RPGSEA
Play Report: Lorn Song of the Bachelor x Mangayaw (Session 10, The Finale)
This is a retelling of a game session of Lorn Song of the Bachelor run with Mangayaw.
The Party Crashers
- Malakas, a shamanistic healer
- Bantok, a hunter without a bow
- Eumining-gud, an aswang curse whisperer
- Dumalapdap, a nimble ratfolk musketeer
- Tusok, a witch’s apprentice and shapeshifter
Inna Wa Inna
The party split up. Bantok, Dumalapdap, and Tusok led Vartu Si Vartu and his retainers to the Catfish Village. Eumining-gud and Malakas remained to talk to Inna Wa Inna, hoping they would find out how to end the curse.
Inna Wa Inna was sitting by a cottage, with a waterfall backdrop. She is a paragon of poise with deft, expressive fingers. A master weaver with a century of practice. Once she was aware she had guests, she welcomed them. “Come in. Have stew, if you please. It won’t matter, but who are we without manners?”
She told the two about the methods to end the curse.
One method is to get the river spirits to lift the curse. For that, they would need to hear from Vung Si Vung’s own mouth that his thirst for retribution is satisfied. This way is implausible, Inna Wa Inna said. “Vung Si Vung is no longer the man I once loved.”
The other method is to slay the sitting chief of the Gleaming Fins and bury him with Vung Si Vung and Inna Wa Inna’s mummified remains. All three pieces for this method are already in the Ruins, and soon all will be together in one room. This one is more doable.
Inna Wa Inna stood up and summoned two pebble golems. She wanted to come with them. “I have to see this through.” she said.
Towards The Head
Bantok, Dumalapdap, Tusok went to fetch the catfish folk to help with the increasingly climactic battle and also because they needed Grimkin San Mor’s key to open the stupa to Vung Si Vung.
Grimkin San Mor thinks it is time for her to take control of the Bachelor, but the party had no intention of letting her.
The group met with Eumining-gud, Malakas, and Inna Wa Inna at the Bachelor-filled Belly. The party caught each other up. They knew what to do to end the curse. It was time to descend to the Head.
Vung Si Vung
At the end of an impossibly long descent was Vung Si Vung’s Longhouse. Two tooth golems gaurd the dais holding the mummified remains of Vung Si Vung and Inna Wa Inna. Vung Si Vung himself was on his usual perch, on the timber struts above.
Malakas chanted Mentala meant to mend curses. A curse that ran so deep could not be unraveled entirely with a few words. A paltry amount of knots were cut, enough that Vung Si Vung found the words to express himself again.
Malakas used this opportunity to convince Vung Si Vung to stop his terror as the Bachelor. But not even Inna Wa Inna’s presence could convince the Warrior. He was come to love the Bachelor’s butchery and its hot simplicity.
Vartu Si Vartu advanced towards Vung Si Vung and challenged the Warrior to a duel. Vung Si Vung obliged with a great smile on his face.
To End The Curse Of The Bachelor
The fight started. Pebble and rusty ax against teeth, Vartu Si Vartu’s spear against Vung Si Vung’s great machete.
In the midst of the clash, the party had their own objectives. Bantok and Eumining-gud had to slip past the fight to retrieve the mummified cadavers. Dumalapdap and Tusok were on standby, pistol aimed and Mentala pre-chanted.
Bantok managed to give the fighters the slip without even catching a stray blade, with the help of Dumalapdap’s precise shooting. Eumining-gud was not as lucky. She became a victim to spear and machete. Inna Wa Inna sent one of her pebble golems to fetch her from danger.
Vartu Si Vartu proved to be a formidable warrior. His spear thrusts were a challenge to dodge, but without his other hand, his defense was lacking. Vung Si Vung took advantage of this weakness and prevailed. His great machete tasted Vartu Si Vartu’s blood.
The chief of the Gleaming Fins, gash across his chest, admitted defeat. “You truly are a god. And I am your servant.” He ordered his retainers to kill the intruders and declared themselves as the Crocodile Cult.
It was then that Tusok finished chanting his Mentala. His transformation was different this time. His skin produced orange and black fur, his canines grew that they protrude out of his mouth, his hands and feet widened into paws.
In this form, he charged at Vartu Si Vartu. His victim was helpless to his fangs. He dragged the now-former chief’s body away from the fighting, dodging Vung Si Vung and the Crocodile Cult in the process.
