Campaign Journal: AS&SH The Anthropophagi of Xamboola (Session 7)

SPOILER ALERT: This journal is extracted from an unpublished and upcoming Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea adventure I am currently completing. This account eventuates from the playtest. You have been warned!

Visitors to the desert-city of Xamboola beware! Demoniacal cachinnations and dull totemic drumbeats sound nocturnal from the outskirts of the city. Too, vile shrieks echo in response to the nightmarish noises, making even those of heroic aspect shudder in repulsion. Residents do not tarry to lock themselves in their homes at night, for something sinister lingers in the fringes of the black of night. Whisperings and warnings intimate that foreign guests residing at the inn of one Aramis D’athak oft disappear at night, never to be seen or heard from again. Where they disappear is not known, nor do the people of Xamboola speak of the hellish noises that darken their oasis city in the gloom of night.

Session 7: Rats In The Walls

The Party

Sint the Pict Ranger (Level 2)

Heron the Kimmerian Druid (Level 2)

Xechies the Kimmerian Warlock (Level 1)

Grimnear Hothgar the Viking Berserker (Level 2)

Estorane the Ixian Thief (Level 3; Hireling)

Part I: An Infestation Problem

An adventurer's plunder is a worthy hoard, and after selling acquired goods, the companions' pockets jangled heavily. Resting at Saturn's Luck, Sint became enraged when a couple of patrons insisted on drinking well into the night. Frustrated he left, heading for the Slippery Eel. Therein, as usual, the inn was uncannily empty. Follwing discourse with the owner Xill, it was ascertained that a hefty rat infestation was to blame for his problems, which he superstitiously described as a "curse". Agreeing to at least broach the topic with his ass-kicking friends, Sint decided sleeping on the floor of Saturn's Luck wouldn't be so bad after all.

The next morning, at the behest of Sint, the group considered their plans, and decided they could spare the time to investigate the problem for Xill; after all, the cannibal problem wasn't such a problem anymore. It could not be said their motives were entirely altruistic however - Xill promised Sint a handsome reward if their mission was successful. Descent into the basement was the logical starting point, as the horrid scuttling appeared to originate from beneath the floor.


Part II: The Altar of Aurorus

The basement was of thick stone, incongruous with the upper levels of the Eel, and suggestive of archaic undertones. Upon prying through various crates and boxes a group of rats, sized as small dogs or large cats threw themselves on the Xechies. Suffering the sharp teeth of these feral opponents Xechies submitted to unconsciousness - though the party acquired some wealth, and discovered a trapdoor beneath a discoloured flagstone.

Heaving mercilessly against the trapdoor, the heavy rusting finally surrendered, revealing an ominous spiralled staircase descending into the unknown. At the bottom of the staircase a sizeable chamber of antiquated origin opened out widely. A dais with a 12-foot idol was in the northern end, the southern corner had a stairwell slick with urine and faeces, while sagging curtains draped over the north-west, and north-eastern corners of the room. Amidst this were various crates and boxes, which looked ancient, but nowhere as aged as the pre-apocalyptic room.

Again, a myriad of rats surged upon Grimnear as he sifted and kicked through the boxes, and an onslaught began. Finally the vile rats were destroyed, though not without Xechies suffering a festering, swollen wound - the bite of the vermin. Searching the room yielded two secret doors, though it was decided to retreat while fortune smiled. 


Part III: A Demon in a Cage

After some rest and restoration, the group returned and began searching one of the secret chambers discovered on the previous delve. A bed, and a bookshelf were discovered in the north western room. Xechies pocketed a leather-bound tome, while Sint tucked away a cedar box filled with curious vials. Grimnear drew back the curtains flanking the room, when 5 skeletons armed with halberdiers emerged, surprising all. After a furious melee, Estorane lay dead, and the others injured. The skeletons possessed some preternatural ability to stave off damage, and the fight had been traumatic.

Estorane was burnt on a funeral pyre, while the others recovered. Deciding against hiring any additional or immediate help, the group returned again, this time exploring the second hidden room. This contained a rusted-iron cage, though with no door. Inside was a 7 foot skeleton, that could only be described as a demoniac being. A sorcerer's circle was engraved on the floor, and it was decided to leave that be...who knew what devilish sorcery it was? The group slipped out the door, not before Sint pulverised the skeleton into calcified dust.

