Episode 19: Island of the Slime Forest

[Mushgnome]

Another day in Carcosa, another fight for survival.

A jale man pulls a strange dried tuber from his backpack, while his four jale henchmen look on hungrily. (Their own provisions ran out days ago, and they are delirious with hunger and thirst.) He breaks off a small piece of the tuber and offers it to the weird ant-like creature that is curled up in the bottom of the lifeboat, where it has been huddled ever since the storm. It wiggles its antennae and feebly accepts the morsel of food. He gives the henchmen nothing.

Suddenly there is a disturbance, and the tiny lifeboat is almost capsized by a massive wave! A truly colossal creature is on collision course, heading the opposite direction (further out to sea). There is a brief glimpse of an enormous eye, tentacles thick as tree trunks, a squirt of inky black ichor, and then the monster dives, taking no notice of these insignificant mortals!

Propelled by the sea monster's wake, the lifeboat changes course and bobs along at a moderate pace. A short time later, "Land! We are saved!" cries the sharpest-eyed of the jale henchmen. Sure enough, land has appeared on the horizon: a small, heavily-forested island, with promise of food and fresh water.

The tide carries the dinghy onto a small, rocky beach (the trees come down almost to the water in most places). The smooth, wet stones are a gloomy grayish-dolm coloration, while the trees are twisted, gnarled, and practically dripping with mosses and vines. Nestled among the rocks of the beach are various driftwoods, seaweeds, and seashells, plus---impossible to miss---the stinking corpse of a beached, whale-sized creature (which the starved jale men cannot help eying hungrily).

The Preservation of Humanity, your adventure begins... NOW!

[Deleted]

I say: "You! Number 1!" pointing at a henchman. "You're going to eat that. I want to see if it's edible. But not before we build a fire. Number 2, carve off some chunks of that thing. We'll roast it and feed it to 1."

[Mushgnome]

Number 2 steps forward to carve a chunk from the whale carcass. He is not alone! Another denizen of Carcosa has already claimed this food source. One of the dolm "rocks" isn't a rock at all, but a wet and quivering glob. It turns from slurping the whale corpse to slurping jale man number 2!

[I'll narrate this a bit more than usual since it is your first time.]

The dolm blob attacks as 1 Light Horse (LH)! The unarmored jale man of course defends as Light Foot (LF).

LH rolls 2 dice per "man," 5, 6 kills.

Let's pause for a moment and roll hit points. Zero-level henchmen only get 1hp in this Chainmail-influenced system (1 hit = 1 kill). PoH has 1 HD (1+1 but -1 due to low Con) and the "Carcosa Crazy Dice" rule is in effect. 1d6=1 hp... watch out!

Now the dice speak: 3, 2

Number 2 safely scampers away from the slow moving dolm ooze!

[due to everyone only having 1hp you can safely assume the slightest touch from this corrosive creature will be fatal!]

[Deleted]

"You! All of you! Get that thing. If it kills any of you, i'll step in." I motion to Wizard-killer to stay back.

[Mushgnome]

The 4 jale henchmen begin to pelt the dolm ooze with rocks!

[we'll use the Chainmail missile rules, p. 11]

4 men firing vs. unarmored roll 1 die cumulative between the lot of them, hitting for 1 die damage on a roll of 1-2 and 2 dice damage on a roll of 3-6.

The roll is: 6! The dolm ooze takes 2d8=9hp damage. It squeezes itself flat and slowly begins retreating into a crack between the rocks.

[Deleted]

"All right. Let's go inland. We can find food along the way."

[Mushgnome]

The forest is dense. Bushwhack, or explore the beach clockwise/counterclockwise looking for a clearer path?

Marching order?

[Deleted]

Apothecaria examines Princess.

She recommends proceeding along the beach clockwise to find a clear path, she and Grekk will lead the way.

[Mushgnome]

Jan 17, 2013 11:34:38 GMT -6 @dubeers said:

Apothecaria examines Princess.

She recommends proceeding along the beach clockwise to find a clear path, she and Grekk will lead the way.

[Apothecaria and the denizens of the barge are still in thread #18, I will respond there...]

[Deleted]

I'll deliberately ignore Cameron's accidental advice - I feel like I'm cheating, taking the advice - and bushwhack. 1 and 2 ahead, 3 and 4 in the back, myself and Wizard-killer in the middle.

[ehiker133]

Jan 17, 2013 16:52:59 GMT -6 @sirravd said:

I'll deliberately ignore Cameron's accidental advice - I feel like I'm cheating, taking the advice - and bushwhack. 1 and 2 ahead, 3 and 4 in the back, myself and Wizard-killer in the middle.