With all three bodies, the party decided to flee from the scene. Inna Wa Inna’s pebble golems blocked way that they may escape.
Back in the Bachelor-filled Belly, Grimkin San Mor caught up to the party. Her detachment of catfish folk were routed by a tooth-golem and she has no control of the Bachelor. This operation was a total bust, and she blamed the party.
The jig was up. Bantok and Malakas quickly grabbed her and Dumalapdap shot his pistol at the catfish, the true Grimkin San Mor. The gun smoke cleared and the catfish was no longer attached to the crotch. Grimkin detached and dove the water surrounding the stupa. A loose end.
An Epilogue
They buryied Vartu Si Vartu with the mummified corpses of Inna wa Inna and Vung Si Vung near the Singer’s Stone, per Inna Wa Inna’s request. “Do not feel sad for me.” she said. Ritual agaru smoke filled the air.
The curse is lifted. The Bachelor will never terrorize the river again. The Crocodile Cult fell into irrelevance after the death of both their chief and their god.
Mahivir Sanna Krau knows to appease those who work under him. He took care of the party’s Debt to Oppu Wa Oppu, just as he said. A deal is a deal.
Auntie Sati was glad to know that the Song of Vung Si Vung has finally ended. She went back to work with a smile on her ancient lips. “Now comes the hard part: healing.”
Bavu Si Bavu returned to the village a hero. He was of the party that ended the Bachelor’s reign of brutality. Such an achievement would impress any Gleaming Fin.
Oppu Wa Oppu married the hero. Immediately after the wedding, she proposed they travel. Auntie Sati says its the moon spirit inside her; it was itching to leave and have an adventure.
On Niti Si Niti’s lap fell the role of village chief. But he owed much Debt to the The-Isles-Like-Precious-Ivory Trading Company that his integrity was compromised. There was a power vacuum in the village, and the Company swooped in to fill it.
Some did not approve of Company rule. They plan to leave the village.
Most did not have the privilege of being able to leave. Their Debts are shackles that tie them to the village.
And so the Gleaming Fins village remains. Changed, but it remains.
GM COMMENTARY
- Thanks all for suffering through my play reports. I hope you found some value out of it lol
- My players were all awesome. Many times in this short campaign I was on the edge of my seat because of what they did.
- This is where I will pivot the game to a sandbox of the A Thousand Thousand Islands localities and other RPGSEA stuff that I have. It’s gonna be a very different dynamic from an adventure with a beginning and end. I might only post a shortened play report once a month for that. I’m very excited!
BONUS CONTENT: Some art my players made for the session
I don’t know who made this, it was just drawn on the vtt. Whoever it was, thank you.
“Live Tusok Reaction” by ThespianMask
Bantok, by Jamie Douglas
Tooth Golem, by Jamie Douglas
Play Report: Lorn Song of the Bachelor x Mangayaw (Session 9)
This is a retelling of a game session of Lorn Song of the Bachelor run with Mangayaw.
The Party Crashers
- Malakas, a shamanistic healer
- Bantok, a hunter without a bow
- Eumining-gud, an aswang curse whisperer
- Dumalapdap, a nimble ratfolk musketeer
- Tusok, a witch’s apprentice and shapeshifter
Singer’s Stone
The party wanted to learn more about Vung Si Vung, that they might find out how to end his curse. They were directed by Oppu Wa Oppu to the Singer’s Stone.
The Singer’s Stone is a natural ampitheatre formed by a cliff, about half a day away from the village by boat. New singers learn from and sing for the elder singers to earn their tattooes.
The party approached an elder in the middle of tattooing. They asked if he knew more songs about Vung Si Vung and performed the Song of Vung Si Vung for the elder, a song they only heard from Auntie Sati. They were graded badly by the elder, who also remarked that this is the first time he has heard of the Vung Si Vung and his song.
A young singer approached the party. His name was Rus Si Rus, his skin still a blank canvass. He told them he was about to sing the Song of Vung Si Vung, his favorite song, to earn his tatoos.
The party decided to stay a few more hours to watch. Rus Si Rus sung the Song of Vung Si Vung and was acknowledged by the elder singers. He was then given tattoos of open maws with curling tusks, signifying he is a true singer of the Gleaming Fins.
