- An adventure -
by Caverns of Heresy
March 07, 2021
The Fungal Throne
A delve into the caves
of a sentient fungal colony
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To start,
create a character using your preferred method,
or use Spoor.
When you are comfortable with who you are,
continue...
Spoor
Creating a character:
• Roll 3d6 •
choose 2d6 for your health and
1d6 for a number of starting items.
• Make a name and an adventuring ethos •
The following guidelines can be used when
situations are uncertain or in need of chance resolution:
• When entering areas,
roll 1d6-Explore
for unexpected findings.
• When encountering,
roll 2d6-Encounter
for their reaction.
• When attempting risky or demanding actions,
roll 3d6-Execute
for how well the action is performed.
• Attacks always hit and
do 1d6 damage.
If an attack is uncertain,
roll 3d6-Execute.
• Health gets fully replenished when a calming and nourishing opportunity arises and is taken.
• Consumable items,
like torches and spikes,
are expended and lost
on low Explore rolls.
Magic is unwieldy.
You can cast spells by interpreting arcane scrolls.
Roll 2d6 when using a scroll for the effect:
...for d6 days, you traipse among
the greenery, through thickets
and dried up river beds.
If you've been traveling for
more than 4 days,
you cross paths with
two marauding bandits
Krill & Pyper.
2d6 Encounter roll:
• 2-6, attacks
• 7-9, tries to steal and runaway
• 10-12, will join the party.
Krill & Pyper
6 Health each.
Atk: yatagan, daggers.
Has d6×10 coins,
rusted yatagan and knives,
two arcane scrolls.
You've arrived, staring
at a citadel of stone.
With an unassuming hole,
haphazardly carved within the cliffs.
Misty gusts of dank humid air waft out from the mouth of the cave.
The black void calls for a peek inside, but the uncertainty that lies beyond may be too risky to delve deeper.
You continue on with your journey at hand. You go about your life doing the things you've set out to accomplish.
Happy travels.
You're back at the cave's entrance, as dark and inviting as you last left it.
But wandering monsters have picked up your scent and are now rummaging where you were once resting.
They've sensed that food is nearby.
The monster runs away if a 12 is rolled on a
2d6 Encounter roll, otherwise you are attacked.
1d6 wandering monster:
1- wolf (x4)
2- skeletons (x2)
3- giant rat
4- troglodyte
5- giant spider
6- infestation
Wolf
8 Health. Atk: Bite, claws.
Fast. Quiet. Pack mentality.
Skeleton
4 Health. Atk: Sword, wooden club.
Can block attacks. Can remove femur and get extra hits.
Giant rat
6 Health. Atk: Bite.
Lumbering. Anxiously scurries to-and-fro.
Troglodyte
8 Health. Atk: Sharp fists.
Ear piercing screams, potential hearing loss. Smells horrid.
Giant spider
15 Health. Atk: Sticky web.
Shoots stick web to paralyze.
Bear
10 Health. Atk: Bite, tackle.
Extremely strong, can wrestl, claw, bite, pummel.
The Throne's Entrance
The steps descend into a moldy cavern, opening up to a room with ornately and organically carved walls, statues, and devotions to the soil.
These statues have been ransacked by marauders past, and the missing pieces are scattered throughout the tunnels.
Three missing statue pieces
North statue - mushroom pouch
West statue - vine shield
Southeast statue - crown of fungus
The fourth statue
Trapped with a poison tipped arrow.
If this statue is investigated, roll 3d6 Execute:
• a low roll triggers the trap, damage and poison.
• a moderate roll triggers the trap, but damage is avoided.
• a high roll allows you to carefully remove and keep the poison arrow.
The Mushroom Pouch
A pile of rubble
The mushroom pouch statue piece is buried within, along with five fungal caps guarding the area. They attack if the statue piece is taken.
Two dead bodies
Holding a pick axe, pack of torches, leather pouch holding d6×10 coins, and a half eaten ration.
Art and lore on the walls
Markings indicate that this cavernous hollow has been in the making for hundreds of years. A devotion for the "Cult of the Moldy Rotund".
Fungal cap
2 Health. Atk: Squeeze.
Quick bounce when attacking.
Tunnels
Writhing tunnel walls
Factions of fungi and mold competing for their home among the moist walls.
The walls reach out and slap gloopy tentacles around you as you pass by, causing damage.
A wooden box
Trapped with powdery spores.
On a high 1d6 Explore roll, you're able to tactfully disarm the box, otherwise you are damaged and begin uncontrollably coughing.
A stream, erosion
A stream meanders through, ever-so-slowly eroding away at the stone edifice this colony calls home.
