Mega Recap

This post will summarize the last few months of game play, starting with the in-person game played on July 8, 2023. 

Current Party

PCs: Harlack (Trull Fighter Mercenary), Hob (Halfling Thief Wizard-Apprentice), Zed (Human Illusionist), Hayabusa (Mantid Fighter Samurai), Big Mac (Halfling Thief Bard)

Retainers: Goober (torch bearer), Rollie (Crossbowman), Tharg (Half-Ogre), Lil Dickie, Lurg, and Groll

NPCs: Rogar the Barbarian, Chaka, and Dr. Malcolm Dalton

Meatshield Graveyard: Shit-Tooth, Ortan, Yang, Bats, Elmor Quickbow, Sista Steel, Solemn Sorn, Polwood, Sir Pufflewick, Mustard Tiger, Droghar, Worcox, 

Other NPCS 

Mobius: Guildmaster of the Delver's Guild

The Last Rites: rival adventuring party in the Delver's Guild

The Wagging Beards: dwarf adventuring party, rescued from the dungeon

Orm the Enchanter: Hob's Wizard Master

Malachist the Magnificient: Wizard in the dungeon, wanted by the Ministry of Security

Kell Ironguard: Brash young noble, said to be a deadly swordsman.

Morbo the Beggar: Insane drunk, former adventurer

Alix: Human female rogue, rescued from a pack of ghouls in Old Town

Ulf: Man encountered in the dungeon with his pet wolf

Thor: claims to be a God, asked the party to find his hammer Mjollnir 

Voltarus: (not met in person yet) Brigand Leader of the Blood Reavers, 1,000 gp reward 

Dungeon Locations

Hall of 4 Arches: Entry chamber, filled with junk (search for random stuff!), Arches- Arch of skulls (north), Arch of dragons (actually dinosaurs- east), White Arch (south), Arch of Runes (magical- repulsion effect- west)

Halls of Valhalla: Northern arch, Time vaults from the Age of Vikings

Lost World: Eastern arch, Time vaults from pre-historic age of dinosaurs (and the Land of the Lost)

Ice Pits: Southern arch, Time vaults from the Ice Age,

At the Dripping Tap, Mobius told the party he had secured financing for the new Delver's Guildhall and purchased a plot of prime real estate in the Astor Heights district near the Bistro Californium. It will cost 20,000 gp and take 3 months to build. He offered the PCs room and board if they donate the following:

100 gp- common barracks

500 gp- private room

1,000 gp - suite

The party heard a rumor about a tribe of reptilian creatures in the dungeon guarding a golden skull with rubies for eyes.

On the way to the Perilous Pit, the party encountered a squad of Merchant Guards transporting a shirtless barbarian in chains. The party scared off the guards, threatening them, and rescued the barbarian. This was Rogar, a crazy barbarian who really loves to drink and fight. The party recruited him and got him very drunk at the Perilous Pit on Hefeweizen of Heroism.

Outside of the Perilous Pit, the party encountered the beggar Morbo. He spoke in gibberish. but claimed to be a former adventurer that knew many secrets. After the party gave him some coin, he warned them of the return of the Seven Sin Lords.

Along with Rogar, the party entered the dungeon. They searched the junk piles in the Hall of 4 Arches and found a metal club with the words "Big Slugger" on it. They gave this to Rogar. 

They explored the Lost World. After fighting Pterodactyls in the caves, they entered a massive jungle rift with open sky and sunlight (which they had never seen). They heard a waterfall in the distance and remembered the note about a treasure chest hidden under the waterfall. On the way they encountered dinosaurs- Stegosauruses eating plants- and giant carnivorous frogs in a swampy area. They heard baboons howling by caves to the west, which they avoided. They found the waterfall which spilled into a deep pool filed with giant Piranha. They sent Rogar in the pool to get the chest, and the Piranha nearly killed him. Later Hob teleported down into the pool and tied a rope to the chest. After he escaped the Piranha, they recovered the chest and found 3,000 gp inside.

They found the wreckage of a strange machine still smoking. Hob searched it and found a fire Extinguisher and a can of coke. Later they learned this was the wreckage of a Time Machine.

During a short rest in town, they met Kell Ironguard in town. The young scion of House Ironguard wore a sneer, but seemed somewhat intrigued by adventurers. They had to stop Rogar from picking a fight with him. Hob asked if Kell gambled and Kell promised he would invite Hob to a private noble gambling den sometime.

Upon returning to the Lost World, the party ventured south and east and met Dr. Malcolm Dalton, a professor from 21st century Earth, who was testing the Time Machine with his colleague, Dr. Grant (the corpse in the caves). He thought he was in the Jurassic Era and didn't know how he ended up in the Time Vaults. He joined with the party for safety.

The party snuck around an angry momma Triceratops guarding its eggs. They found tracks of a T-Rex and saw more caves on the eastern side of the rift. They met a strange furry primitive "boy" who spoke in gibberish. Chaka warned them of the caves, repeating "Sersa Taka."

They battled strange reptilian creatures in the caves- Sleestak. After defeating the guards at a rope bridge over chasm (which the guards nearly managed to cut), they entered the Sleestak common room. They barely managed to survive a brutal fight against 13 Sleestak, after which they were forced to return to Town to rest. (NOTE: You did not explore all of the Sleestak caves). 

The party returned to town accompanied by Dr. Dalton and Chaka. Hob sought out a Wizard Master to teach him spells. He agreed to do occasional services for Orm the Enchanter in exchange for his teaching. Orm asked Hob to bring him the feather of a Cockatrice and told him he heard several of the beasts were loose in the Musselspoon District.

Big Mac heard a rumor that a thief stole a very powerful magical ring from the Wizard Hristo the Black. He did some digging around and learned that Hristo is a necromancer who lives in Lichburg.

The party returned to the dungeon with Chaka and Rogar (despite Hob's protests). Dr. Dalton stayed in town to explore and learn more about Glome. The party explored the area to the south from the four arches. The entry chamber was cold and covered with frost. The explored some caves to the east and encountered Neanderthals. They could not communicate with the Neanderthals and decided to avoid combat. The found a passage to the south which ended at ledge that dropped 50 feet to a vast cavern filled with snow- the Ice Pits.

The party decided they weren't prepared for cold, so they returned to the entrance of this area where they encountered a group of nine men in leather armor. The men wouldn't answer who they were or what they were doing in the dungeon. When the party wouldn't leave them alone, combat broke out. After killing the men, the party identified several of the tattoos on the corpses and learned they were bandits- part of the Blood Reavers working for Voltarus. They may have come from the west (in this portion of the Ice Pits).

Back in town, the party encountered a female rogue being attacked by a pack of ghouls. They rescued the woman from the undead, who said she was named Alix. She didn't understand why the undead attacked her. 

They brought her to the Perilous Pit for beers where they found a drunken Rogar picking a fight with the Last Rites adventuring party. Rogar was telling the Last Rites that the Disposable Heroes would kick their ass. The party stepped in and managed to talk their way out of a fight, but the Last Rites and their half-orc leader Morak were not happy. Hob was upset with Rogar (again).

During the ruckus, Alix the thief slipped out. Big Mac saw her go, but decided not to say anything. He remembered she was a member of the Thieves Guild and was an experienced Cat Burglar. 

The party grabbed some Hefeweizen roadies and returned to the dungeon. They returned to the northern area- the Halls of Valhalla- and met a band of blood-thirsty crazed Berserkers. The Berserkers wielded great axes and were brutal. Hayabusa's faithful retainer Droghar was killed. Hayabusa nearly died- he suffered a Lingering Wound (Hobbled- lost 2 points of Dex permanently).  

The party was forced to rest again before exploring further. The next time back in the Halls of Valhalla, they returned to the Mead Hall. The Viking warriors and the Jarl, who thought they had died and were in Valhalla, welcomed them. The Jarl still had the magic sword Gram that Harlack had pulled out of the pillar. 

Rogar drank the magic mead and gained the ability of Norse bardic gifts (permanently). He suddenly spoke Old Norse and knew all the ancient songs and legends. He began to entertain the Vikings. While they were distracted, Hob tried to pick the lock on the jarl's chest, but failed. Harlack offered to duel the jarl in a friendly bout. Hob again tried to pick the lock and was later caught sneaking by the chest. The jarl accused the party of being thieves and the vikings attacked them.

