Month #10: The Free City of Thagwar

Wow! We are 75% complete with #dungeon23! Three months to go! Here's the next amazing locale for diverse Advanced Fighting Fantasy 2E adventures:

The Free City of Thagwar

Southern fringe of the Carnelian Desert, The Demonic Plane of Rust

"The Free City of Thagwar is also known as the Primal City, as it is thought to have been the first metropolis that sprung up anywhere; whether it be on Titan or in the Pit. What caused the initial wave of Demons to flock to Thagwar's shadow-haunted avenues is now unknown, but the oldest continually inhabited place in the Macrocosmos is a gigantic sprawling cancerous-like growth, rising from its inceptive oasis among rusty dunes to engulf several nearby oases as well. Its architecture is fungal and organic-looking, its multitudinous quarters refuse-strewn and ruled over by rival cults, minor demon princelings, and the occasional lost demigod. There is thus no central authority here, and Thagwar represents chaos in the form of a city; brutal, uncaring, violent and unpredictable. Anything can happen in the Free City of Thagwar and frequently does!"

Vade Mecum Infernum by Aughm Lightchaser (p. 15)

The Free City of Thagwar (#1/31, #274/365)

Thagwar is a gargantuan infernal metropolis, a radiating spread of demonic buildings encompassing several oases, and abutting a series of jagged highland cliffs on the southern edge of the Carnelian Desert. Its streets are dusty with rust, and the debris and garbage of thousands of Demons, Undead, monsters, beasts and other alien intruders, living and dying among these roads and avenues for millenia. They say that if you have not visited Thagwar then you have not really lived, for to hurl yourself into the city at night is to embark on an adventure whose outcome you cannot predict, but hopefully will not prove fatal or worse!

Ruler: Multiple faction rulers to be detailed in subsequent posts.

Dominion Grade: Grade 12

Type: Enormous City

Income: 1600GP/month

Army: 400 Elite (Accursed), 1200 Soldiers (Ishkarim), 1600 Watch (Fiends, Vorpits, Qagdin and others), 2400 Militia (Skeleton Warriors).

Description: As the so-called Free City, Thagwar bows down to no one overlord, but is instead riven by factions. These factions will be fully detailed in future posts, but encompass powerful Rust Demons, Venom Demons, emissaries of various Demon Princes (Myurr, Sith and Ishtra), and the cults and sects of many evil gods (and some actual demigods who dwell within the city). The troops listed above are split proportionally between the various factions depending on how powerful each faction is and which quarter of the city it governs.

A hall of demons and mirrors...

Temple of the Mirror Demons (#30/30, #273/365)

"Among the dunes is what looks like a small oasis, several toadstool palms clustered around a blue pool. Also present is an overgrown structure of stone and corroded bronze, its pillared porticoes giving it the appearance of some kind of temple."

Contents: This oasis contains an ancient temple to the Mad God, the Deity of the Mirror (see Rough Guide to the Pit, p. 44). This is the temple to which unlucky Heroes will be taken if kidnapped by Mirror Demons in the Hall of Bronze Mirrors on the third level of the Found Tombs of Arvakaten. 2-12 Mirror Demons are present within the temple and will attack all who venture inside, or are kidnapped via the mirrors. There are four bronze mirror portals in the temple; they allow access back to the Hall of Bronze Mirrors.

Altar to the Mad God: The altar to the Mad God is a plinth of black stone, upon which rests a Bronze Mirror (see Encyclopedia Arcana: Volume 1, p. 130). Anyone removing this will be Cursed by the Mad God, as per the Priestly Power.

Fungal Oasis: This is the oasis proper, surrounded by fungal growths. If drunk, the weird blueish liquid in the pool acts as Unholy Water (see Demons of Doom, p. 51), and also causes a random non-cumulative Chaos Mutation (see Encyclopedia Arcana: Volume 1, p. 57). Any sort of purification magic or potion will turn the blue sludge into normal water.

Stats:

2-12 MIRROR DEMONS, SKILL 10 STAMINA 10, Small Claws

Scattered around the temple are several dismembered skeletons, 47GP in mixed coinage, a gourd of Shroomshine Grog, and a scroll showing a partial map of the Maze of Pnar.

A toll-bridge, deep in the depths of the Pit...

The Bridge of Bones (#29/30, #272/360)

"A rickety-looking bridge, made entirely from white bones, spans across what appears to be a bottomless black chasm.  A giant stone statue stands next to the bridge, and animates at your approach. It is a five metre tall Rock Golem, with four arms and eyes of coruscating plasma.

'Each of you must choose! Face myself in combat, or face a lesser foe, such as yourself,' it rumbles."

Contents: Each Hero must answer the Rock Golem's challenge to use the bridge. If they say 'Yourself', they must fight the Rock Golem in single combat. If they win, they can cross the bridge to the other side, while the Rock Golem magically reappears, apparently completely unharmed, to challenge the next Hero.

If they say 'Myself' they must fight a Mirror Image of themselves that has the same stats but no special gear or abilities. The Mirror Image appears in the middle of the bridge and walks towards them; Heroes can fight the duplicate on the bridge or wait til it reaches their side. If they defeat the duplicate, it fades from view and they can cross the bridge safely.

Anyone fighting on the bridge who rolls a Fumble has fallen into the chasm and takes 10d6 STAMINA damage when they hit the bottom. At the bottom are the bones of the bridge's victims that have not been incorporated into its architecture, as well as various scavengers - roll on the table below to see what lurks here.

If the Heroes try and cheat by all fighting the Rock Golem at the same time, a Mirror Image of each hero will appear in the middle of bridge and attack them as well, all together.

Stats:

ROCK GOLEM, SKILL 9 STAMINA 17, 4 Attacks, Unarmed (Large), Heavy Armour, Double Damage. Every time the Rock Golem is hit, roll one die: on a 1 searing blasts of plasma shoot out from its eyes at whoever wounded it, causing 5 STAMINA damage unless a successful Test for Luck is made.

MIRROR IMAGE, SKILL as Hero STAMINA as Hero, Weapon as Hero, Armour as Hero.

Roll a die for scavengers at the bottom of the chasm, if the Heroes get down there:

1-2. 1-6 ZEYJUV, SKILL 9 STAMINA 10, 2 Attacks, Large Bite and Acid Vomit, Light Armour. Test for Skill/Luck to avoid Acid Vomit once per battle, cause 4 STAMINA damage and has to be wiped off. Like their prey, can turn Invisible and flee if the battle is going badly. See the Rough Guide to the Pit, p. 36.

3-4. 3-18 CASTLE IMPS, SKILL 5 STAMINA 4, Bone needle (1 Damage). Fighting Castle Imps in the tunnels is at a -3 penalty to the assailant's Attack Strength.

5-6. 2-12 BLACK MILLI-WYRMS, SKILL 8 STAMINA 5, 2 Attacks, Small Bite and Fire Breath, Medium Armour. Excellent eyesight gives them the Awareness Special Skill. Also breath fire; roll one die every Attack Round, on a 1 or 2 the enemy is burnt for 1 STAMINA damage. See the Rough Guide to the Pit, p. 36.

Among the bones at the bottom of the chasm (and there are a lot!), can be found the following: 83GP in mixed coins, a cracked glass jar, an empty backpack, an untarnished grappling iron, 2 Red Jewels (worth 10GP each), a Hellfire Stone and a Demonstooth Amulet.

Live, at the hive, in the woods...

Gargoyle Hive (#28/30, #271/365)

"Rising above the mushroom trees is an immense dome of grey stone. There appears to be a hole at the top, and another entrance at ground level, through a low portal. Even from here you detect a rancid stench emanating from the dome, and the sounds of something flapping from within."

