Shadowdark #10 ...Maureen the witch

Back at the keep, and visiting Maureen the Witch, after letting 'Elfin John' into the party, ...the party realise that there is no obvious door to her tower, and she communicates via a lowered basket - into which Dagmara the half-orc wizard, who is desperate to meet her in the pursuit of spell knowledge, lodges the dark and 'eeevil' pendant that she picked up in the Dwarven mines.

Lifting the basket, and Maureen finding what is inside, results in the tower's secret door being opened and the characters beckoned inside.

Clearly the witch thinks covid masks work

Dagmara the half-orc wizard appears to instantly impress the ancient Maureen, who asks if she and her party will 'rescue' her captured wand from the caverns they have returned from - she believes that the orcs have it. When questioned, she reveals that she, old Jomama the cleric, and the wily Castellan Trum, are all that remains of a larger adventuring party, who came to control the keep after barely escaping the caverns with their lives, many years ago. She also grants three spell scrolls to aid the party. 

There is much discussion as to where the party came from, and they tell of their past as imprisoned revolutionaries of the 'Peoples' Front of Bodertown' (as opposed to the 'Bodertown Peoples' Front'..who are of course SPLITTERS!)... not mentioning the preferred (by some) local title of 'Bordertown' as that is anathema to the principles of their movement! 

 Maureen tells Dagmara to be very careful, insisting that she will reveal more when they return - mentioning her suspicion that the Munchburger brothers are involved in some sort of corruption connected to the caverns, the orcs, dodgy dealings...and an ancient evil... They should also be wary of 'White-eye' the orc chieftain...even Maureen shudders as she mentions him.

'I mean...how bad could he be?'

 

'The reverse ambush helmet job!'

 As the first batch of characters set off on Jeralt's griffin, they notice an ambush being set up below - possibly for the rest of the party, by Rarius -  the fighter that Bjorn had previously fallen foul of in the tavern. Landing, they take him down, scattering the bandits...noticing that they appear to be moving back toward the caverns. Bjorn takes a new Hoplite style helmet from his sworn enemy...

'That's defo going on ebay!!!'

 As the characters resolve to take the goblin cave first, they know they are walking into a trap...and are immediately attacked by giant centipedes, who seem a little handicapped by Dagmara's light spell.As they clear the entry way, they notice many ...many goblins retreating back into the shadows... let's hope the light lasts!

No actual giant centipedes were harmed in the making of this production...

Call of Cthulhu, Episode #18: 'You rolled a what?...'

As Sinead gives the Dimensional Shambler its orders…it smiles a toothy hellish grin, and disappears.

'Uhhh...you wanna me to do whaaa?'

 

Meanwhile, the aft section of the deck has been given over to the Russian Count, and his addiction to playing Shuffle-Board with his retinue…who of course lose gracefully while the count wins every game.

Definitely not a pentagram

The characters realise that they can get no closer and strangely, the Purser seems to have been paid off to let the Count have control of the deck, and the yacht is keeping pace with the liner. Upon investigation, they discover that the yacht had asked to take photos and the liner has slowed somewhat to comply. How mysterious.

As the characters complain vociferously about not being able to sunbathe in the stern section, they stir up complaints in the pub with influential British and American travellers, after being offered free drinks. As they leave…the passengers have set up a committee, which will vote to ascertain members of a sub-committee – each striving to gain a greater national advantage, with a view to electing a head of sub-sub-committee, who will then go to complain to the Captain. Makes perfect sense.

'Clearly the decisions of the third sect of the 4th sub-committee (pending), will be final...'

 As the shuffleboard competition of one heats up…the characters notice (1) that the yacht is getting ever closer – despite their constant checking that there is no way for the yacht crew to board the liner and (2)…more importantly, the Count’s guards are now being distracted by the yacht…missing the real problem that is about to emerge as…

 ...'The Priests' – who were never priests – and are in fact Trostky'ites' (or something) rush the aft deck, shooting stewards and bodyguards alike in an attempt to reach their goal of ‘death to the oppressors and the Romanovs!!!’ as the main Priest pulls the pin from a badly maintained grenade.