After his promotion, the party approached Rus Si Rus to congratulate him. The young man was ecstatic. When the topic of Vung Si Vung came up, Rus Si Rus was confused. He could not remember the name, nor the song he just sang for his promotion. “My apologies, my head is in a haze. It must be the adrenaline from performing catching up to me.”
Not even the elders who oversaw Rus Si Rus’ promotion could remember.
Auntie Sati confirmed their suspicions. The Gleaming Fins singers could not retain the memory of Vung Si Vung.
Return to the Old Ruins
An impatient Vartu Si Vartu and his 10 retainers boarded his outrigger boat. The party apologized for the delay. He smirked at the size of the party’s dugout canoes compared to his.
And they set off for the Old Ruins again.
On the way, the party spotted a raggedy girl by the banks of the river. She waves to them. “Hey, I lost my doll. Can you find me a new one?“
Eumining-gud remembered she has a doll made of abaca fibers in her pack. She retrieves it and offers it to the girl. The girl beams a smile at them.
As a jest, Eumining-gud also offers the girl a centipede from her pack. The girl refused. “It’s okay, I have plenty of friends already.” From the water surfaced many kraits and surrounded the girl, but never biting her.
The party left with haste, chills down their spines. They didn’t dare imagine what could have happened if Eumining-gud did not have that doll. The girl waved as they paddled away.
Directions from a Godling
Their first order of business in the ruins, visit Sikkukurut. They asked for Vartu Si Vartu’s patience in this detour.
The trek to the Lungs was short. They were met with a deafening wall of chirps and chatter. Hundreds, thousands of kingfishers roost upside down under the ceiling.
Sikkukurut was easy to spot, being made of orange-ish smog. The party offered her the teeth they plucked from the cave crocodile they defeated and asked her how to get to Inna Wa Inna.
Sikkukurut laughed at the idea of a toothless cave crocodile. “Heehee! Wonder which one you defanged!” Satisfied with the prank, she gave the party the directions they needed.
“Want more information? Steal Inna Wa Inna’s tapestries! Or bring vampire snails! Heehee!”
Following Sikkukurut’s directions, the party found themselves in front of a great brass door. It sports a bas relief of a woman, impervious with corset, weaving shuttle, and knife.
Beyond the door was a waterfall. Around its plunge pool, ferns garland lounge-worthy rocks. It was like a scene plucked from your childhood and planted underground.
There is a lit cottage here, guarded by 4 pebble golems. Inside is a weavery workshop.
A woman sits at a bench, polishing stone with a strip of stingray leather. On her right is a basket full of unfinished, smooth pebbles. She is the paragon of poise.
An impossible sight lay before them. But then again, the Old Ruins has been full of such things.
GM COMMENTARY
- The end is in sight. I can feel it!
- I think I did a good job with unraveling the mystery in the Singer’s Stone. I just wanted to pat myself on the back for that.
- It was a coincidence that Eumining-gud had what the Snake Urchin wanted. The abaca doll was something she got from her mangkukulam background. I didn’t expect it would be used like this!
Play Report: Lorn Song of Bachelor x Mangayaw (Session 6)
This is a retelling of a game session of Lorn Song of the Bachelor run with Mangayaw
The Binmanwa Party
- Malakas, a shamanistic healer
- Bantok, a hunter
- Eumining-gud, an aswang (?)
- Dumalapdap, a ratfolk musketeer
- Tusok, a witch’s apprentice
A Deal With The Catfish Captain
Grimkin San Mor looks like a corpse wearing pirate regalia, with a catfish attached to her crotch. In actuality, the catfish is Grimkin herself. “This is my crew. We are family. What skills can you offer? Will you join us? My crew always needs capable hands. Join our family.”
The party asked the captain about her goals. She said wants to control the Bachelor by attaching a catfish on it. She doubts her crew can take the beast on with just themselves, so she is looking for help.
And if she gains control of the Bachelor, “what then?”, the party asks. More power, Grimkin answered. She did not elaborate.
The party felt that Grimkin attaining power would not be the best for the Gleaming Fins, and for anyone else really. They planned to go with her plan, only to betray her at the last minute.
“Would we need to have catfish attached to our crotches as well?” they asked. “Not yet,” Grimkin answered, “consider this a free trial to our family.”
The Warrior
Grimkin had the key to the stupa in the Bachelor-Filled Belly. Opening it revealed a staircase leading somewhere deep down. At the end of it is the interior of a longhouse.
