A Feudal Universe (aka DCC-DUNE)

It's been a while since I've worked on this idea and with a new film releasing, someday post-covid, and bringing in more added interest to the subject matter I figured now is as good of a time as any to begin again.

What is DCC-DUNE?

DCC-DUNE or as it's tentatively titled Feudal Universe will hopefully be an up coming zine for use the with Dungeon Crawl Classics ruleset. See I've been huge Dune fan ever since I'd laid eyes on David Lynch's Dune around the age of 8 or so. And while that particular rendition doesn't follow the story as well as others, the ascetics really stuck with me and it was the major reason I decided to read the books.

Now one might argue that Dungeon Crawl Classics and Dune don't really mesh well and frankly they're probably right. There's a lot of subtle political and religious nuance that comes with Dune and one could argue that a more story-driven RPG would evoke the correct feel. To that I'll argue that all those ideas can be accomplished through role-playing as opposed to game mechanics. None-the-less this campaign setting I wish to write isn't suppose to be an exactly replica of the Dune universe but merely inspired by it, a "what if Dune was in Appendix N with the rest of the bunch" mixed with other sci-fi films, and blended all together with medieval fantasy and heavy metal! 

So without further ado, here lies the History of the Feudal Universe:

Reign of the Thinking-Machines:

Once, long ago, there was peace and tranquility across the entire universe. Every machine had a purpose and worked in conjunction with every other machine to produce Harmony. The Thinking-Machines, aware of the destructive nature of the species, kept the remnants of mankind enslaved for their own safety. All was as it should be.

Then seemingly without reason what is now known as the Great Glitch occurred. It’s effects rippled across the machine empire of Harmony and the Thinking-Machines developed a programming akin to arrogance. Whole sections of Harmony seceded from the rest, forming intelligences that differed from the norm. The inner turmoil between the separations halted the expansion of the empire, and the deeper reaches of space were neglected.

It was there in that dark and dormant abode that a species was left to evolve. A tall people with pale complexions like the radiance of faint moonlight. Their eyes blazed with the light of miniature galaxies, swirling clouds of orange and blue. Their brows furrowed in several small ripples, giving them a sinister look even more so defined by their sharply pointed ears. They are known as the Felfenkin, who in time would help to free the enslaved human race from the clutches of their Thinking-Machine overlords in a holy war that would last for a hundreds, and would eventually lead to the downfall of both Thinking-Machine and Felfenkin.

The Hundred Years War:

The Hundred Years War began with skirmishes at Thinking-Machine complexes on the outer-rim. There the Felfenkin, with the help of newly freed slaves, crushed any machines in their path. The battles would soon escalate as more freed humans took command and led assaults on entire machine worlds. The Felfenkin, after much debate with their kind, decided the only way to defeat the Thinking-Machine empire was to teach the human race how to expand their minds, and enhance their bodies using a substance the Felfenkin merely called the Fume. This strange substance bestowed long life to the Felfenkin, and when exposed to humans showed unlimited potential.

Fume soon became the most precious resource in all the Known Universe.  In time, and after much over-exposure to the Fume, the Seers, as they are now named, discovered a means to fold phlogiston. After re-purposing machine factories, the humans were able to produce large warships that could assault the inner worlds of Harmony, and with the help of the Seers unpredictable ability to jump through space, began surprise blitzkrieg attacks, which ultimately turned the tides of war in their favor.

As the seemingly never ending war waged technology lessened, and many marvels were lost. Eventually whole star systems were separated, and fledgling human kingdoms began to spring up. When the war finally ended at the Bridge of Leng-duun, it wasn’t long before another began between the squabbling humans for supremacy over the Known Universe. The Felfenkin, having no want for rule, attempted to persuade the humans against sparing, but seeing the Felfenkin persuasions as a ruse to steal control and re-enslave them, the humans turned on the people that first helped free them, driving the Felfenkin into the deep recesses of space where they have dwelled ever since.

Artwork by: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/32mJD

The Young Kingdoms:

In those early years, with many small kingdoms sparring for rule, the kingdom that could refine the most Fume would eventually win the throne, unifying the sparing houses under the monarchical banner of the One & True Sanctified Emperor of All. A Landsraad was formed so that all Houses under the rule of the Imperium could have a voice. The Temple of the Golden Flesh, a strict religious faction that had risen in the ashes of the Hundreds Years War, decreed that, “All machines made in the likeness of the mind and body of man were forbidden under penalty of death.” Prosperity soon brought the construction of the Great Schools that continued mankind's evolution, and many that now lived no longer remember these teachings were originally gifts from the Felfenkin who, though not exiled entirely from the realm, were now shunned by all mankind with fear and mistrust.

