Mork Borg Session: Rotblack Sludge

The Accursed Den (but upside down)
Rotblack Sludge is the introductory adventure included in the Mork Borg core book. It's well-suited to a one-shot, as are the ones created by Mork Borg's DNGNGN. I ran it for 3 players, using 2 characters each in case of a high body count. This report will include spoilers, obviously. 

The players:

  • Kelly
  • Quinn
  • Dylan

Our heroes: 

  • Quaker Mary the Dark Traveler. Occult Herbmaster, cowardly and prone to substance abuse. (Kelly)
  • Doctor Dizzy the escaped cultist. Esoteric Hermit, alcoholic and extremely loud with a phlegm problem. (Kelly)
  • Dun Kirk the Zweihander-wielding Gutterborn Scum. Wasteful, ruthless, and stutters when he lies (constantly). (Quinn)
  • Roman the repugnant. Esoteric Hermit, vindictive and lazy. (Quinn)
  • Chastity Goodfellow the Rotten Nihilist. Occult Herbmaster, former slave of a witch, shrewd and giggly. Has 4 monkey companions named Caligula, Nero, Ivan, and Mary, Queen of Scots. (Dylan)
  • *Scream of a dying man* (the actual sound). Fanged deserter, left lying with dogs waiting for his master to return, jittery from nerve damage. (Dylan)

Prior to our adventure the characters had been members of a destroyed cult, slated for death until they were rescued from the gallows by the Shadow King with an offer of freedom in exchange for finding his prodigal son Aldon. They would seek him in the Accursed Den, an infamous underground den known to seep and reek with gases that drive folk mad.

Upon arrival, they found it to be a grease-blacked structure of petrified wood, hardened by unknown forces (later discovered to be the Rotblack Sludge), the oil of the constantly-burning lamps, and the gases issuing from the crevasse which welcomed them to the Den's entrance.

Almost immediately, Dun Kirk tells his dog to check out the crevasse. It falls in, with no audible impact as it falls, perhaps forever, never to be seen again. A grim auspice of the future indeed. 

The party enters through the double doors of the Den to find a banquet table set with a dusty, decayed feast. A wispy old cloaked man sits at the head of the table, unmoving. He is unresponsive to a rock thrown by Roman, and when the party moves closer they find him to be slightly translucent and hear him whispering about his hunger as he tries in vain to touch the food laid out before him. 

The heroes leave him to his own devices, and move to open a door in the eastern wall. For some reason Mary decides to light the door on fire using one of the nearby lanterns. It is kicked open from the other side by 2 guards, and battle is joined. Chastity is killed in short order, but Mary burns one and the other is brought low by the savage claws of Ivan the Monkey. Searching the room, an urn of powder is found, which Dizzy fucks around with, breaks, and poisons himself with, although he survives. 

Moving on to the next room, the party finds beds, several human skeletons and a shelf full of exotic books. Investigating the books, Roman is compelled to scream "You dead, arise!", which leads not to the skeletons arising but instead a strange crystal demon figurine on the shelf breaks its slumber and attacks our heroes but is defeated and returns to its inert state. Roman takes it and throws it in the crevasse.

Moving deeper into the Den, the party enters a room filled with cells of zombified prisoners, which Dun Kirk offers freedom in exchange for their service. The zombies agree, eager for their freedom. The party releases them and exits through a door in the opposite wall, finding a corridor. Dun Kirk orders his minions forward, and they trigger a pit trap, killing several of them outright. The others express discontent with Dun Kirk's leadership and doubt in his care for their well-being, but are brought back in line with threats of bodily harm. 

Reaching the end of the hall, the party finds a pump and a window, and Dizzy crawls out through the window on to a rooftop below. Outside an endless, grimly moonlit swamp fills the vista. While Dizzy enjoys the view, a giant spider creeps up on her and kills her with its venom. Meanwhile, Chastity's monkey squad play in the sludgy basin of the pump.

Backtracking a bit, the party makes their way back to the guard room (which they had attempted to enter with fire) and goes down a staircase into a chill, windy room with hooked chains hanging from the ceiling. Bloody footprints cover the ground, leading nowhere in particular. A spirit emerges and pleads with the party to free it or at least slay its cannibalistic murderer. The party seems strangely unmoved by this information, The spirit dissipates dejectedly, and they press onward.

The next room is aglow in spectacular colors cast by gems fixed in the walls and black sludge pooled on the floor, leaking in from a pool in a room to the north, exposed through a collapsed wall. The party greedily sets about removing them, which has grave consequences in the form of the Gutworm, which strikes from the sludge. *Scream* is killed in a single snap of its razor-toothed jaws. Retreating, the party chooses a different direction to explore. Unbeknownst to them, the mad cannibal murderer Fletcher is made aware of their presence via his psychic bond to the Gutworm.

Another room holds a statue, a glinting ruby in one eye, the other conspicuously empty. Not having successfully absconded with any gems from the Gutworm's lair, Quaker Mary makes the odd leap of logic to take an eye from a zombie, opening a secret door. Within resides Aldon, the heir!

Aldon is fearful of leaving, knowing that chances of escaping from Fletcher unharmed are low and he is a coward failson noble. Our heroes finally manifest some heroism and tell him they will kill Fletcher and rescue Aldon, surely from pure altruism and not to save themselves from the gallows. Aldon is sent up the stairs while the party heads to the next room to deal with Fletcher.

In the final room, Fletcher's lair, the party feels heat from both a forge and a huge cauldron of human stew. Dizzy's arm protrudes from it, brought down from the roof by Fletcher while the party explored. Fletcher emerges, a massive 7-foot tall scarred slasher-movie villain. In the ensuing battle Quaker Mary does significant damage with an alchemical bomb but is killed, and Fletcher chases the terrified party through the Den. The party scatters, including Dizzy, who was somehow revived by dark magic within the stew, crawled out, and fought for dear (un)life. Ultimately, Fletcher is brought down by a sneak attack from Dun Kirk. The party leaves the Den with Aldon, victorious but diminished in numbers. Rest in peace, suckers, they're not going back to recover your bodies.

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