Safari has released a new set of six 60+mm figures called Heroes & Monsters. 

No RPG is complete without some adventures to have. Here are all the official FASA Doctor Who RPG adventures published. All are out of print and hard to find these days.

It has taken me a few years, but I have managed to get all the adventures.  Some of these are so musty I am going to need to double up on my antihistamines just to get through them all!

The Iytean Menace

48 pages. 1985. Design and writing by J. Andrew Keith.

Now here is a fun one. The characters travel back to London in 1885 (I am already on board) to discover a retired Army Officer with a cache of futuristic weapons, a crashed spaceship, and a rogue body-snatching alien. It actually has quite a lot to offer. 

There are plenty of interesting NPCs and even a full set of PCs for the players to use. We are introduced to Time Lord Rollonovaradanavashir, or Rolo for short, and his collection of eight companions. We get coverage of the Type 51 TARDIS with its advanced computer systems and even some new skills.

Yes. That cover is Paris Street; Rainy Day by Gustave Caillebotte. Though the adventure takes place in London in 1885 not Paris in 1877. Minor detail I guess. 

This one might be fun to try out with the Paternoster Investigations gang with the Cubicle 7 system. 

The Lords of Destiny

48 pages. 1985. Design and writing by William H. Keith, Jr.

This one has a rather interesting premise. The characters materialize onto a 10,000km long starship built around a planet. As it has been traveling through space and gathering material, it has grown larger and larger. Now its computer is sentient and, of course, insane, so it is targeting mineral-rich planets to gobble up. To top it all off the characters are arrested right away and there is a rebellion happening on the ship of some 100 Billion people. 

This is another adventure, like most of the Doctor Who adventures and stories, that require more thought than beating people up. It is mentioned that while yes, blowing up the ship would solve the problem, it would also kill all 100 billion on board. 

This one introduces us to the Time Lord, "The Professor," which seems like an inventible name.  I would be lying if I didn't say I totally tried to square this guy with the Peter Cushing Dr. Who movies. His companions include Joan of Arc (yes. that one), a tabloid reporter from Peria, IL, and a test pilot from 9880 AD. 

Countdown

48 pages. 1985. Design and writing by Ray Winninger

The first adventures were published right on the heels of RPG Boxed set. This one came later. In this adventure the character's TARDIS gets caught in a gravity bubble and they land on the courier Leander in the 26th Century. The Leander is delivering medical supplies that only last for 48 hours and the flight in 30 hours long. There is some meddling with some Vegan pirates (not those Vegans, ones from Vega XII) and a Cyberman plot. 

This adventure is set up for first time Gamemasters with notes on how to run this adventure and adventures in general. Several options for resolving this adventure are given. And we even have a nice map of the starships.

For the Players, we have a new Time Lord, Kelaphaludner, aka Kelly, and some of his companions. Kelly will make more appearances.  Additionally, we also get the Fourth Doctor with Leela and Romana II as choices.  I think there must have been a push to include the Doctor and his companions. 

This one gives a special thanks to the Northwestern University Doctor Who club. This one is also slightly taller than the other books. 

The  Hartlewick Horror

40 pages. 1985. Design and writing by Ray Winninger

This one takes us back to some of the more horror-influenced stories of the Third and Fourth Doctor. The Fourth Doctor even appears on the cover. This one takes place on Earth 1923.  Here the CIA has detected energy waves on the same wavelength as the human brain. There are some disappearances, a strange seance, a trapped alien threat, and a group of angry villagers.

It feels very Hammer Horror to be honest and I think that was the point. There are supernatural overtones, but of course as typical with Doctor Who, it is an alien. It might a bit clichéd, but still, it is fun and there are some nice maps. 

For the characters, Kelly and his companions Phillip and Gwendolyn are back. They even show so updates from the last adventure. Also back as alternate player characters are the Fourth Doctor, Leela, Sarah Jane, and Harry Sullivan (not sure who the art for Harry is...).  There are even suggestions for a sequel the Game Master can do on their own.

The Legions of Death

52 pages. 1985. Design and writing by J. Andrew Keith.

This one features the newer FASA logo on the cover and the Third Doctor. This one starts with a temporal anomaly in Britain in 43 AD. Apparently, something (or someone) is helping the local Britions win battles against the Romans they were never supposed to have won. That someone turns out to be the renegade Time Lord the War Chief. 

This one is certainly for the history buffs out there. 

For PCs we get the Time Lord "The Colonel" and Time Lady Leoradrusendalular, aka Leora.  For alternates, we have the Third Doctor, Jo Grant, and Sarah Jane Smith. Additionally we have the Bigadier, and some others. Including the first companion from Chicago! There are good collection of NPCs as well. 

There are player's handouts and lots of background information. We even get coverage of the War Chief's Type 43 TARDIS. 

The adventure reminds a bit of some of things we would also see in the Tweleth Doctor episode "The Eaters of Light."

The City of Gold

52 pages. 1986. Design and writing by J. Andrew Keith.

While the TARDIS and her crew are supposed to be headed to Venezuela in the 21st Century to deal with some revolutionaries, they get sidetracked and land instead in 1543.  Instead of revolutionaries though they run into dinosaurs and rumors of El Dorado, the lost City of Gold.

There is a lot of background here, some player handouts, and some great maps. It also has the involvement of the Silurians, which is always a plus. This is also our first adventure with a 1986 date on it. 

For our PCs we get a Time Lord . "The Don" (ok...), the time Lady Maranodulandur, aka "Mara", a gunslinger named Jack Ransome, a human doctor Cassandra Maitland, and human cavalry officer Jacques D'Aubanville. For our alternate cast, we have the Fifth Doctor, Adric, Nyssa, Teagan, and Turlogh. And a lot of NPCs.

The Warriors Code

56 pages. 1986. Design and writing by J. Andrew Keith.

It's 1986 and America is fascinated with all things Japanese. This adventure is larger and we get Jim Holloway doing the cover art. This adventure takes place in Japan during the Tokugawa shogunate (1600 AD), just before the Battle of Sekigahara. Here the TARDIS crashes into another Time Ship from 5184 AD.  While both crews rush to make repairs to their respective ships they have Fuedal Japan to deal with.

I won't lie, you REALLY have to like Japanese history to get into this one. I am not saying it is bad, but it is a set piece. The Time Ship is just a MacGuffin to get you here. 

This one also focuses on the Doctor and his companions in the forefront. The Second Doctor is joined by Jamie, Ben, Poly, Victoria, and Zoe. For the original characters, we get the Time Lord "Noman" and the Time Lady Marinarratalasanavor, aka Marina, and some companions. 

There are maps, hints for play, and even some flowcharts. All of which are nice touches.  This is also the only perfect bound adventure. 

--

I think all of these adventures could be played, with a little massaging, under the Cubicle 7 Doctor Who RPG rules. Many of the Doctors and the Companions have stats in their respective books as do counterparts for all the NPCs. 

The best thing about these adventures are the tidbits that add to or clarify the various rules. They are all geared toward a starting Game Master and naturally assume that anyone will grab any of these as their first adventure.  The only minor, tiny exception here is the Time Lord Kelly and his companions that do get better across their respective adventures, but that is it really. 

None of them will go down in history as classic adventures in the way that say some of the D&D ones have, but they are fun.

In room 10 to the right, is a secret door. It leads to a room filled (10) with more of the animated statues from Room 10. These, however all seem to be broken or not active.

This appears to be some sort of storage for these creatures (robots) and the is nothing else here.

If the characters choose to scavenge these robots they can find about 45 gp worth of gold wire on each one.

--

These robots will not attack, their powercells are completely drained, but the Players won't know that. 

Getting back into my exploration of the FASA Doctor Who RPG.  Each adds more detail to three of the Doctor's deadliest foes.  Each was also sold as a two-book set, a player's book and a GM's guide. As expected, it more difficult to find the Player's books in the 2nd hand market these days.

The Daleks

Naturally the first supplement covers the Doctor's and the Time Lords' greatest threat, the Daleks. Here we have a Game Master's guide (the full color cover) and the Player's in-universe guide. 

Game Master's Book

This 40 page book covers everything known about the Daleks up to 1985.  We are given some background on them for the show, how they were created by Terry Nation (who still owned the copyright then) for Doctor Who and so on. We then get right into the in-game background.  We are given a time line of the Daleks from the time when the first humanoids evolved on Skaro to the "modern" day.  There is a lot of background on Skaro, the Kaled/Thal wars, and Davros.

I should point out here that while there is a lot of cannon taken directly from the show, there is also a lot of added material. Designed mostly to feature the exploits of the fictional C.I.A. (Celestial Intervention Agency) and to help "smooth out" some of the time line inconsistencies from the show. One example is a picture of a pre-mutated version of Davros. Another are some of the planets that the Daleks have conquered. 

