B1 In Search of the UnKnown By Mike Carr, The King in Yellow, & The Thirteen Parsecs rpg by Jason Vey- Session 1

 Were Rogahn the Fearless (a fighter of renown) and Zelligar the Unknown (a magic-user of mystery and power) both corrupted by the King in Yellow?! The players landed on the planet after exiting hyperspace into thier systems. They found the interstellar beacon to the ruined keep that secretly housed the hidden complex known as the Caverns of Quasqueton! We picked right up right from here on the blog. 

The player's PC's were able to access the keep and it's environs quite easily. Yet, there were those in the party who thought that Rogahn the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown might be alive ( hint they weren't). They did however come face to face with swaths of orcs, goblins, and several skeletons all under the horrid influence of the King in Yellow. 

 The PC's made it into the first floor of the keep. And came across the bodies of other former adventurers. These things were undead horrors under the King in Yellow's influence. These horrors attacked the PC's and this was followed by horns being sounded for goblin forces! 
The PC's were forced back into a back room by the adventurer horrors. And this is where we ended. 

The Thirteen Parsecs rpg has Chamber's King in Yellow as one of the possible campaign settings for the PC's. We took full advantage of the blank 'create your own adventure' format. Delta's D&D Hotspot has an excellent blog post on B1 Insearch of the Unknown. The   Caverns of Quasqueton has quite a dead on two levels of hard core dungeons. Add in the Chambers mythos of the King In Yellow & things get cosmic weird; " As noted by Mr. Wilde in The Repairer of Reputations:

"The ambition of Caesar and of Napoleon pales before that which could not rest until it had seized the minds of men and controlled even their unborn thoughts ... He is a king whom emperors have served."

 The PC' s are up too thier necks within the Chamberian aspects of our version of B1. The mysteries of  the Caverns of Quasqueton remains. 

B1 In Search of the UnKnown By Mike Carr, The King in Yellow, & The Thirteen Parsecs rpg by Jason Vey.

 "Many years ago, rumor has it, two noted interstellar personages in the area, Rogahn the Fearless (a fighter of renown) and Zelligar the Unknown (a magic-user of mystery and power) pooled their resources and expertise to construct a home and stronghold for the two of them to use as a spaced base of operations."

 What if the TSR classic era module B1 In Search of The Unknown by Mike Carr was used with Jason Vey's 13 Parsecs rpg?! 
Rogahn the Fearless (a fighter of renown) and Zelligar the Unknown (a magic-user of mystery and power) were a part of the interstellar scene where they were fighing the rising tide of the Yellow Mythos.
These two powerful influences constructed a hidden complex known as the Caverns of Quasqueton. And they disappeared. 
Thier legends drifted into oblivion until the first humanoid raiders and servants of the King in Yellow appeared. Orcs foul things mutated by the King's influence & insane begin to lay waste to the intersteller frontier. Perhaps the answers to thier spreading insanity can be found in the Caverns of Quasqueton?! Even as the King in Yellow's influence spreads perhaps all hope is not lost?! Now the question become have  the Caverns of Quasqueton come under the corrupting influence of the King in Yellow?! 

Now I didn't make any of the King in Yellow influence up. That would be Jason Vey whose used the Chambers mythos as a jump of point for the Thirteen Parsecs rpg as one of the possible campaign settings. Within this setting there are multiple tendrils of the King in Yellow infiltratrating intersetllar society on a number of levels. 
There's more goingg on here though. The King's influence is having a corrupting influence on interstellar affairs. This has put everything on edge and it seems to be getting worse according to the campaign setting. 
Thirteen Parsecs is easily understandable as a role playing game if the players and DM's are familiar with the world's most popular role playing game. The Science Fictional Rpg elements add something a bit different to the Robert W.Chambers King in Yellow mythology. Couple this with the background of Thirteen Parsecs and things should get very insane and interesting.

The Memories of The Ruins of Quasqueston -- The Myconids and B1 Insearch of the Unknown By Mike Carr

 My first encounter with the alieness of the dungeons of B/X & Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition came in the form of  Mike Carr's B1 Insearch of the Unknown. The fungus garden within the module was stocked with Shriekers, Violent Fungus, & tended by Myconids who owned that room. My uncle was DMing and it was back around when the Monster Manual II had been released. 

