TEXT:  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  1 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  The Social Distance Collective 
   
   
   
   
   
  This product is based on the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role 
  Playing Game, published by Goodman Games. This product 
  is published under license. Dungeon Crawl Classics and DCC 
  RPG are trademarks of Goodman Games. All rights reserved. 
  For additional information, visit www.goodman-games.com 
  or contact info@goodman-games.com. 
   
   
  
  2 
  Quarantine continues and so does QuaranZine! Inspired by 
  Goodman Games’ release for free of the classic funnel “A Portal 
  Under The Stars” as part of the DCC Quick Start rules, we decided to 
  create our own brand new funnels for you to run for friends and 
  strangers alike. All the adventures are designed to fit in the usual 4-
  hour convention slot, and we’ve tried to stay true to that fantastical, 
  genre-bending, DCC-style. Each of these adventures contains 
  everything you need to kick-start a new campaign or introduce a 
  group of new players to the magic of the DCC system. 
   
  Much of the RPG world is still stuck at home without much to do, but 
  since the last volume was released, some of us found we were able to 
  do more gaming than ever! With so many more people getting their 
  game time online, we had more opportunities to test out our 
  homebrew. Life always manages to get busy, but the DCC RPG 
  community once again banded together to make a homemade zine 
  celebrating the game that we've been prevented from playing in 
  person for now, and maybe raising a bit of money for a good cause 
  in the process.  
   
  The following content is pulled directly from our home games, 
  creative projects, and isolation-addled minds, and we hope it helps 
  entertain you through this insane timeline we're currently stuck in. 
  Any proceeds from sales of this product will go to GiveDirectly, a 
  highly-rated charity that sends the money directly to families in need 
  of assistance to pay basic living expenses through a special COVID-
  19 fund (visit https://www.givedirectly.org/covid-19/ for details or 
  to donate). Our first issue raised over $450 for COVID relief, and we 
  look forward to adding to that number with this edition. Thanks for 
  reading, stay safe, and please STAY AT HOME until it's safe to 
  adventure once more! 
   
  - 
  Judge Stefan & Judge Yossarian 
   
  PS - We welcome feedback on the adventures, fun stories of how 
  you used our content, and interest in contributing to a future 
  volume; just email socialdistancecollective@gmail.com ! 
   
  Each article, art & associated material, is copyright 2020 by their respective artists & 
  authors. If you would like to include, copy or use a derivative of the work, please 
  contact the original creator. 
   
  Original release: October 2020 
  
  3 
  Contents 
   
  Insectoids from Outer Space… 4 
   
  Crypt of the Pickle Witch... 31 
   
  The Immortal Ooze Engine… 46 
   
  The Return of Mongumandu… 70 
   
   
  Prose: Boson Au, Mat Biscan, Judge Yossarian, Stefan Surratt 
  Editing: Stefan Surratt 
  Art: Boson Au, bygrinstow, Steven Gomez, Davin Kluttz, 
  Diogo Nogiuera, David Persinger, Stefan Poag 
  Layout: Stefan Surratt 
   
  
  4 
   
  
  5 
  INSECTOIDS FROM 
  OUTER SPACE! 
  A level 0-1 DCC RPG adventure  
   
  By Mat Biscan 
  Illustrations and Cartography by Stefan Poag and Steven 
  Gomez 
  Cover Art by Davin Kluttz 
   
  Playtesters: Morgan Lemel, Nick Polydoros, David Schnoll, 
  Kurt Lynette, Tom Colley, Matthew House, Davin Kluttz, 
  Erik Flom, Allen Schneidewent, Stanislav Ivanov, Timofey 
  Barakhovsky, Georgy Sokolov 
   
  INTRODUCTION 
   
  This is a DCC RPG module for 12-24 0-level or 4-6 1st level 
  characters. The PCs must escape an abduction by alien 
  insectoids who snatch them and their fellow villagers to suck 
  their brains for food. There are multiple endings and a possible 
  patron to serve.  
   
  BACKGROUND 
   
  An intelligent species of alien insectoids evolved millions of 
  years ago to reach the stars. Establishing their colonies inside 
  asteroids, they convert the interior into their hive and install 
  insectoid technology to transform the space rock into a 
  spacecraft. Their Queen pilots the ship with her incredible 
  brain as they search galaxies for sentient life to feed on. Due to 
  the size of each colony and the ease with which they multiply 
  an insectoid infestation can potentially wipe out life on an 
  entire planet. 
   
  
  6 
  Insectoids feed on the brains of intelligent life. Their vision is 
  bad, even worse in bright light, which will scramble their 
  antennae. The antennae is their most important organ, used for 
  scanning for brain waves, manipulating insectoid silk, and 
  communication through pheromone detection. Insectoids do 
  not fear death as their numbers are strong. They live and die 
  for the colony. 
   
  The Queen is large-sized. A sack hangs from the end of her 
  enormous physogastric abdomen where wet, sticky, fertilized 
  eggs drip from. She can sense brain waves on a planetary scale 
  from a lightyear away. She pilots the ship with her incredible 
  brain, connected by tentacles to an organic engine created from 
  advanced insectoid technology. 
   
  Drones are medium-sized. They are the defenders of the 
  colony, with thicker carapace and larger claws to grab and 
  crush victims and decapitate prey before sucking their brains 
  out. They are the only other insectoids that can fly besides the 
  Queen. Drones fertilize eggs, and when they are finished, the 
  Queen will eat them. 
   
  Workers are medium-sized and the most common. They have 
  larger mandibles used for carrying eggs and livestock and 
  constructing and maintaining the hive ship. They can spit a 
  silken webbing used for hive construction and wrapping and 
  storing prey for the long space journey. They’re job is to tend 
  livestock, keeping it sedated and fed with glutinous sugar 
  which they produce inside their proboscis. The sugar can keep 
  the brains of prey alive for long periods of time, allowing the 
  hive to survive in deep space where food sources are scarce, 
  but travel is necessary. 
   
  Nymphs are small-sized. They live in the burrow networks 
  connecting the deepest parts of the hive, feeding on leftover 
  brain material and flesh. They metamorphose into adults 
  within 30 days.  
   
  
  7 
  Grubs are small-sized. They feed on flesh and bone before 
  metamorphosing into nymphs. They are insatiable and in large 
  numbers are very dangerous. They metamorphose into a 
  nymph within 10 days. 
   
  Mutants are the prey of the Queen who have given her their 
  fealty in exchange for their lives. They’ve betrayed their kind 
  and now unquestionably serve and obey the Queen. Over time 
  the corruption of her influence slowly mutates their bodies to 
  look more like an insectoid. 
   
  PC Intelligence: Optionally, target characters with the highest 
  Intelligence rather than the lowest Luck. Insectoids can detect 
  brain waves and the more intelligent brain, the louder the 
  signal is. As the Judge, ask each player the Intelligence scores 
  of their PCs and mix it up with Luck scores for targeting them. 
   
  Brainwave Scan: Adult insectoids scan for brain waves with 
  their antennae up to 60’. When PCs attempt to sneak or do 
  something that would require not causing attention, the PCs 
  must make DC 12 Intelligence checks to avoid being detected. 
  Insectoids have poor vision but can find prey with their 
  antennae. 
   
  Bug Parts: Creative players may attempt to use insectoid body 
  parts. The shells and chitinous parts are durable and last a long 
  time but the fleshier pieces decompose. PCs who want to use 
  bug parts are only able to get one off each insectoid:  
   
  ● 
  Insectoid Antenna (worker or drone, manipulate 
  insectoid silk) 
  ● 
  Insectoid Mandible (worker, 1d4, melee) 
  ● 
  Insectoid Sugar (worker, 1 hp when ingested, -1d for 
  one action) 
  ● 
  Insectoid Shell (drone, +1 AC, shield or helmet) 
  ● 
  Insectoid Claw (drone, 1d6, melee) 
  
  8 
   
  PLAYER START 
   
  Have players go around the room and share what their 
  characters do in the village. Ask them follow up questions. 
  Get them to build up the village and care about it. Once the 
  players have done this, give them a depiction of a normal, 
  unexciting day at it’s end, just before the invasion.  
   
  When you are ready, read the following: 
   
  A thunderous crack from the sky woke you up. It was just before 
  dawn. You looked outside to see mountainous rock had crushed into 
  the ground where the markets are. You left your hut to inspect the 
  damage, as did your neighbors. Panic settled in quickly, as terrifying 
  swarms of shadows poured from the craters of the monolith; the 
  townsfolk found themselves the targets of a chaotic raid. Something 
  hit you and knocked you out. The last thing you remember seeing was 
  an insect the size of a man. 
  
  9 
   
  
  10 
  AREAS OF THE MAP  
   
  Map Features: The asteroid hive ship interior is covered with 
  prismatic crystals, infused with colorful bioluminescence 
  providing enough light for the PCs to see as if in candlelight. 
  Insectoids use this bioluminescence as a communication 
  channel using the color of the light it emanates. The asteroid 
  stone is black and porous.  
   
  Each lair of the hive is connected by a main tunnel network, 
  big enough to carry prey through. However, there are smaller 
  burrows, some big enough for PCs to crawl there, inhabited by 
  nymphs.  
   
  Each square on the map is 20 ft, if it matters to you. 
   
  Inspecting Burrows Any PC attempting to crawl into a burrow 
  must make a Luck check. On failure, they are surprise-attacked 
  by a nymph currently in the burrow for 1d3 DMG, no combat 
  initiative is rolled and the nymph runs away unscathed. On 
  success, no nymph is present and the PC ends up temporarily 
  lost in the burrow system, even if they have only stuck their 
  heads in it. The amount of antennae activity in the borrows is 
  so intense that those who unwittingly venture in become 
  confused and time seems to pass much slower for them. Have 
  the player set that PC aside for now; they can emerge from the 
  burrows confused some point later in the adventure, at the 
  Judge’s discretion. Forgotten characters left in the burrows will 
  eventually be eaten by nymphs. 
   
  Insectoid Nymph: Init +3; mandibles +1 melee (1d3); AC 14 
  (shell); HD 1d3; hp 1; MV 30`; Act 1d16; SV Fort +2, Ref +4, Will 
  +0; AL C. 
   
  Another alien species has been snatched by the insectoids and 
  are among the captured villagers where characters find them. 
  We encourage creating your own alien species, but have 
  
  11 
  provided one below. Roll 3d6 for each stat if and when they are 
  needed. Otherwise, use the stat block for Gray-skinned Alien. 
  If a Gray-skinned alien becomes a level 1 character, treat them 
  as a small human and have them learn a new language.  
   
  Gray-skinned Alien Init 0; Atk Punch (1d3); AC 12; HD 1d4; MV 
  25`; Act 1d20; SV Fort -1, Ref +2, Will +2; Languages known: alien;  
   
  Area 1 - Holding Pens: The PCs themselves have been 
  snatched, tied up, and ready for processing. They have been 
  left unconscious in a holding pen. The room has many of these 
  holding pens, but this is the last group that needs to be 
  processed for livestock.  
   
  Before the PC awake, describe to the players one or two dream 
  sequences showing an insectoid raid on the alien species. 
   
  When the table has completed the visions read the following:  
   
  You wake to find yourself trapped in a pen with your neighbors. The 
  air is cold and lit by a red luminescence that looks alive on walls 
  around you. White cables or rope hold you securely inside. Everyone’s 
  hands are bound by the same thing. Looking further out into the 
  larger chamber, you see more of these pens. They are all empty, except 
  for a body slumped on the ground. 
   
  The insectoids have already moved villagers from the other 
  cells to storage in Area 7. PCs looking for hidden doors notice 
  a portal on the floor in the center of the lair. This opens up to 
  the village below. It can only be opened by killing the Queen 
  or from the Engine Room in Area 6. 
   
  If the body is inspected, it is a wise village elder named Yoin. 
  He looks like he struggled and has a large hole in his head with 
  his brains sucked out. 
   
  PCs can attempt to get out of their bindings with a DC 15 
  Strength check or the bindings can be cut by something sharp 
  
  12 
  without a check. Allow PCs to have anything from their list of 
  items on them if it’s no bigger than a dagger, but they need 
  help getting it out of their pocket or must make a Luck check if 
  they remembered to keep their lucky dagger in their boot. 
   
  Allow only a few PCs to get out of their bindings before they 
  are interrupted by 4 workers. The workers can open the pens 
  with their antennae. If all PCs are recaptured, move them to 
  Area 7 and put them in the honeycomb chambers. 
   
  Insectoid Worker: Init +1; Bit +1 melee (1d4) or Silk SP or +1 
  Sting melee (1d3) SP; AC 14 (shell); HD 1d5; hp 3; MV 30’; Act 
  1d20; SP Silk ranged 40’ DC 12 Ref save, on a fail target is entangled 
  in a silken net; entangled characters can spend an action to try to 
  escape with DC 15 Strength check; SP Sting victim must pass a DC 
  14 Fort save or -1d for 1d4 rounds; SV Fort +2, Ref +1, Will +2; AL 
  L. 
  Area 2 - Junk Piles: The lair is filled with heaps of junk raided 
  from countless alien planets by the insectoids. A lot of it is 
  unrecognizable, broken, or decomposed. Though, there are 
  things found by a PC looking for something useful. Have them 
  make a Luck check. On a success, roll 1d30 on the Random 
  Useful Junk Table. 
  
  13 
   
  Random Useful Junk Table: When a PC attempts to use 
  unknown alien technology and fails they must roll a Fumble 
  (d12) until they succeed with it. Describe alien technology to 
  the best of your ability without giving it away.  
   
  d30 
  Random Junk 
  1 
  Broken sword (1d5-1 melee) 
  2 
  Pogo stick 
  3 
  Metal box filled with 4d6 small bearings, nuts and 
  bolts 
  4 
  25’ worn rope 
  5 
  Rusty metal sheet with a handle (AC +1, shield) 
  6 
  Leather sack filled with rocks (1d4 melee) 
  7 
  Solar-powered flashlight (12 hour battery life) 
  8 
  Pipe wrench (1d6 melee) 
  9 
  Damaged space helmet (AC +1) 
  10 
  Double-headed shovel (2d3 melee) 
  11 
  A plastic storage box with 1d4 glass vials filled with a 
  a blue-color liquid acid (2d6 per vial) 
  12 
  60’ of nearly indestructible fibrous cable 
  13 
  Flak jacket (AC +2, Check Penalty -1, Fumble Die d8) 
  14 
  Holographic replicator (as Mirror Image p. 182 DCC 
  core book, 3d3 charges) 
  15 
  Exploding ball (3d5, throw, 10` explosion radius, 
  anything killed by the explosion is incinerated; ball 
  recombines itself after exploding; all fails are 
  fumbles d16)  
  16 
  Hydraulic arms (+2 Strength modifier bonus) 
  17 
  Enormous Bone (1d12 melee, -5 move) 
  18 
  Teleporter with a small pressure switch teleports the 
  user to a random location 50’ away when pressed 
  19 
  Grenades (1d10, 20’ explosion radius, 1d6 grenades) 
  20 
  Curved golden blade with a black leather hilt (two-
  handed, 2d6 melee) 
  21 
  Laser gun (1d3, exploding 3s, ranged, 2d10 charges) 
  22 
  Resizer rifle with red switch on the side that changes 
  the charge between shrinking and growing a target by 
  half or twice their size; pointed outward shrink (+2 
  AC, HP and DMG halved), pointed inward grow (-2 AC, 
  
  14 
  HP and DMG doubled); duration 1d4 rounds, range 
  100’, 1d5 charges) 
  23 
  A futuristic metal sword hilt with a button that 
  activates a laser blade when pressed (3d4, melee) 
  24 
  Jetpack that flies briefly with 1 charge up to 1000’, 
  has 2d8 charges 
  25 
  Crystal prism that casts the following spells: 
  Chromacast p. 35, Devour p. 38, Plant Growth p. 40, 
  Quaranzine Vol. 1 or a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd level spell from 
  the DCC Core Book 
  26 
  Heavy space battle armor (AC +3, Check Penalty -3, 
  Speed -5, Fumble Die d16) 
  27 
  Biometric helmet that forms to the wearers face and 
  appears in the shake of the wearer’s skull and shoots 
  lasers from the eye sockets, 2d5 ranged, +1 AC, SP 
  infravision 
  28 
  Portal gun that fires 2 shots, each the entrance and 
  exit of a portal; this effect lasts for 1 day, with 1 use 
  per day 
  29 
  Missile launcher (2d10 ranged 5000’, 1d4 missiles) 
  30 
  Sapphire ring that casts magic from the Return Magic 
  to Mystery spell table p. 32 Hobomicon #2, or a 
  random spell from the DCC Core book or any other 
  source material 
   
  Area 3 - Hive Crossways: A bridge made of knotted and thick white 
  webbing reaches out into the darkness, held on the other side by who 
  knows what. The rope-like bridge looks narrow, uneven and difficult 
  to walk along. The echoing sounds of squirming and chewing are 
  rising up from below the rope. Ahead, only the sounds of the group 
  moving and talking echo forward. 
   
