The PC's are deep into the Atlantian state of Vaar for accessiment and enslavement. This session picks up from the last session here on the blog! Varr was filled with NPC's and the PC's ran into the former crews of a number of lost ships. The PC's were trying to reach the diving bell that was left from the former crew of the ship the Texas Rose.
The Texas Rose is still in one piece at this time. The PC's need to reach the diving bell before everything blows to Hell during the next monster attack !
The core conflict involves Victorian-era explorers against Martian-descended Atlanteans and giant mutated monsters.
Here are some suggested stats and material for your game, assuming the use of the SIEGE Engine ruleset (d20 + Level + Bonus vs. Challenge Class (CC)):
The Lost City of Atlantis (Campaign Setting Elements)
Atlantis in this campaign is less a magical city and more a Super-Science Totalitarian State in a vast undersea cavern system.
Atmosphere: The cavern system has an atmosphere breathable by surface dwellers for a time, but its unique composition makes it slowly toxic without special care (or Atlantean manipulation). Treat this as a constant, low-grade poison (Save vs. Poison or take $1d4 damage every 6 hours, potentially leading to exhaustion) that can be negated by a Gas Mask or an Atlantean Respiration Device.
The Seven Cities: Only five remain, built in a Utopian/Ancient Greek style, but administered with a harsh, totalitarian Martian logic.
Atlantean Elite (Martians): The ruling class possesses superior intellect and powerful psychic abilities. They manipulate the surface world towards war to fast-track scientific development. They are rarely encountered, often seen levitating in meditation.
Slaves/Guardians Surface dwellers, often sailors (like the crew of the Mary Celeste), abducted over the centuries. They are often converted into "Gill Men" or trained as Guardians.
New Class Ability/Trait: Mental Resilience
To resist the psychic domination of the Atlantean Elite, a player character with a high WIS or CHA score may be able to choose this trait.
Mental Resilience (Trait): The character receives a +2 bonus on all Saving Throws or SIEGE Checks made to resist psychic attacks, mental domination, or magical illusions. This bonus applies when trying to "snap out" of a hypnotic or mind-controlled state.
Monster Stats for
The film is famous for its menagerie of monsters. Use the following as base statistics.
Giant Octopus
A monstrous cephalopod used by the Atlanteans to capture surface ships and drag them to the cavern system.
| Stat | Score | CC Prime | CC Secondary |
| HD | 10 | 12 | 18 |
| AC | 14 (Natural Armor) | ||
| Atk | 8 Tentacles (1d8) or Tentacle Constriction | ||
| Dam | 1d8 (Tentacle) / Constriction (see below) | ||
| Move | 30' (Land), 60' (Swim) | ||
| Saves | F 8, RÂ 12, W 10 |
Giant Size:50' span. Immunity to normal missile weapons (rifles, pistols) unless fired at an eye or a specific vulnerable spot (GM's discretion).
Tentacle Constriction (Special Attack): If a tentacle attack hits, it deals normal damage and the victim is Grappled. Each turn, the tentacle deals an automatic 2d6 crushing damage. The octopus can constrict up to 8 targets at once. A grappled target can attempt a successful STR or DEX SIEGE Check (CC 15) to escape.
Ink Cloud (Special): Once per hour, it can emit a cloud of ink covering a 30' radius. All creatures within the cloud suffer a -4 penalty to attack rolls and vision checks.
Mogdaan (Giant Finned Eel/Sea Serpent)
A massive, aggressive swamp-dweller with a serpent-like body and large fins.
| Stat | Score | CC Prime | CC Secondary |
| HD | 8 | 12 | 18 |
| AC | 13 (Tough Hide) | ||
| Atk | Bite (2d6) | ||
| Dam | 2d6 plus Poison | ||
| Move | 10' (Land), 40' (Swim) | ||
| Saves | F 10, R 13, W11 |
Swamp Lurker: Receives advantage on stealth/ambush checks while submerged in water or mud.
Poison: creature damaged by the Mogdaan's bite must make a successful CON SIEGE Check (CC 14) or suffer an additional 1d6 damage and be Slowed (halved speed and -2 penalty to AC and attack rolls) for 1d4 rounds.
Zaargs (Ankylosaur-like Attack Beast)
Massive, lumpy-skinned beasts with club tails and a surprising ability to scale walls. Often attack the Atlantean cities.
| Stat | Score | CC Prime | CC Secondary |
| HD | 12 | 12 | 18 |
| AC | 16 (Heavy Armor Plate) | ||
| Atk | Club Tail (2d10) or Stomp (2d8) | ||
| Dam | Club Tail 2d10 / Stomp 2d8 | ||
| Move | 30' (Land), Climb 20' | ||
| Saves | F 7, R15, W10 |
Siege Monster: Club Tail attack has a chance to damage fortifications. If attacking a stone wall or gate, roll 1d20 + 2. If the result is 15 or higher, the structure takes 3d6 points of damage.
