Clark Ashton Smith - Some Ideas and Descriptions from his Stories - 6a The Catacombs of Ptolemides part 1

Clark Ashton Smith - Some Ideas and Descriptions from his Stories - 6a

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6a). The Epiphany of Death

(Written January 25, 1930)

Ptolemides, Catacombs of [PLC]

Ptolemides, City of [TWN]

Tomeron [NPC]

"Somehow, Tomeron seemed never to belong to the present; but one could readily have imagined him as living in some bygone age. About him, there was nothing whatever of the lineaments of our own period; and he even went so far as to affect in his costume an approximation to the garments worn several centuries ago. His complexion was extremely pale and cadaverous, and he stooped heavily from poring over ancient tomes and no less ancient maps. He moved always with the slow, meditative pace of one who dwells  among far off reveries and memories; and he spoke often of people and events and ideas that have long since been forgotten."

"I cab readily recall, however, the studies to which Tomeron had devoted himself, the lost demonian volumes from Hyperborea and Mu and Atlantis with which his library shelves were heaped to the ceiling and the queer charts, not of any land that lies above the surface of the earth, on which he pored by perpetual candlelight."

"He maintained that life and death were not the fixed conditions that people commonly believed them to be; that the two realms were often intermingled in ways not readily discerned, and had penumbral borderlands; that the dead were not always the dead, nor the living the living, as such terms  are habitually understood."

"Carrying torches, we left the mansion of Tomeron and sought the ancient catacombs of Ptolemides, which lie beyond the walls and have long been disused, for there is now a fine necropolis in the very heart of the city. The moon had gone down beyond the desert that encroaches toward the catacombs; and we were forced to light our torches long before we came to the subterranean adits; for the rays of Mars and Jupiter in a sodden and funereal sky were not enough to illumine the perilous path we followed among mounds and fallen obelisks and broken graves. At length we discovered the dark and weed-choked entrance of the charnels; and here Tomeron led the way with a swiftness and surety of footing that bespoke long familiarity with the place."

"Entering, we found ourselves in a crumbling passage where the bones of dilapidated skeletons were scattered amid the rubble that had fallen from the sides and roof. A choking stench of stagnant air and of age-old corruption made me pause for a moment but Tomeron scarcely appeared to perceive it, for he strode onward, lifting his torch and beckoning me to follow. We traversed many vaults in which mouldy bones and verdigris-eaten sarcophagi were piled about the walls or strewn where desecrating thieves had left them in bygone years. The air was increasingly dank, chill and miasmal; and mephitic shadows crouched or swayed before our torches in every niche and corner. Also, as we went onward, the walls became more ruinous and the bones we saw on every hand were greener with the mould of time."

ADVENTURE IDEAS

The Catacombs of Ptolemides

The city of Ptolemides was once a proud Pre-Imperium Suel City-State, but after the advent of the Imperium it was slowly abandoned and only a fraction of its population remained. It was home to an ancient temple of Lendor, perhaps the oldest Suel temple of the god's, and during the Rain of Colorless Fire this saved the city, in a manner.

A great storm surrounded the city during the Rain of Colorless fire and transported it between time. The people of Ptolemides who survived live their lives trapped between the beat of a heart. They do not die or age, they hunger little and lead a life of quiet dreaming. The farmland around the city survived even when most within the city did not and the crops are grown picked and grow again to be picked and consumed each day. Cattle bear young who grow to adulthood, are slaughtered and eaten, all as needed to fill the larders of the people, and generally all are unaware of this.

The city and its surroundings are a strange living scar in the outskirts of the Sea of Dust near to Slerotin's Passage. Those who enter the environs of the city become caught within the web of timelessness woven by Lendore. The only way out is the said to be deep under thre city in the Catacombs of Ptolemides.

Within the city only the sections near the outer gates and the central citadel are occupied, while entire quarters are abandoned and walled off, for Ptolemides is also a city of the dead.

When Lendore storm of time came it swallowed the city whole and only those within the citadel survived. These survivors were overwhelmed by the number of the dead, and in houses, manors, tenements and even the streets, the bodies were left unhallowed to putrefy and rot. But these unshriven spirits soon began to walk, to haunt the dead quarters of the city, and to prey upon the living.

Gates were shut, all entrances to these dead quarters walled off, closed and guarded. The priests of Lendore joined the city guard in a desperate attempt to drive back the dead. Then, more welcome than they have ever been, came the hidden cult of necromancers, and the greatest of these was Tomeron.

When Ptolemides was first settled, when the foundations stones were first set, these early Suel found the catacombs, and what they believed, perhaps rightly, was the entrance to the underworld, the land of the dead. These passages were old and endless, already filled with tombs and ancient bones and passages that went deep into the earth. For generations the bodies of the dead were placed reverently within vaults and mausoleums and niches cut into the walls. Over time the nearest of the passages were filled, and the tunnels were followed further and further while a slow sense of evil and darkness crept nearer, and the dead were no longer left undisturbed.

A great necropolis was built in the abandoned foreign quarter of the city and the catacombs of Ptolemides were sealed. The Rain of Colorless Fire and The Storm of Time came, and the dead walked, and then came the necromancers, and with them Tomeron.

