Dungeon Crawl Classics - Session #2 - The Wizardarium of Calabraxis: Part I

At the end of a long week, I looked at my next session plans for our D&D 5E group and found my creative energies spent. Then I thought to myself, last time I was unprepared, DCC saved me. So I read over my copy of The Wizardarium of Calabraxis. There were laughs, augmented intelligence, death, and even some emotional damage, even though we didn't get through all of it yet. Thanks Claytonian JP for the great adventure and thanks to Raven Crowking for the recommendation! On to the session recap...

Last session's survivors:
George the Apprentice (Dwarven Blacksmith) (lvl 1)
George the Astrologist (Merchant) (lvl 1)
George, Zealot of the Hidden Lord (Potato Farmer) (lvl 1)
Vos (formerly Callie) the Thug (Confidence Artist) (lvl 1)
Scoops the Wildling (Trapper) (lvl 1)

This session's additions:
Mom the Midwife (lvl 0)
Emo Deathrock the Dwarven Dirge Singer (lvl 0)
Whiskey Bert the Sailor (lvl 0)
Blint Westwood the Outlaw (lvl 0)
Seaman Pavel the Ferryman (lvl 0)
Aseir the Soldier (lvl 0)
Anton the Tax Collector (lvl 0)
Fezim the Cultist (lvl 0)

After having made it out of the Portal Under the Stars with less than half of their comrades, the party spent a couple weeks flaunting their newfound wealth and spurning common labor. Not to mention they didn't bother burying or building monuments to their fallen friends. Forget the past and always the look to the future, right?

One day, the party woke up early to the local reeve and one of the blacksmiths screaming that during the night horrible hairy men from the mountains had come and abducted their son and daughter respectively. The Georges, Vos, and Scoops immediately put together a posse to recover the kidnapped children. Eight intrepid villagers gathered, armed with only knives, sticks, and rumors of the mysterious caverns of the nearby mountains.

After tracking all day, Scoops finally brought everyone to a cave entrance at around dusk. The more experienced party members let their foolhardy friends walk up to the cave while they waited at the tree line. Whiskey Bert drunkenly yelled in the cave for the inhabitants to fight like men. Several stocky, hairy men with strong ape like features stumbled out of the cave. Wielding rocks, clubs and fists the ape men quickly fought the invaders to their territory.

The peasants and Dwarf-George rushed madly into melee while the other leveled adventurers attempted to shoot arrows and fling spells from the trees. Scoops narrated his own fumble with expletives as his bow snapped back and knocked him flat on his face. George the Astrologist failed casting sleep. Dwarf-George jumped into melee with success until an apeman threw a rock at his head and he got knocked prone. Mom ran to help Dwarf-George to his feet. Vos nailed a backstab attack with his bow, driving an arrow through the back of the neck and out the mouth of the largest apeman. Whisky Bert narrowly avoided a flying stone between the eyes due to a drunken stumble. He laughed but the distraction proved his undoing when another ape man's club collided with his temple, scattering teeth, blood, and even popping out an eyeball before the life went out of him. (sorry for the run on sentence!) Soon enough the party finished off the last of the ape men.

While seeing if the ape men had anything worth looting (and honorably looting Whisky Bert's mangled corpse) they found nothing worthwhile but noticed both tattoos and warpaint on the bodies. The first cavern was littered with food, bedrolls, tools and other living supplies used by the ape men. Five ape wives and three ape kinder howling wildly at the death of their men. The party demanded to know where the reeve's son and blacksmith's daughter were. Suddenly the ground shook all around them. Fearful and huddled in a corner the ape folk pointed to a battered and abused body in a tattered nightgown on the other side of the room. Sadly it was the corpse of the reeve's son.

