The next module I'm going to give a nod to is
The People of the Pit. (the level 1 DCC adventure, not the level 5-7 OSRIC thing)
The notion the world just has a canyon filled with a humongous tentacle monster that nobody except the locals care about is extremely Sword & Sorcery, and not just in general, but spot on for the particular take on S&S discussed in this thread!
Again, I'm not going to talk a lot about what makes the module so good, since I want to focus on my tweaks, so let me just quickly say its ideas for the dungeon are deliciously weird and still makes a lot of sense! It really is evocative and varied and covers all the things you need from a tentacular scenario!
SPOILER ALERT. MATURE THEMES ALERT.
Instead, let's quickly mention the areas where you might improve upon the adventure as written. First off, yes, DCC proudly boasts of the "good old days, when adventures were underground, [and] NPCs were there to be killed" so this isn't really a criticism, but more of a "how to do it differently, if you actually LIKE (gasp!
) roleplaying when the heroes TALK to your NPCs"; one reviewer even felt obliged to list the few opportunities there are for such things, finding very few (such as the toad demon).
At this point, I found it useful to back up and consider what's going on behind the scenes. There's basically four monster "types": cultists, toans, people of the pit, and Palimdybis himself. And the back story where some warrior-priest attempted to placate the beast. Villagers are converted into cultists but the module doesn't go into much detail. Toans are presumably Palimdybis eggs. Not sure where the people of the pit comes from. And then there's the Octo-Mass, which an expansion called "Assassins of the Pit" attempt to give a greater role.
Let me first say that leaving things unexplained and unexplainable is a great thing. But I see opportunities to strengthen the module's themes (horror, body horror, tentacles, alien thinking) here, and so hear me out: I'm making cultists more human, at least the greys. I'm giving the Octo-Mass the function of being embryo Toans. Also, new cultists are created simply by a cultist giving enough "gifts" to a human*. I'm reserving the "faceless horror" for the degenerate People of the Pit.
Okay, so the grey cultists. They're villagers after all. Erasing their face just robs the module of opportunities for non-combat interaction. I WANT there to be at least a brief moment where players remain unsure whether to slaughter every cultist they meet. Plus, I think it's better to gradually increase the alien-ness of the various inhabitants of the Pit than to go full out alien right off the bat. The purpose of this cult should be more inscrutable and less overtly evil. So:
Gray cloaks: These are the lowest-ranking cultists, still very much like a level-0 human but carrying a pulpy red tentacled mass (an "octo-mass") inside their bodies. They wear hooded cloaks** and may carry weapons or fight unarmed. Their skin and flesh is rubbery, and on a critical Perception check, a hero can see something moving under their skin. They retain most of their human personality except their individuality - they come across as distant and detached, placing little value on the sanctity of life (their own as well as that of others). Their default stance towards heroes is indifferent, but they may be curious or even friendly. Especially scouts outside the Pit! After all, they're the "recruiters", the most sociable members of the cult. And so they see no particular reason to attack heroes (like monsters do and players expect!). After all, they are supremely confident nothing the heroes can ever do is able to threaten the well-being of Palimdybis
(that's actually a very reasonable assumption!) Grey-cloaks thus become hostile only when ordered to. Not even killing another cultist will make them flinch. When wounded, their red spongy goo-oozing interior is revealed, and you might even see the end of a tentacle quickly hiding behind folds of spongy intestines. When killed, their bodies burst asunder and their Octo-Mass emerges to attack independently. Gray cloaks contribute 1d6 to checks to control a pit-beast tentacle.
Next, the Toans and how to give the Octo-Mass a greater role:
Pregnant Cultists: Both male and female cultists can become horribly bloated in unnatural places by their Octo-Mass being supernaturally impregnated by Palimdybis (could be vibrations in the Aether for what I care). If they drink a Black Potion (see below), this gives them enough temporary hit points to survive long enough to cut or tear themselves open, which in turn allows them to pour the Blood of Man onto their Octo-Mass; this kills the Cultist but transforms the Octo-mass into a much more powerful creature, a Toan. It’s three actions minimum to transform (drink potion, open body, pour blood); however, a cultist will normally want to savors his or her moment and not hurry the experience.
Black Potion: a lumpy oily liquid providing 3d6 temporary hit points and makes you numb to pain for one hour. So far this sounds great, but the lumps contain tiny embryos for larval tentacles - after one turn you gain 1d6 “gifts” (see below). On a roll of 6 (or if you reach 8+ “gifts”), an Octo-Mass develops only to burst out of its own volition. Since you're presumably still human at this point, you automatically provide the necessary ingredient for it to immediately transform into a rampaging Toan.
Blood of Man: This is regular human blood, nothing more, nothing less. Hopefully it hasn't coagulated yet.
