The City of Grx (part three)

The Captive Market (#18/30; #169/365)

The Captive Market is the main trading area of Grx-Sel-Vik, and is a wide cobbled-stone plaza that lies in the centre of the city, flanked by the Palace of the Archveult, the various Ministries, and one end of the avenue of Temples. It is full of raised daises and rickety stalls selling and hawking everything from humanoid captives (hence the name of the market) to gems and minerals, various fungi and underground creatures, and all kinds of obscure Down Below crafts. Stalls that are likely of interest include:

• Gurvoy the Fungi Purveyor: Gurvoy (unkempt, flamboyant) is a Flayer and sells subterranean fungi. He is widely considered to be one of the most knowledgeable in his field and a true connoisseur. Among the wares of Gurvoy's stall (and feel free to roll on the Random Fungi Generator!), one may find:
• 2-12 Yellow Coral Plumes. 2 OT each. Each piece of this bracket-fungi restores 1-2 STAMINA points when eaten.
  
• 1-6 Green-Topped Fungi. 4 OT each. Each giant mushroom is worth 1 Provision, restoring 4 STAMINA points when eaten.
  
• 1-6 Green Mushrooms. 5 OT each. Each one of these smaller mushrooms restores 1-6 STAMINA points in healing.
  
• Two sealed lead caskets: one contains a Greencap (see The Titan Herbal (p. 32), the other some Elfbane (see The Titan Herbal (p. 38). 30 OT each.
  
• 3-18 patches of unused Glow-Mould. 1 OT each. One use, will glow as bright as a torch for 1-6 minutes when breathed on.
  
• 1-6 Growth Mushrooms. See The Titan Herbal (p. 39).
  
• 1-3 Mix-Up Mushrooms. See The Titan Herbal (p. 50).
• 1-6 Purple Puffballs. 5 OT each. One use - if thrown at an enemy, explodes in a cloud of purple spores causing 1-6 STAMINA points damage.
  
• 1 small FUNGOID mushroom humanoid in a wicker cage. 50 OT. May become a Familiar if treated nicely. (see Return to the Pit, pp. 83-84)
  
• Thrax Netslinger: Being a decadent race, periodic strange fads sweep the social milieu of Brain Slayers and one of the current ones is a desire to own small interesting pets. Thrax Netslinger (powerful, dull), an ex-operative Brain Slayer from the Ministry Below, has been in a prime position to corner this market. To consult what Thrax has for sale, roll on the following table:
1. A CAVE BADGER in a wicker cage. White-furred, bad-tempered and smelly. 40 OT. SKILL 3 STAMINA 3, Small Bite, -1 to Damage Roll, -1 to opponent's Attack Strength.
   
2. A TENTACLED SPAWN in a wooden bucket of water. Lots of tentacles and teeth. 40 OT. SKILL 4 STAMINA 4, Small Bite, -1 to Damage Roll.
   
3. 1-3 GRANNITS in a wooden crate. Like flesh-eating armadillo-like coconuts. 40 OT each. SKILL 4 STAMINA 3, Small Bite, Medium Armour, -1 to Damage Roll.
   
4. A WINGED GREMLIN with pinions bound, in a metal cage. 50 OT. SKILL 5 STAMINA 4, Small Bite, -2 to Damage Roll. Will reward anyone who frees it with info to a nearby treasure cache hidden in a dark alley of Grx.
   
5. 1-6 GRIPWORMS in a glass tank. Long flesh sausages with lots of mildy poisonous teeth. 35 OT each. SKILL 2 STAMINA 4, Small Bite.
   
6. 1 SLIMESPAWN in a clay pot. Like a puddle of animated acidic green slime. 30 OT. SKILL 3 STAMINA 2, Small Claw, immune to fire.
   
• Objob the Peculiar: The previous cultural trend was for bizarre and wondrous objects from the surface world; the itinerant Brain Slayer pedlar Objob (long-tentacled, greedy) is currently offering the following "Trinkets From Above!" at marked-down prices (1-6 OT each):
• Box of brass cutlery
  
• Stack of fine porcelain plates (actually worth 50 GP to a collector)
  
• Bamboo parasol
  
• A fine felt top hat
  
• Violet silk scarf (from Fang, worth 10 GP)
  
• Bag of teeth (12 Human, 3 Dark Goblin, 1 Cave Giant)
  
• The Eye of Foretelling: This is a dark, creepy tent, whose entrance is signposted with a spectacular placard (in Brain Slayer and Allansian): 'Dare you face the Eye of Foretelling? Confront your Worst Fears! Discover your Mysterious Future! Understand your Secret Past! Only 5 Obsidian Tokens!'. Inside is the Eye (stuttering, collector), a disgusting-looking tentacled jellyfish-like creature with, perhaps not surprisingly, one gigantic staring eye. The Eye is sentient and can talk, claiming to be from the surface city of Blackhaven. In heavily accented Allansian it will hypnotize its victim with bizarre and uncontrollable visions of either its or their life, both past and future, while using its tentacles to pick their pockets.
  