Contents: This is a hive-lair for a colony of GARGOYLES, who, during the day will fly out in search of meat and travellers to harass, returning at dusk to pick over the scraps of any victims, and sleep, perched in nooks on the inside wall of the hive-dome. During the day there may be 1-6 creatures present; at night all will be here.

Halfway up the dome's inner curving wall, is a small stone platform containing a Shrine to the Gargoyle God. This is tended to at all times by Gula-Grote, a Gargoyle priest and unofficial leader of the Hive. The priest will accept donations to the shrine as an incentive not to attack (assuming the Heroes look capable enough to defend themselves); anyone donating 25GP to the shrine will be Blessed by the Gargoyle God, which may cause problems if they are a devotee of another deity.

Beneath the hive, and accessible via several small hidden entrances are a series of small cramped tunnels around a metre to a metre and a half in diameter, all converging on a round central chamber around three meters across. These tunnels are infested with CASTLE IMPS; half will be patrolling the tunnels, the rest will be in the central chamber sleeping. During the day, when the Gargoyles fly out, the Imps will pick over the remains of any victims from the night before.

Stats:

8-48 GARGOYLES, SKILL 9 STAMINA 10, 2 Attacks, Large Claw, Heavy Armour. Only harmed by magical weapons and also afraid of fire. A normal weapon will break after hitting a Gargoyle twice. Can fly.

On the altar to the Gargoyle God, among piles of stinking guano and bones, can be found 3-36 GP, three Red Jewels worth 25gp, two glass vials of silvery Rustbane, and a length of Demonhair Rope (see Demons of Doom, p. 54).

Gula-Grote, GARGOYLE PRIEST, SKILL 10 STAMINA 12, 2 Attacks, Large Claw, Heavy Armour. Only harmed by magical weapons and also afraid of fire. A normal weapon will break after hitting a Gargoyle twice. Can fly.

The Gargoyle Priest has the following priestly abilities: DEVOTION 9, Special Power: Stonemeld (can move through stone like it is water), General Powers: Bravery, Smite vs non-flyers, Weakness.

The priest also has a Holy Symbol of the Gargoyle (vulture's head), 2-12 GP and a Red Jewel (30GP) in a leather pouch, and an Ebon Wand (see Encyclopedia Arcana: Volume 1, p. 136), which it will use in combat if attacked.

3-36 CASTLE IMPS, SKILL 5 STAMINA 4, Bone needle (1 Damage). Fighting Castle Imps in the tunnels is at a -3 penalty to the assailant's Attack Strength.

In their main den is a large clay pot containing 2-12 GP, 1-6 Obsidian Chips (worth 1GP each), and a Red Jewel (10GP).

A slow convoy of fungus-hawking tapir-nosed merchants...

Qagdin Fungus Caravan (#27/30, #270/365)

This can be used for whatever area or terrain you require, as the Qagdin are found everywhere across the Plane of Rust.

"Up ahead you see a convoy of blue-spotted pack-beasts, yoked together and carrying hide sacks and saddlebags. They are tended to by tall, broadly-built greenish furred humanoids, with tapir-like faces, whose trunk is sheathed in some kind of segmented device. They are armed with axes and wear leather armour, and one of them approaches you with a sack that appears to contain many exotic coloured mushrooms.

'Can I interest you in any fungus to purchase?' it inquires."

Contents: These are Qagdin fungus-merchants and to determine the size of the caravan and who and what it comprises, roll on the following table:

1. Small caravan: 2-7 WUDREFMIK and 2-7 QAGDIN. Roll 3 times on the Fungal Wares table.

2-3. Average caravan: 2-12 WUDREFMIK, 2-12 QAGDIN and 1 QAGDIN UNCINATUM. Roll 4 times on the Fungal Wares table.

4-5. Large caravan: 3-18 WUDREFMIK, 3-18 QAGDIN, 2 QAGDIN UNCINATUM, and 1 QAGIN MAGNATUM. Roll 5 times on the Fungal Wares table.

6. Grand caravan: 4-24 WUDREFMIK, 4-24 QAGDIN, 4 QAGDIN UNCINATUM, 2 QAGIN MAGNATUM and 1 QAGDIN MACROSPORUM. Roll 6 times on the Fungal Wares table.

The Qagdin are happy to sell as much of their wares to the Heroes as they can afford. They enjoy a good bargain however, and all prices will start off at double those listed on the Fungal Wares table below. Qagdin also enjoy a good gossip, and will have reliable scuttlebutt on most major locations in the immediate vicinity. Each piece of information costs 1-6 GP.

To determine the Fungal Wares of the Qagdin caravan, roll two dice on the following table as many times as indicated by the caravan size, rerolling any identical results:

2. 1 small FUNGOID mushroom humanoid in a wicker cage. 50 GP. May become a Familiar if treated nicely. (see Return to the Pit, pp. 83-84)

3. 1-6 Growth Mushrooms. 25 GP each See The Titan Herbal (p. 39).

4. 1-6 Green Mushrooms. 5 GP each. Each one of these smaller mushrooms restores 1-6 STAMINA points in healing.

5. 1-6 Rustbane vials. 5 GP each.

6. 1-6 Green-Topped Fungi. 4 GP each. Each giant mushroom is worth 1 Provision, restoring 4 STAMINA points when eaten.

7. 1-6 Purple Puffballs. 5 GP each. One use - if thrown at an enemy, explodes in a cloud of purple spores causing 1-6 STAMINA points damage.

8. 2-12 Yellow Coral Plumes. 2 GP each. Each piece of this bracket-fungi restores 1-2 STAMINA points when eaten.

9. 3-18 patches of unused Glow-Mould. 1 GP each. One use, will glow as bright as a torch for 1-6 minutes when breathed on.

10. Roll on the Random Fungi Generator!

11. 1-3 Mix-Up Mushrooms. 25 GP. See The Titan Herbal (p. 50).

12. 1-3 Emerald Net Pods. 30 GP each. One use - if thrown each pod explodes in an emerald mist of spores that solidifies into a chitinous net, as per the Web spell.

The Qagdin will defend themselves if attacked, using the full arsenal of their various deterrents as described in the Stats section below. The Wudrefmik will attempt to flee, taking the wares with them, unless restrained.

Stats:

WUDREFMIK,SKILL 6 STAMINA 10, Hooves (as per Large Claw) or Acid Spit, Light Armour. See the Rough Guide to the Pit, p. 36.

QAGDIN, SKILL 8 STAMINA 6, 2 Attacks, Handaxe or Myriad Device (as per Dagger), Light Armour. Hideous stench: anyone fighting a Qagdin without nose plugs or filters must reduce their SKILL score by 1 for the combat.

Each Qagdin has a Handaxe, a Myriad Device, 2-12 GP, and 2 Purple Puffballs (if thrown, explode in a cloud of spores causing 1-6 STAMINA damage).

QAGDIN UNCINATUM, SKILL 9 STAMINA 7. Other abilities and equipment as per regular Qagdin except also has an Emerald Net Pod (One use - if thrown each pod explodes in an emerald mist of spores that solidifies into a chitinous net, as per the Web spell).

QAGDIN MAGNATUM, SKILL 10 STAMINA 8, Other abilities and equipment as per Qagdin Uncinatum except also has a Thornbeast Potion (when poured on the ground, instantly summons a THORNBEAST).

QAGDIN MACROSPORUM, SKILL 11 STAMINA 9, +1 to Damage Roll, Other abilities and equipment as per Qagdin Magnatum except also has a Scroll of Darkthorn (when read, summons a DARKTHORN).