Trotsky's assassins all along...makes perfect sense

 A quick thinking McDade rushes into action…sliding from the shadows, straight into the Priest carrying the grenade and bringing him down – pin extracted, now ‘phishing’ in timely fashion, …the device falls onto the deck, bouncing off the gunnel right next to McDade’s face as he goes sprawling.

'YEET!'

 

At this point he had to make a luck roll – five times POW…70%. 'Making it' means the grenade does not go off just yet, and he gets a chance to do something. 

Failing means he is dead-dead-dead and the other characters probably take some shrapnel damage…

He rolls ‘01’. ( should add that the last time I ran this campaign, EXACTLY the same thing happened with a roll of 01 – this, bearing in mind the odds being ‘1:100 AND 1:100’, at 10,000 to 1, clearly means that we are existing inside a simulation)…

He grabs the live grenade and ‘yeets’ it into the water…handily, almost absently, and wholly accidentally (he did roll a 01!!!) directing it straight onto the yacht that has been shadowing them – and, as it works out, the planned escape route for the assassins. Boom! (01s are always 'plot yanking'). 

...such a nice boat too...

He crawls away as the other two assassins shoot and miss him (his luck not seeming to run out) – then dodges behind cover to avoid the second shots…just in time as one of the count’s bodyguards opens up with a Tommy gun from the stern, not really caring who he hits…and bullets fly up the deck in ‘gangster’ fashion – taking out the would be assassins . The count is immediately moved to his cabin amidst a flurry of 1920s bodyguard activity…with any wounded, and McDade is the hero of the hour.

'Is that a Tommy Gun in my pocket? Why...yes it is!...'

 As the crew try to clear up what the hell just happened, the party do not admit to what part they played…though when the Count’s bodyguards come looking for their boss’s saviour– McDade agrees to come with them. The Russian count splashes cash to make everything 'ok, yes?'

Count Mikhael Andreovich Kurosov introduces himself, gives McDade a bear hug, and cracks open the ‘Wodka’ telling him that he is in his eternal debt. McDade sends for the Prof, who being an actual  Doctor, pronounces one bodyguard dead, and manages to save the other…both characters notice that the Count, amongst his bedtime reading, has a particularly rare book. Asking permission to see it, they realise its import – a 17^th century Latin piece with potentially dangerous information (so far, books like this do not last long if the Prof gets a hold of them...in fact, neither do NPCs for that matter)…as the Count explains that it is part of the reason he is able to travel, a man known as 'Septimus Crane', of Arkham, has offered him $30,000 dollars for it…he carefully puts it back in place.

'You seem trustworthy...'

Crane of course, the Prof recalls, is a prominent member of the Silvery Twilight – clearly something is very odd about this whole trip. Crane has also offered the Count his old house in Idaho, in a town called Black Knob…the characters look likely to both intercept the book and accompany the Count to the curiously named 'Black Knob'…as they vainly hope that the Sherrif is not called 'B.J.' or something.

As they all retire to their respective staterooms, Sinead hears the distant chanting of the islanders in the bowels of the engineering deck once more, though led by a voice she recognises – the Purser. She smiles quietly to herself, reasoning that the Dimensional Shambler might be a little more irate when it appears this time…

'If only I could remember what I asked it to do...'

 

…What could go wrong?...

Shadowdark #9...'the Horror, the Horror...'

Still in the creeper caverns and having opted to take a rest to recover, the character hear orcs outside, quickly realising that the orcs are returning to the caverns above after their patrol…clearly their base in the well established valley complex.

Proper pig faced orcs...none of that new fangled WoTC Mexican thing...

 

...I know right?

They continue to find the leader of the creepers, but are ambushed by ex-members of the Patrol who disappeared many months before and are now ‘creepy’ cannibal types themselves…

 

'OK there are only five of us, so we should be careful and not rush into anything m'kay?'

