Vandaled Lands & Desert Travel (CJ1/CJ2)

Travel across the Vandaled Lands & the god filled deserts of Ran-Popal is treacherous. Sudden ash & sandstorms, lack of water, bandits, and other ancient dangers await those who travel there. In the desert, life-sustaining fluid is more valuable than even the most precious gems and metals. Fabled ruins of lost slumbering cities miraculously re-awakened to life. Vengeful deities, worm gods, brass armies, roaming mechanical titans, and haunting spirits that condemn travelers to an eternity of torment beneath the desolate dunes.

For desert/wilderness travel rules used in PATHOS please refer to the information in the Wilderness Adventures section of the BFRPG core rules or BFRPG SRD for guidance. 

ARTIFACT APPENDIX- CJ1 The Vandaled Lands

The Imperators Eye- also known as the Eye Of The Brass Elophant (6000 gp): 

In the ancient era, the use of this device was strictly prohibited. The round brass device is an artificial eye equipped with a special glinting lens. Touched to the forehead, it sinks within the skull to embed itself, allowing perfect vision even in total darkness. The eye’s energy can be charged by sapping the life force of others, by emitting a golden light beam draining 3d6 Hp from the subject. Victims permanently lose 3 Hp, which the owner gains temporarily.

At 0 Hp, the eye drains all remaining life energy, transferring it to the owner and killing the subject. Although there are no theoretical upper limits to the life drain effect, the human organism cannot always cope with the excess energy, and so the sentience within the eye will begin a transmutation of the physical form so that it may cope with the influx of power. However, if the eye receives insufficient nourishment, it will devour the user’s brain and nervous system – warning signs include a feeling of pressure within the forehead, and brass colored veins protruding from the flesh.

If the cursed god Mnoyór The Despoiler is freed, he will stop at no end to obtain the Eye, thus increasing his power.

The God-box of Zoforon the Great (3000 gp): 

A communication link to a (hopefully intact) subterranean databank located far below the sands of Ran Popal, deep within the Cyclopean Depths of the fabled City Of Brass. Activating the box awakens the A.I sentience in charge of protecting the City Of Brass from intruders. The box answers questions put to it, although its terminology, wording and reference points may not be perfectly clear for men of the current era. The database may have its limitations and it may be malfunctioning in both obvious and subtle ways. Finally, there is no intelligent actor behind the responses: precise and appropriately worded questions are indispensable to receive useful and relevant answers from the A.I.

The Great Roaming Temple Of Brass (CJ1 Encounter)

 

Ceaselessly, the Roaming Temple Of Brass rolls on and on, moving ever forward through the majestic desert dunes of Ran Popal. Its momentum is not impeded by geography nor wall or human effort: it goes through city wall and shepherd’s cottage, necropolis and olive field with equal ease. Great is the destruction it leaves as it continues on its journey, and futile the attempts to divert, control, or destroy it.

From its path of devastation has sprung a curious band of followers, sycophants and hangers-on, who follow The Great Roaming Temple of Brass wherever it goes and add to the destruction it brings. The People of the Roaming Brass Temple, as they are called, are ever on the move, pilgrims, seemingly a part of the dust clouds which precede it.

Caravan Curios Available For Purchase (CJ1 Encounter)