Seeing a narrow set of stairs on the other side of the room the party decided to continue on. As they approached the stairs, a ghostly visage of a wizard with three eyes walked towards them, looked at them, and then left the cave. One side of the wet, mossy and thus slippery stair fell into, what seemed, an endless black abyss. All made it safely down except Emo Deathrock, who while whistling a sorrowful tune, slipped and fell screaming into the abyss until no one could hear him anymore. Vos, the last to come down the stairway, threw her rope down to the others, had them tie it around a stalagmite and then tied it to her own waist. Now that's some old school precaution. Their torches revealed a large black obelisk, a partial cave in, a narrow path ascending upwards, and a wall covered in crude cave paintings. The cave paintings depicted tattooed ape men worshiping the obelisk and defeating non-tattooed ape men tribes. The obelisk suddenly vibrated, dislodging a dirty loincloth from the top, and the earth shook again.

Curious about the obelisk, Aseir decided to tap it with his sword. Nothing happened, but getting closer, he noticed more intricacies, and glowing moving parts deep inside. Fezim brashly touched the obelisk and he suddenly knew no fear, which circumstantially made room for more intelligence. After sharing the visions he saw when touching the obelisk, everyone took a shot at it. Many of their minds were expanded with concepts of mining and non-euclidean mathematics. Others felt their emotions frayed, melted, or torn away. Aseir lost his concept of compassion. Anton forgot his sense of humor. Mom let go all his envy. George the Zealot turned his back on sadness. George the the Astrologist stopped caring what other people thought, and never felt embarrassed again. But as the one who would have benefited from an intelligence boost the most, George did not receive one.

They decided to move on and go up the narrow, single file path that continued onward. Halfway up, they found a disembodied head, with strange tentacles trailing out the neck. They decided to hold on to it. At a fork they decided to go right. They eventually came to a short hallway to their left with a door at the end. They opted note it on their map, but pass it for the moment. As they continued straight they came to what at first appeared to be a dead end. Closer inspection revealed worn away engravings of eyes (27 to be exact). They first tried poking them to no effect. They next tried staring at them, which opened a secret door. George the Zealot said the Hidden Lord would be pleased, and he was.

Fezim lead the party on, and ran into two stunted looking humanoids with heads and features of a pig and eel. After a moment of surprise, Fezim began to attack. Being sorely outmatched, and without much room for maneuvering in the tight space, the archers of the group yelled duck and started shooting arrows down the hall. Fezim at one point felt an attack on his mind and was blinded until a few minutes after the battle was over.

The mongrel men being taken care of, they continued down the path and could see a hexagon like structure made out a black stone beneath them. As they came around on the first side, they saw an indentation and placed the head in it. Further off they heard the creaking of a metal. As they passed a couple more sides of the structure they found an opening with a raised portcullis. Between the light of their torch and a green glow from within the structure, they saw a horde of treasure.

Before they entered, a bored sounding alien voice warned them from entering from within. "Listen if you come in here, I'll have to kill you. And I don't feel like doing that. I'm tired." While the party conversed with the guardian, Vos told Fezim that a real man would just go in after what he wanted. Fezim's low self esteem and lack of fear overwhelmed his better judgement and he rushed in. Immediately a tentacle with many eyes and mouths grabbed him from the ceiling. Fezim's ribs and spine were crushed with several sickening cracks before he was thrown on the stone floor with a splat. This was followed up by several fiery rays from the ceiling which only left a smoldering pulverized mess of what used to be Fezim's body. Vos then suggested that they use the grappling hook to pull things out, but the guardian suggested against that.

After conversing with the voice for awhile longer, they concluded that perhaps if they rebound the guardian somewhere else, they could enter freely and loot the hexagonal room! George the Zealot attempted to cast word of command by yelling "Unbind!' twice, but failed. The guardian mentioned that perhaps the Calabraxis' old library might hold some knowledge about how to rebind or unbind it.

 Soon afterwards, they made their way back to the door they skipped before and found it unlocked. Inside they saw a myriad of strange bones of men beast chained to the wall. One of the walls was a thick green, partially translucent material with what looked to be diamond shaped slots on the other side. Seeing a grate in the corner, the party used the rope and the grappling hook to pull it out of the wall so they could crawl through the space. On the other side they found the library they were looking for!