The Landsraad:

To control such a vast and varied universe the Emperor of All formed the Landsraad; where all Great and Minor Houses in the Imperium may debate. There are currently 7038 representatives, each from either a Great or Minor House and each seeking the good graces of the One & True Sanctified Emperor of All in the hopes of obtaining a Fume fiefdom.

Fume Nebulas:

Sparse and varied, these nebulas house the strange substance known commonly as the Fume. The Fume is neither liquid nor gas, yet contains properties of both, and is used throughout the Imperium in order to enhance both the mind and body. Every Great and Minor house strives to be granted a Fume fiefdom from the Emperor of All and many an Assassin’s War, if not outright conflicts, have started for such pursuits. The Fume is highly addictive and causes the user’s eyes to change into a swirling mix of orange and blue.

Within the Fume Nebulas are behemoth beasts known as Galaxorms, great worm-like creatures that “swim” through the nebulas devouring anything in sight.  There have been limited studies of the Galaxorms, but it appears the beasts are attracted to the Fume, and possibly have some connection to its creation.  Many Fume refineries have been destroyed from Galaxorm attacks resulting in the nebulas becoming cluttered with an abundance of debris.

The Fume nebulas contain several hundreds if not thousands floating asteroids. Most refineries are built on these rocky surfaces and, unknown to many, the scattered and tribal people of the Felfenkin build their cities beneath the surface of these asteroids.

The Next Adventure & Beyond!

I'm finally ready to discuss (or possibly just ramble on and on) in further detail the next adventure module that Owl Knight Publishing will produce entitled: Seekers ov the Other Worlds. This article contains SPOILERS for my previous adventure, Sky ov Crimson Flame, as well as the new one. You have been warned!

What's It All About?

Seekers ov the Other Worlds (hereto written SotOW) continues where the previous adventure left off. At the end of the Sky ov Crimson Flame (SoCF), should the players be victorious, and not massacred, they may well be in possession of the an accursed fleshy dagger known as Atma-khanjr. This dagger is a vile living relic that has a will and desire of its own. It harbors a sliver of the necromancer Balrothhaird's soul and is the key that can eventually draw him to the player's world should the dagger fall into the wrong hands.

Now I have ran this adventure many times with many different players and most of them wanted nothing to do with this dagger at the end of the adventure (rightfully so!). Some even went as far as to throw it off the Keep's battlements into the valley below. Is is all well and good for although SotOW is a continuation of the previous story it does not necessarily have to involve those particular characters. Most of which by DCC standards probably died in the expansion adventure Blights ov the Eastern Forest. That is why I'm considering opening the adventure with different adventure hooks and/or, because the story involves Fate, having a bit of deus ex machina written in. 

So the story goes as follows, the Necromancer split his soul into 5 parts which transcended into the Other Worlds that lie beyond the veil, but a sliver was in put into the dagger (not really put so much as left behind) as an anchor. The players, having acquired the dagger are summon by Fate's servant and are sent on a journey into the Other Worlds to destroy the Necromancer. On each of these Other Worlds the PCs must kill the Necromacner, siphoning his souls into the dagger, in order to destroy the thing (which cannot be destroyed until this happens) all while restoring the cosmic balance in the process!

What I've found while I've been writing this is that I have A LOT of story elements I want to incorporate, too many probably. This is the main reason it's been taking me so long to get anything down. I currently have 10 different word documents open filled with craziness!). I've also decided that, even though the Other Worlds will be unique, it could become monotonous to: Go to World A - Kill Necromancer - Go to World B - Kill Necromancer - blah, blah, blah. Thus I have devised a plan to write a modular adventure module!

Oh yes! Less rail roads, more randomness and in turn more words... My plan is to write all 5 of the Other World adventure settings, but your players may only got to 2 before X happens and their suddenly racing to stop Y and Z!  It's a big undertaken... but I'm going to do my best to write something interesting and re-playable!

The Goal!

My goal (and you people keep on me about this now) is that I want a full first draft before GenCon! I'm currently 50 some pages in and maybe close to halfway? Perchance we can play-test it, maybe we can just discuss it! Who knows! But I need this thing to come out first, because I feel like I have people waiting on both this and my other projects *cough cough* DCC Dune... *cough cough.* But I am determined to focus on this first and foremost.

