Issue#3 Call of The Catacombs

Is it Issue#3 already? Yes, which is why you're here, (unless you're lost), so lets talk about it.

Call of The Catacombs is a mini dungeon crawl with as many cat references as I can squeeze in. Sometimes an adventure is an effort to capture some elusive concept or set of ideas and sometimes it's just a response to the question - What if some kobolds started worshiping a magical cat? I try and bury the lead a bit so the players can have an, "Ah-ha", moment whilst exploring the 'Cat'acombs.

Links to Previous Adventures

Here are some options to link Call of The Catacombs to previous Pocket Sized Perils adventures.

• Under Siege
  This city is a stronghold for the rebellion mentioned in Issue#1 and is currently besieged by the Baron's army. It wont last long if the supply of fresh water isn't restored.
• A Gesture of Good Will
  The city has yet to take a side in the rebellion. Dealing with this issue might win the town council to your side?
• Trail of the Masked Wizard.
  The Baron is clearly allied with dark forces. Tracing these occult machinations has lead you beneath the city. Perhaps the masked wizard from Issue#1 came through here either before or after encountering the PC's.
• Reckless Archeology
  The shrine under Bleakmarsh, (Issue#2), was opened by an archeologist who passed through. Afterwards they took a boat downriver mentioning something about a, "promising lead in the city". You should catch up to them before they dig up more trouble. 

Whether you use one of these hooks, one of your own or run the adventure as a one shot; we begin in media res with the PC's sloshing through the catacombs under the city.

Below is a breakdown of the Zine. It doesn't have one big map with all the rooms arranged in relation to each other so, for context, here is that map.

Pages One and Two - Entering The Dungeon

These pages answer the question 'Why are the players here?' (ie to deal with the contaminated water the city wells are currently pumping) and then ask another...

'How do the players get into the dungeon?' 

I like it when problems have more than one solution. Ideally players should be able to improvise solutions that the game master hasn't anticipated. This page presents two paths,  'Go downstream' or 'Try and find the entrance'.

The first prevents the session getting stuck if the players can't locate the door. The second throws a few more possibilities at them. They can negotiate with Skrip or the Guard, locate and force open the secret  door, or come up with something unique.

For example, I put a pipe in the picture the guard can use to drop 'Furballs' on unwelcome guests. Where does that pipe go? I don't know but maybe it goes to the tunnels on page 3?

If a player proposes something interesting go with it because that's the game you want to play, (not the one where they have to guess what you decided before hand).

There's also Kobolds here...

Skrip is a handy tool to help the player's find a way in and give a few clues about what's going on.

My instinct for the motivations of the other kobolds, (including the guard), is that violence isn't their first choice but it's definitely an option.

Page 3 - The Tunnels

D&D lore associates Kobolds with elaborate underground tunnel systems. That sounds fun to me but mapping out a really complex tunnel network and constantly asking the players if they go left or right doesn't.

The random table on page 3 is my way of invoking the sense of a labyrinth without bogging the game down in minutiae.

There's a chance the dice will get the players 'lost' here. That's ok, we wanted to convey that this environment is tricky to navigate. Treat it as another open ended puzzle to which the players can provide a creative solution. Ask them what their character does to help the group find a way out.  Clever ideas could give them advantage or negate the need for a roll entirely.

Page 4 - The Canal

If the players go downstream from the start this is where they'll come out, (taking some damage in the process). You can describe the sound of rushing water and start calling for strength checks against the current to give them a chance to back out.

This space offers a lead on what's contaminating the city wells with kobolds periodically dumping waste from the overhead bridge.

Anyone who's paying attention may be wondering, "Hang on is this the sewers or the city's water supply? Good point. I envisage these catacombs as a kind of watery Rube Goldberg Machine, with the kobolds engineering all sorts of alterations on the original architecture. From The City's perspective that's fine as long as the water out of the pumps is drinkable. Perhaps the pump station's original purpose was filtration? If players demand a blueprint of the entire network including inflows and outflows... I'm sorry, I don't know how those are supposed to look and, chances are, neither do most characters in this fantasy world.

Speaking of the role of water in this dungeon brings me to...

"Toxodiabolous"

I've drawn on a few cat themed influences to build the dungeon. Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease that rats get from cat faeces. Essentially it makes them lose their fear of cats and associate the scent of one with that of a potential mate.

The weird, 'demonic influence', potential here is immediately obvious.