Tomeron has unsealed the catacombs and from the abandoned manor where he now lives, in a dead quarter of the city, he directs others; magicians, thieves, priests, fighters, adventurers, fools, to do his bidding and search the catacombs. Of what is brought back to the surface Tomeron has his tithe, but always he seems disappointed, as if what he is truly looking for is never found.

NOTE: Here begins my conversion of TSRs 'Legendary' boxed set, the Ruins of Undermountain. I will just be using the maps for the most part (because my cartographic skill is so poor) but I've always loved this particular dungeon crawl and it will be a pleasure to convert for my Greyhawk campaign.

Tomeron, as I plan to use him, is a high level Necromancer. 

Reaching Tomeron's manor is best done in daylight. What was once the artisan's quarter of Ptolemides is now a walled and guarded ruin. Only one gate into the quarter is left open, though rumors say that the Guild of Thieves knows of a secret way. 

A small fortress has been built before the gate to this quarter and a toll of 5gp per person is collected to let anyone inside. A toll of 20gp per person is collected to let anyone back out again, and a tax on any treasure of 1 coin, armor, weapon, or valuable, is levied by the king.

There are three gates and a wide circular tunnel that lead to this dead quarter. The outer gate within the fortress will first be opened and as the party approaches the 2nd gate, this outer gate will be closed. Then the 2nd gate will be opened and when the party reaches the gate to the dead quarter, that gate too will close. Finally this 3rd gate will open and the party will be allowed to enter what was once the Artisan's Quarter. 

If anyone wants out there is a bell that can be struck near the gate and a basket will be lowered from the wall to collect the 20gp return fee. After dark the guards will ask for extra coin to allow escape from this quarter, and some will not respond at all, preferring to lock and bolt their doors rather than face what might be ringing the bell.

Once outside the small fortress a returning party will be lead to a counting house next door to the fort and there the tax will be levied.

Shops catering to adventurers have sprung up on the avenue leading to this gate and a large inn called 'The Dirge' sits on the far corner from the fortress. It is common for a last drink to be bought here before entering the gate and all manner or business is transacted within this tavern. Hirelings hired, rumors gathered, notices left and what-not.

The dead quarters of the city are very grim and dangerous places, and Tomeron's is no exception. Most buildings are in ruins and many are unpleasantly  occupied. rats, bats, vermin and spiders infest these buildings, as well as all manner and kind of undead. The main street is kept warded, at least during the day, but at night the undead roam and there is little shelter to be found.

Several necromancers do live within this quarter and far down its streets can be found an almost-palace that is their guild hall, but these buildings are guarded and sturdy and do not welcome visitors. 

Tomeron, on the other hand, welcomes adventurers at anytime. His manor is in a large walled compound three blocks from the gate. The doors to his house are always open and lead to a large entrance hall. Tomeron himself will come to greet all those wishing to journey to the catacombs. 

Inside this hall is a large staircase leading to a dimly lit upper floor, but the players will not be invited to see it more clearly. On its balustrade sits a pair of gargoyles, perhaps mere statues, but their unmoving features are grinning and malevolent. A half-dozen uniformed footmen are nearby, pale men with the stench of carrion about them, and the black beneath the stairs seems filled with something more awful than darkness.

To the left of the entrance-way is a set of double-doors. These open to a long, wide passage that turns and turns as it leads down, and finally comes to a broad square room. A quick estimates shows a ceiling vaulting out of site, and a room at least eighty feet wide as it is eighty feet long. Some tables and chairs are at the north end, at its center is a large round pit covered by an iron plate. Massive chains lead from the plate to four crank mechanisms spaced evenly around its sides.

"I take one coin in five and such items, jewels, gems and such-like as take my fancy. No more than one in three. If you agree and are prepared, that is your way to the catacombs," Tomeron points to the pit and the iron plate which covers it.

If the party agrees and wants to proceed Tomeron will speak a sharp command and four tall and heavily scared men will approach the cranks and begin raising the iron plate. Suspended by chains beneath the plate is a platform. Once the iron plate has reached the ceiling the platform will be even with the edge of the pit and a panel will be  extended to act as a bridge. Once the party is on the platform the panel will be removed and the platform lowered into the pit.

Tomeron  will call down to the party, "From here your adventure begins. Beat upon the armor of the dead to signal your return."

The Hill Giant Chief - Nosnra's Saga - Part 34

The Hill Giant Chief - Nosnra's Saga - Part 34

Metal collected a coating of rust easily and quickly in the damp environment of the steading. Hardly a day went by without a light rain or a cloudy mist sweeping across the hilltop, and the air within the hall always had the smell of damp earth, firesmoke and mold. The hinges on the giants' door were eaten with the stuff, dull red on grey-black iron. They ground open with a banshee's cry as Talberth pulled the door aside. The mage had to lean and put his shoulder against the edge and strained to open the door wide enough for the party to pass. Harold put his hands against his ears and clenched his teeth at the sound. Surely any passing monsters would hear that noise like the warning cry of some undead guardian, thought Harold.

