Planet of Fear

[ragboy]

A few years ago, I started writing a planetary romance using Savage Worlds rules. Since the core DCC book came out, I've started two "normal" DCC games, and finally started my weekly home game tonight -- I decided to convert Planet of Fear to DCC. The first session went well -- the beginning of the campaign is a bit of a railroad to a "OMG" moment when the characters step onto an alien planet...Hopefully I can keep this going, since I never got to run the savage worlds version.

After playing, I want to rework the second half of the 0-level adventure... but I'll do that later.

Feedback welcome.

http://mysticbull.pbworks.com/w/page/52 ... dcc%20fear

[ragboy]

Added Monsters...still working on it. http://mysticbull.pbworks.com/w/page/53 ... remonsters

[ctaylor]

This is really good. It has a Princess of Mars vibe that I'm digging.

[ragboy]

This is really good. It has a Princess of Mars vibe that I'm digging.

Thanks! Working on patrons/gods and a slight modification to make a semi-psionic magic system. I've only gotten this far...

Mind Science
The Indomitable Empire of the Mystic Vril practices a pseudo-science of mutation, biological manufacturing, and mind control. Though the wizard need not have a patron to learn these mystical methods, practicing under a master provides the wizard with more powerful processes. All of the sentient races of Fhere practice some form of mind science, though it is rare to find anyone beyond the skill of an amateur.

Mind Science Patrons and Masters

Rhy-San – Arachno-man Master of the mind sciences (Arachno-man Enclave – 1903)

Verita – Dimensional being worshipped as a god by some slaves

Gobi-Tarn – Arachno-man hero ascendant

Urbik – Vril rebel hero ascendant

Clerics and Religion
As with magical patrons, the gods of Fhere are weak in the teeth of the Vril invasion, but they can be found amongst the arachno-men, rat lords, sliver, krake and isolated tribes of humans, elves, dwarves and halflings that have been stranded here over the years. It is whispered that even the gods of other worlds can be contacted from Fhere, though it is also whispered that the Vril can hear these prayers and pinpoint the worshipper.
 
Gods and Patrons of Fhere
Fhere was a planet dominated by the Gok (a humanoid rat-like race), the Sliver (a race of serpentine humanoids) and the Krake (a lizard-like humanoid species). Though these were all but destroyed by the Vril, their gods remain, especially in the isolated enclaves where these species still cling to existence.

Tilgok
The Earth Lord of the Gok (Rat Lords)

Vis-Ur
Dark Queen of the Sliver

Qa
The Serpent in the World (Sliver and Krake)

Keriach (All)
The Broken Man (the broken moon of Fhere)

The Vril Techno-Deities
The Indomitable Empire of the Mystic Vril brought their own gods, of a sort, with them when they invaded and enslaved the planet of Fhere. These are the entities worshipped by the Vril masters, and some of their creations, and can be taken as patrons or as deities, though only by the stout of heart and soft of mind!

Yrthrin
The Steel God

Vathik
The Mind Lord

Mhrun
Lord of Forms

Elder Beings
The rich source of cosmitronic energy has drawn powerful beings with no ties to the cosmology and culture of Fhere. Worship or patronage of these beings is extremely dangerous – in an existential sense.

Dagon
Of the Innsmouth Dagons.

Hate
A dimensional being of sunny disposition

The Faceless Star
A living star that wanders the Universe

Mindhead
A dimensional being that must have cosmitronic energy to exist

[finarvyn]

Cool! I'm in a John Carter mood right now and these are some neat ideas.

[Raven_Crowking]

This is some very interesting stuff.

[ragboy]

Thanks! We had our second session last week and the players are extremely enthusiastic about it. Which makes me extremely enthusiastic....

I'm working on a nascent psionics system. Basically, just the magic system with the serial numbers changed.

[ragboy]

Session three in the books. The party took the bait on the Vril mindslave ally. And now their doom is sealed.

The best part of the adventure is that I have a player that rolled an 18 for Int and the character survived to be a wizard. First three spell checks were natural 20 which he boosted with spellburn and he is now drunk on his power. I can't wait for the natural 1's to balance the universe. I love this system.

[ragboy]

Session last week: The party fell into their own trap -- assaulted an arachno-man camp and almost survived -- last character fell to the last three arachnoman escaped gladiators. Due to a lucky random table roll, the arachnomen just leave the fallen (some were knocked unconscious by friendly fire, others were dropped) -- those that survive will awaken to find the camp in the old ruin abandoned and all of their gear gone -- those that dropped and survived will find several debilitating injuries. But, salvation remains in a secret room they haven't found yet -- two characters have latent powers brought on by exposure to cosmitronic energy. Those powers and an incredible secret about the planet could very well be revealed! And their ally (vril mind slave) is yet to pop his own surprise...