Full-page advertisement for module B1 "In Search of the Unknown" appearing in The Dragon #s 22-25 (February-May, 1979) from the OSR Grimoire blog. 

We'd been through B1 before but hadn't explored all of the ruin and there was something slightly off about the ruin at this point. The monsters were getting weirder as anti nature of the dungeon started to take over the ruins of B1. The underworld of the dungeons of Greyhawk began to infiltrate the ruins of Quasqueton . And it was during this time that we had a meeting with the  Myconids as they were flanked by Vegepygmies as bodyguards. And we found out that it was the Myconids that were introducing  shambling mounds, phantom fungi, assassin vines and roperlike plant monsters
 

And this was the first time that the ecology of the dungeons

 was controlled by other far more alien races. The decay of  the ruins of Quasqueton had allowed the fungus men into this once point of civilization. And it was also the first time that my wizard thought there might be something deeply sinister within the bowels of the caves of Quesquenton. And it was when we pentrated deeper into those ruins we came face to face with the Fiend Folio's hook horrors. And again these were brought in by the fungus men. The hook horrors survived on a diet of phycomids, shriekers, violet fungi, and zygoms 

The hook horror from the classic Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition Fiend Folio 

The Myconids simply saw themselves as gardeners and guardians of a different ecological system. And they were acting as druids spreading the life of thier own world to abandoned systems. We later on took over  the ruins of Quasqueton after learning that there was a gateway to other worlds deep within it's ruins. And we able to make peace with the Myconids as we let them have the lower levels of Quasqueton as long as they acted as guardians for the lower levels and didn't eat any of the household. It was only much later on that we learned that they had come over from Gamma Terra. The ecology of my uncle's dungeon was never static.  
And even when the adventurer's were absent the dungeon continued to attact monsters and other horrors to it. Even when we weren't playing my uncle as the DM was playing with and tweaking the dungeons of Quasqueton. 

The Gates of Quasqueton - Into The Borderlands - The Forces of Chaos - B1 Insearch Of the Unknown & Worlds Without Number/Adventurer, Conqueror, King rpg - Session Report Two

 The party in this morning's game faced down two companies of Orcs & the forces of Chaos assisting a necromancer. The party has thier own partners in the form of  the Zidhe Elves. And they got cornered right outside the Dwarven vaults of Azen Radokh! The necromancer in this morning's game wanted to parley. The party were having none of it! 

They kept the necromancer's half Orc major demo talking enough to allow the Elven party to gain access to the vault. And one of the party used a ring of teleportation to teleport back to the keep of  Quasqueton. This is so the ranger PC can warn the rest of the party. 
The Formorians who are actually incharge of the Orcs are not happy at all about where things are going. The party spotted the  Culach Hero and lord of the Fomorians Lord Culach across the field of battle. The party are not happy campers because of the fact that he's both a giant and a 7th level wizard as well! 

And this means that he's taken a personal interest within the party and claims the vaults of the Dwarves as his personal property. So he's got our characters in his sights! 
And will the party get B2 Keep on the Borderland's fortress to help them in time?! Or will the Orcs get a far more dangerous helping of humanoids to join them?! 

Meanwhile  the Zidhe Elves know of a wonder weapon near the capital of the Borderlands. But will they get too it in time?! The player's PC's have thier backs against the wall and they weren't expecting one of the campaign's heavy hitters to show up on the field of battle today. 

Now I'm working off of DM Steve's notes & working with a good deal of a learning curve here. And by using a twist on Stars Without Numbers and Worlds Without Number here mixed with a good deal of ACK's things have been moving along well. Hopefully next game we'll see the PC's in the Dwarven vaults! 

The Gates of Quasqueton - Into The Borderlands - B1 Insearch Of the Unknown & Worlds Without Number/Adventurer, Conqueror, King rpg - Session Report One

 Into the Borderlands, well it looks like I've got to take over a friend's World without Numbers game campaign today. And if you'll recall last year I actually got to play in DM Steve's Worlds without Number game and the session report is available right over here.  This morning's game got into some very interesting bits with the PC's defending the keep of  Quasqueton from maraudering forces of Chaos! 