The longhouse has glinting tapestries, silver fixtures, and a carpet of bones and skulls. In the far side, a dais holding mummified remains. It is guarded by two person-shaped piles of teeth. A figure skulks up above, on the timber struts.
Not knowing how to approach this situation, Bantok nonchalantly entered the interior and wipes off wet-corpse slime covering his hands on one of the tapestries. This prompted the tooth golems to approach him, teeth grinding as they move. The mysterious figure started singing, and teeth from the skulls on the ground stirred to form into another golem.
Dumalapdap scampered up to the timber struts using the tapestries with such agility. He caught sight of the figure: crocodile scales tattooed all over its body, teeth filed into points that it evokes a crocodile’s maw, a bestial look on his face. He was very clearly a Warrior.
Dumalapdap tried tackling him, with Eumining-gud attempting to distract it with her long neck. But the Warrior would not budge. Dumalapdap is left clinging on to him to avoid falling onto the floor. Realizing her approach is ineffective, Eumining-gud started to chant Maga Kulam, directed at the Warrior.
Below, another tooth golem arose. Malakas and the party’s companions move in to back Bantok up against them, with Tusok shooting blowdarts from behind. The wet-corpses move in against one, with Grimkin barking orders.
There was a clash of blade and teeth. Malakas was bitten by an armful of teeth and was dragged into a hug of a thousand incisors. Bantok hacked at the golem to save him, but it did not budge.
The Warrior jumped from the struts onto the carpet of bones and reached for Dumalapdap, who let go to avoid it. Eumining-gud finished her chant and the Warrior’s neck swelled, limiting his airflow. He pants and coughs, his movement dulled, but he remains a huge threat.
The Warrior drew his great machete from the wooden scabbard strapped to his waist. He swung it at Dumalapdap who failed to dodge it, producing a large gash across the ratfolk’s chest. He swung a punch with his other hand, launching Dumalapdap into the wall.
The group of wet-corpses hacked their tooth golem down, but the rest of the party are still having difficulty dealing with theirs. Bantok is hug-munched by the other golem. Tusok, realizing the grim ending that awaits them should they continue this fight, remembered the Mentala tattoos etched on his arms by the witch he once called master. He knows not what the Mentala would do, but he chanted it anyway.
Tusok’s form changed in a moment. His skin to thick leather, his limbs to stumps, his ears to wide flaps, his nose into a trunk, and his canines into tusks. He had become taller and wider than any other in the room.
Tusok used this form to cause a ruckus, than the others might escape. Once they did, he let go of his bestial form and made for the stairs himself, but the Warrior pounced on him. He failed to escape.
GM Comments
This fight was epic, even if the odds weren’t in the players’ favor. They even had a detachment on their side, but still no luck. I’m glad my players enjoyed the session despite my dropping in and out of the voice chat because internet in the Philippines is broken.
Here’s a funny story about safety tools. At the start of the campaign, I had the player fill out their Lines and Veils. Someone put Dental Horror on the Ask Me First category. Knowing about the Tooth Golems in the adventure, I knew we’re eventually gonna have a conversation about that. That time was this session.
I asked the player what they don’t want to happen in-game, and they proceeded to describe the Tooth Golem’s critical hit effect almost exactly. I was beyond amused. I hope this short story amuses you too..
Play Report: Lorn Song of the Bachelor x Mangayaw (Session 5)
This is a retelling of a game session of Lorn Song of the Bachelor run with Mangayaw.
The Binmanwa Party
- Malakas, a shamanistic healer
- Bantok, a bow hunter
- Eumining-gud, an aswang (?)
- Dumalapdap, a ratfolk musketeer
- Tusok, a witch’s apprentice
Lost Treasure Hunters
The party decided to push past the Cloth-Packed Belly to see what is beyond it.
They reached the teak log bridge when they hear an incomprehensible muttering. On the other side of the bridge were silhouettes of two men. By throwing a nostalgia wisp towards them and Eumining-gud extending her neck to get a closer look, they observed that these men were milky-eyed, pale and hairless. They sported Gleaming Fins clothing and tattoos.
