The Other Side blog

Wednesday, November 1, 2023

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 11, Room 1

Opening the large iron doors from Level 10, the party walks through an open expanse. In front of them is a large stone archway flanked on either side by two large gargoyles (the mundane sort) with burning braziers at their feet. When the party gets close, the braziers alight. The gargoyles then recite the following:

In shadows deep, where bravery has led,

Adventurers with hearts of courage bred,

Before you lies a path of chilling dread,

The Labyrinth of Terror, where fear's thread.

You've ventured far, your courage on display,

With every step, you've faced the darkest fray,

But now, heed well the words I must convey,

For in this maze, only the strongest may.

The Vampire Queen, her power bound in night,

Within these walls, she plots her vile delight,

Turn back, dear souls, before the fading light,

For wisdom now demands you take your flight.

The bravest, strongest, wisest shall endure,

In this dread maze, where terrors still obscure,

In unity, your fate you must secure,

Or face the Queen, with darkness to ensure.

The party stands before the entrance to the Labyrinth of Terror.

The walls are made of a uniform gray stone that seems to move with distorted faces out of the corner of the eye. Looking at them directly though shows only gray stone. The hallways are 25 ft apart, the ceiling is 50ft high. The walls run from the floor to the ceiling. The walls can't be broken down. Any damage appears to repair itself once the party looks away.

This month will the Labyrinth of Terror. Instead of a series of rooms there are marked encounter areas the party may or may not find. I'll detail each encounter area.

Here are the Encounter Areas.

Monsters are tied to their areas by magical compulsion. Suitable prey and food is teleported in from parts (and persons) unknown. They are under a curse so they never age.

And this is the correct path out.

Tuesday, October 31, 2023

October Horror Movie Challenge: Last Night in Soho (2021)

Still down with Covid. So, I only have about one movie left in me. Tonight's topic is "All Hallow's Eve" and there were a bunch of movies I wanted to watch. But in the end I landed on another one I had wanted to see for a bit. Thankfully it also takes place on Halloween.

Last Night in Soho

Matt Smith, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Thomasin McKenzie as the stars? Dianna Rigg and Terrance Stamp as special guest stars? Yeah, you can see why I wanted to see it.

Thomasin McKenzie plays Eloise "Ellie" Turner. A nice girl who wants to be a fashion designer. She lives with her grandmother, loves music and fashion from the 1960s, oh, and she sees the ghost of her dead mother ever so often. Ellie gets accepted to the London College of Fashion in London and it is obvious that this little Cornish girl is not as sophisticated as her peers. Uncomfortable with all the partying and her roommate bringing home guys she seeks out an apartment for rent from old Ms. Collins (Dianna Rigg).

Soon Ellie starts having visions. Very, very detailed visions of the life of a girl her age in the 1960s, Sandie played by the always amazing Anya Taylor-Joy. Ellie meets Jack, played with fantastic creepiness by Matt Smith, who wants to help her achieve her dreams of singing on stage.

Ellie wakes up and begins having trouble determining what is real and what isn't. She also starts seeing an older man (Terrance Stamp) everywhere who seems to know a lot about her.

Soon Ellie's visions are getting more and more violent. Jack is not Sandie's manager but her pimp. Each vision is getting worse to the point where she she sees Sandie and Jack fighting in the same room she is now staying in. Ellie is convinced that Jack killed Sandie and goes looking in the archives for her. But she all she finds are more and more ghosts of her former Johns. She tries to tell the police, but they think she is crazy.

She confronts the old man, who seems to have known Sandie and Ellie thinks is Jack. But after he is hit by a car we learn he had been a Vice Cop back in the 1960s. Ellie soon realizes that she had seen him, through Sandie's eyes.

Deciding she has had enough Ellie wants out of the apartment, she goes back and asks her friend John (Michael Ajao, as maybe one of the few decent people here) to wait for her while she gets her things. Ms Collins is waiting for her and offers her a cup of tea. We learn that Ms Collins is in fact Sandie. She was killed, she was the one doing the killings and she hid all the bodies in the floorboards of her home. The ghosts have been coming to Ellie to ask for help.

In the end we see Ellie has completed her designs and has a fashion show where her grandmother and John come. Sandie is doing better, but she is still seeing the ghost of her mother and now of Sandie as well.

Among other things this was a great little thriller and mystery. It was Diana Rigg's last role.

The soundtrack is quite amazing. A great spooky ghost story.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

October Horror Movie Challenge 2023
Viewed: 35
First Time Views: 23

D&DGII The Black Forest Mythos: Hüter, Lord of the Dead

I didn't get as many of these done as I wanted, but that is okay, it can extend into November. Today is Halloween so I thought the Lord of the Dead might be a good choice for today.

