I have realized
that writing, formatting and posting play reports from my campaign is not
nearly as fun or interesting as running them. I’m still writing them up for the
benefit of my players, so I’ll probably post them all eventually. In the
meantime, I’ve been trying to think of ways to write more regularly.
Spark
tables are neat. I’ve been collecting a few off the internet, here and there.
Somehow, all of this came from the prompt “germinating gorge.”
The Gorge of Akatum
Between the
Mountains of Melanaster and the Plangent Plains lies a great fissure in the
earth. The nomads of the plains call it “Akatum,” the name of an ancient
monster spawned by Maug, Lord of the Abyss.
The gorge
is several miles in length and runs north-northwest along the foothills of the
mountains. It gradually slopes downward from its southernmost point to an
eventual depth of roughly 3000 feet, and it varies in width from 500 to 2000
feet, with the widest section being in the center and narrowing at either end.
The gorge
is home to a unique, hybrid ecosystem of underworld flora and fauna. The
terrain is often wet and marshy from the rainwater that flows into the gorge,
and the ground is covered in pale blue moss. In some sections the moss sends up
long stalks with spore pods on the end, visually similar to tall grass. There
are also stands of primordial spore trees with segmented trunks and fan-like
leaves in varying shades of purple and green.
Impressions
- A thicket of purple and green spore trees, their spores falling like a gentle rain.
- A makeshift altar of scorched human and animal bones, the remnants of an impromptu void-worshippers’ ritual.
- An acrid stench and slithering sound emanates from a nearby talus, indicating the presence of CRABSNAKES.
- The air is thick with long, cylindrical insects with a dozen pairs of wings.
- The moss here is about to sporulate, the pale blue sporophytes taller than a man and as thick as tall grass.
- A pack of SAWTUSKS feasts on the corpses of mutant outlaws.
- A shallow creek trickling down the rocks, the mossy ground saturated with water all around.
- A herd of mutant deer with white fur, spindly limbs, extra limbs and extra eyes.
- Giant shards of bone-white chitin, the remains of a long-dead monstrous arthropod.
- Dismembered corpses of a failed expedition, arranged into a trophy display by an ARMORED CORRUPTER
Questions
- What do you hope to find within the gorge?
- What eventually became of the monster Akatum?
- What legends have you heard of the people who first encountered the gorge?
- What do you think lives in this gorge that scares you the most?
- Have you had any disturbing dreams concerning this place? What did you see?
Akatum’s Curse
The remains of an ancient monster spawned from the Abyss lines the depths of the gorge. These remains are still potent with foul, corrupting magic. It is hazardous to one’s health to remain in the gorge for a long period of time, causing you to become increasingly warped in mind and body.
Possible sources of exposure to the curse include, but are not limited to:
- When you Make Camp within the gorge.
- When you roll your Last Breath within the gorge.
- When you take damage from a gorge lion or an armored corrupter.
- When you eat the flesh of a creature of the gorge.
- When you first see the Plunge.
Any time you are exposed to the curse, roll+CON. On a 10+, nothing happens. On a 7-9, mark one corruption point. On a -6, mark two.
When
your corruption increases, and your new corruption score equals or exceeds your
Wisdom score, roll+WIS. On a 10+, reduce your corruption score by 1. On a
7-9, nothing happens. On a -6, you are driven mad, and become an NPC under the
GM’s control.
When your corruption increases, roll on the table below. If you roll a corruption effect you already have, roll again.
|
d12
|
Effect
|
d12
|
Effect
|
|
1
|
Your eyes become milk white, though you can still see.
|
7
|
Your internal organs are riddled with eyes and teeth.
Reduce your Constitution score by 1d4.
|
|
2
|
Your hair becomes pure white.
|
8
|
Your head swells with murky fluid. Reduce your
Intelligence score by 1d4.
|
|
3
|
Your skin becomes pure white.
|
9
|
You become unnaturally gaunt and thin. Reduce your
Constitution score by 1d4, but you only need to eat and drink half as much.
|
|
4
|
Your fingers become abnormally long, and your nails sharp.
|
10
|
You are haunted by horrible nightmares every night. You
even see horrible things when you close your eyes, or are in the dark. Reduce
your Wisdom score by 1d4.
|
|
5
|
Your teeth grow sharp, and you gain the ability to unhinge
your jaw like a snake.
|
11
|
You gain 1d4 extra arms. They are thinner and weaker than
your usual arms, and cannot wield weapons, but they may be an asset for
climbing, grappling, or other such tasks.
|
|
6
|
Your skin hardens into an exoskeleton, and your joints are
segmented like an arthropod. You gain 1 natural armor.
|
12
|
You gain 2d6 extra eyes, not all of which may be on your
head. You take +1 forward to Discern Realities, and can see in the dark.
|
Removing the Curse
Even if the
effects are purely cosmetic, players will likely want a way to remove the
curse. Here are a few ideas:
Shamanic Purification Ritual – 15 coins
Pay a
shaman of the plains nomads to perform a folk-magic purification ritual. Takes
one hour, and can remove 1 point of corruption per day.
