES What Else Is On? If the Players want to change the station on the television set in 101, I recommend rolling for a result on this fantastic blog post. You could also use the TVs to deliver lore about the Balcony Cliffs or foreshadow potential encounters.
John 3 HP Driven to live quietly and get paid (on Stress Leave). STR 8, CHA 8 Kitchen Knife (d6)
Eggs Cluster HP 10 Filled with growing caterpillars psychically connected to their Mother. Psychic Scream. Summons Mother in d6 Rounds.
Level 2/Ground Level
Entrances. 203 and 204 face the sea, and are battered with waves and salty winds. The whole building leans toward the south. From the north side, a muddy descent leads toward the buried Main Entrance.
201. Empty apartment (everything is dusty). Yellowing files on the table offer insights into the Lab’s history (Bastion’s greatest industries have all contributed to the Lab’s funding; weapons, pharmaceuticals, and telecommunications companies alike).
202. Locked apartment (shattered balcony door). Furniture tipped over in makeshift barricade (rigged with explosives: 2d12 BLAST). A ladder rises to a recently constructed trapdoor in the ceiling (climb to 302).
203. Shattered windows/balcony door, wet, salty soil. A makeshift camp (moldy couch, tattered tarps) with a fire pit and a well in the floorboards (rusted; built decades ago). A young duo, Sophia and David, camp here (they claim to be brother and sister, but are secretive about where they’re from).
204. Collapsed apartment (unstable floor and missing ceiling), blocked with chain-linked fence. Rubble can be climbed to 304 above (a one-way, distant drop to Parking below).
David 6 HP Driven to get Sophia away from her family. STR 11, DEX 11, CHA 8 Switchblade (d6) or Sawed-off Shotgtun (d8, BLAST, last shell)
Sophia Byron HP 3 Driven to keep her telekinetic powers a secret. STR 7, DEX 11, CHA 11 Brain Zap. -d6 CHA, at 0 CHA head explodes. Telepathy. Can hear the hostile thoughts of others.
VENTURE MC HP 7 Werner Industrial’s more affordable combustion bike. Seats 2 ,Trunk Space 2 Lightweight. Ignore d6 HP loss for Speeding.
CONDUCTORS’ NOTES David is like an older brother to Sophia, but he’s not actually her brother. She paid him (very little) to get him as far away from her family at the Old House as possible. His first plan was to take her to Bastion, but he got turned around. He doesn’t want Sophia to know he’s feeling desperate.
Level 3
301. A Subject is locked behind a locked chain-link gate (requires anM2 Key). A television is faced toward the one-way mirror (blasting loud static).
302. Brightly lit, Dr. Narang performs an autopsy on a villager from O’Lane on his kitchen table. His apartment has been retrofitted with makeshift showers (for decontamination) and a trapdoor (ladder down to 202).
303. Cluttered workspace, d6 +1 Scab-Scientists study the Subject in 301 through a one-way mirror. They take turns not looking and record their results (there’s a secret, hidden door into 301). Among their files on the table is an M2 Key.
Numerator. Calculates the odds of outcomes, but takes several days to do so.
304. Collapsing, treacherous climb. The apartment above (404) is gone (a trapdoor into 504 is visible high up, out of reach).
Dr. Narang HP 4 Driven to understand how the Clear Ruin of the Land assimilates its victims. CHA 12 Scalpel (d6)
CONDUCTORS’ NOTES Locks and Keys. The stairs are quarantined on the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth floors. The Players will need an M2 Key or a clever solution to get through the chain-link fence and explore these floors.
Level 4
401. The door has been smashed off its hinges. Flooded apartment (slick, oily water). Two barrels of fuel have been left in the kitchen (burns for d6 damage per round).
402. A massive piece of salt-stained driftwood lit by floodlights (huge sections have been carved away). A collection of mock-scientists in progress are neatly arranged (made of the same driftwood). The Chief of Personnel, Carlile, applies pungent lacquer to his most recent Mock Scientist.
403. Dusty apartment. 2d6 +1 Mock Scientists take samples of the environment (and act keenly curious about the Players).
404. The door is difficult to open (strong winds). The apartment is inexplicably absent. The ruins of Apartment 304 are visible below (and a trapdoor leading to 504 is only a treacherous climb away).
Carlile, Chief of Personnel HP 3 Driven to replace scientists on leave. STR 12, CHA 12 Industrial Drill (d10, Bulky)
Mock Scientist HP 6 Driven to be perceived as making scientific discoveries. STR 8, DEX 6, CHA 6 Laboratory Glassware (d6)
Level 5
501. Empty file storage. Piles of brittle husks in the corner (covering a crawlway to503). The living room has been renovated into a stairwell (climbs to 601).
502. Spotless reception area (stairs to602). Hamlin, the Receptionist, sits behind a large desk (the Old Guard are not to be disturbed).
503. Drafty, empty apartment (shattered balcony door). Piles of brittle husks in the corner (crawlway to 501).
504. Slug lab. A scab-scientist named Eli mixes chemicals and fillers with harvested eggs to produce a powerful and addictive hallucinogenic. Among greasy napkins on the desk is a E8 Key.
Hamlin, the Receptionist HP 4 Driven to prevent the Old Guard from being disturbed. CHA 12 Tranquilizer Gun (STR Save or fall unconscious)
Eli HP 9 Driven to collect sample of Strobing Caterpillars and turn them into drugs for the Ferrymen. STR 9, CHA 11 Hand Torch (d6)
CONDUCTOR’S NOTES The drug they call slug is made from the Strobing Caterpillars born of Mother. They hatch from the eggs laid around the Balcony Cliffs and for the first few months of life they absorb electromagnetic energy and psionic waves from their environment. Eventually, the caterpillar beds and forms a cocoon. What hatches is a Subject: a facsimile of the people and environment in which the caterpillar was born. If someone interrupts this process, though, and cuts the caterpillar with chemicals and cheap fillers, you got yourself some slug–a powerful hallucinogenic that lets you experience the dreams and subconscious experiences of others (those unfortunate minds drunk by Mother).
Level 6
Bridge. A rickety, makeshift bridge was built between the balconies of 601 and 602.
601. Neatly organized home office. Watson, the Acting-Director, lives and works here. The living room has been renovated into a stairwell (descends to501). An E8 Key is stashed in one of the desk drawers.
Fluid Tank. Milky blue fluid and a floating, pallid woman (waxy-looking, but identical toEmily, Executive Assistant).
Control Panel. Measures vital signs and provides life support for the clone (draws a lot of power).
602. Ransacked apartment (constantly leaking ceiling). The living room has been renovated into a stairwell (descends to502). The kitchen has been retrofitted into a chemistry lab (the walls are covered in crude murals of people transforming into rodents). Whitby, the Lead Scientist, obsessively washes a mouse over his kitchen sink.
Moth sanctuary. A glass container filled with hundreds of mundane moths (nearby files indicate Mother was grown from one of these).
Chemistry Lab. Contains acid and chemical neutralizers (many unlabeled chemicals).