Sunday's game session incorporated quite a bit of Adventurer, Conqueror, King into the mix as the forces of Chaos descended on the keep! We had three PC deaths as they went to engage a troll giant champion. We used CM4-01 FOMORIAN HERO NORC (50MM TALL) for this bastard and things went from bad to worse. 

The rest of the PC's had to use the Great Race of Yith gateway below the keep of  Quasqueton & call in other forces. 
The forces of Chaos continued to advance on our hereos. And things went from bad to worse as B2 Keep on the Borderlands humanoid army closed in! 

The players spilt the party on today's game with one half going to grab a Dwarven weapon from the dwarven vault of Azen Radokh. 
And the other half going deep into the forbidden lands of  the Zidhe Elves. 
The Zidhe decided to answer the ancient treaties and contracts!  The PC's then brought in reenforcements through the gate! 
Things got really nasty fast as the forces of Chaos's necromancer began the task of raising the dead as zombies and skeletons against the keep! And this is even with the Zidhe Elves! 

We're gonna half to put the call to other keeps! So B2 Keep on the Borderland is coming into focus here! 

Word has been sent to the other keep which is manned by other PC's in DM Steve's game. But a funeral and death in the family is preventing him from running this and so I've had to take over DMing. Meanwhile  the Zidhe Elves know of a wonder weapon near the capital of the Borderlands.

I'm working off another DM's notes here and DM Steve has incorporated a good number of Alternative Armies Hordes of the Future into his campaign. This includes a huge number of conversions over to Stars Without Number. And so I've made a copy of his campaign notes and have been going through them. Great looks like there's going to be a bit of a learning curve here for me. 

I'm going to have a bit a time shoving in my own Stars Without Numbers/Orbital Decay bits into the back of this campaign. More coming up as I play catch up with campaign notes and more. 

Running B1 In Search of the Unknown By Mike Carr for an OSR Sword & Sorcery Campaign Jump Off Point

 So tonight I was listening to the Bigus Geekus stream on youtube & it was a good stream.  However all the talk about pre generated PC's and Con's got me thinking about basic play in Castles & Crusades. Or starting a campaign & reading through 'The OSR Grimoire' blog got me thinking about using a classic TSR adventure. And so once again Dave Carr's B1 In Search of The Unknown is in my hands. 

There are several reasons to use B1 & the module plot while basic serves up it's history and rational well:"Many years ago two wealthy adventurers, Rogahn the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown, built a hidden complex known as the Caverns of Quasqueton. From this base, they conducted their affairs away from the prying eyes of civilization. While of questionable ethical standing, the two drove back a barbarian invasion and gained the support of locals. Eventually, they gathered their own army and went on an expedition against said enemies, where they met their demise." 
So Dave Carr's B1 'In Search of The Unknown' is a great module to pair up with Gary Gygax's B2 Keep on the Borderlands. Why because the PC's could hear rumors about the humanoids invading the various nearby human lands and sacking villages. Perhaps the abode of Rogahn the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown could hold answers. And as simple as that we're off to the races. 

What if the ruins of the abode of these two really might hold answers?! How well B1 is actually a how to build a dungeon module. And it's very easy to add in Castle & Crusade monsters & treasure from the Castles & Crusades Monsters & Treasures book. 

Add in the fact that the humanoid monsters from B1 might actually be scouts for the advancing armies of Chaos and things get very interesting very fast. The PC's might after ransacking the  abode of Rogahn the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown might stumble into  the Caverns of Quasqueton. This is where the party found the journal that belonged Rogahn the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown which detailed thier interactions with the Caves of Chaos from B2 The Keep on the Borderland. These two NPC's cast a very long shadow within our campaign by having served the lord of the keep. 
And having been vassel rulers of the Village of Hommlet. If one is going to run B2 In Search of the Unknown be aware that it's a pretty dangerous module. Also be sure to download  the B1 Campaign Sourcebook. There's a ton of additional material within the B1 Campaign Sourcebook. We actually had the PC's be related to both Rogahn the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown there by having a far more personal connection to the classic adventure. Eventually the PC's eventually laid claim to both the keep and the fortress of Rogahn the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown . 