The jarl killed Worcox and Rogar almost died (again). The party slew the Vikings and recovered the legendary sword Gram, a +1 longsword +3 vs. dragons. Hob is currently wielding it. 

They gave Rogar the Jarl's chainmail +1. (Later, while Rogar was past out drunk at the Perilous Pit, they replaced it with a normal suit of chainmail and sold the magic armor. Rogar still thinks his armor is magical).

They later explored the caves in the northeastern portion of the Halls of Valhalla and met Ulf and his wolf again. Ulf claimed he didn't know what had happened to Shit-Tooth. He offered once again to join the party, but they declined. Ulf told them the dragon Fafnir laired in the cave to the west.

When they returned to town, Hob did some research on the dragon. The dragon Fafnir was once a dwarf. Loki had given his father, the dwarf king, a cursed, but very powerful magical ring called the Andvaranaut (or Andvari's Ring for short). Fafnir went mad with greed and killed his brother and father to seize the ring. Then he permanently shape-shifted into a dragon. The dragon had no known weaknesses, except perhaps its extreme pride and it occasionally sleeps.

Both Harlack and Hayabusa fought in the Bloodsport at the Coliseum and were victorious. Hob won 400 gp gambling. Hob and Hayabusa each gave Mobius 100 gp as a downpayment on a room in the new guildhall. Harlack paid for a suite. For an extra 500 gp, Mobius said he'd throw in a jacuzzi. 

They met a tall, muscular man with long hair, a beard, and red cape at the Dripping Tap who claimed to be the god Thor!

Thor asked to speak privately with the party. He told them he had misplaced his Hammer Mjollnir. He thought the Horned-Sorceress had stolen it and hidden it somewhere in her Time Vaults. Thor said he was busy getting ready for Ragnarok and asked the Disposable Heroes to find Mjollnir. He also asked them to tell them if they ran into Loki. 

Finally, Thor said to say hello to his old friend, Rogar.

 

Session Report 5: The Temporal Vaults of the Horned Sorceress

This is a re-cap of several sessions:

Guildmaster Mobius tells the party that a group of adventurers belonging to the Delver's Guild has been missing for over a week. The missing group is called the Wagging Beards, an all dwarven outfit. The party demands to be paid a reward, but Mobius isn't having it. He says it is their duty as Delvers; that others would do the same if they were missing. 

"C'mon! Does everything have to be about money? What happened to doing the right thing?" 

Big Mac puts up a stink and Mobius kicks him out of the meeting. The party grumbles some more and then leaves.

The party goes to the Perilous Pit tavern, which is the only publicly known entrance to the Dungeon below Glome. Rumors claim the Dungeon is the legendary vaults of the Horned Sorceress. The innkeeper Mad Mooney greets the party and gives them some (rather obvious) advice about dungeoneering. 

Each of the adventurers pays Mad Mooney 1 gp to be lowered into the pit on winch. They know they will have to pay an additional gold piece for the return trip.

The Hall of Four Arches

At the bottom of the shaft, 200 feet down, is a large circular room littered with mounds and piles of debris, old weapons, and bones (Hint: you haven't searched the debris). 

Four stone arches exit the chamber. The northern arch holds nine skulls wearing horned helms; the eastern arch is carved with dragons and monsters; the southern arch is painted white; the western arch is engraved with strange runes.

Zed finds a crumpled up note in the eye socket of the third skull from the right. The note is scrawled in blood and reads: "Sathius hid the treasure chest in the pool beneath the waterfall."

Hob examines the eastern arch. Upon closer inspect, the carvings are not normal dragons. Most are wingless and look more like giant lizards.

The southern arch and western arches detect as magical. The runes on the western arch are clearly arcane in nature, but Zed can't decipher them. Harlack tries to pass through, but he is repulsed and cannot force himself to pass through. 

Harlack is agitated and not feeling like himself, though he isn't sure if it has to do with the runes or something else.

They decide to leave the western arch alone and they travel north beneath the arch of skulls. The tunnel, which is covered in crude graffiti written in goblin, goes due north for 250 feet. 

The first chamber is a guard room with 8 goblins. Ortan, Hob's retainer, is slain in the battle.

One of the goblins has a silver dagger carved with strange runes (Note:  these runes were never deciphered). Zed could not detect a magical aura.

There was a pile of nine dead goblins in a heap in the corner-all recently slain by slashing weapons, one by a blunt force blow. The party believes the dwarven adventurers killed them.

The party heads west and comes to an empty room. The passage to the north smells faintly of smoke. There is a door to the east as well (Note: this eastern door was never explored). 

Harlack leads the party north when a block of stone pivots and dumps him into a pit. The party is able to pry open the pit and rescue him; then they jam the pit with iron spikes. 

They pass a door halfway down the passage that smells of a cook-fire and smoke. Many goblin voices can be heard within jabbering. They decide not to confront what sounds like a large number of goblins and continue north.

They find a statue of a man bound with chains to a rock. A huge statue of a serpent curls around the prisoner with huge fangs, ready to strike. Real liquid drops from the snake's open mouth onto the statue's head. The party is able to decipher the runes around the base of the statue: "Alleviate my suffering and speak my name. Then the way shall be revealed."

Hob identifies the smelly liquid as contact poison. Zed finds a secret door to the east, but is unable to find the triggering mechanism. The party puts a helmet over the statue's head to collect the poison dripping from the snake. However, they do not know the man's name so they are unable to do anything further.

They venture west and encounter a man cooking rats on a spit. A pet wolf is with him. The man says his name is Ulf. He claims he is from Trondheim, which no one has heard of. He offers them roasted rat and mead. He says he is lost and will aid the party if they help him find the way out. He knows little of the dungeon, except he says there is a room of undead guarding an ancient burial ship and a room filled with slime.

The party accepts his offer and Ulf joins them. They question him about the statue and Ulf says he recognizes the statue as the God Loki. The party returns to the statue and says "Loki." At once, the secret door that Zed found grinds open.

The tunnel past the secret door leads to series of natural caverns. The party is attacked by a Gray Ooze in the caverns. The party decides not to explore the tunnels to the north and follows the passage south. Eventually they come to a set of stairs leading up to a door. Past the door is a guard room with 4 Bugbears. Zed's retainer, Solemn, is killed in the battle.

The last surviving bugbear tries to flee by activating a secret door to the east. However, it is unable to open the door in time and it surrenders instead. The Bugbear pleads for mercy, claiming it is just a mercenary hired to guard a wizard. The Bugbear, who is named Grol, says the goblins also work for the wizard. They ask about the dwarves and the bugbear tells them the goblins have a dwarvish prisoner.

Zed offers to hire Grol the bugbear and it agrees at the rate of 5 gp/week.

In the confusion of the battle, the party realizes that Ulf and Shit-Tooth have disappeared. Both were at the rear during the fight and stayed out of the combat. The party descends the stairs back into the tunnels to look for the torchbearer. There is no trace of either, but they do find fresh blood splattered against one cavern wall.

They give up looking for Shit-Tooth and enter the room of the wizard to the south. Inside is a richly furnished room with a rug, desk, and small bed. Crossed swords hang on the wall. It is lit by an a torch and smells of incense. A man dressed in a red robe sits at the desk. There is a birdcage at the back of the room, holding some type of small creature. The man levels a wand at the party and says, "Tell me who you are and why I shouldn't obliterate you."

The party negotiates. The wizard tells them he is Malachist the Mystical and that he is looking for a magic ring. He believes it is in the possession of a dragon named Fafnir that makes its lair in a cave to the north in the tunnels. He offers to pay 5,000 gp for the ring. The party accepts and leaves.

Next, they trigger the secret door to the goblin's lair. The room holds 14 goblins and their leader. The party tries to negotiate the release of the dwarven prisoner, bluffing saying they work for the wizard. The goblin leader, however, refuses unless they pay 20 gp and is outwardly hostile. 

In the end, negotiations fail and combat breaks out. After killing the goblins, they free Gorin Steelhorn, one of the missing dwarven adventurers. He is ashamed of being captured by goblins and losing his axe.