Surprising Climb: Despite their bulk, they can climb steep surfaces and city walls (Move 20' Climb).
Non-Player Character (NPC) Stats
Atlantean Elite (Martian Masters)
The ruling class, aloof and psychically powerful.
| Stat | Score | CC Prime | CC Secondary |
| HD | 6 (Psychic Master) | 12 | 18 |
| AC | 12 (Natural) | ||
| Atk | Psychic Blast ($3d6$Â damage) or Mind Control | ||
| Move | 30' (Floating/Levitating) | ||
| Saves | F14, R12, W8 |
Mind Control (Special Attack): The Elite can target one creature within 60' (WIS SIEGE Check CC 14). If the target fails, they are mentally dominated and must follow the Elite's commands for 1d4 rounds or until they take damage.
Levitation: Can levitate up to 5 feet off the ground indefinitely as a meditative state.
Primary Attribute: Intelligence (INT).
Atlantean Guardian (The Warlords' Soldiers)
The heavily armed, helmeted guards who enforce the Elite's will.
| Stat | Score | CC Prime | CC Secondary |
| HD | 2 | 14 | 12 |
| AC | 17 (Scale Mail and Helm) | ||
| Atk | Spear (1d6+1) or Blaster Pistol (2d6) | ||
| Move | 30' | ||
| Saves | F12, R12, W15 |
Equipment: Scale Mail Armor, Metal Helm, Spear, Blaster Pistol (limited charge).
Primary Attribute: Strength (STR).
Super-Science Device: Diving Bell
The key vehicle for the expedition, a brass-and-rivet marvel of Victorian ingenuity.
AC: 18 (Heavy Metal Hull)
HP:50
Speed: Very Slow (Maximum 10' per round when actively submerged/lowered)
Special: The bell's power source (likely an electric battery or steam engine) can be briefly overloaded to deliver a shocking burst of electricity to creatures touching the exterior (e.g., the Plesiosaur). This requires an INT or DEX SIEGE Check (CC 15) to execute safely and deals 4d6 electrical damage to the creature, but causes 1d4 internal damage to the Bell's hull.
Based on the film's events, here is a short, three-part adventure scenario for your Amazing Adventures party: The Doom of the Texas Rose.
The Doom of the Texas Rose (Adventure Scenario)
Theme: Mutiny, Monster Attack, and Abduction to a Lost World. Setting: The Bermuda Triangle (early 20th Century).
Part 1: Attack from the Deep
The player characters (PCs) are part of an expedition aboard the chartered ship, the Texas Rose. They may be scientists, engineers, hired guards, or archaeologists. The goal is to use an experimental Diving Bell to search for the fabled lost city of Atlantis.
Encounter: The Serpent of the Abyss: During the first deep-sea descent in the Diving Bell (see stats above), the PCs are suddenly attacked by a monstrous sea creature (use the Plesiosaur or a similar Aquatic Beast). The monster focuses its attack on the bell's viewport or the lowering cable.
Challenge: The PCs must figure out a way to defend the fragile bell and scare off the creature (e.g., using the electrical shock tactic, a loud explosion, or a timely firearm blast).
Success: The creature is driven off, but the commotion has alerted something much larger.
Discovery & Mutiny: The bell's lights reveal a strange, gold-encrusted statue on the seabed proof of Atlantis! As the statue is winched up, a small group of the ship's crew (led by greedy figures like Fenn and Grogan) sees only gold and attempts a Mutiny. They threaten the Professor/leader (a key NPC) and move to cut the cable to the diving bell.
Conflict: The PCs topside must stop the mutineers before they sever the cable. The PCs in the bell are trapped.
The Sentinel: Just as the mutiny reaches its height, the Giant Octopus (The Sentinel) attacks! It uses its sheer size to wrap tentacles around the Texas Rose, tearing off rigging and capturing any crew members on deck (including the mutineers and the PCs).
Outcome: The Giant Octopus drags the crippled ship and the submerged Diving Bell deep into the Bermuda Triangle, pulling them through a massive undersea opening into the oxygen-filled cavern system of Atlantis. All captured PCs and NPCs are delivered to a rocky beach.
Part 2: The Five Cities
The PCs awaken in the cavern system and are quickly rounded up by Atlantean Guardians led by Atmir (a powerful Elite NPC).
The Separation: Atmir uses his superior Intelligence and Psychic ability to quickly assess the captives. PCs with high INT or WIS scores may be separated from the rest, deemed "useful" to the Elite.
PCs with high INT/WIS: Taken to Chinqua, the Royal City, for indoctrination.
All others: Thrown into a slave work camp/dungeon near the city of Vaar.
