Friday, June 3, 2016

A Date with Chaos

The Crew

Terry (Cap'n Beefheart), Tommy (Isabelle) and Kenny (Mr. Stevens).  I supplemented the lack of higher level characters with a bevy of regular crewmen.  This proved pivotal, as their Gang ability carried the day.

The Plot

After making off with Bonefist's bribe money, The Skidmark sailed back to the isle of friendly islanders.  In a way, these people had it bad.  The cultists and cannibals, with Bonefist's blessings, raided the isle mercilessly for their various rituals and meals.  The effect was an island full of terrified people with no real way to defend themselves.

They obviously saw salvation in the form of Beefheart and crew and worked diligently to provide The Skidmark with provender and information.  However, the islands to the east were merely known to be 'bad'.  Unfortunately for The Skidmark, that was exactly the direction they were heading.

The Game

As with most of our sessions, island exploration was the au gout du jour.  In this case, the jungle opened to a clearing filled with low-slung hills, ruins and a large idol.  The party split up to investigate, but Captain Beefheart made sure nobody strayed too far.

The Cap'n and some crew explored a rock...


...while Isabelle and 'Tophat' viewed some ruins.

Mr. Stevens and some squaddies checked out the idol.

This writing means....something.
Mr. Stevens and a couple brave crewmen explored the idol.  There were strange heiroglyphs as well as large circular section.  The circle's top depicted a sun, while the bottom featured either waves or tentacles.


Get off, Stevens!
After Stevens got off the stone, he and his mates began trying to shift the slab.  Soon, the rest of the gang assisted.

All together now...
With a mighty heave, the stone slab shifted, revealing a set of worn stairs that spiraled into the darkness.  Without hesitation, the crew descended into the depths.

The party quickly experienced deja vu, as they found themselves in eerie catacombs similar to the cult they'd handled earlier in their exploits.  They quickly found an islander captured in a cell.  Their loud efforts aroused the suspicions of the the inhabitants and the fight was on!

Wake up!

I heard voices behind this door, Sir!

The fight is on!
In one area, the mess hall, a couple of acolytes were blazed down by Mr. Stevens and his stout mates.  Some dashing acrobatic feats using chairs and tables saw the end of one acolyte.


Isabelle and Tophat made quick work of some cultists loitering in the barracks.




The smoke literally and figuratively cleared, leaving one door.  What was behind it?

What is that?!
A trap!  Obviously the temple portion of the catacomb, the head acolyte and his cronies had been hard at work summoning a Chaos Beast!  The fight was on...


...while the cult's leader ran...again.




The crew fought the creature with pistols, as too often they were too afraid to rush it and attack in melee.  That is, everyone but Mr. Stevens!  Hearing gun fire, he rushed headlong down the hallway, through the accumulating gun smoke and literally leaped into the fray!  "Mad" Stevens is a spot-on nickname!

Eventually, the Beast was killed, but not before Captain Beefheart tripped and fell into the chaos sludge the Beast was born from (more on that later).  But what happened to the leader?  He ran out of an undiscovered secret passage, past Isabelle and up the stairs to the jungle above.  She in turn hiked her skirt and gave chase.  The leader almost made it to safety, but was hampered by his robe.  Isabelle caught him, swiped at him with her sword and then skewered him at the edge of the jungle.  Vengeance, indeed!

I'm sorry.  Were you going somewhere?

The Outcome

The crew ransacked the place, freed the islander and had an overall good island hop!  Alas, no map piece.  The adventure continues.

The captain, coated with chaos slime, was...changed.  Normally fearless regardless of the creature or circumstance, he developed a phobia...of tropical birds.  Mr. Stevens can't even have his pet in sight of the Captain without his cowering uncontrollably.  How will this affect him in the future?  Time will tell...

My Musings

A couple of things.  One, I'd hoped the crew would have found the secret passage, thereby bypassing a large portion of the scrum.  Having said that, Isabelle tracking down a fleeing leader was amusing as well.  Two, the Gang special ability can be powerful in large numbers!  It's a game-changer that I'll have to be aware of in the future.  Three, I had to get a little creative with the Captain's interaction with Chaos.  I could've made it a lot worse, but chose the cinematic route.

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