Original Castles & Crusades Revolution - Footloose On Zothique - Session Report One

 In tonight's Zothique game adventure the PC's came into one of the wasteland kingdoms at the outer edges of the Great Waste. The party has gated into the world of Zothique & needs to do a bit of equipping first on the tomb world. This post picks right up from here. 

Rodney Mathews artwork used without permission 

“The sand of the desert of Yondo is not as the sand of other deserts; for Yondo lies nearest of all to the world’s rim; and strange winds, blowing from a pit no astronomer may hope to fathom, have sown its ruinous fields with the gray dust of corroding planets, the black ashes of extinguished suns. The dark, orblike mountains which rise from its wrinkled and pitted plain are not all its own, for some are fallen asteroids half-buried in that abysmal sand. Things have crept in from nether space, whose incursion is forbid by the gods of all proper and wellordered lands; but there are no such gods in Yondo, where live the hoary genii of stars abolished and decrepit demons left homeless by the destruction of antiquated hells.” — The Abominations of Yondo, CAS 1929

The party was looking over the wares of the city & they noticed the fact that there were lots of demonic protect fetishes, wands, & other devices. The party finds itself deep in the city of Tasuun - a central desert kingdom. The party find a local scimtar & blade dealer who had a minor wizard on the payroll. The party got work within the city to take out several ankhegs that were living in several abandoned sections of the city. The ankhegs had taken several children and according to the wizard as well as the bladesmith they would provide the weapons if the party took out the vermin for free. The party agreed! 
There were a total of five of these abominations & with a bit of searching the party discovered the ankhegs nest! 
ANKHEG NO. ENCOUNTERED: 1–6 SIZE: Large HD: 5 (d10) MOVE: 30 ft., 20 ft. burrow AC: 18 ATTACKS: Bite (3d6+1d4) SPECIAL: Improved Grab, Spit Acid, Twilight Vision SAVES: P INT: Animal ALIGNMENT: Neutral TYPE: Beast TREASURE: 5 XP: 220+5

The rest of the game consisted of the dwarf acting as bait & the rest of the party acting as ambush in the meantime. Taking a sum total of a half an hour the ankhegs were mopped up swiftly! The adventurers discovered the lair of a former wizard that was being used by the ankhegs. But one of the fighters Sir Gwyain lost his life to the acid spray the monsters. 

The party found several skeletons & a ruined book, a small urn of silver coins, a wand, & small cache of gems. And came face to face with the ghost of the former wizard in question & after a bit of parley with the party's wizard. The party was able to depart with the items. They had no intention of telling the bladesmith or wizard about said treasure. The party put out the word about being available for a job on the street. They immediately were contacted by a cleric. 
The party came across a cleric of GEOL whose looking for adventurers to help him with a demonic infestation within his home temple. The adventurers when to meet the cleric at his quarters in the old quarter.As they went to knock on his door there was the sound of struggle with the apartment. They decided to knock the door down. Immediately they saw a strange creature merging it's flesh with the flesh of the cleric! The horror ( a doppleganger) stopped choking him & dropped the cleric as it took on his form. The "cleric" swore that he is the actual cleric & the victim was actually the false cleric. The party didn't believe the monster. Doppleganger NO. ENCOUNTERED: 1 SIZE: Medium HD: 4 (d8) MOVE: 30 ft. AC: 15 ATTACKS: Slam (1d12) SPECIAL: Twilight Vision 60 ft., Detect Thoughts, Change Shape, Class Abilities, Immunity: Sleep and Charm Effects SAVES: P TYPE: Shapechanger INT: High TREASURE: 4 ALIGNMENT: Neutral Evil XP: 120+4 
The Doppleganger had a ring of magic missiles which it proceeded to use on the party on the next round after getting the drop on them! The shape changer backed away from the party after they took cover. He slowly made his way toward the apartment window with a handful of scrolls! 
The adventurers closed in on it! And after a series of fighting that smashed the hell out of the room! And they did manage to dispatch the horror after a bit of a dust up! We ended here as the cleric of Geol joined the party after being healed by our other cleric.