They explore another room and find the corpse of a dwarf lodged in a partially open secret door with a crossbow bolt in his chest. Gorin recognizes him as the Wagging Beards' thief. 

They find a room covered with green slime. They try to burn it with oil, but the smoke is poisonous. Eventually, they back off and burn it from a distance by throwing torches and molotov cocktails. They locate a side chamber with 5 Bronze Urns (worth 20 gp each, weigh 30 lbs.) and two large stone tablets with runes. They take the tablets, but decide to leave the urns alone. Harlack says, "I'm guessing one holds something good, and one probably holds something really bad."

The party returns to town to rest for a few days. On the way back to the Sleeping Dog tenements, they see a crowd of bystanders and police outside a burning building. The blazing building is the Jeweler's Guild. They hear that the Guildmaster of the Jeweler's Guild turned into a wererat and killed several people. During the fight, a lamp was knocked over and the place burned down. The party wonders if it has anything to do with the gem they sold to the Jeweler's Guild.

When they return to the Sleeping Dog, their rooms are trashed. Dorna, the caretaker, tells them Tully the rat-hunter came looking for them.

Harlack is sick. He gets very agitated when he sees the moon. The next day he wakes up feverish and ravenous for blood. He then realizes he has contracted lycanthropy.  Without telling anyone, he decides to try a risky cure: he ingests Belladonna, which is cures lyncanthropy, but it is also poisonous and can be fatal. Thankfully, Harlack survives! 

The next night Big Mac is awakened by pounding on his door. It's Tully, and he's not looking well. "You! You don't know what you've done. I hate rats. Hate 'em! But now I am one! Thanks to you and that cursed gem!" Then he turns into wererat and tries to attack Big Mac. However, Big Mac casts Command and orders Tully to flee. Tully runs away with a terrible shriek. 

Zed is able to study the stone tablets some more. He deciphers the runes:

#1 reads: I, Othar the Seer, made a war horn and crafted it with the magic runes of Odin and Victory. It will blow once and summon forth the greatest heroes of Valhalla. He who would sound the horn, must first redden the runes with blood and speak a poem of battle and victory over the horn.

#2 reads: 

A spell for summoning the Head of Mimir, wisest of the gods. At a suitable well, burn herbs and incense and make an offering of blood and 5,000 pieces of gold or gems. Then call upon Mimir, wisest of the gods, and state you are willing to pay the price for knowledge. Mimir will demand a personal sacrifice, but in exchange he will grant a drink from his magic well. All who drink of the well of Mimir are blessed with immortal knowledge and wisdom. Be warned - the Head of Mimir does not like to be summoned often. It is unwise for mortals to abuse this spell.

The party returns to the dungeon in a few days. They search the area to the north, past the green slime, and they find a Viking burial ship guarded by 11 skeletons. One skeleton wears robes; it can blink and cast magic missile. After defeating the skeletons, they find the ship is laden with treasure. They also recover a magical sword and a staff (later identified as a Staff +1, Growing, Indestructible).  

To the west, the party finds two Viking warriors locked in stasis against two trolls. When the figures are touched, they spring to life and resume their combat. The party helps the warriors defeat the troll. The trolls have a sack with treasure and a rock engraved with a rune of Dispel Magic. The men introduce themselves as Gorm "the Hammer" Olafson and Egil Thorvald. They are confused where they are and ask if they are in Hell. They say the come from the Kingdom of the North, near Avaldsnes on the sea of whales. They sailed for East Anglia to raid for treasure, but they were shipwrecked on a strange coast. Then they were attacked by trolls.

The party explains to the Vikings that they found a ship. Gorm and Egil eagerly follow the party back to the ship. However, they are enraged when they find it is not their ship- it is the burial ship that the undead were guarding. The Vikings accuse the party of trickery and they go their own way.

Past the stasis chamber, the party comes to the Hall of Unstable Time. The hall appears empty, but when Big Mac tries to cross he starts "blinking", winking in and out of reality. Zed uses the rock of Dispel Magic on Big Mac. Hob crosses and grows younger. Zed gets caught in a time loop. Everyone sees flashes of lights and hears the ghostly noise of ticking clocks and bells.  

After everyone successfully crosses the Hall of Unstable Time, the party enters a Mead Hall occupied by over a dozen Vikings. They are led by Jarl Volsung. The men sit at long oak tables drinking flagons of mead. A gleaming sword is stuck deep in a central pillar. 

The Jarl welcomes the party and tells them they are in Valhalla. They wait for Ragnarok. Harlack drinks the mead and finds it is unnaturally strong, but nothing else happens to him. The warriors have names like Erik the Strong, Vignus One-Eye and Agnar the Red. They explain no one can pull the sword out of the pillar.

Harlack pulls with all his strength and frees the sword. It glows with magical light and its pommel is sculpted in the shape of a dragon. Jarl Volsung says it is the legendary sword Gram ("Wrath"). He is astonished and can't believe Harlack was able to pull it out. He demands that Harlack sell it to him for 1,000 gp. He has a crazed jealous look. The Vikings suddenly stand up, some with hands on their swords.

Somewhat reluctantly, Harlack agrees. The Jarl opens an iron coffer with a key and hands over a pouch with a 1,000 gp. Harlack gives him the blade. Hob peeks in the coffer as it is shut and sees treasure gleaming within.

Big Mac parties with the Vikings for a bit, then the adventurers leave. To the north they find the surviving dwarves of the Wagging Beards. All are wounded. One has his arm chopped off. They've been holed up trying to rest, avoiding the goblins and berserkers. They are relived to hear the goblins are dead. 

They tell the party there is a secret door to the west. They didn't open it because their thief was killed by a trap the last time they opened a secret door. The party opens it and finds a secret crypt within. Hob finds a glyph of warding on the stone lid. They will need a dispel magic to remove the glyph.

To the east, they find a Well. They believe it could be the Well of Mimir (described in the stone tablet).

Having rescued the surviving dwarves, the party returns to town to rest. Harlack fights as a gladiator in the Colosseum before 100,000 drunken fans. He defeats a two-dagger wielding halfling with a rattail. However, he uses the magic sword they found in the burial ship and it turns out to be a cursed Sword of Berserking. He goes berserk and the town guards need to subdue him. After he has to pay for a remove curse to rid himself of the sword. 

Hob goes to a wizard's bar called the Pointy Hat in search of a new magic teacher. He decides to try the house speciality, a magical drink called Wizard's Brew.* It curses him to talk like a barbarian for 24 hours. He then enters the service of Orm the Enchanter. Orm agrees to teach him in exchange for the occasional service. He asks Hob to find him some Cockatrice feathers. He hears some of the monsters are on the loose in the Musselspoon district.

(* DM's Note: I have a lot more fun Wizard's Brew effects if anyone else ever wants to try it. Most are pretty funny and harmless, a few not so good, and some amazing (100 on a d100 is VERY good)).

Zed researches the dungeon more and learns: The Horned Sorceress was a powerful Chronomancer (time wizard) who lived hundreds of years ago. Some rumors say she was an ally of the Emperor or his even his lover; others that she was his enemy. Along with a few other Chronomancers, she opened gates and riffs in time. These riffs are powered by a reservoir of chaotic energy called the Well of Chaos, that supposedly lies on the deepest level of the dungeon. During her time travels, the Horned Sorceress discovered a race of strange Spider-like creatures that could move backwards or forwards in time. They also had the ability to steal Time itself. With the aid of these creatures, which she called the Collectors, the Horned Sorceress stole "slivers" of time and built the dungeon to store her collection in vaults. 

After resting for a few days, they decide to hunt down Tully and the other wererats. They locate the wererats in an abandoned warehouse near the river in Oldtown. After a brutal fight against dozens of giant rats and wererats, they subdue Tully. They take him to a Temple and pay for a Remove Curse. Tully is grateful tells the party they're alright. Hob is still pissed at Tully for taking several bullets when he tried to kill them in wererat form.

Big Mac gets a rumor that a tribe of reptilian creatures guarding a golden idol.