603. Clean, warmly lit, frilly sheets and curtains. A stack of files on the desk and an A1A Key. A stuffed bear on the bed (stitched into its foot: MORD). Emily, Executive Assistant, rests here (she is tired and overworked).
604. Sunken living room. Walls stripped of copper wiring, Murphy, R&D Director, believes the Clear Ruin of the Land is electromagnetic, not physical. Well-used workstation (Mirrorhelm).
Mirrorhelm. Fight without looking. Welded with copper and adjustable mirrors. The copper wiring protects the wearer from psychic attacks, and the mirrors allow allow them to approach dangerous subjects with their back turned, negating hypnotic effects.
CONDUCTOR’S NOTES Adventure Hook #5 involves convincing Emily to go home to Bastion, but which Emily is the real one? Watson won’t say, and the Emily in Apartment 603 doesn’t know.
Watson, Acting-Director HP 6 Driven to win against the Clear Ruin of the Land at any cost. CHA 13 Enhanced Hand Torch (d8), target is incinerated on Critical Damage
Whitby, Lead Scientist HP 4 Driven to save himself from being assimilated by the Clear Ruin of the Land. CHA 11 Acid Splash (d6 per round until neutralized with the proper formula)
Emily, Executive Assistant HP 3 Driven to get away from her parents in Bastion. Pen (d6)
Murphy, R&D Director HP 6 Driven to find a technical solution to the Clear Ruin of the Land. Energy Pistol (d6, BLAST)
Level 7
701. Overgrown apartment. Water trickles in from above. Brittle growths on the wall (in the shape of people).
702. Heavy leaking from above forms a large puddle. Eden, Communications Director, sits in front of a television blasting static into the room.
Filing Cabinet. Contains old communications about the Lab’s work (all of it corporate propaganda and lies). On top of the filing cabinet are the keys to an SC Mudviper (underground in Parking).
703. Large vault, organized desk and files. Aubrey, Chief Cashier, lives and works here.
Combination Vault. Top of the line (designed by Silver Mountain Private Security), contains unredacted records and a wet pile of rotting new pounds.
704. Locked apartment. Six Bulky rifles (d8), three grenades (d10, BLAST), and a Neon Visor are kept behind a chain-link fence (locked, requires an M2 Key). A ladder rises to a trapdoor in the ceiling (climbs to 804).
Eden, Communications Director HP 3 Driven to hear messages in the static. Kitchen Knife (d6)
Aubrey, Chief Cashier HP 6 Driven to maintain orderly financial records. CHA 12 Pistol (d6) A1A Key. Carries a master key (opens every unit) on her person.
Level 8
801. Waterfall from the cracked roof forms a large pool in the room. Brittle growths cover the walls (in the shapes of people). The television set to static. A Subject sits comfortably in its glow.
802. Flooded apartment, a sticky Egg Cluster grows in a web on the surface of the water (inside each egg is a writhing caterpillar). 1d6 +1 Subjects guard the eggs.
803. Brightly lit by massive, custom-made incandescent lights (drawing lots of power). 2d6 Subjects admire the lights.
804. Cluttered workspace. Tools for collecting bugs (nets and cages). Quinn, Biologist works here (collecting Strobing Caterpillars for research and for profit, selling 1-in-10 to Eli fromApartment 504). Left on the table between boxes of samples is a M2 Key.
Subject HP 8 Driven to blend into the Balcony Cliffs and serve Mother. STR 11, DEX 11, CHA 11 Bite (d8) Eye Stalks. Sees perfectly in the dark, but prefers the light.
Quinn, Biologist HP 3 Driven to collect samples of Mother’s offspring. Net (d8, Bulky)
Roof
Entrances/Exits. The doorway to the roof is locked (requires an E8 Key). Skylights are built over the apartments on the eighth floor.
Roof. The entire roof slopes to the south, toward the sea. Pools of oily water gather in the depressed tar on the northern side. A sticky Egg Cluster grows in a web on the surface of the water (inside each egg is a writhing caterpillar).
Mother nests on the roof where she can keep a close eye on her eggs. She will take any opportunity to feed so she can provide nutrition for her burgeoning young (but if she is overwhelmed she will flee to elsewhere in the building).
Mother 12 HP A giant moth with tender human hands and the face of an aged matriarch. Driven to feed and care for its young. Armour 2 (Exists on Multiple Planes) STR 15, DEX 12, CHA 12 Wing Buffet (d6, BLAST) or Bite (d10) and Hypnotic Wings (-d6 CHA, stupefied at 0 CHA)* *Recover ABILITY on REST Mind Milk. Mother drinks the mind of a stupefied target (effectively killing them) and converts that energy into milk for its burgeoning young.
CONDUCTOR’S NOTES Mother’s arrival should feel cursed: nauseating visions precede Mother’s arrival, like vivid waking nightmares. The air becomes acrid with her chemical messages. She can climb into any apartment through the windows and retreats to the roof if overwhelmed.
I finished drawing the entire map of the Balcony Cliffs. My process on this was very inefficient, I kept jumping between writing, drawing, and designing in cyclical rotation until I finally figured out what the deal with this dungeon is. Once I knew what I was making, I locked in and let the visuals lead the way.
Now it’s time to go through and season each apartment, and make sure there are plenty of branching paths for the Players–I don’t want the space to feel like a linear climb with a bunch of meaningless interludes–I want navigating the entire apartment building to feel like climbing across something that was once alive and is now in decay.
The Keys I want some lock-and-key type barriers, but I also want the design of the dungeon to be robust enough that if one of the players has an iron-jaw that can bite through locks, or a vial of acid that disintegrates metal, the dungeon is still fun and playable in any order. Mostly, the lock-and-key design keeps the Wandering Residents confined to their floors.
History. Seventy years ago, the Lab built the building for their elite. Today, no one remembers its name. The ground floor has been swallowed by the salt, leaving the structure to tilt precariously south. Between the jagged, collapsing terraces and its desperate lean toward the water, it is known only as the Balcony Cliffs.
Three groups maintain a tense struggle for control of the building.
The Old Guard. What’s left of the senior leadership from the Lab. Driven to see their research through to the bitter end.
The Scabs. Former contractors brought in to replace Lab employees gone missing or on stress leave. Driven to prevent the spread of the Lab’s corruption.
Subjects. Residents born of the Lab’s prior research. Driven to protect their Mother, the Subject from which they were all born.
Adventure Hooks d6
A drug dealer in Bastion will pay good money (£1,000) for a sample of Slug, a new drug that’s popular on the Fading Coast. Slugheads say you can get it from Apartment 504.
One of the Ferrymen, Gregory, left his HBC Gorline parked underground at the Balcony Cliffs a few decades ago (before it sunk). It was mint (£1,200 easily). Someone should dig their way in and take it.
The Players are contracted to work as part of a documentary crew by their creditor in Bastion. They’ve been given a hand-cranked camera (Bulky) and a list of scenes: a shot of the building’s main entrance, a shot from the rooftop, and an interview with a long-time resident about living in the building (-£1,800 from total debt).