• Moschops the Cleaver: On a dais near where captives are sold is Moschops (strong, honest), an immense green and black-scaled reptilian humanoid creature armed with a gigantic iron cleaver. Moschops will hire out as a mercenary to almost any buyer, at the rate of 25 Obsidian Tokens a 'day'. Moschops has worked for the various Ministries on a freelance basis in the past, usually on 'clear-up' missions. He would prefer not to work against the Ministries, unless paid triple his daily rate (but in Gold Pieces, not Obsidian Tokens), as he is looking to finance a move to the surface soon. More information on CLEAVERS can be found in (see Return to the Pit, pp. 46-47).
  

An Obsidian Pass is needed if one wishes to sell things in the Captive Market - they can be purchased from the Ministry Urban for 10 OT. Anyone new attempting to sell things without the correct Pass will be reported by outraged nearby sellers to a Sentinel patrol. 

Grokkar’s Tavern (#19/30; #170/365)

This is an alcoholic institution within Grx, a run-down, dingy tavern where non-Brain Slayers may drink and converse and forget they inhabit an underground city full of octopus-headed psychic monsters. Of course, Brain Slayers come here too, 'for the ambience', but, by and large, Grokkar's Tavern is considered 'neutral ground' for all. As a result it is full of every kind of weird creature from all the caverns around, carousing as if the world were about to end. All weapons must be left at the door, with a ROCK EATER (see Return to the Pit, pp. 154-155) bouncer Konkar Quartz-eye (clumsy, forceful), and there is a strict policy of no magic or psionics on the premises. Violators of this rule will be expelled by the customers and a Sentinel patrol will be summoned. Sentinel patrols frequently stop by anyway (one of the reasons Grokkar's is allowed to stay open), so most customers keep their Obsidian Cards handy.

To determine who are the customers, roll several times on the following table:

First Roll 1-3.

Second Roll:

1.  1-3 BRAIN SLAYERS, slumming it, their table is littered with gourds of Shroomshine grog.
2. 2-7 SKORN miners, cautiously sipping cups of ale.
3. 2-12 TROGLODYTE tribesfolk, completely trashed on Shroomshine.
4. 1-6 DARK ELVES, heavily robed and cloaked, drinking expensive imported wine and watching everyone
5. 1-3 GLEFF, glaring and suspicious, clutching at tankards of Mushroom Mead.
6. A lone CAVE GIANT with an enormous mug of Bladdergill Beer.
   

First Roll 4-6.

Second Roll:

1.  1-6 N'YADACH, scornful and secretive, passing around a dark glass bottle of something that smells disgusting.
2. 1-6 FLAYERS, maggotted on Shroomshine and playing Pinfinger extremely badly.
3. 2-7 DARK GOBLINS, chattering about the local gossip, drinking Guursh.
4. A lone CAVERN ELF, gazing about them with wide-eyed wonder, drinking something from a hip-flask.
5. 1-6 angry SKELETON MEN, playing cards but spoiling for a fight.
6. 1-3 CAARTH traders, trying to avoid attention in thick cloaks, drinking shot-glasses of smuggled Sidiki.
   

Food is typically grilled or roasted, and usually a mixture of weirdly coloured fungi and be-tentacled creatures (all taken from the banks or the waters of the River Scour). Despite its appearance the food restores 3 STAMINA. Booze includes Shroomshine Grog, Mushroom Mead, Bladdergill Beer, and the occasional crate of Sidiki, Guursh or Hweagh that has been brought down from the surface (or close to it). Pinfinger is a very popular game - many patrons are missing tentacles, fingers and other appendages - as is dart-throwing at various polyp-like creatures that are then harvested for food.

The proprietor is Grokkar (fat, paranoid), but nobody knows if that is their own name or that of their people - in appearance they are a very large and hairy ape-like creature with sharp teeth, clad in leather armour, with a Rod of Paralysis kept on their personage at all times. Grokkar knows much of Grx and the Down Below, and will divulge rumours for 5-15 OT depending on the importance of the information.