Finding most of the books uselessly decayed, they felt dejected until a book with a long spine crawled toward one of them and introduced itself and Baxter the Jolly Book-Axe. He was excited for company, having only had the bats to talk to for so long. Hoping that Baxter might be able to help them on their quest, they began to ask him about Calabraxis, the guardian, and the secrets of the wizardarium!

Those who have fallen:

Whiskey Bert the Sailor - head smashed in with a club.
Emo Deathrock the Dwarf- fell to his doom.
Fezim the Cultist - death by tentacle and rays.

Dungeon Crawl Classics - Session #1 - The Portal Under the Stars

Last week I ended up ill prepared for our regular biweekly D&D 5E session, so I decided to try a one shot of a game I've been excited about for a while. I've had a soft spot for old school styled RPGs for a long time. I've ran a smattering of random sessions of Swords and Wizardry and am aware of other OD&D clones such as OSRIC, Labyrinth Lord, Delving Deeper, Dungeons Dungeons and More Dungeons, etc. About a year ago I was at my local game shop and the cover of Dungeon Crawl Classics caught my eye. I didn't pick it up at the time but was intrigued by the look of it. Over the next few months I noticed it listed high on RPG Geek and decided to learn more about it. When I finally purchased it, I knew DCC would be my go to old school styled game going forward.
  
On to the recap:

A band of villagers sought glory and gold in a mysterious portal. Twelve wide eyed peasants entered the dungeon, and five returned their sacks filled with treasure and eyes gleaming with the insatiable hunger for adventure! This is their tale (so far)...

The party found the first door flanked by four spearmen statues. LeeRoy recklessly rushed toward the door. As he did so one of the statues threw a spear at him. LeeRoy found his luck ran out when he took a spear to the knee and fell in blood and agony. The party subsequently activated the rest of the spearmen without any further deaths. Callie the Confidence Artist and George the Cutpurse argued over LeeRoy's stuff while the rest of the party recovered spears and armor from the statues. 

In the next room they were confronted by a stern looking 30' statue of a barbarian king pointing directly at them. When Ainsley the Hunter attempted to exit the room through the left door the barbarian statue swung around and fired a scorching ray from its finger which consumed her flesh on the spot. As the barbarian statue began firing shots in all directions the party split in three directions. Only Glurmen the Halfling with his short legs didn't outrun the scorching rays and met his end in flame.

The group that fled through the left door over Ainsley's torched corpse, cautiously went down the hallway only to be met by giant horned snake introducing itself as Ssissuraaaaggg. They quickly fled as Ssissuraaaggg quickly snapped at them from behind. They quickly ran back to the statue room and closed the door behind them. Luckily the statue stopped firing and they met back up with their companions who were hiding directly beneath the statue. The party which fled right found themselves in an ancient tomb with animated skeletons so ancient that they couldn't even formulate properly much to the chagrin of Jerome. George the potato farmer tried to recover some of the bones for his dog back home but found them too brittle (he pulverized them). Unimpressed after smashing two of the seven skeletons they left the room to meet back up with the rest of the party.

Upon the reunion of the entire mob of peasants, Hank the cooper rallied everyone to confront the immortal demon snake himself. Callie took a spear from the hesitant Evan and dropped her dagger behind her, which Evan sheepishly picked up. Hank used is barrel to bait Ssissuraaaaggg our from the throne and then he and Callie rushed him swinging crowbars and spears wildly. Seeking to make up for his embarrassment earlier, Evan attacked with words and blade. George the Potato Farmer, despite his dull wits and concerning obsession with Callie, tipped the balance of battle and impaled the demon snake on his pitchfork. With a final hiss, Ssissuraaaaggg turned to ash and only left his demon horn behind. George the potato farmer happily snatched up the horn as a bone for his dog.