Talberth peered down the corridor revealed by the open door. There were torches set beside it and another pair much further along where the passage narrowed, between them the hallway was dim, but also empty, much to the mage's relief. To his left the hallway turned and went around a corner, he took a step outside the kitchen and crept toward the turn. A small hand pulled at his robe and Talberth nearly jumped.

Harold put a finger to his lips then gestured for the wizard to stay back. The little thief took a small wooden pipe from his pocket and lowered himself to the floor. Creeping on hands and knees he dropped flat at the corner then placed the pipe to his eye. Inside were set small mirrors that let him scan the corridor around the corner without putting his head at risk. A quick check and Harold was on his feet, he looked back toward the mage and waved for him to bring the others, the way ahead was clear.

"The hall is clear," Talberth said to Telenstil.

"Good, then let us be on our way," the elf replied.

He left the pantry followed by the gnome, behind him came Harald and Gytha then the orc called Boss by his fellows. Four orcs followed, they held the senseless Derue on their shoulders. They'd tied him to a pair of spears and carried him like a carcass being taken home to the tribal cooking pot. Last came the shadow of an orc, a thin emaciated runt, called Little Rat by his brethren. The orc was but a child, grown old in the slave pens of the giants.

There was a door along the bottom of the turn, but no other nearby, only a huge set of double-doors at the north end of the corridor.

Harold listened at the nearby door, he heard nothing, the passage was silent, but the smell of smoke was stronger, and high above the little thief there was a growing haze, dark near the upper beams, still clear at a human's height, but drifting down, a dark cloud descending. He waited till the others appeared, then spoke in a hushed voice to Telenstil. "I'll go on ahead, you might as well follow, no place seems safer than another and I may need you if there are giants behind that door."

Telenstil nodded to the thief, Harold set off, the three mages, human, elf and gnome right behind him. The passage was long, but they were eager to be free of Nosnra's hall and soon were standing at the door. Harold listened, he could hear some sounds, but distant, not just shrouded by the wood but loud voices and noises that were far off, or so he thought.

"Talberth," Harold said to the mage, "you need to get the latch."

Talberth felt his mouth go dry, they had run into few giants within the hall, they must be somewhere, maybe behind this door, the thought went through his head. It felt like the world had stilled as he reached for the latch, the click it made was like the clash of swords, and as he pushed against the wood, the hinges screamed, the banshees howled again. 

***

Svar jangled the bone dice in his hand, his cousin Dazh laughed, but Dajd, Dazh's brother looked anxious. They had been sent with a score of orc slaves to empty the giantesses' quarters. The three ogres had the orcs hard at work but did nothing but gamble themselves.

"What-ja worried about, Dajd. we're supervisen'," Svar said and rolled the dice.

Dazh laughed again, a deep bass rumble.

"Any of them find us here and it'll be our arses," Dajd said and kept looking at the outer door.

The orcs had just left with another load. They'd kept the door to the yard open to make it easier for them to go in and out and save the ogres the trouble of getting up from their game.

"Their nibs is all too busy," said Svar as he rolled two skulls, two shields and a severed hand.

Dazh cursed and picked up the dice. It was a hard roll to beat.

"They'll want their stuff and them orcs, they aint gonna get half of this trash outta here before the fire eats it," said Dajd.

"You worry too much," Svar told him.

Dazh shook the dice in both hands listening to them rattle back and forth then tossed them into the circle they'd traced on the floor. The bones turned, one skull, then a second, then a third, Dazh couldn't believe his luck, then a shield and the last die came to rest with a grinning skull face up.

"Read em and...." Dazh started to say with a deep laugh, but as his words came out a groaning creak brought his head up and froze the rumble in his throat.

"Bloody Hell!" cursed Dajd.

Svar swept the dice aside with the back of his hand and stood up. He grabbed the wooden chest he'd been using as a stool and made a bee line for the outer door, nodding his head respectfully to the giants coming in from the kitchen passageway. He'd taken only a step or two before he stopped and with a start turned back to face the door.

Talberth pushed the door inward, but not full open, just wide enough to slip inside. He leaned his head around the edge and glanced back and forth, giant beds he saw, huge chests, a table big as a wagon, an ogre carrying a wooden box, it gave him a respectful nod... The mage almost nodded back.

Talberth's eyes went wide; the ogre turned its head away and took another step. Behind it came another and a third which walked straight into its companion's back when the second ogre stopped suddenly in its tracks and stared wide-eyed at the human staring back. When Talberth pushed the door aside Ivo walked past and into the room beyond. He'd barely turned his head when he heard Talberth draw his breath in a whistling stream. Ivo glanced up and followed the direction of Talberth's eyes, then saw the ogres standing frozen in the middle of the room.

Ivo had kept a spell prepared, a crystal rod, inside, the tails of a hundred fireflys, and as he waved it in the air the rod began to glow.

"Stay back. Do not look," Ivo said in a muffled voice and began to weave the rod in an endless loop. The greenish light began to leave a glowing trail, an ouroboros, a snake of light that went on and on as it ate its own tail.

The staring ogres froze in place. Svar dropped the wooden box. It crashed to the floor with a bang and the sound of breaking glass. Dazh had his mouth half open, a long drop of drool hung down from his lip, it stretched halfway to the floor before it broke. Dajd wiped a hand across his eyes, but he too became enraptured by the twisting glow, he lost his balance and sat down on the floor, but never took his eyes away.