There are some sections on the various aliens that have the most contact with the Daleks such as the Movellans, the Ogrons, and the Thals.

Dalek psychology is discussed and since Daleks are think alike and rely on tried and true methods, there are some handy flowcharts of what any given Dalek will do in any situation.

The Player's Book: The Dalek Problem

Now this 24-page book covers the Dalek from the point of view of the characters in the game, or more to the point characters that will be working for the C.I.A.  So there are truths, half-truths, and outright lies here. For example, the same timeline is repeated here with many omissions.  I am okay with that. Players entering this game will already know a lot, so there should still be some mysteries.

Overall the two books could have been combined into one book with a Players and Game Masters sections, but I do like the presentation.

What strikes me most about this book is how in hindsight you can see how the Time War was built up. Yes neither the Doctor Who writers or FASA were thinking about these things then, but the seeds are all here.  Honestly I can see a rogue bunch of C.I.A. agents breaking the Time Lock and trying to go back and stop the Daleks as they are presented here in a sort of "Let's kill Hitler" scheme. 

The Master

The greatest foe the Doctor has ever faced is the renegade Time Lord known as the Master.  Like the Daleks he is responsible for countless deaths and like the Daleks product, comes in two books.

Game Master's Book

This 64-page book is packed full of information. Like all the FASA books though, there is information from the show and stuff created for the game. So fantastic for a game resource but less useful as a guide to the character on the TV show.

In a very nice touch, there is a dedication to Roger Delgado on the first page. But I understand they could not use many of the photos of either Delgado or Ainley in this book, so there is a lot of art here. Even the cover is a painting of the Delgado Master in Ainley's normal costume. 

We get a recounting of his adventures from the Meddling Monk (which I don't agree with) up to the run of the 6th Doctor. I mean, even the War Chief is presented as a different Time Lord here. 

Like the Dalek book, there is a long timeline presented, but as a time traveler, this can get messy. 

We get the motivations behind what the Master does, his goals, and a bit of psychology/history. We also get some of his equipment and listings of other Renegade Time Lords, some of who now work for the C.I.A. We end with a full character sheet for his latest incarnation. 

Player's Book: The Master CIA File Extracts

This 16 page book covers what CIA field agents will know about the Master. This covers similar material including the Prydonian Academy Rebellion mention in the previous book and the Core rules. I can't recall if that was ever mentioned in the classic series or not. I am leaning towards not. 

The Cybermen

While certainly a deadly enemy of the Doctor, and a reoccurring one, they never quite matched the evil of the Daleks or the Master. These two books also were published in 1986 and they do feel different in a way.   

Game Master's Book

Moreso than the Daleks the Cybermen have a very convoluted history. We start with Mondas, the "twin planet" of Earth aka the 10th Planet. The coverage of Mondas is way beyond anything given in the show. In fact I get a solid feel of "Journey to the Far Side of the Sun" here, which , honestly, I am ok with.  There is also the ubiquitous timeline, with bits added in. 

The interesting parts come from how the Cybermen deal with others and other planets. Since they are cybernetic race controlled by a central "cyber mind" (this would later be called the Cyberiad in the time of the 11th Doctor) there is a hand flow chart for any Cyberman interaction.

There is coverage of the various Cyberman models over the years. And ideas on how to use them in adventures. We even get a nice map of the Tomb of the Cybermen, an episode I recently rewatched.

Player's Book: The Cyber Files CIA Special Report

This 16-page book is notable because it tries to explain Mondas. The book covers some more time line; fewer entries but in greater detail, and has a whole long section on the companions of the Doctor that have encountered the Cybermen. Ok that part is less useful. 

In reading both these books I fear there was a tendency to make Mondas and the Cybermen into pale imitations of the Skaro and the Daleks. Something that the 10th Doctor episode "Doomsday" proves to be pointless. 

--

All three of these supplements are very useful for the FASA Doctor Who RPG.  I wouldn't say you *need* them to play, but they are fun to have. There is even enough information here for use with the other Doctor Who RPGs as well, though as to be expected there will be contradictions.

Sadly they are long out of print and finding them is a bit of a struggle. I can't recommend them unless you are playing the FASA RPG and are a super-fan of the topics covered.

At the end of this hallway is a door that "whooses" part of the way open. To get through will require a combined strength of 25. This opens to a long, but slimmer hallway.

Inside this hallway are eight metal-looking statues that a vaguely humanoid in appearance. Four of them get up to attack.

The "statues" are security robots. Treat as Rock Statues for combat purposes. They do not shoot molten magma but rather a "plasma beam" that works much the same way.  Only four are active; the others are inactive. 

Destroying the statues will yield 50 gp worth of gold in each in wiring. 

Got some great news last night that my adventure for Fright Night Classics is now in print!

Print copies of The Nightmare are now available for pre-order for $20 via Paypal to cryptworldrpg@gmail.com. (Price includes shipping anywhere in the U.S.)

I would love to see this one do as well as the PDF sales.  

I have ordered from Yeti Spaghetti & Friends many times, and the orders are always secure and very, very fast. So they have my full endorsement here.

Let's make this one their best-selling adventure. I have more I want to write!

 Across from Room #8 is another wide-open room. This one has a large window that allows a view of the hall to the entry.

There are also several metal and glass-looking shelves, some with blinking lights. There is someone sitting in one of the chairs.

If these "shelves" (control panels) are touched, some will light up and noises can be heard. In one case an alien voice (a recording) can be heard. 

The someone sitting in the chair is long dead. The skeleton looks like a cross between a human and a snake. It is wearing one of the suits found in previous rooms.

The badge the skeleton has on its uniform appears to be gold.

[NOTE: if any character is a Dragonborn or the equivalent, then they are very, very uneasy around this skeleton but can't tell you why.]

--

The someone is a dead Ophidian officer. 

The voice is a recorded message from a shuttle crew trying to leave the ship before the crash. They, along with their shuttle, are buried a few hundred miles west of here and 300 ft. down.

Dragonborn and Ophidians are ancient enemies. Their hatred is buried deep in their collective unconsciousnesses. 

One area where classic Swords & Sorcery fantasy intersects with sci-fi and modern cryptid tales is that of  Snakefolk and Lizardfolk.  My desire to use these creatures as foes date back to Doctor Who's Silurians, Sea Devils, and Draconians, but also before that with the Sleestaks of Land of the Lost.  They are great foes and can be quite literally cold-blooded.  

Against threats like these, even an orc has more in common with humans.

In my games, both fantasy and sci-fi, the Snakefolk and the Lizardfolk have an alliance in their ultimate goal of killing most of the mammals except what they need for food and slave labor.  Of the two, the Snakefolk are more cunning and often (very often) more evil.

I have talked about both of these groups before, and I'll place the links below. Today I wanted to get some stats up for the Snakefolk.  

Snakefolk aka Ophidans

Snakefolk, snakemen, serpent people, or ophidians have a long-established history in fantasy, sci-fi and horror. They are a good fit for what I want to do. There are even a lot of snake cults if I wanted to tie in some witchcraft ideas.  Not to mention all the monsters associated with snakes like the gorgons, basilisk, hydra, and even the Great Serpent himself (I could go on here, but you get the point). 

Ophidians in D&D

Snake folk are such a huge feature in many of the works of the various "Appendix N" authors that one would expect to have seen more with them. Granted there are lots of adventures, especially later one, that feature the Yuan-ti.  Maybe it is because they are always featured as a species in decline. This also works for me. 

Trouble is Yuan-ti are set as Product Identity and therefore not part of the various OGL SRDs out there. But there are alternates.

Swords & Wizardry featured Ophidians in their Monstrosities book.  Pathfinder has their own Ophiduans as well. Both pull from similar sources, namely Lion's Den Press: The Iconic Bestiary -- Classics of Fantasy.   These are "updated" to 5e and are found in Frog God's Tome of Horrors for 5e. There is also the related Inphidians for Pathfinder. 

I do want to point out that both the Ophidian and the Yuan-ti both premiered in the AD&D 1st Ed Monster Manual II.  They don't even look that different from each other, and their descriptions are also very similar.

One became popular (Yuan-ti), and the other was forgotten (Ophidian) when the SRD was released. Did we merge these into one creature back then? I can't recall, but that sounds like something I would do.

Here is what I have in B/X format.

Ophidian

Ophidians are ancient people dating back to a time when humans were little more than savages living in caves. They claim descent from the time when giant reptiles roamed the land and only reptile life was to be seen. This is not entirely true since ophidians are, in truth, the descendants of an ancient group of human snake cultists. Through dark and twisted magics long forgotten, they have become more and more snake-like. The mage-priests of this cult were wiped out by the noble caste who knew of their history and now only the emissary caste remains and they are closely watched by the nobles. 

