No artpunk Entry #4: The Long Hall

Gustav Dore, The Traitorous Pair

The Long Hall
Vance Atkins (map by Matt Jackson)
6 Pages
Lvl ??? (PUT A LEVEL INDICATION IN THERE, but probably 1-3)
Basic DnD

A promising entry with some serious baggage. Story of my fucking life.

The premise is good, maybe great. A remote temple to the Cat-headed God Bytatzl, guardian of Night and destroyer of Vermin, has fallen silent and visitors to the shrine have been disappearing. Also possible rumors of giant insects in the area…

This adventure is one hook away from being a faffhrd & the grey mauser adventure. In the shrine is said to be a gem-studded golden statue of a cat, bequeathed by the god himself.  Instead only do-gooder hooks. Missed opportunity!

This is a sort of semi-dungeon, a once civilized place that has fallen to evil. In this case the worshippers found and brought into the temple a child with insect traits that quickly matured, co-opted half the clerics to the worship of B’daquath the Insect God, and killed or imprisoned the rest. The PCs stumble onto the shrine, maybe expecting some sort of irregularity. Having them be attacked immediately would be hacky. Instead the long halls are empty, and secret doors (some of them easy to find) must be found to enter the complex proper. This entry here, which has no interaction, is however, the apex of foreshadowing.

At the north end of the hall, a few steps rise to the alter honoring Bytatzl, Protector the Night and Bane of Vermin. The god is depicted as a plump, cat-headed man on the tapestries hung on the east and west walls. Closer examination shows that the figure’s appearance shifts under the flickering light of the torchieres surrounding the sigil north of the alter. The images take on an insect-like visage of chitinous flesh and black compound eyes.

This level of description is unfortunately not maintained throughout all of the adventure, but every once in a while it flares up and I can dimly picture Death Dealer and a Frank Frazetta boob lady prowling through the shadowed halls of some ancient temple, walls marked with blood stains and signs of terrible struggle.

The map is interesting, albeit a bit on the linear side. Again no scale is provided, making me question the use of the Wandering monster table, which is helpfully divided between 2 areas. I know I know 1roll/room can be used, but since so much of the complex is empty and random encounters are to form the majority of the encounters, this is a puzzling omission. Am I the only one who uses any sort of turn tracking/movement speed? Anyway; Interesting map, fake-out trickster god tomb to lure intruders, tunnel system underneath the halls where the Abomination lives, 24 rooms, liberal use of secret doors, elevation.

Temple to Bytatzl in the Rororo Hills

This is the first adventure where I feel it’s not hitting as hard as it could be. There is good attempt at flavor in the room descriptions but all the priests, the primary antagonist of this adventure, are given no visual description at all besides eyes that have turned all black. Something, purple robes, unusual headdress, anything to set them apart. The co-opted priests have a sort of insect drone that allows them to ‘turn’ their enemies which is a nice touch, and there’s a few notes about using Priest Robes as disguise (smart!) but after that it’s straightforward combat with few special preparations, a fight with a curate and some acolytes attempting to ‘convert’ a captured priest is about the most special you get until the final smackdown with the unique BBG. There’s a handful of giant ants…good! but it feels a little empty. The Acolytes usually have something they are doing so its not static but it’s a bit one-note unless the PCs try some sort of disguise plot (and wouldnt they recognize the PCs as interlopers, having lived in the shrine themselves for years?). Bonus points for prisoner which can be found and freed, but who must be calmed down from his zealous rage. Appreciate it.

Speaking of which, where ma treasure at? You get descriptions like these ‘Twelve alcoves along the east and west walls are filled with the “Gilded Dead.” The mummified and gilded remains of prior priests and honored clergy stand within’ and then no GP value. Same for mummified gilded cats later on (again, a fantastic detail!). Or the now defiled inner sanctum of the Cat god. Bare. The acolytes conversely are LOADED with moolah, to the point of 1d4 * 50 gp for a 2nd level priest, 10-100 for a 1^st one and a curate with a Staff of Striking and another one with a Bag of Holding [1] while the dreaded Balmaduch must make due with a midden heap that holds 600 gp in coins and a gem and some adequate magical treasure. I kept wishing for an inner treasure vault that never came. The total amount is low, short of insulting depending on the level…it can’t be more then 2000-3000 total. All the interesting stuff has no gp value! You didn’t even use your magic item slot 😦  

The unique monster, complete with kawai Baby Insect Centaur art, is properly horrific, and at 5 HD, 2 attacks, Giant Ant summoning ability and a horrific appearance that fucks the PCs over if they fail a saving throw, is about on par for the 2-3 level range if par includes multiple fatalities.

Sugoi!

Man I’m not sure about this one. The fake tomb stuff is a nice touch, I dig the multi-layered layout, there’s even some traps here and there (I think the magic mouth is good but needed to be telegraphed better), liberal use of secret doors (very often telegraphed properly) and there’s some nice whiffs of flavor and the big bad is cool but it’s a bit…straightforward? Throw some curveballs in there, maybe some dirty tactics or tricks for the opponents and beef up the flavor by 40% and you have yourself a very strong entry. And make the title more…S&S. And treasure damn you.

[1] Avoid the beginners mistake that I made and NEVER give fucking PCs a BoH until they are at least 4-6.