ASE SESSION IV - Lessons in Dungeon Hygiene

ASE SESSION IV - LESSONS IN DUNGEON HYGIENE

Reginald - alas we hardly new him

A diminished party set out from Denethix, joined by a couple of new members - Reginald Wolfmother, a dandy who's tidy foppish ways would be his undoing, and Raymond (Series of strange numbers) Gamma, a young scientist and former student of the now deceased Dr. Jones.  An ancient vault was opened: some of its secrets revealed, some of its inhabitants put to the torch and a modicum of loot extracted from its dusty chambers.  Also we experienced the first death in the ASE campaign - senseless and avoidable, but exciting none the less.

RIFFRAFF OF THE CERTOPSIAN PLAINS

Wildeye - Demobilized Mercenary (F1)

Huxley - Devotee of the God of Forgotten Things (CL1)

Reginald Wolfmother - Dandy (Deceased) (F1)

Raymond (Numbers) Gamma - Scientist (SCI 1)

Margo the Flame - Sorceress/Pyromaniac (MU 1)

GLEANINGS

130 GP - Reginald's Equipment - Rapier (Long Sword), Hand Crossbow (1D6), Shield, 30 Quarrels, 5 bottles of wine, 1 bottle of brandy, snuff box,armored Giraffe Mask (Helmet), 2 Wigs (White, Yellow), Bladed Fan (Dagger), Silk Shirts
12 GP - Reginald's Purse
- NO EXPERIENCE POINTS FOR ITEMS PLUNDERED FROM DEAD PC's-
100 GP - Ancient Gold Insignia Pins
20 - 100 GP - Protonium Footlocker
- NO EXPERIENCE POINTS AS ITEMS REMAIN UNSOLD -

STRANGE ARTIFACTS OF LOST AGES DEFEATED

9 Automatons (6 Killed, 3 Cowed)
- 180 XP
2 Dust Ghosts
- 20 XP

1 Green Slime (Incinerated)
-25 XP


TOTAL FIGHTING XP: 225



Exploration: - 100 XP Each for opening the door and braving the strange silent halls of the Gatehouse.
Trap Avoidance: 20 XP Each for avoiding the swinging pipe trap

TOTAL XP = 225XP (+120 Each PC/+60 Wildeye's Henchman)
XP PER ADVENTURER = 178 XP Each PC (Including Margo)/89 XP for Wildeye's Henchman

SCENIC CHEMELFORDSHIRE - WHERE MOLD BLOOMS ETERNAL

The party leaves Denethix, with their new recruit Raymond 'Numbers' Gamma chuckling to himself as he pours over the map, and Huxley cajoling along his pack of three vicious pit-bulls (all a rusty brown color and wearing studded colors worked with the name of the kennel they were purchased from "Zed's Animal Equalizers".  The road passes through the lush farmlands East of Denethix, with nothing to be seen except a few placid water buffalo.  With the morning drawing to a close the adventurers wander through the wealthy suburb of Retennis, where rich men in blazers and wealthy farmers wearing giant billed "feed caps" glower at the riff-raff, but are content to remain silent as the party trudges on.

In late afternoon the band straggles into Chemelfordshire - a desolate and dilapidated town of unpainted shacks and pungent mold bogs.  The towns only entertainment and tavern is the Muddy Cup - an slightly larger shack with a faded sign that might represent a cup nailed next to the door.

Inside are three mold farmers, fresh from the bogs with molds of various hues in their hair, on their hands and flecking their ragged clothes.  The farmers seem cheerful enough though, and when the party refills their pints they open up a little, describing the dangers of the party's destination "Mt. Rendon" and some kind of failed raid on Chemelfordshire the year before made by 10 crazy men in red jockstraps who shouted about exterminating the brutals.

Mt. Rendon is apparently only a few hours out of town, but known to be dangerous for the Perytons that lurk amongst the ancient domed ruins on the mountain's peak.  The creatures look like winged stags, but larger and with an insatiable appetite for human hearts.  The farmers don't know much more, except that running fast and hiding in hollow logs is the only way to survive a Peryton attack.  There is also dismissive talk of the grey green forest goblins, who are a nuisance, but rarely manage to do much more than throw pine cones and sticks at travelers (they don't raid the mold bogs).

UP MOUNT RENDON AND INTO THE LIGHTED DEPTHS

Numbers proves adept with the ancient map and soon finds an ancient pathway, once paved in cermacrete leading to its height.  The party follows the scientist and Reginald spots a cave entrance, overgrown with leaves.  The cavern stinks with some kind of animal musk, and Wildeye discovers a few deer bones on the floor, but there are no inhabitants. At the back of the cave is a large protonium door - utterly impenetrable.  Next to the door is a relief sculpture of a sexless and simplified human face, also cast of protonium and with its mouth open.  Numbers deduces that the fuel cell found previously contains sick rock, and its size, standardized by the ancients is a perfect match for the statute's mouth.  Lowering the canister on a rope into the mouth, the adventurers discover that the chute is about 90's feet long, and that something at the bottom wants isotopic fuel and can raggedly cut a rope.  A moment later the door slides open, the face apparently having been satiated.