"Quick!" Ivo called to the others behind the door. "They are powerless while I weave this spell."

 * * *

"Keep your eyes to the ground!" Ivo shouted at the others.

Harold slipped around the door and stood behind him; with his head lowered he could see the edges of a glowing whirl and the movement of Ivo's hand.

"Stay behind me, I'm going to move forward," Ivo called without looking. He took slow careful steps, all the while moving the glowing wand in its twisted pattern that drew the ogres' dazed attention.

Telenstil and Talberth came next, but the elf turned his former apprentice back to face the others coming through the door.

"Have them keep their eyes to the ground," Telenstil said, relaying Ivo's warning. "If any do become enmeshed in Ivo's spell you must block their sight to free them." The elf put a hand to his forehead to shield his eyes, then followed the path that Harold took, going wide and steering clear of Ivo's spell. When he passed the ogres' he let his glance rise up and watched the outer door.

Harold went over to the open portal. He crouched low and stared out into the night. An orange glow lit the door and the room was slowly clouding with smoke from the burning hall. Outside, the yard was filled with yelling giants, the crackle of the wood being eaten by the flames and shadows dancing back and forth. Harold could see no-one nearby. The fire burned the eastern wing, a hundred feet away or more, and the giants, their slaves and allies were surrounded by the smoke and flames.

"Harold, what do you see," asked Telenstil. "Our little wall of sparks has grown and it is keeping the giants busy."

Harold told the mage, "I can see the outer gate," he pointed to his left. "I could hit it with a knife from here."

"Very good," said Telenstil. He glanced to his side, an ogre was only an arm's length away, but still mesmerized by Ivo's swirling spell. "Harold, help me bind these brutes."

"Why not just cut their ugly throats?" Harold asked.

"We should, but I am sick of this killing," Telenstil replied. "We can bind them easily and be gone before they are free."

"If that is how you feel, you're the chosen leader," said Harold, "but I say take a knife to them now and we will not face them later."

"Let us try it my way for now. Later we will see the result," Telenstil said. He drew a length of cord from his pouch and used a small knife to cut off several lengths.

"What is going on?" asked Gytha.

Telenstil had not heard her approach, or the ranger who came stomping by, the chain, his sword and pack weighing him down.

"What is going on?" Harald asked coming near to Telenstil and Gytha.

"I just asked that," said Gytha with a laugh.

"Harold and I are binding these ogres," said Telenstil. "The door is open and the outer gate just outside."

"We'd better hurry. How long can Ivo keep them bespelled?" asked Gytha.

"I will check the gate," said Harald. The ranger did not wait for a reply but went to the open door.

"Long enough I hope," said Telenstil. He nodded to the thief. "Can you help Harold?"

"Wait," said Harold. "You help tie these ogres and I'll check the gate."

"No, no," Gytha waved her palm toward Harold. "You are good with knots, and I think I can be more help with the gate. I'll take these orcs with me."

As they spoke the first of the orcs crept across the room. 

Clark Ashton Smith - Some Ideas and Descriptions - 5c

Clark Ashton Smith - Some Ideas and Descriptions - 5c

2nd Floor

1). The smell of burnt flesh is pervasive through this area. The ceiling is nearly fifteen feet high.

1a). Stairs going up to the Top Floor. Only a dull greenish light illuminates the top of the stairs.

1b&c). Stairs going down to the First Floor. This stairwells are unlit and are dark as a tomb.

1d). This area is lit by a burning flame held in the palm of a huge statue of a demonic bat-like creature which stands at the center 10 foot section of the south wall. Around the floor are scattered remnants of a hasty camp. A roll of bedding with blood stains, some scattered food (enough for 1 days rations if gathered up and the consumer is none to particular in what they eat) and a broken bone amulet of Pictish design (once this allowed control of the flesh automaton's on this level of the dungeon and the one outside the temple at the top of the stairs. It has been destroyed by acid and physical damage).

The statue stands 10 feet tall with sweeping wings sculpted up to the 15 foot ceiling. The face of the statue displays an evil grin and one large red gem (1,500gp value) the size of a fist. The left eye-socket of the statue is empty and weeps a dark viscous  (and flammable) goo that has run down the face and body of the statue (and hardened to the body like a stream of wax down a candle but of a consistency more like clay). The right eye holds the gem. 

At the clawed feet of statue us a charred corpse, its arm outstretched ending in a fingerless palm.

If the body is searched, a fairly disgusting process, a set of thieves lock-picks will be discovered hidden cunningly inside the belt. 

If the gem is pried from the statues eye-socket a loud click will be heard and a stream of burning goo will be projected in a stream 10ft long from both eyes, while at the same time, a cloud of flammable gas will exhale from the statue's mouth and fill a 10ft diameter sphere directly in front of the statue. The cloud of burning gas will inflict 2d12 damage (1/2 dmg if saved against) to anyone within the area, while the burning goo will inflict three rounds of burning damage (again, 1/2 damage if saved against) to anyone caught buy the discharge. 1d12 the first combat round, 1d8 the second and 1d4 the 3rd. Only the first rounds damage can be saved against and items may, at the DMs discretion, on the burning victim, may also need to a saving throw or be destroyed or damaged.