THORNBEAST, SKILL 8 STAMINA 10, Large Claw, Light Armour. See Return to the Pit, p. 196-197.

DARKTHORN, SKILL 12 STAMINA 18, 3 Attacks, Very Large Claw, Medium Armour. See Return to the Pit, p. 51-52. Shoots 3-8 thorns at start of battle; each causes 1 STAMINA damage. Immune to all attacks while roots in contact with ground; needs to be lifted up. Witherwell Potion and Withering Spell Gem are fatal to it.

Death flits by on fluttering grey wings...

Mausoleum of the Moth Goddess (#26/30, #269/365)

"Through the gourd-stools and the baobab-shrooms you see a ruined building of grey stone. It is a large rectangular structure at the front, while the rear has an enormous domed hive-like shape, with many circular entrances. There is also an entry-portal at ground level, flanked with carved fluted pillars, but apparently unguarded."

Contents: This is the tomb of Ymphos the Moth Goddess, who is not actually dead, but instead imprisoned in a giant stone cocoon after losing a wager with Hammurabi, Lord of the Flies. The mausoleum is maintained by a devoted cadre of lepidopteran allies of all descriptions, insect pilgrims who have travelled across the Planes by means unknown to pay tribute to their sleeping nocturnal deity. The tomb consists of the following chambers:

a) Entry Chamber: This contains a laterite slab, upon which rests a glass dome full of STORM BUTTERFLIES. If the dome is lifted up, the SWARM of butterflies will attack.

b) Side Chamber: This chamber is full of Foul Weed and exotic fungi. 2-12 GIANT BUTTERFLIES of various colours will be here. They will attack if not placated with reptilian or part-reptilian prey. 3-18 Foul Weeds can be harvested here; for fungi, see the Random Fungi Creator!

c) Side Chamber: This chamber contains a rusty iron cage, within which is a SNAKE'S HEAD FRITILLARY, which will attack if freed.

d) Antechamber: This large hall had a square hole in the roof, through which 3-18 GIANT MOTHS fly out at dusk and return at dawn. Otherwise they will rest here, but only attack if attacked or their cocoons are tampered with. There will be 2-12 cocoons here; each cocoon can be harvested for enough silk to make a silk rope, but requires a Test for Luck. If the harvester is unlucky, the cocoon has burst, spraying poisonous liquid that causes 1-6 STAMINA points damage.

e) Tomb Hive: This tall domed chamber is pierced with irriegular holes, through which 4-24 MOTH MEN fly out at dusk and return at dawn. Otherwise they will rest here and attack all who enter, unless the Heroes can communicate they are here to free the Moth Goddess from her containment.

In front of the cocoon are the offerings left by MOTH MEN: 83GP, 12 Obsidian Chips (worth 1GP each), two Red Jewels (20GP each), a vial of silver Rust Bane, and a Gold-Backed Mirror.

The Cocoon is an enormous stone cylinder, some ten metres long and irregularly braced with rib-like supporting structures. It cannot be opened by any means, and is completely impervious to damage. The only way to open it (which needs to be discovered by copious research), is the use a blast of energy from the Eye of J'hai, the Watching Tyrant, an obscure relic of an even more obscure demigod.

If the cocoon is opened with the Eye, it will crack and collapse, revealing an enormous moth with wings of black, blue and purple - this is the Moth Goddess Ymphos. She will grant a wish (see the Ring of Wishes, Encyclopedia Arcana: Volume 1, p. 127) to whoever used the Eye to free her. Ymphos will then prise the top from the hive, which is revealed to have a lid, and fly out into the heavens, no doubt seeking leisurely vengeance upon Hammurabi.

Stats:

MOTH MAN, SKILL 7 STAMINA 7, Small Bite. (See Return to the Pit, p. 134)

GIANT MOTH, SKILL 7 STAMINA 10, Small Bite. Always attack with Surprise, but take double damage from fire. (See Beyond the Pit, p. 89)

GIANT BUTTERFLY, SKILL 5 STAMINA 3, Small Bite, 1 Damage. The Giant Butterfly attacks with its acidic proboscis; each hit causes 1 STAMINA damage with no Armour Roll allowed.On Titan, Giant Butterflies are known from the vicinity of the Riddling Reaver's manse, in southern Allansia, where they feed on tiny yellow Tyrannosauruses.

SNAKE'S HEAD FRITILLARY, SKILL 8 STAMINA 8, Small Bite. Poison in bite causes loss of 1 SKILL for every successful bite. The Snake's Head Fritillary has the wings and body of a beautiful Giant Butterfly and the neck and head of a venomous Serpent.

SWARM of STORM BUTTERFLIES, SKILL 7 STAMINA 7, Wind blast: Anyone who loses an Attack Round to the Swarm will be knocked about for 2-7 STAMINA damage by howling winds. Anyone attacking the Swarm must deduct 1 from their Attack Strength. (See Return to the Pit, p. 192)

Fingers clutching at the sky...

The Great Stone Hand (#25/30, #268/365)

"The hillsides in these parts are barren and strewn with rust-coloured boulders. But up ahead is something different! A great hand carved from white stone has clawed its way out of the rocky hill side, fingers clutching at the sky. Perhaps it is part of a larger statue still buried under the hill?"

Contents: The hand actually belongs to the petrified TITAN hero and adventurer, Pallias the Protector, who was turned to stone while attempting to slay Garjana Grimgaze the Gorgon Queen, and buried under a landslide. If the rest of Pallias' stone body is excavated, a process taking 2-7 days depending on the number of diggers present, the Titan can be restored to life, if the Heroes have some way of reversing the petrification process. They will be eternally grateful and accompany the Heroes on their adventures in the Pit, while also listening for rumours of Garjana's current whereabouts, their eternal foe, who has stolen the Banner of Titans from Amarillia, which Pallias intends to retrieve.

Stats:

Pallias the Protector, TITAN, SKILL 12 STAMINA 20, 4 Attacks, Fire Sword, Breastplate, Large Shield, Double Damage. Once per combat Pallias can perform one of the following actions:

- hurl a lightning bolt at any one opponent as per the Lighting Blast spell

- clap their hands together to create a sonic boom that causes 1-6 STAMINA damage to everyone in battle, who also must reduce their SKILL score by 2 for the rest of the combat

Pallias has the following Psionic powers: PSIONICS 8, 24 Psy Points, Tradition: Physical Adept, Abilities: Psychic Evasion 2, Levitation 2, Impossible Moves 2, Telekinesis 1, Psychic Blade 1, Heal Self 1.

Once unpetrified, as well as their giant-sized Fire Sword and armour, Pallias also has a leather satchel containing 173 GP in various currencies, a brass hipflask containing Herbal Liqueur (see Encyclopedia Arcana: Volume 1, p. 59), and an abridged single volume digest version of the Encyclopedia Multiversica, written in Giant Speech.

Under a Glass Sky!

"The perfection of a pointless mile-high crystal pyramid in the middle of the desert."

J. Liew (17/5/2023)

The Crystal Pyramid of Thozer (#24/30, #267/365)

"Dominating the surrounding desert for miles around is an immense pyramid, apparently made completely out of glass or crystal. As you get closer, you can see inside the pyramid appears to be a green-jungle like paradise, completely unlike the red sands outside. In the centre of the pyramid, surrounded by greenery is a strange white domed building, like a geodesic puffball. At the centre of each side of the pyramid is some sort of gatehouse structure, apparently allowing access."

Contents:

This edifice is an immense tropical greenhouse, containing the Rust Demon scholar Tth-Yy-Zz-Rr or "Thozer the Collector", a former colleague of the lost Machine Mage,  whose obsession is to study the plants and fungi of the rainforests and jungles of Titan, raising many specimens here within the pyramid from seeds.