Next session is tonight -- players are energized and enjoying themselves. As a result, so am I.

Since it was essentially a TPK (really a MPK/SPD), we started Doom of the Savage Kings with other characters. Looks like another whole night of gaming, since I have to catch them up over on that campaign... like heaven.

[GnomeBoy]

This is great -- even if it was just the word 'cosmotronic'!

[Karaptis]

Add me to the list of people digging this!

[bholmes4]

Good stuff.

[ragboy]

The party awoke from their near-death to the following surprises:

• All their equipment was gone... not much of a surprise
• A symbol was carved into each of their foreheads with a glyph that essentially means "enemy of the arachnoman"
• Two characters were dead, dead. They spent luck to bring them back... Both were permanently injured: One halfling was badly burned on his off hand and arm (no two weapon fighting) and the other halfling badly burned on the leg (speed -5).
• Everyone that was down to 0 had some disability or loss -- The warrior lost two and half fingers on his left hand, the wizard permanently lost 3 points of Stamina (he died during a "final blast" in which he used spellburn), and the thief, who had been using one of the Vril's living weapons, had that weapon devour his arm and is now permanently attached to him at the shoulder -- as well as losing Stamina. Another warrior received burns so bad that his hair is permanently burned away, ears fused to the sides of his head, etc (with stamina loss).
• Their thal companion (think neanderthal) that got them into this mess in the first place had his throat slit and was left for dead, but survived..though now he can't talk.

The party tried to regroup and search out supplies that might be left in the cave. The cleric managed to flub multiple healing checks with 2 disapprovals. The only bright spot was a group of 0-levels they'd left out in a nearby canyon with their extra supplies. They had one days worth of food (for the whole party) and some makeshift spears and a couple of razorbows with a few razors. They managed to find a fountain of crystallized air-tree sap that is edible and a source of water, further into the cave. A group of party members went back to a previously explored area and gathered webmice (furred lizard creature that spins web "habitrails") to eat. Another group set up a watch on the remains of a watchtower which was part of the complex. Two characters, which happened to be those that, at the beginning of their travails on the planet, were exposed to cosmitronic energy and received a latent power -- they knew that had a latent power, but they didn't know what it was.

Enter the mysterious cavern... here the two find an arachnoman mystic seemingly in telepathic reverie with what appears to be a huge glowing distended bodily organ across a chasm. They kill the arachnoman... (I just don't understand...adrift in an unknown place without allies, they make enemies). The wizard immediately sets to trying to climb across the chasm on the ropy strings of web-like material that spans it.

Cut to the watchtower, where the two characters are completely oblivious as a pair of slavetakers scouts the hill.

Cut to an exit cave where three characters encounter the two Dhoja slavetakers (serving the Vril masters).

Cut to the watchtower where the two characters on watch are still completely oblivious to the approach of an entire platoon of slavetakers.

The fight at the exit cave gets heated -- (all but two of the characters are at -4 due to their near death experience) -- one character is incinerated, though they've managed to drop one of the slavetakers and the other withdraws. The group withdraws to their stronghold room, as the rest of the party gathers -- the watchtower characters finally manage to notice their plight (minus the two exploring the strange cavern). They decided to hole up in a hidden passage to either escape detection or make a final stand.

Cut to the cavern. Both characters have made it across to the strange entity as four slavetakers enter the chamber and begin firing. The wizard (who has rolled amazingly well on every spell check in every session) manages to hold them off with a combination of flaming hands on the webs and magic shield. The thief, with his "living weapon for an arm" drives off the bad guys. That's when Direwind (truename Arophezao) makes telepathic contact with the wizard. It offers power beyond the stars if he will bring the bones of Leriah ke' Rhstha. The wizard immediately makes the pact and the entity goes silent. The thief got hazy images from the telepathic contact of the breaking of the moon (Keriach) and distorted images of fire and falling. Both characters' latent powers become apparent. The thief is a telepath and the wizard is a seer (clairsentience in the d20 parlance). Their powers are hazy and uncontrolled, but they can feel the power available. Ah -- and the kicker -- the thief tries to contact the rest of the party and finds them, but cannot communicate. He does see, however, black "cords" emanating from the thal's mind (their only ally) to the minds of the slavetakers as they search for the party.

Cut to the rest of the party -- the slavetakers discover their hidey hole and flood in to attack. The party comports itself well with no armor and makeshift weapons. The last man standing is the last 0-level elf of a new player. He kills three slavetakers single-handedly before finally being knocked unconscious by their plasma lances.

Cut to the cavern. The two remaining characters hold up for several hours, before climbing across the chasm again to search for their party members. The cavern is empty...