The goo dripping from the eye or eyes can be collected. About enough to coat 3 arrowheads can be collected in an hour or 6 in an hour if both eyes are now leaking the goo. If exposed to air for more than an hour the goo dries, though this clay-like substance will also burn and about a 1lb of it can be scraped from the body of the statue.

2). This hall is composed of 10ft alcoves sealed off with a greenish crystal. Each crystal wall is strong enough to withstand 10,000hp damage before shattering. within each alcove can be seen the unmoving body of an Elder Thing.

Upon opening the door from area 1 the players are presented with a scene of horrific carnage. The bodies of two Elder Things have been torn limb from limb (though some body parts are missing). A thick, dark red blood is spattered across walls and floor. From area 2b comes a steady pounding noise.

2a). This shattered alcove is empty except for a covering of crystal shards. These shards are a natural bane to all shoggoth and shoggoth-like creatures. They can be used as sling stones and will act as magic +2 to hit/damage sling stones if used against such creatures, though they will do no or little damage to normal creatures. In addition, the possession of 5 or more of these fragments will act as a +1 item of protection against shoggoths and related creatures.

2b). From this location comes the steady pounding of 2 flesh automatons as they relentlessly assault the wall of greenish crystal. They have already caused over 9,000hp damage against this wall and it will shatter in 1d10+10 minutes. Upon shattering it will release an Elder Thing and both flesh automatons will immediately attack the creature. 

If interrupted in either attacking the wall or the Elder Thing, both flesh automatons will turn and attack whoever interrupted their actions (ignoring the useless attacks of the Elder Thing), and continue attacking anyone on this level, before turning back to their assault on the wall or the Elder Thing.

The Elder Thing will attack anyone within reach and will attack and pursue them till it is destroyed or prevented by some other means.

2c). As per 2a except that among the crystal shards within the alcove may be found a hand-sized five-pointed object of dark green soapstone. This object acts as a +3 item of protection against shoggoths and shoggoth-like creatures.

2d). This alcove appears empty but behind the crystal wall is a portal that leads to a hidden vault deep within the Spiral Mountain Array. (The vault is merely a 100ft by 100ft space until the key to its exit can be found, which is not yet available in this adventure). If the wall is shattered a stream of Elder Things will pour out, one every combat round, if they can force themselves out of the alcove. 20 of these monsters will come pouring forth, the last will bear a malfunction crystal-tipped iridium rod of the Great Race. After 1d6 uses the rod will emit a crackle of blue electric light for 3 combat rounds then explode, disintegrating everything in a 20ft diameter sphere.

2e). This is a massive gelatinous cube that fills the hall and stretches some 70ft end to end. It still attacks as a 4hd monster but has 10 times the hit points of a normal cube (not really a cube then is it?). It usually circles the corridor endlessly and is fed by sacrifices by the ape-men. It has 3 times the normal treasure (the ape-men are not very thorough when looting their sacrifices). Currently the monster is cowering in this corner of the hall after having about 30% of its mass destroyed by magical attacks and suffering a violent bout of indigestion (see 2f).

2f). At the center of this gelatinous cube is suspended the body of a flesh automaton. It was swallowed before orders could be given and it is a sort-of standby mode. If freed from the cube it will attack anyone within sight, nearest first, and pursue them anywhere within or without the temple until destroyed.

(To be continued)

Clark Ashton Smith - Some Ideas and Descriptions from his Stories 5b

Clark Ashton Smith - Some Ideas and Descriptions from his Stories 5b

Tsathoggua

"...we forthwith started to explore a left-hand avenue, which, though it had been laid out with mathematical directness, vanished at no great distance among the fronded trees. Here, somewhat apart from the other buildings, in a sort of square that the jungle had not yet wholly usurped, we found a small temple of antique architecture which gave the impression of being far older even than the adjoining edifices. It also differed from these in its material, for it was builded of a dark basaltic stone heavily encrusted with lichens that seemed of a coeval antiquity. It was square in form, and had no domes nor spires, no facade of pillars, and only a few narrow windows high above the ground. Such temples are rare in Hyperborea nowadays; but we knew it for a shrine of Tsathoggua, one of the elder gods, who receives no longer any worship from men, but before whose ashen altars, people say, the furtive and ferocious beasts of the jungle, the ape, the giant sloth and the long-toothed tiger, have sometimes been seen to make obeisance and have been heard to howl or whine their inarticulate prayers."

"...the black interior of the temple yawned before us, and from it there surged an odor of long-imprisoned mustiness combined with a queer and unfamiliar fetidity."

"...the place was paven with immense quinquangular flags of the same material from which its walls were built. It was quite bare, except for the image of the god enthroned at the further end, the two-tiered altar of obscenely figured metal before the image, and a large and curious-looking basin of bronze supported on three legs, which occupied the middle of the floor."