On the way to the Perilous Pit, they encounter a mob of pro-democratic protesters rioting and dragging a tied up merchant. Harlack and Hayabusa confront the mob which is part of the Black Hand who follow the revolutionary leader Helmut Itlestein. Harlack intimidates them and Hayabusa does a flourish of his katanas and uses a Ki shout to scare them. The mob flees and they rescue the merchant who promises to deliver a reward to them. The Imperial Police arrive and thank the party for their service to the Empire. They give Hayabusa a silver token with the Imperial sigil that can be used to identify him as an ally of the police. 

The party returns to the Dungeon. At the Hall of Four Arches, they decide not to return the northern area (through the skull arch which I'm calling the "Halls of Valhalla"). Instead, they travel east through the Arch of Dragons (which again look more like giant lizards on closer inspection).

The party enters a series of natural caverns. In the first cave they find a fossilized skeleton of a massive dragon-like creature buried in the sand. It could be worth money, but it weighs hundreds of pounds and they'd need to dig it up. There are tracks in the sand of creatures and animals, including humanoid webbed feet. They follow the tracks of the webbed feet south, but it ends in a cave that has partially collapsed and the way is blocked by rubble. They'd need to dig through the rubble.

They backtrack and go north and enter a cave filled with giant fungi. In one cave, they find the corpse of a man near a clump of purplish fungi. In another cave, some of the fungi are Shriekers and they begin to scream. 

A Slithering Tracker is attracted by the noise of the Shriekers and attacks the party. Eventually, the Violet Fungi also shuffle into the cave and attack with tentacles that cause rot. The rotting wounds can only be healed with magic.

Eventually, the party slays the Slithering Tracker, the Violet Fungi, and silence the Shriekers. They examine the corpse. It wears a collared tunic (button down shirt), trouser made from a stiff, unusual, blue fabric (jeans), blue hat with narrow bill with a sigil sowed in white, (New York Yankees baseball cap), and ankle high shoes made of white leather with rubbery soles marked with a swoosh symbol (Nike high-tops).  

Big Mac is attacked by Rot Grubs when he touches the corpse and he has to burn his arm to destroy them to stop them burrowing to his heart. They find a leather case on the corpse containing strips of paper with green markings, coins of unusual design and synthetic cards. 

Several have pictures of the man that read "Dr. Johnathan Frost, Faculty, Department of Astro-Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology."

Session Report #4: Idol of the Rat God

DM's Note: This was the final session of the intro adventure in the Sewers of Glome. The party is accompanied by a NPC, Tully the Rat Hunter, and their surviving retainers.

After questioning Kaman, the wounded prisoner, the party decides to let the desperate man accompany them. Zed gives Kaman a dagger. Big Mac performs a bardic song of healing on Kaman and the party. The healing magic is only partially effective on Kaman's unusual wound; it still looks nasty.

Further up the tunnel, they find a side cave with another ragged curtain. Squeals and squeaks can be heard within. The characters discuss setting up another ambush with flaming oil, when five Rat Man creep up from the east. Luckily, the party isn't surprised, and Zed casts Sleep and puts them all in a magical slumber.

Zed asks Kaman to slit the sleeping Rat Men's throats as a test of loyalty. The butcher is slightly hesitant, but he does the dirty work.

Strangely, the noise from the combat does not seem to attract the rat occupants of the side cave.  Curious, Hayabusa peeks in and sees a disgusting sight. A colossal sized female giant rat takes up nearly half the chamber. The thing is so bloated and pregnant it can barely move. The rest of the cave floor is writhing with newborn giant rats and hairless ratmen infants, all fighting to feed from the mother.

Party lights three flasks of oil and lights the rat litter up. The blaze consumes the mother and her brood. The cave reeks of smoke and burnt rat fur. The PCs cut off the mother's four foot long tail and leave.

The party explores a long tunnel to the north that loops around to the cesspool. They explore to the west and find empty caves filled with rat dung. They discuss leaving the caves, but Tully says he doesn't think they've destroyed the entire nest. "There has to be a leader somewhere. I've heard rumors of a Rat King. Maybe we should keep searching."

The party agrees and finds an unexplored passage heading east. They round a corner and suddenly stumble upon a large gathering of giant rats and rat men! The rodents are gathered in front of a man-sized stone idol of a Rat God. The idol has gems set in the eye-sockets that gleam in the light of the party's lantern. 

If only the PCs had brought their rat disguises!

Standing before the idol is an ugly weasel-ish man with a scarred face. His clothes are filthy and torn. A swarm of hundreds of rats scurry at his feet. Dozens of the rodents crawl over his body.

The crawling horde of vermin squeal at the sudden light. The ravenous rats immediately turn toward the scent of the party's warm flesh. 

"Look my children!" The scarred man cries. "You were hungry for blood and meat, and look what the Rat God has blessed us with. A feast of flesh awaits! Eat my children. Kill them!"

The beggar hunches over and twists in agony, as he mutates. Hairy grows on his back and his face elongates into something not human- a wererat!

Rat Men and Giant Rats rush to attack, but they are slowed by a barrage of flaming oil. A few Giant Rats are incinerated, and more of the vermin panic at the sight of fire. Tully blasts one with his pistol, and then pulls out his two swords. "Watch how it's done, boys," he says with a laugh as he fights duel weapon style.

But the flaming oil does not last. Zed and Harlack throw more flasks and miss their targets poorly. A few ill-thrown flasks of oil burst harmlessly against the cavern wall. Hayabusa, Tully, Harlack, and Orlan quickly find themselves holding the front line against a wave of gnashing rats. Hob, who is a wizard's apprentice, casts his one spell and blasts the wererat leader with a single magic missile. 

At the rear of the party, Kaman, the wounded prisoner, looks dazed. The power of the Rat Idol quickens the evil infection within his body, and he too begins a horrible transformation. Zed approaches Kaman feigning concern, then attempts to stab Kaman in the neck with a dagger. But the non-silvered blade does not even pierce the creature's skin. Kaman is also a lycanthrope!

The battle grows desperate. The party's fighters and even Tully fare poorly against the slippery Rat Men. The ravenous vermin rip away at any exposed flesh. Small wounds begin to add up. Even Zed, the party's illusionist (with AC 9), is forced to join the melee. The party is out of flaming oil and spells. Some of them fend off rats with torches; Hob dips his crossbow bolts in lamp oil and fires flaming bolts. 

Big Mac sees one last desperate chance. The halfling opens his backpack and takes out a bottle of good whiskey. It pains him to lose a bottle of rare vintage, but he stuffs it with a rag and lights it on fire. The bard drops a rhyme and hurls his makeshift bomb right at the wererat leader. 

The flaming whiskey catches the lycanthrope right in the face and explodes (Sky rolled a natural 20). The wererat flails, shrieking, as his body ignites. The fire panics the rat swarm, which disburses and flees. Meanwhile, Ortan stabs a Rat Man through the chest with a spear, and Harlack grapples the wererat which was formerly Kaman. Then Zed and the others shove torches at him and burn the wererat to death.

The wererat leader staggers to the exit, still on fire. The flames consume the creature, and the charred body transforms back into its human form. The last of the rats flee and the party gives a collective sigh of relief.

[DM's Note: a few more rounds it could have been a TPK.]

Hob investigates the Rat Idol, searching for traps. Two rubies set into the eye sockets sparkle. Hob thinks they are worth at least 300 gp each. As he draws nearer, an overwhelming sense of evil washes over him. The taint sickens him, and the thief immediately back off.

Big Mac and Harlack, however, are not deterred by Hob's warning. Each of them pries out one of the Idol's gems and pockets them. 

The party thinks there must be more treasure hidden nearby. They enter a muddy cave to the north. Harlack pokes around in the mud with his 10' foot pole. He gets unlucky, however, and he falls into a concealed pit.

Past the pit, the party encounters a mutated creature- half-rat, half-lizard, thing the size of a bear with two heads and three tentacles glistening with slime. Tully and Harlack are struck by the tentacles and paralyzed by the poison. 

The party slays the creature and moves on after their paralyzed companions recover. In the next chamber, they find a throne-like chair made of human bones and skulls. In a side chamber, they discover an old staff leaning against the wall and a chest.

Big Mac searches the chest and doesn't find any traps. Luckily, the party has two thieves, and Hob spots strange holes on the reverse side of the chest. Big Mac, being a former candlemaker, has the idea to stuff the holes with wax. 