Now, the remaining cultists:
Crimson cloaks: A tactile suckered tentacle has burst forth, replacing (choose or roll d6): 1-2) a leg, 3-4) an arm, 5) grows out of their groin or 6) replacing the cultist’s head(!). They remain open to persuasion, much like greycloaks, except they’re less curious about the the world. On the other hand, they're
really interested in making you see their perspective. They give out “gifts” just like Grey Cloaks, except they're able to hand out 1d6 “gifts” per day (even all at the same time). This is obviously perilous all by itself, but should they roll a 6, they get a bit over-excited and their entire Octo-Mass bursts out. Not only does this kill the cultist, it likely disgusts the recruiting target, spoiling the recruiting attempt. Crimson cloaks contribute 2d6 to checks to control a pit-beast tentacle.
Purple cloaks: (Color taken from the Assassins of the Pit supplement) These are the undercover agents (far-roving rangers, spies and, yes, assassins) of the cult. My intention is mainly to provide a rank for hero level cultists (whether controlled by the judge or a player), not to explain the use of Octo-Masses (I've already done that above). So, any promising recruit that has more than one hit die (like a classed PC) can be given special concoctions to horribly dissolve the bone structure and make his body features malleable. Take 1d6 damage; if you're reduced to 0 hp you dissolve into a pile of goo. Essentially, I'm going with the same basic idea as in the supplement, except not as powerful. The cultist can switch two physical ability scores as needed and mold his features to mimic any body shape, gender or ethnicity. This requires a full turn. The ability is not so powerful you can clone an individual, but you can certainly attempt to impersonate him or her. And yes, you become immune to critical hits mentioning bone. As for the purple cloak? While the agent can certainly wear any clothing required for the mission, molding your shape is a ritualistic celebration of Palimdybis, and most purple cloaks feel only comfortable doing it while wearing nothing but his purple cloak.
Yellow cloaks: Their faces are a blank rubbery mass, and have vestigial tentacles growing from their abdomens. They have lost the art of human interaction. Yellow cloaks contribute 3d6 to checks to control a pit-beast tentacle.
Blue cloak: This is of course the warrior-priest, transformed beyond recognition. By the way, I'm inventing a reason for the cloaks: The leader quickly found that Palimdybis ate his guards just as happily as the sacrificial virgins, until he came up with the bright idea to give the women crimson cloaks and his men gray cloaks. This helped the great tentacle beast to distinguish between food and feeder, and losses among his guards were immediately cut in half.
Not sure how to give this information to the player. (That Blue Cloak is what's remaining of the warrior-priest, that is. The cloaks doesn't really need explaining) Perhaps mention his order was named something a long the lines of "order of the blue canyon" or something (where "blue" was meant to evoke heavenly tranquility). And yes, if PCs think to change into grey or crimson cloaks, that should give them some small bonus/penalty against tentacles. Maybe the color of your skin (including clothing) replaces the usual focus on attacking heroes with (bad) Luck.
Off-Map additions:
Let's add the potential for non-hostile interaction as areas 0-1, 0-2, 0-3, and possibly 0-4. This enables the Judge to not start the adventure already at the rim of the pit. These areas represent possible encounters while traveling from civilization to the pit.
0-1: they encounter impossible tracks, as if a giant worm has slithered past. A successful tracking roll suggests the worms are all over the place, traveling in both directions. (In reality this is a tentacle extending, and then retracting back again)
0-2: They approach a humble farm, three simple clay dwellings. In each of the two smaller huts there’s a single Grey Cultist curiously rooting around. When approached, it greets the heroes asking “what this is?” or “how did I use this?”, holding up a piece of trivial farm equipment. In the main building there are five humanoids. One is dressed in a grey hooded cloak, holding two more identical cloaks neatly folded. She is watching four naked humanoids writhing in ecstasy on the floor with disinterest; these are two cultists and the middle-aged husband and wife that farms this patch.
0-3: They stumble upon five Grey Cultists resting outside. The most attractive female cultist of the lot stands up, throws back her hood, holds up her hand in peace, and invites them into their midst. Curiously there’s no tent, no fire and no food.
0-4: In the distance, they see a great tentacle seemingly without end. It’s herded by six humans clad in grey cloaks (there's actually a great image of this in the module); another three walk alongside the tentacle perhaps a hundred paces behind. It will probably seem like a dangerous thing, but the three cultists in the back are easy pickings if attacked; they do not think to warn the front six.
Here are some suggestions on how to run the scenario if the heroes join up (or pretend to):
At 1-1, friendly scouts acknowledge the sacrifices “made before my time”, but then adds that this barbaric practice has stopped now. (This is actually true, since sacrifices are now made at 4-9 instead!) At this time, friendly scouts get really agitated if no hero has yet accepted "the gift"*.