The pyramid's internal gardens are split into four quadrants, which are further divided into three zones. Each zone has 2-12 CLONES working as gardeners among the vegetation. To determine what plants and fungi are in each zone, roll on the following table.

1-2 Allansian Jungles: Roll 3 times on the Jungles (Allansia) plant distribution tables (see The Titan Herbal, p. 77).

3-4 Khulian Jungles: Roll 3 times on the Jungles (Khul) plant distribution tables (see The Titan Herbal, p. 80).

5-6 Islands of Titan: Roll 3 times on the Islands plant distribution tables (see The Titan Herbal, p. 80).

The four gatehouses each house 6 CLONE WARRIORS as guards; in the event of trouble, five guards will deal with intruders, while the sixth raises the alarm, warning Thozer. The guards are not overly aggressive - the pyramid they guard is full of carnivorous plants! - and will let in visitors who appear to be herbalists or mushroom-sellers (of course, the pyramid is often visited by Qagdin caravans). The upper surfaces of the pyramid are home to 3-18 SALTSUCKERS, which periodically clear the crystal of dust and sand after one of the region's many storms.

The central dome contains an outer ring of small chambers storing gardening tools and implements, spears, and spare leather armour. The inner chamber is an enormous hemisphere where resides Thozer and his spore-library of plant lore. If the alarm goes off, Thozer will begin producing 2-7 Mould Zombies at the rate of 1 per Attack Round by dousing several pre-prepared cadavers on iron slabs with spore-clouds.

If confronted within the room, Thozer will alternate between Mindsteal, Hallucinate and Choke spores to attack, trying to salvage the bodies of those it slays so it can interrogate their dying minds. If dealing with traders, Thozer will reconfigure one of its puffballs into a face-like shape with which to converse, offering double usual prices in GP for any Titan plant samples the traders may have, and triple prices for those from jungles and rainforests.

Stats:

CLONES, SKILL 0 STAMINA 2. Defenceless.

CLONE WARRIORS, SKILL 6 STAMINA 5, Spear, Leather Cuirass.

SALTSUCKERS, SKILL 4 STAMINA 5, Small Bite

"The RUST DEMON is one of those few Demonic creatures that are completely sessile. For centuries it will remain in one place, accruing knowledge from the Macrocosmos, sprouting weird fungal creatures and exhaling spore-clouds in equal measure, their only task to defend and gather information. The Rust Demon is thus a creature of decay, a cataloguer of collapse, a herald of inevitable decline."

Vade Mecum Infernum by Aughm Lightchaser (p. 24) 

RUST DEMON, SKILL 0 STAMINA 24, Spore Cloud attack (see Rough Guide to the Pit, p. 25). Normal weapons instantly destroyed when hit Rust Demon, magical weapons destroyed on a 6 on one die. Magic fire does double damage, regular fire has no effect.

Thozer's spore library is inaccessible to all but other Rust Demons; the Demon is interested however in working on a translated version. In a side-chamber is the pyramid's treasury - an iron chest unlocked, but trapped with Decayer spores! Inside the chest are 373GP, 76 Obsidian chips (worth 1GP each), 11 Red Jewels worth 20GP each, a Sandworm's Tooth, a book "The Herbal of Titan" by Agurrien Wrialto (see Encyclopedia Arcana: Volume 1, p. 50), an Amulet of Plant Control, a Witherwell Potion, a Hewing Axe, and an Oak Leaf Amulet.

MOULD ZOMBIE, SKILL 6 STAMINA 6, Small Claw. Vulnerable to fire but explode when slain (opponents must Test for Luck or become Mould Zombies).

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Like sand through the hourglass, these are the demonic days of our lives...

 The Clock of Potency (#23/30, #266/365)

"A bizarre sight rises from the flat gritty plains in front of you. An immense hourglass as tall as a mighty tower, made from glass and dark wood, containing glowing purple rock-sized grains of sand, lies propped up, largely vertical, against an outcrop of rusty metal. The tilted base of the hourglass is slightly buried under the outcrop it rests upon, next to a small hamlet of several tattered huts cloaked in thatch, skins and hide. A procession of robed figures form an orderly queue collecting grains of sand from a crack in the lower section of glass, one per participant, and carrying them to the top of the hourglass, where they deposit the grains of purple sand via another crack in the the upper half.

Complicating the process are a flock of leathery winged humanoids perched on the topmost point of the leaning device. Periodically, one of them launches itself into space, arrowing downwards towards the procession, grabbing a robed figure in its talons, and tossing them up into the air for the rest of its foul brood to attack and dismember mid-flight.

Whenever this happens, another robed figure appears from one of the huts and joins the queue to collect a glowing purple grain of sand."

Contents: The sand grains are actually rock-sized chunks of Warpstone, each one worth 20-70GP, but double this to technomancers, Dwarf engineers and the like. Warpstone is thought to cause Chaos Mutations; anyone who handles or carries Warpstone without protective clothing or spells for an extended period of time (2-12 days usually), will develop a Chaos Mutation (see Encyclopedia Arcana: Volume 1, p. 57).

The figures are Demonic Servants who will defend themselves individually if attacked, while the rest will continue carrying the Warpstone to the top of the hourglass. Every time a Demonic Servant is slain, a replacement will appear from one of the huts. This hut contains a one-way portal to the Tower of the Wheel on the Plane of Pain, where new souls to the Pit are assigned their duties.

On top of the hourglass are a colony of Harpies and Gargoyles; they will only attack Heroes who ascend to the summit, but will flee if reduced to half their numbers or less, gliding out over the desert while squawking insults all the while.

The hourglass is a strange and enormous protection device devised by a long-ago crazed Rust Demon called Vth-Lq-Srv the Machine Mage, where the energy generated by the falling grains of Warpstone maintain secure planar boundaries in an area of potentially dangerous dimensional anomalies. However, the energy needs to be generated at a certain pace and amplitude, hence the ridiculously inefficient set-up currently in place. The Machine Mage is believed to have codified their life's work into a grimoire, which has subsequently disappeared along with its author, however, translated snippets and scraps of lore from the original grimoire occasionally appear from time to time, both here in the Pit and on Titan.

If the entire process is disrupted, perhaps by slaying or incapacitating all the Demonic Servants and sealing the portal, then this region will begin experiences planar support issues as follows:

1-2: Incursions from the Plane of Fire. 2-7 Fire Elementals emerge and attack!

3-4: Time loops caused by the cessation of the Clock of Potency. Roll a die: 1-2 Repeat previous day! 3-4 Start current day from morning! 5-6 Start completely new day!

5-6: Incursions from the Plane of Air. 2-7 Air Elementals emerge and attack!

Stats:

200 DEMONIC SERVANTS, SKILL 8 STAMINA 8, Small Claw. If a Demonic Servant is struck twice in succession, the spell animating its body will be broken, and it will collapse back into a pile of mouldering bones.

In the huts, as well as the portal (a rune-inscribed free-standing bronze circle), are a few bits and pieces: 3-18 black robes in a pile, the skull of a Gargoyle, and a forgotten chunk of glowing purple Warpstone worth 50GP

2-12 HARPIES, SKILL 7 STAMINA 6, Small Claw. Can fly.

2-12 GARGOYLES, SKILL 9 STAMINA 10, 2 Attacks, Large Claw, Heavy Armour. Only harmed by magical weapons and also afraid of fire. A normal weapon will break after hitting a Gargoyle twice. Can fly.

On the outermost edge of the hourglass, among piles of stinking guano and bones, can be found 2-12 GP, a Red Jewel worth 25gp, and a glass vial of silvery Rustbane.

