Orc Barracks (#5/365)

"This room is a barracks of some sort and reeks with the rank stench of rotten meat and stale sweat. Half of the room is given over to bunks with mouldy blankets, the other half has a circular table, a couple of benches and a keg with a steady drip (there are dead flies in the puddle beneath it)."

Roll a die. On a 1-2:

"Sleeping in the bunks are half a dozen Orcs, snoring their heads off and dead to the world. Their weapons and armour are dumped on the floor next to each bed."

On a 3-6:

"Seated at the table are half a dozen Orcs, drinking ale from tankards and playing a game of Pinfinger using an old dagger. They look up at your approach."

Contents:  These Orcs are all rank and file troopers from the Bronze Serpent Mercenary Company, using their down time to either sleep off a Guursh-cursed hangover, or gamble on a game of Pinfinger.

If the Heroes are being escorted by Gurthak Dead-Eye to see the captain, they will be jeered on the way there, and invited to play a game of Pinfinger (see Titan, p. 126) on the way back. The stake is 1GP per game.

If the Heroes are obviously hostile intruders, the Orcs will attack, but more polite Heroes, or those who speak Orcish, may be able to bargain for passage with a hefty bribe or a game of Pinfinger or two.

If the Orcs are sleeping, the Heroes may attempt to sneak through the chamber, but attempting to murder the Orcs in their sleep will wake at least one of them up, who will raise the alarm.

Stats:

5 ORCS: SKILL 6, STAMINA 5, Sword, Dagger, Light Armour (leather scraps) 

Each Orc has 1-6GP. There are a couple of bone dice, a bunch of pewter tankards, and a spare dagger (stained with green Orc blood) on the table. Also on the table is a haunch of roast Bristlebeast. Unfortunately it is infested with maggots and will cause 1-3 STAMINA damage to anyone who eats it, unless they are an Orc or Gnoll (with the respectively strong digestive system).

Next to the table is half a keg of Guursh (Orc Ale; see Encyclopedia Arcana, pp. 57-58). The bunks are empty but anyone searching through them has a 4 in 6 chance of contracting fleas (-1 SKILL due to itchy bites until they next take a full bath).

 Gnoll Guardpost (#4/365)

"This large square chamber has another exit directly opposite you, leading away deeper into the tombs. The floor is covered in rubble, bones, and what look like dried bloodstains. There is another exit to the east, but it is barricaded behind two high piles of rubble. You are not sure, but you think you hear a sniggering sound coming from behind one of the piles."

Contents:  Behind the piles are two GNOLL guards ready to fire arrows at the Heroes when they enter the chamber. The Gnolls will aim for the lightest-armoured Hero first. If needed, one Gnoll will flee to alert the rest of the tribe.

The Gnolls are part of the Tusk-Gnasher tribe and have been perturbed by the presence of the recently-arrived Orc mercenaries. Their main interests are getting rid of the Orcs, and food, especially meat and how to prepare it. All Gnolls are cannibals and anyone slain by them will be eaten.

Stats:

2 GNOLLS: SKILL 8, STAMINA 5, Short Bow and Club, Light Armour (leather scraps) 

Both Gnolls have  1-6 SP; one has a joint of roast Aardwolf wrapped in greasy paper (+1-3 STAMINA points if eaten); the other has a patch of Anaesthetic Moss in a pouch (+4 STAMINA when applied to a wound; see The Titan Herbal, p. 17).

Antechamber (#3/365)

"This is another filth-caked room, with a floor covered in debris, and another exit leading north. There is bat guano everywhere, and it seems fresh. You look up...

A host of chittering BATS hang from the ceiling, glaring at you with beady eyes."

 Contents: The BATS will only attack if the Heroes disturb them in some way; simply passing through the room or searching the debris carefully will not set the bats off. There is nothing of value in the rubble, but anyone searching, or who is bitten by a bat, has a 1 in 6 chance of contracting the Red Plague (see Advanced Fighting Fantasy, p. 54).

Stats:

BATS

SKILL: 4

STAMINA: 4

Attacks: 1 for every Hero

Small Bite damage.

Reducing the BATS' STAMINA to 0 indicates they have been driven off.

 Orc Guardpost (#2/365)

“This diamond-shaped chamber is 20’ across and has been stripped bare of fittings. A rough entrance lies unguarded to the north-east, while a similar north-western entrance is barricaded behind a palisade of stakes and sharpened poles.”

If the Heroes have been making a lot of noise: 

“As you enter the chamber, an arrow is fired from a slit in the palisade, and lands at your feet. A rough voice rings out:

'That was just a warning shot my friends! Come any closer and we pepper your guts with arrows!’”