I couldn't fit them into the zine itself but some playable mechanics could add to the game so here they are:

Toxodiabolous (disease)

When exposed to 'ichor' from a Bakeneko a humanoid creature must make a DC13 constitution save. On a failure they become infected.

Infected creatures are at disadvantage when saving against a Bakeneko's Caterwaul ability and must make a DC13 charisma saving throw before targeting a Bakeneko with a harmful attack or spell. On a failure they must choose a new target or lose the attack or spell.

Infected creatures gain the ability to divine the general direction of any Bakenekos within one mile which they experience as a faint anticipation of something wonderful.

Abilities and spells that cure disease can be used to cure Toxodiabolous
(lesser restoration, heroes feast, lay on hands etc.)

You can determine what constitutes 'exposure'. I suggest rolling if the PC's are immersed in water in the dungeon, eat or drink anything they find there or possibly even after being blinded by the 'Sludge Sling' attack from any kobold guards.

Page 5 - Pump Station

Remember that episode of the Simpsons when homer discovered where the school milk was coming from? Yeah, pretty much that.

Instead of pumping clean water to the city above the kobolds have repurposed pipes and machinery to milk rats and are sending the milk off deeper into the catacombs. It seems like a very kobold thing to do; given that they're generally portrayed as inventive opportunists.

This room explains why the pumps to the city are contaminated but not the reasons behind it.

If the players want those answers they can follow the pipe through to...

Page 6 - The Mines

The mines link pages 4 and 5 and lead on towards the final confrontation.

It is also possibly the blankest page in all the Pocket Sized Perils to date but not in a way that I feel anything is missing.

This big empty cave is what Christopher Vogler might refer to as The Approach. There's a lot of random details in this dungeon. The players need time to 'breathe', even if the atmosphere they're breathing is tense and menacing. This page builds mood without throwing a bunch of new stuff at the players, allowing them to consider what lies behind and focus on what might lie ahead.

The evidence of digging provides a clue as to how the demonic cat idol came to be here but it isn't essential to resolving the adventure.

Page 7 - Back Cover

This page is a tiny guide on how to role play the kobolds but you should play them however you want.

The Fold Out

We're on the home stretch! Everything on the fold out is about setting up the final battle. I'm sorry it's not a big map this time - I needed the space for mechanics and stat blocks for an interesting fight. 

The Hall

If players haven't snapped that this dungeon is cat themed yet, this is their last chance before meeting said cat.

The 'kitty litter' is the final piece of the water contamination puzzle and also signals that a monster of some kind is nearby. In this sense it's the same as a DM describing a pile of bones; If you're moving through a dungeon and the DM says "there's a pile of bones here" it's a signal to pay attention and consider what buffs you have prepared to avoid being added to the pile.

The Temple

Here it is, the punchline to a joke I've spent eight pages telling!

I haven't included languages on the Bakeneko's stat block but if you want to have it MEOW at the PC's in Abyssal or Common go for it.

WARNING - There's a lot of randomness in this fight:

Depending on the dice the Bakeneko could be safe in it's pocket dimension between rounds or exposed for the PC's to attack.

Similarly there could be anywhere between 3 and 12 kobolds to deal with by round 3.

Skrip may also have just exploded next to the PC's OR the Bakeneko.

I have a high appetite for chaos in my games but if you're worried about overwhelming your PC's consider only rolling for kobolds every other round.

The Bakeneko's Etheral Uncertainty ability is another cat reference, this time to Shrodinger's Cat.

The Bakeneko's Caterwaul ability is my favourite thing in the dungeon. I like considering the potential reactions of players to their characters coughing up a spit covered fur ball with teeth!

To give credit where it's due the Furballs are hevily inspired by, Gribblies, from Arnold Kemp's amazing OSR blog Goblin Punch. If you like your D&D surreal and deadly you should check it out.

Conclusion 

So the players are triumphant or dead, (I genuinely hope it's not the later). I suggest that as soon as the Bakeneko is dispatched the Kobolds reevaluate and eagerly welcome back the old management even going so far as to fetch some things from the loot table on page three as apologetic tributes.

The governing body of the city may reward the players as well: ticket tape parades, deeds to manors in out of the way villages, official sounding titles and open ended favors are all more exciting than gold.

If you're playing through this as a one shot I often enjoy asking my players to narrate a short epilogue for their character and what they get up to after this.

That's it!

I'm currently working away on Issue#4, Death in Dinglebrook so look out for that in about a month. Can you believe I'm considering doing 26 of these things? Well onwards and upwards - till next time.