ROLL 1D8 OR CHOOSE FROM BELOW

1. ACID-VENOM BOMB (400gp): sealed vial can be broken open to release a gray-green cloud of acidic vapors. The cloud causes 1d6 damage per round for 10 rounds.
2. DUST OF DISSICATION (400gp): is so efficacious at removing moisture that a single dose will instantaneously dry up a pool or well, and significantly lower the water level of a smaller lake (bodies of water with significant reserves are unaffected). If ingested, save or turn into a desiccated husk.
3. DUST OF SHEMSU-HOR (700gp): rare spices and the internal dusts of exhumed mummies are used in the preparation of this airborne poison, which requires two saves for its primary and secondary effects, 5d6 Hp both times. Those who succumb to the dust shall rise as zombies in 1d6 rounds, and may be commanded with verbal instructions.
4. DUST OF LEDANG (400gp): black-hearted monks manufacture and disseminate this demoniac powder. Sprinkled on a recently slain corpse, it causes such excruciating pain to the deceased that he must make a saving throw, or his spirit will answer any question in the manner of speak with the dead. As a less-known side-effect, 1x6 chance of these tormented spirits shall return as wraiths or specters to pursue their persecutors.
5. ASH OF THE DEAD SUN (400gp): a black granulate resembling finely crushed glass, the particles of this dust can be hurled into the air, where they stay afloat and become pinpoints of utter darkness. Passing through a field of particles causes -2 to attack/save rolls. The dust settles in 1d6 hours.
6. FIRE BOMB (400gp): essentially a bottled fireball which explodes upon opening, fire, or sudden impact for 6d6 hp/pp. If swallowed, the damage is 10d6 pp, no save.
7. RUST DUST (400gp): ferrous metals subjected to the dust corrode instantly if they fail a saving throw. Every magical power or modifier grants +2 to the save.
8. POTION OF PORTENTS (400gp): similar to a potion of clairvoyance, but the imbiber, who is incapacitated for 1d6 turns, does not control the vision. Rather, the potion reveals a vague prophetic insight, always laden with hidden significance.

The Vandaled Lands CJ1 ~ Roaming Caravanserai Goods

ROLL GOODS/TYPE

01-02         alcohol / drugs

03              animals

04             rare artwork

05-09         *curios

10             dishes & household

11             exotic caged animal

12             materials

13             oil / wax

14             religious artifacts

15             slaves (2-3/100 gp)

16             spices

17             textiles

18             tools

19             treasure

20             weapons & armor

SMALLER CARAVANS traverse the Vandaled Lands and consist of 2d6 carts or camels, larger ones of 1d6, each carrying 1d6X100 gp worth of goods. A 2nd level guard will accompany the caravan for every 100 gp carried, and a 3rd level one for every cart or camel. Smaller caravans have one leader, while larger ones have 1d4, leaders novice (1st lv), 1d3 seasoned (2nd lv). Most of these are fighters or thieves. Smaller caravans are 1x6 chance to be accompanied by travelers seeking safety in numbers, while larger ones are 3x6 chance to be followed by such. 1d6 travelers will be of interest, the rest being pilgrims and the like.

The Rusted Fang (CJ1 Dungeon)

Looming from the cracked, reddish umber rusted plains of the Vandaled Lands, several miles East of the Cinder Kings domain stands a rusting artifact of untold antiquity. The timeless pillar is a twisted brass metal spire that rises lonely above the rust covered earth and tomb covered complex that surrounds it. Visible from miles away, the Rusted Fang as it has come to be called is a massive brass structure that climbs over 1000' straight up, a metal outcropping in the middle of nowhere, rusted and corroded by time. Travelers use its shade as a stopping point on their journeys, and when the Dervish sects pass near, they leave ritual protective offerings and chant mantras of binding against the strange and terrible gods here so they may never be freed. The rusted pointed summit is as red as the surrounding lands and searing hot in the afternoon. The wind blows constantly through the gap in the eroded cliffs, carrying the overwhelming smell of ferrous iron, and eerie sounds like moans from the Underworld.

A large area made up of dozens of half buried Burial Domes surrounds the Fang and represents only a tiny part of a much larger burial complex. The Tombs may be looted, but doing so requires tools and considerable effort, and most will contain little of value. The Burial Domes are large hemisphere-shaped cathedrals. A pinkish orange glow rises from a 15ft-wide chute in the center of each brass dome. A chimney-like hole in the 50ft-high ceilings.

There is no sign of animal life save for vermin – giant black scorpions and giant crabs, who lurk in the crags by daylight and emerge to hunt at night (1x6 chance of an encounter at each location by day, 3x6 by night). Humans are rarely seen, since water is scarce and the place has an ill reputation. The true Brass Men hold it in both awe and fear – it is rumored to be the resting place of a great hero from the glory days of their empire, before the great deactivation. One element not known by modern visitors is that the Fangs original builders tethered the location to a geosynchronous beacon that allowed the complex to broadcast its presence beyond the stars.