[DM's note: Good thing he did. The chest was trapped with poisonous save-or-die gas!].

Hob picks the lock. Inside the chest, they find 892 gp, 1,017 sp, a jeweled cloak pin, 6 crossbow bolts, and a dagger with a pommel shaped like an orc's skull.

The party gathers the loot and slowly makes the return journey through the sewers to the surface. They return to the Sleeping Dog boarding house and immediately collapse. 

The next morning Harlack's Filth Fever disease takes a bad turn. He is severely ill and near death. Zed also has contracted Filth Fever after being bit by a rat man. [DM's Note: Good old RTDs!].

Big Mac insists they spend the party's treasure on paying for Cure Disease spells at a Temple. Tully says, "Uh-uh. Not so fast. I'm entitled to a full share. Remember? Why should I have to pay for them?"

Big Mac uses his best diplomacy. He says, "Tully, why don't you take one of the gems we got from the Rat Idol, and then you'll get a share of whatever is left after we pay to have our friends healed." Tully hesitates, but then his eyes widen at the sight of the gem. "Alright, done!"

The party sells the other gem to the Jeweler's Guild and exchanges the copper and silver at the Von Merovech Bank. They pay a total of a 1,000 gp to have Harlack and Zed cured at the Shining Cathedral, a temple of the Lord of Light. The High Priest Khorlon of the Ever-Burning Flame casts Cure Disease on both of them.

Afterward, the adventurers celebrate. Big Mac blows most of his loot on drinks for everyone. While they party at the Dripping Tap, they gather a few rumors about the Temporal Vaults of the Horned Sorceress. They receive the following rumors:

-There is at least one dragon on the first level, perhaps several dragons.

-Bands of crazed berserkers in horned helms roam the dungeon. They are insane with bloodlust.

-A wizard named Malachist the Mystical entered the dungeon nearly a month ago. He has not been seen since.

-Beware of killer bees! The insects are nearly a foot long and if you are stung, you die.

Zed identifies the dagger as a +1 dagger, +2 vs. orcs and goblins. The staff and crossbow bolts are also magical, but the party can't afford the 100 gp gem material components for Identification spells. 

Tully says goodbye and wishes them well. He's just a simple rat hunter and no adventurer. He leaves an address in Wormlock where they can find him. The party rests for the next week. 

DM's Note: They survived their first adventure, but what evil have they unknowingly unleashed upon Glome? 

Session Report #3: Light 'Em Up

Background for New Readers: This was the third session of a new OSR campaign that I am DMing set in a homebrew setting called Glome, the City of Eternal Twilight. We are currently playing online using Zoom and Roll20. The party consists of:

   HAYABUSA the Wanderer- Mantid Fighter (Samurai)

    PEREGRINE "HOB" KNOBGOBBLE the Shadow - Halfling Thief (Wizard's Apprentice)

    HARLACK the Ox - Trull Fighter (Mercenary)

    ZED the Magnificent - Human Magic-User (Illusionist)

    BIG MAC the Rhymer - Halfling Thief (Bard)

    

Current Retainers: Pots the Porter, Shit-Tooth the Torchbearer, Elmor the Archer, Sista Steel (woman-at-arms), Yang and Orlan (light infantry soldiers).

Trollday, 5th day of the Jackal, Imperial Year 5,623

After a night of revelry at the Perilous Pit, the characters wake up at their rented rooms at the Sleeping Dog boarding house. Tully the Rat Hunter (NPC) is with them, having passed out on floor in Big Mac's room. Some of the characters are slightly hung over.

Harlack is still sick with Filth Fever, which he got after a Rat Man bit him (Keith failed his saving throw against the RTD- Rat Transmitted Disease. He used a Luck point for a re-roll, but that was also unsuccessful- he took more Con and Dex damage). Because he spent all his money on new armor and an axe to replace the ones ruined by a Gray Ooze, he can't afford a magical cure. Nor could the whole party even if they pooled all their money together.

Hob visits Ebbert's Outfitters and buys a hooded lantern. He also buys 10 flasks of oil to use against the rats, following Tully's instructions. After he returns, the party sets off to kill more rats in the sewers. They want to collect the rat tails for the bounty offered by the Ministry of Security.

A light rain falls as they walk through the shadowy streets of Glome. They turn up Tower Street and then pass the Sewer Worker's Guildhall on Midden Lane. They find a manhole and descend into the sewers. 

Tully the Rat Hunter loads his pistol. He is also armed with a longsword and shortsword and half a dozen daggers. "Alright boys, it's time to nut up or shut up. Let's kill some god-damn rats!" 

(Yeah, Tully is pretty much Tallahassee from Zombieland- except he hates giant rats instead of zombies).

The water level is higher, but the smell is just as bad in the main sewer passage. Tully covers his nose with a bandana. "You never get use to the smell." 

Hob lights a lantern and hands it to his henchman, Orlan. Zed also casts a Torch cantrip and lights the end of his staff. Except for distant water rushing and the occasional splash of sewage, the sewers are quiet. The party's footfalls echo down the tunnel.

After crossing the sewage channel, they come to a partially collapsed section of the brick wall. On their first expedition, the party had cleared away the rubble and discovered a series of natural caverns beyond which housed the Rat Nest.

As Hayabusa and his retainers enter the slimy cave, they are immediately ambushed. Three Rat Men and four Giant Rats are waiting in the darkness. The rest of the party is still outside in the main sewer passage with Zed the Illusionist and Pots the Porter in the rear. Zed hears a splash behind him. Three more Rat Men who had snuck up from behind rise out of the nasty waters of the sewer channel!

One Rat Men lunches at Pots with a shortsword and disembowels the poor hunchback. The lowly retainer of Big Mac's dies as his guts spill out. Unfortunately, Pots was also carrying the party's 10 flasks of oil. Another Rat Man slashes at Zed and bites him in the arm (John failed his saving throw - another RTD infection!)

Tully fires his pistol and blows one of the Rat Men away. Harlack and Big Mac rush to Zed's defense in the rear. Harlack suffers a few minor wounds, but he and the halfling kill the Rat Men.

Meanwhile, Hayabusa and his retainers battle the Rat Men and Giant Rats inside the cave. Hayabusa chops off a Rat Man's head with his katana, and Sista Steel cracks a Giant Rat's skull with her flail. Yang stabs at another with a spear. However, the last two Giant Rats are vicious. One pounces on Sista Steel and tears her throat out. Another bites Yang in the leg and he bleeds to death. 

The rest of the party comes to their aid and kill the remaining Giant Rats and Rat Men. But the price of victory is high as party lost three retainers- Sista Steel, Yang, and Pots.

Tully wipes the sweat off his brow. "Well that sucked! Looks like you boys stirred up the nest. They were expecting you. Next time we need to use flaming oil. Rats hate fire."

The party heads south retracing their path from the last exploration. Suddenly, Harlack hears a snap as a he breaks a tripwire, followed by a click and a whoosh of projectiles. Two crossbow bolts zoom out of the darkness. Thankfully, only one grazes him. "Looks like the Rat Men set traps as well!"

After the trap, Harlack pulls out his 10' pole and Hob moves to the front to help search for traps. They explore a side tunnel to the west and locate a secret door, which exits to the main sewer passage. Then the party heads south again and comes to the ragged curtain where they found the Rat Men's nest.

The party comes up with a plan. The Mantid Samurai Hayabusa volunteers to be the bait. He will lure the Rat Men and then run north to get them to chase him. With his natural leaping ability, Hayabusa will then jump over the area where the party will pour oil. The rest of the party will wait ready with torches and weapons and light up the oil as the Rats enter. 

Hayabusa heads south alone using his infravision to see without a light source. The first nest is empty. However, he hears soft noises in the next chamber. He peeks beyond the curtain and sees a particularly large Rat Man with a pistol and another holding a crude grenade. 

He goads them into chasing him and then flees. The two Rat Men and four more Giant Rats pursue. Hayabusa rushes past the two curtains and jumps nearly thirty feet over the patch of oil. As the rats burst past the curtain, Big Mac throws a torch and lights up the oil. Zed throws another flask of oil and the Rat Men and Giant Rats are caught in the blaze. Orlan impales the last with a spear as it tries to flee.