FIRE ELEMENTAL, SKILL 14 STAMINA 18, 2 Attacks, Large Claw, Light Armour, +2 to Damage Roll. Only harmed by magical weapons. Two successful strikes on the Elemental will destroy any weapon!

AIR ELEMENTAL, SKILL 15 STAMINA 20, 2 Attacks, Large Claw. Only harmed by magical weapons. Test for luck to withstand raging winds; if lucky, lose 2 STAMINA points but can stay on feet for 2 Attack Rounds before needing to Test for Luck again. If unlucky, lose 1 SKILL and 1-6 STAMINA and knocked to the ground. 

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FIGHTING FANTASY DOT COM

 

Heroes of Titan has been featured on the official Fighting Fantasy website! Happy days - always awesome when that happens! :-)

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Meanwhile, down at the fungal oasis...

"An oasis lies amidst rolling crimson dunes of rusty ore; a sump of sludge and slime surrounded by weird fungal palms and spore-retching bracken-bushes."

Vade Mecum Infernum by Aughm Lightchaser (p. 32) 

Oasis of the Lost (#22/30, #265/365)

"You notice two strange things about the fungal oasis that appears before you in the desert. Firstly, what remains of the vegetation is a blackened burned mess; though here and there you can see new sprouts, shoots and spore-balls erupting from the dusty iron soil. Secondly, dead-straight scorch-marks, apparently caused by the tracks of a large animal, lead away from the oasis in completely opposite directions, both vanishing equally at a sudden point amidst the blasted sands."

Contents: The Oasis of the Lost is the lair of the Crimson Fury, the Flaming Camel Demon of Vengeance! Here is where it rests during the day, fresh from another night-time excursion to claim the souls of the guilty upon Titan. Roll a die to determine exactly where it is at any time:

1-2 At this oasis

3-4 At the Desert of Skulls, Allansia, Titan

5 Travelling to Titan

6 Returning to the Pit

If the Crimson Fury is here, it will attack immediately. If it is returning to the Pit, it will appear on a 1 on a roll of one die every 30 minutes. If the Crimson Fury is slain here, it is destroyed utterly. Incredibly, if this happens, the Heroes will see a ghostly spirit of a desert nomad on a camel materialize, thank and Bless (as per the Priestly Power) them for their actions, and then rise up, disappearing to the Plain of Reeds and the Home of the Gods.

[History: The Crimson Fury is the cursed ghost of a great desert nomad warrior, who died in single combat against the Chaos Warlord that became the DOOM DEMON (see Return to the Pit, pp. 60-61). Their geas was to become a fiery camel, fated to collect souls for all eternity, or until slain on their home Plane by a mighty champion.]

 The oasis itself comprises the following locations:

- Bone Pile: When the Crimson Fury slays a warrior they deem worthy enough, that warrior becomes the Skeleton Rider that accompanies the camel of doom on its missions of vengeance. As these warriors are slain or start to fall apart, their remains are dumped here, on the Bone Pile. Some of them are still active, to whit:

1. "Lefty" ANIMATED LEFT HAND SKILL 6 STAMINA 2, Damage as per Unarmed Human
2. "Dexter" ANIMATED RIGHT HAND SKILL 6 STAMINA 2, Damage as per Unarmed Human
   
3. "Skully" FLYING SKULL SKILL 8 STAMINA 5, Small Bite
   
4. "Bonehead" FLYING SKULL SKILL 8 STAMINA 5, Small Bite
5. "Curtis" HALF-SKELETON SKILL 6 STAMINA 5, Sword
   
6. "Pegleg" ONE-LEGGED SKELETON SKILL 7 STAMINA 6, Sword
   

As Skeletons, these creatures take only half damage from bladed or pointed regular weaponry; crushing and smashing weapons will do normal damage. They will attack if attacked themselves, or if Heroes start searching through the bones, but are otherwise content to rest on the Bone Pile, hurling insults at the Heroes, or, in the case of the hands, making rude gestures.

There are enough bones and rusty weapons and armour in the Bone Pile, for a competent Necromancer to create a cohort of 4-24 Skeleton Warriors. Also in the Bone Pile are 3-36GP in a range of coinage, 2 Sapphires worth 40GP each, a leather pouch containing 3 Black Pearls worth 10GP each, a necklace of Hydra Teeth (75GP), the horn from a Yachar Hell Demon, a Gauntlet of Weapon-Skill and a huge two-handed iron-bladed Sword of Cleaving. Both of these last two items require immediate treatment with Rustbane to use properly, otherwise they will only last for one combat before breaking.

- Sump of Sludge: This is the oasis proper, surrounded by scorched fungi. If drunk, the weird blueish liquid in the pool acts as Unholy Water (see Demons of Doom, p. 51), and also causes a random non-cumulative Chaos Mutation (see Encyclopedia Arcana: Volume 1, p. 57). Any sort of purification magic or potion will turn the blue sludge into normal water.

- Tree of Souls: This tall blackened dead tree has weird things hanging from its branches - iron chains connected to small trap-sized black-steel cages, inscribed with runes of binding. These are Soul Cages, containing the souls collected by the Crimson Fury on its night-time depredations across the Desert of Skulls. There are six full Soul Cages on the tree (and six empty ones), roll a die to see what soul each cage contains, in addition to its victim's rotting skull:

1. Desert Nomad
   
2. Caarth
   
3. Black Elf
4. Desert Elf
5. Sand Stalker
   
6. Serpent Guard
   

If the soul is freed from the cage, it will appear as a ghostly version of its normal form. It will be grateful for its freedom, accompanying the Heroes until their next combat, during which it will fight as a SHADE (SKILL 11 STAMINA 6, Small Claw). After this battle it will depart to the Spirit World.

Every 2-7 days, the First Retrieval Team (see below) will show up via a Demonic Portal connected to the Tower of the Wheel upon the Plane of Pain, to collect all full Soul Cages, and issue 3-18 returned empty ones. If the First Retrieval Team is destroyed, a Second Retrieval Team (also see below), will appear the following day to determine what has happened. If the second team is destroyed, the demonic bureaucracy at the Tower of the Wheel will assume the Crimson Fury is no longer functional, and assign the DOOM DEMON away from its regular duties, to show up here in a further 2-7 days to document what has happened, and take its place until another mighty warrior can be slain and reborn as the Crimson Fury.

- Plinth of Records: On the Plinth of Records lies a stoppered skull full of red ink, the white quill of a demonic bird, and a book with a brown leather cover - the Journal of Doom. In this book the Crimson Fury's nameless rider has recorded the nightly carnage caused by the creatures when they venture to the sands of the Desert of Skulls upon Titan (perhaps surprisingly, all entries are written in Allansian). A sample entry:

"7th Day of Reaping, 281 AC, the Year of the Dog

We toiled long across the dunes, leaving a trail of fire but saw no sentient souls for most of the night. Towards dawn we encountered the camp of a priest and their mulish steed, but the holy man was most blessed and held off our attack until the sun was about to rise and we were fated to return to the oasis."

Stats:

THE CRIMSON FURY and SKELETON WARRIOR-RIDER (see here for stats!)

FIRST SOUL RETRIEVAL TEAM: 

5 BLADE DEMONS, SKILL 5, STAMINA 6, Arm Blade (as Sword)

Blade Demons are five feet tall with cruel, horned, dog-like features, spindly limbs, and arms that end in wicked curved blades of bone.

1 CURSED WARRIOR, SKILL 6, STAMINA 8, Sword, Leather Hauberk

 A Cursed Warrior appears as a skeletal warrior missing its lower jaw and covered with a strange green glow. The soul of an evil warrior serving its time in the Pit, by being placed in charge of unruly lesser demons.