Descending carefully, down the urine-covered stairwell, the group encountered a dungeon hallway. It was filled with the bones of human-like creatures, largely ape-like in aspect. A surge of rats emerged, though something far more sinister lingered at the back of the dungeon...waiting...


Adventure Rewards

180xp for defeating 20 rats
300xp for defeating 5 skeleton halberdiers
500xp for recovering Kthulhu statue
1250xp for recovering 5x robes
900xp for recovered vials
224xp for recovered treasure
1800xp for attendance and role-playing

831xp each

Previous Post - Session #6 A Cyclopean City

Campaign Journal: The Anthropophagi of Xamboola (Session 6)

SPOILER ALERT: This journal is extracted from an unpublished and upcoming Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea adventure I am currently completing. This account eventuates from the playtest. You have been warned!

Visitors to the desert-city of Xamboola beware! Demoniacal cachinnations and dull totemic drumbeats sound nocturnal from the outskirts of the city. Too, vile shrieks echo in response to the nightmarish noises, making even those of heroic aspect shudder in repulsion. Residents do not tarry to lock themselves in their homes at night, for something sinister lingers in the fringes of the black of night. Whisperings and warnings intimate that foreign guests residing at the inn of one Aramis D’athak oft disappear at night, never to be seen or heard from again. Where they disappear is not known, nor do the people of Xamboola speak of the hellish noises that darken their oasis city in the gloom of night.

Session 6: A Cyclopean City

The Party

Sint the Pict Ranger (Level 2)

Heron the Kimmerian Druid (Level 2)

Xechies the Kimmerian Warlock (Level 1)

Grimnear Hothgar the Viking Berserker (Level 2)

Estorane the Ixian Thief (Level 3; Hireling)
Squire Sharptooth Ixian Cannibal Torchbearer (Hireling)

Part I: Out of the Barge and Into the City

A stygian river flowed past the dead witch's house, and around a cavernous bend. Squire Sharptooth, Grimnear, Xechies and Estorane climbed aboard the witch's barge, while Sint and Heron walked the scoria path instead. Around the bend a dark cyclopean city was beheld. Dismounting the watercraft the adventurers coalesced and began exploring. The city was monolithic. Towers, spires and odd geometry comprised the city, and a greenish-mauve tinge permeated the air perplexingly.

After some exploration a sword, a locket and the huge skull of a one-eyed humanoid was discovered. Additional expedition into the nearby structures detailed the original residents of the city - alien-like entities with star-shaped heads. Though, their disappearance was not recorded on the cartouches left behind in their structures. From within a tower, Grimnear spotted an opening in the sheer cliff face behind the city. 


Part II: Scaling The Cliffs

Undressing his armour, Grimnear's viking physique was tested as he began an ascent of the cliffs, finally reaching the top after a partial fall. Grimnear squatted in the tunnelled opening, hastening to tie a length of rope to the rock so as to relay his friends up to his vantage. Sint's grappling hook was put to good use too, and after an hour or so the company stood within the thin tunnel, bored into the rock. 

It wasn't too difficult to progress down the tunnel, however at various intervals a blank stone wall would impede their progress. Estorane had scant difficulty discovering secret doorways, and thus progress was continual. During one such expedition, an illusory floor gave way to Grimnear and Squire Sharptooth - the pair plummeting into a vast chasm. Sharptooth splattered on the rocks below, though the hardy and barbarous viking miraculously survived. His senses reeling, Grimnear began choking on a noxious fume that emanated from within the chasm - some vile and poisonous fungi. With expeditious wile, Xechies trussed two lengths of rope together, tossing it into the chasm for the Berserker to grasp. Those at the top pulled, and soon Grimnear lay panting atop the chasm, injured and shaken.

An outlet to the tunnel was thereafter discovered, bringing the company into the mirrored room where Moloch had met his doom. After some rest, and the consumption of Heron's goodberries the party began exploring an isle in the cyclopean city with a single domed structure - previously unexplored.