The plan worked to near perfection. Tully has a huge grin. "Now that's what I'm talking about! That's how you kill rats. Light the bastards up!" 

They manage to salvage the Rat Men's pistol and crude bomb. They think the grenade holds some kind of poison gas. 

The party searches the chambers beyond and find crude sleeping nests made of torn cloth and straw. They also find two barrels and several bulging sacks [DM's note: of course my immature players laughed at the description of bulging sacks]. Big Mac checks the barrels and find one with cheap ale. The other holds severed human limbs and meat. He is repulsed. The sacks, however, hold treasure: 3,000 cp, 230 sp, and silver ring worth 150 gp. They decide to leave the sacks for now so they aren't weighed down.

Up the tunnel, they hear someone moaning, as if in pain. In a small cave, they find a man chained to the wall. He is beaten and bruised and his tunic has a large blood stain. "No, please don't hurt me," he moans. After the party explains who they are, the prisoner says his name is Kaman, and that he is a member of the Butcher's Guild. He said he was waylaid on the streets at least a day ago and taken prisoner. He's heard terrible things down here- screams of other prisoners. 

Hob points to the blood stained tunic and lifts it. Kaman has a nasty bite wound in his side. It is deep and filled with yellowish pus. The horrid smell from the infection almost makes everyone puke. 

"That doesn't look good."

 

Session Report #2: Shady Deals

    

    DM's Note: This was a heavy roleplaying session. For NPC reactions, I rely mainly on roleplaying with few dice rolls. However, when the stakes are higher and I'm uncertain how a NPC would react,  I use a Monster/NPC Reaction table. Roll a d20: 1-5 Hostile; 6-9 Uncertain (possible re-roll next round with -4 penalty); 10-11 Neutral/Cautious/ Uninterested; 12-16 Maybe willing to trade, exchange info or accept a bribe; 17-20 Friendly, likely to aid if in self-interest. I might grant a penalty or bonus for roleplaying. This session featured heavy use of this Reaction table with interesting results!

   

    The party flees through the sewer-caves with five giant rats and four ratmen in pursuit. The pursuers quickly overtake the party and rush to attack the two fighters, Hayabusa and Harlack. A giant rat bites Hayabusa in the ankle. One of the ratmen fires a crude pistol at Hob, but the halfling ducks and the bullet whizzes over his head. The party has no choice but to turn and fight. 

    Hayabusa the Mantid Samurai flourishes his katana and gives a crazed war shout. It scares the rats off. All of the ratmen also flee in terror. Relieved, the party limps out of the sewers and returns to the surface on Midden Street. Since they are wounded and in need of rest, they head back to the Dripping Tap tavern. It is late, well after hours. 

    [DM's Note: Glome's world does not feature a normal day-night cycle. Instead, the strange radiance of a Dead Star perpetually casts its dim purplish light over the city. It forever looks like dusk- hence the City of Eternal Twilight- due to Glome's location near the northern pole and the close proximity of the dying star. People use clocks to tell time. Poorer folk rely on bells from clocktowers and temples. The typical business day runs from Prime Bell to the Ninth Bell. For a typical laborer or guild worker, the Ninth bell signals dinner hour and quitting time. However, many businesses are open round the clock, and the City never truly sleeps.

    The party turns onto Cinder Street when all at once a globe of darkness covers them. Everyone is blinded, except Hayabusa and Harlack who have infravision. Hayabusa feels small hands clutching for his coin purse. He sees the heat radiance from five short humanoids in their midst. He draws his dagger and nicks one of the pickpockets, which lets out a high pitch scream. Hob casts a Firebolt blindly toward the noise. His shot goes wide and he's lucky not to hit one of the party members. Then Big Mac drops a bardic rhyme laced with magic and casts Charm Person. "Hey, little buddy drop the darkness."

    The globe of magical darkness vanishes. In their midst, the party sees five short pale humanoids wrapped in dark hoods and cloaks with only their beady eyes and large hook noses showing- Dark Creepers! 

Gangs of Dark Creeper Thieves roam the streets

    Four Dark Creepers immediately flee; only the charmed Dark Creeper remains. "Hey friend, what you need?" it croaks at Big Mac. 

    Big Mac asks for its money, but the greedy creature is reluctant to part with its gold so easily. Big Mac says he's throwing a party for his new friend and he could use a contribution to buy beer. The Dark Creeper gives him five silver pieces; then Big Mac tells him he can leave.

    [DM's Note: Charm Person does not grant control of a creature. A charmed creature will not do anything against its self -interest. Also, so this spell cannot be abused while shopping, my Old Skool Rules specifically state that: "By some quirk of magic, merchants, innkeepers, and most shopkeepers are curiously immune to the spell or unaffected by its casting. Perhaps because few of their kind would give a discount to even their own mother."]

    

    By the time the party returns to the Dripping Tap, they find the common room mostly empty. The dwarven bartender Bronk wrinkles his nose and complains about their smell. The characters crash at the private meeting room that the Delver's Guild had rented.

    Harlack wakes up, feverish and sick. He has contracted Filth Fever from a ratman's bite. [DM's Note: a RTD- Rat Transmitted Disease. For diseases, I use 3.5 rules with temporary ability score damage]. Harlack certainly can't afford a Cure Disease spell from a Temple, so he's going to have to ride out the disease and hope he recovers naturally.

    At the Prime Bell, the party heads down to the common room of the Dripping Tap and orders stew for breakfast. They discuss how to sell the silver medallion they found in the rat's trash nest (which they think is worth 250 gp). Bronk tells them the Jeweler's Guild is only a few blocks away. However, Big Mac thinks he can fetch a better price by pawning the medallion to one of his underworld contacts. He makes some quiet inquiries. A shady dealer tells Big Mac to meet a guy outside in the alley in an hour.

    Big Mac brings Harlack along for muscle. They are met in the alley by five street punks with mohawks and piercings who call themselves the "Meat Hives." Their leader, Yurlick, wears a worn top hat and has crazed eyes. The sociopathic punks brandish razors, a sledgehammer, a pistol, and a spiked chain. 

    "Lookee here, boys. A little man wants to make a deal, eh? What you blokes about?" says Yurlick.

    Big Mac drops a rhyme about their rat hunt and finding the medallion. Harlack waits nervously. Yurlick stares at the halfling, then bursts out laughing.

    "Alright, you cheeky bastard. I'll buy your medallion." They haggle and finally settle on 280 gp.

    As they leave, Big Mac and Harlack overhear one of the punks whisper to Yurlick. "Why didn't we just cut 'em up and take it?"

     Yurlick shrugs. "I dunno. I rather liked the funny little man."

    [DM's Note: The players really lucked out. I rolled a 17- Friendly- on the NPC Reaction roll].

    

    Next, the whole party heads across town to the Ministry of Security  to collect the bounty on the giant rats. On the way, they notice an advertisement board with various wanted posters.

   

    After a few miles, the party arrives at the Ministry of Security, an ominous black tower of stone and steel. Imperial Police Troopers stand guard outside the Ministry. The crowds give the Police a wide berth.

    [DM's Note: The normal city watch is a private constabulary called the Merchant Guard, which is employed by the Guilds. Their mission is to protect private property, prevent theft, and maintain the civil peace. The Merchant Guard has a bad reputation as corrupt and incompetent. The Imperial Police, however, are elite soldiers known for fanaticism and undying loyalty to the Emperor. All of them are Reforged- humans upgraded with machinery and metallic parts through sorcery. Word on the street is that it is very dumb to mess with the Imperial Troopers].

    The Troopers direct the party to a window stall with a metal curtain. They bang and the curtain rises to reveal an ancient Reforged clerk with a breathing tube sitting in a booth. "I am Ministry Deputy Fabian Thisk. What is your business?"

    The party hands over 11 rat tails and collects the bounty of 1/gp per tail. Hob asks Deputy Thisk what the record is for the rat tail bounty. 

    The Reforged clerk chuckles dryly and says, "The record is 57 tails held by Tully the Rat Hunter." The party is in awe of this news and asks where they can find the Rat Hunter. The Deputy doesn't know. 