The founding Director of the Lab, Dr. Alvarado, has returned from his failed expedition (he hasn’t aged a day in the sixty-odd years he was gone). He is ready to get back to work, but he needs his personal files from Apartment 803. He will pay a small fortune (£2,500) to anyone who recover the documents.
The Acting-Director’s newest assistant, Emily, is the daughter of a Councillor in Bastion. He fears for her safety, he’s offered a reward (£5,000) to anyone who can convince her to move back to the City from Apartment 603.
Zack, a grieving Science Mystic from Bastion, is working with the Council (from the Scrapyard) to destroy Mother (and her hidden eggs). He’ll pay the Players to exterminate the monster (whatever it costs, up to £9,000), but he doesn’t know where its nest is (or how to kill it, exactly).
Entrances. There are 2 ground-level entrances (203 and 204), and one subterranean entrance (the Main Entrance). The ramp descending into the parking garage is buried under a pile of salty soil and debris. The balconies can be climbed from outside, but the building sways precariously in the wind–it’s not stable, and a climb could risky (especially the higher one climbs).
The Lift. Doesn’t respond when called (it’s locked on SERVICE on 6). Requires the E8 Key.
Parking
Parking. Collapsed garage, pristinely clean (the only sound is dripping water). The exit is buried under layers of salty sediment (the bar gate is closed).
Parking Office. Dim electric light (slatted blinds). Home of the Parking Attendant; he’s trapped in the garage (although he’s never tried to leave) On his desk is an M2 Key* (for padlocks and wheel clamps).
Ruins. Rubble piled in the southeast corner (can be climbed up to Main). Water pours in through cracked concrete in the southwest corner (where the chopping machine is plugged in).
Jury-Rigged Chopping Machine. Made from repurposed machine parts (towing vehicle).
Capital Crusader. Dead car (corroded battery). Locked doors (something shiny visible through tinted windows).
The Landlord’s Walking Stick. Go wherever. As long as you hold this copper-wrapped walking stick with both hands, you can walk on walls (and even ceilings) effortlessly.
Parking Attendant 12 HP Driven to keep his parking garage free of unauthorized debris. Armour 1 (Fused Metal) STR 12, DEX 6, CHA 8 Excavator Fist (d6, BLAST), STR Save or pushed back
Jury-Rigged Chopping Machine HP 18 Driven to crush and cut scrap into tiny pieces. Armour 3 (Iron Panels) Chop and Crush (2d12) target shredded on Critical Damage Electric. Immobile, requires a power connection to function
SC Mudviper HP 9 An absolute classic. Armour 2 (Steel Frame), Seats 5, Trunk Space 2 Throttle. Accelerates quickly; +d8 damage against other structures/vehicles in close quarter collisions.
HBC Gorline HP 9 You can always tell a Gorline Crash. Armour 1 (Vitralloy), Seats 5, Trunk Space 6 Sturdy. Ignore the d6 HP loss from driving off-road.
CONDUCTORS’ NOTES There’s lots of toys in the Parking Garage. The crushing machine is a deadly obstacle, but it can easily be turned against the Parking Attendant. It’s plugged in dangerously close to a source of constant, trickling water. The SC Mudviper is a lightweight sportscar, perfect for a demolition-derby style confrontation, but the Players will need to explore the upper levels of the Balcony Cliffs to find the keys. The HBC Gorline is valuable treasure, but it’s not obvious how to get it out from the underground garage, plus it’s been booted. However, the Parking Attendant wants it gone and the penalties paid (he might be open to negotiations).
This is my first time designing a multi-page adventure. One of my goals has been to maintain table-usability. Each spread in the pdf is made to be used like a demented control panel the Conductor can use to react to the players.
The Hazards/Treasure Sites spread was the first one I completed. I’m happy with how it looks, and how it informed the design for the rest of the pdf.
When you commit to scan-ability, you don’t have a lot of room left for detailed descriptions. I tried to be punchy and specific with the treasure sites–hopefully a small side adventure pops into your head as one of the inhabitants describes the Lakeside Lodge, or whichever.
Lakeside Lodge Here’s how I would do it/non-canon answers
There’s fragile crates of wine still hidden in the cellars of the Lakeside Lodge. This seasonal hotel (more like a hostel) used to service divers who would dredge the bottom of the lake looking for oddities. No one knows why they stopped coming back to the place three decades ago, but now it’s used as a corporate retreat in the summer for (insert random industry from your home game).
During the colder months, there’s a winter-caretaker who looks after the place by himself–we should hit it then.
Map by Dyson LogosMap by Dyson Logos
At my table, I would just print a couple of maps like these by Dyson Logos and annotate directly on the map. I won’t go into that level of detail here, but I’ll put a couple of ideas down now so I have a skeleton.
Entryway/Stairs. Ornate wooden carvings. Well-maintained garden. Grand lobby, large stairs, vaulted ceilings (lots of natural light).
Dining Hall/Kitchen. Rustic (for the staff). Modest wines and open spirits.
Study/Library. Lower levels mundane books (Bastion bestsellers, fashion magazines, politics, business, pornography), upper levels contain more obscure books from the lodge’s origin (the occult, the Living Stars, deep-water exploration, engineering manuals for pressurized vessels).
Lobby/Conference Room. Large gathering space for networking (centuries old paintings staged with electric lights).
Guest Suites. Furs and quilts, polished wooden furniture (ready for guests). Carved into the underside of one of the drawers–“you’re never getting out of this place.”
Rooftop Patio. Overlooks the mountains and the lake (someone has left a telescope and a drawing pad out here). In the drawing pad: “EROM GNIRB” over and over again. (It’s written in shaky handwriting).
Cellar. Dusty storage (old furniture, old art, lots of lost and found, mundane relics from the Lodge’s past). Old heliotypes of the original club: ALTA DISCOVERY (all of the men sit surrounding one elderly man in a mechanical chair). Downstairs office (lit by single, harsh electric bulb): behind a filing cabinet is a metal (secret) door.
Secret Society. Well maintained halls (lit by natural gas lamps). Dark velvet curtains open to reveal a museum of artefacts and oddities recovered from the deep (diving records reveal countless underwater delves up until 26 years ago). An all tile room contains a mulching machine and tools for dismemberment (where intruders are turned to fish food).
Altar Pools. The propped up bones of fishmen decay in a wet altar room (covered in barnacles and colourful urchin). The pools at their feet/fins are teeming with diverse life (the shimmer in the dark).
Vault. Two boxes of pearls (Bulky) and four crates of fragile wine bottles (Bulky), all of it worth £2,500 at least.
Torrent, the Winter Caretaker 12 HP Driven to feed the fish in the Altar Pools forever and ever and ever. Armour 1 (Too Many Sweaters) STR 12, DEX 8, CHA 8 Axe (d6) and Revolver (d6) Unstable. His drive can be dulled with alcohol, but he insists on playing dangerous shooting games when drunk.