The party crossed the bridge partway to try to communicate to the men. The strange men beckoned to them to come closer. “So cold… So hungry…”
Deciding they’re not going to converse properly with distance between them, Bantok and Dumalapdap decided to cross the bridge. The men lunged at Dumalapdap immediately, but only bit the wood of his shield. The rest of the party came to his rescue. A flurry of blades, sticks, and projectiles and the two strange men fell.
Bavu Si Bavu recognized one of the men; someone he knew from younger days. A few years ago, he talked about going into the Old Ruin to look for treasure. He was never found again, until now.
The party decided to tie the strange men up, in the hopes they’ll find a cure to their sickness. That is, if this was caused by a sickness.
The Bachelor-Filled Belly
The archway to the Belly looked different from before. It’s still ink-black under the light of their nostalgia wisps but instead of cavorting monkeys, the motifs were of yawning crocodiles.
A strange, moist breeze flows from inside the archway. The sound of waves lapping on a shore and a shrill clicking. There’s a wide lake here, with an island right in the middle. On the island, an ornate-looking stupa.
The party’s investigation of the space was interrupted by an albino crocodile, hugging the wall like a gecko. It emits clicking sounds to navigate the dark ruins. It crawls from the wall to the floor, towards the party.
Bantok grabbed a rock from the ground and threw it behind the crocodile to try to distract it. “Oh please, I’m not that stupid.” the crocodile scoffed, almost offended.
The party was taken aback by the talking crocodile, but quickly got over their surprise to try to talk it down. Unfortunately, the white reptile is intent on getting a “taste test.”
Dumalapdap and Malakas quickly jumped into action. Dumalapdap lodged a rattan stick in between the crocodile’s jaw, while Malakas tried to stab it from behind. With the crocodile’s jaws unable to bite, it used it claws against Dumalapdap. But before any serious damage was done, Bantok’s panabas cut down the lizard.
The crocodile continued the conversation while completely helpless, not really minding that it is under the mercy of the party. It answered the party’s questions about the ruin to the best of its abilities. That is to say, it didn’t have much information for them. Then, the party took out its teeth, as part of the deal with Sikkukurut.
Moving on from the crocodile, the party swam across the lake to the island. The stupa has a brass door, sporting a bas relief of a warrior, regal with feathers, spear and shield. It wouldn’t budge, even with their combined strength.
At the other side of the lake was another archway. It glows white in darkness, so the party spotted it easily. They took that path forward.
The Cloaca and the Catfish Village
The tunnel past the archway led to a flooded space. Faded traffic runes on the floor, sound of thunder periodically ring out. Small stormy clouds float at shoulder level, some fitted with saddles.
Re Wa Re recalls a children’s story, of monkeys using clouds as a means of transportation. The party wanted in on this. Malakas, Eunimining-gud, and Bantok each rode atop some of the clouds with saddles. The clouds buckled and kicked violently, causing Bantok to slam into the wall. They stopped trying after that.
The floodwater drains into a lower level in a rushing stream. Seeing no other way forward, the party rode it downstream.
The stream led to a water basin. Huts, made of trash, human leather, and flesh, line the bank. The villagefolk curiously surround the party. They have partly putrefied skin and catfish attached on their crotches; wet-corpse hosts just like the party encountered before. They give way to a corpse-host in regal pirate wear: Grimkin, the leader of the catfish.
GM COMMENTS
- This session has more combat than the first 3 combined hahaha
- Minutes after the session were taken to discuss crocodile dicks and how a catfish might attach itself on one. Time well spent, I’d say.
I wanna talk a bit about the main threat to adventurers’ lives in The Rumbling Forest: the Boars
Link to the adventure: https://goobernuts.itch.io/the-rumbling-forest
The Boar Horde
I make it no secret that a big inspiration for this adventure is Princess Mononoke. I wanted players to deal with themes similar to the film, and also I wanted them to face a relentless fucking horde of boars.
The Boar Horde is a calamity on hundreds of hooves. I think Into the Odd’s detachment mechanics work well in giving them this feel. They are not something you fight head on. You can’t even inflict damage on them without a powerful enough weapon.
In my playtests, an encounter with the boar horde means the PCs will scramble up trees to avoid them. I’ve yet to see a boar horde encounter where all trees in the area have been cut. Maybe I’ll need to run a playtest of the latest revision to see that dynamic in action.
The Ancient Boar
The inspiration for this boar is unfortunately lost to me. I stupidly didn’t take note of that particular source of the Philippine myth I read. The only trace I found in my hopelessly messy notes was “Baybulan earthquake pig”.