"I had never seen an image of Tsathoggua before, but I recognized him without difficulty from the descriptions I had heard. He was very squat and pot-bellied, his head was more like that of a monstrous toad than a deity, and his whole body was covered with an intimation of short fur, giving somehow a vague suggestion of both the bat and the sloth. His sleepy lids were half-lowered over his globular eyes; and the tip of a queer tongue issued from his fat mouth. In truth, he was not a comely or personable sort of god, and I did not wonder at the cessation of his worship, which could only to have appealed to very brutal and aboriginal men at any time."

"What unimaginable horror of protoplastic life, what loathly spawn of the primordial slime had come forth to confront us, we did not pause to consider or conjecture."

ADVENTURE IDEAS (Continued from 5a)

As the drums begin to beat scores of ape-men rush from the surrounding ruins. A group of eight with an alpha male leading run toward the stairs. It will take them no more than 2 melee rounds to cross the stone paves of the square and reach the bottom of the stairs, and only another melee round to rush up them and engage anyone at the doors at top.

NOTE: After the first group has begun their charge other small groups of 1d6+6 ape-men (with a 25% chance of an alpha male leading them) begin to make their way behind them or pull themselves up the walls on all side. As an example, for the first 11 melee rounds ape-men will rush up the stairs or make their way around the sides of the ziggurat ever other melee round, 5th round, 7th round, etc... and on the 9th melee round since the ape-men first charged the stairs, a group of six and an alpha male will climb to the top of the ziggurat above the doors and be able to jump down on the next melee round.

NOTE: These ape-men need make no morale cheeks and are immune to any charm spells. The are already under the complete swat of Xathoggua.

If anyone makes it inside the top floor, after opening or smashing down the doors, they will find that the ape-men will not enter. If the entire party is inside the top-floor room the ape-men will disappear from view, moving down the stairs, around the corners of the walls, or peer down from the roof above. Anyone steeping beyond the doors or sticking their head out will be pelted with 30+ thrown stones each melee round for three rounds and then attacked by a rush of ape-men. In no case will an ape-man step within the temple and any that do will go wild, frothing at the mouth, and then collapse in a shuddering semi-conscious heap. Such ape-men will only awaken if they are brought outside the temple or at the sound of a gong being beaten somewhere below (this will be dealt with in a future post).

Top Floor

The interior of the top floor is dank and slimed with a glowing greenish substance that has the smell of rotting vegetation and a slightly acidic quality that will burns the skin and stains and disfigures cloth and hide. It does add enough light to see within the chamber if there is no other illumination.

1a-1g are pedestals with what appear to be iron statues (or broken fragments of iron statues) of humanoid appearance. Each is of a warrior though their shape is slightly disturbing, legs appear too long, the chest narrow and sunken, the arms oddly jointed and the fingers numbering more or less than a humans. Such faces as can be seen are a strange combination of toad, bat and giant sloth. Each statue is exactly detailed and the work masterful, though slightly horrific and bizarre.

It can easily be seen that each of these statues have received severe damage, and several have been almost completely destroyed, and one appears to be missing. A closer look shows that they are covered with slowly moving fragments of metal as if they were swarmed by some infestation. A few moments will reveal that these fragments are minding the fragments, rebuilding the missing pieces and reconstructing each damaged statue.

These statues are a new creature for my campaign.

The Iron Men of Xathoggua

No. Encountered: 1

Alignment: Neutral

Size: M

Movement: 20

Dexterity: 5

Armor Class: 4

Hit Dice: 8

No. Attacks 1 (Plus Special)

Damage: 3d8

Saving Throw: 11

Morale: -

Experience Points: 4,000

Treasure Class: -

Constructed by Olman sorcerers in the distant past, the Iron Men of Xathoggua are similar to automaton's of iron. Each is dedicated to Xathoggua and can be commanded by the deity at will (overriding any other commands). Each Iron Man is constructed by a single priest of Xathoggua and controlled by a scroll of a silver-like metal. Only a single controlling scroll can ever be possessed and such a scroll allows command of only a single specific iron man. Anyone trying to possess and use more than one scroll will cause those iron men to attack the user. An iron man must be within sight of someone using a silver scroll and their voice must be able to be heard (an Iron Man has average hearing).

The art of building the Iron Men is now lost, but they are well nigh indestructable. Built from a magnetic black iron which fell to Hyperborea from the dark void of space, the priests of Xathoggua enchanted the alien metal, turning it into a viscous liquid and through their dark arts imbuing each with the life essences of ten powerful warriors and ten colonies of foul green slime, and a quantity of their own blood.

An Iron Man can be shattered with normal weapons, but the metal, even smashed to fragments, is drawn to each other with a force strong enough to pull free from the grip of a strong man. These pieces will find each other even across great distances. It would require great magic or the heat of a mighty forge to destroy this metal.

Allowed to reassemble itself an iron man will 'heal' at a rate of 3hp/turn. When it has reached half its hit points it will be able to function once more though only able to move at half speed and deal half damage, (it will still be able to carry out its special attack).

Special:

Immune to charm, sleep, hold and other mind-affecting sorceries.

Electrical attacks slow the Iron Man for 3 rounds

Fire attacks due 1/2 damage or no damage if saved.

Acid attacks do no damage

Every 5 melee rounds the Iron Man can vomit a green acidic substance up to 10feet striking a 5foot diameter sphere of space. This attack will cause 3d6 damage.

