DCCRPG - The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk - Part Seven

The Wreckening 

By the holy might of Aristemis, we made it!  Our crew of crazy Dungeon Crawl Classics players finally finished the Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk.  It only took us six months and seven sessions to get there.

Way to get through an adventure designed for 0-level characters with a crew of 1st, and later 2nd, level characters.  Nice job, guys.  

Okay, I'll take some of the blame.  I added a bunch of side-quests, new creatures, and strange threats to the region.  I also completely indulged the group in their fantasies of Sunken City real estate speculation.  Good times!

The Great SCOT Continues

The Free Company, our adventuring party happily enjoying the Great Sunken City Omnibus Tour, completed Perils of the Sunken City and last month moved onto the The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk.  If you're interesting in starting this story from the beginning, here are the previous tales:

• Perils of the Sunken City, Part One
• Perils of the Sunken City, Part Two
• The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk, Part One
• The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk, Part Two
• The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk, Part Three
• The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk, Part Four
• The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk, Part Five
• The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk, Part Six

This is an open door campaign, so we can always have new players join our group.  Here are our only rules from game to game:

• Schedule five players for each event
• Hold a sixth seat free for last minute additions
• Players who complete an adventure have "dibs" on joining the next adventure
• Players can bow out, and rejoin later with living or new characters so long as there is a open spot at the virtual table

As always, Die Rodney!

The Free Company Roster

• Nicodemus - Thief, played by +Alex Perucchini 
• Razoul - Psion*, played by +Marc Plourde
• Ssof Rehtaf - Cleric, played by +andrew lyon 
• Imric - Elf, played by +Paul Go 
• Sir M'gordo the Ooze Knight - Dwarf, played by +Thomas Howell 
• Watson - Wizard, played by +Craig McCullough 

*New class featured in UX02: Mind Games

The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk, Part Seven

The Free Company returns to Castle Bellows with Jonas Gralk, looking for a reward from the newly self-appointed Lord Manse.  Lord Manse, disappointed that not all of the townsfolk are saved, offers the original reward of six prize hogs and a few basic weapons.  The party pushes for more money, and offers to take out Clotilda Gralk, and recapture the Castle of the Ooze.  Lord Manse agrees to award each member of The Free Company with five hundred gold pieces if they can return with Clotilda's head.

Watson finds out that a strange man is waiting for him in the nearby community room, and goes to investigate.  Inside, the enigmatic Van den Danderclanden makes a request of the wizard.  He asks Watson to travel to Clotilda's Ooze Pits and return with the Dark and Unholy Mask of Rot.  Van den Danderclanden speaks in a very strange manner, referencing future and past events seemingly out of order.  Ssof Rehtaf believes the man to be arcane in nature and casts detect magic on Van den Danderclanden.  The result of the spell leaves Ssof blinded, but Van den Danderclanden quickly reverses this effect by stroking the cleric on the cheek in a somewhat uncomfortable manner.

Van den Danderclanden also offers M'gordo the mighty Beard Salts of Gharkal.  

The New Company spends the rest of the afternoon preparing for battle before approaching the Ooze Pits in the dark of night.  Once there, Nicodemus checks out the northeast tower where Clotilda is said to be staying.  A thatch roof would make for an excellent entrance, but first there were six guards to dispatch.  This is a piece of cake for the crew of six.  

With the last guard dead, the party enters the center of the Ooze Pits to free the remaining slaves.  That's when Clotilda shows up.  But instead of a normal human woman, the party discovers Clotilda to be a thirty foot tall oozy monstrosity...

... it was Clotilda-tron!

Ssof Rehtaf was done with this ooze crap.  The cleric calls to Aristemis, his deity, and paralyzes the mighty Clotilda-tron!  The battle is completely lopsided from that point on.  Magic missile eagles, long swords, daggers, Clotilda-tron is carved up into tiny pieces of ooze.  Once dead, Clotilda-tron dissolves into the ground.  This of course leaves the party without a head to turn in to Lord Manse.

So Nicodemus finds one of the injured guards and cuts her head off while she is still alive.  Then he chars it a bit so that it could be passed off as Clotilda.

The Free Company returns to Castle Bellows and Lord Manse.  Razoul uses some psionics to pass the head of the dead guard off as Clotilda's, thus earning the party three-thousand gold pieces.  Watson brings the Dark and Unholy Mask of Rot to Van den Danderclanden, who offers to become the wizard's patron.  Watson declines.

Looking to gain some fame in the region, M'gordo donates much of his earnings to the castle citizens and as a tithe to Lord Manse.  Lord Manse bestows the knighthood of the ooze upon the dwarven soldier, forever making him Sir M'gordo the Ooze Knight.  

Sir M'gordo also takes his newly acquired pig and mounts a suit of studded leather barding on the beast.  

The Free Company then departs Castle Bellows and returns to Slither's End to check on their cash money. 

Adventure Notes

• The Beard Salts of Gharkal:  Single use.  The user grows fangs and becomes a cannibal for one hour.  For every living limb (still attached to a living creature) they eat they regain 1d4 hp.  The fangs are permanent.  

• Clotilda-tron (Huge, 30' tall).  Init +4, Atk ooze limbs (x4) +5 melee (dmg 1d6+4 + rot), AC 15,  6d10 HP, HP 50, MV 40', Act 1d20, SP: Rot (see Sunken City Omnibus, DC 12 Fort Save), Oozey Verp (DC 12 Reflex Save, 2d5 acid damage in a 20' burst), Splashback (on melee hit DC 12 Reflex save or take rot corruption.) SV Fort +5, Ref -2, Will +5.  

• Holy crap that battle with Clotilda-tron was a beat down!  Andy, who has had a rough time with his 12 Personality cleric, rolled a natural 20 for his Paralysis spell.  Then Clotilda-tron failed her will save.  Poor Clotilda-tron...

• I couldn't get Craig to take Van den Danderclanden on as a patron, nor was Paul interested.  But if you'd like to learn more about this crazy third party Patron, check out Crawl! issue 1!

Quotes?

"Guys, who am I?" - Watson proves to Van den Danderclanden that he's for realz.  

"Ssof!  It's good to see you alive." - Van den Danderclanden speaking.

"Five coins the padre doesn't make it tonight." - Nicodemus made bets all night.

"I have a plan.., Andy's character goes in and says 'hi.'" - Alex knew this didn't work well last game.

"Apparantly Aristemis enjoys humility." - How true.  

Jim - "Andy, what's your part in this."
Andy - "I'm the 'ideas' man."

"... and all the lawful characters head off somewhere else." - Craig, as Nicodemus starts cutting off guard heads.  

Jim - "Andy, you feel a brief burning at the base of your neck, but it goes away."
Andy - "That's the feeling of generosity." 

In Memoriam 

• Ugh... none!