  The bridge extends over 100` over a pit. Insectoids can crawl 
  across it with ease but humanoids who haven’t trained 
  themselves on a tightrope would have a very difficult time 
  traversing it, requiring a DC 10 Agility check to successfully 
  cross. On a fail, the unlucky PC will fall 30’ below into the Grub 
  Mass in Area 4. No falling damage is taken as they land on the 
  soft, squishy bodies of grubs, however they are immediately 
  attacked by the grub mass, and one per round for each round 
  in it (1d6-2). 
  
  15 
   
  Reward player creativity (such as allowing an antenna to 
  manipulate the bridge for a safe crossing or someone's 
  acrobatic), however crawling does not make the DC any easier. 
  Halfway over the bridge, PCs will notice that it leads to a 
  platform, where they will see 2 insectoid drones and the 3 
  tunnels that lead to Areas 5, 6, and 7. The drones won’t become 
  aware of the group until they reach the platform.  
   
  Insectoid Drone: Init +0; Atk Claw +2 melee (1d6) and Grab (SP); 
  HD 2d6; hp 7; AC 14; MV 20’; Fly 20’; Act 2d20; SP Grab on a 
  successful attack target must pass a DC 12 Strength check or be 
  incapacitated. Grabbed PCs can be crushed for 1d3-1 dmg as an 
  action without an attack roll; PCs must use an action to escape; SV 
  Fort +2, Ref +2, Will -1; AL L. 
   
   
   
   
  
  16 
   
  Area 4 - Grub Mass: Any PCs falling into the nursery are 
  eventually eaten by hundreds of hungry grubs, as the grub 
  mass attacks immediately and will always attack first in 
  combat rounds regardless of initiative rolls. The grub mass 
  automatically rolls for damage on each PC within it at the top 
  of each round (1d6-2). PCs can use their action to escape into 
  one of the many burrows in the walls (see Map Feature) or climb 
  the walls with a DC 12 Strength check, or stand and fight 
  (probably a bad idea!). 
   
  Insectoid Grub Mass: Init 0; Atk bite (auto 1d6-2); HD 2d50; hp 
  55; AC 8; MV 5’; Act 3d16 (per target caught in the mass); SV Fort 
  +5; Ref -5; Will +5; AL C 
   
  Area 5 - Insectoid Nest: This larger lair has dozens of burrows of 
  various sizes along the walls and ceilings. The ground is littered with 
  bones and debris. You see a large man with crazy eyes holding the 
  claw from one of those bugs. He's pressing his fingers up to his lips 
  to shush you as you enter this lair. Next to him is what appears to be 
  a little gray-skinned humanoid with huge black eyes on an oversized 
  head.  
   
  “They’re sleeping,” he says as he points upward. If the group 
  makes a ruckus while in this room, make a brain wave scan. 
  On a failed check 4d6 workers come out of the burrows to 
  chase the PCs out of the nest. They don't follow if the PCs flee 
  from the area. 
   
  The man is able to tell the PCs the following: 
   
  ● 
  He’s from the village, he’s Clegan the big, burly baker! 
  ● 
  He calls his gray humanoid friend “Moop” because that’s all 
  it says 
  ● 
  He tried to escape in the burrows with some of the other 
  villagers, but only he and Moop survived 
  ● 
  He hears voices in his head telling him to join the colony 
  ● 
  He saw the insectoids bring you into the ship through the 
  entrance in Area 1, but doesn’t know how it opens 
  
  17 
  ● 
  He says he thinks the fleshy thing in Area 6 powers the rock 
  somehow 
  ● 
  He’s says there is a giant bug in a lair up ahead, it freaked 
  him out so he ran this way 
   
  Area 6 - Astroid Hive Engine: In the center of this small lair rests 
  a pulsating mound of pinkish flesh. One wall has five small, irregular 
  shaped knobs jutting out of it, and every once and awhile one of the 
  knobs pulsates with bioluminescence (magenta, blue, green, purple 
  and yellow). Four thick tentacles rise from the top of the pinkish flesh 
  mound and into small ports in the ceiling.  
  PCs searching for hidden doorways notice two on the 
  opposite sides of the lair. One is a secret door opening to Area 
  8. The other is a hidden sleeping lair with 2 Insectoid Mutants 
  inside, who will join the queen if combat is initiated with her, 
  so long as they are alive. 
   
  The pinkish flesh is the asteroid hive ship engine. It is organic 
  (3d20 HD; hp 36) and if damaged a green acid explodes from 
  it (1d6, 10’ range), melting flesh to the bone and damaging the 
  floors.  
   
  If the engine is destroyed the hive ship begins to rumble as the 
  systems become overloaded; steam shoots from burrows, 
  killing 
  nymphs 
  and 
  other 
  insectoids 
  inside; 
  the 
  bioluminescence in the ship’s surfaces shifts from red to 
  yellow; a loud, repetitive click is heard in each area. The ship 
  explodes in 1d50+10 minutes, killing everything inside and 
  destroying the village below. If any PCs are paying attention 
  the yellow knob is now bright orange. 
  Destroying the engine angers the Queen who detaches herself 
  from the connectors and her abdomen, allowing her to move 
  from her lair. She arrives in the Engine Room to inspect and 
  shut down the system; she tries to kill the PCs and won’t 
  converse with them; the two mutants in the elevator join the 
  fight when she is at half hp. Should she kill the party she 
  overrides the system and the workers make repairs. 
   
  
  18 
   
  Engine Controls 
  Magenta 
  Knob: 
  The PCs hear heavy sounds of rock and stone grinding 
  and feel vibrations below their feet; in Area 4 the floor 
  of the nursery opens up to the village below, dumping 
  the grub mass on top of it; the grubs eat everything 
  they land on. The floor will close back up, and raise 
  itself up to the platforms, replacing the bridge. 
  Blue 
  Knob:  
  Opens the entrance portal on the floor in Area 1 
  Green 
  Knob: 
  The hidden doorway on the other side of the room 
  slides open revealing a make-shift bedroom with 2 
  insectoid mutants inside. The bedroom is reminiscent 
  of bedrooms you see in the village huts.  
  Purple 
  Knob: 
  Opens up the hidden doorway to the queen in Area 8. 
  Yellow 
  Knob: 
  Safety button that shuts down the system if 
  overloaded. Otherwise when pressed it makes a click 
  sound and flashes orange. 
   
  Insectoid Mutant: Init +0; Atk claws +4 melee (1d8) or +2 to 
  cast a spell; AC 13; HD 4d8; hp 18; MV 30’; Act 2d20; SP: 
  spellcasting (see below). SV Fort +3; Ref +2; Will +5; AL L. 
   
  Spells known: Silk (+2 spell check, Level 1 spell Insect Queen 
  Patron); Sting (+2 spell check, level 2 spell Insect Queen Patron); 
  Mind Probe (+2 spell check, level 3 spell Insectoid Queen Patron) 
   
  Area 7 - Livestock Storage: The lair walls are lined with 
  honeycomb chambers. Most of them are sealed with a white wax. Few 
  are opened and empty. You notice a bug crawling back into one of the 
  empty honeycombs and disappear.  
   
  The bug crawls into a burrow. The surfaces of the room are 
  clean, as this is the storage area for their food. If PCs wish to 
  inspect honeycombs, roll 2d4 for how many honeycombs 
  appear to have something inside them. For each investigation 
  of a honeycomb, roll on the Honeycomb Chamber Table. 
   
  
  19 
  Honeycomb Chamber Table: Roll 1d4; Villagers and aliens are 
  unconscious when found but can be woken up without 
  needing to make a roll. 
   
  d4 
  Honey Chamber 
  1 
  Dead body - Nymph attack! (1d3 dmg immediately, 
  nymph runs away) 
  2-3 
  Villager 
  4 
  Alien 
   
  Area 8 - Insectoid Queen: This lair is huge, inhabited by a 
  gargantuan bug - thick legs, armored thorax, an enormous abdomen 
  dripping with wet eggs into a huge pile next to it. Four tentacles reach 
  from its head and disappear into the ceiling. It turns its attention to 
  the group. 
   
  The Queen can speak in any language telepathically, and can 
  understand any language, having absorbed knowledge of 
  intelligent life after feeding on their brains. PCs who try 
  to resist her will only amuse her, as she is incredibly intelligent, 
  fearless, and strong. 
   
  Before she attacks, she will offer the PCs an opportunity to join 
  the colony. Any PCs that accept her offer are immediately 
  stung by her and must roll on the Insectoid Mutation Table and 
  she becomes their patron (see Insectoid Queen Patron). If combat 
  is initiated, all mutants are compelled to protect the colony, 
  rather than their village and friends. She will repeat the offer 
  to join the colony if the PCs are losing or to try to spare her own 
  life. 
   
  Refusal to join the colony will amuse her and initiate combat. 
  At the start of combat, the queen uses 1 action to teleport in the 
  2 insectoid mutants from the secret elevator in Area 6 if the 
  mutants were not killed earlier. These minions will not attack 
  unless combat is initiated. 
   
   
  
  20 
  d6 
  Insectoid Mutation Table 
  1 
  Mandible nubs appear on the gums 
  2 
  Chitinous skin patches 
  3 
  Tiny, useless wings tear from skin on the back of the 
  shoulders 
  4 
  Antenna nodules sprout from the forehead 
  5 
  One hand hardens into a claw 
  6 
  Small proboscis forms in the throat 
   
  Insectoid Queen: Init +5; Atk Claw +2 melee (2d4) or SP 
  Telepathic Sting +4 (1d6) or Enfeebling Sting (1d4); HD 6d10; hp 
  33; AC 12; MV 10’; Act 3d20; SP Rage; SP Fly; SV Fort +6, Ref -2, 
  Will +10; AL C 
   
  Telepathic Sting: The queen pierces the mind of a victim, 
  causing searing pain in their brain; Victim’s use AC 10 + 
  Intelligence modifier to defend against this attack. 
   
  Enfeebling Sting: The queen’s stinger is inside her proboscis, it 
  extends out like a bullet up to 20` in front of her; On successful 
  hit, victim must make a DC 12 Fort save or become weakened 
  until the end of combat (-1d). 
   
  Rage: If all the Queen’s eggs are destroyed, she will 
  immediately go into a rage until combat is over; While 
  enraged, all non-magical damage to her is halved and she 
  cannot use her Telepathic Sting attack.  
   
  Fly: (MV 50’) If the queen becomes detached from her 
  abdomen, she will spread her wings and fly. 
   
  Insectoid Eggs: HD 1d100; hp 55; AC 6; SP Queen’s Rage 
   
  PCs damaging eggs angers and frustrates the Queen; she is 
  unable to use her Telepathic Sting in the same round the eggs 
  are damaged and turns her attention immediately to them. If 
  all the eggs are destroyed she, her Rage is initiated (see 
  Insectoid Queen SP rage). 
  
  21 
   
  Insectoid Queen Abdomen: HD 2d10; hp 11; AC 8; SP Explode 
   
  The Queen’s abdomen is squishy and easy to hit, but she 
  doesn’t need it to live and can use an action to detach from it 
  (and the cables), enabling her to Fly. If the abdomen is 
  destroyed, it explodes; all within a 20 ft range of the abdomen 
  must make a DC 14 Ref save or take 1d4 acid damage. 
   
  CONCLUSION 
   
  The Queen Is Dead! The PCs open and find the hatch to 
  escape in Area 1. The workers initiate the asteroid hive ship 
  auto-pilot. It slowly levitates up into the sky, disappearing 
  into the clouds and never to return. 
   
  The Engine Explodes! The asteroid hive ship explodes, 
  obliterating all inside and the entire village below. 
   
  Escaped! The asteroid hive ship flies off into the atmosphere in 
  a flash, with a loud crack just as it arrived, with all the villagers 
  inside. The PCs discover there is no one left except for them, 
  the village ransacked of all life and valuables. 
   
  
  22  
  
  23 
   
  INSECTOID QUEEN PATRON 
   
  The Queen demands loyalty; to form a bond with her one 
  must accept a part of her inside them and over time they 
  metamorphose into her vision. She demands minor acts of 
  fealty related to feeding her brains and enslaving intelligent 
  beings or she eats them instead. 
   
  Invoke Patron Check Results 
   
  12-15 The Queen probes the planet on behalf of the insectoid 
  mutant, alerting them of the current location of the target they 
  seek. 
   
  16-19 The Queen sends telepathic pheromones that 
  invigorates the insectoid mutant, healing their wounds for 1 
  HD per CL. 
   
  20-23 The Queen sends telepathic pheromones that invigorates 
  the insectoid mutant and the rest of their party, healing all 
  wounds for 1 HD per CL. 
   
  24-27 The Queen sends her drones in aid; 1d3+1 drones 
  teleport next to the insectoid mutant until combat ends. They 
  attack all enemies of the colony within their space. (See 
  Insectoid Drone stats from Insectoids from Outer Space!) 
   
  28-29 The Queen’s grubs are starving; she teleports a grub 
  mass to an area size of 40’ x 40’ that the insectoid mutant points 
  at for 1 round per CL. (See Insectoid Grub Mass stats from 
  Insectoids from Outer Space!) 
   
  30-31 The Queen teleports to the caster’s location, flying and 
  without her abdomen. She remains for 2d6 rounds during 
  which time she fights ferociously. (See Insectoid Queen Stats 
  from Insectoids from Outer Space!) 
  
  24 
  32+ The Queen teleports to the caster's location, flying and 
  without her abdomen. She remains for 2d6 rounds during 
  which time she fights ferociously. The caster gains +6 bonus to 
  Intelligence as long as the Queen is present. (See Insectoid 
  Queen Stats from Insectoids from Outer Space!) 
   
  PATRON TAINT: INSECTOID QUEEN 
   
  When patron taint is indicated for Insectoid Queen roll 1d6 on 
  the table below. When the caster has acquired all taints they 
  will have become a mature insectoid mutant and this will no 
  longer be required.  
   
  1. The caster grows wings; at first they are small and 
  useless but eventually grow into usable wings allowing 
  them to fly (MV 50’) in 30 days. 
  2. The caster grows small mandibles from their mouths; 
  at first they are useless but grow into full mandibles in 
  30 days, allowing a 1d20 bonus Act Bite (1d3). 
  3. The caster grows a small proboscis from their throat; at 
  first it is useless but it grows into a full proboscis within 
  30 days; the caster now has a taste for brains and can 
  only eat brains for sustenance once the proboscis is 
  matured. Eating a human-sized brain that has not been 
  dead for more than a few minutes will heal the Mutant 
  1d4 hp.  
  4. The caster’s hands turn into claws; at first their fingers 
  begin to fuse but morph into a full set of sharp claws 
  (1d8, Act 2d20) in 30 days.  
  5. The caster’s skin becomes chitinous; at first they have 
  small patches but these grow into fully armored chitin 
  in 30 days, granting a +2 AC bonus, a -2 Ref save 
  penalty and losing all their body hair in the process.  
  6. The caster grows antenna nodules on their head; they 
  eventually grow into fully formed antennae in 30 days 
  and provide light in the darkness; the caster can also 
  use them to mark things with their pheromones or do 
  Brain Wave scans. 
  
  25 
  PATRON SPELLS: INSECTOID QUEEN 
  The insectoid Queen grants three unique spells for colony 
  mutants. 
   
  Level 1: Silk 
  Level 2: Sting 
  Level 3: Mind Probe 
   
  SPELLBURN: INSECTOID QUEEN 
   
  1 The insectoid Queen needs brain synapses for energy, 
  extracting a small portion of energy from the mutant from afar 
  (expressed as Intelligence, Stamina, or Personality loss). 
   
