Timekeeping
This session took place on 13/03/2025, and the PCs adventured for 1 day.
Introduction
Back to the PSoD. Missing a considerable portion of their strength, could the remaining party members step up? Or would they succumb to new horrors in the dungeon? A session that shows AD&D can do horror quiet easily. This was a really fun session to DM, I was sure the party were overmatched and would be lucky to make it out alive, read on to find out if I was right.
Player Characters Present
Sheamus (Level 7 Irish Fighter from Brovenloft, rider of the Rocket Cycle and wielder of the Drewblade) with henchman McScales (Lizardman F3)Karshe (Level 6 Fighter, bearer of the Military Trident) with henchmen Harlan Makkoi (Dwf F/T 3/3) Dusty (D4) and Isaac "I.T." Tremain (C4, with a Gammaworld mutation)Ignatius the Smiter (Level 1 Cleric of Machodor)
Session Report
The smaller than usual party made their way up through the morning's snow to the nearby extinct volcano, and from there into the quadrant of crashed Hawkman Sky City known as the Pizza Slice of Doom. Getting back to the cyclopean stone archway that leads into level 2 proper without incident, the party found that the door was again in place. I.T. (Karshe's cleric henchman with a mutation that makes him a technological genius) reported that the skull caps hanging nearby (that Shaemus and McScales had used last session) were active and, if used, would open the door. Of course, the party had another method, having borrowed the ring of Prince Barin from Sever. Avoiding risking the skull caps this time they used the ring to open a door in the stone. Finding that opening the portal was straight forward they stepped into the corridor beyond. Things had changed little, but they had indeed changed, now there was a strange sense of completion to the structure, and a diffuse phosphorescence lit the place in a ghastly green tinge. None of their light sources had their usual effect in the presence of this local lighting, and their overall range of vision dropped to a mere 30', beyond which lurked either monstrous nightmares of eldritch horror, or mere shadows.
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| There was only one way to find out which. |
They advanced past the site of last session's battle and up to the T-intersection. Here they found that the wall ahead, which blocked what used to be the north exit to a four-way intersection, was now pierced with oddly shaped holes about the size of a fist. Air moved freely back and forth through these holes, causing a strange whistling and piping noise.
They stuck with the plan: explore beyond the south exit from the toxic waste room; but, as they moved west down the corridor, they had a definite sense of something approaching from behind them. This approaching something was making a noise, a singularly insidious musical piping, which could only be described as:
Obviously, this was a clear "tell" to anyone well enough versed in Appendix N, but the characters had no reason to be especially alarmed; though they were disturbed enough to choose not to investigate the sound. Instead the party advanced as quickly as possible in the opposite direction, to the toxic waste room's east entrance. Here they found that the "door" (a five pointed arch of stone surmounted by a gem) was again closed after they had opened it last session. They used the ring and upon activation the part of the wall beneath the archway simply dissolved and disappeared, allowing entrance to the room beyond. In addition to be almost instantaneous, this method of opening was silent and so did not hamper their chances of surprising whatever might be inside."Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!"
Combat #1: Shoggoth(s)
Rounds: 7, 2 Surprise Segments
Result: Draw
Highlights: The players were aggressive enough to go fully on the attack. Arrows flew, as did the spear of McScales. Sheamus advanced and got the Shoggoth's attention with 3 attacks in the 2 segments and Karshe wielded his deadly trident. Just as things were looking improbably under control, Dusty the druid shouted a warning; another Shoggoth was coming through the open east door! I made him roll a morale/loyalty check, which he passed, and with his pet lizard he tried to hold the monster at the doorway as its bulk started flowing through at him. Meanwhile Ignatius backed away and looked to examine the southern exit.
Next round Dusty's pet lizard was squashed by a Shoggoth pseudopod, and Dusty himself was hit by another which nearly killed him; however he had bought the party enough time to finish off Shoggoth #1. The next round's initiative would be crucial, with Shoggoth #2 only part way through the doorway, Sheamus, the wily Irish Fighter, declared that he would use the ring to close the door. Now with a normal door this would be useless, but this was not a normal door (as I had plainly set up without ever considering this outcome). It was around now that we all had a flashback:
Way back in 2023, Trollopulous characters saved the Sun by climbing onto the outside of the Metamorphosis Alpha style ship in which their world resides (spoiler, I guess, it's a long story) and defeating some fell creatures out there. Those creatures were also Shoggoths, two of them, and before the party could don space suits and got out to fight; loyalty checks for henchmen were rolled. Well, Karshe and his henchmen had been there, and Karshe's player reminded me that Dusty had not only failed his check and refused to go out and fight, he subsequently witnessed several hirelings get smashed to smithereens. Two Shoggoths at once was a deadly affair indeed. Run a long enough shared campaign and cool call backs like this will happen. Karshe and his henchmen characters hadn't been played much since then; but they were well suited to the PSoD, I.T. had even brought back a Laser Carbine as a souvenir.