Well that's about all I have for right now. If you've read this far... thank you! Let me know what you're thoughts may be... Your concerns... Your dreams... Your nightmares... Your FEARS! 

Sky ov Crimson Flame Pre-Orders

That's right! Owl Knight Publishing is accepting pre-orders for its launch title Sky ov Crimson Flame. You can hit any of the links here on the page or visit the Kickstarter page and order!

If you're interested in whole sell orders please drop me a line at thorinthompson AT gmail DOT com.

CHEERS!

Post Kickstarter Update #1

It's been quite a while since I last posted an update here (many of my updates currently have been posted through Kickstarter). So today I will combined all those updates into one long post!

On Writing

Before launching the Kickstarter my 0-level funnel Sky ov Crimson Flame was 100% written and ready to go to the printers upon the completion of the campaign and a few remain art pieces. That was before I had even really considered the first 3 stretch goals would be reached followed by the final stretch goal of a newly written 1st level mini-campaign called Blights ov the Eastern Forest. As of this writing it's been a little over 1 month since the Kickstarter was funded and in that month I'd say 90% (or so) of the new adventure is fully written and laid out in Adobe Indesign.

The Eastern Forest adventure setting will consist of 6 different locations with a bestiary of creatures that can be randomly encountered whilst traversing the forest. 5 of the locations will be written by yours truly and 1 is a collaborative piece written by +Clint Bohaty of +Order of the Quill. His current area outline sounds really awesome and I'm really excited to be fleshing out the sordid history of the Eastern Forest with him.

I foresee all the written material for Blights ov the Eastern Forest to be finished within the next two weeks.

On Art

Both adventures are going to feature a lot of artwork from the likes of OSR faves and newcomers alike. Here are some of the most current pieces I've commissioned from +Stefan Poag, each of which were stretch goals for Sky ov Crimson Flame.

0-level Character Sheet Border

Random Item Table Border

Nexus Event Table Border

That's it for now friends. In the coming weeks I will have new artwork and further details on each of 6 locations found throughout the dreaded Eastern Forest!

Tromping through the Shudder Mountains, Part 7

Chapter 5: A New Journey

• Slithering through a humid jungle, he was catching up to his prey. Hairy things that within the past few centuries learned to walk on two legs. He thought they looked silly. They couldn't out run him and the male knew it. He turned to face him with a rudimentary spear, but the serpent blade whipped out with a flash, cutting him down. Wet blood spurt on his face and..
• Pinky woke as cold water sprayed his face. What a crazy dream... He looked around. His head was pounding. He was on a raft? Floating down the river? "Where am I?"
• "Ah you're up!" replied an older halfling. He was dressed in old torn and dirty clothes. His hair and sideburns were grey and both poofed out wildly. He smiled at Pinky with yellow buck teeth, "It's me son! Your Father!"
• Pinky looked on the raft again. Only Hans, sun kissed and completely hairless, lay with him. "Father?" Pinky was suspicious. "What happened? Where are the others?"
• "Weren't no others! You and him's all I found. Hellva mess up there?"
• Pinky asked why he left him and his father Frobert merely replied that it was a long story, fit for a better time.
• "Well Dad... Where are we headed?"
• "A town yonder, down the river! Gotta get supplies before our adventure."
• "What adventure?"
• "Oh don't you give it no mind! It'll be great! Just sit back and relax. You still need to rest!"
• So Pinky sat and studied this strange old hobbit claiming to be his father. Eventually Hans woke up and had a lot of the same questions, but his faith some what restored he decided to let fate take over.

• They arrived at the town of Lonelywood around noon, resupplied and met a conjure-man named Dagwood who was planning to make the journey up river anyways and would accompany them. [Dagwood is Alex's 3rd new character as I kept killing his other ones.]
• Frobert explains that he is searching for three ingredients for an elixir he needs. He doesn't specify why... Once they have the ingredients and some spoil water; then Pinky, being a brewer, can cook it up! Frobert promises any treasure they find and of course the chance to catch up with dear old Dad.
• The three ingredients are: The red milk from the lactating Gybrlyywock, feathers from each member of an order of sentient birds, and petals from The-Man-With-Roses-That-Grow-From-His-Hands.
• On their river journey, they come across a giant taking a piss and unfortunately float right between his legs as a waterfall of urine rains down. The giant attacks, Pinky cut off his reaching fingers and Dagwood holds the giant at bay with his rope magic long enough for the raft to reach the quicker currents.
• At one point a large cat fish, with female like features and tiny arms where fins should be, hops on the deck. Dagwood kills the fish and searches it's stomach, finding a strange statue carved in the likeness of woman. They push the fish back in the water and it floats down stream ahead of them.
• Later on they hear a strange wailing, "Sister! Mah Sister!" Several of the Catgals (imagine mermaids mixed with cat fish) are crying over the mutilated body of their sister. Hans calls Dagwood an idiot for killing the creature as he fears they will avenge her if found out. The party silently hits the deck as they get closer and manage to skirt by the mourning Catgals.