All ophidians appear as snake-like humanoids. The noble and lesser castes have human upper torsos and the lower bodies of giant snakes. The nobles have human-like heads, while the lesser have snake-like ones.  The Emissary caste (the descendants of the ancient mage-priests) look nearly human save for some snake-like features.  On the opposite ends of the spectrum are the monstrous abominations and the nearly human-looking progenitors. All ophidians are denizens of hot climates, deserts, and jungles, often found in forgotten cities or temples from when their race held greater sway in the world.  Ophidians can speak with snakes at will, as per the speak with animals spell.

All ophidians are immune to the bite of other ophidians and other snake-like creatures.   Ophidian emissaries also have a potent charm ability. Anytime they use charm magic, they confer a -1 penalty to whomever they are trying to charm. Conversely, all ophidians are subject to the same charm magic saving at -1 on any charm attempt by a foe.  This includes other ophidians (for a -2 total). 

Breeding and childbirth is tightly controlled by the nobles. All eggs produced and fertilized are kept in hatcheries controlled by the nobles and specially trained emissaries.  Criminals, human slaves, the old, and the infirm are tossed into these pits to become food for the next generation of ophidians. 

Regardless of how the ophidians see each other castes, they always view humanoid mammals, especially humans, as inferior. Squabbling noble houses will put aside all differences if they are attacked by humans or other humanoids.  For example, the Ophidian wars with the Derro are numerous and go back for a thousand years. 

Although largely humanoid in form, the ophidians still have the mentality of reptiles. Concepts such as mercy and compromise are unknown to them. They are utterly ruthless and have little concept of honor. Survival and victory are their only goals, though they can employ subtle or deceptive methods to obtain them. 

Ophidian, Lesser*

Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 3+1 (20)
Move: 120 (40)
  Swimming: 120 (40)
Attacks: 2 weapons or bite
Damage: By weapon (1d6) or 1d6 + poison
Special: Poison Bite
No. Appearing: 1d10 (2d100)
Morale: 8
Treasure Type: None
Alignment: Chaotic (Chaotic Evil) 
XP: 75

The Lesser Ophidian are the rank and file of Ophidian society. Lesser only reflects its status in the ophidian hierarchy and caste. They are the workers, warriors, and slaves of the Ohidian nobles. 

Lesser ophidians appear as large snakes with the muscular upper torso of a human. There are no human secondary sex characteristics among these creatures since they are reptiles. A male lesser ophidian typically has a thicker tail than a female. The males are sterile, and their only function in Ophidian society is to labor and fight. Of the females, at least 50% of these creatures are also born sterile. They are given the same roles as the males. The 50% capable of reproduction are often used as harem slaves or given tasks by the noble caste. Regardless of their caste or station, even the lowest ophidian considers themselves above all humanoids, especially humans, whom they despise. 

These ophians can attack with weapons in either or both of their human-like hands. They prefer long curved blades like scimitars and serrated or jagged edges that inflict vicious wounds. Unless directed otherwise, lesser ophidians fight to kill and then eat their prey.  They also have fangs in their snake-like heads that have a deadly poison. A bite will cause 1d6 points of damage, and the victim must save vs. poison or dies within 1d4+2 rounds. Neutralize poison magic (spell or potion) will prevent this if given right away. They are immune to the bite of other snakes and snake-like creatures.

Lesser ophidians do not collect treasure in the strictest sense, but they will keep a trophy from a fallen foe. All other spoils by ophidian law belong to the noble caste.

Ophidian, Noble***

Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 9+3 (68 hp)
Move: 120 (40)
  Swimming: 120 (40)
Attacks: 1 weapon or bite
Damage: By weapon (1d6) or 1d6 + poison
Special: Poison Bite
No. Appearing: 1d4 (2d20)
Morale: 10
Treasure Type: H
Alignment: Chaotic (Chaotic Evil) 
XP: 3,000

Ophidian nobles are the ruling caste of the Ophidians, and they do so with an iron fist. They appear as do the lesser ophidians, with humanoid upper bodies with the lower body of a large snake. Their heads, though are more humanoid in appearance. Though their heads are covered in fine scales, and their eyes are slitted like a snake, so they are never mistaken for humans. Similar to the lesser ophidians, only 10% of these creatures are fertile, either male or female, with the fertile ones standing above the infertile. Births among nobles then are rare.

These creatures can also fight with a weapon and prefer the same sorts as their lesser brethren. They typically only fight with one weapon when they have too, but mostly they have 2d8 bodyguards of lesser ophidians to do their fighting for them.

Like all ophidians, they are immune to the venom of other snakes and snake-like creatures. These nobles are also immune to the petrification attacks of medusae and basilisks. 

Ophidians delight in cruelty, and none more so than the nobles. The only art they create, if it can even be called that, are ways to torture and kill their enemies.

Ophidian, Emissary**

Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 6+2 (39 hp)
Move: 120 (40)
  Swimming: 120 (40)
Attacks: 1 weapon or spell
Damage: By weapon (1d6) or spell
Special: Spells (Illusionist magic)
No. Appearing: 1d6 (1d10)
Morale: 10
Treasure Type: O
Alignment: Chaotic (Chaotic Evil) 
XP: 950

Ophidian Emissaries are the most human-like of all the known ophidians but never say that to their faces. They appear as normal, if quite thin, humans with some snake-like features. Their tongues are slightly forked, their skin is covered in very fine scales, and their eyes are slits like a snake.  They even go as far as displaying secondary sex characteristics of humans, though they are not mammals and do not nurse or even care for their young.  Ophidian emissaries, as the name suggests, are often the means which ophidians interact with the world of mammals and humans.  They are, however, entirely subjugated by the noble class.

Ophidian emissaries can attack with weapons, but they rarely do. They all have a natural ability for illusion magic and can cast spells as a 5th-level illusionist (magic-user). Their charm ability is superior, and any Charm spell used by an emissary is at a -1 penalty for saving throws. 

Unlike their brethren the lesser ophidian class, emissaries chafe under their domination by the noble caste. However, the nobles control every aspect of their lives right down to their breeding. Nearly 90% of all emissaries are fertile, but they are only allowed to breed with nobles, never other emissaries. Emissaries discovered in unsanctioned breeding and reproduction will have their eggs or young destroyed (often eaten).  The worst offenders will even be subjected to the horrible eldritch right of Abomination, where they are transformed into a mindless ophidian abomination. 

Ophidian, Abomination**

Armor Class: 3
Hit Dice: 10+2 (65 hp)
Move: 120 (40)
Attacks: 2 slams, bite + poison
Damage: 1d6+3 x2, 1d6+3 + poison
Special: Poison Bite
No. Appearing: 1d4 (1d8)
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: None
Alignment: Chaotic (Chaotic Evil) 
XP: 2,300

The ophidian abomination is a monster in the truest sense of the word. Large muscular torso springs from a snake-like lower body that can be one, two, or more snake-like tails. some have arms ending in viscous claws, and others have long snakes for arms, complete with snake heads and mouths filled with fangs.  No two abominations are alike.  Abomination only knows anger and hate for all living things. Their fear and hatred of the noble caste is all that keeps them in check.

Amboniations attack with their claws or fists (slashing or slamming, respectively). Those with human hands can use weapons, but all prefer to attack bare-handed. Their bite is poisonous, save vs. poison or die in 1d4+1 rounds. Abominations with more than one tail, or snakes for arms can also constrict like a large python. These creatures attack without provocation and save their greatest hate for humans. Once engaged they will keep attacking until all foes are dead or they are.  For this reason, the nobles use them as front-line troops and shock troops. They are ill-suited for bodyguard work. 

Abominations come about in two distinct ways. The first, and the most common, is via birth. The offspring of a noble ophidian and a lesser ophidian has a 1 in 10 (10%) chance of being an abomination. The offspring of a noble with a noble has a 1 in 5 (20%) chance, and between a noble and an emissary a 1  in 20 (5%) chance.  The chances of an abomination being born between two emissaries are only 1 in 100 (1%).  This is one of the main reasons the nobles control the breed of their people so heavily.  The other means is via a dark ritual known to the emissaries from the mage-priests of old.  This ritual can change any type of ophidian into an abomination. They consider this to be worse than death. 

Ophidian, Progenitor***

Armor Class: 7
Hit Dice: 9 (50 hp)
Move: 90 (30)
Attacks: 1 weapon or spell
Damage: By weapon (1d6) or spell
Special: Cleric and wizard magic
No. Appearing: 1 (1)
Morale: 8
Treasure Type: Q, S
Alignment: Chaotic (Lawful Evil)
XP: 3,000

The ophidian progenitor is an extremely rare Ophidian outside the caste system.  They have no recognition within Ophidian society, but it is believed that they are the original Ophidian race and the one from which all the others come.  Unlike all the other ophidians, these creatures appear to be completely human.  The truth is, quite literally, only skin deep. They wear a skin they have created over a body covered in soft, snake-like scales.