Ancient and crumbling stairs, carved into the metal with a laser like precision, climb up to the summit. It must be noted that the Brass Men will not take it kindly if they notice strangers here – while they will not set foot on the mount beyond the first small cavern, they will not allow anyone to leave alive, either.

Men, Dervish |

Armor Class:	12
Hit Dice:	2
No. of Attacks:	1 weapon
Damage:	1d8 or weapon + 1
Movement:	40’
No. Appearing:	1d10, Wild 10d4, Lair 10d4
Save As:	Fighter: 2
Morale:	7
Treasure Type:	C
XP:	75

Men, Brass

Armor Class:	16
Hit Dice:	3
No. of Attacks:	2 fists
Damage:	1d6/1d6
Movement:	30’
No. Appearing:	1d6
Save As:	Fighter: 3
Morale:	12
Treasure Type:	None
XP:	145

Men, Brass (Wight) |

Armor Class:	15 (s)
Hit Dice:	3*
No. of Attacks:	1 touch
Damage:	Energy drain (1 level)
Movement:	30’
No. Appearing:	1d6, Wild 1d8, Lair 1d8
Save As:	Fighter: 3
Morale:	12
Treasure Type:	B
XP:	175

Crab, Giant |

Armor Class:	18
Hit Dice:	3
No. of Attacks:	2 pincers
Damage:	2d6/2d6
Movement:	20’ Swim 20’
No. Appearing:	1d2, Wild 1d6, Lair 1d6
Save As:	Fighter: 3
Morale:	7
Treasure Type:	None
XP:	14

Scorpion, Giant |

Armor Class:	15
Hit Dice:	4*
No. of Attacks:	2 claws/1 stinger
Damage:	1d10/1d10/1d6 + poison
Movement:	50’ (10’)
No. Appearing:	1d6, Wild 1d6
Save As:	Fighter: 2
Morale:	11
Treasure Type:	None
XP:	280

1. Sacrificial Cavern: This point is the furthest local guides and the Brass Men will go. A small cavern holds dozens of clay jars with offerings of grain, iron and brass tools, bones and clay figurines. There are also two large silver plated metal slabs containing ancient and corroded murals. The mural appears to be expertly embossed with dizzying patterns. One depicting five kings whose crown adorned heads and bodies are engulfed in a swirl of stylized flames, while the other depicts a prosperous city with brass-domed palaces, lush and green pleasure gardens and a central, three-tiered brass ziggurat that hangs suspended in the sky above the domed city. If the remains of a deactivated Brass Man are brought here and a ritual sacrifice is performed, the spirit of the one sacrificed will receive rebirth as a Wight within the deactivated Brass Man body thus reactivating it with new life and memories.

2. Branch: The path forks here. The wider branch approaching the gap is safe, but the narrow and treacherous path to the northeast is hard to navigate (1x6 of slipping unless precautions are taken, fall
1d6x10’).

3. Burial Chamber: There is a small overhanging ledge here with a narrow cave mouth – enough for Man sized creatures to fit through. A 30' high ceiling gives the chamber a sense of majesty. The chamber itself is simple, formed from metal with walls of gleaming brass polished to a golden hue and filled with 3d6 niches containing the carefully arranged damaged remains of deactivated Brass Men.

A) This chamber has a layer of rust sand, carried in by the winds. The corridor leading to B has an uncovered 60’ pit in the middle.

B) A number of copper pots, urns and jars lay on the rusted metal floor. They are less numerous than those in location 1, but they are both more ancient and more sophisticated. Their contents, whatever it might have been once, is dust now.

C) A haunting bone throne sits in the chamber. A 12’ tall brass skeleton sits on it, still clutching the scabbard of a magical two-handed sword which is laid before it (described below). The skeleton wears no clothes or identifying marks, but it possesses an additional eye socket in the forehead. It is inanimate.

4. Wailing Gap: The gap in Rusted Fang is the source of the wailing noises. There is a huge arch over a flat resting place, where about forty or fifty men could sit. Hidden among the metal debris, there is a narrow crack in the cliffside, and a set of stairs going straight downwards. At the terminus of these stairs lies a small natural grotto. Precisely cut stone blocks placed seamlessly into a square depression in the middle hides an Enameled Portal wrapped in brass wiring. The Portal is decorated with elaborate patterns of blue, red and yellow enamel, all of it as freshly coloured as new. Entry is at the Referee’s discretion, but characters should be well armed!