Clerical Purification Ritual – 50 coins
Travel to a
cathedral with a proper font and altar, and pay an ordained priest to perform a
purification ritual. Takes one hour, can remove 1d6+1 points of corruption. Can
be repeated multiple times in one day.
Bath of Expurgatory Salts – 100 coins
A skilled
wizard or alchemist can concoct a particular kind of purifying salts which the
afflicted may add to a hot water bath. As they scrub themselves clean, the
curse will flow from them like common dirt. However, the wizard may wish to
keep the bathwater to distill the curse-essence for “study.” Takes one hour,
and sets a players’ corruption score to zero.
Divine Bounty
If you
harvest an intact Claw of Corruption from an Armored Corruptor, you can
sacrifice it in a holy place ordained by any god inimical to Maug (which is most
of them), and reduce your corruption score by 2d4 points.
When your corruption score is reduced by any amount, by
any means, select one of your corruption effects at random. If it resulted
in a change to your ability scores, your ability scores return to normal after
your next rest. Any cosmetic effects slowly fade over 1d6 days.
When your corruption score is reduced to zero, all
remaining corruption effects fade slowly over 1d6 days. If any resulted in a
change to your ability scores, they return to normal after your next rest.
Points of Interests
Madman’s Rappel – A charted route down the side of
the gorge with marked footholds and hazards, pitons driven into the rock, and
fortified rest areas. A few run-down cabins at the bottom are all that is left
of a long-abandoned base camp.
Poisoned Hut – This simple wooden hut was once the
home of Wicked Reza, a heretical, void-worshipping witch. The hut now lies in
the middle of a bog of unnatural, poisonous sludge, the residue of a failed
experiment. Moans and screams echo from the hut at night, leading some to think
that Reza’s ghost still haunts the area. The poison keeps would-be looters at bay,
so there may yet be valuables within.
Sir Gilroy’s Grave – A renowned paladin once led an
expedition into the gorge to route the Maug-worshipping cultists who lived
within. They failed, and Sir Gilroy was slain along with most of his retinue.
The retreating survivors barely had time to give Sir Gilroy a shallow grave,
now marked with his sword and rusting armor.
Brynstan’s Hideout – Brynstan the Bandit was an
infamous outlaw and highwayman who terrorized merchants and nomads on the
plains for years. When the law caught up with him, he and his gang took refuge
in the Gorge of Akatum, believing that their pilfered folk-magic talismans
would protect them from the curse long enough for the heat to die down. This
fortified camp built within a natural alcove in the wall is their hideout, now
inhabited by crazed, curse-warped degenerates. Brynstan’s gang is mostly dead,
but the hideout has become a haven for desperate outlaws who replenish their
numbers.
The Plunge – The lowest point of the gorge is covered
with a roof of stone, becoming a cave. At the very back of this cave is a smooth,
straight shaft, perfectly circular and fifty feet across. The Dark Diver Cultists
claim it goes all the way down past the Underworld, past Hell, and straight
into the Abyss. The pit exudes a sinister magnetism, beckoning the subconscious
minds of men to throw themselves in. Many of the Dark Diver Cultists do just that,
as a sacrament to Maug.
Purifier’s Ruins – Ancient fort made of stone
quarried straight from the gorge, very near the bottom. Once served as a home
to an ancient sect of holy knights who fought the abyssal monsters that emerged
from the Plunge. The stones are covered with deep gouges, as if assailed with
pickaxes. Now a hideout of void-worshipping cultists.
Creatures of the Gorge
Crabsnake 3
HP 0 Armor
Horde, Small, Stealthy
Damage: Acid Spit (1d6, close, near, ignores armor)
This
loathsome creature has a thick, serpentine body longer than a man is tall, with
a multi-legged crab-like structure for a head. It moves itself around with its
thick tail, and clings to rocks and prey with its jointed legs. They lurk in
the cracks in the walls of the gorge, and are fiercely territorial ambush
predators. They spit acid both to defend themselves and to bore holes in the rocks
to make their nests.
Instinct: To defend its nest
Special Qualities: Wall-climber
Moves:- Attack without warning from a
hiding spot.
- Slither into a crack in the rocks.
- Spit acid in the eyes, causing
temporary blindness.
Dark Diver Cultists 6 HP 1 Armor
Group, Magical, Intelligent, Organized
Damage: Dagger (1d8, hand), Shadow Orb (1d6, close, ignores armor)
The gorge is a sacred place to Maug, Lord of the Abyss, and Akatum is one of his most cherished offspring. These men and women have heard the siren song that tempts them to sweet annihilation, and embrace Akatum’s blessing. They seek to convert new followers to their cause, and new sacrifices to offer to the yawning maw of the Plunge. And failing that, they offer themselves, diving headlong into the Abyss in holy sacrament.
Instinct: To honor and worship Maug
Moves:
- Weave the gorge’s corruption into a spell
- Rally their fellow cultists to face a common threat
- Preach about the glory of Maug, and tempt others to annihilation
Sawtusk 6
HP 1 Armor
Group, Organized
Damage: Bite (1d8+2, close, messy)
A pack-hunting
organism originating in the strange, primordial environment of the Underworld.