After a rush of stale air wafts from the ancient instillation the adventurers peer through the doorway into a pristine white hallway leading to an octagonal chamber, also made of some sort of gleaming white material. The three doors leading from the octagonal room are labelled "Barracks", "Emergency Core" and "Subsurface Environment", and numerous footprints, mundane and bizarre make a track in the 1/2 inch layer of dust on the floor lead between the "Barrack" and "Subsurface Environment".  Deciding they don't want to be trapped in the dungeon by anything inhabiting the barracks the party open the door to reveal another featureless room with small light wood and plastic fragments scattered about the floor and three doors.

Listening to the doors, the only sound is the buzzing of the glowing ceiling panel lights and a single drip like sound from one of the Southern doors.  Beyond that door the adventurers discover a bathroom, also made of pristine white material, with a toilet and a few shower heads.  After a few moments of waffling Reginald steps forward to turn on a shower, careful to stand out of the way.  Unfortunately the dashing fighter fails to stand far enough from the showerhead, and seconds after he turns it on a gout of thick mucus like green slime splatters on the floor splashing his arm and quickly burning into his velveteen brigandine.  Desperate Reginald stripes the sleeve from his armor, but he is too slow and some of the slime seems to leap onto the flesh of his arm, where it quickly and painfully begins to consume him.  Raymond Numbers Gamma tries wiping the slime away, thinking his thick scientific gloves of insulating rubber will protect him.  Unfortunately green slime is an equal opportunity predator and the gloves begin to melt almost as soon as Raymond touches the slime.  While Raymond flings the slime covered glove from his hand, Reginald continues to scream, and Huxley rushes forward to douse his arm in oil, hoping to burn the slime off.  The fire proves a successful tactic against the slime, but unfortunately it is even more effective against Reginald, who's bright red wig proves to have been manufactured with bituminous oils to retain its shape.  With his head and arm aflame the fop struggles gasping for a few moments before collapsing.  His companions loot the smouldering body even before they douse the rest of the slime with oil and set it alight.

With the sobering death of Reginald Wolfmother the part cautiously opens the next Southern door and is almost immediately set upon by a pack of robotic humanoids made of a light greenish gold alloy.  Margo proves where she got her nickname "the flame" by hurling a flask of oil with surprising accuracy and setting two of the charging robots alight. The party retreats and slams the door, but when Humbert, Wildeye's henchman opens if cautiously, intending to have Margo fling another oil bomb he is slashed across the face by a robot claw, and reeling backwards allows more robots to spill into the room.  With a combination of deft sword blows and more oil bombs the robotic assailants are forced back into their room, leaving 2/3 of their number dead.

A brief negotiation leaves the party believing that the robots have no treasure, will not fight for the party unless given spare parts and know that the Power Core area is "infested".  Before heading to these new areas the band elects to investigate the Northern door they have yet to explore, and notices that the area in front of it is strangely devoid of dust. Rightly fearing a trap, the adventurers pry the door open with the scientist's 10' pole and a huge piece of pipe, affixed with wires swings through the opening. 

The rooms beyond prove to be filled only with dust and piles of decayed furniture and only two items of interest are discovered.  First a metal mirror affixed to the wall of one of the rooms proves unbreakable even when Wildeye flings the remnants of the pipe trap at it.  Second a protonium box is discovered containing ancient golden military insignia pins and both the box and pins are collected.

Returning to the entry chamber, and deciding any "infestation" is worth avoiding the party gingerly opens the door to the 'Subsurface Environment" and is met with a long hallway filled with stairs.  The hallway is dusty but filled with tracks: booted human (or possible robot) feet, strange hoof like prints, treads or wheel marks, and undefinable swirls.  On the third set of stairs, which terminate in a T junction, the party notices the prints stop and the dust is very thick.  Finding this strange, the Raymond the Scientist inches forward, being lightly armored, to see if he can scout out the T junction.  Looking South he sees more hallway, and to the North the open door of a room containing movement and a mass of strange figures.  Raymond darts back, but as he rushes up the stairs the dust piles coalesce into strange vaguely humanoid shapes, shot through with bolts of electricity.  These dust devils assail Raymond and he is shocked when one throws itself onto his leg.  However the weapons of the party are able to disrupt the creatures, scattering their dust before they can do more damage.

Deciding they've dealt with enough strange remnants of ancient days the party  takes their pitiful treasures and hurries back to Chemelfordshire to drink it's questionable mold beer, rest up and wait for the rest of their companions to arrive.