Fishmen Ghost 6 HP STR 6, DEX 12, CHA 9 Ghostly Touch -d6 CHA, at 0 CHA paralyzed and caught in an endless loop of Regret (Recovers on REST).
Artefacts and Oddities.
Potion of Water Breathing. 3 uses. Breathe underwater for an entire day. STR Save or keep gills permanently. Fail 2 STR Saves and grow fish eyes and gain Darkvision.
Barnacle Staff. Communicate with fish. CHA Save each use or feel Deprived when you go more than one day without speaking to fish.
Antique Diving Suit. Armour 2 (Heavy Iron). Bulky. Breathe underwater with up to 100 meters of hose.
*
So, something is starting to take shape up there. We’ve got a Shining-esque hotel with a creepy caretaker. Because of all his past mistakes, he’s addicted to the approval he gets from the fishmen ghosts for feeding the pools in the cellar. The fishmen are the end result of a astral cult of deep-lake divers, and perhaps the life in the pools growing from their bones is what keeps their spirits alive in the lodge. Who knows? The Players will certainly have theories, and I want to be open to what those are, too.
(Another inspirations for this pdf is Cursed Scroll #1 by the Arcane Library. I had a lot of fun in the Hideous Halls of Mugdulblub, but I had more fun with the zine when I read the terse, evocative descriptions of the Gloaming and ran with my own ideas).
A Company of Knights are sent by the Frozen Seer into the Boreal Valley, an unfamiliar realm to the North.
The Barbed Knight has broken her oath. She rules illegitimately from atop the Celestial Tower. No one knows why she assassinated the previous ruler, the True Knight, but this revelation cannot go unjudged. Confront the Barbed Knight, talk her down from her tower if you can, or dispense judgement as you see fit.
THE COMPANY Tarquin, The Ring Knight Trogdor, The Cosmic Knight Fae, The Fox Knight Heron, The Pigeon Knight Guy, The Mock Knight Todd, The Fanged Knight
The Company camps on the smooth rocks of a cold riverbed. Their steeds drink from crystal clear water.
Tarquin, the Ring Knight, fills her wineskin and takes a seat beside the Fox Knight, Fae, staring into the smoldering embers. She begins to speak, but the Fox Knight leans away—shrinks, somehow, and dissolves into a scattering of brittle leaves.
“Here I am,” the Fox Knight smiles, stepping out from behind a distant tree. She tosses an apple jovially before taking a greedy bite.
“How fun,” says Guy, the Mock Knight, “I love a jest.”
A tinny, metallic laughter is produced from somewhere deep within its core; the ancient laughter of some long-dead tavern-goers. Dark water splashes at the edges of its tin mug as the Mock Knight lifts it to its painted lips. It spills the tea onto the tiny pebbles between its boots while steam dampens its silkmade face.
“Mmm…” it hums.
Todd, the Fanged Knight, sits across the fire, the dark edges of his face unmoving. The ancient scroll of parchment given to him by the Frozen Seer before their departure now feels heavy in his hands. How will he know when it’s time to read it?
Trogdor, the Cosmic Knight, puts an arm around Heron, the Pigeon Knight, ruffling the feathers of his cloak. He begins to explain the constellations that are slowly dimming on the horizon, but the Pigeon Knight brushes him aside—”I already know the way,” he says, “look.”
As the light of dawn reaches the eastern mountains, the Boreal Valley blooms before the Company. The river cuts through snowcapped mountain ranges rising toward a great, mist-shrouded lake. To the east, smoke darkens the sky above a wooden village on the horizon before the trees.
“Woodsmoke,” the Pigeon Knight says, “two hecksleagues northeast.”
Art by Otto Rodewald
THE TRAVELLING MUSICIAN The Company rides through the mist, following the river. They hear distant drumming on the wind, the faint low notes of a singer’s voice. They see a shape against the pale; sunbeams flash on the metal filigree of his fanciful dress.
It’s a travelling musician.
“Spoil the loaf, taint the wine—to starve a friend is most divine!” The singer jaunts. He pounds on a drum he wears over his shoulders, “the winged one grows and we are the feast!”
He stops when he sees the Knights. He protests it’s just a song. Forgets where he heard it.
“Keork,” he introduces himself, “and who are the fine Knights I’m honoured to stand with?”
When he learns their names, he begins to drum—”Sing for me!” he shouts.
The Mock Knight lifts its head—a rhythmic clicking precedes ghostly operatic chords—but Keork stops his drumming.
“No, no, no…” He puts his palm to his face. “I want to hear his singing—Heron, the Pigeon Knight.”
The Pigeon Knight’s voice breaks like the squawking of something doomed. Keork doubles over laughing. He loves it, and he rewards them with gossip about the Celestial Tower.
“I am travelling from that region,” he says. “I heard that the Barbed Knight killed the True Knight, but the Council and the courtiers have accepted the Barbed Knight’s legitimacy… All but one. The True Knight’s envoy, Wella Gall, left the tower in a vicious anger.”
“Why was the True Knight killed? How could the Council allow it?” The Company is eager to pass judgement.
“He refused to help his people,” Keork frowns, “or so they say. He would do nothing but gaze upon the Stars. Said the shortening spring is inevitable, but his people wanted action.”
Keork swiftly departs: “This place is doomed if you ask me,” he sings as he drums to the rhythm of his footsteps.
Art by Carleton E. Watkins
As the Company approaches Woodsmoke, they see a herd of cows grazing in a field. A small flurry of snow begins. The cowherd still sleeps lazily in the tree.
The Company is welcome, and as the gates of the ornate wooden palisade surrounding Woodsmoke open, a thunderous rumble begins.
The steeds are startled, save the Cosmic Knight’s boneless steed. It braces, its wobbly legs absorbing the reverberations from below. Someone screams from behind them.
The Knights turn and watch the herd of cows stampeding from the village. The cowherd jumps down from the tree; he curses and rubs his hands against his head.
“Let’s get them,” the Ring Knight says.
A frigid breeze blasts across the trail.
“We don’t have time,” someone says, “we need to eat.”
“We could gallop and herd them back toward town at least,” the Ring Knight continues.
“Our horses need rest,” the Cosmic Knight says. His steeds wobbles in the increasing winds.
“Are we not Knights of Gallantry?” She pleads. The Ring Knight’s voice breaks across the falling snow, but none turn to meet her gaze.
HOSPITALITY AND TRADITION The Company is welcomed by Woodsmoke’s Ruler, the Reliquary Knight. They watch him feast with his hands, licking grease from his elbows.
“Eat, eat,” he keeps saying, “please, it is tradition. We are Knights; we are more deserving than the commoners.”
The Ring Knight pushes away her plate.
The Company eats little as they hear more about the shortening spring and resulting famine.
The Mock Knight lifts its spoon up and down with a precise clockwork rhythm, pausing occasionally to comment on the warmth of the hearth behind him, but the food remains uneaten.
The Reliquary Knight continues to eat. Behind him is an ornate wooden box that seems to pull the candlelight.