It’s touch and go for a long time…until finally they reach ‘Captain Kurtz’ – who disappeared on patrol from the keep months before  – a vile half man now, under the disease ridden spell of the creepers…and more animal than man. In a fight to the death, they leave the cannibal creepers stinking caverns, leaving only the defenceless alive… as Kurtz is dispatched by Sir Jeralt …’the horror, the horror…’

'CHARGE!'

 

'The Horror...the Horror...I swallowed a bug...'

The prize of 20GP hardly seems worth it, though the characters reason that leaving the area, via Jeralt’s Griffon, is the best idea…since they are now a party of five, scarcely enough to take on subsequent levels of the complex…

 

At the keep, a griffon does not go down well with the defenders…until the keep-guard realise, after the beast lands well outside the perimeter, that  it carries the characters. From the old tower at the entrance, the witch waves at Dagmara the half-orc wizard, at least cognizant of the fact that if they have earned themselves a griffon…perhaps these adventurers might be useful after all.

Yeahhhh...I'd be a bit concerned, if it arrived uninvited too...

A night of partying follows, where Bjorn manages to both earn the enmity of a warrior called Rarius, and the gratitude and life debt of a thief – known as 'Elfin Jon', who seems instantly trustworthy and who seeks to join the party, bringing their number back up to six …though watch out for that Rarius dude…

Gyve the dwarven smith later informs Karlyle that he can not fix his broken elven magic blade ‘Quenya’…but that ‘Maureen the witch of the tower'…might just be able to…

Definitely a witchy style tower

The quest continues.

Call of Cthulhu, Episode #17: '...Maybe best to stand near the lifeboats?'

We left our heroes(!) with Sinead being confronted by four 'less than wholesome' south Pacific tribal 'engineers' in overalls and elder signs, at least two of whom seem to have her in mind for dinner! 

She makes her escape into the maze of pipes and turbines in the engine deck and is chased, although the Purser appears to call the 'crew' to heel - Sinead notes that all is not right with these guys...and makes two fateful rolls...rolling '01' for both...

Sinead with her make up on...

 The first is a listen roll, where she hears distant chanting from the stern section of the engineering deck, witnessing a 'practice ritual' amongst these 'islanders made up to look like mechanics, with elder signs'...and clearly with the intent of summoning something nasty.

The second, and most pertinent is an '01' critical in her disguise skill. She immediately uses oil, overalls, grit, determination, and more oil...to look like one of the clan of islanders. Of course with a natural 01, anything is possible; it might even work. 

...and without...

Meanwhile, having 'befriended' Professor Felix Paterson, the Prof, McDade and McLeoud quickly realise that he is as mad as a box of frogs, and has some very dangerous things in his cabin.

'I use mine for cutting cucumber for my sendwichesss!'

Urging them to join him, he plans to recite a ritual incantation, promising the characters 'great visions' and the furtherance of his quest for 'eternal life' - using his strange book collection, 'Ratty' the black rat who has unwittingly been brought for sacrifice... 

'Come out to the coast they said, we'll have a few laughs they said...'

 a piece of supposed wood from the time of King Arthur's last battle, a strange bronze chalice, and a badly shaped crystal ball...oh yes, and a dark black, obsidian, horribly attractive, strangely enticing...dagger of Thoth...which the characters assume could be a bit dangerous in the wrong hands.

'It's all perfectly safe I tell you!!!'

 Now, bearing in mind the characters' past obsession with dispatching NPCs, Prof. Paterson is soon smacked in the head, and loaded with enough laudanum to put him to sleep for...well...forever, by the Prof (tick another dead NPC box and call for SAN roll). Clearly this whole magic thing is too dangerous to be allowed! (until it isn't). Ratty also, fatefully, does not make it, as McDade stands on him hard.

Sinead meanwhile - still in hiding, hears that not only are the islanders planning to summon something otherworldy, but the Purser is behind it all, and plans to send the 'thing' the the Russian aristocrat's cabin ...all very strange. The Purser is very clear on which cabin it should be sent to... 