Temples and Shrines of Grx

The temple district of Grx is a wide avenue of multiple edifices of worship dedicated to the foul and loathsome deities of the Brain Slayers (and there are a lot of them!). The nature of their architecture and priesthoods may vary widely, but the one thing these corrupted temples all have in common is a fierce dedication to the cause of Evil and Chaos, and all of the attendant nasty practices that such a devotion implies. Unlike surface temples that may harbor large numbers of priests, monks and initiates, Brain Slayer places of worship are simpler affairs: a temple may have one or two attendant priests at most, while the shrines have no priests and are maintained by the local community. This is because Brain Slayers rarely dedicate themselves to the worship of one god, but prefer, in their pragmatism, to spread their devotion among a selection of personally appropriate deities. The worship of deities not sanctioned by the Ministry Urban is not tolerated; rogue cults and sects of other gods have secret churches in abandoned tenements or in the sewers. Some of the more important temples and shrines in the city include places of worship devoted to:

Temple of the Behemoth (#8/30; #159/365) 

The Behemoth, Chaos Demigod of the Sea, is widely acknowledged as the father god of the Brain Slayers, and as such considered the most powerful of a quartet of major deities worshipped by the creatures in their underground cities (the others are Belthegor, Elim and the Malice). The temple is a ziggurat of black stone, adorned with the carvings of writhing tentacles, the summit of the temple features a deep pool containing an enormous TENTALLUS. The High Priest is T'knaw the Terrible (many-tentacled, cowardly) who is worried about the recent popular rise of Elim-worship among the city-folk, but for now has resolved to do nothing. A spring of Unholy Water (see Demons of Doom, pp. 22, 51) at the base of the temple provides a substantial source of income; all believers are allowed to gather a gourd of Unholy Water for a nominal tithe every day.

Temple of Belthegor (#9/30; #160/365)

The God of Second Life and Chaos Incarnate is another of the big four deities worshipped in Grx, and his temple is a low, pillared affair, made from blocks of white limestone chiselled into intricate friezes. The High Priest is M'sbovij Moon-Eye (blind, liar); heightened psionic powers (some say the blessings of Belthegor) help them navigate the temple and the city despite being blind. The temple contains a rabble of attendant CHAOS MUTANTS; it is considered good form to gift them with a handful of Obsidian Tokens or Purple Crabs after first petitioning Belthegor for aid.

Shrine to the Dark Lords (#10/30; #161/365)

Brain Slayers view this trio of Evil Gods as slight latecomers in the war against goodness and law, and they lack a large following within Grx as a result. The shrines to Death, Disease, and Decay are nevertheless an impressive trio of marble crypts where worshippers provide votive offerings in the form of small animal sacrifices or black candles. The crypts are delineated by symbols; Death has a deformed skull, Decay has a skeletal hand, and Disease is represented by a maggot.

Shrine to the Demon Princes (#11/30; #162/365)

This dank cave is accessible by steps leading down from the main temple avenue; two flanking pools of green slime contain largely quiescent DEMONSPAWN, while the altar hosts myriad statues depicting the various Demon Princes. These quasi-deities are tolerantly worshipped by some sectors of Brain Slayer society, and thus we find idols of the Snake Demons Sith, Myurr, Ishtra, and the Night Demons Shakor, Kalin, Relem and Vradna, as well as more obscure abyssal personages including Akragog, Rivel, Ulrakaah, Gagrash, the nameless Doom Demon, Agrash the NecroDemon, and the Kurakil.

Temple of Dolod (#12/30; #163/365)

Dolod the be-tentacled Howling God was once a major deity of Grx but their worship has fallen on hard times recently, and the temple is a crumbling, run-down step-pyramid at the end of the avenue. The High Priest, Xalr'f Mikdin (one-legged, jealous), has had to resort to other means to maintain the barest minimums of temple-functioning, and scattered around the pyramid are breeding pits of SALTSUCKERS; once ceremonial adjuncts to the worship of Dolod, but now raised and sold to the Ministry Above as cleanliness enforcers for their operational cells.

Temple of Elim (#13/30; #164/365)

Elim is the original Evil God, the Dweller in Darkness, and their worship is on the rise, not just here in Grx but also upon the surface of Titan. Elimite cultists stir in the sewers of cities like Port Blacksand, while the Dark Disciples of Vatos worship a god called the Dark One, who they think is an amalgam of the three Dark Lords, but is in fact is Elim. In Grx itself, this new popularity is largely the result of a charismatic High Priest, Qag of Scour (broad, jovial), who rose from being a lowly Ministry Below operative patrolling the backwaters of the River Scour, to head of one of Grx's most powerful temples in a remarkable short space of time. Some attribute this rapid ascent to Qag's folksy, backwoods personality, others ascribe darker, deeper reasons for such a stellar rise to fame (such as the small clay tablet worn on a string necklace seen at all times around Qag's throat). Nevertheless, the recently refurbished temple of polished low-grade obsidian blocks and glittering black arabesque sculptures is very popular with worshippers currently!