Each Iron Man is constructed with an flanged mace gripped in one hand with its other hand free.

Top Floor (continued)

1a) This Iron Man is utterly destroyed. The fragments are slowly shifting together but have only reformed the feet.

1b) This is an empty predestal

1c) This Iron Man is partially reformed and able to function. It's armor is chipped and cracked. The top of its head is missing and the glowing green liquid sloshes out over its face as it moves. It cannot use its special vomit attack.

NOTE: All surviving iron men will attack if anyone approaches within 10feet. If any of the iron men are activated then all are activated and will go on the attack (this includes only the iron men at locations 1c, 1e & 1f).

1d) This Iron man is only half complete. Its body has been rebuilt up to its lower chest. Inside its bowl-like interior is a pool of acidic slime. This glowing green slime may be collected in glass or metal containers. A jar's worth, if used as a missile or poured onto someone, will do 1d10 damage. There is 5 jars worth of slime that can be recovered.

1e). This iron man is at three-quarters hit points and functional. Its body is cracked and missing small pieces, through which leak the green acidic slime, but it is still able to perform its vomit attack. See 1C for the NOTE regarding the functional iron men.

At the feet of this Iron Man is the body of a half-orc sorcerer. The body has received grievous wounds and its right hand is missing. There is a +2 Dagger of Venom concealed in his left boot (5 doses of poison remaining) and 5 100gp gems sewn into each cuff of his pants (10 gems total). His belt has been cut and pockets turned out, but there is a large silver serpent-shaped buckle on his belt worth 50gp with a hidden compartment containing 3 doses of poison for his dagger. In a half-destroyed pack that still hangs over one mutilated shoulder, there is an acid-eaten spellbook which still contains 2 1st level spells and 1 2nd level spell (to be determined by the DM).

1f) This iron man is at half hit points and its special vomit attack functions normally. See the NOTE at 1c concerning this monster.

If activated this iron man will step forward, perhaps off its pedestal and reveal the squashed hand of the half-orc sorcerer whose body is at 1e. There are 2 rings on the broken fingers of this hand. One is in the form of a snake with emeralds for its eyes. It is of ancient craftmanship and worth 250gp to the right buyer. The other is a Ring of Shooting Stars. NOTE: This ring is made of an opposing metal to that of the iron men and the wearer of such a ring will be the focus of any attacks.

1g) This iron man is completely shattered. All it appears to be is a squirming pile of metal fragments oozing a glowing green liquid slime.

2) The stairs leading down to the 2nd floor.

(To Be Continued)

Clark Ashton Smith - Some Ideas and Descriptions from his Stories 5a

Clark Ashton Smith - Some Ideas and Descriptions from his Stories 5a

SPOILER WARNING!

If you have not read this story TURN BACK NOW! or risk losing forever the unspoiled appreciation of Clark Ashton Smith's prose.

5a). The Tale of Satampra Zeiros

(Written Nov 16 1929, first published in Weird Tales Nov 1931)

Commoriom - [TWN]

Polarion - [PLC]

Satampra Zeiros - [NPC]

Tirouv Ompallios - [NPC]

Uzuldaroum - [TWN]

White Sybil of Polarion - [NPC]

"I, Satampra Zeiros of Uzuldarium shall write with my left hand, since I have no longer any other, the tale of everything that befell Tirouv Ompallios and myself in the shrine of the god... (see post 5b), which lies neglected by the worship of man in the jungle-taken suburbs of Commoriom, that long-deserted capital of the Hyperborean rulers. I shall write it with the violet juice of the suvana-palm, which turns to a blood-red rubric with the passage of years, on a strong vellum that is made from the skin of the mastodon, as a warning to all good thieves and adventurers who may hear some lying legend of the lost treasure of Commoriom and be tempted thereby."

Commoriom

Polarion

White Sybil of Polarion

"Now Commoriom, as all the world knows, was deserted many hundred years ago because of the prophecy of the White Sybil of Polarion, who foretold an undescribed and abominable doom for all mortal beings who should dare to tarry within its environs. Some say that this doom was a pestilence that would have come from the northern waste by the paths of the jungle tribes; others, that it was a form of madness; at any rate, no one, neither king nor priest nor merchant nor laborer nor thief, remained in Commorion to abide its arrival, but all departed in a single migration to found at a distance of a day's journey the new capital, Uzuldaroum. And strange tales are told, of horrors and terrors not to be faced or overcome by man, that haunt forevermore the shrines and mausoleums and palaces of Commoriom. And still it stands, a luster of marble, a magnificence of granite, all a-throng with spires and cupolas and obelisks that the mighty trees of the jungle have not yet overtowered, in a fertile inland valley of Hyperborea. And men say that in its unbroken vaults there lies entire and undespoiled as of yore the rich treasure of olden monarchs; that the high-built tombs retain the gems and electrum that were buried with their mummies; that the fanes have still their golden altar-vessels and furnishings, the idols their precious stones in war and mouth and nostril and naval."