What works so well with running B1 In Search of the Unknown with Castles & Crusades is how responsive the C&C system is to classic modules. C&C is easy to house rule, run, and take on play from the ground up. 

All one needs too run  is the C&C  player's handbook & maybe C&C Monsters & Treasure. 
 B1 is a template & tool box for running adventures & modules. This slots the adventure right into your own C&C or old school campaign. Framing the adventure within campaign is simple and easy as play can help to determine the role that B1 has within your campaigns. 

We've run B1 numerous times across the board in various campaigns. So using a classic module for Castles & Crusades isn't rocket science. I hate to use that turn of phrase but it's true.  For our own Chronicles of Yerth Sword & Sorcery campaign. We started with B1 In Search of the Unknown and it was the foul dealings of  Rogahn the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown that got us involved. The two heroes were actually incharge of the barbarian army that they   'vanquished' but were actually building a mercenary army to help topple the king. Unfortunately for them the cult of Elemental Evil's faction in the Caves of Chaos rose up and killed them. This has led to the region of the Borderlands stagnating. Enter the party here. 

There are several reasons why B1 In Search of the Unknown Works for a Castles & Crusades Campaign : 

1. B1 is not well known today and is out right dismissed by less experienced players and so it's tricks & traps are unknown to these players. 
2. B1 In Search of the Unknown is a great module to tie into your home campaign because this is what it was created to do. 
3. Rogahn the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown are blank slates easily modified for your C&C adventures. They can act as hooks into other adventures. 
4. B1's caverns could have tunnels that lead into other dungeons further expanding the role that B1's adventure location might play within your campaigns. 
5. There's something that seems to draw back players to B1 In Search of the Unknown again & again. 

Swords & Sorcery Commentary On B1 'In Search of the Unknown' By Mike Carr For Your Old School Campaigns

 "Many years ago two wealthy adventurers, Rogahn the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown, built a hidden complex known as the Caverns of Quasqueton. From this base, they conducted their affairs away from the prying eyes of civilization. While of questionable ethical standing, the two drove back a barbarian invasion and gained the support of locals. Eventually, they gathered their own army and went on an expedition against said enemies, where they met their demise."

B1 'In Search of the Unknown' By Mike Carr remains a favorite module of mine & I've lost count as too the number of times that I've DM'ed this classic module. The module if run correctly reminds me of one of the isolated locations that surround Robert E. Howard's classic Conan story 'Red Nails'. How so?! The lands surrounding the Caverns of Quasqueton could in point of fact be the temperate version of the desert ruins the lands of Rogahn the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown. 
If we begin looking at the monsters that inhabit the fortress of Rogahn the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown we get a plethora of B/X favorites including  orcs, troglodytes, and giant rats. Nothing too unusual about those. But where are  the Caverns of Quasqueton?! If we were using the classic world of Greyhawk then I'd say in a hidden valley not too far from the capital of Greyhawk. 
However since our own group has been sliding into the Hyperborea rpg then I would say that it would be not more then a hundred or so miles from the Hyperborean capital of Khromarium. And I believe that the lands of Rogahn the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown remained lost today. Who were the barbarians that tried to sack Hyperborea's kings before the Green Death took them down?! I believe it would have been a slave revolt of half caste slaves who had taken up the life of raiders. 
Rogahn the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown weren't the most dangerous or the bravest of the Hyperborean generals. They were however brutal,very cagey, & possibly some of the most evil. They probably employed forbidden magicks & brutal military tactics to put down the slave rebellion turned raider army. 
The Hyperborean royals rewarded the lands & treasures  too  Rogahn the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown. These two cagey adventurers had known about the ruins of Quasqueton. See Quasqueton had belonged to an older race & there was a time space gate built there by the Great Race of Yith. 

Great Race of Yith By King of Rats on Deviant Art here. 