At 1-2, the lead guard cultist tells the party to “turn back, you are not welcome here” unless brought back by a scout party. Even so, unless at least one party member carries “the gift” they will not be persuaded to let them pass. Otherwise, the guards as well as the scouts all escort the party to 1-3.
At 1-3, assuming a non-hostile party with at least one member having accepted "the gift", the guard tells them to wait here. Ten minutes later all present cultists start chanting; this is to “call the taxi” = to allow a Yellow Cultist to appear via tentacle. At this time, count the total number of gifts accepted by the party. Unless the number of gifts at least equal the number of PCs the Yellow Cultist accuses the friendliest scout cultist of bringing infidels to their home. All cultists attack her, which likely kills her before the PCs can do anything. Then the yellow-cloak calmly asks the heroes to accept "the gift". If the party somehow still remains non-hostile after seeing her Octo-mass burst forth, and they accept enough gifts, they are allowed inside. But at this point, I have no further advice to give, since the scenario will likely not play out as written! (You have very cool but strange players!
Finally a couple of random suggestions:
Area 1-21: Add three female Grey Cultists, tending to the large devil toad’s every need. Note: They do not help the toad in combat. (The toad clearly has Jabba the Hut as his idol
)
Areas 3-1 through 3-3 (the incubation chambers): Inside each large leathery egg there’s a naked bloated cultist, sleeping or maybe only daydreaming. If it is pierced, it drains to reveal white and a yolk that reminds you of a regular egg, only with a blackened Octo-Mass in the center. This Octo-Mass is incapable of attacking, and quickly dies.
Area 3-4: In this room, the Toan is, just like in the module, close to hatching. While the yellow-cloak attacks, the gray-cloak inside the egg drinks a Black Potion, screams “Palimdybis, I honor thee!” and then cuts herself open to allow human blood from the crimson tubes to pour over her innards. This takes two rounds. In the third round, her Tanoan stumbles out, but is incapable of action that round.
I found there to be a curious lack of opportunities to peacefully interact with crimson cloaks, so I'm changing room 3-8:
Area 3-8: Den of Crimson. Three Crimson-Robed Cultists live here. Two are “dressed” and awake, sitting at a small table while the third is slumbering on the bed, his cloak hanging from a peg on the wall. The two have no visible tentacles but the sleeping one has a tentacle instead of his head. The female is hostile and wants to attack: “kill the intruders!” while the male is friendly and curious, and holds her back: “lets first hear them out”. The third Cultist sits up to “watch” any combat with disinterest, and is genuinely surprised if he too is attacked.
There is almost zero time to react to the People of the Pit as written. So lets add some:
Area 4-6: Half a dozen beings mill about this square, doing strange but ultimately menial tasks. They resemble humans with smooth gray skin, but they are stunted and bent like apes, their entire unclothed bodies covered in cilia-like growths of tiny wriggling pseudopods. The males are bald while the females have waist-long hair that is gray or even white for young healthy females and brown for old withered ones. The most horrible aspect is that their faces lack eyes and mouth.
These "civilians" ignore strangers, though they flee if attacked. (Alerting the cultists is not a good thing! The best approach is to just casually saunter into the village as if nothing was amiss.)
Area 4-7A: Of the four villagers, two have unbroken wills and may be recruited. These urge the heroes to act “before Scylla is sacrificed too!”. The explain: Scylla is the village elder’s virgin daughter, and the leader of the cult is here to perform such an important sacrifice!
Area 4-8: Here two female people of the pit sit, each in front of a bowl filled with gravel, sharing a clay jug of water. They are “eating” by snorting crushed minerals mixed with water. They arm themselves with spiked clubs if they detect the heroes and take a defensive stance.
The virgin sacrifice: Scylla is a level-1 chaotic cultist of Palimdybis with one extra vulnerability or taboo. While she was fine being sacrificed to her god, she sees her rescue as Palimdybis simply saving her for an even greater fate than being lunch. As long as she remains a virgin, she has +2d on all saves. She happily joins the party as she sees it being her ticket to fulfilling the fate her master has for her. She will even suggest pretending to go back home first in order to get the party their reward (two oxen).
Finally, in the words of Ten foot pole: "And then there’s crap like +1 mace." Definitely do remember to change up the treasure of area 4-4.
Thank you for reading all the way through. As you can see, this module has massive potential of Awesomesauce!
Zapp
* Yes, you guessed right; by "passing a gift" I'm using an euphemism. If I have to spell it out cultists have the ability to expel a small pulpy red larval thing (max 1 per day) that seeks to enter the "recruit" through an unguarded orifice. Either the recruit is fully aware and willing, or the cultist uses deception/distraction (most simply, a kiss). I could have went for simply "one gift and you're done for" but I prefer the gifts actually having a beneficial effect where players must weigh the advantages against the risk of "turning":
1 gift: You can work or run twice as long, and you need half as much sleep. Make a DC 2 Will save or you succumb to the Call of Palimdybis. Make a DC 2 Fort save or you sprout your very own Octo-Mass.