Temple of The Malice (#14/30; #165/365)

The last of the major quartet, the Malice is worshipped by Brain Slayers in its aspect as the God of the Black Door; an evil god constantly at war with Throbus the god of portals. Portal technology is widely used by many Brain Slayers, and they view the Malice as keeping them safe on their portal-journeys, away from the baleful eye of Throbus and his minions. The temple is a tall edifice of brown laterite bricks with bronze inscribed gateways, and the High Priest, W'dfus the Wise (ugly, suspicious), is known for their sudden dramatic appearances and intonations of impending doom unless the Malice is hurriedly placated. In the temple are rumoured to be two special portals; a black door at the summit leads to the Necrotic Wilderness of Q'yann on the Demonic Plane of Ichor, or so it is said, while locked securely behind vaults in the cellars is an ancient evil portal that leads to another world entirely, full of steaming jungles and gigantic reptilian creatures.

Shrine to Slangg (#15/30; #166/365)

This simple shrine on the avenue features a large brass statue of Slangg, god of Pain and Terror, as a grotesquely fat Brain Slayer, armed with a barbed pole-arm. Community members change the orange robes on the statue several times a week; those believers who are tardy in doing so, or offer too little to the tithe bowl, have been known to anger Slangg so much that the LIVING STATUE will animate and decapitate them!

Shrine to Tanit (#16/30; #167/365)

The shrine to the goddess of envy is a marble-tiled courtyard with a simple statue of Tanit as a robe-clade humanoid whose face is not visible. A host of broken and weather-beaten statues of all sorts of creatures litter the yard behind the shrine; rumour holds that if Tanit is displeased, her idol will transform into a MEDUSA, and petrify the unworthy.

Temple of Trabaten (#17/30; #168/365)

The Lord of Exenteration has a small but devoted following within the city of Grx, due to the enthusiastic High Priest Pitxal Redclaw (clumsy, brave), who specializes in various sacrifices and tortures, so much so that the floors of this bronze-adorned edifice are tamped down with sand to soak up all the blood and other bodily fluids. During the day, the temple is besieged with scavengers seeking to loot the sacrificial offal while at night, the ghosts of the dead walk the halls, railing against the cruelty of Trabaten. Regardless, Pitxal has a profitable sideline in divination, reading the entrails of his victims to predict the future of his clients, for a price, of course.

Beneath the City of Grx!

The Sewers of Grx (#7/30; #158/365)

 

If you thought sewers beneath ancient stinking cities of humans were bad, wait until you visit the sewers that tunnel under a city of the loathsome Brain Slayers! Here, weird fungi, sorcerous by-waste, psionic residues, background Chaos portal warp, blood-rendered sacrifices from temples to dark gods, and the general bodily waste products from an underground city of cephalopod-headed creatures conspire to create the sort of foul nightmarish toxic stew that is rarely seen outside of the weirder reaches of the Demonic Plane of Ichor. And yet, even here, life thrives (or perhaps that is no surprise!). Use the encounter table below to determine random sewer denizens:

 

3 Lurking Horror

4 Death Slime

5 Vampyric Slime Mould

6 Tentallus

7 Mottled Kraken

8 Sewer Beast

9 Mucalytic

10 Slime Eater

11 Chaos Mutant

12 Slime Sucker

13 Man-Octopus

14 Tentacled Thing

15 Xanthic Horror

16 Muck Demon

17 Verminspawn

18 Chaos Slime Beast

 

In addition, a whole host of ‘others’ hide out here: escaped captives, non-Brain Slayer revolutionaries, anti-Ministry subversives, rogue psionicists, outlawed sects of non-Evil gods, lost adventurers, and so on. Because of this, the Ministry Urban conducts periodic sewer sweeps, with purge squads comprising several Brain Slayer operatives holding the psychic leashes of various war-beasts; Tantaflexes and Bonecrushers are preferred for anti-humanoid cleansings while Mudworms remain the general go-to for “wet-work”.

The City of Grx (part two)

Continuing our exploration of the Brain Slayer city of Grx-Sel-Vik

The Ministry Below (#4/30; #155/365)

Probably the most powerful of the Brain Slayer city's bureaucratic edifices is the Ministry Below, whose remit covers all interactions with the rest of the Down Below environment, including both military and trading relationships with nearby entities and subterranean states, mining and acquiring of resources, and the procurement of captives to ensure the smooth functioning of these operations and the city itself. As such, the Ministry is housed in one of the biggest buildings in Grx, a centrally located brooding fortress complex of gleaming baroquely-carved black stone, with associated aerial belfries for flying operatives and multiple impressive gateways leading to various containment areas.

The Ministry Below has limited use of portal technology (with the associated Obsidian Portal Keys) to connect it to the more far-flung outposts of Grx's underworld hegemony, but the majority of its agents, who wear black robes, use lots of bat-steeds such as Cave Vampires and Nycterin for fast transport through the caverns and tunnels, as well as directing trained packs of war-beasts, including BONECRUSHERS, GIANT MUDWORMS, and TANTAFLEXES for overt military action against rival beneath-world powers and states. The First Minister Below is Ssv'gua Claw-wing (scarred, scheming), who reports directly to the Archveult Supreme, and holds court in a large central chamber dominated by a psychic-projection map of the three-dimensional labyrinth that is the known extent of the Down Below in all its glory.