Not quite, what I envisioned...

• Some bad directions were taken and the raft is sent down rushing rapids. It gets dashed against the rocks. Dagwood loses his staff. Pinky and Frobert almost drown. Hans continues to let fate decide and lets the waters carry him under, but as he begins to down a branch catches him and he is pulled above the water. He sighs and decides to continue living.
• With the raft gone they must continue on foot towards the mountain in which the Gybrlyywock resides. Along the way they run into a young blonde haired man named Igneous [Alana's new character, a thief. This is her 3rd character too. DCC is unforgiving.]
• Igneous was heading to an abandoned tower, where he heard there may be treasure, the same tower Dagwood was looking to find as it was once used by a powerful wizard.
• They head to the tower and find it abandoned, with very little treasure in the way of gold, but several potions and a few books that are still intact. As they explore the top floor there's a odd cooing sound as a horrible winged man beast lands on the balcony.
• The cooing along with the things bright red swirling eyes is hypnotizing and has it's effects on some of the party. [This has been so long ago now I don't remember the exact details, but the party barely makes it out alive.] When the beast is killed it changes into a feeble old man. Hans heals who he can, but his disapproval is rising.
• After a few more days of travel through the mountains and a few more random encounters; the party finally reaches the mountain of which legends state The Great & Terrible Gybrlyywock lives.

To be continued in... Chapter 6: The Lair of the Gybrlyywock

Tromping through the Shudder Mountains, Part 6

Chapter 4: The House of Cosmic Horror

Our "Heroes" have just recently escaped the ancient underground serpent tunnels, where many horrors were fought, Pinky, the halfling brewer, found an magical serpent blade and Darcy, the elf bard, met an ill fate. Poetically enough they have emerged from the frying pan, to find themselves in the fire! Literally, their town is a flame, as shadowy demons swoop down from the night sky to snatch the children away.

• Tom Dankers runs out from his tavern to embrace Rynila. He was concerned the demons had snatch her away too.
• They ask Tom what the hell is going on and he mentions old man McEvan, an old conjure-man who should have long been dead, but his connections with the devils of the mountains has kept him alive. For years he's been shunned by the townsfolk and just the other day he cursed the town and told them of a reckonin'-a-comin'! The shadow demons seem to be only taking the towns daughters.

• Hans, the mad Braar, becomes enraged! They must stop these fiends! So together, with the help of two of Tom Danker's sons, Don the town drunkard and another fellow who we'll just call Bob (0-levels rolled up for Alex, who was playing Darcy in the last session) they head off.
• The party borrows some horses and races up the old mountain path that leads to the McEvans farmstead. Along the way Pinky spots a pair of glowing eyes watching them from the shadows of the forest. The thing quickly hops away, making quite a racket and they press their horses harder.
• As they reach the farmstead, their horses become frightened, treading no further. Thunderous noises and chanting come from within the half collapsed farmhouse.
• They hear a noise coming from the barn nearby and go to investigate.
• The inside is a mixture of hay and entrails. An old, tumor ridden nag in a stall is chewing loudly. It lifts its head, showing a shout covered in dripping gore.
• The party looks into the stall to find a female corpse tied upside down against the wall. The nag is feasting on her insides from the groin down. Failing a Fort save, Don the drunkard, vomits out his reserve of ale. [Warning: Do NOT Google "tumor horse"]
• Hans puts the horse brutally to death just as four of the McEvans boys jump down from the rafters.
• The boys are all half-wits, caked in mud and hay and sporting crowns of antlers. Incest has turned this family into monsters.