Part III: Galleria of the Ancients

Shoving the door of the domed structure asunder, the company walked into a room filled with serpentine men, cobras and two cannibals. Chaotic melee ensued. Heron became poisoned and paralysed from one of the snake-men's venomous bites, while Xechies managed to put a significant remainder of the enemies to sleep. The berserker, ranger and thief slew the others rapidly. But all concern faded as the company beheld what was contained within the domed room...

A gem, iridescent and magnificent glowed on a pedestal. A wide staircase, some thirty feet across descended into the unknown. The gem, previously considered to be but a fable, was surrounded.
"I'm going to grab it" the viking announced, the glint of goldlust in his eyes.
None tried to prevent him.
Feeling the surreptitious pull of majick, Grimnear frantically tried to will it away. Fortune denied him, and he disappeared from that very spot. 
"Damn it!" said Sint and Xechies in unison.

In the innards of this decadent undercity, Grimnear reappeared. He was in a loathsome room, filled with glass cabinets. Inside the cabinets were various horrors: otherworldly creatures, and animals, mummified and preserved. Some were wrapped in bandages, others petrified and on display, lewd and blaspheming nature itself. Antediluvian curses and incantations were inscribed on papyrus parchments, likewise entombed within the cases. High above Grimnears head, a single circular exit was evident, though with no hope of exit, Grimnear waited. Not a minute had passed, before his only hope of escape closed, entombing him with these incomprehensible horrors!

The remainder saw no other option but to descend the staircase in search of their friend. Xechies, Sint and Estorane hurriedly descended the stairs in the domed room, searching for their friend. The staircase terminated in a prodigious room, of startling dimension. The walls were blue, with various frescoes. In the middle of the room was a fountain, atop which a lone statue - a one-eyed man - was perched. Three doors indicated exit from this chamber. The companions chose the first on the left. A hallway departed into two chambers. The first appeared to be quarters of some priestly acolytes, while the latter was surely the province of some long-dead high priest, as vile acts were recorded on the wall, lauding the priest's dedication to whatever faith was practiced. It was shudderingly repulsive.

Two secret doorways were discovered within. One, a niche holding a black stone (which Xechies immediately pocketed), the other, a claustrophobic passageway. Continuing into the bowels of this labyrinthine complex, a room appeared. The room contained a single bed, and a bureau. Lying, and appearing asleep on the bed, was a magus. Curiously a layer of dust had settled on his forehead in the time he slept. The companions snuck through the room, in an attempt not to wake him.

Without, a passageway curved like a sickle, though branched. One passageway was left unexplored, while the other was pursued. It led to a sheer staircase descending to a circular lid. Around the staircase loomed a bottomless gulf. Any false move would result in instant death. With much trepidation the descend was initiated.

Inside his prison Grimnear could feel his breath becoming short, and his grasp on reality fading. He envisioned hellish scapes, plains of fire, and wicked demons with curved swords. He felt the very floor beneath him begin to shift, and he lunged onto the top of a cabinet, as the floor dropped into the bottomless gulf. Above he heard scratching, as though someone or something was attempting to enter the circular iron lid above.
"Arrrrrrrghhhhhhhh!!!" the berserker screamed. This situation had become too much for him, and he felt his sanity begin to expire, amidst the abominations that surrounded him.

After much toil, the lid was destroyed form above, and Grimnear was hauled out. Though he strangely did not seem himself...



Adventure Rewards

172xp for defeating four cobras
428xp for defeating four snake-men
48xp for defeating two cannibals
30xp for finding locket
300xp for finding black stone
600xp for finding two-handed sword +1
1800xp for attendance and role-playing

676xp each

Previous Post - Session #5 A Goddess In The Undergloom

Campaign Journal: AS&SH The Anthropophagi of Xamboola (Session 5)

SPOILER ALERT: This journal is extracted from an unpublished and upcoming Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea adventure I am currently completing. This account eventuates from the playtest. You have been warned!

Visitors to the desert-city of Xamboola beware! Demoniacal cachinnations and dull totemic drumbeats sound nocturnal from the outskirts of the city. Too, vile shrieks echo in response to the nightmarish noises, making even those of heroic aspect shudder in repulsion. Residents do not tarry to lock themselves in their homes at night, for something sinister lingers in the fringes of the black of night. Whisperings and warnings intimate that foreign guests residing at the inn of one Aramis D’athak oft disappear at night, never to be seen or heard from again. Where they disappear is not known, nor do the people of Xamboola speak of the hellish noises that darken their oasis city in the gloom of night.