It looks like a strange arthropod with a long body of wide, curved segments and
six spindly legs. It has multi-faceted black eyes on the end of eyestalks, and
a pair of curved, tusk-like palps lined with serrated teeth. Despite their
appearance, they neither spread the curse of Akatum, nor are they affected by
it.
Instinct: To hunt
Special Qualities: Blindsight
Moves:- Track prey by scent
- Summon the rest of its pack for aid
with a shrill, rattling cry
- Gang up on the strongest foe
Gorge Lion 8
HP 0 Armor
Solitary, Small, Stealthy, Devious
Damage: Bite (1d8, close)
These
creatures are the descendants of curse-warped mountain lions, and are a common
ambush predator of the gorge. They resemble a hairless mountain lion with
bluish-gray skin, covered in a crazed web of bulging dark varicose veins. The contrast
between the dark veins and lighter skin serves as natural camouflage, like a
tiger’s stripes. These predators are particularly feared, not just because of
the physical danger, but because their fangs bear the curse.
Instinct: To stalk its prey
Moves:- Blend into its environment
- Move silently to stalk its prey
- Expose its prey to the Curse of
Akatum with its bite
Corrupted Outlaws 3
HP 2 Armor
Horde, Intelligent, Organized, Hoarder
Damage: Spear (1d6, reach)
Fear of the
curse keeps all sensible people well away from the gorge. Desperate outlaws have
long used this to their advantage, hiding where the law dares not follow. The
curse has warped their minds and bodies. The new ones accept it as the cost of
doing business. The older ones have long lost any sense of anything wrong,
along with their humanity and desire to return to society.
Instinct: To steal
Moves:- Demand tribute
- Perform a suicidal charge
- Flee, then return in greater
numbers
Armored Corrupter 14
HP 4 Armor
Solitary, Divine, Hoarder
Damage: Claws (b[2d10]+2, close, messy), Tar Spit (1d6,
ignores armor, near)
The
terrifying spawn of Akatum disgorged from the bowels of the abyss, the armored
corrupter resembles a benthic isopod if were larger than a man and walked
upright. It has a thick gray exoskeleton, tiny black eyes glittering with malice,
and an ostensibly random assortment of barbed, segmented limbs, some of which
are tipped with vicious, hooked claws. It doesn’t even need to eat; it kills
prey for sheer pleasure and arranges their corpses in grotesque displays. It cements
shiny trinkets from its prey to its exoskeleton with the thick black tar it
spits, and it spreads the corruption to all it touches.
Instinct: To kill and corrupt
Moves:- Inflict the curse through its
attacks
- Rip its prey limb from limb
- Immobilize its prey with its many
grasping limbs
Treasures of the Gorge
Shamanic Anti-Curse
(50 coins, 1 weight)
This crude
clay pot is adorned with polished stones, feathers, and animal bones. It is
consecrated with the shamanic magic of the nomads of the Plangent Plains to
absorb the power of Akatum’s curse.
Whenever your corruption score would
increase, roll 1d6. On a 1-5, you take no corruption. On a 6, you take no
corruption, but the vessel shatters, spilling black sludge.
Gorge Lion Fangs
These are
the fangs of the mutated mountain lions that live in the gorge. They can be
attached to an arrowhead, manually inserted into a targets flesh, or ground
into a powder and ingested. This exposes the victim to Akatum’s Curse.
God-Chitin Armor
(3 armor, worn, clumsy, 3 weight)
This suit
of armor is made from the pale chitin of some monstrous arthropod. Whenever you
put it on, you are exposed to the curse. However, you are immune to the curse
as long as you wear it, and no subsequent exposure can increase your corruption
score.
Darkdream Spores
A bag of
spores collected from a certain underworld moss.
When you inhale the
darkdream spores and then go to sleep, roll+WIS. On a 10+, ask one question
from the list below. On a 7-9, ask a question, but also increase your
corruption score by 1. On a -6, increase your corruption score by 1, and you
gain no useful information.
- What is the most likely thing to kill me in the near future?
- What is the worst thing that is likely to happen to me in the near future?
- What is my enemy’s darkest secret?
- Where is the nearest holy place/worshipper of Maug?
Blood Magic Ring
This ring
is carved from chitin, and has a tiny barb on the inside which pierces the
skin. Whenever you cast a spell while wearing this ring (or spell-like ability,
per the GM’s discretion), you may choose to sacrifice 1d4 hit points. You may
re-roll the relevant check, or re-roll the damage dealt/healed, and take the
better result. You can choose to use this before or after making the roll.
Claw of Corruption
(hand, +2 piercing, 1 weight)
A
chitinous, hooked claw harvested from an armored corruptor, suitably intact to
use as a weapon. Alternatively, it can be sacrificed on a consecrated altar to
show your deity that you have vanquished a beast of Maug. The claw is lost, but
you reduce your corruption score by 2d4.
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