The progenitor will rarely attack as they are far more concerned with extending their lives. It is believed that each progenitor is hundreds of years old, and some were even alive when the Ophidian nobles seized control from the mage-priests. The progenitors are all that is left of that caste.

Each Ophidian progenitor can cast spells as a 5th-level magic-user/wizard and as a 4th-level cleric.  They are even believed to know the secrets to turn a converted abomination back into their original caste.

Members of the noble caste will kill a progenitor on sight if they can or have them killed. They fear them too much. It is speculated that some emissaries know the locations of a few progenitors. But to conceal the location of a progenitor will also result in death. 

--

I'll likely have more of these guys. I have a lot of notes and other ideas.

Links

• #AtoZChallenge2023: Doctor Who Yeti (and other Cryptids)
• The A to Z of Conspiracy Theories: 
• C is for Cryptoterrestrial Hypothesis
• E is for Extraterrestrials on Earth
• Ophidians for Cinematic Unisystem
• Snake Folk in D&D
• Carnifex in BECMI

Between October 2003 and October 2013, Chaosium, Inc. published a series of books for Call of Cthulhu under the Miskatonic University Library Association brand. Whether a sourcebook, scenario, anthology, or campaign, each was a showcase for their authors—amateur rather than professional, but fans of Call of Cthulhu nonetheless—to put forward their ideas and share with others. The programme was notable for having launched the writing careers of several authors, but for every Cthulhu Invictus, The Pastores, Primal State, Ripples from Carcosa, and Halloween Horror, there was Five Go Mad in Egypt, Return of the Ripper, Rise of the Dead, Rise of the Dead II: The Raid, and more...

The Miskatonic University Library Association brand is no more, alas, but what we have in its stead is the Miskatonic Repository, based on the same format as the DM’s Guild for Dungeons & Dragons. It is thus, “...a new way for creators to publish and distribute their own original Call of Cthulhu content including scenarios, settings, spells and more…” To support the endeavours of their creators, Chaosium has provided templates and art packs, both free to use, so that the resulting releases can look and feel as professional as possible. To support the efforts of these contributors, Miskatonic Monday is an occasional series of reviews which will in turn examine an item drawn from the depths of the Miskatonic Repository.

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Name: Bad TidingsPublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Orlando Moreira

Setting: Portugal, 1937
Product: ScenarioWhat You Get: Thirty-page, 4.92 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Innsmouth in IberiaPlot Hook: A mentor’s revelation exposes murder and terrible Nazi experimentsPlot Support: Staging advice, four pre-generated Investigators, two handouts, three NPCs, five maps and floor plans, and one Mythos monster.Production Values: Decent.
Pros# Period one-shot under a different dictator# Pulp horror style scenario# Entertainingly staged finale# Pre-generated Investigators help enforce the background period# Excellent use of period photographs# Ichthyophobia# Thalassophobia# Batrachophobia# Iatrophobia# Naziphobia
Cons# Needs an edit# Cartoonish artwork# Mythos tome mentioned, but never found# Oddly undermanned Nazi base# Heavily plotted in places, but Keeper advice gives options
Conclusion# Strongly plotted scenario supported by decent Keeper suggestions# Pulp horror one-shot in pre-war Portugal opens up new location for period horror

A little further ahead on the right is large room with no door, just an open archway.

This room is filled with a lot of metal and glass materials.  The "glass" though is light and can't be broken. There is a small "ship" or "coach" inside. There is a door that allows access inside and there are six places to sit. It doesn't look like it work on the water and there are no wheels.

There is enough material here that looks like platinum, gold, and silver (500 gp, 120 gp, and 50 gp worth respectively). 

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This room is a shuttle maintenance bay. Inside is a shuttle in a state of disrepair. There is nothing the Characters can do to get it working, even if they knew what they were doing (which they don't).  Most items of value were taken by the original crew when they abandoned ship and then later by the minions of the Vampire Queen. They feared the star ship which is why it is not more looted than it is.

Vaesen – Mythic Britain & Ireland is sourcebook for Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying, the Sweden-set roleplaying of folkloric horror set during the nineteenth century published by Free League Publishing. In fact, it is the first sourcebook for the roleplaying game, one that takes the roleplaying game to new territory—though not new territory for roleplaying—and there confront new creatures amidst familiar tensions. Between superstition and modernity. Between industrialisation and rural traditions. These are joined by new, heightened tensions. Between the rich and the poor. Between employers and employees. Between North and South. Between the cities and countryside. The setting is Great Britain and the United Kingdom during the latter half of the reign of Queen Victoria. The British Empire is reaching its heights, trade flows in and out of the county’s ports bringing wealth as well as foreigners not to be trusted, the demand for goods means bosses drive their workers harder and install new and more powerful machines to increase production. Yet across the isles, as in Sweden, the supernatural lurks at the edge of society. In Sweden, it is the Vaesen, the supernatural creatures who helped out on the farms, gave a hand when it came to calving, ensured that lost children would find their way home, and kept everyone alive during the harsh winters of Northern Europe, and in return would receive milk and grain from the farms. In the British Isles, it is the fey or fairies, who make their homes in parallel realms of their own, but slip into ours, their mercurial interactions with mankind often leading to mysterious encounters at best, bloodshed at worst. Fortunately, just as Sweden has the Society—or Order of Artemis—dedicated to investigating supernatural threats and preventing interactions between them and society leading to further bloodshed or exposure, Great Britain and Ireland has the Apollonian Society.

Vaesen – Mythic Britain & Ireland can either be used as an expansion to Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying or a whole new campaign setting. In other worlds, the Player Characters could travel from Sweden to investigate the mysteries of sceptred isle, or indeed to fey it presents shifted to Scandinavia, but it could also be used as the basis for a Britain-set campaign, with the Player Characters being English, Irish, Scottish, or Welsh rather than Swedish. This is its default, but it has notes and suggestions as to how to involve Swedish Player Characters. That default has its advantages. In particular, the period and setting will be familiar to the English-speaking gaming hobby, as after all, this is the land of Charles Dickens, Sherlock Holmes, the Hound of the Baskervilles, and Jack the Ripper. Similarly, there will a certain familiarity in the fairies it details, such as the Banshee, Pooka, Redcap, or Selkie. However, as much as this familiarity makes it easier to engage with, it loses some of the mystery, which the Swedish default setting of Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying always maintained because it was unfamiliar. However, the supplement maintains enough mysteries of its own, whether that is the strange locations it describes, the fairie threats it details, and the scenarios it presents.

Funded following a successful Kickstarter campaign, Vaesen – Mythic Britain & Ireland is written by Graeme Davis, co-author of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and The Enemy Within campaign, as well as most notably, GURPS Faerie. Which given the wealth of research and detail that the GURPS line is famous for, means that the author has a certain expertise when writing about the supernatural threat that the Player Characters will face in the United Kingdom. The book includes an overview of Britain and Ireland, a gazetteer of strange places, details of the fae and their realms, the Apollonian Society, new Archetypes, a host of supernatural creatures, and three lengthy mysteries.

Vaesen – Mythic Britain & Ireland opens with an overview of Mythic Britain and Ireland. This is not intended to be a historical treatment of the setting or period, in part because there is insufficient space and in part because the setting is familiar. Instead, it opts for a combination of history and fantasy. This shows in its inclusion of notables of the period, so that alongside figures such as Charles Dickens, Florence Nightingale, and Oscar Wilde, there are also fictional characters like Sir Harry Flashman, A.J. Raffles, and Sherlock Holmes. All are given thumbnail descriptions, as are the important cities of the Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. London is understandably given more attention, covering the city’s important locations, railways, and other institutions. Particular attention is paid to the tensions rife across all four countries, with suggestions as to how include Fenian fairies (and others) agitating for home rule, Social Class, and more in a Vaesen game set in the British Isles. Many locations—in and out of London—are accompanied by a short description of a haunted place, whether that is the Blackley Boggart of Boggart Hole Clough near Manchester or suggestions that spirits haunting Hackney Marshes might be of Roman or older origins. Several Mysterious Places, like the Cerne Abbas Giant and Loch Ness are described too, before the supplement dives in deeper detail about the parallel worlds of the Fairie. This provides solid background for the Game Master to involve her players and their characters in visits to Annwvyn, Tír Na nÓg, fairy glades and rings, and so on.

The equivalent of the Society in Britain, the Apollonian Society, whilst linked to the one in Sweden, has a history all of its own. The Apollonian Society was originally founded by Doctor John Dee, scientist and astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I, together with Sir Francis Walsingham, the Queen’s spymaster, and Edmund Spenser, whose epic poem, The Fairie Queen, would threaten to reveal too much about the Fairie and their realms. Much of its archives are based upon the records and correspondence of William Stukely, noted antiquarian and often regarded as the ‘father of archaeology’. The Apollonian Society even has its own headquarters in the form of Rose House, complete with its own seemingly ageless butler, Hawkins. Options are suggested to who or what Hawkins might be. Overall, there is a nice sense of the historical and the fantastical to the Apollonian Society and of course, Rose House has the same scope for development as Castle Gyllencreutz in Upsala.

