Monday, 13 January 2014

Doggerland Session 2.14a - a PBM Interlude

Over the Christmas period we took a break from the weekly gaming sessions due to the club closing for the festivities. However, to keep things moving I sent out a quick email to get the players' responses as to what they wanted to do next before heading down into the dungeon again. They decided that they wanted to question the injured bandit. Here is a summary of their 'question and answer' session...



1)      What’s downstairs?
a)      He has only been here a few days. He fell down the trapped rubble and he has not been able to do anything else since
b)      From forays by his fellow bandits, there are a few rooms below that have been looted and a pile of burnt zombie bodies. One door is jammed from the other side and two other doors are blocked by piles of debris that no-one can be bothered to move yet
c)      From furtive questioning - he is not aware of the secret door in the chamber in which he lies (neither were any of his compatriots from what you can make out) – so, he is only aware of one way down to the dungeon level

2)      Where are his bandit mates based?
a)      Everyone came up from Castleford; hired on by some members of the Iron Ring. No names were given but ours were taken, then everyone was transported up or down river by one of the two river pirate ships that operate in these waters to Nulb or other destinations unknown
b)      His base of operations is here and they were to await instructions on when to strike

3)      Who is running the outfit?
a)      No names were given. My direct report was the leader of this outfit. He has his own chain of command, but he did overhear a few names during his short wait for the ship and subsequent delivery into the hands of the next contact in Nulb
b)      His leader was part of another group of bandits not affiliated with the Temple that harried the caravans before he was enticed by the glory that would come with joining the effort for the release of the great Zuggtmoy
c)      The contacts within the pirate group are: Tolub and Grud Squinteye (deliver recruits to Skole, who in turn passes them onto the Temple representative Rentsch)
d)     The contacts in Nulb are: Skole (Boatmen’s Tavern) and Rentsch (Waterside Hostel) – the pirates and Temple people do not see eye-to-eye but tolerate each other due to mutual requirements

4)      What are the passwords, signals, call-signs that go along with the amulets?
a)      He does not know – he has been told he only needs the amulet to be recognised by fellow bandits doing the same job as him, but there is a further cadre that requires a certain type of cloak for recognition. This cadre is of a higher rank than him and more fully ingrained within the Temple hierarchy – the wearers of the cloaks are trusted more as they have proven themselves worthy (either by deeds or time served) to wear the cloak by reason of services rendered or by certain magiks if of a higher level still

5)      Why the grey ooze? Does he want to become a zombie?
a)      The grey ooze is part of the great plan by the demoness to convert those not willing to be followers voluntarily to become her minions none-the-less
b)      Those of us who have signed the pact are willing to give our afterlives in the service of one so great

6)      What traps/monsters are in the keep?
a)      Due to being injured he does not know anything other than what the others have told him – there are giant ticks breeding in the southern room of the east wing and a pack of giant rats have taken over the kitchen. A week or two back a band of adventurers wiped out the entire upper level, but strangely some of the corpses came back to life only to be butchered again
b)      They all keep hearing strange noises but nothing new seems to have appeared in the last few days. They have left the ticks alone as they lost a member of their band to them. It seems the previous group of bandits also lost a member of their party in the same room to a giant snake. From what he has heard there are loads of corpses of strange creatures in there, piled up by unknown hands

7)      Does he have a map or local knowledge of the area? Where is his base of operations?
a)      He doesn’t have a map but can give directions to Nulb, where he disembarked. It was a long walk south to get to the moat house but he has an idea how to pass through some of the fens without getting trapped in the bogs
b)      He was a bandit from the Dyvers area, by the great Silver Lake. Pickings were good but the prospect of serving Zuggtmoy was too great an opportunity to pass up. He joined the followers of the Temple with a few of his old band, but they were all sent off in different directions to aid the cause better
c)      The main area of operations nearby is based in Castleford – the main recruiting and delivery of fighters for the cause and supplies happens from there. There are more bandits in Nulb who go out raiding, and the Temple has followers in villages all around to spread the word, recruit new members, or generally keep an eye on the movements of the Thuringian elite in readiness for the return of the demoness

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