As Sinead continues her 'oiled up'phase...Professor Von Junzt gathers the artifacts and books, telling the rest of the party that he is going to hide them...whilst secretly chucking the lot over the side...much to the party's disappointment when they find out...

Whilst doing so, he notes a yacht keeping pace and course with the liner...hmm, I am sure it's all quite innocent, until he notices that one of the Priest's minions is also keeping an eye on said yacht, and McCleoud notes that it is flying a Russian flag. Curiouser and curiouser.

...innocent passengers walk the decks, completely unaware that there are maniacs on board...

Sinead meanwhile, keeping a low profile in engineering, gets close to the ritual prep, and learns the spell - the mechanics of it anyway...seeing that the cultists all stand within a painted circle of magical runes and symbols and vertices and terrible angles... She returns to her cabin, reciting the chant, ensuring that she knows it, and watching the cultists as they tail off the final words...sure that she can make the spell happen...if of course, she had to.

Still disguised, by midnight she returns to the circle..confident that she knows what to do..even if she has no idea how to bind the 'thing'...

The rest of the party sleep as she recites the spell in the underdecks, pumping magic into her words, enough magic points to ensure success, the air vibrant with potential as hairs stand up on the back of her neck...and the thing from another dimension...shambles into being on the oily steel deck...

 

'I am heeeere...what...dost...thou...wishest...mortal...'

ROLL YOUR SAN!  

(not least because Sinead is about to tell it what to do :O  ) 

Call of Cthulhu, Episode #16: 'The Good, the Bad, and the Russians'

Having successfully resolved the 'problem of the Chinese Sorcerer who wanted to end the world', and sorting Sinead's problem with her box (!) , the characters gather their belongings and first class tickets for their trip to New York, via the luxury liner - the Mauretania.

...appearing in glorious technicolour...

 Gathering crowds in Southampton herald a state of anticipation and dangerously infectious excitement, and that's just because the players are trying to hide their Lewis Gun!  In the end, it is stowed in the luggage deck in a large unmarked crate.

"OY! Careful with Lewis Gun mate!"

 

There are some passengers of note however:

• A well dressed Russian with a noble bearing, a food taster, a servant, and far too many armed bodyguards, whom the characters are convinced is a White Russian, on the run, and may just be the 'Count' whom Edward Call told them was 'a friend'.

Trustworthy Russians

 

• A bald man who matches the description of the 'Police Consultant' who rifled the Chinese Sorcerer's library for books, and appears to have a large crate, which never leaves his side.

AI's version of 'bald apprentice sorceror with far too much interest in forbidden lore'...AI clearly needs a vacation.

 

• An unkempt Priest with two younger members of the clergy appears to be taking an unhealthy interest in the Russian party...

Clearly trustworthy Priests

 

The characters follow all three, noting that the Russian party, with plenty of cash, takes up most of the first class deck; the bald man too is staying in first class, near the characters; and strangely...the Priest's party is in a cabin well below decks..though they seem to have the run of the 1st class area because , 'well sir, they are Priests, after all. You never know when you might need one'. So true... 

 And amongst the crew, the Purser - clearly an ex military man, appears to be taking 'cash for favours' - at least from the Russian Count's personnel...stranger and stranger ...as it is clear that 'the Count' as the Russian is known, wants to take at least one day to take over the entire stern area of the first class deck to feed his shuffleboard habit.

'Ladies and Gentlemen - you entirely competent and 'uncorruptable' crew for the voyage...'

 After lunch and Tiffin, the characters engage with the bald man - who, it turns out, is known to the Professor -  Professor Felix Patterson of Miskatonic University in Arkham, a leading light in European History Studies of course, who had been contracted to Scotland Yard to research some strange cases that they could not solve - and is now returning home... 

Extravagant opulence...