In our old AS&SH game campaign the time & space gate went to Old Mars. But since I'm going to run this for a new group of players, well it remains unknown. Why have the dungeons & ruins of Quasqueton remained?! Well according to my old notes the ruins & dungeons have remained because of a weakened time field surrounding the lands of Rogahn the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown. These semi techno magical fields actually attract monsters from the surrounding lands. But there's far more too the caverns of Quasqueton then meets the eye. We'll get into what it in a future blog entry. 

G1 Legion of Gold & GW2 Famine In Far- Go as Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Campaign Basis

 ""Far-Go is dying... the people are afraid... the animals are wasting away... the crops are withering in the fields. No one, even Arx Skystone, the high priest, knows what has caused Far-Go's misfortune. You are part of a group of young adventurers about to begin the sacred Rite of Adulthood. The last hope of survival for Far-Go rests with your party. On your journey to the Forest of Knowledge, you must search for clues to the origin of the mysterious plague. This quest may lead you into great danger... and great knowledge."

" As you travel through the savage wilderness, all you have are you companions, your wits, your strength... and your dreams!! This module contains referee notes, background information, maps, new creatures, mutations, robotic units and new rules for Pure Strain Humans for use with Gamma World Science Fantasy Game..."

So GW2 Famine In Far- Go by Michael Price is possibly one of my second favorite rpg modules ever. And to run this with a combination of Gamma World & Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition campaign. The sequence of modules that we'd use   Famine In Far -Go By Michael Price, GW1 Legion of Gold By Gary Gygax,Luke Gygax, Paul Reiche Ill & finally  S3 Expediation To The Barrier Peaks By Gary Gygax. 
The crashing of the Warden Science star ship & it's cargo of alien monsters upon a campaign world causes all kinds of havoc. Food stuff starts dying off ala Famine in Far- Go as the rite of passage for the PC's kicks off. 

This causes the Reaper A.I. to begin raiding & causing the legion to recruit rew members. The signal from the Warden science vessel then to have the cybernetic installation to go insane. And this is sensed by the area's android overlords who then act on it.



 The Warden's science vessel begins dumping monsters into the Duchy of Geoff an ally of the Barony of Horn. "Within the last few months, however, a walled town not far distant from the area, and four small fortresses as well, have been destroyed by mysterious attacks!" 
These could well be other fortress towns similar to B2 Keep on the Borderlands. In which the forces of Chaos has sensed the dropping out of the sky of the skyship the Warden science vessel. 

Events around the Caves of Chaos could tie into the idea of the party encountering pig faced orcs within the GW1. These various races of Chaos see the Warden science vessel as a 'star of Chaos' & this could tie back into the abandoning of the Dwarven mines in B1 'In Search of the Unknown'. Perhaps the very nature of   the Caverns of Quasqueton plays up what Rogahn the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown were tapped into. And these two leaders of men knew about the famine coming to grip the land. 

Is the Reaper A.I. actually reacting to the build up of the humanoids within B2 Keep of the Borderland?! This brings up lots of possibilities for the forces of Chaos & evil within B1 & B2. The chicken factory within Famine In Far- Go is key to feeding not only the player's tribal lands but also the buffer nations within the Grand Duchy of Geoff & The Barony of Horn. 

OSR Campaign & Adventure Commentary - B1 In Search of the Unknown By Mike Carr Remix With SURVIVE THIS!! Vigilante City & WWII: Operation WhiteBox By Peter C. Spahn Session Report II

 

This blog entry is going to pick right up from yesterday's right here. So the player's PCs last night in the first part of the mini Con got far more then they were expecting in B1 In Search of the Unknown By Mike Carr Remix 1939 pre WWII game. They came upon the mangled remains of a G.I. Robot & then the magic mouth's kicked in;" The east mouth speaks first, in a booming voice: "WHO DARES ENTER THIS PLACE AND INTRUDE UPON THE SANCTUARY OF ITS INHABITANTS?" After but a moment, and drowning out any attempted reply by the party, comes the reply from the west mouth: "ONLY A GROUP OF FOOLHARDY EXPLORERS DOOMED TO CERTAIN DEATH!" Then both mouths will shout in unison, "WOE TO ANY WHO PASS THIS PLACE-THE WRATH OF ZELLIGAR AND ROGAHN WILL BE UPON THEM!" " 