I wanted to the players to understand that this Ancient Boar is a god, able to change landscapes and shake regions. Even its weakening, dying breaths make ground tremble. I hope I was able to do that.
I had more difficulty in figuring out its purpose in the adventure. I only thought about it being on the verge of death when I was revising for the Cairn Jam.
Before then, the Ancient Boar was just sleeping in that underground river. It’s still an ordeal to get to it, but it felt like getting to the Ancient Boar solves most problems.
Having the Ancient Boar on the verge of death means there is a sense of urgency, no easy solutions to the adventure, and condemns colonialism all at the same time.
I made an adventure for Cairn and Mangayaw!
The Rumbling Forest is an adventure about arrogant woodcutters, angry boars on a revenge raid, mysterious earthquakes, a forest at a tipping point, and conquistadors trying to profit from it all. Check it out on itch!
I have been trying to cook up an adventure for Mangayaw for upwards of a year now. Mangayaw is a game that I want to support extensively with adventures, modules, and micro-settings; I knew having supplementary material like these will help to get your game actually played. But actually making them is no small feat!
This adventure was stuck in revision limbo until Cairn Jam 2 came along. Having a deadline helped a lot and pushed me into getting it to a not-so-embarassing state.
The Rumbling Forest is a paid adventure (I live in the Philippines, you understand), but I’ll always supply community copies. Consider it paying all those community copies I grabbed from the indie TTRPG space forward. So please, if you’re marginalized or can’t really afford to buy this adventure, grab a community copy!
Play Report: Lorn Song of the Bachelor x Mangayaw (Session 4)
This is a retelling of a game session of Lorn Song of the Bachelor run with Mangayaw.
The Binmanwa Party
- Malakas, a shamanistic healer
- Bantok, a bow hunter
- Eumining-gud, an aswang (?)
- Dumalapdap, a ratfolk musketeer
- Tusok, a witch’s apprentice
The Paw
The party decided to leave the golden harp by the boats in The Mouth while they search for a new exit.
They took a path they haven’t before. The tunnel was submerged in still water and riddled with side-rooms, with tables, rusted cutlery, bottles with sludge.
A heat blur, a nostalgia wisp, floated around them. It uses happy memories as fuel to burn. Dumalapdap recalled for a moment inheriting an heirloom jar from his mother before leaving home. The wisp lit up like a torch, and the memory was gone for good.
With this floating source of light, the party crossed the water and found themselves in some kind of gym for monkeys. Locked lockers line the walls, leading to a sparring room with mirrored walls.
On the mirrors, their reflections did not show them as they are, but rather as their ideal versions. Malakas saw himself as a respected leader, with gold jewelry in every appendage. Tusok saw himself as heroically strong and buff.
Above the sparring room hung a couple of cages. There was a silhoutte of a man inside one of them. Eumining-gud wrapped the turtle sarong around herself and extended her neck to get a closer look. What she saw was the shape of a man made of hands. Palms for pecs, fists for abs. It splays its arms out in a hugging motion.
The party tried to talk to it, and it communicated back with sign language. None in the party knew sign language, so it mostly resorted to thumbs up and down. They learned that it was held there for a long time and that it didn’t know how to open its locked cage.
The party is not decided on whether they want to free the handy thing or not. Either way, they think they would need a key to open anything here.
Wet Corpses
The party encountred another nostalgia wisp. Bantok’s memory of a feast in his honor for an outstanding hunt fell victim to the wisp.
Dumalapdap wanted to know what would happen if he gave the monkey statue in the Mouth some tokens found in the Clothes-Packed Belly. He did so, and nothing happened.
From the edge of wisplight, something stirs in the water. Three bodies, with melted flesh and clothed in rags, emerge. Squelching and rasping, they march in a single line towards the interior of the ruin.
Obscured by rags, something flops around in the strange animated wet corpses’ groins. The party has seen this phenomenon before.
Dumalapdap wanted to make sure. He flips the rag-clothes of one wet corpse, revealing a catfish attached to its crotch. But in response, the wet corpse swiped its fist at him.
The party drew out their weapons and retaliated. A wet corpse was knocked out, as was Malakas. Eumining-gud chanted her Maga Kulam Mentala, causing a wet corpse’ hand to swell so grotesquely that it will have a hard time lifting it up. In a moment, the rest of the party cut down the two wet corpses still standing. The catfishes detach from their fallen hosts and flop towards the water.