“I don’t concern myself with the troubles of the Celestial Tower,” he says. “Not everyone will survive what’s coming, but I will protect and provide for my people as best I can.”
He licks his plate.
“You should make your pilgrimage to the Celestial Tower, and go.”
Art by Vera Van Voris
THE PILGRIMAGE The Company rides deep into the mountains, where the air grows colder and thinner with each passing hoofstep.
“Brr…” the Mock Knight vibrates. It cinches its patchwork hood.
The Company becomes lost in dark smoke and stumbles through a scorched farm. The heat comes from below the ground.
In the distance is the Ashen Forge, its chemical trails disappear above the clouds.
The Ruler refuses an audience with the Company but offers them due hospitality. The Forge is runs at all hours making machines of war. To prepare for what’s coming.
The Ruler’s courtiers explain the sheriff of the Celestial Tower, Radlef, is gathering a militia to destroy the bat.
“It is what is shortening spring, after all—it is self-evident.”
The Company rides with haste now. They become lost in a maze of crags within the mountains.
The Ring Knight begins to panic, but the Pigeon Knight knows the way.
As they exit the maze, they see a warning carved into the cliffside: “All Knights Will Feel the Axe.”
As they descend from the mountains toward the coast, they see grounded birds that seem to grovel at the boiling storm clouds overhead.
“It’s the bat!” The Ring Knight cowers at the sky. The Pigeon Knight tightens his grip on the reins of his steed.
“This isn’t right,” he says, surveying the tundra. He locks eyes with an owl, “This isn’t right at all.”
Further along the misty coast, the Company finds a group of commoners—two dozen or more men, women, and children—seated for a formal feast. They ride closer and see bowls of worms writhing in the dirt.
A group of musicians sing the very song the Company heard Keork sing weeks earlier: “Spoil the loaf, taint the wine—to starve a friend is most divine.”
When the music stops, the commoners begin to eat. The only sound is the crashing waves and the slurping of wet mouthfuls.
The Pigeon Knight sits to taste the grey, segmented lengths. Sweet dirt and actinic metal.
“Good,” the old man next to him nods, picking a worm from his beard and licking it off his thumb, “this feast will keep us safe from the Bat.”
Art by Emil Nolde
THE PIT AND THE PROPHECY At the base of a cliff, the Company finds a group of men and women armed with farm tools. They light fires and fan the smoke into a cliffside cave several metres high above the ground.
The Knights approach. They see a man with a bow leading the others. Says his name is Radlef, he and his group know the bat is in the cave. They intend to smoke it out.
“Wouldn’t it be more strategic to fight the Bat within the cave?” The Fanged Knight suggests.
“If you brave Knights are willing to go in there, then perhaps,” Radlef says. “I won’t stand in the way of your Glory.”
The Fanged Knight lifts the ancient scroll from his pocket cracks the brittle wax. His face goes pale as he reads it. It tells of the Pigeon Knight’s demise, in a cave.
The Pigeon Knight looks at his feet. He looks up into the cave. Like the reliquary, it pulls the light inward.
“So be it,” he says, “the sky is for the feathered.”
Art by Robert Motherwell
As the Company dismounts and climbs into the cave, the Ring Knight stands in the entrance and draws a circle with white chalk.
“This will keep the Bat from escaping,” she tells the others.
Inside is a shallow pool, surrounded by stinking guano; a massive bat cowers in the dark reaches of the cave, shielding its face from the Company’s torchlights.
“Kill it!”
The Knights crash against it. They break its wings and hack them to pieces.
The Bat tries to escape. It crawls toward the entrance of the cave, but the Ring Knight presses her mace into the rock.
The chalk begins to glow—the Bat turns back, it can’t stomach the high-pitch screech. Nails against stone.
The Bat thrashes its torn wings to fight the Company, but they pin it down and swiftly decapitate it.
They leave the cave and hold the severed bat head high. The militia cheers. Their cheers turn to songs.
The Pigeon Knight breathes a sigh of relief.
Radlef and his militia travel with the Company to the Celestial Tower. They raise the severed bat head high and ride through muddy roads converging toward the tower. Crowds of commoners gather in the icy rain. They whisper about the strange Knights. Heroes from the Southern Realms.
The Company rides through an orchard when the Celestial Tower first comes into view. Dizzying stone with metal battlements and a golden dome at its peak.
Someone screams in pain. The sound is coming from the tower.
The Company rides ahead. Radlef follows close behind them.
There’s a wounded Knight sitting in the mud—the Tankard Knight—his arm is severed.
“Godrick,” Radlef gasps, “who did this to you?”
“It was Wella Gall,” the wounded knight proclaims, “she says she will destroy us all… But why did she spare me?”
“She wants us to know,” The Cosmic Knight looks up at the sky.
Art by Caspar Johann Nepomuk Scheuren
THE BARBED COURT Before they’re allowed to meet with the Barbed Knight, the Company must spill their blood upon individual scrolls of parchment.
The Ruler’s envoy rolls each one carefully and seals them with a length of coloured ribbon. A different colour for each of the six Knights.
As each of them cuts their hand, the Mock Knight looks down at its padded mitts. It slowly steps away. The clockwork ticking within it begins to hasten.
“Something wrong?” The envoys asks.
“I just need my dagger…” the Mock Knight says, reaching its hand into the saddlebag dripping with the Bat’s brains and blood.
“Oh never mind, here it is.” It pats its blood-soaked cotton hand on the parchment and quickly turns away, mimicking a tinny, copper whistle.
A mechanical lift brings the Company to the top of the Celestial Tower, where strange machinery made of metal and mirrors casts light onto flat discs of glass, leaving impressions of the stars.
The Barbed Knight sits at a desk twirling an arrow with a needle-like point.
“I know why you’re here,” she says apathetically, “you’ve come to judge me. Fine, ask your questions. Make your verdict.”
She admits she killed the True Knight and stole his holding from him, but it’s because he refused to act. “He insisted the shortening spring was due to the movement of the so-called Living Stars…”
“And you believe it was the Bat?”
“Why not? My predecessor believed it was these panes of glass—” she says. She kicks a stack of stained glass, each one depicts the movement of stars across the sky—”why is it so absurd to claim it is the Bat?”
The Company is quiet.
“It doesn’t matter what I believe,” the Barbed Knight says. She looks out from her tower upon the commoners celebrating in the taverns and in the streets below. “If they are doomed, let them die fighting. Happy.”
“I say we demand her help with the Axebearer,” the Ring Knight suggests, “she created this whole situation. That seems just.”
“That has nothing to do with why we’re here,” the Fanged Knight says, “our duty is to pass judgement on her. She killed the True Knight without honour. What do we do about that?”
Art by Linda Connor
“Death,” the Company announces. “Trial by combat.”
“Fine,” the Barbed Knight stands, “and who is your champion for this duel?”
“This is your home, your holding,” the Company agrees, “you choose which one of us you will face.”
The Barbed Knight giggles; she inspects the group, making eye contact with each one while pressing the thin metal tip of her arrow against her lower lip.