 Over dinner, the characters learn that he is not associated with The Order of Silver Twilight, thinking it beneath him, instead researching and corroborating his own information on 'fabled and forbidden books of Arcane Lore...'. Amazed at McDaid's grasp of some of the books 'not' in his collection, he immediately warms to the characters, and promises to show them 'something amazing' in his cabin later - even assuring them that he has a pet rat as a sacrifice!

The Pub

 The characters are less than convinced, but know enough to accompany him and ensure that he does hurt himself, or the crew or passengers - they being complete experts in this sort of thing of course.

...Sinead decides to wander, descending to the lower decks...encountering a group of South Pacific natives in overalls near the Engineering deck - the Engineering staff?...who appear to be wearing Elder signs around their necks...(it's hard to get the staff).

The Engine room - full of dodgy blokes

...curiouser and curiouser...  what could go wrong?

Call of Cthulhu, Episode #15..."Don't Look at It! Don't Look at It!"

With McDade on the inside, the knowledge that Leclair can only be saved if Ching Lung Soo is allowed to partially complete the summoning (cunningly disguised as a magic trick) that will bring the Lan Shi Star Vampire to Earth, we could say that the characters are (both literally and figuratively) playing a very dangerous game.

The definitively unique architecture of the Theatre in stunning 'not 20mm' scale. ...with clear indication to the players that their characters could, in true 1920s 'dangerous act' style, try and use the lighting rig at right of picture to balance, dive, jump and fall...I mean, I thought it would be obvious, a perfect stunt...no? Dang...it took me literally 5 minutes to cut that out of the cardboard and nobody used it!

 

Having returned to the 'teleportation box' and somehow ended up locked in it, Sinead manages to miss the main part of the show.

A similarly named Chinese bloke

 As Ching Lung Su announces "the greatest trick ever performed anywhere in the world..." in the Master of Arcane Lore's best Chinese accent, the characters manage to fast talk their way backstage. McDade, despite being caught trying to 'borrow' one of the robes for the stage chant, is caught, and forced to sidle up to the stage later, whilst the Professor and McLeoud..manage to persuade a constable that there is a threat to the Prime Minister from 'Chinese-Irish dissidents' (a clear threat in the 1920s - honest Guv'na) ... The Chinese henchmen have now erected the three part summoning archway on the stage, inscribed and daubed with appropriate magical cuneform (or something) runes, and containing the soul of Phillip Leclair as sacrifice to Lan Shi - the Star Vampire.

...and the back of a fag packet version (for our American viewers, a fag is a cigarette...no really)

 The ruse will work for a few valuable minutes, as the crowd watches with awe at Ching Lung Soo in his diabolically stunning red robes, surrounded by his Chinese henchmen in appropriately black cultist cloaks - who start to chant the incantation...that will summon the thing from another realm.

Appropriately armed with smuggled pistols...the party wait for a signal - which they 'hope' is the appearance of the trapped spirit of Leclair. ...and...as the foul words of magic continue...something is forming above the arch...a writhing body of a man?...in a suit...and he is starting to smoke (and not in a good way), and catch fire...flames writhing along his clothing as he floats. The crowd loves it!

"Summoning a Star Vampire - step 1 - make sure your miniature MDF archway is symmetrical"

 

The audience applauds madly, for it is all part of the new trick, right? The Professor and McLeoud rush the stones, McLeoud to try and topple them...McDaid and the Professor grab fire buckets full of sand trying to engulf the flickering, manifesting LeClair before he goes fully up in flames...McCleoud climbs the stone and yanks Leclair - still flaming - to the ground.. He then slams into the stone to topple it as the Prof dodges a knife wielding mad Chinese  maniac cultist...Mcdade is not so lucky being impaled badly by a Chinese blade, and falling unconscious...almost dead. 

The cheap seats

 With guns popping and Chinese cultists stabbing, the Police are totally confused, not least by the fact that the crowd are screaming and heading for the doors, since this is not the magic trick they were expecting. 