Returning from the flashback, Ignatius reached a trap in the floor before the south exit (which had been patiently biding its time there for many sessions). The trap turned the floor into a sliding ramp, and the cleric slid helplessly down into the green liquid in the pool. Yikes!
Next round the party did win initiative and Sheamus closed, or re-materialised, the door; right on the Shoggoth before it could follow up and move into the room. This resulted in the front part of the creature getting shaved off and dropping in a quivering mass to the floor. Did this kill the rest of it? They had no way to know, but for now had other concerns.
Dusty might have been still having a flashback, and, now with his pet dead - reduced to a smear on the floor - I had him make another morale check; and this one he failed.
Ignatius found that within the liquid he had no buoyancy, he slid right down to the bottom of the pool and could not resurface. Not daring to try and breath, he instead waded towards the ramp at the opposite corner of the pool as fast as he could. He started moving along while the rest of the party tried to rig up a way to scoop him out. This latter plan was quickly shelved; just as Ignatius started climbing out, another Shoggoth exited a sub-level tunnel from the north east that spilled out into the pool right below the ramp. The horrific creature surged up at the cleric and hit him twice. It was good night for poor Ignatius (and we'll never know what effect the green liquid may have later had on him had he survived).
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| not a bad try from grok. |
The battle continued as the Shoggoth confronted the front rank, Dusty hid in a corner, Harlan tried his best without making much of a dent; but I.T. was there with his laser carbine (that unfortunately he couldn't hit the broadside of a barn with) and healing spells that were sorely needed as time went on. The fresh Shoggoth #3 was unable to consistently lay damage on a single opponent, but instead spread it across Karshe, Sheamus, and McScales. If this luck held they might just survive. With a final initiative win, they indeed prevailed.
Getting their collective breath back, the PCs considered the situation. They were battered, should they push on? With a body to recover and a terrified henchman, it seemed an unlikely option. But on the other hand, no one wanted to go back and tell Sever they had not even got beyond the toxic waste room. Their spirits were raised somewhat when they notice that the body of Shoggoth #3 had dissolved, its remains running down the ramp back into the green pool; in its wake a number of glistening gems were left behind. The treasure tipped the scales in favour of getting out; but, could they do it?
While this was discussed I decided to work out what was going on with Shoggoth #2, it was still alive certainly, but would it wait at the same door, or move, or what? I rolled the dice and determined its plans, then waited to see what would happen next.
Karshe managed to coax Dusty into casting what he hoped was a game changer: Stone Shape.
The idea was to create another exit from the room, one that should be clear; but, with the area effect of "three cubic feet, plus one cubic foot per level" the spell was not up to the task. Never mind, instead they created a peep hole wide enough to stretch through the east wall (incidentally confirming that the cyclopean stone was not just a façade, but went all the way through) and so determined that the corridor beyond was clear. Having established this, for some reason they then chose to leave via the north exit. The door opened and...SURPRISE, a truncated and pissed off Shoggoth #2 was waiting for them.
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| it was now personal for Shoggoth #2 |
Combat #2: Shoggoth #2 again
Rounds: 2 with 1 Surprise Segment
Result: Party escapes
Highlights: The surprise segment could have easily resulted in another death, but somehow the monster didn't quiet manage it. Had I been more on the ball a Shoggoth overbear would have been on the cards, I justified this later as reflecting that the creature was nearly as surprised as they were. After another crucial initiative win Sheamus shut the door on the monster for the second time, and they party quickly staggered back across the room and out the east door.
The haunting fluting sounds were behind them as they hustled back the way they had entered, it was hard to tell just how far away the sound was, were they escaping or was it gaining? In the end they were able to evade pursuit and get back to the outside, and from there home to Castle Irish. Things could have gone worse.
Session Statistics:
Wilderness travel: 6 Miles
Combats: 2
Combat rounds: 9
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