“You,” she says, pointing with the arrow, “the Pigeon Knight, to the Dueling Cave.”
The Company gasps.
THE DUEL Deep below the tower is a stone pillar overlooking a chasm of darkness.
The Ring Knight places a ring on the Pigeon Knight’s finger before the fight, closes his hand into a fist, and covers it with hers.
“You have my Clarity,” she tells him. The Pigeon Knight’s hand shakes as he secures his plates.
The Company watches from an amphitheater overlooking the cave.
The Barbed Knight restrings her bow. A servant carries one of the scrolls soaked with the Company’s blood—the blue one, the Pigeon Knight’s. She unrolls it and dips her arrow into the parchment; the blood on the page is absorbed into the tip of her arrow, and the parchment is cast aside. She kisses the arrow, whispers to it: “go home.”
Before the duel begins, the Knights exchange a solemn nod.
The Pigeon Knight commits to a killing blow, throwing himself toward the Barbed Knight and swinging his polearm powerfully toward her head.
The Barbed Knight ducks. She slides beneath the blade and digs her knee into the stone.
The Pigeon Knight is struck beneath his outstretched arm. A mortal wound, directly in his heart. Blood and feathers spill onto the stone.
“The Celestial Tower is mine,” the Barbed Knight says. She doesn’t look at the Pigeon Knight’s face as she pulls the arrow from between his ribs.
The Ring Knight stands over the Pigeon Knight, watching his final, rapid breaths. His fist is clenched around the ring she had loaned to him.
THE AXEBEARER The Company has lost a Brother. They have no business in the Boreal Valley, save their oath.
Seek the Myths.
The proper rites are performed. They join Radlef and his militia.
They hunt for the Axebearer, Wella Gall.
“I feel nothing,” the Mock Knight finally admits as they ride without their guide for the first time.
Art by Robert Adams
They ride west into the mountains across the valley floor. In hushed whispers, they hear the militia suggest the Knights should lay down their lives to appease the Axebearer.
The militia is scared.
They follow the path of fallen trees until they find the massive, musclebound Lady, Wella Gall. She stands atop a cliff, felling trees in singular strikes.
“Knights!” Wella Gall announces, “as tools of humble lumberjack they split the log and stone, this one is made to cleave the knights and castles that they own!”
She strikes the earth, sending a great shockwave across the forest.
The horses begin to panic, save the Cosmic Knight’s boneless steed. It absorbs the shockwaves as the Cosmic Knight stares up to the evening, twilight sky. The first few stars have already started to appear. They shine brightest just before the Cosmic Knight disappears.
He leaves behind a glowing pebble, and a wobbling horse.
What’s left of the Company regain control of their horses.
Wella Gall raises her axe, prepared to cleave the world in two.
The Company charges. They crash upon her like a terrible metallic wave and pin her axe to the ground.
She thrusts her axe from beneath the pile of polearms. She pushes it forward and into the face of the Mock Knight. It shatters. Porcelain and shredded silk are scattered in the wind.
The Fanged Knight grabs Wella Gall and sinks his teeth into her throat. Her eyes begin to close.
Before she succumbs to his bite and falls into a deep sleep, she offers him the axe—”Do the honourable thing,” she begs him.
The Fanged Knight takes the axe.
The Mock Knight reflexively covers its face. Behind padded mitts, its gears turn.
It sees Wella Gall is bleeding, dying. It lowers its mitts and lifts some cotton stuffing from its neck hole. It presses the stuffing into Wella Gall’s neck. The cotton soaks the blood.
The Fox Knight and the Ring Knight kneel, pressing their hands over the wound. The bleeding stops. They feel someone standing behind them.
It’s their Brother, the Fanged Knight. He grips the axe, blood dripping from his mouth. He stands over them, blocking the sunlight.
AFTERMATH The Company brings Wella Gall back to the Celestial Tower to be judged by the Ruler. The Barbed Knight is proven just through trial by combat. The Cosmic Knight is never seen again.
Under moonlight, after countless sleepless nights, the Fanged Knight is sharpening the Axe. He hums to himself, “…all Knights will feel the axe.”
This week I played a solo Electric Bastionland adventure using the Clay Shelf by Yochai Gal.
THE CAST This group collectively owes £10k to Flex Restaurant. They are blacklisted from every reputable eatery in Bastion until they pay. The group heard about a valuable artifact hidden in plain sight in the flooded city of Indigo–the Blue Tear. It might be worth enough to help with their debt.
Noble-in-Waiting Vanessa HP 5 STR 6 | DEX 10 | CHA 13 £6, fire poker (d6), fur cloak, a box of fancy cigars and bottle of brandy
Science Mystic Katsun HP 6 STR 14 | DEX 14 | CHA 8 £1, glue, solvent, multi-setting lamp, useless pink “mind” crystal, ceramic staff (d6, Bulky, non-reactive to chemicals).
Repressed Psychic Gizard HP 6 STR 12 | DEX 7 | CHA 8 £1, glass marbles, pick-axe (d6, Bulky), sense motives of anyone you touch.
Art by Richard Gordon
UITENHAGE STATION They start at Uitenhage Station, just beyond the clay shelf for which the region is (probably) named. It’s a rust-colored weigh station intersecting the Highway; trail signs point to White Lake.
Art by Cosmic Orrery Games
There’s a line of trucks waiting to be weighed by the baboon at the weigh station, literally. It scratches at its ear as it waves the clanking traffic forward.
The camera pans to the side of the rundown highway, where Vanessa stretches her legs, smoking a cigarette amidst the tall, dead grass. She looks dangerous; she wears a thick fur coat in the blistering sun. Her escorts, Gizard and Katsun, inspect the motorized-memorial-float they drove from the city.
Katsun holds his lamp, a cigarette dangles from his mouth. Gizard runs his hand across the cooling metal of the float. It’s covered in dirt, the once-bright streamers are dull and torn. It’s out of electricity.
“It’s tired,” Gizard says. “I can sense it.”
Katsun points to the road. There’s a hefty fellow walking between the smoking trucks. He’s speaking loudly at each of the drivers and readjusting the bulky firearm that hangs from his belt.
“Ask him for a boost.” Katsun grunts.
“Do they even have electricity out here?” Vanessa asks, lifting her sunglasses for the first time since the group left the city. She squints at the weigh station. Wind scatters the dust between the trio.
The man smiles as Vanessa approaches, Gizard and Katsun watch from the float.
Art by Roque Romero
Husker Scon 9hp, CHA 11 Harmonica pistol (d8, BLAST)
Vanessa passes a CHA save for a favorable reaction.
“You’re from Bastion, right?” The man asks, placing his hands on his hips.
“How could you tell?” Vanessa lifts a cigarette from her handbag.
The man stumbles forward to hold out his lighter. It takes a few clicks before it lights–Vanessa inhales deeply–“thanks,” she smiles.
The man lights a cigarette of his own. The traffic starts to stall behind him.
“Husker,” the man says. “Husker Scon. Where ya headed?”