  2 The insectoid Queen demands a special brain for sucking. 
  The mutant is granted the spellburn bonus, but must find a 
  victim with an intelligence of at least 9 to give to their queen. 
  This victim is picked up by the colony within a day after 
  processing. Until this sacrifice is made the insectoid cannot 
  regain burned stat points. 
   
  3 The Queen requires the ancient dance of a thousand swarms; 
  time slows and space pulls apart around the caster, who 
  instinctively knows how to perform the complex dance of its 
  insectoid ancestors, maneuvering sharply through the 
  patterns. Upon completing the invocation, the mutant appears 
  back in normal time and space. No time seems to have passed, 
  though it finds itself weakened by the exertion of the ancient 
  dance patterns, using whichever ability score points for 
  spellburn. 
   
  4 The mutant falls to its knees as it vomits out wet, slimy 
  insectoid eggs, leaving them exhausted from exertion 
  (expressed as Stamina, Agility, or Strength loss). 
   
   
   
   
  
  26 
  SILK 
   
  1 Lost, failure, and patron taint. 
   
  2-11 Lost. Failure. 
   
  12-13 The insectoid mutant produces a 50’ strand of silk that 
  can be used as a rope for climbing or binding. The silk can be 
  broken with a Strength test against the DC roll result. The silk 
  strand is temporary and deteriorates over a period of days. 
   
  14-17 The insectoid mutant produces mendable silk that can be 
  used for one small, non-permanent structure or object, such as 
  rope, a cage that could fit a small sized dog, or a face mask and 
  gloves. 
   
  18-19 The insectoid mutant produces sticky globules of silk 
  that they can spit or throw. One medium-sized target up to 50’ 
  away must make a Ref save or be caught up in the globules. 
  Strength check DC roll result to break free as an action on their 
  turn. 
   
  20-23 The insectoid mutant produces sticky globules of silk. 
  Target one large or three medium-sized targets within 5` of 
  each other. Strength check DC roll result to break free as an 
  action on their turn. 
   
  24-27 The insectoid mutant produces thick globules of silk. It 
  can be shaped and hardened immediately into a bludgeoning 
  weapon or tool for 1 hour per CL before disintegrating. 
  (1d10+CL melee). 
   
  28-29 The insectoid mutant produces thick globules of silk. It 
  can be shaped and hardened into armor for +1 AC per CL for 
  1 hour per CL before disintegrating. 
   
  
  27 
  30-31 The insectoid mutant produces copious globules of 
  building-grade silk. It can be used to construct a simple 
  structure no bigger than 15’ x 15’ for up to 1 day per CL before 
  disintegration. The material is strong and would take a 
  Strength check against the result to break. 
   
  32+ The insectoid mutant produces copious globules of 
  building-grade silk. It can be used to construct a complex 
  structure no bigger than 50’ x 50’ up to 1 day per CL before 
  disintegrating. The material is strong and would take a 
  Strength check against the result to break. 
   
  STING 
   
  1 Lost, failure, and patron taint 
   
  2-11 Lost. Failure.  
   
  12-13 Failure but the spell is not lost. 
   
  14-15 The insectoid mutant produces a poison that could be 
  applied to any weapon or their claws (+1 DMG per CL) that 
  poisons a target for 1 turn. 
   
  16-19 The insectoid produces a single dose of poison in a 
  bubble from their mouth or proboscis. The poison can 
  incapacitate a target for 1d3 + CL rounds upon ingestion or 
  absorption through the skin with a DC 11 + CL Fort save. The 
  poison can be applied to an item or weapon, and can last in a 
  glass vial or equivalent for up to 3 days before expiring. 
  Insectoids are immune. 
   
  20-21 The insectoid mutant produces a single dose of serum in 
  a bubble from their proboscis. The serum can heal 1 HD upon 
  ingestion. The serum can last in a glass vial or equivalent for 
  up to 3 days before expiring 
   
  
  28 
  22-25 The insectoid mutant spits acid that can eat through one 
  inch of metal or stone and eats away at flesh (1d4 per CL) of 
  one target for 1d3 rounds. 
   
  26-29 The insectoid mutant vomits acid that can eat through 
  one inch of metal or stone and eats away at flesh (1d4 per CL) 
  up to 3 targets within 10’ of each other for 1d3 rounds. 
   
  30-31 The insectoid mutant’s body bursts with foul-smelling 
  acidic poison. All within 5’ range of the insectoid mutant take 
  1d4 per CL damage. 
   
  32-33 The insectoid mutant’s body secretes a foul-smelling 
  acidic poison for 1d3 + CL rounds. For every successful attack 
  on the insectoid mutant the attacker takes 1d4 + CL damage in 
  return.  
   
  34+ The insectoid mutant’s body secretes a foul-smelling acidic 
  poison for 1d3 + CL rounds. For every successful attack on the 
  insectoid mutant the attacker takes 1d4 + CL damage in return. 
  Additionally, the attacker must make a Luck check; on a failure 
  their weapon is destroyed by the acid in the poison. 
  
  29 
  MIND PROBE 
   
  1 Lost, failure, and patron taint. 
   
  2-11 Lost. Failure. 
   
  12-15 Failure but the spell is not lost. 
   
  16-17 The insectoid mutant penetrates one target’s mind; they 
  writhe in pain and make their next action with -1d. 
   
  18-21 The insectoid mutant penetrates one target’s mind; they 
  writhe in pain and make their next action with -1d. 
  Additionally, the target takes 1 damage per CL to one of the 
  following ability scores chosen by the insectoid mutant: 
  Intelligence, Stamina, Personality. 
   
  22-23 The insectoid can read the surface thoughts of one target. 
  If the target is about to attack the insectoid gains +1 AC per CL 
  as they know the target’s next move, or the insectoid gets +1 
  per CL towards their next attack against the target or the target 
  forgets their action for 1 round. 
   
  24-26 The insectoid can read the surface thoughts of multiple 
  targets (1 per CL). If the target is about to attack, the insectoid 
  gains +1 AC per CL as they know the target’s next move or the 
  insectoid gets +1 per CL towards their next attack against the 
  target. 
   
  27-31 The insectoid probes deeply into the mind of one target 
  and learns its deepest, darkest secrets or next moves. If the 
  target is about to attack the insectoid gains +1 AC per CL as 
  they know the target’s next move for the next 1d3 rounds or 
  the insectoid gets +1 AC per CL towards their next 1d3 attacks 
  against the target.  
   
  32-33 The insectoid probes deeply into the mind of all targets 
  in the area and learns their deepest, darkest secrets. If the 
  
  30 
  targets are about to attack the insectoid can relay this 
  information telepathically to the rest of the party; the party 
  gains +1 AC per CL as they know the target’s next move for 
  the next 1d3 turns or the insectoid mutant party gets +1 AC per 
  CL towards their next 1d3 attacks against the target.  
   
  34-35 The insectoid mutant invades the mind of a target, 
  controlling their brain and body while the target is conscious, 
  for 1d3 + CL minutes. DC Will save against the result. 
   
  36+ The insectoid mutant invades the mind of a target, 
  controlling every part of their brain and body while the target 
  is still conscious, for 1d3 + CL minutes. DC Will save against 
  the result. Additionally, once the insectoid leaves the target’s 
  mind, they take 1 permanent damage per CL to one of the 
  following ability scores chosen by the insectoid mutant: 
  Intelligence, Stamina, Personality. 
   
   
   
  
  31 
  THE IMMORTAL 
  OOZE ENGINE 
   
   
   
  
  32 
  A level 0-1 DCC RPG adventure 
  by Stefan Surratt 
  Cover Art: Diogo Nogueira 
  Illustrations: David Persinger 
  Cartographer: David Kluttz 
   
  Playtesters: Boson Au, Mat Biscan, Kalvin Buenting, Spenser 
  Dudgeon, Eric Flom, Alex Forchia, James Harlan, Matthew 
  House, David Persinger, Chris Rice, Dan S, Matt Robertson, 
  Chris Zank 
   
  INTRODUCTION 
   
  This adventure is a Dungeon Cradle Classics RPG adventure 
  intended for 12-24 0-level or 4-6 characters of 1st-level. The 
  adventure concerns a 300-foot-wide ooze that roams the land, 
  absorbing everything it touches. At the center of the ooze is a 
  lighthouse which rises out of the top of the ooze while on the 
  move. This slow-moving threat must be stopped. Will the 
  party find the riches of all those absorbed, or become another 
  collection of slimed bones? 
    
  BACKGROUND 
   
  The Immortal Ooze Engine was created as a means to an end 
  by the grand thaumaturge Irlyntuk. He sought to make right 
  his blighted homeland and made a foolish pact with a demon 
  known as Icandra, Pontiff of the Joyless. The pact made way 
  for Irlyntuk’s greatest arcane accomplishment, that is now both 
  his sanctum and his prison. His body has fully gelatinized, 
  leaving Irlyntuk only capable of keeping his humanoid form 
  by wearing a full-body leather suit that feeds him via tubes that 
  inject him with a paste made from the ooze’s victims. 
   
  Currently, Irlyntuk pilots the great ooze across the land, 
  absorbing all life that it touches. He uses the Immortal Ooze 
  Engine to process and extract both raw material and intellect 
  from its victims, though he is unable to fully comprehend the 
  
  33 
  many disparate minds. He still seeks to add to his collective 
  knowledge even though he no longer remembers why. 
    
  PLAYER START 
   
  Begin the adventure by reading the following: 
   
  A great, blinding beam of light affixed its gaze on you as you slept 
  last night. You did not know what it was but quickly rose from your 
  slumber and attempted to flee this strange hunter. After dawn broke, 
  you saw a massive, gelatinous predator. The beam originated from a 
  lighthouse that emerged from a great ooze that looked to have a girth 
  of two or three hundred feet. 
   
  After hours of running, the monstrous ooze finally stopped and the 
  great eye that gazed upon you began to slumber. The tower descended 
  deep into the ooze; it’s bulbous peak now resting just above the water, 
  seemingly the only hopeful means of entry. Now is your first, and 
  perhaps only chance, to end this before this strange creature awakens 
  and begins its chase once again. 
   
  THE ABYSSAL LAKE 
   
  Area 1-1 - A Placid Shore: The ooze seems to have stopped in the 
  middle of a small lake that you passed in the early morning hours. A 
  layer of water now rests above it, you can see many fish swimming 
  near the surface in between fallen trees and other detritus. The peak 
  of the tower is a hundred and fifty feet away from where you stand, 
  ankle deep in what was once the edge of the lake. A small fisherman’s 
  shack rests nearby, but it is now partially submerged in the risen 
  waters. 
   
  The ramshackle wooden shack is about 10’x 10’ and filled with 
  about 2 feet of water. There are two row boats outside that are 
  tied to a short pier that is now underwater, but the oars have 
  floated away. Each rowboat has an AC 12 and 15 hp. The row 
  boats can fit up to 12 people but will be incredibly cramped. 
   
  
  34 
  PCs searching the shack can make Luck checks to find useful 
  items in the disorganized shack or in the mucky water. The 
  cabin contains 2 fishing poles, a fisherman’s short bow and 5 
  arrows, a tackle box full of fishing lures, a leather pouch with 
  a serrated knife (1d5 dmg), a 15’ square weighted fishing net (-
  2 melee, 0 damage, target is entangled requiring a DC 12 Reflex 
  save to escape or DC 16 Strength check to destroy), one coil of 
  rope 50’ long, a flask of whiskey, and two spare oars. 
    
   
  
  35 
  Area 1-2 – Lake of a Thousand Corpses: The tower’s domed peak 
  sits above the water. Thankfully, no light can be seen from inside it 
  so the great eye that was seeking you out must be at rest. As you row 
  closer to the spire, detritus begins to float closer to your boat. Bones, 
  sparsely covered in muscle and stinking like rancid jelly, rise from the 
  waters and swarm around you. The dissolved victims of the ooze 
  begin to rend your craft apart. 
   
  There is about 10’ of water over the top of the ooze. The ooze 
  contains a thousand corpses that envy the living and seek to 
  steal the life from any they encounter. When the PC’s craft is 
  about 50’ away from the tower’s dome peak then the Hands of 
  the Claimed attack, seeking to tear apart the craft and pull all 
  the PCs down to their deaths in the depths of the ooze. It will 
  take 4 more rounds of steady rowing to reach the tower unless 
  the PCs focus their efforts on gaining speed via Strength checks 
  to rowing or some other clever roleplay. 
   
  Anyone in a rowboat who fights using melee needs to make a 
  DC 8 Reflex save to avoid falling overboard. Any who fall in 
  the water will be pulled down into the ooze within 2 rounds 
  unless a DC 12 Strength check is made to pull themselves or be 
  pulled back into the boat. 
   
  Hands of the Claimed (1 per water vehicle): Init +3; Atk rend 
  +3 melee (1d5+1); AC 10; HD 3d8; hp 13; MV’ 20 or swim 30’; 
  Act 1d20 special; SP rends all targets within 20’ x 20’ x 20’ 
  volume, half-damage from non-area attacks, un-dead traits; SV 
  Fort -2, Ref +5, Will +5; AL C. 
   
  Area 1-3 - The Gazer’s Prison: The bulbous dome of the tower 
  peaks out of the waters, with a narrow walkway encircling it. The 
  tower is constructed of frosted glass and wrought iron, but there is 
  no obvious doorway or entry portal.  
   
  A 3’ wide walkway encircles the 40’ wide dome peak. There is 
  no door to the inside of the tower, but glass panels can be 
  removed with a DC 6 Agility check or broken with a single 
  attack to create an entrance. 
  
  36 
  Inside this 40’ wide circular room is a pungent, bulging mass 
  of veiny muscle and eyes, far too numerous. The monstrosity 
  is bound in chains that lash it to the walls and ceiling. Thick 
  pipes rise up from far down the tower and are forcibly lodged 
  into the underside of this turgid horror and fetid yellow pus 
  dribbles down around the pipes and chains. 
   
  
  37 
   
  An iron cage elevator, eight feet in diameter, hangs by chain 
  over a wide hole. Within arm’s reach of the elevator is a lever 
  on the floor. A few feet away is a second identical hole. A 
  vertical chain disappears down the hole into darkness. 
   
  The monstrosity is an Elder Brain that has been completely 
  dominated and broken by Irlyntuk. Once PCs create an 
  entrance to the interior and begin peering into the room then 
  the creature will sense their presence and telepathically probe 
  all creatures present, requiring a DC 15 Will save from them. 
  All who fail take 1d4 temporary Int damage and feel like they 
  have been evaluated as one would livestock. The dominated 
  Elder Brain will only do this once to each individual unless 
  attacked. If attacked, it will continue to telepathically probe 
  any attackers until it is safe or dead. It has 31 hp, AC 14, +6 
  Fort, automatically fails Ref saves, and +8 Will. 
   
  Up to 12 humanoids can fit in the elevator at a time, but it 
  would be so cramped that movement would be impossible. 
  The gaps in the cage elevator allow PCs inside the elevator to 
  reach the activation lever. The lever activates the cage 
  elevator’s descent. However, the lever has a hidden button on 
  the grip that hides a poison needle. The needle will inject itself 
  into anyone not correctly gripping the lever. A DC 10 
  Intelligence or find traps check reveals the trap in the grip. 
  Anyone hit must make a DC 10 Fort save or take 2d6 poison 
  damage. If a PC dies then all of their flesh and muscles will 
  dissolve into a pinkish-yellow liquid, leaving behind bones 
  and the PCs inventory. 
    
  Area 1-4 - The Tower’s Throat: Your descent is accompanied only 
  by the clinking of the chains that hold the elevator. Another vertical 
  chain can be seen across the tower interior, also clinking as it ascends 
  up to the apex of the tower. The vertical pipes in the center of the 
  tower bulge with build-up from the pus that drips down around them. 
  From the lumpy growths, strands of muscle and flesh extend out to 
  
  38 
  the walls of the tower’s interior, growing thicker and more common 
  as your descent continues. 
   
  While the cage elevator descends, a second one will ascend. 
  The chains that hold the two elevators are connected and 
  constructed to that one elevator can always be at the top and 
  another at the bottom. 
   
  In this area and after, there is no natural lighting and a torch or 
  similar lighting will be needed to see. The fleshy “ropes” vary 
  in size, between 3” to 12” in width. They crisscross throughout 
  the tower’s interior. The lumpy build-up from dried ichor 
  dripping down from the subjugated Elder Brain. The strands 
  have become the homes of the parasitic Hateful maggots that 
  feed on the hatred the Elder Brain has for Irlyntuk and Icandra, 
  and its envy of those who are free. 
   