Vaesen – Mythic Britain & Ireland includes three new archetypes for Player Characters—the Athlete, the Entertainer, and the Socialite. These are perhaps the easiest of the content in the supplement to transfer back to roleplaying game’s default setting of Sweden, and indeed, any setting of the period. There is a pleasing flexibility to the Athlete, so that the archetype’s main skill and Talent vary according to their sport, for example, for cricket, the main skill is Agility and Talent is Gentleman, whilst for Tennis, the main skill is Force and Talent is Fleet-footed. The illustration for Archetype, a prize fighter, is delightfully suitable. Conversely, it is a pity that the same is not done with the Entertainer archetype, which simply has to rely on the Manipulation skill and Performer Talent. ‘Expanded profession and ‘Life Event’ tables support the inclusion of the three new archetypes in the supplement as well as those in the core rulebook.

One option for Player Character and NPC interaction is the aforementioned rules for Social Class, deference meaning that those of a higher gain a bonus to Empathy tests when dealing with those of a lower social class, whilst conversely, those of a lower social class suffer a penalty with dealing with their social betters. This reflects the nature of social class throughout the Victorian era and beyond, but the rules do paint a broad brush and lack nuance. Ideally, the Game Master should adjudicate their use as necessary on a case-by-case basis.

The highlight, of course, to Vaesen – Mythic Britain & Ireland are its English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh equivalent of vaesen. Drawing upon a mixture of Celtic myth and local folklore—sometimes very local folklore—the supplements discusses the nature and common features of many of the isles’ fairie creatures, including their invisibility, invulnerability (except of course, for a loophole particular to each type), the nature of fairie challenges, favours, and forfeits, even impossible tasks. Some thirteen fairie are detailed, each given a two-page spread as in the core rules, complete with Apollonian Society notes by William Stukely, the possible ritual necessary to defeat the creature, three example conflicts between the creature and mankind, and variants. The conflicts for the Banshee, the first fairie entry in the supplement, include a Banshee who will not howl, a Banshee who reaches out in dreams, and banshee who wails despite the last of the nearby family line not wanting to die. The variants include the Caoineag, a water-bound version who is almost impossible to interact with and the Bean-nighe, a crone-like creature who washes the clothes of those who are about to die in a stream. The other fairie include the Black Dog, Boggart, Glastig, Hag, Knocker, Nuckelavee, and several others. there are even notes on adapting the vaesen from the core rulebook to Vaesen – Mythic Britain & Ireland setting.

Vaesen – Mythic Britain & Ireland includes three mysteries. All three clearly present their conflicts, countdowns, and catastrophes, the latter occurring if the Player Characters fail to act in time. Clues are given location by location, and each scenario ends in a confrontation, climax, and possible aftermath. All open with a latter to the Apollonian Society which will draw the Player Characters hither and thither, first to rural Gloucestershire where a young man has been arrested for the murder of his sweetheart and the ground about his village has been beset by unusually late and cold frosts, to the north of Wales where a rash of accidents in a slate mine suggest something unchristian, and then back to London to locate a missing brother last seen at an artists’ colony upsetting the middle class propriety of Hampstead Heath. They can of course, be played in any order. Taking up almost half of the supplement, all three scenarios are excellent, highlighting conflicts between tradition and reason, tradition and modernity, the mysterious and the mundane, as well as depicting the social differences and attitudes in all three locations. Although there are notes to adapt the scenarios to the Swedish default setting of Vaesen – Mythic Britain & Ireland is , doing so would lose some of the flavaour and nuance to be found in each scenario.

If there is an issue with Vaesen – Mythic Britain & Ireland, it is that it does skimp on the history and background to its setting. It does have the benefit of familiarity though, so a Game Master and her players can rely on knowledge they may already have, but if not, it does mean that both will need to conduct more research. Thankfully, neither is all that difficult to research, and in addition, there are plenty of books readily available on the folklore of all four countries.

Physically, as you would expect, Vaesen – Mythic Britain & Ireland is a lovely looking book. The cover is ominous, but inside the various fairie and NPCs in the scenarios are brought to vivid life by the artwork of Johan Egerkrans. The book is well written, the handouts are well done—if a plain in places, and the cartography is excellent.

Vaesen – Mythic Britain & Ireland takes the structure and style of Vaesen – Mythic Britain & Ireland and places it in what be the familiar for much the English speaking hobby. That familiarity may lead to clichés, but this is actually not all that much of an issue given the supplement’s mix of the fantastical and the historical, meaning the Player Characters can don deerstalkers and tramp the moors in search of malicious or mischievous wee beasties or hunt for horrors on the fog-bound streets of London and neither would be out of place. Vaesen – Mythic Britain & Ireland is an excellent supplement, opening up the world of Vaesen to a whole new realm and making the fairie something to fear.

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Free League Publishing will be at UK Games Expofrom Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th, 2023.

Across from Room 6 is another room. This door does not open and needs to be forced open.  A combined strength of 36 is needed to pull this door open.

This room is shaped similarly to Room 5.  There are the same small wardrobe rooms.

A skeleton of a humanoid creature is wearing one of the outfits. It is near the door.  It appears it tried to get out of this room but died here instead.

There is no treasure in this room.

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This is one of the crew of this ship. The characters will not discover much here save that this creature is not human.

One of the innovations of RuneQuest is that it introduced a world in which religion plays an intrinsic role. Glorantha has numerous mythologies, pantheons, deities, cults, heroes, and villains, and they are important to all of the peoples of Glorantha such that everyone belongs to a cult, worships one or more gods, whilst also acknowledging many others. Originally introduced in the ground-breaking Cults of Prax and its companion, Cults of Terror, the cults of Orlanth, Humakt, Ernalda, Yelmalio, Kygor Litor, Zorak Zoran, and many others have even entered the roleplaying lexicon. Each provided beliefs, outlook, and spells, and in play even roleplaying hooks. However, having access to all of these cults has historically been something of an issue, the last complete treatment of Glorantha’s gods and cults being GloranthanClassics Volume III – Cult Compendium, which collates material from Cults of Prax, Cults of Terror, and Trollpak, and more. One of the plans for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha was to produce its own similar tome, Cults of Glorantha, initially in a two-volume set—now only to be seen in a limited ashcan edition released at Gen Con. Instead, the Cults of RuneQuest is to be a ten-volume series, each entry dealing with particular pantheons and aspects of Glorantha’s mythologies.
Cults of RuneQuest: The Prosopaedia is the first volume in the series from Chaosium, Inc.. It is essentially an encyclopaedia to the gods and other mythological figures and groups of the fantasy world of Glorantha and contains hundreds of entries. Entries are arranged alphabetically as you would expect. Some entries only receive a single paragraph, for example, Delaeo, Goddess of Fortune, Good Luck, and Wealth, Lanbril, King of Thieves, and Zistor, The God Machine of the Dwarfs. Others, however, are accorded two more paragraphs, such as Babeestor Gor, Avenging daughter and Sacred Guardian, Kyger Litor, Mother of Trolls, and the Seven Mothers, the Recreators of the Red Goddess, the New Gods. Perhaps some of the longest entries are devoted to some of the more well-known figures in Gloranthan mythology—of which Ernalda, Goddess Creation, Goddess of Love, and Orlanth, King of the Gods, Storm God, Chieftain, Warrior, Leader of the Lightbringers, are the best examples. The Cults of RuneQuest: The Prosopaedia is also cross-referenced, so the entry for Orlanth includes references to both Ernalda and the Lightbringers, and when you turn to the Lightbringers entry, there are references to Chalana Arroy, Eurmal, Flesh Man, Ginna Jar, Issaries, Lhankor Mhy, and Orlanth. Not every entry is a god. For example, Gerak Kag is a Dark Troll hero who defeated Praxian nomads and invaded Pavis in the 1230s, Jaldon Goldentooth is the immortal hero of the Praxian tribes who returns again and again to lead them all into battle, and Zzabur is the First Wizard.
Every entry includes a pronunciation guide, its place and role in particular pantheon, and cross-references as needed. Also included is the Rune symbols associated with that particular god, a practice continued from The Red Book of Magic, and particularly useful it is too.
What is not included in Cults of RuneQuest: The Prosopaedia are any game stats or rules mechanics. This it shares with The Glorantha Sourcebook, which framed the conflicts between the differing mythologies in the forthcoming Hero Wars. The lack of stats or mechanics is intentional. Cults of RuneQuest: The Prosopaedia is intended as an overview of the mythologies and gods and other figures of Glorantha, drawing on diverse sources and collating everything for ease of reference. For the player new to RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha and the setting of Glorantha this is an easy starting point to look up such details, with the core rules providing the mechanics necessary. For the Gloranthaphile, it still provides a good overview, but they will, of course, be left wanting more, but that will come as further entries in the Cults of RuneQuest series are published. Further, it should be pointed out that Cults of RuneQuest: The Prosopaedia is not designed as a standalone product. In being an overview of the gods and mythologies, it is a companion volume to the rest of the titles in the series.
There is one other aspect of Cults of RuneQuest: The Prosopaedia which stands out and that is Katrim Dirim’s artwork. It is gloriously rich and vivid in its colours, capturing the majesty, power, glory, and might of the many deities depicted. It gives them all a naturalistic feel as if painted by their worshippers, yet still unworldly.