If not: 

“From behind the palisade you can hear the sounds of loud snoring from several creatures.”

Contents: Behind the palisade are three Orcs from the Bronze Serpent Mercenary Company; Gurthak Dead-Eye, the mercenaries’ sergeant, and 2 regular troopers. All are currently on down-time after a successful joint-mission with pirate raiders from the Skull Coast. Depending on how noisy the Heroes have been, they will either be asleep or alert.

Polite Heroes, or those that speak Orcish, may be able to negotiate safe passage through the room for a bribe of 10GP (and 5GP for a return trip). A bribe of 20GP may even allow an escort to visit the leader of the mercenaries, Shaisak Camel-Smiter, but all weapons must be left in this room.

Rude or aggressive Heroes will cause the Orcs to rain down arrows, crossbow bolts and even a Green Spikeball cacti as an improvised grenade (all within 6’ of impact have -1 to their Attack Strength for the next turn due to water splash, pulp spray, spines and other debris).

The palisade is 7’ high and stoutly constructed, with several openings to allow for arrow fire. It will take 20 points of STAMINA damage before collapsing, but it is flammable. It has a bolted hatch that can only be opened from the inside.

Stats:

Gurthak Dead-Eye, GREAT ORC Mercenary (Out of the Pit, pp. 90-91)

SKILL: 8

STAMINA: 10

Attacks: 1

Weapon: Crossbow, Sword

Armour: Medium (chainmail scraps), Large Shield

Notes: Has a pipe and pouch of Old Trollborn Smoking Weed (see Encyclopedia Arcana, p. 49)

2 ORCS: SKILL 6, STAMINA 5, Bow and Sword, Light Armour (leather scraps)

All Orcs have 1d6 GP on them. One has a hipflask of Seaman’s Grog he won off a pirate (see Encyclopedia Arcana, p. 59), the other has a Green Spikeball cacti (see The Titan Herbal, p. 36).

The Found Tombs of Arvakaten

Level One

Rubbish-Strewn Entry Chamber (#1/365)

“This square chamber is around 15’ across, with a single exit opposite you. The floor is covered with the debris and rubbish of a millenia; rubble, bones, rotting wicker furniture, broken timbers, rusted ironwork and corroded bronze dishes, all layered in white dust and bat guano. Indeterminate footprints trace a clear path from your portal of entrance to the other. The walls are of grease-streaked plaster and adorned with at least six languages worth of graffiti, daubed and carved in sequential layers of occupation.”

Contents: This chamber is a dumping spot for centuries of dungeon inhabitants. If at least one hour is spent searching the debris (with numerous Wandering Monster checks for noise and disturbances), the Heroes can uncover a dusty Brass Lamp. Rubbing this will summon the GENIE Wubutu (see below).

There is nothing else of value here. The graffiti on the walls say all kinds of things, roll two dice separately on the table below if needed (only understandable if the reader is skilled and literate in the appropriate languages). Feel free to use this table, and self-made variants of it, for graffiti and inscriptions throughout the tombs.

Stats:

Wubutu the GENIE (Out of the Pit, pp. 56-57)

SKILL: 12

STAMINA: 20

Attacks: 1

Weapon: Cleaver (as per Battle Axe)

Armour: None

Notes: Wubutu is a classical Genie of Vatosian origins, who has spent several centuries imprisoned within the Brass Lamp, brewing home-distilled liquor made from dates. Wubutu can be summoned 1d3 times a day by rubbing the lamp; attempting to summon him beyond this daily limit yields no effect. The very first time Wubutu is summoned, read the following:

“A cloud of purple smoke erupts from the brass lamp, and when it clears, hovering in front of you is a large rotund purple-skinned GENIE, clad in robes of an ancient design. His eyes are bloodshot and he clutches an empty glass in one hand. Seeing you he burps, tucks the glass away into a sash at his waist, and folds his arms.

‘I am Wubutu the Genie!’ he declares in a booming voice. ‘How, *hic*, may I be of service?”

For every subsequent summoning, roll on the following table to determine Wubutu’s mood:

What Wubutu Can Do (one task per summoning):

·      Speak, read and write ancient languages: Vatosian 4, Ancient Allansian 3, Ancient Djaratian 3

·      Fight creatures that can only be wounded by silver or magical weapons. Often refuses to fight ‘normal’ monsters. “Where’s the challenge in that?”

·      Offer obscure advice or solve riddles.

·      Will not grant wishes. “That ability has been removed from my prescribed duties at this current time.”

What Wubutu Likes:

·      Getting bunches of dates. One bunch of dates will allow one extra task per summoning.