The Ministry Urban (#5/30; #156/365)

The least powerful of the three bureaucracies, the Ministry Urban makes up for it by having the most ostentatious basal hulk; an enormous cuboid monument decorated in burnished gold and glowing green metal. This ministry is tasked with the smooth running of Grx itself, and so it is split into various departments governing community facilities and services, including Security. Security operatives number around 50 Brain Slayers and are known as Sentinels, wearing green robes, and armed with clubs made from green metal. They are tasked with maintaining peace and order, which mainly means harassing the non-Brain Slayer population of Grx to see their Obsidian Cards that entitle them to be in the city.

Sentinels have stables of war-beasts, including Bonecrushers and Tantaflexes, for the suppression of periodic urban uprisings and captive revolts, but they are the weakest of the military forces present within the city. The Sentinels report directly to the First Minister Urban, J'kotha of Ra'Ell (overweight, vengeful), a corpulent Brain Slayer administrator but powerful psionicist who is never without their glowing Green Metal Psionic Focus Staff, and who in turn reports to the Archveult Supreme. J'kotha's command room within the ministry features an accurate projection-map of the city and its warren-like sewers and catacombs.

Palace of the Archveult (#6/30; #157/365)

The Palace of the Archveult Supreme is a stone spike encased in purple steel smelted from the Pit itself, that dominates the rest of the city. Archveults are lords among Brain Slayers, selected via a rigorous process that measures psionic powers, combat masteries, administrative rigour, intellectual speed and decisiveness, and all-round general nastiness. The Archveult Supreme of the city of Grx-Sel-Vik is the Mind-Lord Thg'Grq of Thay (very tall, angry), an imposing bat-winged mutant Brain Slayer creature, who has embarked on several pilgrimages to the Demonic Plane of Rust and each time has returned forever changed from their experiences within the Infernal Pit. Thg-Grq is a competent leader, and the city of Grx has prospered under their rulership. Unfortunately, the Archveult has also been possessed and brain-parasitized by a Netherworld entity from the Spirit Plane while on their peregrinations, and it is only a matter of time before things come to a head, so to speak.

Most of the Palace itself is a hub of petty courtiers, flunkies, functionaries and factotums (all mainly Flayers, and not the good kind), while official meetings are held here semi-regularly between the Archveult, the trio of Ministers, and the various High Priests. The 50-strong Palace Guard oversee security and are also the prime military force in Grx, clad in Purple Steel Plate Armour and armed with blue glowing Force-Glaives. Also under their command are a militia of 200 Flayers armed with tentacle-nets and poison tridents - this is mainly an expeditionary force used for dealing with threats close to the city and maintaining perimeter security patrols. Under the remit of the Palace Guard are some war-beasts and flying bat-steeds, but nowhere near the number working for specialist operatives from the Ministries Above and Below.

Month #6: The Down Below

The sixth month of #Dungeon23 is upon us and I'm switching from the Found Tombs to another widescreen setting, in this case, the Down Below. This is a gigantic series of caverns, caves, tunnels and so on, deep beneath the surface of Titan, including among other locations elsewhere, the Dark Elven city of Tiranduil Kelthas below Darkwood Forest. However, for this month, we'll focus only on the part of the Down Below in the immediate vicinity of the Found Tombs and the surface world above it, beginning with...

The Down Below - A Vast Subterranean World

The River Scour (#1/30; #152/365)

The River Scour lies at the bottom of the Chasm of Doom, a deep, darkwater stream flowing through the blackness of the underworld. Its banks are lined with weird and obscure subterranean fungi; in its depths lurk all manner of foul monstrosities that have never seen the light of day. Although it twists and turns, the River Scour gradually flows east after draining the roots of the mountainous uplands above, meandering through the Down Below before finally debouching into the Stinking Delta that abuts the shores of the Sunless Sea. 

For inhabitants of the river, roll on the following table:

1 Tentacled Thing

2 Swarm of purple Cave Crabs

3 Shoal of albino Snapperfish

4 Fungoids foraging along the banks

5 Giant Slug

6 Tentallus

For fungi, consult the Random Fungi Table here, in addition to these two added types:

Emerald Net Fungus: Lies dormant underground but when triggered explodes as an emerald mist of spores that solidify into a chitinous net of fungi, as per the Web spell.

Golden Loop Fungus: As per regular Giant Loop Fungus, but pale gold in colour and secrets an acid that dissolves flesh for 1 STAMINA damage per Attack Round, until a victim cuts themselves free.