After that, the party thinks they did good in exposing Hummu Si Hummu’s crotch-catfish.
AFTERTHOUGHTS
As I wrote this play report, I realized I made a minor mistake. I rolled wet-corpse hosts on the encounter table, but I referred to the wet corpse bestiary entry when they got into combat with them. No big deal, but its a funny mistake.
My players are loving how weird everything in this ruin is. I’m delighted to see it all unfold before their eyes.
Play Report: Lorn Song of the Bachelor x Mangayaw (Session 3)
The Binmanwa Party
- Malakas, a shamanistic healer
- Bantok, a bow hunter
- Eumining-gud, an aswang (?)
- Dumalapdap, a ratfolk musketeer
- Alon, a textile weaver
- Kilala, a ratfolk cook
- Tusok, a witch’s apprentice
Enter Tusok, New Party Member
Another boat entered the ruin behind the party. It had just one passenger. He waved at the party with his tattooed arms.
He called himself Tusok, the apprentice of a witch connected to the Company. He had a debt to her, so he’s pretty much in the same situation as the rest of the party. He claims his companions have gone ahead of him in the ruin.
The party gave their wary introductions. Some don’t know whether to trust him yet. “Prove your worth,” they said.
Eumining-gud recognized the tattoos, shaped like elephant tusks. They are Mentala that will change his entire form. But to what, she doesn’t know yet.
The Lungs
Exploring the ruin, they came upon a fork in the road with three paths. They took the first one which led them to a dome chamber.
It looks like a ballroom, at least it must have been before. But now its carpet is that of roaches and guano, its ceiling fixtures are that of kingfishers hanging like bats, and its dancing music is that of deafening chirps and chatter.
One kingfisher stood out. It looks like a hologram projected into incense smoke. “Stupid human! Come here! Trapped here? Name’s Sikkukurut!”
The party is wary of the smog bird, but they conversed with it.
“Sikkukurut knows stuff! Help Sikkukurut?”
The bird wants treats; vampire snails are her favorite. The bird wants help with pranks. She tells them to completely detooth a cave crocodile. “Funny shit!”
The party had no idea what a vampire snail or a cave crocodile is like, but said they’ll come back when they have done either. They wonder if the real prank was on them.
The Cloth-Packed Belly
The party doubled back and took the second tunnel. The path is interrupted by an abyss. There is a path across made of teak logs, staked onto the face of the wall. The party hopped onto each teak log to pass through.
They come upon an ink-black archway sporting cavorting monkeys. Beyond it is a shopping-arcade-like space. Each open lot is overflowing with a different kind of human accountrement. A hulking mass of pebbles and stones is sorting through a pile.
The party is intrigued by the pebble golem. They tossed a random stone in its direction, to get its attention. The stone snaps like a magnet and joined the pebble golem’s body. It noticed the party, but doesn’t seem to be very interested.
Some turned their eyes on the overwhelming piles of stuff. Dumalapdap found a handful of tokens inscribed with monkeys. Eumining-gud found a sarong with softneck turtle patterns; wearing it makes her neck longer. Alon found a pedal harp made of solid gold, buried under a pile of sandals. Tusok found the clothes of his former group.
The mystery of what happened to the group that came before them weighed on their minds. They remembered something Sikkukurut said. Trapped here, was it?
Treasure Logistics
The party decided to check if the boat they came in with is still where it was, in the mouth of the ruin. Half of the party wanted to bring the gold harp with them. It could make a dent in their collective Debt, after all.
The harp was heavy, made of solid gold. It required two pairs of hands to carry. It was a manageable problem until they got to the teak log path above the abyss. Can’t really hop while carrying a large golden instrument, can they?
After much deliberation, they had a solution: stick their swords underneath the harp to act as skiis, then pull the harp across with some rope.
The plan seemed to work. The harp was halfway through the teak log bridge when they heard a roar of twittering and fluttering. A swarm of kingfishers were heading their way. Almost everyone are on the other side already, but Dumalapdap was right behind the harp, pushing it. He hugged the log he was on and waited for the swarm to pass him by. And pass him by they did.
After the swarm, getting the harp to the other side was an easy task.