As comprehensive as the Cults of RuneQuest: The Prosopaedia is, there is one feature which would have increased its utility, and that is perhaps an index by pantheon and thus refer to particular entries in the Cults of RuneQuest series. It is likely that at the end of the series that an index for all ten books will be necessary.
Physically, Cults of RuneQuest: The Prosopaedia is a slim volume. It professionally written and presented, and as already mentioned, is superbly illustrated. That said, in places, the writing will send the reader to a dictionary to look up the definitions of unfamiliar words.
Cults of RuneQuest: The Prosopaedia is beautiful introduction to the pantheons and mythological figures of Glorantha. Superbly comprehensive, it sets up and serves as a companion to the Cults of RuneQuest series and if the rest of the titles are going to look as good and delve deeper into their subjects, then the RuneQuest fan and the Gloranthaphile are going to very pleased with each new volume.
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Chaosium, Inc. will be at UK Games Expofrom Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th, 2023.

Mutant Crawl Classics #14: Mayhem on the Magtrain is the fourteenth release for Mutant Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game – Triumph & Technology Won by Mutants & Magic, the spiritual successor to Gamma World published by Goodman Games. Designed for Second Level player characters, what this means is that—just like Mutant Crawl Classics #13: Into The Glowing Depths before it—Mutant Crawl Classics #14: Mayhem on the Magtrain is not a Character Funnel, one of the signature features of both the Mutant Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game and the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game it is mechanically based upon—in which initially, a player is expected to roll up three or four Level Zero characters and have them play through a generally nasty, deadly adventure, which surviving will prove a challenge. Those that do survive receive enough Experience Points to advance to First Level and gain all of the advantages of their Class. In terms of the setting, known as Terra A.D., or ‘Terra After Disaster’, this is a ‘Rite of Passage’ and in Mutants, Manimals, and Plantients, the stress of it will trigger ‘Metagenesis’, their DNA expressing itself and their mutations blossoming forth. By the time the Player Characters in Mutant Crawl Classics #14: Mayhem on the Magtrain have reached Second Level, they will have had numerous adventures, should have understanding as to how both their mutant powers and how at least some of the various weapons, devices, and artefacts of the Ancients they have found work and can use on their future adventures.

Mutant Crawl Classics #14: Mayhem on the Magtrain takes the Player Characters in a totally unexpected direction, quite literally, but not an unprecedented one. The scenario opens with the village elders summoning the Player Characters before the tribal council. A fellow tribe member, agitatedly reports that she and her hut-mate were attacked by several Sk’wik, the notoriously violent worm-folk which turn everything into a charnel heap that they constantly stir. (It is notable that the Sk’wik are very much like the mysterious worm-like race known as the Sathar from Star Frontiers.) The Player Characters are tasked with returning to the site of the attack and burn out the nest before the Sk’wik spread and threaten the village. The Player Characters quickly locate the nest and after killing the horrid worm-things, find themselves in a cavern of the Ancients. Investigating further, they discover a metal door and beyond that a metal tube of the Ancients, and if the Player Characters have played through the scenario, ‘Assault on the Sky-High Tower’, the Mutant Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game – Triumph & Technology Won by Mutants & Magic core rule book, then they will have been here before! That scenario involves a journey by tube train, not too dissimilar to the journey they are about to make. The scenario is also just a little like that of Mutant Crawl Classics #6: The Apocalypse Ark being set aboard a moving vehicle.

All of the action of the scenario—and the scenario is very action orientated—takes place aboard a runaway Maglev train, still intent on completing its timetable and reaching its next destination at its best possible speed. Or rather, as it turns out, the worst speed possible! At first, the journey seems to going well, but the virtual Conductor becomes increasingly jittery and uncertain until she explains the other A.I. aboard the Maglev train, the Engineer is following its programming to the letter and refusing all attempts at communication. As the Maglev speeds up, it begins to buck and rock as the repulsor on one of its forward carriages begins to fail. As the Maglev hurtles towards its next destination, the Conductor asks the Player Characters to help save the train and go forward to the ‘bridge’ and deal with the Engineer.

Cue all of the classic train shenanigans—only on a Maglev! Do the Player Characters have to climb onto the roof of the train? Are they shot at whilst atop the train? Do they have to inch their way along the undercarriage of the train? Do they have a fight with the Rail Marshal-Bot? The answer is yes to all of questions and more!

Mutant Crawl Classics #14: Mayhem on the Magtrain is a short adventure. Action-packed, but short. It is designed to provide a means to getting the Player Characters a long way away from their village to somewhere possibly more interesting. In the standard Mutant Crawl Classics set-up, the Player Characters rarely get that far from their base village, going out and back again to deal with issues and threats the tribe faces. Mutant Crawl Classics #14: Mayhem on the Magtrain gets the Player Characters far away and hopefully somewhere interesting.

In addition to the floorplans of the Maglev, the scenario includes several new artefacts. The most fun of these is ‘Ocean Apes Insta-Pet’, an entertaining update of sea monkeys!

Physically, behind a suitably briny cover, complete with a metallic logo, Mutant Crawl Classics #14: Mayhem on the Magtrain is cleanly and tidily laid out, clearly written, and decently illustrated. As already mentioned, the maps are really nicely done.

Mutant Crawl Classics #14: Mayhem on the Magtrain is an action movie of a scenario. It is fun, fast, and furiously thrilling, and both the players and the Judge will enjoy playing this in between longer, more involving scenarios.

 This room is up ahead an on the right, the door is open and has trouble closing properly.

This room looks just like Room #4.

There is a crate, like that in Room #4, but this one is empty.

The room is otherwise empty.  There are no other exits.

 

Late one today, but I still want to get it out to you all.

I am always in need of a quick adventure or two, so  120+ sounds like a good deal to me!

Mini-Dungeon Tome II

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/adventureaweek/mini-dungeon-tome-ii?ref=theotherside

Form the Kickstarter:

Mini-Dungeon Tome II contains a wealth of one-shots and side quests for 5th Edition. It is the standalone sequel to the best-selling Mini-Dungeon Tome published by AAW Games in 2018, and continues the collection with over 121 new mini-dungeons.

The Mini-Dungeons in this book are designed to be grab-and-go, easy to run adventures with minimum preparation required, covering levels 1–20.

Looks great and even if just a few of them are good (and it looks like more than just a few) then this is a bargain.

Indeed the sample pack is great and worth clicking on just to get that. So give this one a look. It should be great.

The world of Okkorim was rich and verdant. Then the Empire of Ydrissid rose and fell and so we have the Blighted Lands. The sorcerers of the Empire of Ydrissid commanded great magic and not only established dominion over Okkorim, but also out onto other planes. Key to their power were the ‘eanifisilat’ or ‘dragoncoils’, the focal points where magical power coalesced around slumbering elemental dragons. Yet over time, the power of the ‘eanifisilat’ began to fade, eventually dwindling to nothing and the sorcerer god-kings of the empire sought other means to maintain their arcane power. They could not recreate the ‘eanifisilat’ which had enabled them at their height, to send whole armies across the empire in the blink of an eye, but they could create artifacts imbued with the power of the elemental dragons—air, earth, fire, and water. One of these artefacts is the Occulus of Senrahbah. Like many of its type, it would lost in the years that followed the collapse of the Empire of Ydrissid due to the Wrath which turned its territories into the Blighted Lands and many lesser empires and nations rose and fell. Several factions in the port city of Chentoufi believe they have determined the location of the Occulus of Senrahbah. If there is even the slimmest possibility of holding a sliver of the power of the sorcerer god-kings of the Empire of Ydrissid, then these factions will do their utmost to either obtain it, or prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. Enter the Player Characters…
This is the set-up for OS1 The Eye of Chentoufi, an adventure compatible with Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition that is notable for several things. First and foremost, it is set in ‘Luke Gygax’s World of Okkorim’ and thus co-authored by Luke Gygax, the son of E. Gary Gygax, the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons and thus the hobby itself. Second, it is the first part of a trilogy, which will continue with OS2 The Heart of Chentoufi and OS3 The Fate of Chentoufi. Third, it can be run as a tournament scenario, in just a single four-hour session, and there are notes and points awards so that the players’ progress can be tracked and scores compared at the end of the tournament. Alternatively, it can played through in two or more sessions with the addition of the scenario’s optional scenes. Fourth, it was written as a special tournament scenario for Gary Con XIII, the convention held each March in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