I believe Cameron's post was not at all directed at you, but simply a slight misunderstanding of which thread should contain his action.

[Deleted]

ooc: that is correct. Sorry for any misunderstanding.

[Mushgnome]

Alrighty then, Jale Man Number 1 leads the bush-whack into the interior of the island.



He brushes aside a hanging curtain of "moss" to clear the path... and his hand is engulfed by [green]green slime[/green]!

Jale Man Number 1 screams in agony as his arm begins to slime-ify!

[Deleted]

"All of you! Abandon him. Let's try another route. Go back to the beach." (Clockwise.)

[Mushgnome]

The Preservation of Humanity and his four three henchmen return to the beach just in time to see a huge spray of red a couple of miles off shore, followed by a cacophony of human and non-human screams!

[Deleted]

"Let's get out of here. Ignore that. Search the beach for a way in."

[Mushgnome]

A half-mile clockwise (southwest) down the beach, PoH discovers a small stream of clear, fresh water flowing out of the forest. Before he can stop them, his three dehydrated henchmen run to the water and begin to drink their fill. Will PoH (who is also feeling quite parched) drink?

He reasons that if they travel up the stream-bed and keep their heads down, they should be able to avoid getting slimed by the forest canopy above. (Assuming it doesn't drip....)

[Deleted]

"Stop that! Don't drink another gulp, or I'll cut your heads off!"

[Mushgnome]

Jan 20, 2013 12:56:35 GMT -6 @sirravd said:

"Stop that! Don't drink another gulp, or I'll cut your heads off!"

You fail your Charisma check (18) and your thirsty henchmen continue drinking from the stream.

[Deleted]

I kick one––not hard enough to break bone, but hard enough to hurt. "STOP! Idiots!"

[Mushgnome]

PoH beats his henchmen into submission, and the chain of command is restored. What next?

[Deleted]

We cross and keep looking for a way in. I say, "If we are really desperate, we can return here."

[Mushgnome]

PoH crosses the sandy area at the mouth of the stream and continues clockwise around the island. Because he and his henchmen are unarmored, they move at 12" rate.

What is the current marching order? Do you want to promote your surviving henchmen to Numbers 1, 2, 3 or keep their current 2, 3, 4 designation to remind them of the pecking order?

After what seems a day but is probably closer to an hour, the starving and delirious party comes across a dozen basket-like fish traps bobbing up and down in the waves. They are made of woven plant fibers and tethered to the shore for easy retrieval.

[Deleted]

Keep 2, 3, 4. Marching order: 3 and 4 in front, 2 and PoH in the back. Are there fish in the traps?

[Mushgnome]

[The DM rolls a Bushcraft check for whoever set the traps---success!]

PoH orders his henchmen to reel in the traps, and they find 5 specimens of a new species of Carcosan sea creature, something the size range of a lobster, shellfish, or bass fish. Please describe the exotic animal you have discovered! Is it edible? poisonous? sorcererous? mutated? PoH attempts an untrained 1-in-6 Bushcraft check (secret roll) and is reasonably certain they will make a delicious meal of sashimi!

[Deleted]

PoH looks with distaste at the dead, six-legged and black corpse. He knows from his youth that such creatures are often used by sorcerers. So he says to his henchmen: "It's edible, but don't you dare eat it. We'll go back to the stream and find our way into the island. Drink from the stream, and I'll beat you black and blue."

[Mushgnome]

PoH's # 2, 3 & 4's stomachs growl as the men obediently discard the sea creatures. They fall into 2-by-2 formation: 3+4 up front; 2+PoH behind. They reverse direction, traveling counterclockwise/northeast toward the fresh water stream.

They are blocked by a [yellow]yellow ankylosaurus[/yellow] (yellow ankylosaurus) that has claimed the watering hole as its own! It plants its feet down deep in the wet sand and refuses to budge.

[Deleted]

"Okay––let's go back to the traps. We'll eat those things after all."

[Deleted]

The enormous foul smelling Loyal Beast of the Unknown Master rides the barge over to the island. Once he reaches the land he cries out for his wraiths to make sure they are okay.

Once he finds them he tells them to help him find the others, specifically the ones who died.

He also notes the dead whale Once I find the others I'll have to see if the whales innards are still intact, I could certainly use more bandages.

[Mushgnome]

Jan 22, 2013 10:20:37 GMT -6 @sirravd said:

"Okay––let's go back to the traps. We'll eat those things after all."

They are delicious, and PoH and his men suffer no ill effects.

You are being followed by the yellow ankylosaurus! Its demeanor is resolute, but non-threatening.