Session 5: A Goddess In The Undergloom

The Party

Sint the Pict Ranger (Level 2)

Heron the Kimmerian Druid (Level 2)

Xechies the Kimmerian Warlock (Level 1)

Grimnear Hothgar the Viking Berserker (Level 2)

Estorane the Ixian Thief (Level 3; Hireling)
Squire Sharptooth Ixian Cannibal Torchbearer (Hireling)

Part I: The Inhumation of Moloch

It was a sombre group that carried the corpse of Moloch to the surface town of Xamboola. Weary, injured, and saddened, the adventurers hired a mortician and proper burial was conducted. In the days following his death the group went their separate ways for a time: Estorane to the Grotto of Rel to train under the tutelage of her people; Sint and Heron departed into the wildlands to hone their desertcraft; Grimnear to the arena to test his mettle against...metal. After a time of focus and up-skilling the avarice of the underworld was too great. Upon selling some of their plundered booty, a return to the derelict desert palace was imminent. Before departing a new face in town appeared: a Kimmerian with grey eyes and dark cropped hair, wielding shield and flail. Speaking of his alliances with chaos, Xechies requested to accompany the group in their delve. After promising to prove his valour and worth "or take all my items when I die" the group agreed for this new companion's company.

Scouring the top level of palace, lest the detestable cannibals had returned, the group was ready to begin their descent again. However, in one room two male cannibals guarded the remnant of the female and children anthropophagi. 
One was particular vocal: "You have blasphemed Xathoqqua and the wise masters! Was it you who caused their demise?"
"Yes" Grimnear spake.
Anger coursed through the slave cannibal: "You'll be damned for that! Only the wise masters may descend beneath the surface, and you have dealt a deleterious blow to my people."

After some discourse the cannibal decided that maybe these intruders were actually sent from Xathoqqua, and despite the death of the wise masters, perhaps this was Xathoqqua's way of bringing vengeance upon the satrapy of Xamboola, and cleansing the non-believers from his tribe.

"Come down with us to the dungeon below" Grimnear commanded.
"Me? A chosen one?" the cannibal queried, incredulous at Xathoqqua's mercies.
"Um...yeah sure"

Thereafter he was named Squire Sharptooth and was charged with the carriage of torches.


Part II: The Goddess & The Batrachian Matron

Suspecting they had overlooked something on their last descent, the group set to work. Squire Sharptooth began clearing rubble, while the others patted the dungeon walls searching for hidden entrance. At last a tunnel was found, bored into a cell wall. Stepping into the utmost stygian darkness, the sounds of running water could be discerned, and a small thatchy hut was spotted. Smoke coiled from a lone chimney, while the back of the hut had a patch of vegetables, herbs, and an array of startlingly vivid 'shrooms of every imaginable colour. 

With caution the group approached the hut, and although silence was sought, a little too much noise was made. Sint held his bow poised and nocked, and opened the tiny hit door. Peering inside the group beheld a goddess. A maiden with golden tresses and voluptuous figure sat on a bed stirring a pot, aromatic and steaming. Beside her was a curled and sleeping fox. Grimnear's eyes examined her chiffon gown appraisingly, lustful for what lay beneath.

"Hello!" She sat up somewhat surprised to see visitors.
"Who are you?" asked Sint somewhat suspiciously
"It is I" she said. "I do not know how long I've been down here" she sighed. "Perhaps it's been decades perhaps it's been centuries."
Curiously she did not look a day over thirty years-old.

Xechies asked whether she could fashion a healing poultice or brew for them. Promising recipes and concoctions of every sort, she requested the group find her a fabled gem in a nearby undercity in return. Going out into her nearby garden she began gathering a blue shroom for Xechies who apparently had a "good soul." Grimnear, with slightly tilted head watched her from behind "perving" on her, but disagreed that it was a fair price for such a priceless gem. They decided to depart from her presence, though not before Sint had tasted her fruity mulled wine, simmering within the cauldron.