    Hob also asks if the Ministry has any other jobs available. The Deputy tells him about the bounty on Voltarus, a brigand leader. The Ministry thinks Voltarus and his Blood Reavers are hiding out somewhere in the dungeons beneath Glome.

    After the party splits up on various errands. Harlack and Hayabusa set off to replace their weapons which were damaged by the Gray Ooze. They head to the War Forge smithy. Meanwhile, Hob goes in search of affordable housing, and Big Mac goes looking for Tully the Rat Hunter.

    Hob locates a cheap boarding house on Slop Street called the Sleeping Dog. The caretakers are a woman named Dorna who fancies herself to be a fortune-teller, and her husband, a hairy drunk named Paulie. There's no working latrines - only chamber pots which you have to empty yourself into the sewers. The rooms are also cramped and not especially clean. However, the rent is cheap- 5 silver pieces a month (per person). Hob secures rooms.

    Harlack purchases a new battle axe and scale mail, and Hayabusa replaces his damaged katana. Big Mac has no luck in finding Tully. He asks people all over Old Town, but no one knows where the Rat Hunter lives. Rumor has it that the Rat Hunter is a recluse and a bit of a misanthrope.

    The party meets up later and rests in their new rooms at the Sleeping Dog. The next day, Harlack's Filth Fever has improved slightly. [DM's Note: Keith made one save; he needs 1 more to be cured].  

    Harlack, Hayabusa and Hob decide to visit Sal's, the bar they heard about where a lot of mercenaries hang out. They want to hire retainers for their next venture into the sewers.

    After the others leave, Big Mac is locking the door to his room when he hears something behind him. A pistol being cocked. 

    Big Mac slowly raises his hands. He hears a man's voice. "Why are you asking people all over town about me?"

    Big Mac turns and sees a human man wearing a brimmed hat, a snakeskin vest, and leather coat. He is heavily armed and has a string with rat-tails around his neck. He holds a pistol pointed at Big Mac's head.

    "Tully! Hey, you're the Rat Hunter! We need your help. We found a huge nest of giant rats. Do you know about the ratmen in the sewers?"

    Tully snorts and gives a pained look. "Do I look like I was born yesterday? Of course I know about the damn ratmen."

    "Wanna help us?"

    Tully sighs. "Here's the thing. I'm not easy to get along with. Plus, I'm sensing you're sort of a bitch."

    Big Mac won't give up. "Hey, I was just headed to the Perilous Pit. Why don't you come along and I'll buy you an ale. Drinks on me!"

    Tully lowers the pistol. "I'll probably regret this, but ok  . . . if you're buying."

    Hours later, the party meets up at the Perilous Pit. Hayabusa and Hob had success in hiring retainers at Sal's. Hob hired a light infantry soldier named Ortan who ends every sentence in "eh?" Hayabusa hired Yang, a light infantry soldier; a cocky archer named Elmor Quickbow who swears he never misses; and a Woman-At-Arms named Sista Steel. 

    Big Mac and Tully had made a pit stop at Floyd's Smokeshop and smoked a few bowls of dragonweed with Floyd. [DM's Note: https://youtu.be/5gGZAIFteAg ]. By the time the others arrive at the Pit, Tully is lit up and eager to kill rats. He recommends they buy a shitload of flaming oil. 

    "But I have one condition," Tully says. "If we find any treasure, I get a full share."

    The party discusses it, and Hob extends his hand. 

    "Deal."

      

Session Report #1: Delvers and Rat Tails

    This post is the first session report from my 2023 campaign: Glome, City of Eternal Twilight. For rules, we are using my custom RPG Metal's Old Skool Rules, which are now available on Drivethrurpg.com (see side link). This actual play contains some references to and spoilers for Ptolus by Monte Cooke (which I obviously claim no rights to and reference solely as fan content / actual play).

    This campaign is going to be very detailed and huge in scope. Tons of NPCs, factions, and bizarre stuff. So I hope you follow along and enjoy!

    It begins in the heart of Glome- in Old Town, a heavily populated district with people and humanoids everywhere. The narrow streets are like canyons between the towering buildings. It is noisy, smelly, and crowded. The purple illumination from the world's Dead Star barely penetrates the smoke and pollution, though gas street lamps light the major thoroughfares. Every street in Old Town holds a new wonder - massive towers, gothic temples, guild headquarters, palaces with domes and spires, and theaters. Pollution and graffiti mar the weathered buildings, some of which are hundreds or even thousands of years old. 

    Old Town is the financial center of Glome as it houses major guilds, banks, trading markets, and several Imperial ministries. Money and power drive Old Town. The district also boasts a large Temple to the Lord of Light, the headquarters of the Ministry of Truth, and the Central Train Station.

    Plastered on a brick wall among other advertisements is a flier for the Delver's Guild.

    On the 7th of Monksday, five adventurers separately make their way through Old Town to the Dripping Tap, a large four-story inn on Cinder Street [DM's Note: The Dripping Tap is named after the excellent King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard song]. The common room is crowded with patrons raising mugs of foaming ale, playing cards, and gossiping. Music and laughter rings out. The adventurers are:

    HAYABUSA the Wanderer- Mantid Fighter (Samurai)

    PEREGRINE "HOB" KNOBGOBBLE the Shadow - Halfling Thief (Wizard's Apprentice)

    HARLACK the Ox - Trull Fighter (Mercenary)

    ZED the Magnificent - Human Magic-User (Illusionist)

    BIG MAC the Rhymer - Halfling Thief (Bard)

    The dwarven bartender, Bronk Morinstone, asks the characters if they'd like a drink. Everyone orders a pint of Gold Dragon Ale, except Zed asks for a water. Bronk mocks Zed, and Zed immediately takes a disliking to the bartender. Hob joins a game of cards and wins a few silver pieces. Harlack eventually asks Bronk where the Delver's Guild is meeting and he is pointed upstairs. 

    Soon everyone follows Harlack to a private meeting room on the second floor with a large fireplace and plush leather chairs. They are met by a stodgy middle-aged woman named Ronda, the Deputy Guildmaster. She asks everyone to sign the ledger book, the official Roster of Delvers, and to pay 1 gold piece for the first month dues. Some of the characters introduce themselves to one another.

   Ronda checks her watch and then closes the door. In a droning voice, she says, “Alright, it’s half past the hour. Let’s get started. Welcome to Delver’s Guild. I’ll be conducting the New Apprentice orientation tonight. If you made it here and paid your dues, congratulations you are now a member of the Guild. Your official rank is Apprentice Delver. I’m giving you each an official License- indicating your membership. Since our Guildhall in Wormlock burned down last year, the Dripping Tap is our temporary headquarters . . ." [DM's Notes: Marge Simpsons' sisters - Patty and Selma- were my inspiration for Ronda and I used their voice].

   Hob remembers reading about the Guildhall burning down in the latest issue of the Old Town Crier.

Ronda continues in her monotone voice: "The mission of the Delver’s Guild is to explore and plunder the ruins and dungeons below the city. As you may know, Glome is full of catacombs, caverns, and crypts beneath the streets. We collectively refer to this netherworld as the Underworld or the Dungeon. Some of these dungeons are connected, but most are separate. Including yourselves, we currently have 13 active rostered members with another 58 retired Delvers. Official casualties from last year were 189, a new record. Now I'll go over -"

She is interrupted by the door opening and a man in a grey linen shirt, brown vest and tie walks in. He has greying hair and a short mustache.

“Guildmaster Mobius, what are you doing here?”

“Oh Hi Ronda. Yeah, I just thought I’d pop in to meet the new recruits. Good looking crew we got here. You know what, I’ll take it from here. Go ahead and take the rest of the night off.”

“Are you sure Mobius? This is just a standard orientation.”

Mobius nods. “Yeah, I’m sure. I’d like to handle this one personally. I’ve got a good feeling about these recruits. These guys are special. I’ll see you later.”

The Ronda gives him a puzzled look and then leaves.

“Welcome to the Delver’s Guild! This is awesome. I’m Guildmaster Mobius, but you can just call me Mobius. We’ve had a few setbacks recently as you might have read about in the Crier. But thats all in the past. How was I supposed to know that the magic lamp had held a fire elemental and not a djinni? I mean, c’mon! 