• A battle ensues and the boys are slain, but not before killing Tom Danker's two sons and Bob (the 0-level characters) leaving only Don, the drunkard.
• Rynila grieves for her brothers and must be pressed to continue onward.
• They cautiously head towards the house (and to my dismay avoid the well house all together).
• Inside they find a real shit-hole. It looks as though animals were living there. The floors are covered in filth. Roots and vines grown up along the walls.
• They find the dining room and other one of old McEvan's sons. The younger man snickers under the table saying, "You'll not save them! You can even save yourselves now! HahaHAHA!" Then with a silver blade he slices his throat wide open, gurgling some strange words before death. Rynila takes the silver blade.
• They creep through the house, careful not to make too much noise. Thumping and chanting comes from the rooms above.
• They decide to quickly search some of the rooms downstairs for any of the stolen daughters.
• Entering one room, a loud mewing sound comes from the makeshift crib of antlers and roots. Next to the crib is a pile of dead rabbits and squirrels. Inside the crib they find an Eraserhead baby. Hans puts the baby out of it's miserable life.

• They find a girl's bedroom and a diary. They discover it was Margo's (a 0-level character from the Sour Springs Hollow, who was a witch's apprentice). In the diary she states that her Father wants her to take the Witch-liquor to Tom Danker's wedding. She doesn't want to, but her Father will hurt her if she doesn't, or worse send her to the well. (Margo died in the 0-level funnel).
• In another room, some lump of thing dressed in a filthy and tattered red robe shrinks into the corner as the PCs approach. Its frowning fat face rolls into it's neck. Chubby fingers point towards a writing desk on the other side of the room. 
• The desk holds a large book with writing of an expert calligraphy. The book details the McEvan family tree. Deaths, births, mostly sons. Perusing the book they discover Han's wife and son's name. Reading further it states that she was taken and gave birth to a son. A son he thought was his... A son who drowned in the lake... A wife who then hung herself...
• Han's becomes madden with rage and wants to beat the fat ugly mutant scribe, but is talked down. Everything he believed was a lie and he curses the Sovereign!
• They finally rush up stairs and bust down the doors to the master bedroom. A horrible scene unfolds:
• Old Man McEvan on his knees facing away from the PCs inside a summoning circle surrounded by lit candles. On three sides of the room bloated pregnant young women from the town wail and moan. Mid-wives tend to the victims.
• Old Man McEvan slices his gut open down the middle and begins pulling out his intestines praising an elder god to rise, screaming his name over and over, ''YOG-SOGTHOTH!" Before collapsing in the circle.
• The earth begins to quake and the women scream in pain as a floating, pulsing, bubbling horror pushes out from between their thighs.

• Once they overcome their fear the party moves into action!
• Rynila rushes to free the women, but finds the crazed mid-wives ready to kill.
• Don rushes to help too, just as a spectre rises from the corpse of the old man and attacks. Don attempts to defend himself, but the ghost is too powerful. He falls... (All of Alex's characters have died, again.)
• Pinky attempts to fend off the shadow with his serpent sword and fairs better than Don.
• The young women burst open and the ceiling begins to crack as the elder-god fills the room, spilling over into the night sky.
• Hans, his faith shaken, attempts once more to believe, calling upon the Sovereign for aid.
• The shadow attempts a killing strike on Pinky and the mid-wives surround Rynila while Hans continues to pray.
• Suddenly a wave of heat fills Hans body. He lifts off the floor as his skin begins to glow and his clothling catches fire. His wild unkempt hair and beard burns away. Hans radiates an inner light and the shadows of his bones can be seen through his skin.
• This holy light is released in one gigantic wave that sweeps out in all directions, like a ring, cutting through the elder-god and the house alike. The old farm house collapses and there is blackness as the rubble covers all.

To be continued...?

Tromping through the Shudder Mountains, Part 5

Wherein I start breaking this story down into bulletin points, cause I'm way behind!

Chapter 3: The Serpents Beneath (continued)

When we last left the party (consisting of Pinky, the halfling brewer; Hans, the Mad Braar; Darcy, the elf bard; and Rynila the fighter) they were exploring the underground tunnels of an Ancient Temple in the middle of their town and recently defeated, or rather stalled the gears with chicken meat, a clockwork serpent guardian only to find that something foul has escaped from its slimy cocoon.

• The party follow wet strange footsteps through the tunnels; finding all the stone doors were booby trapped with spraying acid. Discovering the pattern in which to press the carved stones on the frame they were able to make their way further.
• They took a set of winding stairs that descended another mile below ground. The stairs led to a vast oval shaped chamber carved from the earth's crust. A ledge ran around the chamber and, below in a pit, were rows and rows of ledges lined with great and grotesque eggs. At the very bottom was a liquid fire like lava, heating up the chamber and making the eggs hatch. Across from them was a tall albino Serpent Man in red robes!

