Aethel, the Sunken Core Inner Earth Sword & Sorcery Campaign Adventure Using both Castles & Crusades (C&C) and Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars (NSW) Rpg

You’re blending the "Lost World" Victorian pulp of the 1978 film Warlords of Atlantis with the gritty, modern-supernatural edge of Night Shift and the streamlined OSR feel of Castles & Crusades. This leg of the campaign picks right up from here on the blog.

Aethel, the Sunken Core Inner Earth Sword & Sorcery Campaign Adventure Using both Castles & Crusades (C&C) and Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars (NSW) Rpg - The Atlantian City State of Vaar

Since both games use the Siege Engine (or a variation of it), they are mechanically compatible. Here is a framework to bridge these worlds into a cohesive "Hollow Earth" campaign.

1. The Premise: "Operation: Deep Six"

In the modern day (using Night Shift), a high-tech submersible disappears in the Bermuda Triangle. The PCs are "Veterans" sent to retrieve it. They don’t find a wreck; they find a portal to Vaar, a massive interior world where the Seven Cities of Atlantis still rule via psychic domination and weird science.

The Mechanical Split

The PCs: Created using Night Shift. They bring modern firearms, occult knowledge, and survivor kits.
The World: Governed by Castles & Crusades. The denizens of the Inner Earth are high-fantasy threats—knights in chitin armor, giant crustacean "gods," and psychic warlords.

2. System Integration: The "Siege" Connection

Since both games rely on the Attribute Check (Challenge Base 12 or 18), you can swap them on the fly:

Element	System Choice	Why?
Combat / HP	Night Shift	Keeps the "Modern vs. Ancient" lethality high.
Magic / Psionics	C&C (Wizard/Illusionist)	The Atlanteans should feel "high fantasy" and overwhelming.
Skills/Feats	Night Shift	Better handles modern tech and investigation.
Monsters	C&C	The Monsters & Treasure book is perfect for prehistoric beasts.

3. The Setting: The Seven Cities of Vaar

In Warlords of Atlantis, the Atlanteans are aliens who crashed on Earth. In your campaign, they use the Inner Earth as a laboratory to "harvest" surface dwellers.

The First City: A gleaming utopia powered by "Vril" (Psychic Energy).
The Outlands: A Sword & Sorcery wilderness where prehistoric beasts (C&C stats) roam.
The Conflict: The Atlanteans want to use a "Solar Mirror" to cause a global blackout on the surface. The PCs must lead a slave revolt using 21st-century tactics against 10,000-year-old sorcery.

4. Key Campaign Features

Modern Tech vs. Magic: Modern bullets should be devastating against unarmored Atlanteans, but the Atlanteans have Mental Shields (C&C Spell Resistance).
The "Oxygen" Mechanic: Use Night Shift’s survival rules. The air in the Inner Earth is heavy with spores; prolonged exposure might cause "Deep World Fever" (mutations or psychic sensitivity).
The Warlords: Use the C&C Knight and Fighter classes for the Atlantean generals, but give them Night Shift psychic powers (The Supernatural or Psychic archetypes).

5. Sample Encounter: The Sentinel of the Abyss

The Threat: A giant, multi-eyed crustacean (The "God" from the film).

Stats: Use the Kraken or Giant Crab from C&C Monsters & Treasure.
Twist: It is being controlled by an Atlantean "Controller" using a psychic headset (Night Shift: The Psychic abilities).
The PC Goal: The PCs can’t kill it with small arms. They must use Night Shift "Tech" checks to sabotage the headset or C&C "Strength" checks to collapse the cavern ceiling.

A Note on Tone: To capture that 70s Warlords of Atlantis feel, keep the colors vivid and the monsters "rubbery" but dangerous. Use Night Shift to ground the horror of being trapped miles beneath the crust, and C&C to handle the epic scale of the sword-clashing action.

Warlord and Guardians of Lemuria range of mini's

To bridge these two systems, we’ll use the Night Shift framework for the Warlord's "survivability" and psychic grit, while pulling the Castles & Crusades "High Ability" scores and combat maneuvers to make him feel like a legendary martial threat.

The Atlantean High Inquisitor (Elite Warlord)

This antagonist represents the psychic-military caste of the Second City. He is physically imposing, dressed in ornate, gold-filigreed chitin armor, and carries a "Vril-Blade."