  Three of these ropes will catch the elevator mid-descent, 
  however, if the PCs are in the second elevator that was not 
  initially present in 1-3 then they bypass this encounter. Once 
  caught in the ropes, the chain will continue to crank. For every 
  round that the elevator remains stuck then it will cause it to fall 
  10’ once it is released from the flesh ropes, due to slack in the 
  chain. All those inside the elevator take 1d6 bludgeoning 
  damage unless they can make a DC 6 Reflex save. Those who 
  successfully save are able to brace themselves against the 
  elevator and take no damage. If any ropes are cut then hateful 
  maggots, lamprey-mouthed creatures approximately 2 feet in 
  length, will burst out and attempt to devour any nearby living 
  creature. 
   
  If more than 8 people occupy an elevator at once, then it will 
  be so cramped that two-handed weapons can only be used at -
  2d and one-handed weapons at -1d. 
   
  Hateful Maggots (2 per cut rope): Init +2; Atk bite +1 melee 
  (1d3 + anticoagulant); AC 7; HD 1d6; hp 3; MV’ 15; Act 1d20; 
  SP anticoagulant (DC 10 Fort save or wound bleeds until 
  
  39 
  bound or healed. Each wound causes the loss of 1 hit point per 
  round); SV Fort -2, Ref +2, Will immune; AL C. 
    
  Area 1-5 - Reclamation Chamber: The cage elevator finishes its 
  descent and opens into a 50’ diameter circular room that looks to be 
  entirely made from black iron. At the center of the room is an 
  embossed metal machine in the shape of a half-sphere. The strange 
  machine is dotted with round bubble windows and large pipes that 
  seem to draw solid material from the ooze and transport them through 
  different pipes. Some of the more rusted pipes in the room are leaking 
  a yellowy-pink liquid onto the floor. 
   
  There are two circular doorways in this room. Both of these circular 
  doors are shaped like a mechanical iris and have a lever to the right. 
  A pipe near the door to the north has broken open and that door is 
  deeply crusted in filth and rust. The door to the east is much cleaner, 
  albeit mildly rusted. You can hear rumbling and hissing coming from 
  past this door. 
   
  The machine in the center of the room sucks different material 
  from the ooze and sends the materials through different pipes 
  for processing. The bubble windows on the machine allow one 
  to peer into the depths of the ooze and see countless creatures 
  and objects being slowly dissolved. 
   
  If PCs examine the embossing, paraphrase the following in the 
  way you believe the PC would interpret the pictographs: 
   
  The machine is embossed with pictographs that show a story of a man 
  who made a pact with a demon for great power, the demon taking 
  everything except power away from the man, the man binding the 
  Great Eye monstrosity, constructing this structure, growing the 
  ooze, the process of the Great Eye monstrosity evaluating targets, the 
  ooze absorbing a village, the processing and extracting of raw 
  materials from living bodies, and the piping of that material to a great 
  chair in which an imposing figure sits. 
   
  Characters with arcane or religious training may make a DC 12 
  Intelligence check to recognize the demon as Icandra, Pontiff 
  
  40 
  of the Joyless, who is known for having deserted from 
  Nimlurun’s templars of filth. 
   
  The door to the east leads to 1-6 and will open if the lever is 
  pulled. The door to the north leads to 1-7 but is in such a state 
  of disrepair that the nearby lever cannot open it. If using a 
  crowbar or similar tools, then a DC 23 Strength check may be 
  made to force open the door in its current state. If a strong acid 
  or similar agent is used to remove the crusty filth and rust, then 
  the lever will work. 
   
  Anyone who touches the yellowy-pink liquid dripping from 
  the pipes will need to make a DC 13 Fort save. Failure results 
  in 1 damage, but either way the appendage that came in 
  contact with the ooze has its bones mildly gelatinized to the 
  point of being more akin to cartilage than bone. The judge 
  should adjudicate this depending on the affected body part. A 
  single finger may suddenly feel like it is made of jelly, legs may 
  result in a movement speed reduction, or arms may result in 
  some 
  actions 
  being 
  performed 
  at 
  -1d. 
  However, 
  a 
  gelatinization may be as just beneficial as it is detrimental. An 
  individual may gain the bonus of fitting in spaces too tight for 
  a normal body, becoming resistant to acid damage, or other 
  bonuses as the Judge adjudicates. 
    
  Area 1-6 - Ancillary Arcanum: The room is crowded with more 
  dark and rusty pipes that make its size difficult to determine. The 
  pipes interconnect to many different pieces of machinery, such as 
  open vats, boilers, centrifuges, cooling tanks. The clamoring 
  machinery hisses and groans against its age. The organization of 
  machinery turns the room into a series of metal corridors. 
   
  The machinery in this chamber refines and extracts all material 
  absorbed by the ooze. All the pipes eventually lead to other 
  rooms except for a single disposal pipe that sends unwanted 
  material back into the ooze for further dissolution. Strong acids 
  can be found in many vats and boilers, which could be used to 
  unseal the door in the Reclamation Chamber that leads to 1-7. 
  
  41 
   
  If the PCs sabotage the machinery or cause extensive damage, 
  then a cautious Irlyntuk will emerge from his chamber and 
  arrive 1d3+1 rounds later to investigate and attempt to fix the 
  machinery. However, any PCs who try to sabotage 
  components might cause them to burst. Unless a DC 10 find 
  traps or Intelligence check is made to determine what the safest 
  course of sabotage is then the machinery violently explodes. 
  The saboteur must make a DC 10 Reflex check to avoid 1d4+1 
  damage from the bursting machinery. 
   
  Enterprising PCs can find various items stuck in pipes by 
  opening maintenance hatches or by fishing them out of open 
  vats. Have each PC roll a 1d10 + Luck modifier. Count 
  duplicate results as equivalent gp x5. 
    
  1d10 + 
  Luck mod 
  Result: 
  0 or less 
  Inheritor Parasite attacks before moving down 
  the pipe. DC 10 Ref save or take 1d3 dmg 
  1 
  Glass eye 
  2 
  Prosthetic hook hand (as dagger) 
  3 
  Hand manacles chained to leg irons 
  4 
  Mirror face mask 
  5 
  4 silver horseshoes (20 sp each) 
  6 
  2d14 gold teeth in half-melted dentures 
  7 
  Open iron flask filled with ooze acid 
  8 
  Mithril cutlass (as longsword) 
  9 
  Jade bee talisman (+1d Fort save once per day) 
  10 
  Iron warhammer with “DEAD” embossed on 
  the hammerhead’s face. +1d4 damage to the 
  living. -1d4 damage to un-dead. 
  11+ 
  Magical Moustache (DCC Annual p. 186) 
   
  A hand-written note can be found on the floor near some boiler 
  control valves. It says, “Remember! Flush the machinery and clean 
  it with acid at least once a week! Too many things are getting stuck 
  in there and the impure paste isn’t as potent!” 
  
  42 
   
  After the third check to find an item, several Inheritor Parasites 
  crawl out of different pipes, vats, and other machinery to 
  attack. They are a “offspring” byproduct created by Irlyntuk’s 
  fusion with the Immortal Ooze Engine. They want to absorb 
  organic material to add to their own mass. These creatures 
  resemble puddles of flesh and ruined bones covered in a 
  multitude of horrific visages. 
   
  Inheritor Parasite (3): Init -2; Atk engulf +3 melee (1d3 acid + 
  slime) or spittle spray +2 missile fire(1d3 acid + slime, range 
  15’); AC 9; HD 2d8; hp 9; MV’ 20; Act 1d16+1d12; SP slime (DC 
  12 Fort save or retch for 1d3 turns. -2d to all rolls while 
  retching), darkvision 20’; SV Fort +4, Ref +0, Will -2; AL C. 
   
  The noise of a loud fight (or sabotage) will alert a victim of the 
  ooze that is stuck in the pipes. A maintenance hatch on the pipe 
  can be opened, allowing the PCs to see a man stuck against a 
  mesh grate inside the pipe. He was incorrectly processed by 
  the great engine, which has allowed him to survive while all 
  
  43 
  his bones have been melted and extracted. His name is Tomas 
  Fletcher. He was hunting a stag in the forest when the ooze 
  rolled over him. He can describe being pulled by a current into 
  the center of the ooze and then being sucked into a large pipe 
  before getting stuck here. While he was being “processed” he 
  briefly experienced the thoughts and memories from various 
  woodland animals that were also absorbed. While he is now 
  effectively a boneless blob, he thinks this change is quite 
  chipper about the whole situation and what possibilities it 
  brings to his life. If asked to help, he could squeeze into the 
  door to 1-7 and force it open. 
    
  Area 1-7 - The Wizard’s Cockpit: The 20’ x 50’ rectangular 
  chamber is dominated by a large reclined chair made entirely of pipes 
  that sits in the center of a raised platform. The walls of the room exude 
  rusty piping that flows down to the floor and form the chair in the 
  center of the room. A humanoid form rests in the pipe chair, 
  completely sealed in a full-body suit made of dark leather with golden 
  filigree. Fleshy ropes connect pipes from the chair to various points 
  throughout the figure’s body. 
   
  The figure rises from its chair; arcane sparks flare from the figure’s 
  body as tubes disconnect from his suit, hissing, popping, and 
  dripping ooze. A gust of wind ushers forth from behind you, forcing 
  you into the room and shuttering the door behind you. “Good. I 
  haven’t had any visitors in a long time. The great engine always 
  dissolves the bones before I can get to them, and I do need some 
  replacements.” He begins to lurch towards you. 
   
  Irlyntuk’s bones have dissolved over the course of his long 
  communion with the great ooze, but the Immortal Ooze Engine 
  dissolves all claimed bones during processing. He is 
  intravenously fed life-sustaining paste via the tubes connected 
  to his suit. In addition to sustenance, he is also fed the 
  knowledge and memories of those that the ooze absorbs, 
  which grants him extra actions. However, all the added 
  knowledge has made it difficult for him to focus and cannot act 
  with anything better than a d14. Irlyntuk will have already cast 
  gust of wind to force all the PCs into the room, which will also 
  
  44 
  cause the door to close unless it was propped open with a 
  sturdy object. In the second round of combat, an Inheritor 
  Parasite will emerge from some of the piping on the ground 
  and defend its progenitor. 
   
  Irlyntuk, Host of Many Forms: Init +0; Atk; AC 13; HD 4d8+4; 
  hp 22; MV 15’; Act 3d14; SP spellcasting (spell check +7, spells 
  known: (level 1) choking cloud, flaming hands (as spouting acid) 
  (level 2) levitate, Nythuul’s porcupine coat (level 3) gust of wind), 
  resistant to acid, darkvision 30’; SV Fort +3, Ref -6, Will +6; AL 
  C. 
   
  Inheritor Parasite: Init -2; Atk engulf +3 melee (1d3 acid + 
  slime) or spittle spray +2 missile fire (1d3 acid + slime, range 
  15’); AC 9; HD 2d8; hp 9; MV’ 20; Act 1d16+1d12; SP slime (DC 
  12 Fort save or retch for 1d3 turns. -2d to all rolls while 
  retching), darkvision 20’; SV Fort +4, Ref +0, Will -2; AL C. 
    
  CONCLUSION 
   
  If Irlyntuk has been slain and no one is controlling the engine 
  it will begin to catastrophically fail after 1 turn. Pipes will burst 
  and boilers will erupt, causing the interior to begin flooding 
  with the caustic ooze. The only way to prevent this is for 
  someone to don the communion suit and sit in the pilot’s seat, 
  which will automatically reattach the flesh tubes to the suit and 
  re-engage systematic control of the Immortal Ooze Engine. The 
  new pilot will also begin to receive knowledge concerning the 
  function of the machinery and some latent memories of 
  Irlyntuk’s life. Much of the machinery is still in dire need of 
  repair. Without further intervention, the engine will break 
  down in 3d7 months. However, if the PCs slay Irlyntuk and the 
  great engine is destroyed then the gods of Law will reward all 
  survivors with +1 Luck. 
   
  If the imprisoned Elder brain is freed then it will worm its way 
  away from civilization until it can find a deep, dark home for 
  itself. There is a cumulative 1% chance each day that Icandra, 
  
  45 
  Pontiff of the Joyless, discovers that her “gift” to Irlyntuk is 
  now free and will come to subjugate the Elder Brain. As a Type 
  III Demon, Incandra will be able to easily accomplish this and 
  will then learn of what the PCs have done in this adventure. 
   
  The communion suit’s golden filigree tube ports and golden 
  filigree could be worth up to 100 gp, but the ornamentation 
  also acts as a “spellbook” and can be studied to learn the spells 
  that the Irlyntuk knew. A DC 11+ spell level Intelligence check 
  and a full week’s study per spell level is required to learn each 
  spell. Learning the spells can be attempted more than once, but 
  additional attempts take an extra cumulative month of study 
  for each additional attempt to learn a spell. 
   
   
   
   
  
  46 
   
  
  47 
  CRYPT OF THE 
  PICKLE WITCH 
   
  A level 0-1 DCC RPG adventure  
   
  By Judge Yossarian 
  Cartography and Illustrations by David Kluttz 
  Cover Art by bygrinstow 
   
  Playtesters: The Geithnersberg Trading Company, DCC Days 
  2020: David Corrie, Tyler and Jess Manias, and Gwen the 
  Lawful Smuggler 
   
  INTRODUCTION 
   
  This adventure is designed for 15-20 0-level characters or 8-10 
  1st-level characters. For a more powerful party, consider 
  increasing the number of enemies, and for a weaker party (or 
  if the party fares poorly) consider letting the party rescue some 
  captured villagers in room 3-3. There are several ways the 
  adventure can conclude, and players should not be punished 
  for choosing to run rather than fight; the story hooks may 
  indeed be even more interesting if the party fails in their quest 
  and survives.  
   
  When a young girl goes missing in the deepest part of the 
  woods, a group of unsuspecting villagers are forced to 
  confront years of suspicion and rumor, and face off against the 
  undying horror fermenting deep below the forest. Terror, 
  danger, and briny death are near certainties... but those who 
  survive will have stories the town taverns will retell for 
  decades. 
   
   
  
  48 
  BACKGROUND 
   
  The woods known as the Green Span are home to a powerful 
  witch, at least ten centuries old. She draws her occult power 
  from Cisalv the Preserver, a mighty entity from another plane 
  (more details on him follow). She extends her life by drawing 
  it out of living things, leaving them in a state of permanent 
  stasis. At Cisalv’s direction she conducts experiments to find 
  new ways of preservation and mummification of living things. 
   
  She is functionally immortal, but her body does slowly age; 
  every 150 years or so, she kidnaps a girl-child, usually an 
  infant, and conducts a ritual to swap her conscious mind into 
  the child’s young body. The reeve’s daughter would normally 
  be too old for her purposes, but she has grown bored of her 
  solitude in the woods. If she succeeds, she will return to the 
  camp in 12 hours or so in the girl’s body and impersonate her 
  perfectly, then spend a few decades corrupting and eventually 
  drawing the life force from everyone in the village. 
   
  SCENE 1: THE DISAPPEARANCE 
  OF A GIRL-CHILD 
   
  You set off from your village imagining the delights of market day in 
  town and hoping for a quick and easy journey. Maybe a few wild 
  animal attacks, a restless night in the woods, or even a halfhearted 
  extortion attempt by some bandits, but then coin in your pocket and 
  several days of food and entertainment. The distance from your 
  village to town is long, however, and it is necessary to camp for the 
  night halfway through, in the heart of the thick woods known as The 
  Green Span. The campsite is a cleared area just off the road, well-used 
  by travelers and caravans like yours. The journey here was entirely 
  uneventful, as you had hoped. 
    
  Well, maybe not entirely... 
   