The further they wandered from the fair maiden's hut, the more fixated Sint became upon her. He pondered the shape of her dress, her honey-coloured hair, and experienced a vision of her caressing his hair. He attempted to shake the feeling off, but in doing so, the desire to see her became more and more entrenched. Trying to sober his thoughts he dunked his hands into the freezing and icy river running parallel to their trail. With little avail, he succumbed to his desires. Without word he began walking back to his lover's hut.

"What are you doing?!" Grimnear shouted after him.
Sint ignored him, purposeful in his destination. Hefting a stone, Grimnear threw it at Sint's head, though unusually the Viking's aim was off. The stone plonked loudly in the flowing undercurrent of the river. Estorane and Heron chased Sint and reached him at the doorway to the fair maiden's hut. Hearing the commotion outside, the woman exited the room.

"What have you done to him?!" Grimnear screamed, "Look at him!"
Drool coursed down Sint's face, but he was oblivious. It was his highest ambition realised, he was in the presence of his lover!

The maiden smiled.

Furious Grimnear began kicking at her mushroom patch. "If you don't release him, I'll destroy everything!" the Viking swore.
"Do you have no love for me?" the golden-haired maiden asked of Sint. 
"How dare Grimnear defile my mistress's sanctuary and home?" Sint thought. "Does Grimnear not realise this is for the best? I will live here forever with my maiden in pure bliss. Perhaps I'll give up the bow and sword, and take up the plough. Yes, this adventuring life is filled with peril, yet I'm safe with my maiden. Grimnear is just jealous of our undying love."
Wrestling himself free of Estorane and Heron, Sint nocked an arrow, attempting to fire it at Grimnear. All at once Xechies invoked magick, aiming it at Sint. Estorane and Heron grappled with the wriggling Sint, while Grimnear charged at the maiden who had begun chanting. That was when they all fell into a dreamless sleep...

Awakening in the hut, they were confronted with the maiden's true form. Deformed in aspect, she possessed a bulbous face, goggling eyes, and ivy-grey skin, whose surface was covered in oily acne, ulcers, warts, and seeping boils. Her fox had transformed into a hideous and croaking toad. Smaller frogs, maggots and toads swarmed over her bed, summoned from the nearby gardens and river.
"My lovers have awakened" she croaked hideously. Her breath stank.
The group beheld their new lover. Although she had revealed her true form, it was truly beautiful, compared with the homely and conventional beauty of her other self. They gazed upon her adoringly. She licked them with a slimy and raspy tongue, and they soaked it in adoringly.
"My lovers, I have a task for you" she crooned. "Over the river is an abhorrent cave filled with vile creatures. They are a bane to me. Destroy them."
"Of course!" the group chorused.
"Good" the obese and slimy toad-skinned witch cackled with glee...


Part III: The Cave & Vindication

A small barge transported the charmed adventurers across the icy river. On the other side they found a darkened cave, and crept towards it, intent on killing everything inside. Six small thewy brutes, with deformed faces, leapt out the entrance. The combat was furious and bloody. Eventually all of the male cave inhabitants were dead. Vengeance in their souls, the party pushed deeper into the cave, killing another two of the creatures who rushed down the tunnel. One room was filled with a giant forge, mining tools and buckets of chiselled ore. Further down the tunnel, they happened upon a nursery where two ugly, stooped female creatures of the same ilk guarded their young. The dozen younglings were half-maggot, half-humanoid. The maggoty surface the younglings grew within was mucous-yellow; pulsating and oozing with a nauseous quality. After some discussion with the depraved females, Xechies, Sint and Heron learned of the Toad-witch's treachery and came to their senses as they remembered her deception.
"LIARS!" Grimnear bellowed, and hacked into the hapless female brutes, lobbing arms and legs off, and filling the room with blood. Searching the final cave room Xechies gathered bedrolls from the cave's sleeping quarters and piled them upon the maggoty young, while Squire Sharptooth lit the bedrolls with a torch, filling the air with a steamy oozy stench, extinguishing all life within the cave.