Core Stats

Role: Veteran / Warlord (Hybrid)
Hit Dice: 9d8 (approx. 55 HP)
Armor Class: 20 (Chitin Plate + Psychic Shifting)
Primary Attributes (C&C Primes): Strength, Intelligence, Charisma.
Challenge Base: 18 (Non-Prime) / 12 (Prime)

Abilities & Powers

Vril-Blade (C&C Fighter/Knight): The Warlord attacks twice per round. His blade ignores modern Kevlar (Night Shift armor bonuses), dealing 2d8 + 4 damage.
Mental Domination (Night Shift: The Psychic): As an action, he can force a PC to make a Wisdom/Willpower save. Failure means the PC is "Stunned" for 1 round as they relive a traumatic memory from the surface world.
Psychic Aegis: Once per encounter, he can create a shimmering barrier that deflects all kinetic projectiles (bullets/arrows) for 1d4 rounds.

The "Siege" Hybrid Mechanic

If a PC tries to use a modern Night Shift skill (like Demolitions or Intimidate) against him, or if the Warlord uses a C&C-style combat maneuver (like Disarm), use the following calculation:

The Conflict Check: $d20 + Level/HD + Attribute Modifier$ vs. Challenge Class (CC).
If the Warlord is resisting a modern firearm: He uses his Intelligence (Prime) to predict the trajectory, setting the CC at 12 + his HD (9) = 21.

Tactics in Play

The Monologue: He uses his high Charisma to attempt to turn the PCs against their "surface world masters," promising them a place in the new Atlantean order.
The Duel: He will single out the strongest-looking PC (the "Veteran" or "Fighter") for a 1-on-1 duel, using his Psychic Aegis to keep the other PCs from interfering with gunfire.
The Escape: If reduced to below 15 HP, he uses a "Vril-Flash," blinding everyone in the room (Constitution save) and disappearing into a hidden pressurized hatch.

Loot / Rewards

The Vril-Compass: A strange, humming device that points toward the nearest "Air-Pocket" or portal to the surface.
Chitin Dagger: A +1 weapon that functions as a magical focus for anyone with Night Shift supernatural abilities.

In the 1978 film, the Zaark are the massive, lumbering crustaceans used by the Atlanteans to retrieve "specimens" from the ocean floor. In an Inner Earth campaign, these function as Biological Siege Engines.

Using the C&C Monsters & Treasure framework for the "Heavy Lifting" and Night Shift for the horror/modern combat interaction, here is the Zaark War-Beast.

The Zaark (Atlantean War-Crustacean)

Size: Huge (15–20 feet tall)
HD: 11d10 (75 HP)
AC: 22 (Natural Carapace)
Attacks: 2 Pincers (2d10 damage), 1 Trample (3d6 damage)
Primes: Strength, Constitution
Move: 30 ft (40 ft in water)

Special Abilities

Pressure Resistance (Passive): The Zaark is immune to pressure-based damage and ignores the "Stopping Power" of modern small arms. Subtract 5 damage from every non-armor-piercing bullet hit.
Crushing Grip: If a Zaark hits with a pincer, the target is Grappled. On the creature's next turn, it automatically deals 2d10 crushing damage unless the target makes a Strength (C&C) or Athletics (Night Shift) check to escape.
The Pilot’s Link: These beasts are not truly wild. They are controlled by an Atlantean pilot in a "Psychic Saddle."
- Tactical Opportunity: A PC can target the pilot instead of the beast. The pilot has Cover (+4 AC) but much lower HP. If the pilot is killed or disconnected, the Zaark goes Feral, attacking the nearest living thing (usually the Atlantean guards).

Modern Interaction: The "Anti-Tank" Problem

In a Night Shift game, PCs often have access to high explosives or heavy weaponry. Here is how the Zaark handles them:

Frag Grenades: Essentially useless against the carapace; the Zaark treats these as "Stun" attacks. It must make a Constitution save (CC 12) or be staggered for 1 round.
High Explosives (C4/RPG): These ignore the Zaark's 5-point damage reduction. A direct hit with an RPG-7 deals 6d6 damage and forces a check to see if the carapace is cracked (reducing AC by 4).