McLeoud manages to take down one granite post - dodging the falling masonry, as the Prof is wounded by knife wielding maniacs and Police start to fire at the Chinese men in black cloaks as they seem the obvious bad guys! The Prime Minister is ushered from the scene, as Police struggle to retain any sort of control, the Prof and McLeoud first aid McDade, then take after the escaping Ching Lung Soo, in hot pursuit.

A partially formed Star Vampire, behind the stone blocks...curses as its sacrifice in the shape of Leclair, is saved...and it remains in its horrific home dimension, unable to fully form  (note to self...if characters ask what it looks like - hit them with SAN roll ;)  ) 'Don't LOOK AT IT! DON'T LOOK AT IT!'

Rounds fly down range in the basement corridor as Ching Lung Soo, and most of his remaining party fall to the characters shots. ... a badly sliced up McDade looks away from the partially formed Lan Shi.

The Police are convinced (roughly) by the character's story, without necessarily accepting the whole 'alien fiend was about to be summoned to this mortal plane, and it would have been really bad!' tale, and opting for the preferred 'Irish-Chinese' plot to take out PM Stanley Baldwin. Seems obvious really. The Irish componenet seems to have escaped however. How strange. 

McDade meanwhile tries to ascertain the ease (or otherwise) of re-accessing the Magic Society's library, determining from the local constable and the American Magician Will Crowther - who has also re-appeared, that not  only has a lot of evidence been taken, but a bald man was seen to have made off with most of the books. Crowther also reveals that he managed to spirit Sinead away before she got arrested for being a disguised Irish lass impersonating a dodgy American Magician in the pay of Chinese Sorcerors, or something.

'Don't look at it! Don't look at it!'

 

In a definitive last act, having left LeClair back in the arms of his girlfriend Elaine...and after McDade has interviewed him (for the Cthulhu Mythos at least), the characters find Karl Weiss the German Magician who seems to be to blame for all of this, forcing him to hand over the strange book that started this whole thing... an immaculate English tranlation of the 14th centruy 'Ctahht Aquidatat', stamped with the markings of the British Museum and clearly nicked...The Prof pockets it.

I simply can't imagine what it looks like..ummm...DON'T LOOK AT IT!

 As the characters make their way to Southampton a few days later, a strange bald man with crates of what might be books, or something more sinister...appears to be awaiting his turn at the ticket office...

 

Shadowdark #8 'So...apart from the flesh eating creepers, is everything else ok?'

The party, patching itself up after the owlbear and the death of ...what was his name?...and now porting two baby owlbears (since...why not), move to the ground level cavern where they saw the wagon wheel (and not in a good way).

Balin leads the way - for 5 minutes anyway

 The cavemouth stinks of rot, and is covered in malign looking fungus and rotten plant life, ...but they go in anyway. Lighting a torch, and keeping an eye out however, is not enough for them to see the floor pit trap, with spikes and such...and Jeralt and Balin fall in...the characters behind them narrowly avoiding the trap themselves...the fall triggering an attack from the flesh eating creepers on one side, whilst Jeralt the Paladin, managing to get out of the pit trap, faces giant rats on the other..

Creepers - who clearly have gym memberships

Now these guys seem easy to take down  - until they don't. Balin, having taken damage from the pit, is a 'bit' wounded. Bear that in mind.

Not this Balin...

The party move on to explore the complex, encountering the cannibal creepers' 'larder' (ewww) and more of the warrior creeper types in hidden chambers, at which point the wounded Balin is taken down in combat...with two rounds to live; even the multitude of party members that get to him, seem unable to save him as he bleeds to death...oh Shadowdark, thou art a harsh gaming environment ;)   

ummm man down!

Somebody save him dammit!

 Busted up, the party elect to use Mountainholme - the magic shield - to barricade their position, the shield now passing to Lidda the halfling (whom its magic will turn into a dwarf by morning, meaning that she will have to wear boots - it's complicated...).  

Party of five - Dagmara, Karlyle, Jeralt, Bjorn and Lidda the halfling-uhh dwarf...

 And then, there were five left... :O