2 gifts: You heal twice as fast from natural resting. You find the musk of cultists intoxicating and will want to be near them. (No mechanical impact or forced actions, just an opportunity to roleplay your descent into further depravity.) Make a DC 3 Will save or you succumb to the Call of Palimdybis. Make a DC 3 Fort save or you sprout your very own Octo-Mass.
3 gifts: Your flesh beneath the skin turns red and spongy. You take half as much damage from bleeding and Critical hits mentioning blood. Your priorities change. You value accomplishing your mission and goals higher than your life. Make a DC 5 Will save or you succumb to the Call of Palimdybis. Make a DC 5 Fort save or you sprout your very own Octo-Mass.
4 gifts: Your skin becomes rubbery. You gain damage reduction equal to the number of Hit Dice you have. You find the musk of cultists bewitching and you must make a DC 10 Will save to tear yourself away, even in dangerous situations (such as when you are presented with another "gift"). Make a DC 8 Will save or you succumb to the Call of Palimdybis. Make a DC 8 Fort save or you sprout your very own Octo-Mass.
5 gifts: Your flesh completes its transformation into a spongy alien mass, and you become desensitized to pain. You no longer bleed, you ooze. You still recover hit points as normal, but instead of healing, this is represented by you simply holding torn flesh together until wounds glue shut by themselves. You may stitch nastier gashes to help out with the gluing process - as you survive more and more grave wounds, your body will look positively Frankensteinian. You realize your own insignificance in the cosmos, and are no longer bothered by bloodshed or the loss of your friends. You become immune to Critical hits mentioning blood and pain. Make a DC 13 Will save or you succumb to the Call of Palimdybis. Make a DC 13 Fort save or you sprout your very own Octo-Mass.
6 gifts: You find the musk of cultists irresistible and will go to great lengths to be near them. You dream of giving birth to a round, blubbery mass with long black tentacles, and I don't mean a nightmare. Make a DC 21 Will save or you succumb to the Call of Palimdybis. Make a DC 21 Fort save or you sprout your very own Octo-Mass.
7 gifts: You realize you have been a fool for having individualistic goals, and you readily sacrifice yourself or others if it is the will of the Tentacle. You succumb to the Call of Palimdybis.
8 gifts: You gain a warm fuzzy feeling whenever some thing inside you shifts, and you instantly sprout your very own Octo-mass.
Note how I'm going for effects you could conceivably explain cultists having, without actually having to track the details for NPCs. For instance, if a Grey-Cloak is killed for taking 3 damage, and this somehow becomes a matter of discussion, you simply say the cultist had 2 hp and DR 1.
The larger idea here is that as you gain ranks within the cult, you're given more gifts, this time by your superiors. However, the mechanical details of how these gifts make you sprout tentacles like crimson-cloaks, lose your face like yellow-cloaks and so on is outside the scope of this adventure.
The Call of Palimdybis: The default here would be for the character to become a NPC cultist under the Judge's control (and have him seek out full transformation asap, most simply by gorging himself on "gifts"). But since I envision cultists as possibly curious about the world, and not ever ever worried for Palimdybis, it could be interesting to have a hero basically have Palimdybis as his Patron.
Your own Octo-Mass: Over one day and night, the gift(s) grow to form a proper Octo-Mass inside you. Assuming you have not yet fallen for the Call of Palimdybis, this is a very traumatic experience. Mostly, this is a roleplaying challenge but you do get -2d on all Saving Throws as your Octo-Mass distracts and undermines your body. This penalty instantly disappears when you join the cult and accept Palimdybis as your Patron. When you are killed, your body burst asunder and the octo-mass emerges to attack independently. Since your flesh no longer bleeds as normal, the rules for Bleeding Out and Recovering the Body do remain in effect (a hero whose Octo-Mass has left them will, assuming the scenario plays out as intended, have his body slowly reverting to normal if the Judge feels benevolent. Otherwise, the Octo-Mass deposited 1d8 embryos or "gifts" before it burst out, and it is a DC 10 Medicine check to find each one (removing them is trivial if found), assuming the players even think to do this before healing the PC back up).
**) like the one Red Riding Hood has; here's an inspirational image, that I might hand out in black and white. If you don't want players to conjure images that great artists like Frazetta, Royo, Sanjulien etc could have drawn, you could have cultists still wear their peasant garb underneath I guess.
- hJmQNW3.jpg (8.48 KiB) Viewed 31936 times
https://i.imgur.com/hJmQNW3.jpg as you can see from the thumbnail, this is suggestive without showing any nudity, so it probably won't melt your eyes, but still: link probably NSFW