The City of Grx-Sel-Vik (#2/30; #153/365)

The City of Grx is a turgid nightmare of an underground metropolis, a rank, stagnant urban-scape of weird spires and bulbous mansions, filled with glowing fungi and blinking insects, whose architecture twists and turns before the eyes of surface-dwellers, turning them slowly insane. Practical details are as follows:

Ruler: The Archveult Supreme (see below)

Dominion Grade:6

Type: Small City

Income: 200OT/month (1 Obsidian Token = 1GP)

Army: 50 Soldiers (Brain Slayers), 50 Watchmen (Brain Slayers), 200 Militia (Flayers)

Description: The City of Grx-Sel-Vik ('Tentacles resting lightly upon my perspiring brow') is a Brain Slayer community that lies along the banks of the subterranean River Scour. It is the main settlement of Brain Slayers in this region of central south-western Allansia, and has around 3000 inhabitants, of which around 500 or more are actual Brain Slayers. Of the remainder, 1000 are Flayers or rarer cephalopod/cnidarian client-races of the Brain Slayers, while the rest are a vast miscellany of people-types from both the Down Below and the surface of Titan. Many of these are captives, but some are free citizens, including envoys, traders, mercenaries and so on. All non-Brain Slayers/Flayers must carry an Obsidian Card; this is incised with specific information about them to identify them to the     Watch and other functionaries of the Ministry Urban. The city is a dangerous place for non-Brain Slayers; weird mutant scavengers and strange carnivorous fungi can be found living in the backstreets and alleyways, only too happy to make a snack of some unfortunate who gets stuck in the wrong part of town.

Major locations within Grx include:

The Ministry Above (#3/30; #154/365)

The Ministry Above is one of a triumvirate of powerful bureaucracies that governs life in the city of Grx. Its primary purpose is concerned with how the city interacts with the sunlit world of Titan, and the near-surface level dungeons and cave systems that lie above the great Down Below (such as the Found Tombs of Arvakaten). The Ministry Above is housed in a looming, squat, bronze-coloured ziggurat whose flat top allows for take-off and landing by Ministry agents riding bat-steeds (which are housed in aerial stable-cages). Agents favour CAVE VAMPIRES for fast transport in areas without much light; the larger NYCTERIN are preferred for long hauls and surface level excursions. All agents are Brain Slayers, clad in uniforms of purple robes and led by a Chief Psionicist; the lair of Brain Slayers on level three of the Found Tombs can be considered typical for such an operational cell structure.

The Ministry building itself is full of extensive archives (in octagonal books of compressed metal plates) about various nearby areas above on the surface world, and a central chamber contains a psychically-projected physical map of this area of Titan. Other areas are given over to agents' quarters and training spaces, as well as the office of the First Minister Above, B'Phas the Belligerent (one-legged - floats on an aerial cushion, forceful), a Brain Slayer with very strong psionic powers who reports directly to the Archveult Supreme. There is also a chamber of magical bronze teleportation portals, which require Obsidian Portal Keys to access, leading to various operational cells, that may or may not include:

• level three of the Found Tombs of Arvakaten, 
• the northerly Dungeon of Justice, 
• the catacombs beneath the Caarth citadel of K'rrstal, 
• hidden vaults lying below the Lost City of Vatos, 
• the Black Pyramid and the Tomb of Akharis,
• the mines of Sapphire City,
  
• and underground caverns beneath Pellod and Dust Town, among other diverse destinations.
  

The Doom Chasm!

The Doom Chasm (#31/31; #151/365)

"This is an enormous cavern, which is also an enormous chasm, with a sense of  vast distances extending up, down, and across through black space. There are large wreaths of gigantic spider webs spanning the chasm, and by the light of glowing green fungi you can see other cave entrances dotting both sides of the walls of the chasm, leading off to parts unknown. From above comes the constant sonic chittering of a huge colony of bats, while from far below you think to hear the sounds of an underground river."

Contents: The Doom Chasm is an epic rent through the subterranean world of the Found Tombs, linking it to the deeper underworld of the Down Below. Heroes can traverse the various cobweb bridges to the other side of the chasm, though it may require several successful Skill tests to do so without falling. Also, anyone stepping onto such a web bridge immediately attracts the attention of 2-7 GIANT CRAGSPIDERS, who will attack instantly. The webs do burn very readily however, but setting fire to them removes the ability of Heroes to get from one side of the chasm to another, unless they can fly or levitate.

A Hero could also climb up or down the cliff walls to different levels, requiring a successful Climb Test for each level ascended or descended to. However, the noise will summon giant CAVE VAMPIRE bats, who roost on the ceiling of the immense cavern. One Cave Vampire will attack each Hero attempting the climb, but they can be driven off with bright light and fire.

Here and there are patches of phosphorescent green Glow-Mould; when harvested, it has one use and will glow as brightly as a torch when breathed upon, for 1-6 minutes.