The Romans and the Germanic people had different views on their Lords of the Dead. The Roman Pluto was not exactly the same as the Greek Hades. In truth, the Greek Hades was not even the same over time. Pluto is more of a blending of Hades and the god of riches Ploûtos. Conflating things further in the Eleusinian Mysteries, Pluto, or Ploutōn, became the God in charge of the Earth that helped the seeds to grow.

Greeks, and to a degree Romans, would never say the name of Hades/Pluto. Fearing doing so would attract his attention. Contrast this with the Norse and Germanic myths. While there was Hel, the protector of the dead was Odin or Wotan. Odin was held in very high regard and his name (all of them) was used many times. Somewhere Hüter, my Lord of the Dead, needs to strike this balance. Balance here seems to be the key.

Hüter

Hüter is the dispassionate Lord of the Dead. He is neither good nor is he evil. His role is to make sure the dead stay dead. Therefore undead are blasphemous to him. He controls the underground realm and thus all riches that come from the ground are his.

The Lord Underground does not cause death or control the dead but he does keep the souls of the dead under his care and protection. Prayers to Hüter are made in silence, not in fear of his name but in respect of his silent realm of Hölle. Here in this realm, he rules silently over a silent horde of the dead.

HÜTER (God of the Dead and Riches)

Greater God

ARMOR CLASS: 1
MOVE: 24"
HIT POINTS: 380
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 4-48
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Death Touch
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Aura of Silence 60'
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Special

SIZE: M (5' 10")
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
WORSHIPER'S ALIGN: All
SYMBOL: Raven
PLANE: Hölle

CLERIC/DRUID: 20th level Cleric
FIGHTER: 15th level Fighter
MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: 10th level Illusionist
THIEF/ASSASSIN: 15th level in each
MONK/BARD: 15th level Bard
WITCH/WARLOCK: Nil
PSIONIC ABILITY: II
S: 20 I: 23 W: 24 D: 18 C: 20 CH: 16

Hüter is the Lord of the Dead and Riches. He rules from his dark throne in the center of Hölle. Here he is surrounded by the dead and the riches of the land. He is the protector and guardian of the dead. The dead enter his realm never to leave. He is not their jailer, but their custodian and protector. He allows none to enter who do not belong and none may leave.

He has many names. The Silent One, The Rich One, the Lord of this World, the Last Confessor, the Whispered One, the Dread Lord, the Gray Lord, and many more. It is said that even the Gods themselves fear him.

The Lord of the Dead prefers not to attack. Anyone who gets into his realm has already passed through Helga (who many believe is his daughter) and Heuler. If they have gotten this far it has been with his permission. If he does he has a sword of black steel that does 4-48 (4d12) hp per hit. He can command one creature per round to die. Death in Hüter's realm is permanent and once dead they cannot be raised. On his command, he can also impose Silence 60' radius around him.

When communicating with his cleric the Dread Lord speaks in signs and portents that they must translate. Often these are in the form of his chosen animal the Raven.

Animal: Ravens
Rainment: (Head) crown made of horns (Body) Rich garments of black. Robes of black
Color(s): Black
Holy Days: None
Sacrifices: All the dead are sacrifices to him
Place of Worship: Places of death.

Links

The Gods

This is another post for my RPG Blog Carnival Horrors, Gods, and Monsters.

That is the final entry for this month for my RPG Blog Carnival. I have more gods and monsters for these myths and that will continue.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 10, Room 31

This tomb ends in large ornate iron doors.

The doors are locked (open locks roll or Knock spell), and a combined strength of 35 is needed to open these doors.

Once open the party sees a long set of stairs descending into the dark.

There are 300 steps down. Every 100 steps, there is a set of spring traps that fire gouts of flame for 6d6 hp points of damage. Save for half. The traps can be disabled with successful find and disable traps roll.

There are a set of similar doors at the bottom of the stairs to Level 11.

Monday, October 30, 2023

October Horror Movie Challenge: Destroy All Monsters (1968) & Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

Tonight's movie choice is Remake Better than the Original. Well, I am sick and so is everyone else here I thought a comfort movie was in order. For that, my oldest and I hit the Godzilla channel on Pluto and caught Destroy All Monsters (1968) and followed it up with the "remake" Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) on DVD. The remake is better than the original.

I have seen both movies dozens of times. Interestingly enough both movies take place right around the same time. 1999 for DAM and 2004 for GFW.