Anyway, things are looking up. Especially with you guys joining. We’re going to build a new guildhall. This is going to be amazing!” [DM's Notes: Yeah, I took Mobius from the Loki show. Owen Wilson is pretty fun to imitate and not very difficult].

Mobius then explained that they have a great new opportunity- a dungeon has opened up beneath the Perilous Pit tavern. The Sage Ultan the White believes it is the location of the Temporal Vaults of the Horned Sorceress.

"I know . . . that’s  a mouthful. Temporal Vaults of the Horned Sorceress. Now I’ll be honest, I don’t know a whole lot about the Horned Sorceress. I was never very good at history. But basically she was some time-traveling Magic-User and she collected, or stole, slices of time from Eru-Lath’s history. That’s a little over my head, but maybe you can find someone who can give you more information. The Sage Ultan the White knows more if you can find him. I hear he occasionally hangs out at the Pointy Hat Tavern. But anyway, we expect the Temporal Vaults to be huge. Our initial reports indicate it's a massive dungeon with several levels, and it’s rich with treasure.
    Or if you guys think you aren’t ready for the Temporal Vaults, the Ministry of Security has asked us for help hunting giant rats. They're paying 1 gold piece per rat tail. The rats are out of control. I swear, when I visited the public latrines last week, one bit my ass.
    If you’re up for rat hunting- go see Guild Master Wilgus Clearpipe at the Sewer Workers Guild on Midden Street."

The characters ask Mobius if they can lodge in this room, but Mobius tells them he only rented it for the night. However, he says they can crash here for the night if the don't trash the place. Mobius also recommends they seek out hired retainers to help them. He says they can try to recruit downstairs at the Dripping Tap, but they might have better luck at a dive called Sal's where a lot of mercenaries and fighters hang out. 

The mood of the new party is festive and the energy is high- especially with the Bard Big Mac throwing down rhymes. They head back downstairs and debate their next move over ale. After Zed the Illusionist announces he doesn't drink, Big Mac offers the Magic-User a hand-rolled joint of Dragonweed. Zed accepts it, but gives it back after he finds it's brown schwag. 

    Harlack hires a Torchbearer known as Shit-Tooth, who is aptly named for his rotting teeth and horrible breath from chewing Skag (a powerful addictive stimulant). Harlack quickly learns Shit-Tooth is paranoid, strung-out, and jumpy. Big Mac accepts a Packbearer named Pots into his service. No other retainers agree to join the party.

   Everyone except Hob votes to try their luck at rat hunting. Along with Shit-Tooth and Pots, they set off for the Guildhall of the Sewer Workers, which is several miles away. Big Mac hails a two-wheeled coach cab, while the rest of the party walks on foot. When they arrive at the Sewer Workers' Guildhall, they are are greeted by a two-headed Mutoid Journeyman Sewer Worker named Slarg. One head greets them, while the other head simultaneously curses them. Eventually, they get Slarg to take them to the Guildmaster, Wilgus Clearpipe.

Wilgus, the self-proclaimed "King of the Latrines," gives the party a speech about how his Guild gets no appreciation and the whole city would be knee deep in piss and shit if it wasn't for them. He doesn't give a lot of details on the giant rats, except that a few workers have gone missing and they had to seal off a whole section of the sewers. He suspects a large nest lies not far from the Guildhall. Finally, Wilgus leads the party down into the sewers. They descend several staircases and finally an iron ladder until they reach a sewer tunnel. A five foot wide channel of sewage and waste water runs between two stone ledges on either side of the tunnel.

The odor of waste is overpowering. When the characters complain, Wilgus sniffs the air and says with a grin, "Smells like money to me." Wilgus wishes them luck and points them west towards where he think the rats have a lair.

With Shit-Tooth the Torchbearer lighting the way, the party heads west. They find a section of the sewer wall half-collapsed and there are several holes in the rubble. Big Mac is small enough to crawl through one of the holes and he finds a natural cave on the other side. It is full of rat droppings. Since the holes aren't large enough for anyone except the two halflings, the party decides to clear the rubble. It takes them ten minutes, but they aren't bothered by wandering monsters.

Inside the cave, they are quickly attacked by six giant rats. Zed the Magnificent casts Sleep and they make short work of the rats, but not before Harlack and Shit-Tooth are bit and take minor wounds. They kill the sleeping rats and cut off the tails so they can collect the reward.    

Two tunnels lead further into the rat caves. The party heads southeast and finds a cave find with muck and slime. They trudge through the slime, which comes up to the halflings' knees, poking ahead with a 10 foot pole. Suddenly, Harlack looks up at the ceiling and spots a large patch of nasty Green Slime just in the nick of time. It covers the entrance to the next cave. They discuss trying to burn it, but they decide to avoid it and head back to try the other passage.

That passage leads south and the tunnel thankfully is clear of slime. The halflings both hear squeaks and scratching noises ahead. Hob sneaks forward and sees seven giant rats devouring several human corpses, which are ripped apart and dismembered. Several rats fight to eat a severed head. The cave is filled with refuse, blood, and gore.

Since the rats are distracted while they are feeding, the party decides to set up an ambush. They all get in position just outside the cave. The plan is to have Zed shoot a firebolt into the cave and hope the rats run towards the ambush site. However, the rats notice the light from Shit-Tooth's torch before Zed can get his cantrip off. Even though the ambush doesn't work as planned, they make quick work of the rats with only minor injuries. Two of the rats flee the fight so they now have 11 rat tails. They search the cave with the body parts, despite the sickening smell and gore, and find a pouch with 55 gp, 32 sp, and a (unidentified) potion.

In the next chamber, they find the ceiling is low. The halflings can move unimpeded, but Harlack the Trull and Hayabusa the Mantid have to stoop. The cave with the low-ceiling has a cesspool running down the center and is long and narrow. Hob uses a 10 foot pole to test the depth of the murky water, when a Gray Ooze, perfectly hidden in the pool, rises and strikes at the surprised halfling. Hob is struck for max damage and knocked unconscious (reduced past 0 hit points, but Dan rolled a successful saving throw vs. Death). [DM's Note: We play death at 0 hit points. You get 1 saving throw vs. Death to survive. If you fail, you die.]

The Gray Ooze slinks out of the water and strikes Harlack, partially disintegrating the Trull's scale mail. Hayabusa cuts the thing in half with his Katana, killing it, but the thing's acidic slime eats away at his blade (giving it -1 to attacks).

After the fight the party rests for a turn. Zed revives Hob with a healer's kit. Hob decides to drink the unidentified potion, hoping it is a potion of healing. Harlack says it's risky, but Hob is a gambler. He drinks the potion and his face begins to itch. Then he sprouts a full beard down to his chest. So much for healing, he drank a Potion of Beard Growth. Hob suspects his new beard is permanent until he shaves.

Further on past the cesspool, they find a large heap of trash. Nearly a hundred (normal sized) rats rush from the trash pile to attack, but Hayabusa gives a bellowing Samurai shout while flourishing his katana and scares off the rat swarm. The party searches through the trash and finds scraps of cloth, rotting food, bones, broken glass, a bent fork, a boot covered in muck, and a Silver medallion worth 250 gp. 

The next cave is oddly separated by a crude curtain hammered with spikes in the ceiling. Inside, the party finds a small cave with several bed piles made of ripped cloaks and straw. It doesn't look like rats made these beds. In the next cave to the south, which is separated by another curtain, they hear weird squeaks and hissing- almost like rats talking to themselves.

Hayabusa pokes his insect-like head through the curtain and finds himself inches from a Ratman! Four other Ratmen occupy the chamber. They all wield shortswords and one large one has a crude pistol! As each side heard each other, neither is surprised. Hayabusa gets a critical hit and chops off the first Ratman's head. Harlack rushes in the room swinging his battleaxe and he gets quickly surrounded. One of the Ratmen bites him (and Keith failed his saving throw against the infection). 

The fight looks tough, but manageable- until five more giant rats rush in from the west. Harlack withdraws from melee and then the party decides to run. The four Ratmen and five Giant Rats give pursuit and they are faster than the party!

We ended on that cliff hanger- will they escape? Find out next time. 

Thanks for reading!