   
  
  49 
  RUMORS 
   
  Each player may roll a d10 to see what strange incident or 
  experience one of his characters had on the way to the 
  campsite. Some are true, some partially true, some complete 
  nonsense, but the ones in bold are those potentially useful to 
  the party. 
   
  d10 
  Result 
  1 
  Uncommonly dry weather for this time of year. Or is it 
  uncommonly wet? You never were one for almanacs… 
  2 
  You notice a flock of white storks flying overhead. Bad 
  luck, storks… some say they steal babies from their 
  cradles and replace them with changelings! 
  3 
  An odd, sour, cheesy smell seems to permeate from the 
  ground for a few hundred yards just before you reach the 
  campsite. You’re pretty sure it isn’t you… you had a bath 
  just a few weeks ago. 
  4 
  You hear a rumor that the reeve’s youngest is touched in 
  the head- hardly talks, and when she does, nonsense. He’s 
  taking her to see if he can find a cleric to pray over her. 
  5 
  One of the group, a hunter, saw a scrawny doe cross the 
  track and took a shot at her. Got her clean through the neck, 
  he did, but she just kept on running! No blood either… 
  6 
  Some of the oldsters were telling the youngsters tales about 
  the old woman of the woods… lives out here in a great big 
  hut, that walks around on chicken legs! What nonsense. 
  7 
  One of the hired caravan guards tried to fill his waterskin 
  at a spring along the way, and pretty much ruined it. The 
  water bubbling out of the spring was salty as the sea and 
  knocked him out like a light when he tried to drink it. 
  8 
  During a break in marching, an older guards tells you a 
  family story about his great-great-aunt, who as a child 
  wandered off into these woods and never returned. There 
  were sightings of her for decades- a disheveled woman 
  wandering amongst the trees- but she never came home. 
  9 
  The reeve’s little girl has been babbling away ever since 
  you made camp; chatting away to some imaginary friend. 
  You make out a few words: “...no, no, I don’t like them! 
  Salty and sour, eughhh…. But hey, why you got so many 
  legs?” 
  10 
  (Roll twice more, take both results) 
  
  50 
  At dawn, the village reeve, who is leading the caravan, frantically 
  awakes the group. His daughter is missing. She was last seen during 
  the second dog watch; one of the ox-drivers stepped out to do his 
  business, and the girl was staring out into the woods as if in a trance. 
  One of the hired caravan guards has found her trail, a set of small 
  footsteps leading off into the murky woods. 
   
  The guards must stay to watch the goods, and the reeve insists on 
  waiting at the camp, in case she should wander back. He orders you, 
  good townsfolk, to follow the trail and see what has become of his 
  daughter. You know he’s a fair man and loves his daughter much; 
  success will be rewarded, and failure could mean ostracization, exile, 
  or worse. 
   
  Gather your party and venture forth! 
   
   
   
  
  51 
  SCENE 2: THE LIFELESS 
  CLEARING 
   
  Following the trail for the better part of an hour, you suddenly come 
  upon a broad clearing. A crooked path, framed by dead trees and 
  brambles, leads between a squalid, pot-bellied hut on one side of the 
  clearing and an old open well on the other side. A dozen paces from 
  the well, a pile of wood sits beside a well-used fire-pit, crowned with 
  a large wooden frame. 
   
  The clearing is the above-ground portion of the witch’s vile 
  domain. She does not visit the surface much, no longer needing 
  to sleep or eat herself, but Cisalv’s power keeps the clearing 
  preserved as if in constant use. No birds or other animals can 
  be heard here. The plant life is dried and withered as if in late 
  autumn, strangely without any leaves having fallen. There is 
  no evidence of rot or decay on the deadfall libs or stumps. 
  Area 2-1 - The Boucan: The fire-pit is cold, but coals remain from 
  past fires, and the rocks are black with charcoal soot. Above the pit is 
  a frame of thick branches, bent and lashed together over the fire, and 
  hung with scraps of cured, smoked, and dried meat. 
   
  This is where the witch experiments with smoking and heat-
  curing creatures alive. Only scraps remain, fused to the frame 
  by the heat, but many a being has met its painful end here. A 
  DC 10 Intelligence check (occupations like butcher, cook, or 
  healer get a +5) to detect pieces of roasted human flesh 
  amongst the boar and venison scraps. 
   
  Inspecting the fire pit itself will reveal pieces of burnt bone and 
  cloth amongst the coals. Upon digging through the coals, a PC 
  will find a shriveled human ear, with a large earring on it, 
  made of a dull grey metal. Hanging from the earring is a two-
  inch radius charm in the shape of a trine (⅓ of a circle). It 
  belonged to one of the three Temporal Assassins (see sidebar). 
  She was smoked alive by the witch, and later fed to one of her 
  captured comrades as a sick experiment. Leaning on the 
  
  52 
  woodpile is her cuirass, charred black by the smoke and the 
  straps ruined, but the front and back plates can be separated 
  and used as small handheld bucklers (+1 AC, -1 Check 
  Penalty). 
   
  SIDEBAR: CISALV AND HIS 
  ENEMIES 
   
  The witch of the woods is pledged to a powerful patron named 
  Cisalv, an inhuman entity from another plane. Cisalv is called 
  “the Preserver” by occultists because of his obsession with 
  halting natural processes such as life, death, decay, and some 
  say the passage of time itself. He is not quite a god in terms of 
  power, but aspires to godhood, and grants power to mortals 
  who help him develop new techniques of preservation and 
  grow his power. In the rare cases he appears as an avatar on 
  this plane, he resembles a 15 - 20-foot-high ethereal humanoid 
  figure with the head and wings of a stork. 
   
  As often occurs with pretenders to godhood, Cisalv has made 
  enemies of many existing deities. His ideology is generally 
  neutral evil, but neutral nature gods abhor him, and his 
  greatest foe is the lawful god Choranus, the Seer Father1, who 
  has dominion over time. Choranus cannot reach Cisalv in his 
  home Plane of Stasis, so he sends Temporal Assassins after his 
  servants to frustrate their work and limit Cisalv’s power. 
   
  Not too long ago, three of these assassins were sent after the 
  witch, wielding an amulet blessed by Choranus called the Eye 
  of Hindsight which allowed them to see through the witch’s 
  glamours and resist her hexes. However, they underestimated 
  her power, were captured and made subject to her experiments 
  and torture. Two are now dead and their bodies can be found 
  in Areas 2-1 and 3-3; their leader is alive and lives in Area 3-4, 
   
  1 Feel free to replace Choranus with another deity of time from your 
  campaign’s particular pantheon. 
  
  53 
  though violently insane and rendered invisible by side effects 
  of experimentation. If the party can retrieve and assemble the 
  pieces of the Eye of Hindsight, the final battle with the witch 
  will be rendered much easier. Its wearer receives the ability to 
  see through some illusions (at the judge’s discretion) and it can 
  be used by a cleric as a holy symbol of Choranus, granting the 
  “Second Sight” spell at level 1. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Area 2-2 - The Brine Well: This old well is mostly unremarkable; 
  it is too deep and dark to see the bottom, but a faint sour smell wafts 
  up from it. There is an old wooden frame above, but no bucket or rope. 
   
  Observant PCs (DC 8 Intelligence check) inspecting the well 
  will notice that the wooden frame is cunningly and purposely 
  whittled so it will not bear weight. If the PCs use it to anchor a 
  rope to descend the well, the beam will break while the last PC 
  is descending, causing 1d3 fall damage (if no marching order 
  is given, choose the PC with lowest Luck). 
   
  Very observant PCs (DC 13 Int check) will notice two holes in 
  the stone rim, approximately 3 feet apart, lined with steel 
  grommets, and scratches on the stone showing that something 
  had often been anchored there before. The rope ladder from 
  the hut hooks in here and allows PCs to climb down with no 
  risk. 
  
  54 
  Area 2-3 - The Squalid Cabin: A squat, pot-bellied hut, round and 
  roughly 12 feet in diameter, sits in a corner of the clearing, a faint 
  wisp of smoke ascending from the chimney. The roof is thatch and the 
  walls are a mix of stone, daubed clay, and wooden beams. As you 
  approach the shabby building you notice that the door is partially 
  ajar, and through it, you can see, partially, a jar. In fact, a whole shelf 
  filled with jars. 
  As the door creaks open, you see a surprisingly neat interior, although 
  there is a light coating of dust on everything, and a sharp, acidic smell 
  pervades. A shelf immediately across from the door is filled with dry 
  goods such as rice and flour, as well as preserved vegetables and fruit 
  in glass containers. A hearth in the center of the room is surmounted 
  by a wooden mantel, from which hangs strands of dried herbs, and on 
  top of which sits a well-made taxidermy squirrel. 
   
  A small table sits in the center of the room, cluttered with dried plants 
  and flowers. On one wall, a shabby straw bed lies unmade. Next to 
  the bed, mounted on the wall above an enormous mottled-brown 
  bearskin rug, another shelf holds several small, brass-bound kegs and 
  amphorae. 
   
  The fluid on the shelf is enchanted brine. If drunk, characters 
  must pass a DC 5 Fortitude save or fall unconscious for 1d4 
  days. While unconscious, they cannot be woken by mundane 
  means. If the check is passed, they gain +3 Stamina and cannot 
  take damage for 1d12 hours. However, keep track of damage 
  taken; it will be doubled and inflicted upon the PC at the end 
  of 12 hours, unless another dose is taken. If they die and are 
  somehow revived, they take the patron taint of Cisalv, or major 
  corruption, at the judge’s discretion. One amphora is already 
  open, and at the bottom of the brine is a copper key to the door 
  in Area 3-2 (on a roll-under luck check PCs see it shining at the 
  bottom). 
   
  Under the bed is a rope ladder, with metal hooks on the top. It 
  is designed to hook into the depressions in the rim of the well 
  outside. 
   
  
  55 
  The dried herbs, vegetables, and supplies here are mundane 
  and can be safely consumed. They have no magical or healing 
  properties but are worth about 50 cp if collected and brought 
  back to town. There is also a large cleaver on the table, still 
  sharp, and usable as a hand-axe. 
   
  The squirrel is not actually taxidermied, but in stasis. It can be 
  sold for as much as 50 gp if properly appraised, and if the 
  witch’s grimoire is deciphered or Cisalv is taken as a patron, it 
  can be activated with a spell check as a 1st-level guardian-type 
  familiar per the core rulebook. If unappraised, it will sell for 2 
  gp as a piece of folk art.  
   
  Looking under the bed or disturbing any of the casks or 
  amphorae will trigger the hut’s security, the bearskin rug, 
  which is actually a bear which was torturously deboned alive 
  by the witch for this purpose. It cannot chase the PCs from the 
  hut but will attack whoever is standing on it immediately. 
   
  Animated Bearskin: Init +6; Atk Maul +3 melee (1d8); AC 7; 
  HD 1d10+1; HP 7; MV 3’; Act 1d20; SV Fort +3, Ref +2, Will -2; 
  Al N. 
   
  Observant PCs may notice that the hearth is unlit, and appears 
  to not have been lit recently, despite the smoke coming from 
  the chimney. Below the bear is a trapdoor leading to Area 3-2, 
  the root cellar.  
   
   
   
  
  56 
  SCENE 3: THE BRINEY DEMESNE 
  Area 3-1 - The Well’s Bottom: As your eyes adjust to the darkness 
  at the well’s bottom, you notice it is mostly dry, with a small pool of 
  greenish liquid in the center. A strong sour, acidic odor burns your 
  lungs. A stone archway leads off to the east, while the south side of 
  the circular chamber is walled floor-to ceiling with iron bars. A gate 
  in the center is locked from the outside with a heavy iron latch. 
   
  The liquid here is the same as that in the casks and amphorae 
  in the cabin. Peering through the metal bars, characters will see 
  a murky room littered with rags, bones and refuse, and may 
  make out the outlines of shelves. They also have an odd feeling 
  of being watched. 
   
  The latch is easily openable from this side and leads into Area 
  3-4. The archway leads to a hall, on the opposite end of which 
  is the locked door to Area 3-2. Halfway down the hall, a double 
  door to the south leads to Area 3-3. 
  Area 3-2 - The Root Cellar: The trapdoor reveals an old but 
  uncorroded copper ladder, leading to a stone-flagged cellar. The room 
  is filled with rows of crates, shelves, and cabinets overflowing with 
  fruits, vegetables, plants, many of which are exotic and 
  unrecognizable to you, and even cheeses, cuts of meat and sausage. 
  They are all preserved in some way; smoked, dried, pickled or salted. 
  A copper pipe runs down from the ceiling in the center of the room, 
  and continues along the back wall, disappearing into a fitting on the 
  west wall beside a small wooden door. 
   
  The pipe in the room carries the exhaust from the witch’s steam 
  plant to the surface, to be expelled from the chimney of the hut. 
  The door is locked with a small copper padlock. 
   
  The door can be unlocked with the key found upstairs or 
  picked with tools and a DC 12 Agility check. It may also be 
  broken down with three DC 10 Strength checks (only one 
  person may attempt per round). However, this noisy process 
  
  57 
  will trigger the room’s security, the Cursed Animated 
  Preserved Foodstuffs, as will an attempt to ingest any of the 
  food in the room. 
   
  Cursed Animated Preserved Foodstuffs: Init +5; Atk Choke -
  5 melee (1 plus choking); AC 7; HD 4d8; HP 18; MV 0’; Act 
  special; SP attempt to force-feed and choke all targets within 
  the room, SV Fort +0, Ref+0, Will +8; AL N. 
   
  If hit, a target takes 1 damage and begins to choke as the 
  animated food item rams itself down their throat; target cannot 
  move or act and takes 3 damage per round. Target receives a 
  Fort save against the original attack roll each round to clear 
  their gullet, and allies may make a Strength check against the 
  same to perform a Heimlich maneuver, with a +5 to trained 
  healers or food service professionals. Once the foodstuffs take 
  18 damage, they will lose enchantment, and crumble to dust. 
   
  Area 3-3 - The Pickling Floor: Coming through the double doors, 
  you discover the strangest room you have ever been in. A massive 
  copper vat of bubbling liquid sits to your right, expelling a sour-
  smelling steam, and hooked up to a copper-piped apparatus on the 
  wall. An eerie fire burns beneath it with no visible fuel. One the 
  opposite wall, a series of long cylindrical glass tanks with large, 
  unfamiliar shapes silhouetted within. The floor and walls are 
  delicately shaped stone, the ground laid with large green and black 
  rugs covered in unidentifiable symbols and patterns. There is a 
  wooden door on the west wall, midway down the room, and another 
  metal door on the east wall at the end of the room. 
   
  The bubbling vat is enchanted formaldehyde. It is distilled here 
  for the witch’s experiments, and is also a part of her steam 
  plant, which is used to power the other machinery in the 
  complex. The secrets of this machinery were revealed to her by 
  her extraplanar patron. There is a wheel on the piping leading 
  up to the formaldehyde still. Tightening the valve shut with 
  this wheel will turn off the steam, disabling the other 
  machinery. It may be loosened again to let the steam resume, 
  so long as the piping is intact and the magical fire lit. 
  
  58 
   
  The glass tanks are actually not glass at all- they are cylindrical 
  volumes of formaldehyde contained in an antibiotic magical 
  force barrier. Any PC attempting to put a limb through this 
  barrier will find it shriveled and atrophied when they 
  withdraw it; the appendage will be uselessly crippled and will 
  drop off on its own accord within 1d4 hours, leaving a pale 
  gray stump. 
   
  Deactivating the steam also deactivates the barriers, causing 
  the formaldehyde to splash out onto the floor, and freeing the 
  contents of the tanks. One has a dead human body in it- the 
  other has the still living Pickled Wolf Zombie, which 
  immediately attacks. 
   
  Pickled Wolf Zombie: Init -2; Atk Bite +2 melee (1d4); AC 14; 
  HD 2d6+1; hp 10; MV 40’; Act 1d20, SV Fort +4, Ref+1, Will +0; 
  AL N. 
   
  
  59 
  The human corpse was one of the Three Temporal Assassins 
  (see sidebar). It is dressed in odd black robes with no clear 
  seams or fasteners, and its skin is shriveled and grey. It has 
  gaping wounds on its neck and torso. It is wearing a necklace 
  of dull grey metal, with a 2-inch radius charm in the shape of 
  a trine. If the party also recovered the trine earring from the 
  firepit on the surface, they will find the two charms interlock 
  to form ⅔ of a circle, after which the seam disappears, and they 
  cannot be separated. On its belt is a beautifully uncorroded, 
  curved, serrated dagger of an unknown metal (non-magical, 
  works as a +1 to-hit dagger). 
   