The Encounter: The Breach

"The cavern walls shudder. You expect a rockslide, but instead, a massive, obsidian-colored claw punches through the limestone. It’s followed by a cluster of glowing red eyes and the stench of ancient brine. Atop the creature's head, an Atlantean officer sits in a throne of pulsing coral, directing the beast's fury toward your extraction team."

Adventure Hook: "The Molting Grounds"

The Atlanteans keep a "stables" in a geothermal cavern where the Zaark molt. During this time, their AC drops to 14, but they are hyper-aggressive. The PCs are tasked with planting Night Shift style thermite charges in the hatchery to cripple the Atlantean heavy cavalry before the invasion of the surface starts.
To keep this manageable and high-utility, I have organized these 100 Weird Science items by their function. These items blend the "Victorian-Future" aesthetic of Warlords of Atlantis with the gritty utility required for a Night Shift / C&C campaign.

The D100 Inner Earth Weird Science Table

D100	Item Name	Effect / Description
01-05	Vril-Capacitor	A glowing amber rod. Recharges any electronic device or adds +1d6 electrical damage to a melee weapon for 1 hour.
06-10	Pressure-Lung	A coral mask. Allows the user to breathe in water or toxic gas; looks like it’s "feeding" off the user's neck.
11-15	Obsidian Neural-Link	Headband that grants Telepathy (30ft) but causes 1 point of Psychic damage per minute of use.
16-20	Sonic Spanner	A tuning fork that opens any Atlantean lock or shatters non-reinforced glass instantly.
21-25	Bioluminescent Moss Gel	Smear on a surface to provide 60ft of "daylight" for 4 hours; sticky and smells like ozone.
26-30	Chitin Suture-Beetles	A jar of metallic insects that, when placed on a wound, stitch skin together (Heals 2d4 HP, but leaves "living" scars).
31-35	The Eye of Vaar	A handheld lens that shows "Heat Signatures" through up to 2 feet of solid rock.
36-40	Grav-Anchor	A heavy cube. When activated, it increases local gravity. Targets must make a Str Save (C&C) or be pinned.
41-45	Vril-Dart Launcher	A wrist-mounted tube. Fires needles that ignore non-magical armor; deals 1d4 dmg + Paralysis.
46-50	Memory Crystal	A jagged shard. When touched to a forehead, it "downloads" a map of one floor of the current dungeon.
51-55	Hydro-Core Grenade	Deals no damage, but creates a 20ft sphere of pressurized water that douses fires and knocks targets prone.
56-60	Symbiotic Rebreather	A chest-plate that filters oxygen from blood. PC doesn't need to breathe, but requires double food rations.
61-65	Aura-Scrambler	A small disc that makes the user invisible to Night Shift supernatural senses/detection for 10 mins.
61-70	Coral-Cerebrum	A "brain in a jar" that acts as a translator for any ancient Inner Earth language.
71-75	Molecular Resonator	A device that makes a 5ft section of wall brittle. One hit will shatter it.
76-80	Pheromone Sprayer	Grants a +4 bonus to Charisma (C&C) checks against beasts or crustaceans for 1 hour.
81-85	Phase-Shift Cloak	Allows the user to become "incorporeal" for 1 round. Usable 1/day.
86-90	The Sun-Seed	A small sphere that, when cracked, mimics a flashbang (Blindness) but deals 3d6 damage to undead/vampires.
91-95	Void-Staff	A staff that "eats" incoming spells or psychic attacks (Roll Int/Wis Save to negate the effect).
96-98	The Chronos-Dial	Briefly slows time. The user gains an extra Action this round, but takes a level of Exhaustion.
99	Living Chitin Armor	Suit of armor that grows onto the PC. AC 18, but it cannot be removed without a high-level ritual.
100	The Atlas Fragment	A device that shows the true location of the "Master Control" for the Seven Cities of Atlantis.

How to Use This Table

In Night Shift: These are "Supernatural Artifacts." Using them might require a Science or Occult check to avoid a mishap (like a Vril-Capacitor exploding).
In Castles & Crusades: These function as Magic Items, but they cannot be "Identified" by standard spells—only by trial and error or studying Atlantean lore.

Quick Roll Result (D100 Example)

If you roll a 19, the PCs find a Sonic Spanner.

The "Veteran" uses his modern engineering knowledge to realize the fork vibrates at a frequency that matches the molecular structure of the Atlantean alloys. Instead of picking the lock, he just "hums" the door open.

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