OS1 The Eye of Chentoufi begins en media res. The Player Characters are somewhere in the sands of the Blighted Lands as the ground drops away from them and they find themselves in a giant cavern with many creatures wanting to eat them! They have a chance to get out and then fade to black… Several options are suggested for this, but the players are encouraged to come up with their own solutions. The action switches to the port city of Chentoufi where Pelicos Red approach the heroes to help him find a missing artefact, the Occulus of Senrahbah. If they agree—and if not, then there is no adventure—their investigation leads to the city’s Grand Library where with a bribe or intimidation, they can learn that clues to the artefact’s location lies in the sewers and catacombs below both city and library. Here there is a big set-piece, a puzzle which the Player Characters (or preferably, the players) have to solve before they can move on. They face one of the factions interested in stopping the efforts of the Player Characters and doing so by any means necessary. The fight is made all the more challenging because at this point the Player Characters are weapon-less, having had to hand them over in order to enter library. Improvised weapons can be found, but the spell-casting Classes are at possible advantage here.

The second act begins with the Player Characters discovering a vault under the city and using the clues found there to identify another location in Chentoufi, a tower made of lapis lazuli! Atop the tower is another puzzle, which if solved points to the next location. This leads back under the city, but much deeper this time, encountering several ancient guardians before confronting the Guardian of the Eye and… well… Not actually locating the Occulus of Senrahbah, just more clues. Which of course, leading into OS2 The Heart of Chentoufi.

OS1 The Eye of Chentoufi has some great features. Each of its three acts starts with a summary of the plot for that act; there are suggestions as to what music to play during various scenes (with links to YouTube for the PDF version of the scenario); and the monsters are decently done, with a favourite being the Sussarate Spiders which exist on the Prime Material and Ethereal Planes which grapple their prey and drag them into the Ethereal Plane where they consume them. The two big puzzle scenes in the scenario are really particularly good and like any good tournament scenario do their very best to challenge the players as much, if not more than, the Player Characters.

However, OS1 The Eye of Chentoufi is not a great scenario for a number of reasons. The primary problem is that there is not enough context for the benefit of the players and their characters. There is no background information that is readily presentable to the players, whether on the Blighted Lands or the city of Chentoufi. So, the players will have difficulty getting a feel for the setting as a place, let alone motivation for their Player Characters. This starts with a beginning—en media res, and thus intended to be exciting—in a situation where no attention at all paid to why the Player Characters are there and what they are doing. Some of this could have been alleviated with some pre-generated Player Characters, but there are none. Which makes no sense for a tournament scenario, especially one set in a background which is not vanilla fantasy. The background to Okkorim, the Blighted Lands, and Chentoufi all have an Arabic or Middle Eastern feel, much like Al-Qadim: Land of Fate. Some of this information could have been presented in a set of pre-generated Player Characters, which could also been used to provide motivation for the players and their characters and have been used to showcase what can be played in the ‘Luke Gygax’s World of Okkorim’ and its differences between it and Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. This is a missed opportunity.

Physically, OS1 The Eye of Chentoufi is hit and miss. The artwork is excellent, as is the cartography, and on the whole, the scenario is a fine-looking book. However, the editing is inconsistent. Further, whilst the monsters and NPCs are given clear stats at the end of the book, not all of them.

OS1 The Eye of Chentoufi is playable as is, but it is underdeveloped in all too many places, especially as far as the players are concerned. They will probably complete the scenario not knowing quite what their characters will have achieved as they only get part ways towards locating the Occulus of Senrahbah and feeling unrewarded for their efforts, although there are some nicely thematic magical treasures to be found. Not enough for a party of six Player Characters though. Where OS1 The Eye of Chentoufi shines is in its big set-piece puzzle encounters, but getting to them and playing them will take some development upon the part of the Dungeon Master, both in preparing pre-generated Player Characters and the background for the players and so ready them for the scenario and help bring it to life.

At the Mountains of Madness is horror author H.P. Lovecraft’s longest and one of his most famous stories. It takes the form of a series of letters, written by Doctor William Dyer, a geologist from Miskatonic University, who in late 1930 led an expedition to the Antarctic which would end in disaster, madness, and death following the discovery of the remains of prehistoric lifeforms unknown to science, buried in the permafrost and the remains of a cyclopean city behind a mountain range the height of the Himalayas—previously never seen before, the city long abandoned for terrible reasons which are ultimately revealed at the denouement of the story. Specifically, Doctor Dyer’s letters have been written in an effort to prevent a second, and much more important and widely publicised expedition which is being mounted to the Antarctic from following in the same path. The story has a strong sense of atmosphere and environment—the ice and snow, and extreme low temperatures play a major role in the narrative, serving as a starkly frigid backdrop against which its events take place and its equally stark revelations as to the horrid and horrifying events in the past and their dark influences upon the origins of mankind.

Originally serialised in the February, March, and April 1936 issues of Astounding Stories, At the Mountains of Madness has been published many times since and in more recent years adapted into songs, musicals, graphic novels, radio serials, and more. The very latest adaptation is none of these, but an illustrated version of the novel. At the Mountains of Madness is published by Free League Publishing, a publisher best known for roleplaying games such as Mutant: Year Zero – Roleplaying at the End of Days and Forbidden Lands – Raiders & Rogues in a Cursed World, this is not the publisher’s first such title. That would be The Call of Cthulhu, the classic of American horror literature and the short story that is arguably H.P. Lovecraft’s most well-known. As with that classic, the Free League Publishing edition of At the Mountains of Madness is fully illustrated by French artist François Baranger and presented in a large 10½ by 14 inches folio format.

At the Mountains of Madness Volume I only took the protagonists as far as the upper reaches of the Elder Thing city, it closing at the point where the protagonists are preparing to enter the city’s subterranean depths. Baranger’s final illustration was subtly ominous, the stonework of the wall around the entrance to the tunnel below the Elder Thing city casting a skull-like shadow… It is Baranger’s gorgeous artwork that stood out in the first volume and again, his superlative illustrations capture the frigid, shattered, and alien of the Elder Things on the other side of the Mountains of Madness in the second volume, At the Mountains of Madness Volume I. If the first volume was dominated by wide panoramas of the Antarctic wastes, his artwork balances that here with a sense of height that dwarves the explorers, Doctor William Dyer and the student, Danforth. As they delve deeper into the city and Dyer begins to translate the hieroglyphic murals, the art changes to match, illustrating it in time to Lovecraft’s text as both men learn the long history of the city and its strange inhabitants. Thus there is a switch back and forth between the city in ruins and the city as a living place for the Elder Things, sense of stillness in the former and movement in the latter. No more so than in the terrible confrontation between the Elder Things and the Cthulhu Spawn, an eldritch battle over which great Cthulhu looms. In the text, Dyer notes the sense of awe at the alien city and again that is matched by the Baranger from the first page to the last.

The tone changes as the Elder Things devise and develop the terrible protoplasmic intelligences known as Shoggoths. Even their appearance seems to overawe the Elder Things, imbuing the alien creatures with sense of sympathy and even fear on their behalf...! This though turns shock as the two men first discover the remains of the missing Gedney and his dog—whose disappearance was detailed in At the Mountains of Madness Volume I—and the strange giant albino penguins! Then find out what happened to the Elder Things that were woken in the first half and who were responsible their nemesis—the dread Shoggoth! The final scenes are a rush, as the Shoggoth threaten engulf Dyer and Danforth and the two men make a desperate escape from the city and to their aeroplane. Only in the final scene, do we focus at all upon either of the men, a look of sheer terror upon Danforth’s face as he takes one last terrible look at where he has just come from!

The text for this second volume of At the Mountains of Madness, as with the first, are taken from the standard version of Lovecraft’s story. Although there is no change to the text in terms of content, there is in terms of emphasis, there in places being sentences and paragraphs being placed in a larger font. This is often jarring and does not match Lovecraft’s story, feeling unnecessary given that Branager’s illustrations are there exactly to deliver that emphasis.

If the reader was disappointed to have to wait for At the Mountains of Madness Volume II is after At the Mountains of Madness Volume I, then that wait has been worth it. At the Mountains of Madness Volume II is a stunning book, but then again, so was At the Mountains of Madness Volume I. François Baranger fantastically depicts and contrasts the present and the past of the city beyond the Mountains of Madness in this second volume, just as the second volume as a whole, contrasts the stark alienness and openness of the Antarctic with the oppressive heights of the ruins of the Elder thing city. Of course, At the Mountains of Madness Volume II is not a standalone book, yet its artwork almost transcends the necessity for the first volume. Together, At the Mountains of Madness Volume I and At the Mountains of Madness Volume II combine to retell H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness in a glorious fashion that will delight readers who already know the story and readers who are new to his cosmic horror.