  The western door is not locked but wedged closed with a 
  heavy oak bar that is easily removed from this side. It leads to 
  Area 3-4. The eastern door is made of a coppery metal, and 
  swings open with a hiss when a wheel in the center of the door 
  is loosened. It leads to Area 3-5. 
  Area 3-4 - The Haunted Storeroom: This room, unlike the 
  previous rooms, is not neat but littered with detritus; small animal 
  bones, rags, what appears to be dried excrement. Something clearly 
  had its den here at some point, but no creatures are visible. A few 
  broad shelves hold pouches, bags, jars, crates, and barrels of all 
  manner of powders, dried plants, and shining crystals- reminds you 
  of the village herbalist’s shop, although she was never so well stocked. 
  A barred door leads out to the north, and a stout wooden door to the 
  east. 
   
  This is the curing supply room. In here is a stock of glass jars 
  of varying size worth 15 gp, and an organized shelf of 
  alchemical ingredients, with sacks of salts and reagents. These 
  are worth 300 gp if appraised at DC 16 Intelligence check; 
  someone with a suitable background gets +5 (if unappraised, 
  whoever buys them will certainly lowball and offer only 3d30 
  gp). They are also valuable as spell ingredients for patron bond 
  for Cisalv, granting +5 to that check. 
   
  
  60 
  A small black pouch in the corner contains unstable reagents; 
  if not appraised, the character who carries it will take 3d4 
  explosive damage next time they are hit and lose 1/3 of their 
  fragile items. 
   
  Once the PCs enter this room, the invisible lunatic who lives 
  there immediately begins to stalk them silently. After 10 
  minutes in the room, or when the PCs start to dally, he attacks 
  the character with the lowest luck or agility attribute. That 
  character gets a DC 15 Ref save to detect the pitter-patter of 
  steps behind them; otherwise they are subject to a backstab 
  from the madman before combat begins. 
   
  Invisible Lunatic: Init +3; Atk Claws +2 melee (1d4, or 1d10 
  backstab); AC 22; HD 1d12+2 HP 9; MV 30’; Act 1d20; SV Fort 
  +3, Ref+6, Will -2; AL C. 
   
  The Invisible Lunatic was the leader of the Temporal Assassins 
  sent to kill the witch. The witch kept him starved in this room 
  so that she could feed him the results of other experiments- 
  part of a commission from Cisalv to find ways to transfer life 
  force. The side effects of the experiments gave him unnaturally 
  long life, lengthened his nails into twisted claws, turned him 
  entirely invisible, and also drove him stark raving mad. He has 
  no shred of humanity remaining and will attempt to kill and 
  consume any living thing other than the witch herself, who 
  terrifies him. He retains his assassin’s reflexes but most of the 
  strength has been starved out of him. 
   
  The Lunatic attacks by sneaking around the room silently and 
  backstabbing a random target each round (+5 to backstab, 1d10 
  damage). While he is invisible, he can only be struck by a 
  critical hit, and can always backstab. After he has made a kill 
  (or two successful attacks), the blood on his claws makes him 
  partially visible, reducing his AC to 17. If the PCs somehow 
  render him fully visible, for example by scattering one of the 
  sacks of fine alchemical salts over him, his AC is reduced to 12 
  and he can no longer backstab, instead making a regular attack 
  
  61 
  at +2. If the PCs flee the room, there is a 25% chance he sneaks 
  out with them, stalking them and waiting for the opportune 
  moment to strike again. Otherwise he remains to feast on the 
  corpses of the fallen. 
   
  If the lunatic is killed, and his (still invisible) body is carefully 
  looted, a metallic bracelet can be found partially embedded in 
  his swollen, mutated wrist. On it is the third 2-inch radius trine 
  charm. When combined with another piece, or both, it becomes 
  visible again and joins with them seamlessly. Each of his claws 
  can also be removed and used as a dagger by PCs, which has 
  normal stats for a dagger but remains permanently invisible. 
   
  Both doors out of this room are barred from the opposite side 
  and can only be opened by extraordinary means (like the bag 
  of unstable reagents). 
   
   
  
  62 
  Area 3-5 - The Fermenting Reservoir: You peer into a long 
  rectangular room bathed in an eerie green glow. You see two narrow 
  metal catwalks in the shape of an “L”, raised about six feet above the 
  surface of a deep pool of dark green, bubbling, phosphorescent liquid. 
  At their corner is a metal platform, on top of which is a stained metal 
  table with chain restraints. Next to the table is a glass pedestal 
  connected to a copper pipe which disappears into the far wall. At the 
  other end of the L-shaped catwalk is a metal door, similar to the one 
  you entered by. 
   
  The metal table is the witch’s operating and dissection table. 
  Tangled in one of the straps is a red hair ribbon, which party 
  members recognize as belonging to the reeve’s daughter. A 
  close examination of the table finds none of the bloodstains are 
  fresh. 
   
  Next to the table is a crate full of sinister looking but well-made 
  medical tools, worth 12 gp to a twisted enough buyer. A few 
  pieces from the set will serve well enough as thieves’ tools. 
   
  The glass pedestal next to the table has two long metal levers 
  attached to it. One controls the brine level in the chamber, and 
  another opens the doors to the chamber. They only function if 
  the steam plant in Area 3-3 has not been disabled. 
   
  The catwalks are narrow and have no handrails. They must be 
  navigated single file, with each character making a DC 5 
  Agility check once to see if they can balance. On a failed check, 
  adjacent characters may make a DC 12 Reflex save to catch 
  them, but a result of 6 or less sends them in as well. Fallen 
  characters can be easily fished out, but entering the brine 
  awakens the Brine Elemental. 
   
  Brine Elemental: Init +3; Atk Engulf +10 (1 + stasis); AC 16; 
  HD 8d8; HP 33; MV 0’; Act 1d20; , SP half damage from 
  piercing weapons, stasis (target paralyzed for 1d12 rounds); SV 
  Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +8; AL N. 
   
  
  63 
  A towering, malevolent humanoid shape made of bubbling 
  brine, this creature was formed when the souls of the witch’s 
  victims were drawn out into the liquid, they were preserved 
  in. It attacks anything that breaks the surface tension of the 
  brine, attempting to engulf them and force itself into their open 
  orifices and wounds. If it succeeds, it paralyzes the victim, and 
  those in the brine will drown unless rescued within a number 
  of rounds equal to their Stamina bonus +1. 
   
  It is highly unlikely the PCs can kill the Brine Elemental, but if 
  the room’s machinery is still powered, they can easily banish it 
  by pulling the lever in the pedestal (see below) to drain the 
  brine from the chamber. The creature can attack anywhere in 
  the room, but cannot leave the room by any means. If all living 
  and unparalyzed PCs leave the room for three or more turns, 
  the elemental will resume its slumber until awakened again, 
  and Agility checks are not required again on the way back to 
  safely use the catwalk. 
   
  The metal door on the far side leads to Area 4-1, but has no 
  latch, knob, or other obvious means to open it. It can only be 
  opened with the lever on the glass pedestal, or via an 
  emergency lever above the door. The emergency lever will 
  cause the door to swing inward violently, flinging whoever is 
  within five feet of the door into the brine; the PC who pulled 
  the lever gets no save, but PCs behind him get a DC 10 Reflex 
  save to keep their balance. 
  
  64 
  
  65 
   
  
  66 
   
  SCENE 4: THE ZESTY CONCLUSION 
   
  Area 4-1 - The Salty Tombs: You step into a massive rectangular 
  chamber forty feet wide and hundreds of feet long, dimly lit by a 
  shimmering moat of phosphorescent brine ringing the walls. Ten 
  rectangular pedestals emerge from the moat, surrounding a large 
  stone platform. In the middle of the platform, on a huge throne of 
  woven wicker topped with black feathers and bird skulls, sits an 
  ancient crone, her damp and withered skin a deathly mottled grey. A 
  large red centipede is perched carefully on her shoulder. From under 
  a mass of matted white hair, she leers at a young girl seated quietly 
  on her lap- the reeve’s daughter at last! 
   
  Upon noticing your entry, she cackles, and in a raspy voice, calls out, 
  “Imbeciles! Primitive bumpkins! You think to stop me, and rescue 
  this child? You are too late! We are joined now, and if you harm me, 
  the girl shall die! If you value her life or yours, flee now!” 
   
  A halo of sickly green light rings the crone’s head, and a green ray 
  links it with a similar halo around the girl’s head. Suddenly, the 
  whole chamber seems to shake with the grinding of stone on stone, as 
  the tops of the pedestals open, and withered forms begin to climb out! 
   
  The Pickle Witch is here, with her giant centipede familiar on 
  her shoulder, and the missing girl in her clutches. She is 
  actually extremely concerned that the PCs have made it this far 
  and confronted her at her most vulnerable. She has just 
  spellburned significantly to complete the ritual to transfer her 
  consciousness into the girl’s body, leaving her very weak, and 
  she needs to stall for time for the ritual to finish. She is bluffing 
  about the link between her and the girl being dangerous- in 
  fact, the only way to save the girl is to kill the witch 
  immediately, before the ritual is complete. 
   
  To gain time and protect herself, she has released her previous 
  ten host bodies from where they rest in stasis in the brine. They 
  are perfectly preserved 150-200-year-old human bodies, 
  inhabited by the feral minds of the children she kidnapped. 
  
  67 
   
  The fully assembled Eye of Hindsight allows the wearer to see 
  through the magic, and in their mind, they receive a hard to 
  define but clear image of how the ritual is proceeding. They 
  know that the witch is bluffing and how much time remains 
  before the girl’s mind is lost. 
   
  Pickled Ancient Feral Child (10): Init -1; Atk thrash -1 (1d3 
  damage); AC 11; HD 1d8+1; hp 6; MV 35’; Act 1d20; SV Fort+3, 
  Ref +1, Will -2; AL N. 
   
  The withered hosts are entirely insane. Once released, they will 
  swim across the moat and rush towards the exit of the chamber 
  to try to escape, blindly thrashing at anything that gets in their 
  way. If the PCs all stand to one side (and clear the single-file 
  catwalk in the next room) the creatures will rush past them 
  without incident. 
   
  If the brine in the preceding room has been drained, there are 
  only a few inches remaining and the creatures cannot swim. 
  They will scream from their pedestals for one round, then on 
  the following round will attempt to jump the moat (1d20+1 
  against a DC 8 Agility check). Those who succeed rush towards 
  the exit as normal, but those who fail are dashed to pieces on 
  the stone 15 feet below. 
   
  To the wielder of the fully assembled Eye of Hindsight, the 
  creatures appear as bawling, feral children rather than old 
  crones. 
   
  The Pickle Witch: Init -2; Atk claw -2 melee (1d4-1) or Cisalv’s 
  Stasis +8 (special); AC 9; HD 3d6; hp 14; MV 20’; Act 1d20; SP 
  Cisalv’s Stasis (Will save against spell check or paralysis for 
  1d12 rounds, range 30’); SV Fort +2, Ref+0, Will +8; AL C. 
   
  The witch will clutch the girl and avoid close combat as long 
  as she can, casting her paralysis spell each round that she isn’t 
  in melee.  
  
  68 
   
  After six rounds, the ritual will finish, and she will have 
  swapped bodies with the little girl. From the perspective of the 
  group, the girl will bite the crone’s arm and jump away, and 
  the crone will shriek and dash towards the exit. If this happens, 
  the most probable result is that the PCs kill the crone (with the 
  child’s mind inside her body dying with her) and rescue the 
  girl (with the witch’s mind inhabiting it). The witch will then 
  impersonate the girl almost flawlessly and return to the village 
  in her place (a possible story hook for a continuing campaign). 
   
  The witch's familiar will hide inside her clothes. If the witch is 
  killed without the familiar being killed, her soul will flee to the 
  familiar’s body and disappear into a crack in the floor (to the 
  true altar to Cisalv). The familiar will flee the same way if the 
  ritual is completed (it will rejoin its master later). 
   
  Centipede Familiar: Init +2; Atk bite +1 melee (1d3+poison); 
  AC 14; HD 1d4+2; hp 5; MV 20’; Act 1d20; SP Centipede poison 
  (DC 13 Fort save or permanent memory loss); SV Fort +2, 
  Ref+3, Will +8; AL C. 
   
  If the witch is killed before the ritual is completed, the girl will 
  happily tell her rescuers of her trials, and they may return her 
  to her father for a great reward! 
   
  There is a hidden lever behind the throne, findable with a DC 
  9 Intelligence or detect secret doors check. It opens a trapdoor 
  to Area 4-2. 
   
  Area 4-2 - The Altar to Cisalv: Proceeding down a small ladder, 
  you find yourself standing before a massive altar on a promontory 
  rising above an endless subterranean lake of glowing brine. A font of 
  the liquid wits at the feet of a 20-foot statue depicting a stork-headed 
  winged man in tattered robes, carved from what appears to be pure 
  salt. On the edge of the font lies a large black book, and on top of the 
  book is a miniature copy of the statue. 
   
  
  69 
  If the witch and her familiar were killed, or the ritual was 
  completed, the altar is dormant. The black book is the witch's 
  grimoire; it appears to be blank, but when brine is applied to 
  the pages they reveal the spell knowledge for paralysis, and the 
  information needed to bond with Cisalv as a patron, adding +8 
  to a spell check for patron bond with it. It also reveals the 
  nature of the witch’s ritual and her reasons for kidnapping 
  girls. 
   
  If the witch's familiar was not slain, the characters will see it 
  standing on the altar, then leaping into the brine font, hissing 
  shrilly in the witch's voice as it dissolves into steam. The font 
  will begin to bubble, and two rounds later, the Avatar of Cisalv 
  will appear to take its revenge. The avatar, a greenish ghostly 
  effigy of the statue, will slowly chase the PCs from the complex 
  as it crumbles and collapses. 
   
  The PCs need to RUN at this point; the avatar cannot be 
  damaged by mundane weapons, moves at 25’ per round, and 
  everything it touches is paralyzed for 1d12 rounds. Rooms 
  collapse behind it as it passes through them, and it will pursue 
  the PCs all the way to the surface, but not beyond. In the event 
  of a TPK by the avatar, consider a creative result- perhaps they 
  awaken on the plane of Stasis, chosen by Cisalv to accomplish 
  some goal, or perhaps they awaken 20,000 years later in the 
  world of Mutant Crawl Classics! 
   
   
   
  
  70  
  
  71 
  THE RETURN OF 
  THE MONGUMANDU 
  A level 0-1 DCC RPG Adventure 
  By Boson Au 
  Cartography and Illustrations by Boson Au 
  Playtesters: Michael Byrne, Ben Glass-Siegel, Michael 
  Hichme, Jamal Rogers, Ibrahim Zohrob 
  INTRODUCTION 
  Chosen by the village elder as the next heroes/sacrifice, the 
  players find themselves exploring an underground temple that 
  is in fact, the body of a deactivated automaton who is designed 
  to be awakened in an appointed time to face an impending 
  threat. The players face traps and wards, insects warped by 
  magic, as well as a final confrontation against a gargantuan 
  monster hellbent on demolishing their village. 
   
  This adventure is designed for 10-15 level-0 characters or 4-6 
  1st-level characters with slight modifications. 
  BACKGROUND 
  Four hundred years ago, the archmage knight Ichohn Cote did 
  the unthinkable: They bested the great Mongumandu, a 
  terrifying monster that came from the Blackest Sea. 
  Unfortunately, the battle did not end in the death of 
  Mongumandu. Instead, the behemoth only sustained enough 
  injuries to retreat into the Blackest Sea, biding its time to return 
  to continue its path of mayhem.  
   
  Predicting that the eventual return of Mongumandu will occur 
  long after their death, Ichohn Cote set about constructing a 
  golem that will be able to defend the known world upon its 
  revival. They then buried the golem deep underground and 
  
  72 
  armed the interiors of the golem with wards and traps to deter 
  thieves and stray animals. Next, they placed on it a spell that 
  will reveal the entrance of the golem when the time is right. 
  Finally, they settled near the Blackest Sea, where their 
  offspring remained guard against the eventual resurrection of 
  Mongumandu. 
   
  And wouldn’t you know it, Mongumandu is awake, and ready 
  to finish what it started. 
  PLAYER INTRODUCTION 
  Author’s note: I’ve made a conscious decision to omit actual “read 
  aloud” sections. I feel that the abrupt change in tone and language 
  (when reading verbatim) is usually jarring and breaks immersion. 
  Instead, I hope to provide enough details for the Judge to then use to 
  paint a mental picture in the style of their own choosing. 
   