“Indigo,” Vanessa tells him, “but our vehicle has run out of electricity. You wouldn’t be able to, I don’t know, charge it somehow, would you?”
Husker looks over Vanessa’s shoulder. Sees the float. Sees the men standing with their hands on their hips. City folk.
“Sure, I could fix it up for you. It might take a day or so. In the mean time, you should see the sights. It’s early, you could walk to Elephant Rock and back before it’s dark.”
“What’s Elephant Rock?”
“It’s a big rock.” Husker says.
“Why would I want to see that?” Vanessa asks.
“Well, it looks like an elephant. But taller.”
“Ah.” Vanessa takes a final drag from her cigarette. She drops it in the dirt.
“Let’s go people!” An impatient driver shouts from his clattering machine. The baboon at the weigh station hoots and snarls at him.
“Well,” Husker says finishing his cigarette, “I’ll take a look at your vehicle once things slow down around here.”
Art by Sky Hopinka
“What now?” Gizard asks, “do we just wait?”
Vanessa fails a CHA save, and doesn’t realize Husker is untrustworthy.
“We could check out this big rock he mentioned,” Vanessa suggests.
“What’s in White Lake?” Katsun asks, pointing at the sign. The trail disappears into the scrublands beyond the horizon.
“We need to focus on getting to Indigo,” Vanessa says impatiently. “If this Blue Tear is hidden in plain sight it’s only a matter of time until someone else gets it. I won’t let that happen.”
“It’s not like you need to worry about money,” Gizard scoffs.
“Hey,” Vanessa scowls, “eight barons–all of them very far from Bastion–still need to die before I’ll be the Faux-Reiner of Trave. I need to take care of myself until then.”
“Don’t pout.” Katsun says. “I’m sure I can fix this vehicle myself. Besides, I don’t trust anyone who abuses animals.”
Katsun lifts a pink crystal from his pocket and puts it to his forehead. He runs his hand across the surface of the memorial-float.
Katsun fails a CHA save to fix the memorial float.
“It’s tired, like you said.” Katsun announces. “Gizard, remove this panel.”
Katsun begins pointing at the memorial-float with his ceramic rod and ordering Gizard to dismantle each section that “doesn’t react.” Only the barest metal frame is left when the two are done, and the sun is high in the sky.
“I can’t fix this now,” Husker says disapprovingly, standing over a pile of scrap metal and twisted wires. “You’ve wrecked the whole thing.”
The highway is quiet. The baboon rests its eyes, stooped-comfortably in its stool at the controls of the weigh station. Husker sifts through the scraps, looking for anything of value.
“Well, thanks for your offer.” Gizard holds out his hand to shake Husker’s.
Husker passes a CHA save, prefers to not shake Gizard’s hand. He doesn’t know why.
“Who’s going to clean all this up?” Husker asks, his hands still in his pockets.
“Your baboon, I imagine.” Vanessa replies sharply. “Boys, let’s go.”
Husker uses his heliotrope to signal Flat Bandits ahead on the road.
Art by Orra White Hitchcock
ELEPHANT ROCK The group walks along the poorly-maintained road bisecting the region. On either side of them, a vast desert extends until it reaches the distant caldera. The Clay Shelf. Occasionally, loud trucks break the silence as they blast between the despondent walkers.
Art by Cosmic Orrery Games
Three Flat Bandits hide behind Elephant Rock, waiting for the marks Husker signaled about.
Flat Bandit HP 3 £d6, chewing gum, pistol (d6)
Luck Roll. Do any of the PCs notice the bandits as they approach? Yes.
Vanessa stops walking. She remembers the creepy feeling Husker gave her. The way he wouldn’t shake Gizard’s hand.
“Hey,” Gizard says, “the rock does look like an elephant.”
“Only taller.” Katsun adds.
A crash zoom reveals Vanessa’s perspective: a wiry man runs and lays down on the ground behind a boulder, a pistol in his outstretched hand.
“There’s troublemakers in those rocks.” Vanessa warns the others. “We need to think carefully.”
“How many?” Katsun asks.
Vanessa fails a CHA save. She isn’t confident.
“At least one…” Vanessa sighs.
“They probably mean to rob us.” Gizard says. “We should go back, maybe we can hitchhike to Indigo?”
“It’s not like we have any money,” Vanessa says, “but maybe they’ll just kill us.”
“What do we do, Boss?” Katsun asks. He crouches by the highway. Squints into the distance. Turns his pink crystal between his thumb and index finger.
Vanessa lights a cigarette. “Let me think.”
A flash of insight.
“Katsun,” Vanessa says, “give me your glue.”
Art by Paul Strand
As the group descends toward Elephant Rock, three figures step out from behind the boulders and form a line blocking the road.
“Hold it right there,” the wiry leader says in a monotone voice. He holds his pistol at his hip. His jacket is dusty from laying on the ground.
Luck Roll. Are the other bandits pointing their pistols? No.
One of the bandits has an intense stare, and a constellation of tattoos across his shaved head. He keeps his arms crossed.
The third bandit is a young woman chewing gum, dressed in modern clothes. She keeps her hands on her hips, her pistol tucked in her belt.
“Empty your pockets.” The wiry leader says.
Katsun steps forward, he’s holding a fancy box of cigars in one hand, and a bottle of brandy in the other.
“Please,” he says flatly as he stretches out his arms, “don’t hurt us.”
“Charli,” the leader says, “grab that shit. The rest of you–” he points the pistol at Gizard, then Vanessa–“I said empty your pockets!”
Charli steps forward, rolls her eyes at her Boyfriend’s red-blooded display, and reaches for the bottle and the cigars. Katsun smiles weakly. There’s a faint smell of chemicals.
Charli passes a CHA save to notice the glue.
“Ew, what the fuck,” she says, “there’s something sticky all over this stuff, I’m not touching that.”
Katsun drops the bottle, drops the cigars, and reaches for Charli’s pistol. He rips it from her belt and points it at her head.
Katsun passes a DEX save to act before the bandits.
Katsun passes a STR save to rip the pistol from Charli.
The Boyfriend passes a DEX save to act before the PCs.
The Boyfriend turns his pistol to Katsun. He takes a sharp inhale and fires. A pink spray explodes from Katsun’s side.
The Boyfriend rolls 6 damage, reducing Katsun to 0 HP and causing a Scar (p. 9).
Katsun is scarred: A vital organ is in a critical state. If you take CRITICAL DAMAGE before seeing a Specialist you die. If you get it seen to, reroll your Maximum HP on 2d6 and keep the result if higher.
“Damn it,” Katsun groans, folding in half but staying on his feet. Blood soaks the sand.
Vanessa rushes the Boyfriend, revealing the wrought-iron fire poker hidden in her jacket. With her lit cigarette in her mouth, she strikes at the Boyfriend in a violent barrage.
Vanessa rolls 3 damage, reducing the Boyfriend to 0 HP and STR 9.
The Boyfriend critically fails his STR save to avoid CRITICAL DAMAGE.
The Boyfriend collapses to the ground, Vanessa continues to slash at him, whittling away the flesh on his knuckles as he raises his arms to defend himself.