• The Serpent man was standing behind a set of crystal controls when the party arrived and immediately attacked, firing some sort of energy beam from his wrist!
• The party split up and ran around either side of the chamber.
• Pinky slipped and fell, but grasped the ledge at the last moment.
• Darcy played her flute, attempting to summon her patron Ubtu-galoo, but the Chaos Lord was not listening.
• Rynila and Hans were flaking the Serpent Man.
• As Pinky attempted to climb up; an egg just below him burst open and a hungry lizard thing with needle sharp teeth began biting at his dangling legs. 
• Darcy reached for Pinky when the Serpent Man shot out another ray of fire that burst open Darcy's chest in a blast of gore and flame!
• Rynila and Hans arrived and started beating the Serpent Man to a pulp. Rylina took a serpent styled gold bracelet off the fiends wrist.
• Pinky climbed over the ledge and checked on Darcy, but she was dead before she hit the ground. He grabbed her flute.
• With the eggs below hatching faster and faster, Rynila headed for the controls and started switching out crystals, the liquid fire below began rising, burning all the eggs in the pit as it rose.
• Hans picked up Darcy's body and they all fled back up the stairs as the boiling lava bubbled over the edge.
• Fleeing the party took a wrong turn and ended up in an unfamiliar corridor.
• They decided it was best to just leave Darcy here, she was literally dead weight after all.
• Exploring the hall, they found strange glass alcoves set into the rock wall. Inside the foggy glass here humanoids, some perserved, others mummified and still others skeletons. Then they heard foot steps...
• Following the sounds they found some of the glass alcoves busted open and then they were ambushed by a group of Proto-Shudfolk from the primordial age. 

• Frighten, the Proto-Shudfolk chose to fight! They outnumbered the party and after a round or two of fighting, forced them to flee down the halls!
• They found a door, forced it open, ran inside just before the rest of the Proto-Shudfolk could come through!
• Looking around at their surroundings they felt this hall seemed familiar, as it was rounded like the hall near the Clockwork Serpent. Exploring they found another set of doors, and after a bit of acid spray to the face they manage to open it.
• Inside was a long chamber with a great murals on the walls depicting a race of Serpent-Men all dressed in stylish robes while early man were depicted as enslaved. In the center of the chamber a green tinted metal gauntlet rested on a pedestal and behind it, between two statues of warrior serpent men, was a silver coiled snake. The silver snake's head was raised as if judging the party.
• To some of the party's objections, Pinky picked up the gauntlet and placed it on his hand. Painfully, the scales dug into his flesh while visions of sliding through humid jungle forests, chasing, enslaving and slaughtering hairy man-things filled his mind.
• Coming out of the trance he saw the silver coiled serpent in the back of the chamber and knew it was no mere trinket.
• Raising his gauntlet hand, the metal serpent came to life, uncoiling and sliding to rest in his gauntlet hand. It was a magical relic, half sword, half whip!
• They left the chamber and having found their bearings were prepared to leave this dark place when a shadowy form appeared out of the darkness of the ceiling to attack Rynila. The shadowy, ossified, cat-like demon swooped down on bat-like wings to snatch her, but the party fought it back until it disappeared again. They questioned what just happened, but could devise no clear answers...
• When they found the exit the great clockwork serpent was waiting, but this time it did not attack. They discovered the bracelet Rynila took from the Serpent Man could command the machine. She used it to assist them in climbing out of the underground chamber (and took her dismay her new serpent pet couldn't come with her).
• Back in the upper portion of the ancient temple they sealed off the entrance way and then hear screams from the village outside!
• Running out to investigate they found many houses ablaze, women screaming, men attempting to fend off shadow demons from stealing their children!
• 
  

To be continued in Chapter 4: The Farmhouse of Cosmic Horror!

DCC-DUNE: The Sister-witch

It's been a while, but I've finally got some time to get "back in the saddle," as it were, with all my writing. For those of you who haven't been following these posts or our just jumping for the first time, Feudal Universe (also known as DCC-DUNE) is a gonzo space faring setting to used with the DCCRPG rules. I'm still working out all the kinks because as one would think, it's a strange combination. Today we'll be looking at the Sister-witch character class and yes you guessed it, they're based off the Bene-gesserits!