(The BLADE DEMON and the CURSED WARRIOR are taken from Jonathan Hicks' excellent AFF mini-adventure, The Taskmaster's Tower)

SECOND SOUL RETRIEVAL TEAM:

4 SMOKE DEMONS, SKILL 9, STAMINA 12, 2 Attacks, Small Claw. Anyone fighting a Smoke Demon must deduct 1 from their SKILL due to the stench-laden haze that surrounds these creatures.

1 FIRE DEMON, SKILL 10, STAMINA 10, 3 Attacks, Fire Sword, Fire Whip, Fire Breath, Light Armour, +2 to Damage Roll.

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A dark shadow in the valley below...

Valley of the Spike Demons (#21/30, #264/365)

"The valley opens out into a bowl-shaped depression, dominated by an enormous black rectangular rock, rising from the red earth like some sort of featureless obelisk. Gathered around the base of the rock are a tribe of five giant green-furred ape-like creatures with spiked heads, who howl and slap at the ground with their clawed paws."

Contents: The edifice is Grogar the Dark Obelisk, Spirit of the Black Rock, a renegade Earth Spirit from the Magical Plane of Earth, that has used its powers to take over the minds of these Spike Demons, and order them to provide it with tribute and sacrifice. 

The Spike Demons will attempt to capture the Heroes and carry them to the Dark Obelisk, forcing them to touch the rock with their bare hand. Anyone who does so must Test their Luck. If Unlucky, they are drained of 2-12 STAMINA points (which are added to Grogar's total below). They must then Test their Luck a second time; those that are Unlucky are now under Grogar's control and will be ordered to attack any colleagues who are free or uncontrolled, alongside the Spike Demons.

If the battle is going badly for the Spike Demons, or the majority of Heroes are uncontrolled or free, Grogar will transform, taking 1-3 Attack Rounds, into an immense humanoid figue of black rock, equivalent to an Earth Elemental, and attack as well.

Stats:

5 SPIKE DEMONS, SKILL 16 STAMINA 12, 2 Attacks, Large Claw, Light Armour, +1 to Damage Roll. Spike Demons are so fast that they are impossible to Escape from in melee combat, unless slowed down in some way.

The Spike Demons have accumulated some treasure from their depredations and heaped it at the base of the Dark Obelisk as offerings, including 3-36 GP, 2-12 Obsidian chips (worth 1 GP each), a Bronze Key, two vials of silver Rustbane fungus, 2-7 Red Jewels worth 20GP each, a Demonhair Rope, and a Hellblade.

1 DARK OBELISK (active), SKILL 18 STAMINA 22 (plus any from drained victims), 2 Attacks, causes 4 STAMINA damage per hit. Only wounded by magic weapons. Only suffers 1 STAMINA damage for each successful hit.

As the Dark Obelisk is equivalent to an Earth Elemental, parts of it, such as its eyes or powdered dust and fragments, may be of use to traders in magical monster organs (e.g. see Encyclopedia Arcana: Volume 1, p. 66).

(Heroes of Titan is currently on sale here!)

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Heroes of Titan is released as a PDF!

My sixth book for Arion Games' second edition of the Advanced Fighting Fantasy RPG rules system has now been released as a PDF on DriveThruRPG, with a POD version to follow shortly.

It features 80 fully-playable pre-created Heroes for your AFF game, each with full colour John Kapsalis artwork, and five Adventure Sheet variants by Dyson Logos.

Heroes of Titan started when I participated in the RPG.net January 2023 Character Creation Challenge, to stat up a PC/NPC every day for 31 days. Initially I thought of using a range of systems, but in the end went all the way with AFF, and finished with 31 new Heroes!

After that, it wasn't too much of a leap to add a whole bunch more Heroes to round out the concept and then get John Kapsalis involved for his excellent art to illustrate each Hero. I always liked Dyson Logos' evocative AFF Adventure Sheet in the first issue of The Warlock Returns, and was lucky enough to be able to use it and four more new variants.

I hope people have fun using these Heroes in their AFF games! :-)

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/453554/Heroes-of-Titan

 

 

Cavern of the Fire Worms!

Cavern of the Fire Worms! (#20/30, #263/365)

"Gouged from the side of the valley wall is an enormous cavern, most of the entrance to which is obscured by boulders and loose scree. From inside the cavern you hear a cacophony of clicking noises and one of the inhabitants whizzes past you, heading home to the cave. You can't be sure, but it looked like a centipede or millipede about a metre long, flying on dragonfly wings, with an ebony carapace and great pulsating compound eyes."

Contents: The cavern is home to a large colony of Black Milli-Wyrms, which will attack if someone enters their domain. If a lot of noise is made outside of the cavern, around two thirds of the flock will fly out to investigate, and then attack if their foe looks weak or wounded. The sounds of battle will instantly bring the full colony out, alert and ready to fight!

Stats:

3-36 BLACK MILLI-WYRMS, SKILL 8 STAMINA 5, 2 Attacks, Small Bite and Fire Breath, Medium Armour. Excellent eyesight gives them the Awareness Special Skill. Also breath fire; roll one die every Attack Round, on a 1 or 2 the enemy is burnt for 1 STAMINA damage. See the Rough Guide to the Pit, p. 36.

Among the corpses and refuse on the floor of the cavern are several valuables. Anyone searching carefully will find 2-12 GP, 1-6 Obsidian tokens (worth 1GP each), a clay gourd containing a Potion of Noise, an Obsidian Portal Key, and a battered but serviceable suit of Demonskin Armour.

Where the wild flowers whistle...

Whistle Bud Plantation Farm (#19/30, #262/365)

This is a much larger version of the Whistle Bud Cultivation Chamber, which has been carved out of the wilderness of the fungal savannah by a group of Fiends. They are growing and harvesting Whistle Buds to brew Potions of Noise, which are essential items of defense in the arsenal of any demonic planar inhabitant who ranks a little lower on the foodchain. The Fiends are led by Thrax Ferox (hirsute, sullen), a Lesser Fire Demon, who spends too much of the profits on brewing Shroomshine Grog and growing hallucinogenic fungi 'on the side'. Most Fiends are equipped with little more than sickles and trowels, but there is an overseer class, all armed with flintlock rifles, and all to eager to use them on anyone 'attacking' the Plantation.

One of the reasons for their aggressiveness lurks nearby in a hidden glade. An ancient Wood Demon, Nepenthe of the Amber Gourd (diseased, albino), has gathered several clans of Fungoids into a Free Fungus Front (and other plants), and are constantly conducting infiltration missions against the Plantation, attempting to rescue as many Whistle Buds as they can, from their grisly fate at the end of a pestle and mortar. Nepenthe is currently on the lookout for interested allies to raid the plantation, destroy it once and for all, and free all the Whistle Buds from captivity.

OUT THIS WEEK!

 

Up in Tham Thar Hills...

Demon Shepherd Ambush (a.k.a. "Exploding Purple Goats") (#18/30, #261/365)

"You stumble over the top of a ridge and hear the sounds of mortal combat! Below you in the valley, several spear-bearing Fiend shepherds guarding a herd of goat-like Soy-Hijyez, are under attack from a quartet of apex demonic predators, four snarling Zeyjuvs, spitting flame in anger! One of the goat-things is too slow and caught by the fangs of a Zeyjuv. Dying, it explodes in a visceral blast of fury that send the rest of the red scaly creatures scuttling back. There's three now, that fourth appears to have been detonated. One of the shepherds draws a firepowder flintlock pistol from its belt and screams: 'Come on if you're well tough then! 