·      Getting other kinds of booze. One receptacle of quality ale, wine or spirits will allow one extra task per summoning. Others will simply be quaffed immediately. Will be drunk as per #3 on the table above the next time he is summoned.

·      Fighting high-powered magical beings. But not too high-powered…

What Wubutu Abhors:

·      Dealing with Orcs, Gnolls, Goblins and the like. Makes fun of them and picks fights.

·      Being wounded. Will take a number of days off equal to how many STAMINA points he has lost. Reaction roll as per #6 on the table above.

 Ok, here we go. (And I really do not have time for this.)

Been meaning to resurrect the blog for a while, and #Dungeon23 has given me the impetus to do so. Without risking immediate derailment via long boring explanations about why I've done nothing blog-wise for quite some time, instead, let's dive straight into #Dungeon23.

What: A mega-dungeon! One room per day! How hard can it be?

Why: Why not?!? This blog lives again and I get to run Advanced Fighting Fantasy 2E through its paces in a mega-dungeon format.

How: I'm using Graham Bottley's excellent random dungeon generation method from the Advanced Fighting Fantasy 2E rulebook (pp. 134-137). I'm then using my own interests and methods to populate the catacombs. Obviously, it's going to be set somewhere on Titan.

Where: Here, on this blog. Will probably post weekly digest updates elsewhere, and may start up a separate 'How To' forum thread to really unpack the AFF 2E approach to dungeon-building.

When: Every day! (Disclaimer: may post multiple-room clusters ahead of time if I know I have crazy things coming down the line.)

Who: Me, Andrew Wright, author of Beyond the Pit, The Titan Herbal, Rough Guide to the Pit, Return to the Pit, and volume one of the Encyclopedia Arcana. What can I say? I love Titan and Fighting Fantasy!

The Concept: I was once doing a side-project involving a wilderness-crawl in southern Allansia, so let's use that as a jumping-off point. The mega-dungeon is a tomb-complex in the desert upland wilderness, surprisingly much-visited by adventurers and heavily populated with obnoxious types, and yet still somewhat isolated and slightly off the beaten track. We'll situate it near the obscure but useful city of Pellod (Heroes Companion, p. 43).

The Found Tombs of Arvakaten

The Background:

"The Found Tombs of Arvakaten lie several days wandering upstream, through the valley of the river Murab, northwest of the city of Pellod. Opinion is divided as to whether Arvakaten was a lord or god (and thus were these tombs or a temple), but this Djaratian crypt-complex was subsequently ransacked and repurposed over the years by Vatosians, Allansians from Carsepolis, the Caarth serpent-folk, Orcs and other bestial races of the uplands, and many others besides.

As such, it has become a local stamping ground for up and coming heroes, a place to test your mettle and the speed of your sword or the potency of your magic. Miscreants congregate here too; Orc mercenaries, pirate looters, Lizard Man kidnappers, and every renegade mage from the Spellcaster's Guild of Pellod, who needs solitude, time, and tight dark places, to find themselves and their one true calling.

In the final village before you reach the tombs, you find the Last Step Inn. The walls of this run-down establishment are hung with the debris of adventuring lives brought abruptly to an end; broken swords, split shields, shattered helms, Orc arrows and Gnollish clubs, skulls, bones and other bits and pieces. The innkeeper, a tall thin fellow named Abughan, regales you with tales of the mystic underworld of Arvakaten and its place in Djaratian cosmology; his rustic, dusty clientele of farmers and herders may have more practical information to share.

The region is a craggy wilderness split by goat-trails; of stony fields, bone-dry vineyards and twisted olive trees. The main entrance to the tombs lies right at the end of the valley; a rocky path leads upwards to where several trickles of water from nearby springs coalesce into a green scummy pool that forms the source of the river Murab. A rocky outcrop abuts the pool, it contains a shallow cave that opens up into the main tomb entrance. The walls of the cave are daubed and carved in much graffiti, the languages include Common (Allansian), Orcish and Gnoll. 

Entering the tomb, a passage leads north, into darkness..."

The Rumour Table: Gossip and scuttlebutt from the Last Step Inn. Spend 1GP on drinks per roll. Roll 1d6:

1. An evil wizard has fled to the tombs to conduct unspeakable rites!
   
2. There are several entrances to the tombs.
3. Orc mercenaries stalk the halls of Arvakaten!
   
4. One must know the ancient tongues to understand the way.
   
5. There are cannibal Gnolls in the tombs!
   
6. There is an invincible lion-monster who speaks gibberish!
   

Caveats:

• It will be fun.
• It will probably fail.
• It will be unashamedly heavy on AFF 2E and Titan.
• It will have maps of varying quality, timeliness and availability. Ditto room descriptions.