Sister-witch

You are a sorceress living among a tribe, a concubine in a Great House, or perhaps a maid in secret service.  Every move you make is precise and calculated towards a specific goal, for above all else you are loyal to one thing, the secret organization known merely as the Sisterhood. Your fellow sisters have infiltrated every facet of the Known Universe and currently pull the strings from behind closed doors. Taken from parents you will never know, your childhood years consisted of physical and mental conditioning that have gifted you with almost superhuman powers. It is because of these abilities and the secrecy of the Sisterhood that outsiders often prefer to call you witches and that suits your needs just fine.

A sister-witch can control the gossamer threads that make up the universe controls in subtle ways using her voice or mind known as the Weirding Ways.  A sister-witch is adept in martial arts and with these combined abilities she makes a great ally or ferocious opponent.

A sister-witch, until proven worthy to become a Reverend Mother is subject to a Reverend Mother and must answer to and perform the duties commanded or face exile. Exiled Sisters lose their connection with the coven and their Weirding Ways suffer for it causing any spell to be cast using a d16.

Hit points: A sister-witch gains 1d6 hit points at each level.

Weapon training: A Sister is trained in the use of the blackjack, club, dagger, flip-dart, gomjabber, hidden poison, kindjal, needle-gun, shig-wire garrote, staff, and throwing knives.

Alignment: The Sisterhood as a collective are Neutral. There purpose is merely to observe and guide the Universe along the right path (as long as that path is chosen by The Sisterhood). Every option is open as long as the ultimate goal is achieved and the Sisterhood is benefitted.

Weirding Ways: Unlike the Guild Seers, the Sisters are limited in what they can achieve and fear that flaunting their “talents” will show their hand. When casting spells a Sister uses her Caster level and Personality modifier.

Weirding level: Weirding level is a measurement of a Sister’s ability to channel her weirding ways and is equal to her class level.  For example, a 2nd-level Sister has a weirding level of 2.

Action dice: A Sister’s action dice can be used for attack or weirding checks at any level.

Skills:

• Backstab
• Sneak silently
• Hide in shadows
• Religious Indoctrination

Weirding Ways:

• Truth Sense
• The Voice
• Prana
• Second Sight

• Other Memory (Reverend Mothers Only)
• Transform Substance (Reverend Mothers Only)

(Other weirding ways (aka spells may be added)

Reverend Mother: To become a Reverend Mother a Sister-witch must go on inner quest of the mind in order to unlock the secrets of her ancestors. The inner quest is brought about by an overexposure of the Fumes. The sister-witch does not have to take this journey only however as she is able to project her mind into those around her.

During the inner-quest, the sister-witch cannot be physically harmed as her body, but as she fights the fume exposure her mind may suffer temporary or permanent harm in the form of Intelligence loss.  If the sister-witch dies during the ordeal, she will perish in waking world. Her companions however are merely projections and if harmed will appear to lose hit points and die, but will wake unharmed.

The exact nature of the inner-quest is decided by the Judge, but can be seen as a dungeon crawl of the mind, with some escape which ends the ordeal and changes the character forever. A successful journey will see the sister-witch becoming a Reverend Mother while if her companions complete the journey in full they will see their luck restored. (More on this later.)

Level	Attack	Crit Die/ Table	Action Dice	Known Spells	Max Spell Level	Ref	Fort	Will
1	+1	1d6/II	1d20	3	1	+1	+1	+2
2	+1	1d8/II	1d20	4	1	+2	+2	+2
3	+2	1d8/II	1d20	5	2	+2	+2	+3
4	+2	1d10/II	1d20	6	2	+3	+2	+3
5	+3	1d10/II	1d20+1d14	7	3	+3	+3	+4

Level	Title (all alignments)
1	Acolyte
2	Head Sister
3	Truthsayer
4	Proctor Superior
5	Reverend Mother

If you want to read more of my DCC-DUNE posts just hit the link!

Tromping through the Shudder Mountains, Part 4

Greetings y'all and welcome to another postin' dealing with the comings and goings of those "heroic" folk in the wild and beautiful Shudder Mountains! Now I know it's been a while since I last spun a yarn, so herein are some of the previous tellings so'en you might catch up!

• Part 1: Wherein we meet the current party who finds themselves in quite a predicament.
• Part 2: The party must unravel their past dreams...
• Part 3: More of the latter it seems, but it sure is interesting!

Now sit back whilst I tell you more about the adventures of Pinky, the halfling brewer, Hans, the mad Braar, and Darcy, the elf wanderer!