"...we saw in the moonlight the gleam of marble cupolas above the tree-tops, and then between the boughs and boles the wan pillars of shadowy porticoes. A few more steps, and we trod upon the paven streets that ran transversely from the high-road we were following, into the tall, luxuriant woods on either side, where the fronds of mammoth palm-ferns overtopped the roofs of ancient houses.

We paused, and again the silence of an elder desolation claimed our lips. For the houses were white and still as sepulchers, and the deep shadows that lay around and upon them were chill and sinister and mysterious as the very shadow of death. It seemed that the sun could not have shone for ages in this place- that nothing warmer than the spectral beams of the cadaverous moon had touched the marble and granite ever since that universal migration prompted by the prophecy of the White Sybil of Polarion.

"I wish it were daylight," murmured Tirouv Ompallios. Hos low tomes were oddly sibilant, were unnaturally audible in the dead stillness."

ADVENTURE IDEAS:

The Treasures of Satampra Zeiros

The city of Vol in the Amedio Jungle is dead but for the bestial life of the ape-man. While some parts of the city have been rebuilt by a few thousand of these strangely human-like and advanced creatures, most of the city remains locked in jungle-choked ruin. The oldest and more outlying areas of Vol are home to a more savage breed of ape-man as well as the beasts of the wild, the giant-sloth, clouds of giant bats, the sabre-tooth...

In the comfort of the old inn at Monmurg, the Silver Eel, Satampra Zeiros the One-Handed, tells of the great treasures to be found in a nameless and forgotten temple located in the abandoned suburbs of Vol, and of the map he is willing to sell for a substantial amount of gold, and a share in the treasure itself.

While Satampra's map is accurate, if slightly out of date, the treasures he speaks of, the eyes of the dark idol in the abandoned temple (rubies as big as northman's shields) and the collected offerings of millenia piled at the idol's feet, are not simply there for the taking. The temple is not abandoned, and the dark idol is not nameless. The wild ape-men of Kor, driven from the rebuilt center of the city by their more evolved cousins, have opened the doors to this ancient, squat stone temple and have found a god.

The passage to Vol, according to Satampra's map, is down the river from the Amedio Coast and onto a small tributary that ends at a collection of broken stone piers near the east of the city at the edge of the old suburbs. This basin is home to a water snake of gigantic proportions. Vasha, her ancestors altered by the power of ancient mages of Vol, is a stupendous creatures several times the size (and hit dice) of a normal water snake. She is of moderate intelligence but high cunning. She will not risk herself unless she is sure of success, though she is willing to sacrifice her progeny (what else are children for?) in great numbers. These water snakes are double the size and hit dice of normal water snakes and infest the half-submerged ruins immediately surrounding the pier.

Vasha lairs in a cavern beneath the basin. It was several passages and chambers (including a hidden chamber where the research was done on her ancient kin). Her nest has an escape tunnel that leads to the T'vala inlet which she will not hesitate to use. Vasha is a big coward at heart. Vasha is immune to charm spells and abilities and her children are highly resistant.

The overgrown houses, shops, barracks and boulevards have abundant animal life. Exploration of these ruined buildings will result in numerous encounters with wild animals defending their lairs. As with Vasha's children these animals are highly resistant to charm spells and abilities, but they are no more aggressive than any other wild beasts of the Amedio Jungle (at least for now).

If the players have Satampra's map it will show a path through the jungle and ruins that leads through, what one were, major streets of the outer city. These paths lead to a clearing. These paths are suspiciously clear and show signs of recent passage.

The clearing, at the end of a short three mile journey through the ruins, is a paved square with an old and worn squat black building made of basalt blocks. It is a short, three-tiered, ziggurat with a set of stairs leading directly to a pair of double doors at its top level. There are at least fifty bodies scattered about the square. Two of the largest clumps of the dead, comprising about a dozen bodies each, are charred and smoking. The others appear to be chopped, battered and broken. Other than a few exceptions the dead are ape-men, some clad in dark mangy capes (giant-bat skin).

The first non-ape-man body appears to be a youth, fair-haired, the hands of an ape-man with a split-skull clutching his legs and the headless body of a second ape-man nearby. The youth has had his throat torn out. On his back is a large open pack which still contains food and some camping gear. He has an ordinary belt knife and clutches and unbloodied spear.

The second human body can be found at the foot of the ziggurat, a fruz warrior. There are a half-dozen ape-man bodies around him, slain, apparently, by a large axe clutched in his right hand. A close examination of his body shows that his arms and legs are swollen and tinged with green. He wears an enchanted shirt of chainmail and his axe is also magical and runecarved.

There are no other visible entrances to the ziggurat other than the double-doors at the top of the stairs (although 2 secret and hidden passages are among the ruined buildings bordering the square). The long flight of stairs up to the doors is festooned with ape-man dead with a large pile of bodies before the doors. These bodies will need to be cleared before any attempt can be made to open the doors. As the players reach to drag away the last body an automaton of flesh springs up, tossing aside the corpse of the ape-man. It is only slightly damaged and will attack anyone approaching the door or directing ranged attacks against it.

The doors are shut with iron spikes and a crossbar from within. It will take 449 hp damage to batter them down. As the first blow against them falls (or if they are opened by any means) drums from the surrounding ruins begin to sound.

To be continued...