  A fortnight ago, Uncle Eesop, the wise man of the village 
  summoned abled bodied villagers to the town square and 
  explained the return of Mongumandu (No one questions the 
  validity of Uncle Eesop’s declarations.) They all convene at a 
  particular 
  outcropping 
  in 
  the 
  jagged 
  mountainside 
  surrounding the village. When the moon reaches its peak, the 
  stone outcropping forms an ominous passageway inside the 
  mountains, floors covered in ruins. Insist that they are the 
  chosen ones, and that they ready themselves for their destiny. 
  THE TEMPLE OF COTES 
  General Features: The underground Temple of Cotes (aka the 
  Golem) is dark and dry, mostly made of stone. While it has 
  been sealed for four hundred years, gradual cracks appeared 
  and various wild creatures sought refuge here, only to be 
  warped by the spell casted by Ichohon Cotes to become 
  wandering guardians. The walls are adorned with pictographs 
  depicting Ichohn Cotes fighting Mongumandu, Ichohn 
  holding feasts, Ichohn creating a village, etc... 
  
  73 
   
  The Red Cellmites: Pestilent insects have claimed the temple 
  as their home, and a particularly orderly colony of termites 
  have been warped by Ichohn’s powerful wizardry into rather 
  formidable guardians. 
   
  They patrol the temple and will encounter the PCs if they stay 
  in one place. If PCs linger too long, roll 1d6, a 1 indicates the 
  red cellmites have found the party and will attack if 
  threatened. The threshold for failure will increment by one on 
  every roll. (i.e., first, it's 1 then a 2, etc…) They travel in packs 
  of 3 or 4, usually with one soldier and the rest workers. 
   
  They stand uptight at around 4’ with 6” long pinchers. Their 
  abdomen, which stores toxic chemicals used for defense, gives 
  off a faint blue glow. Even though they have been magically 
  enlarged, they still have the ability to slip between cracks in 
  walls and floors.   
   
  Red Cellmite (Worker): Init +0; Atk bite +0 melee (1d4-1); AC 
  11; HD 1d8; hp 6; MV 20’; Act 1d20; SV Fort +0, Ref +1, Will -5; 
  AL L. 
   
  Red Cellmite (Soldier): Init +2; Atk bite +3 Melee (1d6) or 
  spear +2 melee (1d8); AC 13; HD 2d8; hp 10; MV 20’; Act 1d20; 
  SP 20% might have poisoned stinger: (+3 melee, dmg poison: 
  DC 16 Fort save or 2d4 Stamina); SV Fort +2, Ref +2, Will -3; 
  AL L. 
   
  The Red Soldiers have larger pinchers, as well as the ability to 
  carry and use weapons. They are usually armed with 
  sharpened wooden spears. 
   
  Self-destruct Explosion: When a termite reaches 1 HP, there is 
  a 50% chance they will choose to sacrifice themselves to protect 
  the colony. They will expel the excrement in their abdomen 
  with enough force to explode. Anyone within 5’ will need to 
  make DC 10 Ref save or take 1d4 acid damage.  
  
  74 
  E - Entrance (Reception): 
  The passageway from the outcropping is about 10’ wide and 
  about 12’ high. It looks as if it has been completely carved from 
  the bedrock of the mountain. Arcane runes carved in an ancient 
  language glow faintly amongst the floor and walls. It 
  eventually leads about 50 feet further into a 30’x30’ room. In 
  the center of the room is a lever with an encrusted crystal ball 
  on top. Careful inspection shows a slight separation in the 
  rocks at the entrance of the room, as well as the floor all 
  alongside the wall.   
   
  While walking along the passageway, if asked about the runes, 
  at a DC 10 Int check summarize the story of Ichohn Cotes 
  subduing the terrible Mongumandu into the sea.  
   
  If the characters enter the room, the lever will change color. At 
  10 characters it will change to yellow, and at 12+ it will change 
  to green. 
   
  If the PCs pull the lever, two things happen: Either nothing (if 
  less than 10 characters are standing in the room) or the magic 
  that formed the entrance will begin to dispel. A noticeable 
  rumbling is felt and in one turn, the entrance to this waiting 
  room will be closed (rocks that were pushed out will be pushed 
  back in.) Those not standing in the waiting room will 
  effectively be buried, ending their adventure. 
   
  Characters can pry the crystal ball (worth 15 sp) off the lever. 
  Doing so however, will remove the visual cue of the 
  “minimum” participants needed. 
   
  Once the entrance is closed, a slight humming and groaning 
  sound is heard as the “waiting room” descends down a tightly 
  fitted chute that opens up gradually into the Body (B). 
   
   
   
   
  
  75 
  B - Body: 
  As the players descend, the walls eventually open up to an 
  enormous open pentagonal room made of stone. The room is 
  illuminated by a faint glow from unseen sources. On each 
  corner of the room lies a colored door: red, blue, yellow, green 
  and black. The rest of the room is barren except for the center, 
  where a stone square pedestal, about 3’ by 3’, rises to some 4’ 
  off the floor. The sides of the pedestal then come together into 
  a pyramid with a tip where a heart, carved out of the same 
  stone, sits. On each sloping side of the pyramid is a space to set 
  a stone. 
   
  The goal is for the players to best the challenges of each room 
  and place the reward (a gem) into each respective socket. 
  Doing so will make the black door more translucent, and 
  eventually disappear. Players can try all sorts of things to open 
  the obsidian door, but it will not budge. Of course, while 
  players are trying, remember the red cellmites are patrolling. 
  Ideally, the players will venture out to the other rooms. 
   
  LL - Left Leg (Yellow): 
  The door to the chamber is shut by mechanical means (DC 30 
  Strength check to lift it up, due to lack of purchase in the door 
  to grip it) The switch on its right (wooden, with leather grips 
  to insulate against electricity) will open the door, as well as fill 
  the interior of the room with a bright and pleasantly warm 
  yellow glow. Letting go of the switch will allow it to revert 
  downward, closing and shutting down the room. 
   
  The room itself is built entirely of stone. Its walls and floor are 
  covered with intricate silver and gold veins weaving across the 
  surface. Players can attempt to pry out some gold and silver. A 
  DC 15 Strength check may be made to gather 5 gp worth of 
  gold and silver. The veins all lead to a cylindrical pedestal 
  made of silver, brass, and copper. 
   
   
  
  76 
  The pedestal rises up about 20’ high to the middle of the room, 
  with a matching column coming down from the ceiling, 
  meeting in the middle where a fist sized topaz suspends in 
  midair between the ends of the columns. It is the source of the 
  humming. 
   
  Climbing the pedestal to reach the topaz is relatively easy (DC 
  10 Agility check) as is retrieving the topaz. The difficulty lies 
  in escaping. 
   
  It is assumed that when the characters enter the chamber, the 
  lever outside is pointing up (aka ON). Initially, removing the 
  topaz from the pedestal while the room is ON will trip a 
  breaker, cause the door to slam shut, as well as leave the room 
  in the dark. Replacing the topaz will once again, power the 
  room.  
   
  Ideally, the players will wise up and send someone outside to 
  flip the switch after someone else retrieves the topaz. There is 
  a problem: If the switch is turned ON while the topaz is not 
  suspended, the room is electrified. Those touching the pedestal 
  (or the column in the ceiling) will take 2d6 electricity damage, 
  while others in the room, standing on the floor, need to make 
  a Luck check or take 1d4 electricity damage from the silver and 
  gold veins acting as weak conductors. Moving on the floor 
  while it is live will trigger the Luck check at every 10’ (or 1 
  square.) 
   
  Flipping the switch outside to OFF turns off the electricity but 
  closes the door almost instantly.  
   
  Allow players to come up with ingenious ways of NOT 
  touching the floor or propping the door open. Prying enough 
  inlays or coming back with items to prop the door open are 
  both options but remember that the cellmites are patrolling. 
   
   
   
  
  77 
  RL - Right Leg (Red): 
  The players will find the door slightly ajar, and the lever 
  mechanism swings freely. Originally, the room was designed 
  to be an oil trap: various pressure plates sewn around the room 
  would activate oil repositories in the ceiling that would then 
  trigger flaming arrows. However, due to the passage of time, 
  the lighting and arrow mechanism has rotted, and the oil 
  repositories were accidentally triggered afterwards, releasing 
  a steady supply of oil, which renders the floor both extremely 
  slippery, and flammable. Additionally, age and the steady 
  erosion allowed a colony of termites to extend their nest from 
  outside to here. Parts of the walls were obviously dug out by 
  the termites. On the far end of the chamber a common spider, 
  warped by the magic of the temple into a larger, smarter 
  predator, has made the rear of the chamber her home. The area 
  is covered entirely in webbing, and she hides amongst the 
  cracks and debris. 
   
  On the web are the remains of termites that have been captured 
  by the spider, wrapped in webbing. Players can find 1d4 spears 
  if searching. 
    
  Unfortunately for the players, the key (a red ruby the size of a 
  fist) is on the web. The spider has fed on the termites that 
  attempted to breach this room. Getting the key will require 
  climbing on the web (reflex save vs DC 12 or become entangled, 
  prohibiting any movement as well as incurring -1d in attack 
  and giving attackers +1d). Even if resisted, the web is 
  considered extremely hard to maneuver in: movement is 
  halved. The spider is hidden in a nook near the web and will 
  use its spider sense to detect prey.  
   
  Attempting to cross the room to reach the web requires a DC 
  10 Agility check. Failure in checks should net the following 
  random events (1d6): 
   
   
  
  78 
  1d6 Result 
  1 
  Player attempts to recover from losing control and 
  accidentally propel themselves towards the web. They are 
  entangled. 
  2-4 
  Player slips and falls prone. 
  5-6 
  Player flails wildly but remains standing. If in combat, they 
  will incur a -1 to hit or Agility checks. 
   
  Giant Spider: Init + 3; Atk bite +3 melee (1d6 plus poison); AC 
  14; HD 3d6; hp 12; MV 20/40 web; Act 2d20; SP poison (DC 14 
  Fort save or 1d4 Str damage), spider climb, spider sense; SV 
  Fort -1, Ref +2, Will -1; AL C. 
  Poison: when bit, roll a DC 14 Fort save, failure means -1d4 
  strength, returning in 1d6+2 days. Spider Climb: Can climb 
  sheer surfaces without difficulty, can move on the web without 
  triggering entanglement. Spider sense: uses spider web as 
  sensory input and cannot be blinded. 
  Note: a side entrance to the termite colony is hidden here. 
  When golem is active and rises from the burial site, the colony 
  will be exposed to the rest of the world. Resolve at the Judge’s 
  discretion. 
   
  Near the rear of the chamber the players can find the various 
  tunnels dug in by the termites. One of those will lead to the 
  green room (RA). The tunnels are small: only one can enter at 
  a time and they will be severely affected by the lack of space to 
  move (weapons larger than a short sword are useless, and 
  backpacks must be removed). See the green room description 
  for more information. 
   
  LA - Left Arm (Blue): 
  Approaching the blue door, you are surprised to find that 
  handle to the door is in the shape of a hand… extending to you 
  as if a gesture of good faith. 
   
  
  79 
  The door is opened by pulling on the hand. It is not trapped. 
   
  When the players enter the room, they will find themselves in 
  a stone chamber empty except for a chair and tables. Sitting in 
  one of the chairs is a gigantic (15’) stone statue, its hand 
  extended and placed on the table as if to arm-wrestle. In its 
  other hand it grips the sapphire keystone. 
   
  Only one character can sit in the other seat. Disturbing the 
  statue by attacking it or forcing the left hand open with a DC 
  25 Strength check will awaken it will fight the players (one 
  handed, holding the sapphire in the other). It will release the 
  key if the PCs win the arm-wrestling contest. (Str contested 
  check at +8) Losing the arm-wrestling contest will deal 1d4 to 
  the character as the arm slams down, potentially breaking their 
  arm.  
   
   
   
  
  80 
  The easiest way to solve this puzzle is to use multiple 
  characters (each additional character can add his Str modifier 
  or +1 to the roll, whichever is higher.) However, the statue does 
  not like cheating. If the golem can see that they are cheating, 
  golem fires a laser like beam at the person seated (1d8 fire 
  damage), but it’s eyes can be easily covered. 
   
  Arm Wrestler: Init -1; Atk punch +5 melee (2d4); AC 14; HD 
  4d6; hp 18; MV 40; Act 2d20; SV Fort +3, Ref -1, Will -1; AL L. 
   
  RA - Right Arm (Green): 
  The players will notice that the lever to the door is gnawed off. 
  Careful examination of the mechanisms will indicate that the 
  door is not locked. The door is shut but could be forced open 
  with a DC 10 Strength check. However, this will cause a 
  considerable amount of noise, and alert the termites inside 
  unless precautions are taken. 
   
  Alternatively, the players can enter this room from RL via dug 
  out termite tunnels. Allow players to hear the chittering of 
  termites so to plan their attack. The cellmites are somewhat 
  busy trying to open the case, and a DC 5 Agility check should 
  be sufficient to sneak into the room. 
   
  The chamber was a workshop of Ichon Cotes. Most of the 
  devices are non-functional, although careful searching would 
  yield potentially useful items such as ball bearings, an oil 
  barrel, cans of grease, a lantern, rope, nuts and bolts, tools, etc. 
  It is in complete disarray, with notes, gears, rods, wires, bolts 
  all strewn about.  
   
  In the center of the chamber is a pedestal with a fist sized 
  emerald locked in a glass box. Piles of discarded devices lie 
  around it. Six termite workers are being ordered around by a 
  more upright soldier, wearing a glass tiara on its head. They 
  are in the midst of smashing the cage housing the gem when 
  the players enter. The upright termite, pointing at the PCs, 
  
  81 
  shouts in the common tongue, “ICHONAUGHTS! THESE 
  INTERLOPERS ARE HERE TO PREVENT US FROM 
  AWAKENING THE COTE! ATTACK! FULFILL YOUR 
  DESTINY!” The termite workers stop their attack on the glass 
  cage and shamble towards the PCs. 
   
  Xythlythralli, The Queens Harbringer, The Upright Cellmite: 
  Init +2; Atk bite +3 Melee (1d4), spear +2 Melee (1d6); AC 13; 
  HD 3d6; hp 12; MV 20’; Act 2d20; SP spells (as below); SV Fort 
  +2, Ref +2, Will +3; AL L. 
   
  Spells: The glass tiara on its head gives its wearer the spells 
  Force Manipulation and Charm Person. (cast with -1) 
   
  Charmed Cellmites (6): Same statblock as Red Cellmites 
  (worker) 
   
   
   
  
  82 
  Glass Tiara of the Ichohnaughts: Gives wearer Force 
  Manipulation as well as Charm Person, 1d4 charges total per day. 
  Rolling a fumble on the spell could shatter the tiara, roll an 
  additional 1d10, a natural 1 will shatter it. Created by Ichohn 
  Cote themself, it was one of the first proposed control 
  mechanisms of the warden. It didn’t make the cut and was 
  discarded in this room.  
  Glass Cage with key: can be unlocked easily with the tiara 
  acting as a key. Otherwise, it can be shattered. If PCs are using 
  brute strength, let them attempt a DC 12 Strength check. It will 
  break after 3 successful checks, but, for every attempt, roll to 
  see if Patrolling Cellmites show up. 
   
  H - Head: 
  Back in the main chamber, if the players insert all the 
  keystones, a voice rings out: 
   
  “Ichohnaughts! You are the chosen select few. Proceed past the ebony 
  door into your destined place of control. It is time to choose amongst 
  yourselves the five most worthy to receive the gift of Ichos.” 
   
  The players enter a round chamber, with five stone chairs, each 
  adorned with a gem: ruby, emerald, sapphire, topaz, and 
  obsidian. The chairs are equidistant alongside the walls. In the 
  center of the room is a circular mat covered with arcane runes. 
  A voice beckons the party to choose amongst themselves the 
  most worthy to sit on said thrones. The rest of the group will 
  stand on the mat, at which point a field of force will form a 
  fence around the circle.  
   
  You have chosen! Those left behind will be worthy sacrifices to 
  empower the warden! Beware for the time to defend your life, and 
  those you love, is at hand! The terrible Mongumandu has awakened 
  once again, and once again the Ichohnaughts have been summoned to 
  drive the beast back!  
   