Both movies cover similar ground. All the monsters are located in the same place and mostly under control until a group of aliens (Kilaaks and Xiliens) control all the monsters and get them to attack all the cities in the world.

Only one monster can stop them and that is Godzillia. In DAM all monsters are under the control of the aliens but break free. King Ghidorah is then used to fight the remaining monsters.

In GFW all the monsters are under control of the Xiliens, including the "American" Godzilla from the horrible 1998 Godzilla movie which is a lot of fun and always makes my son and I laugh.

Of course Godzilla: Final Wars is just so over the top. American Don Frye as Captain Douglas Gordon is just pure cheese. "There's two things you don't know about the Earth kid." he says to the Xilien leader "There's me. And there's Godzillia." Yeah, He put himself in the same breath as a radio active monster.

Speaking of which, the Xilien Leader, played by Kazuki Kitamura just chews up every scene he is in with such glee. You don't even need to speak Japanese or read the subtitles to know what he is all about.

Both movies end mostly the same way. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. Godzilla's son is even in both.

Are they horror? Well...the franchise began that way, but by the time we hit these movies they are more sci-fi professional wrestling with special effects, and I am ok with that.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2023
Viewed: 34
First Time Views: 22

Monstrous Mondays: D&DGII Draugr

I am surprised I have not tried to stat these guys up before this. But this seems the perfect time to do it.

Draugr

Draugr are powerful undead creatures of former warriors under a powerful curse. Typically, they are cursed to guard a large treasure or powerful tomb of a lord or king. However, it is said that the curse would not take hold if there was not already some evil in their hearts.

The process of creating a draugr involves dark necromancy and the ritual sacrifice of warriors of at least 7th level of experience.

They are sacrificed and their corpses are dumped into whatever burial pit or hole they are set to guard.

DRAUGR
FREQUENCY: Very Rare
NO. APPEARING: 1-3
ARMOR CLASS: 2
MOVE: 24"
HIT DICE: 8+16 (52 hp)
% IN LAIR: 100%
TREASURE TYPE: B
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2 weapons or touch
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d8+3, 1d8+3
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Constitution Drain
SPECIAL DEFENSES: +2 or better weapon to hit
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Average
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Evil
SIZE: M (6' at shoulder)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Draugr are undead warriors of exceptional ability and strength placed under a curse. They are set to guard some larger treasure of a powerful lord or chieftain. Typically 1 to 3 draugr are found per tomb along with the treasures of their lord. Disturbing the tomb will cause the draugr to attack.

The creatures attack with a sword twice per round. They add +3 to each attack due to high strength. They can as an option, touch an opponent and drain one (1) point of Constitution per successful touch attack. Victims drained to 0 Constitution become wights under the control of the draugr that drained them. Lost Constitution points can be restored at the rate of 1 point per week of bed rest or via any magic that can restore lost levels.

Draugr can only be hit by magic, +2 weapons, or better weapons. They turn as Vampires. They are harmed by holy water and cannot enter sanctified or holy ground save for where they were buried. They are not harmed

If the draugr's treasure is taken and the draugr is not completely destroyed it will hunt down every piece of it down to the last copper piece. The only way to completely destroy a draugr is to burn its remains to ash.

Links

The Gods

This is another post for my RPG Blog Carnival Horrors, Gods, and Monsters.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 10, Room 30

Past the mummies this tomb continues on. There is a double door ahead made of iron. A thief can unlock it but will require three separate open locks rolls. The locks can also be opened with a knock spell on each one.

If a thief does open all three locks there is a spring trap. If it is not discovered it will trip and cause a 1d4+2 hp of damage. No poison though, that it not the danger of this trap.

Beyond the doors lie in wait the Vampire Queen's honor guard.

There are five total vampires but the number ready to attack will depend on the amount of hp lost by the trap. One vampire will awaken for each point of hp lost. So a minimum of 3 and maximum of 5. Any not awake the first round will awaken the second round.

These vampires have been in slumber since the Vampire Queen constructed this tomb from the former dwarven kingdom. They are fiercely loyal and ravenously hungry.

Two have 7 HD, two have 8 HD, and their leader has 9 HD. All have plate mail +2 and carry long swords +2. They have standard vampire abilities. Due to their hunger, they attack at an additional +1, and their AC has a penalty of -1 to AC. Total mods are +3 bonus to hit and +1 bonus to AC.

They are not spellcasters and even if they were they are far too hungry here to use spells.

These vampires will not talk to the characters but they will communicate with each other in their own language (not a "vampire" language, but what they spoke before turned).

The vampires have twice the normal amount of treasure.

The leader has a large iron key for a door at the end of this tomb.