Tuesday, September 6, 2011

September Short Adventure 6: Cold Storage

Preamble
A September of Short Adventuresis an OSR Challenge initiated by Matt over at the Asshat Paladinsblog. You can click on the Moustache Dragon over on the right-handside-bar (just above Features) to learn more about all of this stufffrom Matt directly. All of our 25 (possibly more...) entries areformatted along the lines of what Matt calls the Get Ready, GetSet, Go! format. In a nut-shell, this approach breaks eachadventure into a Title, Three escalating sections of adventuredetails (the Ready section is limited to an elevator pitch only 2sentences...), and a final catch-all section for any NPC notes/stats.The idea is to keep it short, simple, easy to read without any maps,drawings, diagrams or 8X10 glossies. Keep description to a minimum,avoid lengthy exposition, and no casts of thousands -- unless it's aninvading horde of three-eyed orcs or goblins riding purple wombats.

We're also going to aim to keep thingsgeneric, setting agnostic and thus portable or adaptable to anycampaign/setting using the particular rules-set we'll be using in anygiven September Short Adventure such as Mutant Future,Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry (White Box), etc.

FreeRules
Labyrinth Lord:http://www.goblinoidgames.com/labyrinthlord.html
Mutant Future:http://www.goblinoidgames.com/mutantfuture.html
Swords and Wizardry (White Box):http://www.swordsandwizardry.com/whitebox.htm
SeptemberShort Adventure Number 6
Title: Cold Storage
Rules: Mutant Future

Ready
The Player Characters are exploringsome old tunnels and caves that lead right underneath a strangevillage that uses a peculiar blue or white fly as their motif ortotem.

Set
The characters have just discovered alarge chamber directly beneath the strange village. It is colder thannormal and if they continue onward into the heart of this smallcomplex there are whole slaughtered pigs, sides of beef, and hundredsof pounds of expertly cleaned and strung-up game and other meats seton hooks dangling from a set of chains that criss-cross the chamberabout 10' above the floor. Everything in here has a thin crust of iceover it.

Go!
This is the villagers' cold storagearea and it is maintained by a swarm of Vomit Flies (MFp. 101).
The Vomit Flies are well aware of anyintruders, but have learned to wait and let such creatures enter asfar as possible before attacking them from ambush from above.

There is only a half-normal chance tospot the Vomit Flies up above as they are obscured by the swirlingmist given off by everything in these cold caves.

Once the Vomit Flies attack there is abase 30% chance of either some Meat Tenders or Fly Tenders coming tocheck on what's going on down there. The odds increase by 10% eachturn of combat or struggle.

In the event that someone warns thevillagers up above, a contingent of Mant Mercenaries will be sentdown to deal with things.

Notes / NPCs
Vomit Flies (6d6) [AL N, MV 150'(50'), AC 5, HD 4, #ATK 1 (bite or vomit), DG 1d10 or 4d6 colddamage, SV L 3, ML 8, Mutations: Energy Ray, Reflective Epidermis(cold), Gigantism.] (MF p.98)

Meat Tenders (1d6) [Humans AL C,MV 90' (30'), AC 7, HD 12, #ATK 1 (cleaver), DG 1d8, SV L4, ML 7]

Fly Tenders (1d6)[Human-Insectoid Hybrids AL C, MV 120' (40'), AC 6, HD 6, #ATK 1(bite or butcher knife or vomit), DG 1d6/1b8/2d6 cold damage, SV L3,ML 10, Mutations: Aberrant Form (Insect body parts), Energy Ray,Reflective Epidermis (cold), Thermal Vision, Increased Sense (touch),50% chance of an additional 1d2 Physical Mutations or 1d2 MentalMutations]

Mant Mercenaries (4d4) [AL C, MV120' (40'), AC 5, HD 7, #ATK 3 (2 claws, bite or weapon), DG1d8/1d8/2d8 or by weapon, SV L9, ML 11, Mutations: 1d4 MentalMutations] (MF p. 82)



2 comments:

  1. This location has a lot to offer. There's the cold to think about, the hanging obstacles and the mistiness, an unusual kind to boot. And the potential rewards are clear - all that food.

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  2. @Porky: It's an interesting locale, and there are some distinct possibilities for a party of Mutant future-style vagabond-adventurers to develop/explore. Not the least of which is finding a way to possibly invade this village from below, or selling off the info/details about the cold storage caverns to some local ne'er do wells or enemies.

    The real loot of this adventure could as well be a set of maps, a few recovered maggots that might allow them to set up their own cold storage site, or the knowledge that this place has gone buggy and is now in cahoots with the Mants...as well as all that food...

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