Stats:

CAVE VAMPIRE: SKILL 12 STAMINA 6, Large Claws and Bite, Test your Luck or be suffocated in its wings and suffer Large Bite damage every Attack Round.

GIANT CRAGSPIDER: SKILL 8 STAMINA 10, Stabbing Proboscis (as per Spear), Medium Armour (see Citadel of Chaos, p. 36).

Lair of the Brain Slayers, Part II

Sleeping Pods (#27/31; #147/365)

"This chamber is full of alcoves, each cloaked in a weird gunky slime and green glowing fungus covers the walls. Is it your imagination, or do several of the alcoves contain reclining figures?"

Contents: This is a resting chamber for Brain Slayers who are active on these upper levels, either searching for prey, eating weird fungi, or gathering intelligence. If disturbed, they will all arise from their alcoves and attack any intruders.

The slime is harmless, and merely the Brain Slayer equivalent of blankets and sheets to make their sleeping nooks more comfortable. The glowing fungus is Glow-Mould. When harvested, it has one use and will glow as brightly as a torch when breathed upon, for 1-6 minutes.

Stats:

1-3 BRAIN SLAYERS: SKILL 10 STAMINA 10, 2 Attacks, Small Claws. Have special Hypnotism (Test for Luck to avoid) and Tentacle Draining attack (suffer lose of 1 SKILL and 1-6 STAMINA if hypnotized).

Each Brain Slayer has 1-6 Obsidian tokens, each being worth 1GP. In addition, roll one die for each Brain Slayer and consult the table below to determine any further possessions:

1. Bag of 2-7 purple Cave Crabs. Each counts as 1 Provision.

2. Patch of inert unused Glow-Mould.

3. A Mix-Up Mushroom (works as a hallucinogen for Brain Slayers; has very different effects on Heroes!)

4. A Growth Mushroom

5. Clay Gourd of Shroomshine Grog

6. Obsidian Portal Key

Servants' Cave (#28/31; #148/365)

"This cave contains a large cauldron boiling over a fire and the air is thick with steam and smoke. Two bizarre humanoid creatures with heads like jellyfish are busy using their tentacles to toss various kinds of fungi, collected in heaps on a flat-topped boulder, into a stew within the cauldron. At your appearance they begin muttering to themselves in a strange language."

Contents: These creatures are Flayers, preparing a mushroom stew for both themselves, and any attendant Brain Slayers in these chambers, to consume. There are 2-12 various fungi ingredients in the chamber - use the Random Fungus Generator Chart. However the stew has unpredictable effects on non-Brain Slayers and Flayers who eat it. Roll one die:

1 - Turns consumer into a MOULD ZOMBIE

2 - Poisonous! Choke on spores: 1-6 STAMINA damage

3 - Emits a rusty spore cloud that destroys any metal items the consumer is carrying.

4 - Contracts the fungal DECAYER disease!

5 - Hallucinogenic! Effects as per the Sorcery DIM spell.

6 - Bad trip! Consumer suffers effects as per the Fear spell.

The Flayers are thoroughly sick of their servitude to the Brain Slayers and will barter with food-fungi, knowledge of these caverns, and potential alliances to be set free and accompany the Heroes to the surface (where they can work as real cooks in settlements such as Pellod, Dust Town, Kul-Tha or the Tavern of Tan-kha).

Stats:

2 FLAYERS: SKILL STAMINA, 3 Attacks, Tentacles (3 STAMINA damage due to  venomous stings).

Each Flayer has 1-3 Obsidian tokens worth 1GP each. One has 2 purple Cave Crabs (each counts as one Provision), and the other has a Poison Puffball (when thrown at an opponent, causes 1-6 STAMINA damage, unless they have nose plugs or nose filters).

Beast Containment Pits (#29/31; #149/365)

"The floor of this large cavern is dotted with four wide deep pits, alongside which run narrow walkways. Weird bestial grunts and howls come from the pits, and the stench of captive animals is very strong. A Brain Slayer armed with a whip and a cleaver, and standing next to a bloody hairy carcass of some large monster, was tossing chunks of meat into the pits, but stops at your entrance, and snarls at you in an unknown language."

Contents: The pits contain various monsters to be hypnotized by the Brain Slayers and released as shock troops whenever they need to clear a particular section of caverns from pests such as the Skorn, N'yadach or Night Stalkers

The Brain Slayer pitmaster is currently feeding his charges with chunks of rotten Clawbeast meat (anyone foolish enough to eat the rotten remains of the Clawbeast suffers 1-6 STAMINA damage!). He will attack adventurers immediately, using his whip to snare Heroes and drag them into the pits, and also using his hypnotism powers to get the Heroes to walk (and fall) into the pits themselves.