Bizarrely, some of the goat-creatures appear to be fading from view, to be turning invisible. As if matching them, the lizard creatures also turn invisible, marked only by flame and smoke, except for the dead one that lies gently steaming on the ground.

Will you intervene in this desperate ambush attack?"

Content: If the Heroes help the shepherds drive off the Zeyjuv predators, the Fiends will be grateful and thankful, but have little to offer other than advice and news of the uplands and any settlements here. For instance, they know the location to the lair of the necromancer Pagdulous of Phune, for they often deliver animals there for consumption by his troops.

If the Heroes attack the shepherds the Flintlock Pistol wielder will swear insults at them and cover the other two and the herds as they make their escape.

Stats:

2-12 SOY-HIJYEZ, SKILL 8 STAMINA 6, Horns (as per Small Claw), Medium Armour. Spines cause 1 STAMINA damage to anyone who hits these exploding purple porcupine goats, if slain they detonate causing 2-12 STAMINA damage to anyone in the vicinity. Can turn invisible.

3 FIEND Shepherds: SKILL 6, STAMINA 8, Flintlock Pistol, Spear or Small Claw, Light Armour. Breathes Fire: hits on a 1-2 on one die for 1 STAMINA damage. The Shepherds have 1-6 GP, and ear plugs. Of the non-pistol bearing Fiends, the older one has a Brass Telescope, and the younger one has a Potion of Noise in a clay gourd.

3 ZEYJUV, SKILL 9 STAMINA 10, 2 Attacks, Large Bite and Acid Vomit, Light Armour. Test for Skill/Luck to avoid Acid Vomit once per battle, cause 4 STAMINA damage and has to be wiped off. Like their prey, can turn Invisible and flee if the battle is going badly.

Ruins lit up at night by a Chaos Moon

The Lost City of Vardoc (#17/30; #260/365)

"A once teeming city that has been abandoned to the wilderness, its buildings overgrown with creepers and fungi and now home only to beasts, its roads and avenues empty save for ghosts, shades and solitary wanderers."

Vade Mecum Infernum by Aughm Lightchaser (p. 33) 

Vardoc was an earlier settlement in this stretch of the Carnelian Desert, until sacked and razed by the combined might of Qag and Kor, its inhabitants scattered to the far corners of this Demonic Plane. Located in a valley on the edgelands between desert and hills, the broken walls and buildings of Vardoc sprawl over the boulder-strewn slopes. Many of the central areas, close to the original oasis, are crawling with various strains of predatory fungi, including aggressive clans of Fungoids, rampaging Vampyric Slime Moulds and seething colonies of Lavender Dream-Shrooms.

Elsewhere the roads of the city are patrolled by Spectres and Shades in ghastly imitations of lives they previously led, prior to the city's destruction. These ghostly inhabitants of Vardoc all pay tribute to their undead liege lord, the King of Shades, a feral tattered malign intelligence, a powerful Greater Spectre, who holds court in the ruins of the city's guardkeep. Elsewhere, lurk exiles and renegades. In the former foundries can be found Thyros the Flame-Restorer, a Greater Fire Demon war-smith, banished from the Plane of Obsidian by rivals jealous of his unparalleled forge-craft. Now Thyros sits and seethes in a dank corner of crumbling Vardoc, aided by a cohort of loyal Gargantus sentinels, planning a bloody and vengeance-seeking triumphant return to his home Plane.

Palace of the Dai-Oni

The Palace of Deplorable Depravities (#16/30; #259/365)

"A fungal palace, a palatial manse, sculpted from an enormous fungi colony, and home to a degenerate coterie of Demons, considered even too debauched for their other evil brethren, where steely-eyed guardians guard the palace against those trying to enter, and those trying to leave ..."

Vade Mecum Infernum by Aughm Lightchaser (p. 34)

Carved out of a single enormous purple gourd-shroom, the palace is home to a malignant Dai-Oni, Mhurkos of the Violet Flame (callous, excitable), who exults in hosting gladiatorial tournaments between press-ganged challengers and his personal stable of mighty Demon warriors. Indeed, under Mhurkos' command for fighting in the Palace Arena, are such hired goons as a Spike Demon, a Skurasha, a Hellhorn Champion, and a Rock Demon. Anyone who defeats all four Demons in consecutive bouts of single combat earns a fight against Mhurkos himself. Win that, and you can name your choice of a prize; lose, and you've probably played the smarter, long-term game.

Enforcing the house edicts of Mhurkos are a strong guard-force of Snakespawn (at least one of which has seen duty alongside the Caarth), while the Palace court itself is split between various factions of Minor Demons, Chaos Demons, and Demonic Servants, who literally, because of the guards, can never leave. Historically, the Palace has vacillated from supporting Qag to Kor and then back again over the long centuries, as it has proven better to pay tribute to one of the Venom Demons, rather than challenge either of them and be destroyed. Nevertheless, spies have alerted the Palace to the abduction of Bisu the Maker God, and Mhurkos is intrigued. Is it a time for continuity, for siding with the status quo (in this case Qag), or is it time to finally play both sisters off against each other, and go for the big prize - an independent dominion?

Encounters in the Desert!

These encounters can be used in any desert or dune sea upon the Plane of Rust.

Quicksand! (#13/30; #256/365)

"You are traversing a dune that descends to a flat plain of sticky red mud. A caravan of weird creatures are already entrapped in the cloying mess and struggling to get free. Strange blue-skinned humanoids, around two to three metres tall, with elephant-like trunks, are attempting to rope together shaggy brown and blue-furred quadrupeds and haul them from the mire.

One of the trunk-people sees you, pointing in your direction with a long iron spear.

'Help us!' it pleads, honkingly."

Contents: These are VORPIT tinkers and their caravan of WUDREFMIK haul-beasts, which have become trapped in a stretch of dire quicksand between the dunes, and desperately need help to recover their caravan.

If the Heroes ignore them, they will be honked at derisively, sworn at, and even bathed in flame from the VORPIT's fire-belching trunks. If the Heroes attack the caravan, the VORPIT will defend themselves, but the WUDREFMIK will be unable to attack, other than spitting acid at their enemies, as they are slowly sinking in the quicksand.

If the Heroes help the caravan, it requires two successful Test Your Skill (or Test Your Luck, depending on the Director's mood) per Hero, one to avoid falling in the quicksand, and one to pull a Wudrefmik out of the muck. Anyone falling in the quicksand must Test their Skill/Luck every Attack Round for however many Skill/Luck points they have until they die or succeed.

Once all the Wudrefmik are freed, the Vorpit will be effusive in their thanks. They can provide information on whatever settlements they are travelling between, repair rusted items of armour, or even gift 1-3 vials of Rustbane to the Heroes. They would also be very happy to work with and/or trade for Sky Metal.

Stats:

2-7 WUDREFMIK, SKILL 6 STAMINA 10, Hooves (as per Large Claw) or Acid Spit, Light Armour. See the Rough Guide to the Pit, p. 36.

2-12 VORPIT, SKILL 6 STAMINA 10, 2 Attacks, Spear and Trunk (as Unarmed (Large)), Large Shield. Trunk can either attack or breath fire; roll one die, hits on a 1 or 2 for 1 STAMINA damage. See Demons of Doom, p. 66.

Each Vorpit is armed with a Spear, a Large Shield, 1-6 Obsidan Chips (worth 1GP) each, and a vial of Rustbane. 

If rescued and then looted, the caravan itself has 100-600GP worth of ironware, a saddlebag with 3-36 Obisidian Chips, 2-12 spare vials of Rustbane, a portable anvil and bellow-driven forge, and 2-12 finished metal goods for trade.