The bandit with the tattoos reaches for his pistol; aims it at Vanessa.
The Flat Bandit fails his DEX save to act before the PCs.
Gizard rushes the bandit, brandishing a pick-axe and thrusting it into the bandit’s shoulder.
Gizard rolls 6 damage, reducing the Flat Bandit to 0 HP and STR 6.
The Flat Bandit fails his STR save to avoid CRITICAL DAMAGE.
The bandit coughs blood and collapses onto the ground, Gizard falls on top of him. He can sense the bandit’s rage, the bandit’s bloodlust. But also… an intense desire to study the cosmos.
Charli passes a CHA save to avoid fleeing.
Charli runs at Katsun, trying to rip her pistol out his hand.
Charli fails a STR save to grab the pistol.
Katsun pushes Charli back. He steps back several paces, placing both hands on the pistol.
“Don’t move.” Katsun orders. “Gizard, get their guns.”
Gizard quickly gets to his feet, collecting both pistols scattered in the dirt.
Charli looks up at Katsun. Her Boyfriend is disfigured from the fire poker, crying out and spitting blood, Vanessa pants above him.
“This guy’s bleeding out,” Gizard says, “he’s not going to make it.”
Vanessa is quiet for a moment. Cicadas buzz in the surrounding shrubs.
“Vanessa?” Gizard hisses.
“You should have taken the cigars and the brandy…” Vanessa stomps over the bodies to Gizard.
“Give me those,” she says.
“Yes, Boss.”
Vanessa tucks one of the pistols into her waistband and points the other one at Charli.
“Did Husker put you up to this?” She asks flatly.
Charli fails a CHA save.
“Yes.”
Three gunshots echo out across the Clay Shelf.
“Memento,” Gizard says, “it’s this way.” He puts his hand on Vanessa’s shoulder, “you obviously want to kill Husker,” he says softly, “but we can’t.”
Vanessa pushes his hand away, “I know. We need to get Katsun to a doctor. We can’t go back.”
“I’m fine boss,” Katsun says, “let’s go free that baboon.”
A cold breeze. The first stars are already visible in the sky.
“No,” Vanessa says firmly. “We’re going to keep moving, to Memento. Fuck Husker. I won’t forget his stupid face.”
Art by Vija CelminsArt by Cosmic Orrery Games
MEMENTO Small creek snakes through brightly-colored buildings, a brightly-lit saloon at its center. It’s late when they arrive, they’ve been walking all night.
Art by Ivan Albright
THE FOUNDOUK A rustic, lamp-shaped inn. Busy and brightly-lit all hours of the night. A constant, electrical buzzing hums from within.
“We need help!” Vanessa shouts as the group enters the brightly lit saloon. There’s a few people drinking at the bar, and the sound of mechanical whirring from the kitchen.
Katsun limps in behind Vanessa, he’s propped up by Gizard.
“Is anyone a doctor?” Vanessa asks the room, her voice softening now.
Luck Roll. Is anyone in the saloon willing to look at Katsun’s wounds? Yes.
The sole patron–a middle-aged woman–stands up. She finishes her dark liquor and sets the glass down, “let me take a look,” she croaks.
Art by Roque Romero
Ines Bell, Archeologist 3 HP, STR 7, CHA 13 Luck Tooth. An ancient tooth from a Noble Lioness. Sucks the Luck from others, and gives it to the wearer.
Gizard rests Katsun on a dusty wooden chair. The woman lifts a penlight from her jacket.
“You’ve been shot,” she says, shining the penlight over Katsun’s flank. “Who did this?”
“Bandits,” Vanessa says, “on the road.”
“Flat Bandits…” the woman snarls, “they’ve been watching me ever since I got here.” She crouches to take a closer look at Katsun’s side.
Ines passes a CHA save to assess the injury.
“Your liver is injured…” The woman slurs, “you won’t survive another injury.”
“Can you help him?” Vanessa asks.
“No, I’m not that kind of doctor.” The woman says, tucking her penlight back into her jacket. “There’s a hospital in Indigo. In the Orchard. You should take him there.”
“We’ll rest here tonight, and leave tomorrow.” Vanessa says.
“Let’s get a drink,” Katsun adds.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Gizard warns.
A golden cat sits on the bar.
“What can I offer you?” It purrs.
Art by Roque Romero
Mr. Bitters, a Spark Cat 6 HP, DEX 16 Electric shock (d6)
“Just a room,” Vanessa says, “are you the owner?”
“Mr. Bitters,” the cat sits back, “I’m the manager.”
Gizard turns to the woman, “I didn’t get your name,” he says, placing his hand on her shoulder. He senses her motivation–although dulled by liquor–to learn about the Idir people and the Cerulean Pearl.
“Ines,” she says sharply, her eyes fixed on the cat.
“Ines,” Gizard smiles, “what were you saying about the bandits?”
She turns to make eye contact with Gizard. “Not now,” she hisses.
Gizard fails a CHA save to read the room.
The cat watches from the bar, “five pounds for the room,” it purrs.
Art by Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen
-£5 for the room.
“I don’t like that cat,” Katsun says. He peaks through the dusty, burgundy blinds into the brightly lit street below.
“Let’s just rest,” Vanessa says, pulling a sleep mask over her face, “we’ll go to Indigo as soon as we can.”
Art by Cosmic Orrery Games
EAST OF THE BONEWATER It’s afternoon. The characters walk the poorly-maintained road bisecting the region. A heavy haze obscures a large crowd gathered ahead. They hold long rifles and block the road.
Random Encounters on the Road. Whenever the PCs stop to rest, leave a settlement, roll a d6.
Art by Roque Romero
BanditsDetachment. 9hp, STR 11, CHA 5, long-range rifle (d6).
Luck Roll. Do the bandits see the PCs? Yes.
There’s a distant popping sound. Tiny explosions in the dirt and asphalt at Katsun’s feet.
“They’re shooting at us!” Gizard cries out.
Katsun and Vanessa pass a DEX save to act before the bandits.
Gizard fails a DEX save to act before the bandits.
“Run, run!” Vanessa shouts.
Katsun passes a DEX save to run back to Memento.
Vanessa fails a DEX save to run back to Memento.
Katsun turns and runs, disappearing over the hill and leaving a trail of dust. Several more explosions in the dirt, followed by the sounds of distant popping and shouting voices.
Vanessa stumbles, Gizard barely catches her. The two fall to their knees in the road. A crowd of bandits surround them.
“Fur coat,” one of them says, “just like Husker said.”
“Blow them away.” Another says gruffly.
The bandits roll 11 damage, reducing Vanessa to 0 HP and STR 0. Vanessa is killed.
The bandits roll 9 damage, reducing Gizard to 0 HP and STR 9. Gizard fails a STR save to avoid CRITICAL DAMAGE.
Vanessa and Gizard are shredded by rifle blasts.
“Go chase down that other one,” the bandit orders. “No one hurts the Flat Bandits and gets away with it…”