The party entered a large room with a large shallow pool full of gems. George the Potato farmer happily splashed around in it while a couple other characters pried some gems from the bottom of the pool until they got bored and decided to descend the staircase at the end of the room. At the bottom of the staircase they found a war strategy room full of tiny clay soldiers. George the Potato Farmer gladly filled his pockets to the brim with these "toys". Upon exiting this room they found themselves face to face with an army of dozens of full size clay soldiers standing a large pit. Above the soldiers and in the back of the room was a clay statue on a throne looking like the gigantic barbarian statue from earlier, surrounded by seven clay generals, two of which had collapsed. 

Suddenly the barbarian king arose and the entire army began to march forward! Scoops immediately recognized that there had been seven skeletons in one of the rooms, two of which they had destroyed and that there had been two statues in ruins. He suggested as they party fled to return to the room and destroy the remaining skeletons. Half the party did so while the other half held of the army by diving in the middle of the pool upstairs. As the clay warriors caught up they jumped into the pool to attack and began to melt in the water but not before doing some damage with their spears! On the other front, the party began crushing the ancient animated skulls. Sadly George the Cutpurse stabbed himself in the eye in shock after being bitten by a skull on the toe. 

Once all the skulls were crushed the clay army went into disarray, allowing the party to run back down and make a rush to the clay barbarian king statue. About half way across the room the clay warriors came to their senses and cut off half the party while the rest continued their rush to the now lonely barbarian king. Both Jerome and Hank were skewered alive by flanking clay warriors. Evan finding his courage, ran forward with Callie and George the Potato Farmer. In a fierce battle, Evan took a spear to the face and Callie was wounded, but in the end Callie tore off the enemy's leg and it crumbled to the ground. Once the barbarian king fell the entire army stopped fighting and became nothing more than mundane clay statues. The remaining party members, Callie, Scoops, George the Dwarven Blacksmith, George the Merchant, and George the Potato Farmer then found a treasure vault with a crystal ball, scepter and other assorted treasure. With the gleam of gold in their eyes and the yearning for further adventure in their hearts, the party takes what they've learned to become professional adventurers from here on out.


Final thoughts: I had a great time playing RPGs as usual. I'm excited to play this game and I was pleased with the included 0-level funnel module The Portal Under the Stars as it started the action quickly had a variety of encounters including combat, traps and puzzles as well as multiple ways to tackle the dungeon. As per normal in my regular group, roleplaying was amusing and laughter was frequent. I would like to switch off between our D&D campaign and Dungeon Crawl Classics as they both offer something a little bit different. Maybe every other adventure or something. Adding in class powers and spells will make DCC more in depth as well. Plan on D&D 5E next recap!

Highlights:

Scoops the Trapper's gravelly voice provided much cautious and timely advice which helped (some) survive.

George the Dwarven Blacksmith still couldn't figure out why everyone from the village talks so funny

George the Merchant's carefully calculated decisions that helped him become a successful trader have now led him to items and experience that will assist him in becoming a fine magician

George the Potato Farmer slew the great immortal demon snake guardian Ssisssuraaaaggg with naught but his pitchfork despite his dull wit and concerned obsession with Callie

Callie, though judgmental and condescending , like a brave spear maiden. In the final moment, when all was almost lost against the great clay army, and with a huge goose egg on the back of her head from Jerome's poor aim, she slew the likeness of the war wizard himself.

In memory of those who have fallen:

George the Cutpurse failing to undo a dilapidated pile of animated bones, was himself undone when the undead skull bit his toe and in shock he accidentally stabbed himself in the eye, and cried out in his signature cockney accent for the last time.

Evan the Elven Barrister perished by the earthen spear of a clay warrior shortly after discovering his courage

Ainsley the Hunter was consumed by the scorching ray of a vigilant 30' ancient barbarian lord statue when trying to exit the room

LeeRoy recklessly gambled his life in a valient charge but found that his luck had run out when he took a spear to the knee

Glurmen the Halfling Vagrant would have been better off with longer legs than armor when his friends outran both him and the deadly scorching ray that was his end

Hank the Cooper only wished he could have held his finest barrel one last time as he met his death on the end of a spear

Jerome the Confidence Artist's fast talking did him no good when he was flanked and skewered by animated clay spearmen