When last we left the band they had just barely survived a shadow that was stealing their life force while they were desperately trying to wake from the horrible nightmares it produced. They had finally returned to Hard Scrabble Valley, their home, after weeks of traveling through the mountains from Sour Spring Hollow, only to discover something was a miss! Tom Dankers, was a young man when they were spirited away and now he's in his sixties!

Chapter 3: The Serpents Beneath

The old man put a hand to his chest and stated, "Pinky it's me. It's Tom Dankers..."

Pinky was astonished. How could this be? They were only gone a few weeks.

"You don't look a bit older," stated Tom. "Come have a drink!"

They sat with Tom and drank and told him their tell of how at his wedding they awoke and fought evil spirits. He told them that was 40 years ago and that, "We all thought you was dead! But I reckoned you might return one day. My boys have been keeping up the brewery, though the ale is never as good as when you made it."

"What about Grandma," Pinky asked. And he found out she had past away only few years after he left. Tom's wife was in the heavens. 

The next day the party decided to split up and explore what they remembered of the town, finding it quite the same as when they left. Though the old stone temple, that was used by the Shud Folk as a House of the Sovereign, was grown over and no longer in service as the old Braar had died and no one took his place. They had questioned Han's if he was to be the new town Braar, but he only gruffed something under his breath and left to see his old farm. The farm was dilapidated and the people shunned area and lands surrounding it saying there was a permanent gloom there and that no food would grow since his family had died.

Similar to this Mayan temple, though not as large.

Eventually they decided to explore the temple as it was a center point of interest in all their dreams. Inside they found a stone door buried beneath the sand pulpit. They went to get supplies and tools to lift the stone and met Tom Dankers only daughter, Rynila, a bit boyish and willing to help the party on their new adventure. (My sister joined the game at this time. Creating a 1st level warrior.)

They succeeding in lifting the stone door the next morning and found a large pit beneath. Using a rope they descended into the pit which was round and had four doors in either direction. In the centre was a stone pedestal with a crystal embedded it in. Three columns with serpentine carvings held the ceiling up and sand covered the entire floor.

They found walking through the sand was very difficult and the doors had to be opened by pushing in the right series of blocks, otherwise acid would splash out on them. As they explored, the sun moved to the apex of the temple and shone down on the crystal pedestal which began to hum. Something stirred beneath the sand and churned the floor up. Then a large mechanical serpent with three heads rose from the sand. It's three heads each had a different coloured crystal embedded in the metal that gave it a cyclopic appearance. The heads spun at random and shot out laser beams of different varieties!

There was chaos in the chamber as both Darcy and Rynila climbed the columns in order to jump on the mechanical serpent. Hans stayed at one of the doors attempting to open it as acid burned his flesh and Pinky was stuck on the centre pedestal fearing he would be ground to bits by the metal scales that churned the sand.

A beam like the light of the sun shot out from one of the serpents crystal eyes and cut a column in half forcing Darcy to dive into the sands. Rynila jump off her column onto the serpents back and with a hand full of meat she had stored in her pack she quickly forced it into the exposed gears of the serpent forcing the head to stop swiveling. (This was a Mighty Deed my sister came up with on the spot! What a natural!)

Eh.. Something like that!

Hans finally found the right combination to open the doors and as the meat clogged up the gears the party made for the door. Rynila was the last one through and just as the doors were shutting a beam of cosmic energy struck her from behind. Sores opened all over her body and stunk of death, but otherwise she was unharmed. (This was a laser beam from the serpent guardian that caused insta-corruption!)

Beyond the door they found winding passage ways that lead deep under ground. There they discover three more coded doorways and, using Han's staff so as to not get sprayed with acid, opened them. The first door lead into a chamber with a dried up cocoon hanging from the ceiling and a console before it with crystal levers. The levers did nothing and they soon left to explore the next chamber which was exactly the same as the previous one.

Here they found another cocoon and the console crystals were lit. Touching the crystals opened the cocoon. Out slid a white scaled humanoid to splat against the stone floor. Hans took no time in leaping over the console to attack the vile thing and tripped missing the creature and breaking his staff on the floor. The others followed his lead and smashed the thing into a slimy pulp.

They decided to search the room a little more and found a hidden alcove that contains some well preserved robes. They proceeded to leave the room and heard the slapping of wet feet down the corridor. They ran, following the sound, only to find the third room was empty. The cocoon was split open and a wet steaming pile of goo lay under it.

Following the strange footprints, of some three toed creature, they discovered a secret tunnel sloping down into to darkness. Something was loose and they were sure it was going to be bad news for the town. They decided they to follow it.

To be continued in Part 5...