5. Lost Altar: The summit of the Rusted Fang has a depression in the middle, where a brass altar sits. It is of advanced construction and plated with white gold along its edges. The altar is damaged as if it had been cleft in twain by a huge sledgehammer. The symbol of the god is unrecognizable. Invocations accompanied by a sacrifice of burnt incense, an animal, gold, etc. are 3x6 likely to be unanswered. If they succeed, the invocator and his companions must immediately save vs. spell.

Failure means insanity – the victim hurls himself into his doom unless restrained. Otherwise, the invocator is later visited in his dreams by the Cursed Brass god, Mnoyór The Despoiler, who will offer great power in exchange for services. The powers will be single use magical spells (level 1-3), an invitation to become the god’s champion, or the like. The material form of Mnoyór is highly mutable yet amorphous, like liquid gold. Mnoyór can bestow the ability to summon primeval brass slime as a 5th level spell; these are essentially brass puddings. The price for this spell is to have thirty-three victims consumed by the slime within the fortnight; not one man less or more!

Pudding, Brass |

Armor Class:	14
Hit Dice:	10* (+9)
No. of Attacks:	1 pseudopod
Damage:	3d8
Movement:	20’
No. Appearing:	1
Save As:	Fighter: 10
Morale:	12
Treasure Type:	None
XP:	1,390

Mnoyór The Despoiler was once a sentient self-directing Brass Man that slew his Matriarchal maker in single combat using eldritch sorcery when he emerged from his long stasis. As punishment Mnoyór was thrice cursed and transfigured into an undying Brass Pudding of not insignificant power able to mold himself into various forms. 

The large head of Mnoyórs god-like maker now rests hidden in one of the tombs surrounding the Fang, the head bashed and dented, with one optical unit shattered. Though damaged the head possesses an unnatural beauty and would still fetch a fortune if found.

ITEM APPENDIX: the Thrice-Accursed Sword
This two-handed sword +1 is made from a semi-liquid, brass-like substance. The blade is dry to the touch, but pockmarked with several small irregularities where minor globules drip off. The sword performs as a normal magical weapon, but it also bears three curses, each of which manifest a week after the weapon is taken up. Unlike normal curses, they do not mean the item is stuck to its possessor – it may be discarded at will, or handed over to someone else.

THE THREE CURSES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

§ First: +1 to hit. Any creature reduced to 0hp will rise within 1d6 days as a brass pudding.

§ Second: if the wielder drops the blade it turns to an amorphous blob of liquid bass and returns to whence it came.

§ Third: if the sword is willingly given up or lost, the wielder will be visited by three Brass Men (Wights) the next time he is alone and challenged to mortal combat. The challengers will be 3rd to 5th level Fighters (more will come if the wielder is a high level character). They are supernatural, +1 or better to hit. They fight until slain.

If the wielder flees combat, the same is repeated again and again, the wielder constantly haunted by the supernatural Brass Men, until he can kill all three or he is slain himself (in which case he becomes a Brass Man, Wight).

Each curse may be removed in a specific way (found out via consultation with elder dervishes, in old tomes, contact other plane, etc. – these shall be short but hard quests).

When all three are gone, the curse will have been removed and the sword becomes an ordinary two handed sword +2 that can also spray a liquid searing brass causing 2d6 points of damage once every day. The spray is only usable above ground when the sun is visible. All sprayed droplets will return to the sword.

Note: Intoning the inscriptions on the Thrice-Accursed Sword in the hand of the skeleton will free Mnoyór The Despoiler as the sword becomes amorphous, covering and re-animating the skeleton thus freeing the cursed god Mnoyór.

What is Visions Of Pathos?

VISIONS OF PATHOS is an exercise in collecting & organizing something personal and tangible from my on-going BFRPG home campaigns. The contents herein are drawn from my past gaming sessions and my current campaign journal.