Our party's gadgeteer started to repair the  G.I. Robot which was actually Jason's replacement PC. And for balance most of his weapon's systems were out of ammo. But Jason rolled to adapt his systems and could use any ammo his PC's ran across. And that's when the PC's ran into the bodies of fellow adventurers who then came to life. These are zombies under the control of the nine kings buried in the lowest levels of the dungeon. Some machine gun fire made short work of the zombies but PC's were convinced that there were Nazi alive deeper in the dungeons of  Quasqueton. we're  using a lot of gear & options from  OWB001: WWII: Operation WhiteBox By Peter C. Spahn

But so are the bad guys & the PC's took machine gun fire as they entered deeper into the first level of the complex ! And the players called time out as there should not have been any Nazi alive?! So how did the Nazi get deeper into the complex of Quasqueton?! That's when the PC's heard the familar laughter of  Sturmbannführer Hoffrichter and  his vampiric  SS Troopers!  And that's when the players put it together. They left Sturmbannführer Hoffrichter staked out for the sun. That's when the players met Steven Hoffrichter (brother to Sturmbannführer Hoffrichter0   the necromancer & cultist along with his rat like familiar Herr Colin. Cue Reanimator theme music here! One of the players remarked that he hates the Hoffrichter family! 
Steven Hoffrichter has some very distinct advantages with his bevey of mutant animal troops both living & dead waiting for the PC's! This is all thanks to the weird science of  SURVIVE THIS!! Vigilante City - Into The Sewers!. This title goes deeply into adding in a huge variety of Anthropomorph options. 
There also a surprise villain coming up in tomorrow's game! Stay tuned! 

OSR Campaign & Adventure Commentary - B1 In Search of the Unknown By Mike Carr Remix With SURVIVE THIS!! Vigilante City & WWII: Operation WhiteBox By Peter C. Spahn

 So last night's 1939 OSR crossover  game came off without a hitch but now there's an idea brewing in the back of my head. So the idea goes like this B1 In search of the Unknown has already been set up as this weekend's little mini Con romp. Now over the years B1 & B2 have been used multiple times at the table top level. So this is going to pick right up from here on the blog. So  a small  castle on the Austarian border known as Quasqueton holds far more then the player's PC's or the Nazi realize. 

So deep below the castle there are the tombs of a group of cursed nine  Svartálfar kings   who were cursed by Odin for an insult thousands of years ago & entombed within Quasqueton. Their undead state & aura of evil attracted all kinds of monsters during the Dark Ages. The castle itself is a part of the 'other place' an other dimensional realm of dark and twisted Science Fantasy. 
What we've simply done is taken B1 In Search of the Unknown & added in Bloat Games 'Pay What You Want' White Box Zombies Dark Elf Zombies. Very simple and very direct module remix of B1. 

The Nazi expedition didn't make it very far into  Quasqueton as a swarm of striges took out most of the soldiers and some of the officers. Now let's stop and look at 

SURVIVE THIS!! Vigilante City - Superhero Team-Up! which actually has some rules for running a supers team through adventures. There are some advantages that are presented within. But the addition to the SURVIVE THIS!! Vigilante City rpg are solidly done. But are they going to help you against B1?! The short answer is no not at all. 

Keeping the monsters, stats, etc. within B1 does absolutely nothing to the balance between the classic module & the 'pick what you want' adventure module. We've covered this module extensively on the blog here and yes that includes the B1 Sourcebook which is one of the essential books for B1 In Search of the Unknown. Will the PC's survive?! That remains to be seen.  But we're  using a lot of gear & options from  OWB001: WWII: Operation WhiteBox By Peter C. Spahn

So far we've had a few deaths on our other missions & we'll go over the replacements soon. Mist has taken over the leadership position for the group. And the party has had some help from a G.I. Robot but it hasn't joined in as full time party member yet. 
Stay tuned more coming up as we approach the Fourth of July weekend.