The Quick:
In the comments below, post what happens to my party when they try to leave the dungeon via the lake and/or what happens if they come in contact with the water.
In that same comment, let me know if you want a copy of The Undercroft (shipped free to anywhere in the world) or, if you already own it, the Secret Treasure Envelope (RPG/game related things, also shipped to anywhere in the world) or "either." I will pick two winners from all usable entries.
Game night is Tuesday, so only entries in by Monday (whenever I get off work and start planning for the game) will be valid - so get them in this weekend!
The Long:
I'm currently running Psychedelic Fantasies Module 1: Beneath the Ruins for my players. This is one of the few dungeons my party has encountered since my campaign consists almost entirely of LotFP modules.
Here are some important notes that relate to this contest:
The party walked down a set of humid, cramped stairs and found themselves on a beach of black sand, surrounded by hot fog.
An underground lake is before them, and a man in a small boat is floating near shore.
He offers to take them across the lake to the "deep halls" in exchange for a gold and their true name.
After about 10 minutes of rowing through thick fog, the shore on the other side of the lake becomes visible.
The boatman was crazed, and didn't provide them much info. When asked how they'd get back, he said something like, "I'll be here...when you're ready."
I described the water as inky black with a slight odor of sulfur.
The party is nearing the end of the adventure and are discussing their plight - "How are we going to get across the lake?"
Your challenge:
1) What happens when my party travels across the lake (via makeshift raft or the boatman)?
2) What happens if they touch the water?
I'm going to create a randomized chart of all usable responses and roll on it - such will be the plight of my party.
Here's what I have so far:
What happens when they row through fog?
1) They make it safely back to shore and continue on with their campaign.
2) They end up in Carcosa.
3) They end up on The Islands of Purple-Haunted Putrescence.
4) They end up on Razira.
5) They end up in Narcosa.
What happens when they touch the water?
1) Nothing (it's just creepy).
2) They gain a random mutation from The Metamorphica.
3) They slowly transform into a Random Esoteric Creature.
The Why:
I ordered a copy of The Undercroft back in August, but after many weeks it hadn't arrived. Daniel Sell kindly sent me another copy which arrived in a matter of days. Yesterday I finally got that first copy! It's an awesome 'zine, and I highly recommend trying to win one here if you don't already own it. I'm only offering up the second "Secret Treasure" prize for those who already own a copy (and I thought it might be nice for Daniel Sell to have a chance to win something, too).
Some people already provided some "free" responses on G+. I will automatically count them as being part of this contest, although if you are one of them and want to update your response, feel free to post it here.
Thanks!
UPDATE
Thank you for your participation! First off, here's a word document with a table of my ideas and the entries from here and G+:
What happened to my players?
Since one of them had their foot shot off by a laser blast (when a monster rolls a crit in my game, I roll on a body part location and that body part, if unarmored, is permanently destroyed - no healing can help it) the players decided they really needed to get back. I could tell that they meant it this time (at a previous time they just tried calling for the boatman "to see" if he would come back, but they didn't actually want to leave the dungeon yet...) so I rolled on the table and got:
The boatman is frantically rowing towards the shore. As
they approach, the fog rolls closer on a cold draft. It gives a scent of faint
electricity, as if the air is charged and burnt.
"Hurry!" the boatman says "the dreams are
coming!"
If the party rushes (requiring a character to roll under
their dexterity score if they are more than lightly encumbered in order to make
it in time), they make it onto the boat in time, and the lantern's light keeps
the fog away.
All players made it into the boat except for our unlucky M-U (who already has a gopher mouth, checkered skin, crippling constipation once a day and leaves a trail of white slime wherever he walks).
Any characters who don't succeed have a dream from the
following table (all have the same dream)
M-U's dream:
4. The characters are standing in an empty temple of
grey marble with a large golden dish on a pedestal. Inside the dish is a
reflective liquid. When the characters look at it, their eyes vanish from their
head, floating in the pool, providing them with a view of their own screaming
(or eerily calm, DM's choice), eyeless faces. The characters awaken flailing,
giving a chance of upsetting the boat.
When he awoke, he capsized the boat, knocking everybody into the water.
Lucky for the players (although they don't know it yet) they received one of the few good things from the list for touching the water: "A spell-like ability."
---
Now, for the winners!
Here's the list:
1 Joshua
2. Onno
3. Marc G
4. Venger Satanis
5. lumacca
6. Jess Newman
7. Samwise Seven RPG
8. Timothy Franklin
9. Forrest Aguirre
10. Reroll
Winner of The Undercroft = Jess Newman
Winner of Top Secret Prize = Marc G
Final Update
Prizes have been sent - thanks to everybody for your participation, and I highly recommend picking up an issue (or three) of The Undercroft!