The Closed Mouth
The party reached the mouth of the ruin. Something was different. Gone was the sunlight reflecting on shimmering water, now it’s just completely dark.
Their boat was still there. Alon and Tusok used it to go where the opening used to be, only to be met with solid rock. Sikkukurut was right. They are trapped.
AFTERTHOUGHTS
Ever had moments in a session when you forget details of rooms or encounters? Or when you change a feature of an adventure because you think it would be cool, but in the back of your mind you hope this change doesn’t betray the other elements of the adventure?
This session had a lot of those. Here’s hoping nothing breaks lol.
At least my group said they had fun. 😀
Play Report: Lorn Song of the Bachelor x Mangayaw (Session 2)
The Binmanwa Party
- Malakas, a shamanistic healer
- Bantok, a bow hunter
- Euminung-gud, an aswang (?)
- Dumalapdap, a ratfolk musketeer
- Alon, a textile weaver
Vartu Si Vartu
The party waited outside the Chief’s longhouse for his return, not wanting to insult him a second time. Vartu Si Vartu returns a few hours later.
Conversation with Vartu Si Vartu is sensitive business. He is a proud warrior, thinks every gesture is a challenge to his authority.
He tells the party of how he lost his left arm. The Bachelor claimed it after a great battle, one that Vartu Si Vartu lost.
If he was such a great warrior, how could he have lost to a crocodile? He wants the party to look for proof of the Bachelor’s divinity. If the Bachelor was a god, then there is no shame in his loss.
Bavu Si Bavu
The party heads back to the princess’ lover, to inform him of their mistake and that he is still loved. He bounced back from his heartbreak quickly.
They also informed him of their plan to raise his prestige by questing with them. He is delighted by the opportunity to prove Niti Si Niti wrong.
Hummu Si Hummu
Before the day ended, the party passed by Oppu Wa Oppu’s again. They are hoping see if one of her more annoying suitors was there, so they could earn their keep.
Sure enough, the village’s prestige singer, Hummu Si Hummu, was there.
Hummu Si Hummu shows off his tattoos: open maws and curling tusks. Identifies him as a singer of the village’s songs and histories. He has a tic, blinking uncontrollably. His loincloth has a weird movement to it, like something is flopping about inside it.
Alon chanted the Mentala sewed into his katana’s tassels. The words granted him a sight able to see beneath the loincloth. A ferocity weighed on his heart, but he also saw a catfish stuck to Hummu Si Hummu’s groin. Absurd.
Under the guise of concern, the party tries to uncover Hummu Si Hummu’s secret. He tried to run, but he was unable to. When his secret was uncovered, he was in panic. The catfish seemed to share his emotions.
The party sent him to Auntie Sati, hoping she would know how to remove it. They still have no idea what to make of this. Is it a parasite? A performance enhancer? A controller of the mind? A kink?
Re Wa Re’s Pepper Farm
The next morning, the party went aboard a boat, piloted by Bavu Si Bavu. They set out for the Old Ruin via the river.
They spotted a Skelephant fording the river. They let it pass.
They passed by some pepper farms along the river, spotted a group of men in Company uniform harassing an old farmer. She’s on her knees, begging.
The party decided to help diffuse the tension. As they land the boat, the situation changed. The farmer was shouting and swearing now.
A Company goon forbade the party from getting closer and the farmer bit his hand. The goons pulled out their pistols, but the party stood between the two parties.
The Company goons explained that they’re here to take Re Wa Re’s farm as payment for her gambling debt. She protested with expletives.
The party decided to be on Re Wa Re’s side on this matter. Alon loudly boasted about his swordsmanship, touting his colorfully tasseled katana as proof, both to discourage the goons and to relieve the ferocity in his heart. The goons are outnumbered and are not inclined to call Alon’s bluff.
In the middle of all this, Dumalapdap nicked a pistol from one of the goons, who was none the wiser.
The Company goons decide to leave, but not without threats of their return.
The party hired Re Wa Re to come with them to the Old Ruin. She brought a knife and some peppery jerky.
The Old Ruin
It was almost dusk when the party reached the Old Ruin. The opening to the cave was clearly not natural. It’s adorned with simian statues, posd as if diving in water.
They felt the murmur of waves, from inside. They felt a breeze, like breath.
The party felt a mixture of curiosity and a bit of fear. And with that, they entered the Old Ruin.
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