Rustbane: Rustbane is a shiny, silvery fungus; a reverse-engineered variant of Ironbane, that when placed on rusty items, absorbs the corrosion and excretes it back as deposits of pure iron. Any piece of iron equipment, such as a weapon, a piece of armour, and so on, that has been damaged by corrosion, such as Ironbane or prolonged exposure to the Plane of Rust, will be restored to normal via the application of one dose of Rustbane per item. This also applies to items made from other metals and metallic alloys, however it does not work on items that are damaged but not rusty, such as those dissolved by Iron Eaters or gnawed upon by Ferrovores. Also, rusty metal magical items can have their physical presence restored by Rustbane, but their enchanted effects will need to be rejuvenated separately through sorcerous means.

Sandstorm! (#14/30; #257/365)

"The world goes dark. Where once was blue sky only clouds of deep crimson remain, boiling across the sky like the angry breath of a god. The front of the sandstorm is heading rapidly in your direction. How long do you have to find shelter and protection?"

Contents: Roll one die to give a result of 10-60 minutes, which is how much time the Heroes have to find or create shelter.

When the sandstorm hits, every Hero must Test their Skill or Luck, deducting 1 to 4 points from the dice roll depending on whether their shelter is comprehensive, moderate, light or non-existent. Those that are unsuccessful have been flung out into the storm and must lose 2-12 STAMINA from their bruises and breathing in the toxic stew of dust. Those who are successful but lack nose filters or other breathing apparatus still lose 1-6 STAMINA points.

Following this, monsters will surge from the storm and attack - roll a die to determine what:

1-2 a SAND DEMON

3-4 1-3 SAND DEVILS

5-6 1-6 WHIRLWINDS

On the plus side, the sandstorm will also expose 2-12 Red Jewels, worth 10-60GP each.

Stats:

SAND DEMON, SKILL 13 STAMINA 13, Attacks 2, Fists (Unarmed - Large). See the Rough Guide to the Pit, pp. 25-26.

SAND DEVIL, SKILL 10, STAMINA 7, Sandstorm (as per Large Claw), All hits only cause the Sand Devil 1 STAMINA damage, but water splashed on it will kill it instantly. (see Out of the Pit, p. 99-100)

WHIRLWIND, SKILL 7 STAMINA 7, Wind Blast (as per Sling), all hits only cause 1 STAMINA damage to the Whirlwind. Can execute a charge attack once per battle; opponent must Test for SKILL or be sucked into the whirlwind and get battered about, losing 2 STAMINA and be knocked unconscious for 10-60 minutes.

Meteor Shower! (#15/30; #258/365)

"There is a loud bang, a wizzing pop, and the ground-shaking thud of a sizzling hot boulder of shining metal hitting the sand in front of you, and then another, and then another, as these playthings of the gods sear through the atmosphere in explosions of sound and fury!"

Contents: A meteor swarm from another Plane has torn through a wormhole in the Pit and impacted upon this area of the dune sea. All Heroes must Test their Skill/Luck; those who are unlucky are hit by a meteor and suffer 2-12 STAMINA damage, although they are allowed an Armour Roll.

On the positive side, anyone inspecting the meteors after they cool down (which takes 1-6 hours), will find 200-1200GP worth of valuable Sky Metal. Unfortunately, as soon as they find this, a LIGHTNING DEMON scout-drone from the Plane of Platinum will hover down from the sky and demand all the Sky Metal be paid to it as tribute!

Stats:

LIGHTNING DEMON, SKILL 14 STAMINA 16, 4 Attacks, Lightning Bolt, Light Armour. See the Rough Guide to the Pit, pp. 22-23.

Twin Cities of the Oases

Oasis City of Kor (#11/30; #254/365)

Oasis City of Qag (#12/30; #255/365)

"Depraved and decadent cities squatting by desert oases as a Spit Toad may squat at the bottom of a slimy pond; ancient, defiant, insouciant even, poisonous to the body, mind and soul, and infested with parasites, which in this case are the city's many and varied inhabitants."

Vade Mecum Infernum by Aughm Lightchaser (p. 33)

The twin oasis-cities of Kor and Qag sit in the western reaches of the Carnelian Desert, sprawling by great fungus-infested moisture sumps as mould sprouts from old bread. They are both ruled by Venom Demon sisterspawn; Atropoida (scarred, cynical) for Kor and Metlapila (broad, quick-tempered) for Qag, who have been feuding for centuries over insults long forgotten. With neither settlement gaining an advantage, both cities are currently stuck in warlike stasis. Which is odd given how similar the cities appear - confusing dusty windy streets whose buildings are a bizarre array of domes, hemispheres and irregular block-like tenements, and whose inhabitants span all the Demonic Planes and beyond.

Kor is the younger of the cities, a farther, more ramshackle outpost, inhabited mainly by Demonspawn, Skeletons, Revenants, and a two-headed demonic canine breed known as the Xlaia. Ruled by Atropoida and her Court of Shadows (a council of Nanka spirits), the Venom Demon schemes on traitorous alliances with the Rust Demons of the north to break the trade embargoes of her sister's city.

Qag, by dint of its closeness to great Thagwar to the south, is larger and livelier, with a big transient population of Vorpit, Fiends, and Qagdin pilgrims visiting the Shrine of the Myknotic Eye, as well as Clones, Demonlings, Ghouls and Wraiths. Metlapila rules by sole decree, her power amplified by a scuttling horde of Ishkarim in green-metal armour enforcing her edicts and proclamations. Metlapila has spies everywhere, and even knows of her sister's plans, and yet is unconcerned. For her role in the kidnap of Bisu the Maker God, she was rewarded with a powerful weapon now stored securely in the most secret treasure vault of her nacreous citadel in the exact centre of Qag.

New Monster:

QAGDIN

SKILL 8 STAMINA 6, 2 Attacks, Handaxe or Myriad Device (as per Dagger), Light Armour.

Named after the city of Qag, which appears to be an origin point and holy city for these people, the Qagdin are yet another strange humanoid race native to the Demonic Planes; not an actual Demon per se, but not too far off the basal stock as it were. In appearance they resemble large humanoid ungulatous Tapirs, with green fur and a rotund belly, their prehensile trunk (shorter than that of a Vorpit but still long and muscular) usually sheathed in a Myriad Device, from which can sprout blades (sometimes coated with fungal poisons), scissors, forceps and the like. The Qagdin wear leather harnesses and arm themselves with cutting tools such as axes, but also picks, spades and trowels.

For the Qagdin are the great fungus-gatherers of the Plane of Rust, and any other area with a similar type of vegetation. Through their augmented Myriad Devices, Qagdin are highly capable at sniffing out rare strains of fungi in the demonic wilderness, which can be used as psychotropic stimulants, rare and precious magical ingredients, and of course for the consumption by Demon Princes at their spectacular banquets.

This skill of fungus-detection (and consumption) has had several side issues. Firstly, the digestive system of the Qagdin produces a hideous stench; anyone around Qagdin without nose plugs or nose filters must reduce their SKILL by 1 due to the foul odor. Secondly, while happy to hire their skills to anybody for the glory of the Qagdin's patron deity, Myknosis the Mushroom God, some Qagdin are also occasionally kidnapped. 

For example, Morgrek of the Khulian Mage Order, once summoned a Qagdin, Kudurou, to the kingdom of Kazan to corner the truffle market. However, Morgrek was undone when the Qagdin broke free of its enchantments, fled to neighbouring Gorak, and went freelance. Now, Kudurou's Truffles are one of the largest importers along the southern trade routes while Morgrek seethes with resentment!