  
  83 
  The chosen five (or less) will be telepathically linked and will 
  be able to see outside the warden, as the golem shakes, 
  detaches itself from the ground, to emerge to face 
  Mongumandu. 
   
  The remaining characters will be imprisoned within the mat, 
  to be used as a battery-like reserve. 
   
  Describe to the players the rising of Mongumandu from the 
  Blackest Sea, and the instant recognition of The Ichon Warden.  
   
  There is no escape. There is only battle. 
   
  Ichohn Warden: Init +2 (+Agi bonus*), Atk +10 (+Str bonus*) 
  melee (unarmed) (4d4 +Str bonus*), AC 20 (+Agi bonus*), HD 
  14d10 (+ extra d10 for each Sta bonus*), MV 60’, Act 3d20, Crit 
  on 19-20 (Crit table III), SP see below; SV Fort +6 +Sta bonus*, 
  Ref +3 +Agi bonus*, Will +Per bonus* 
   
  *Stat bonuses for Ichohn Warden: To determine the 
  Agil/Str/Sta/Per bonus, combine the relevant bonuses of five 
  “pilots”. Ignore the penalties if a pilot is woefully lacking in a 
  particular attribute. For example, if the 5 pilots Str modifier are 
  +1/-1/+2/0/0. Ignore the -1 and the final Str modifier is 
  +3.  The Ichohn Warden is considered proficient with 
  unarmed and improvised weapons. 
   
  Optional HP rules. Divide the hp into 6 parts, representing the 
  head, 4 limbs, and body.  Allow individual limbs and head to 
  be targetable by Mongumandu, and when a limb or head loses 
  its hit points, the limb (or head) will be unusable.  
  Losing one of the arms will deactivate either ICHOHN 
  PUNCH or ICHOHN MISSILE (losing the other arm will 
  deactivate the other power) Losing a leg will slow movement 
  (MV halved) as well as incur a -5 to AC and Agility checks; 
  losing both will basically make the warden prone with -8 AC. 
  Losing the Head will incur the blinded condition to the Warden, 
  as well as deactivate ICHOHN RAY.  
  
  84 
  Special Attacks: To use a special attack, reference the table 
  associated with the special and roll as if to cast the spell, 
  assuming a caster level of 2, and has an automatic base +10 (+Int 
  bonus) to spellcheck. Once used, the special will need to 
  cooldown 
  and 
  remain 
  unavailable 
  for 
  1d4 
  turns.  
   
  Misfire/Corruption: There is no misfire/corruption for these 
  powers. If failed on a 1, the special will be unusable, as the attack 
  malfunctions and the relevant apparatus explodes, causing the 
  associated effect. 
   
  Special 
  Spell 
  Result  
  Fail on 1 Effect 
  ICHOHN PUNCH  
  (hands engulfed 
  in flames) 
  flaming 
  hands 
  Hands explode, doing 4d6 dmg to 
  self.  Cannot grab. 
  ICHOHN CHEST 
  BLAST 
  (chest panel 
  opens up and 
  missiles fire) 
  magic 
  missile 
  Lose -5 AC as chest explodes, doing 
  5d6 dmg to self. 
  ICHOHN EYE 
  (laser beam 
  from eyes) 
  scorching 
  ray 
  Targeting functions suffer damage. 
  Incur the blinded condition with 3d8 
  damage to self. 
   
  The Warden is a towering golem (at around 100’ tall). It is 
  fabricated to look like an idealized version of the original 
  Ichohn Cote: a bearded warrior of old.  
   
  Battery of Ichos: The surviving characters who are not part of 
  the chosen 5 are enclosed in a rather ingenious device called 
  the Battery of Ichos. During a turn, the pilots of Ichos Warden 
  can spend an action die to use the life force of one or more 
  members to regain hp, cancel out the cool down of a power, 
  gain extra movement, etc. Add together the remaining hp of 
  these characters and consider the table below. 
   
  
  85 
  Judges are encouraged to come up with more uses for the 
  Battery of Ichos. 
   
  Use 
  Details 
  Regain 
  Health 
  1 hp = 1d4 
  Reduce 
  Cooldown 
  1hp = 1 less turn per power  
  Repair 
  Power 
  5hp to repair an overheated power. 
  Speed Up 
  1hp = + 10 mv, lasts 4 turns 
  Add to 
  Resolve 
  1hp = +1 to all checks. This can be used outside of 
  the turn, for example, as a reaction to a save. Lasts 4 
  turns 
  Repair 
  Limb 
  5hp = repair broken limb (limb will be available on 
  next combat turn) 
   
  Mongumandu: Init +2; Atk claws+14 melee (2d8+12), bite +18 
  melee (4d8+10), hurled stone +10 missile fire (2d8+10, range 
  200’); Fire breath + 10 breath (5d6+5), Fort save vs 20 or take 
  1d10 dmg per round for 1d4 rounds, AC 20; HD 18d10; hp 135 
  MV 50’; Act 2d24; crit on 20-24 (Crit Table DR); SV Fort +15, 
  Reflex +5, Will + 5; AL C. 
   
  Some grandparents have described Mongumandu as a gigantic 
  dragon that was not able to fly due to its size. Others speak of 
  the greatest of apes whose surprising speed matches its 
  unparalleled strength. Then there are the elders who were 
  more blessed that would mutter about the fearsome floating 
  head that shot fire and ice. The stat block above represents the 
  dragon/lizard, but Judges could always come up with their 
  own alternative version. 
  
  86 
  SHOWDOWN 
  Describe to the players the nauseating warping of perspective 
  as their collective consciousness is combined with their 
  ancestor, Ichohn Cote. They will find themselves peering down 
  at their beloved home, while inhabiting the body of a colossal 
  10 story tall magical golem. Behind them and beyond in the 
  middle of the Blackest Sea, Mongumandu rises from the 
  waters, and the final fight is about to begin. 
   
  The battlefield will be between the village and the blackest sea. 
  There will be plenty of environmental weapons, as well as the 
  village itself to act as a casualty. The warden has 3 action dice. 
  It is recommended to rotate the action dice: one player to 
  determine the action and roll a die, then another player to 
  determine the action, and so on. Alternatively, a cohesive 
  group could determine the warden’s actions together. 
   
  EPILOGUE 
  If Mongumandu wins, the golem will shatter, every pilot that 
  passes their Luck check will find their seat transformed into a 
  functional escape pod that survives the destruction. The beast 
  will then descend upon their village and lay it to ruins, before 
  stumbling off into the wild, to be encountered again at a future 
  time. 
   
  If the players win, they may be able to discover that the beast’s 
  power still exists in portions of its carcass. If PCs search 
  Mongumandu’s corpse then they might find the following 
  items, all of which are chaotically aligned: 
   
   
   
   
   
  
  87 
  1d8 
  Item 
  1 
  Scale of Mongumandu (shield) +1. +2 to saving rolls to 
  resist fire, ignore up to 2 hp of fire damage each round. 
  2 
  Nail of Mongumandu (sword) +1. +1 Luck to its wielder. 
  Considered a magical weapon.  
  3 
  Quill of Mongumandu (spear) +1. +2 against larger 
  enemies. Considered a magical weapon.  
  4 
  Teeth of Mongumandu (dagger) + 1. Additional +1d4 
  poison damage (3 charges a day). Considered a magical 
  weapon.  
  5 
  Eye of Mongumandu (crystal ball) +1 spell checks. Gain the 
  spell enlarge. 1 charge per day. Failure on casting enlarge 
  will cause cracks to appear in orb, and potentially shatter it 
  (roll 1d20; at 1 it shatters, and every failure will increase 
  threshold by 1.) There is no obvious way to “fix” the orb. 
  6-8 
  + roll twice. Can claim up to 5 items  
   
  The warden, having completed its task, will kneel down and 
  the players will find themselves able to exit and climb down 
  from its head. The warden will remain inoperable until the 
  next threat appears. 
   
  Possible campaign idea: 
  Mongumandu is just the first of the many behemoths that 
  Ichohn Cotes have defeated temporarily, and something is 
  reviving them. Uncle Eesop might have some ancient maps 
  and writings of Ichohn Cotes that can point to forgotten 
  temple/laboratories. Players can explore those for upgrades to 
  the Ichohn Warden in order to meet these increasingly more 
  dangerous foes while investigating the source of the 
  resurrection. 
  
  88 
   
  
  89 
  Art Contributor Links 
   
  bygrinstow has created over 100 DCC-compatible monsters on 
  the Appendix M blog and elsewhere; the rumor is that he has 
  a website at www.bygrinstow.com 
   
  Boston Au did all his own work for his adventure and did a 
  fantastic job at it. He is also the talented creator of this issue’s 
  cover. You’ll also have seen his work in the GFA. Follow him 
  at www.instagram.com/typicalbreakfast 
   
  Davin Kluttz has massively contributed to nearly every 
  adventure in QuaranZine #2. He’s a full-time illustrator and 
  designer, and he has contributed to Gong Farmer’s Almanac 
  2020 and other DCC projects. Follow or make contact at 
  www.instagram.com/escpod_designcraft 
   
  David Persinger is an artist with a killer style. You might have 
  seen his work for the past few years in the GFA where he’s 
  known as SGT Dave. Go check out his other work at  
  https://www.deviantart.com/skaldheim  
   
  Diogo Noguiera has contributed both art and words to the 
  Gong Farmer’s Almanac, as well as created his own games 
  (Solar Blades and Cosmic Spells, Lost in the Fantasy World, 
  and more!). Go commission a piece or just check out his 
  amazing artwork at http://oldskulling.blogspot.com 
   
  Stefan Poag has created loads of beautiful art for Dungeon 
  Crawl Classics and created comics based on some Appendix N 
  authors. Find him at https://stefanpoag.com 
   
  Steven Gomez has mastered a number of styles. If you look at 
  his work here and then also at his insta. Go look for yourself at 
  www.instagram.com/meztoons 
   
   
   
  
  90 
  Designation of Product Identity: All proper nouns, such as character names, 
  place names, names of organizations, and others in this publication are 
  product identity. All terms that do not describe distinct game functions are 
  product identity. But hey, if you want to use something in your publication, 
  just reach out to us. We’re easy to talk to… 
   
  OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a 
  The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is 
  Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc ("Wizards"). All Rights Reserved. 
  1. Definitions: (a)"Contributors" means the copyright and/or trademark 
  owners who have contributed Open Game Content; 
  (b)"Derivative Material" means copyrighted material including derivative 
  works and translations (including into other computer languages), 
  potation, 
  modification, 
  correction, 
  addition, 
  extension, 
  upgrade, 
  improvement, compilation, abridgment or other form in which an existing 
  work may be recast, transformed or adapted; (c) "Distribute" means to 
  reproduce, license, rent, lease, sell, broadcast, publicly display, transmit or 
  otherwise distribute; (d)"Open Game Content" means the game mechanic 
  and includes the methods, procedures, processes and routines to the 
  extent such content does not embody the Product Identity and is an 
  enhancement over the prior art and any additional content clearly 
  identified as Open Game Content by the Contributor, and means any work 
  covered by this License, including translations and derivative works under 
  copyright law, but specifically excludes Product Identity. (e) "Product 
  Identity" means product and product line names, logos and identifying 
  marks including trade dress; artifacts; creatures characters; stories, 
  storylines, plots, thematic elements, dialogue, incidents, language, 
  artwork, symbols, designs, depictions, likenesses, formats, poses, concepts, 
  themes and graphic, photographic and other visual or audio 
  representations; 
  names 
  and 
  descriptions 
  of 
  characters, 
  spells, 
  enchantments, personalities, teams, personas, likenesses and special 
  abilities; places, locations, environments, creatures, equipment, magical or 
  supernatural abilities or effects, logos, symbols, or graphic designs; and any 
  other trademark or registered trademark clearly identified as Product 
  identity by the owner of the Product Identity, and which specifically 
  excludes the Open Game Content; (f) "Trademark" means the logos, 
  names, mark, sign, motto, designs that are used by a Contributor to identify 
  itself or its products or the associated products contributed to the Open 
  Game License by the Contributor (g) "Use", "Used" or "Using" means to use, 
  Distribute, copy, edit, format, modify, translate and otherwise create 
  Derivative Material of Open Game Content. (h) "You" or "Your" means the 
  licensee in terms of this agreement. 
  
  91 
  2. The License: This License applies to any Open Game Content that 
  contains a notice indicating that the Open Game Content may only be Used 
  under and in terms of this License. You must affix such a notice to any Open 
  Game Content that you Use. No terms may be added to or subtracted from 
  this License except as described by the License itself. No other terms or 
  conditions may be applied to any Open Game Content distributed using this 
  License. 
  3.Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Content You indicate 
  Your acceptance of the terms of this License. 
  4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to use this 
  License, the Contributors grant You a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, 
  non-exclusive license with the exact terms of this License to Use, the Open 
  Game Content. 
  5.Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are contributing original 
  material as Open Game Content, You represent that Your Contributions are 
  Your original creation and/or You have sufficient rights to grant the rights 
  conveyed by this License. 
  6.Notice of License Copyright: You must update the COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
  portion of this License to include the exact text of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
  of any Open Game Content You are copying, modifying or distributing, and 
  You must add the title, the copyright date, and the copyright holder's name 
  to the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any original Open Game Content you 
  Distribute. 
  7. Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity, 
  including as an indication as to compatibility, except as expressly licensed 
  in another, independent Agreement with the owner of each element of 
  that Product Identity. You agree not to indicate compatibility or co-
  adaptability with any Trademark or Registered Trademark in conjunction 
  with a work containing Open Game Content except as expressly licensed in 
  another, independent Agreement with the owner of such Trademark or 
  Registered Trademark. The use of any Product Identity in Open Game 
  Content does not constitute a challenge to the ownership of that Product 
  Identity. The owner of any Product Identity used in Open Game Content 
  shall retain all rights, title and interest in and to that Product Identity. 
  8. Identification: If you distribute Open Game Content You must clearly 
  indicate which portions of the work that you are distributing are Open 
  Game Content. 
  9. Updating the License: Wizards or its designated Agents may publish 
  updated versions of this License. You may use any authorized version of 
  this License to copy, modify and distribute any Open Game Content 
  originally distributed under any version of this License. 
  10 Copy of this License: You MUST include a copy of this License with every 
  copy of the Open Game Content You Distribute. 
  
  92 
  11. Use of Contributor Credits: You may not market or advertise the Open 
  Game Content using the name of any Contributor unless You have written 
  permission from the Contributor to do so. 
  12 Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the 
  terms of this License with respect to some or all of the Open Game Content 
  due to statute, judicial order, or governmental regulation then You may not 
  Use any Open Game Material so affected. 
  13 Termination: This License will terminate automatically if You fail to 
  comply with all terms herein and fail to cure such breach within 30 days of 
  becoming aware of the breach. All sublicenses shall survive the termination 
  of this License. 
  14 Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, 
  such provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it 
  enforceable. 
  15 COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
  Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. 
  System Rules Document Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors 
  Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on original material by 
  E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson 
  DCC RPG copyright © 2012 Goodman Games, all rights reserved, visit 
  www.goodman-games.com or contact info@goodman-games.com 
   
   
   
  
  93 
   
  QuaranZine Volume 2 
   
   
   
   
  Remember the good old days, when roleplaying games 
  were in person, dice rolls were physical, and the finale of 
  every dungeon wasn’t a teleconference bug? Those days 
  aren’t back, but QuaranZine is here to help. This volume 
  is meant for those judges, scattered across the planes, 
  whose noble spirits have been tested by their social 
  distancing, and are ready to game for a great cause: 
  COVID-19 victim relief. 
   
  Produced by community volunteers and charged with a 
  fulsome amount of Dungeon Crawl Classics-compatible 
  content, this zine brings you four new funnels to use in 
  your DCC games. All proceeds from QuaranZine 
  volume 2 will be donated directly to a non-profit 
  COVID-19 relief fund. 
   
  That’s right – while you and your players repel insectoid 
  aliens, battle kaiju, save children from witches, or destroy 
  an infernal ooze machine, your money will be going to 
  help families impacted by COVID-19 across the United 
  States. 
   
  You’re no shut-in. 
   
  You’re an adventurer… 
   
   
  The Social Distance Collective 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeon Crawl Classics/DCC Periodicals/Quaranzine/QuaranZine 2020 Volume 2 The Funnel (DCC).pdf