Stats:

BRAIN SLAYER Pitmaster: SKILL 10 STAMINA 10, 2 Attacks, Whip and Cleaver. Have special Hypnotism (Test for Luck to avoid) and Tentacle Draining attack (suffer lose of 1 SKILL and 1-6 STAMINA if hypnotized).

The Brain Slayer has 1-6 Obsidian tokens, each being worth 1GP. In addition, roll one die and consult the table below to determine a further possession:

1. Bag of 2-7 purple Cave Crabs. Each counts as 1 Provision.

2. Patch of inert unused Glow-Mould.

3. A Mix-Up Mushroom (works as a hallucinogen for Brain Slayers; has very different effects on Heroes!)

4. A Growth Mushroom

5. Clay Gourd of Shroomshine Grog

6. Obsidian Portal Key

Roll once on the table below, for each of the four pits, to determine what creature is in each one:

1 BONECRUSHER: SKILL 9 STAMINA 10, 2 Attacks, Heavy Armour. Successful attack instantly kills their opponent as their bones are crushed and torn apart.

2 GIANT MUDWORM: SKILL 12 STAMINA 12, 3 Attacks, Large Bite and Tentacles (as per Large Claw), Light Armour, +1 to Damage Roll. Anyone who loses an Attack Round deducts -1 SKILL as ensnared by tentacles.

3 DARK MONSTER: SKILL 8 STAMINA 10, 2 Attacks, Sword and Tentacle (as per Large Claw), Light Armour. 3 metre diameter zone of darkness causes -6 penalty to all sight-based actions unless have Dark Seeing talent.

4 TARATOR: SKILL 8 STAMINA 13, Large Claws, Medium Armour.

5 CHAOS SLIME BEAST: SKILL 12 STAMINA 12, 3 Attacks, Large Claws and Bite, Medium Armour, +1 to Damage Roll. Acidic drool hits on a 4-6 every Attack Round and causes 1 STAMINA extra damage.

6 TANTAFLEX: SKILL 10 STAMINA 12, 3 Attacks, Tentacles (as per Large Claw), Light Armour, +1 to Damage Roll.

Chief Psionicist's Chamber (#30/31; #150/365)

"This small chamber is lit by a large clump of glowing green fungus on the ceiling. One nook contains a mess of yet more weird gunky slime, while at the far end of the cave is a bronze portal whose frame is covered in squiggly writing and leads into absolute darkness. Seated at a stone desk is a large octopus-headed creature in fine purple robes that screams at your intrusion and rises up to their full height, eyes ablaze with strange magical energy!"

Contents: This is the lair of G'Sath-Qua the Brain Slayer Chief Psionicist and leader of this particular incursion from the depths down below. Although the original aim of the mission was to observe and document, G'Sath has become aware of powerful magical emanations from the fourth level of the Found Tombs, and is awaiting further orders before planning a mission there.

Their table is covered in several books and many 'papers', all octagonal in shape, made from thin sheets of metal and inscribed in the tentacle-like curling script of the Brain Slayers. If deciphered, they represent a mix of G'Sath's observations of the local area and its inhabitants, as well as older Brain Slayer records of what the Found Tombs were like in Djaratian, Vatosian and Carsepolitan times.

The portal is a magical teleportation device requiring the possession of an Obsidian Portal Key; anyone entering the portal with such a key will be transported to the headquarters of the Ministry Above, in the Brain Slayer city of Grx-Sel-Vik, some distance Down Below the Found Tombs. Entering the portal without the key sends the traveller to a random location:

1: On a dais in the Captive Market, Brain Slayer city of Grx-Sel-Vik, Down Below

2: Outside the walls of the city of Pellod, Allansia

3: The middle of the Carnelian Desert, Plane of Rust, Demonic Pit

4: The Necrotic Wilderness of Q'Yann, Plane of Ichor, Demonic Pit

5: The Dead City, Khul

6: Wastes of Chaos, Khul

Stats:

G'Sath-Qua the Archivist, BRAIN SLAYER Chief Psionicist: SKILL 11 STAMINA 14, 2 Attacks, Bone Stiletto. Have special Hypnotism (Test for Luck to avoid) and Tentacle Draining attack (suffer lose of 1 SKILL and 1-6 STAMINA if hypnotized).

G'Sath is a powerful psionicist with the following abilities: PSIONICS 9, 27 Psy Points, Tradition: Dark Power, Abilities: Choke 2, Dominate 2, Induce Fear 2, Weakness 1, Drain Life 1, Insanity 1.

The Brain Slayer has 2-12 Obsidian tokens, each being worth 1GP. In addition, they also possess a bag of 2-7 purple Cave Crabs (each counts as 1 Provision), a patch of inert unused Glow-Mould, a Mix-Up Mushroom (works as a hallucinogen for Brain Slayers; has very different effects on Heroes!), a Clay Gourd of Shroomshine Grog, and an Obsidian Portal Key.