 Across from Room 4 is another "Whoosing" door. This door takes longer to open. 

This room is shaped similar to Room 4 but here there are small wardrobe rooms where a soft. multi-colored coverings. The seem like armor but are very light and flexible.  The outfits are designed for taller and thinner creatures than humans. A tall elf could likely wear them.

There is no other treasure in this room. 

--

The suits are EV suits that allow the crew to work outside of the ship.  They are non-functional since their power pack had been drained centuries ago.

The gaming magazine is dead. After all, when was the last time that you were able to purchase a gaming magazine at your nearest newsagent? Games Workshop’s White Dwarf is of course the exception, but it has been over a decade since Dragon appeared in print. However, in more recent times, the hobby has found other means to bring the magazine format to the market. Digitally, of course, but publishers have also created their own in-house titles and sold them direct or through distribution. Another vehicle has been Kickststarter.com, which has allowed amateurs to write, create, fund, and publish titles of their own, much like the fanzines of Kickstarter’s ZineQuest. The resulting titles are not fanzines though, being longer, tackling broader subject matters, and more professional in terms of their layout and design.

—oOo—

The Travellers’ Digest #1 was published in 1985. It marked the entry of Digest Group Publications into the hobby and from this small, but ambitious beginnings would stem a complete campaign and numerous highly-regarded supplements for Game Designers Workshop’s Traveller and MegaTraveller, as well as a long running magazine. That magazine was The Travellers’ Digest and it would really begin as a fanzine before developing into a full magazine that together would run for twenty-one issues between 1985 and 1990. The conceit was that The Travellers’ Digest was a magazine within the setting of the Third Imperium, its offices based on Deneb in the Deneb Sector, and that it awarded the Traveller’s Digest Touring Award. This award would be won by one of the Player Characters and thus the stage is set for ‘The Grand Tour’, the long-running campaign in the pages of The Travellers’ Digest. In classic fashion, as with Europe of the eighteenth century, this would take the Player Characters on a tour of the major capitals of known space. These include Vland, Capitol, Terra, the Aslan Hierate, and even across the Great Rift. The meat of this first issue, as well as subsequent issues, would be dedicated to an adventure, each a stop-off on the ‘The Grand Tour’, along with support for it. The date for the first issue of The Traveller’s Digest and thus when the campaign begins is 152-1111, the 152nd day of the 1111th years of the Imperium.
To best run ‘The Grand Tour’, the Referee will need access to The Atlas of the Imperium, Supplement 8: Library Data (A-M), Supplement 11: Library Data (N-Z), Supplement 7: Traders and Gunboats (or alternatively, Supplement 5: Azhanti High Lightning), as well as the core rules. In addition, the supplement, The Undersea Environment, and adventure, The Drenslaar Quest, published by Gamelords, Ltd., are both useful for running underwater adventures—though they are really only useful if the Referee develops adventuring content beyond that presented in the issue. Alien Module 4: Zhodani may also be useful. Of course, that was in 1985, and much, if not all, of the rules or background necessary have been updated since.
The set-up for ‘The Grand Tour’ begins with descriptions of the pre-generated Player Characters. There are four. They consist of Akidda Laagiir, the journalist who won the Traveller’s Digest Touring Award; Dur Telemon, a scout and his nephew; Doctor Theodor Krenstein, a gifted-scientist and roboticist; and Doctor Krenstein’s valet, ‘Aybee’, or rather, ‘AB-101’. The fact is, AB-101 is a pseudo-biological robot, both protégé and prototype. Consequently, the mix of Player Characters are surprisingly non-traditional and not all of them are easily created used the means offered in Traveller or MegaTraveller.
The Feature adventure in The Travellers’ Digest #1 ‘of Xboats and Friends’, its opening fiction, ‘It’s a Small Galaxy!’, setting the scene for the scenario as the four characters meet up on a passenger liner bound for the world of Jode in the Pretoria subsector. The primary motivations are to locate Neric Andor, a fellow Scout and friend of Dur Telemon, and for Doctor Krenstein, to test out a theory he has about the extinct sentient species on Jode. The Player Characters begin by looking for Neric Andor, searching high and low in the bars and casinos on Jode Orbital, but without any success, although they do pick up plenty of rumours—sabotage of a surface processing plant, a missing Vargr starship, and slowed outsystem mail being the least of them. When the Player Characters do find information about their missing friend, that he frequented a casino, they are warned off by a couple of Scouts—or are they? It turns out that they are actually part of a Zhodani spy operation on Jode and AB-101 has the means to detect their origins via their speech patterns.
In the second part of the adventure, the Player Characters manage to get aboard the Express Boat Tender Albany, where Neric is stationed and has just returned to. The Albany is detailed and deck plans are included as the Player Characters quickly discover that the Neric stationed there is an imposter. The plot quickly wraps up and should reveal the extent of Zhodani espionage operations in the system. The Player Characters are well rewarded, including the robot.
The adventure includes some roleplaying notes for each of the Player Characters, both the Referee and the players. It is noticeable that as a journalist, Akidda Laagiir, has an incredible skill of ‘Interview-5’! (The Journalist Career would appear in The Traveller’s Digest #2.) However, the roleplaying notes mix and match the information, so they contain information for both the Referee and the players, so there is information present that the players should not read as well as stuff they should know. Which is a problem which runs throughout the scenario, mixing information the players and their characters should know with information they should not. Consequently, the fairly linear and often direct adventure does need to be pulled apart and quite heavily prepared for the players, especially in terms of handouts.
The world of Jode is described in some detail. This includes its UUP—both past and present, its toxic, chlorine-tainted atmosphere, limited landmasses, and importance as a source of pharmaceuticals and the fact that it was once home to a sentient, land-dwelling species prior to a geological disaster. Options for further adventures are included. The Player Characters can go sea hunting or mining—details of a submersible are provided—and there is the suggestion that the scientist Player Character is interested in the archaeology of Jode.
There is some further library data in The Travellers’ Digest #1, divided into two strands. One covers some nineteen worlds of the Deneb sector, plus of a map of the Xboat routes across the Deneb sector. The other is a more general, covering the Shudusham Accords (by which armaments carried by robots are limited), the Vilani supremacist group known as the Rachele Society and its associated revolt which took place on Pretoria in the Pretoria subsector, and more. All of it is relevant to the main adventure to some degree. The Pretoria subsector is detailed, including both subsector map and the UPPs for all of its worlds.
The last three articles in The Travellers’ Digest #1 all have a technical bent. ‘Robot Design Revisited, Part 1’ expands on the ‘Ref’s Notes’ article, ‘Robots’ which appeared in The Best of the Journal of the Travellers’ Aid Society. The article provides a new seven-step robot design system, from chassis and power plant through to sensors/devices and programming. It includes a fully worked (and costed!) example, which fittingly, is for the Player Character, AB-101. Of course, the article would be superseded the year following the publication of The Travellers’ Digest #1 with the release of Book 8: Robots from Game Designer Workshop. ‘Using Skills Effectively’ provides the Referee with a more consistent set of mechanics than is necessarily found in Traveller at the time, whilst ‘Orbital Complexes’ provides guidance for creating such facilities using Book 5: High Guard. The trio is well thought out and certainly would have been appreciated by the Traveller Referee at the time.
Physically, The Travellers’ Digest #1 is very obviously created using early layout software. However, that layout is surprisingly tidy and if some of the artwork is created using a computer too, it is not actually that bad.
The Travellers’ Digest #1 contains a lot of information that the prospective Traveller Referee would have found useful, whether that is ‘Robot Design Revisited, Part 1’, the ‘Library Data’, or ‘Using Skills Effectively’. However, the scenario in the first issue, ‘Of Xboats and Friends’, is both a highlight and a missed opportunity. Of course, it sets up ‘The Grand Tour’ and it is direct and likely fun to play. However, it needs a lot of work to pull apart and prepare, particularly with handouts and library data and the downside to being direct is that it does direct the players at certain points. The missed opportunity is what else to do on Jode. For example, Doctor Krenstein has a theory that the extinct sentient species on the planet was more advanced than is currently believed, but he never gets to test out that theory. There is not enough information given about this aspect of Jode and if the Referee had wanted to do anything with it because Doctor Krenstein’s player was interested, she would have to develop it herself. (Subsequent supplements have further developed the sentient species, known as Serpents.)
Overall, The Travellers’ Digest #1 is a good first issue, if flawed. Despite it leaving a lot for the Referee to do, The Travellers’ Digest #1 does lay the groundwork for ‘The Grand Tour’, a lost campaign that has disappointingly never been revisited.