Back across the river, the adventurers returned to the Toad Matron's hut. Heron, Sint and Xechies feigned their continued adoration for the sickly matron.
"My lovers, let us celebrate." The grotesque matron slipped off her dress. 
"Come to me" she croaked.
"Okay" said Xechies, who pulling out his flail hacked at her skin, marring it with pulpy gore. Sint and Heron set upon her too and soon she was little more than an ivy-grey mass of guts. Coming to his senses, and disgusted with the witch's vile magick the Viking roared in fury, hacking at the hideous pet toad the matron held dearly. Croaking in fear it attempting to flee, but the whole group invective and enraged minced it instantly. The haunted dwelling was thereafter splattered in fleshy gore, blood, and toady skin. 

But they were free...




Adventure Rewards

340xp for defeating the Toad Matron
900xp for defeating 10 dwarves
100xp for destroying the dwarf younglings
800xp for 2x love potions
1125xp for treasures retrieved
1800xp for attendance and role-playing

1013 xp each

Previous Post - Session #4 The Warlord's Mirror

Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea - Rats in the Walls Adventure Review

Author: Jeffrey Talanian (North Wind Adventures)
Price: $4.29
Format: PDF
Page count: 14
System: Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea (or any OSR/Old School FRP). 
Year: 2014

Jeffrey Talanian is a good dude, who has made a good game. Since I first found out about Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea I have been consistently impressed. It fits the mood and tone that I like to set as a Dungeon Master, and draws upon literary inspiration that I enjoy. And okay, I will admit it: it was only at the end of last year that I began to delve into the tales of Robert E. Howard and H.P Lovecraft, but although I'm a relative noob, I have taken to these tales like Cthulhu takes to the sea. Perhaps more importantly, all my interactions with Jeff have been very positive: he's a really nice guy, and it makes me happy to support him as an indie designer for that reason alone, not to mention he has produced a game I genuinely like. I made an overview video fairly recently detailing the contents of the box set and my thoughts on the game if you'd like to know more about it. You can find it here. If you have heard of Talanian's game, but are yet to check it out, I would encourage you to do so sooner rather than later, as I understand he has limited units of the box set still available (less than 200?). There is a planned hardback version to appear later this year or early next year too.

But I'm not really talking about the box set in this post, I'm talking about an early adventure that was written for the AS&SH system (and pretty compatible with any OSR or Old School system) called Rats in the Walls. It's not available in print form anymore, though it originally appeared in Knock spell Magazine #4, and is still available on PDF. My copy is the latter format (though I'm hoping to get my hands on a physical copy one of these days). I bought it a few months ago, and at the time skimmed it, being fairly happy with my purchase. My upcoming campaign will be using the AS&SH rules, so I thought it was high time to look over Rats in the Walls properly for a small jaunt within my 1st level campaign.

Rats in the Walls clearly takes inspiration from the eponymous Lovecraftian tale, and indeed the back cover of the adventure confirms as much. The adventure takes place: 'In the City-State of Khromarium, a dockside tavern called the Silvery Eel is plagued by rats of a most unusual breed. These abominable rodents have ruined the tavern keeper's business and his life. The man is desperate and he offers a substantial reward for the elimination of this horrific problem' (back cover blurb).
Unfortunately for the tavern keeper 'rats' are the least of his woes. Something much more sinister is afoot. I really like this adventure because it is short. Too often I read supplements or adventures which have a heck of a lot of detail, but actually running them becomes an mnemonic exercise, rather than something fun. Jeff assures the reader that once the adventure has been read through once, any experienced referee can run it 'on the fly' thereafter. I believe that to be true.

The adventure follows a rather traditional format, though like Jeff's other Hyperborean creations, this work is filled with Swords & Sorcery mojo - including a surly Hyperborean warlock, a statue of Kthulhu (a deity within the AS&SH world), an imprisoned daemon, and big mudafugin rats.

The maps offer a clear visual guideline for the referee, although I got a little lost on the bottom dungeon level (I couldn't locate the steps down). Otherwise the adventure is very clearly and cleanly written in Talanian's endearing prose, and edited under David Prata's ever scrupulous eye.

In sum, I highly recommend this one. As a mini adventure it can be inserted very easily into any existing campaign, and even makes a nice introductory module if one wishes to begin their exploits in the world of Hyperborea. I can imagine concluding this in a few hours (if that) of gaming, and I feel like it would make an excellent one-shot adventure.

8/10.