Crypts & Things Actual Play Part III - In The Carpathians

 

There are a few things that I need to get out about the game over at Larry's set within the world of the Tourist Guide To Transylvania. The Train is winding its way through the Carpathian Mountains of a future world that has suffered a devistating supernatural apocalypse. This a world of sword & sorcery  Crypts & Things is a dark role playing game in the old school tradition. English gaming from the 70s & 80s was very different from what was going on here in America in the 80s. The U.K. series of modules have a very different feel to them then their American counterparts. I've gamed in the United Kingdom in the 90s & its a bit of a different thing than this country.  White Dwarf had the Fiend Factory column which spawned the Fiend Folio. 

Friends at the Traveling Man basically explained to me the way the world spins. Here's how it goes. There are dungeons, there are monsters, & there's death, destruction, mayhem that goes with it.
So with this  in mind I designed the following random encounter chart for this game.
Random Carpathian Encounter chart 1d10 

1. A group of  1d4 raider/thieves 2nd level using the mountain trails to raid trains along the rails.. 
2. 1d6 cultists 1level fighters raiding local villages for sacrifices to their pagan gods of the old religions 
3. A group of barbarians  looking to trade local goods for a small amount of gold 
4. A lone pilgrimage making his way among the mountain trails for herbs & alchemy ingredients. Walks with a distinct limp  
5. Vets/Warriors coming back from one of the numerous border skirmishes. Looking for employment. 2nd level fighters. Will work for food for now 
6. A wizard & 1d6 pupils studying the mountain spirits & local small gods 
7. A lone man of the mountains willing to offer small charms, herbs, & some cures. Willing to give advice on the supernatural 1st level wizard 
8. A group of 1d8 Shepard who have been telling tales from around the Doleman trail. Know many small legends which they will impart for a gold piece or two  
9. A local mayor out inspecting the rails with his oldest son. Looking for adventurers for a job. 
10. A minor vampire's flunky looking for victims for his lord & master. Will try to set up a "job" for a party as victims.  

Random Carpathian Encounters Special 1d10 

1. 1d4 Morozhki (frost demons) 3 hit points 
2. A groaning spirit 2 hit points 
3. 1d4 Trolls 
4. 1d3 Ogres as per the rule book 
5. 1d4 Wererats as per the rule book. Lower slopes only
6. 1 werewolf with 1d6 wolf pack servants on a mission for his vampire lord master 
7. A Vodyanoy of a mountain stream. He waits for victims to drown. 3 hit points 
8. A group of furies plays among the mountain tops causing avalanches 
9. A  group of 1d6 mountain orcs 3 hit points is getting ready to raid a train 
10. A family of 3 hit point Harpies 1d4 is looking for scraps of corpse & trouble among the mountain peaks 

Notes on this :

1. There are no clerics or turning of undead in Crypts & Things. This is going to put a very different spin on the upcoming game involving vampires!
2. All of the players who created fighters were very please with how the classes turned out 
3. Magic Grey & Black does bad things to the caster  & it costs the player big time in terms of sanity, health, etc. That's because you are walking the razor edge of sanity with magic 
4. There are way more monsters in Crypts & Things then I thought 
5. The game presents some interesting challenges to players 
6. A good solid overall view of Slavic Mythology  Here