In the Dungeon: The enslaved PCs meet the other captives, including the crew of the long-lost Mary Celeste, led by Briggs (a grizzled veteran) and his daughter, Delphine (a sympathetic NPC). The slaves explain the horrors: the Elite are Martians, they manipulate the surface world, and they give new slaves "gill-surgery" to make them permanent dwellers.
Challenge: The PCs must work with the slaves to formulate an escape plan before the procedure is scheduled.
The Zaarg Attack (Chaos): As the escape is planned, the city of Vaar is suddenly assaulted by the massive, rampaging Zaargs (Ankylosaur-like Beasts).
Combat Encounter: The PCs are caught between the aggressive Zaargs and the defending Atlantean Guardians. Use the chaos of the battle to cover the escape. A key Atlantean structure may be a target of the Zaargs (e.g., a prison wall or a gate).
Part 3: Escape and the Mind-Forge
The PCs, guided by Delphine, must escape the city and rescue any separated companions.
The Mind-Forge: The group tracks the separated PCs to Chinqua. They find the high-INT/WIS PC in a chamber undergoing a hypnotic induction, possibly being shown a vision of the Elite's planned fascist utopia for the surface world. This PC is highly Mind-Controlled (WIS SIEGE Check CC 14 to snap out of it).
Conflict:The rest of the party must fight of Atlantean Elite and their remaining Guardians while trying to break their friend's trance (a successful CHA SIEGE Check or a physical act like a knock-out blow may work!).
The Swamp Gauntlet: The reunited PCs must flee back through the prehistoric swamps towards the place where they entered the cavern.
Encounter: The PCs must navigate the treacherous, misty swamp, avoiding or fighting the venomous Mogdaan (Giant Finned Eel). They may lose a key NPC here (like one of the mutineers or a slave).
Final Stand and Sacrifice: The group reaches the Diving Bell, only to find Atmir and a small squad of Guardians waiting to block their exit.
Climax: The PCs fight Atmir, who uses his potent Psychic Blast and Mind Control abilities. Delphine (or another friendly slave NPC) must choose to remain behind, covering the PCs' final moments of escape, as their gill-modifications prevent their return to the surface.
Outcome: The PCs blast off in the Diving Bell, while Atmir uses a final psychic burst to throw off their ascent, but they eventually break the surface just in time to see the Giant Octopus returning to finish off the remnants of the Texas Rose!
This three-act structure gives your players plenty of opportunities for combat, roleplaying (especially dealing with the slaver caste and the Martian propaganda), and using their class abilities to survive the dangers of the lost Atlantean world.
Here are the stats for a suitable Aquatic Beast for the first encounter, balanced to be a tough challenge to the Diving Bell rather than a creature the PCs can easily defeat in the open ocean.
Aquatic Beast (Plesiosaur/Sea Serpent)
This massive marine reptile is a relic of prehistory, driven to the surface waters by the chaos and deep currents near Atlantis.
| Stat | Score | CC Prime | CC Secondary |
| HD | 15 | 10 | 20 |
| AC | 15 (Thick Hide) | ||
| Atk | Massive Bite (3d8) or Neck Slam (2d10) | ||
| Dam | Massive Bite 3d8 / Neck Slam 2d10 | ||
| Move | 5' (Land), 60' (Swim) | ||
| Saves | F8, R12, W10 |
Special Abilities
Siege Monster (Vulnerability): This creature is hunting the Diving Bell. Its primary target is the structure itself.
The Massive Bite deals full damage (3d8) to the Diving Bell's Hull (AC 18, HP 50).
The Neck Slam is used to dislodge the bell's cable or attachment points. The creature makes an attack against the cable (CC 16). If successful, the cable takes 4d6 damage. If the cable's HP runs out, the bell is severed!
Vulnerability: Electrical Discharge: The bell is its target, making it susceptible to the electrical discharge tactic. If the PCs successfully execute the discharge (see theDiving Bell entry), the creature suffers the full 4d6 Electrical Damage and must make a successful CON SIEGE Check (CC 14) or be Stunned for 1 round (unable to attack or move).
Armored Head: The creature's head is heavily armored and difficult to target. Non-explosive weapons fired by the PCs (rifles, pistols) suffer a -2 penalty to hit the creature, as the bullets simply glance off its thick scales and bony plates.
Combat Notes for the GM
Prioritize the Bell: The Plesiosaur is motivated by hunger and territorial instinct. It should focus its attacks on the Diving Bell until the PCs successfully hurt it with the Electrical Discharge.
Cable Cut: The creature should dedicate two successful Neck Slam attacks to the cable to put the party on a serious time crunch, forcing them to choose between defending themselves and protecting the vessel.
The Escape: The creature should not be fought to the death. The objective is to drive it away just before the Giant Octopus arrives to collect the disabled ship, smoothly transitioning into Part 1's final scene.
With the Aquatic Beast statted out, you have the full complement of major monsters and NPCs needed to run the "Doom of the Texas Rose" scenario!
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