On a high 1d6 Explore roll, you see a shiny tin box. The inside contains d6×10 coins and an arcane amulet.
Decaying body
A cloud of sporish fiends feast on a decaying body in the center of the room.
A plump shroom
A giant, motionless mushroom cap is here.
If the cap is consumed, you gain the ability to commune with the airborne spore cultures, having a heightened sense of nearby creatures.
Sporish fiend
1 Health. Atk: Explodes at the slightest disturbance, no damage.
Causes uncontrollable coughing.
Mushroom cap
15 Health. Atk: Cap bash, acid secretion with poison.
Very slow but can use it's cap to bounce around. Can squirt acid streams.
Recent excavation
A tunneled hole
A body of a previous spelunker can be pulled out. On them they have: hammer and nails, climbers rope, spiked boots, and a small explosive charge.
Shuffling mushroom stalks and mucusy sounds can be heard coming from the surrounding areas.
A junction
Tangy smells fill the claustrophobic air.
You notice that the ceiling contains a web-wrapped body of a previous explorer. You're able to save this person.
Roll 1d6 Explore:
• on a low roll, they won't stop loudly talking about all the things they've seen.
• on a high roll, they turn out to be an asset to your party with great adventuring skills.
Pantheon of Decay
Ambush
1d6 myconid suprise attack when exiting the room.
Myconid
2 Health. Atk: Spore shot.
Always keeps it's distance.
Crown of Fungus
Row of coffins
The crown of fungus rests on top.
Three skeletons and a ghoul attack when the coffins are approached.
[Some valuables in the coffin]
Skeleton
4 Health. Atk: Sword, wooden club.
Can block attacks. Can remove femur and get extra hits.
Ghoul
10 Health. Atk: Skull-splitting scream.
Horrifying to see and hear. Crawls on the walls.
A body blocks the path
A reanimated corpse aimlessly wandering within the room. Dropped loot:
an arcane scroll, lantern with a smidge of oil, utility knife.
Roll 1d6 Explore:
• a low roll, the arcane scroll explodes, damage.
• a high roll, everything is usable.
Reanimated corpse
4 Health. Atk: Punch.
Loose flesh and bones.
The Vine Shield
The vine shield and an arcane scroll hang on the dirt lined wall.
Blending in with the collapsed rock, are three troglodytes. They attack when the items are taken.
Troglodyte
8 Health. Atk: Sharp fists.
Ear piercing screams, potential hearing loss. Smells horrid.
The moldy rotund
An ornate treasure chest
Inside are d6×2 gnomes ready to negotiate for any treasure you are carrying.
Roll 2d6 Encounter:
• 2-5, they insist you give them all of your treasure, or else they fight.
• 6-8, they are willing to let you out of the caves, if you kill Fronk, who is somewhere nearby.
• 9-12, they have sympathy for your travels here, and give you their recently forged magical trinket: an automated rope pulley.
Gnome
4 Health. Atk: Trinket tricks.
Very proud of their finicky and dangerous trinkets.
Meeting Fronk, the exit
The exit
Guarded by Fronk - "If you want to leave this wretched house of spores, you must return the statue pieces to their rightful spots on the throne."
Fronk is weird; almost no social skills, but not overtly violent.
Insists you do not leave with any of the statue pieces and will attack if ignored or provoked.
Fronk
25 Health. Atk: Body slam, spore shower.
Thundering, reckless walk. Continuous gas of spores spewing from the pores.
Back to the surface
The stairs leading out of the cave begin to organically fold in on themselves, closing up any hint of a bustling undersoil.
The landscape ahead seems inviting...
A bunch of items
| Weapons and armor | General | General | General | General |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whip | Spyglass | Spikes | Chalk | Waterskin |
| 2x daggers | Flat stones | Torches | Air bladder | Saw |
| Sword | Face paint | Small mirror | Net | Fishing pole |
| Bow+arrows | Rope, 50ft | Crowbar | Lantern+oil | 10ft Pole |
| Blunt hammer | Tinderbox | Spiked boots | Sack | Candles |
| Wooden club | Padlock & keys | Tent | Chain, 10ft | Hammer |
| Halberd | Grappling hook | Pulleys | Metal cuffs | Small bell |
| Shovel | Caltrops | Lockpicks | Metal file | Bellows |
| Pick axe | Chisel | Hourglass | Grease | Nails |
| Arcane scroll | 1 day’s rations | Incense | Bottle | Fake jewels |
| Metal shield | Sponge | Metal orb | Blank book | Whistle |
| Plank shield | Set of dice | Deck of cards | Music instr. | Perfume |
| Helmet | Quill & ink | Horn | Twine | Cooking pots |
Bestiary
Bear
10 Health. Atk: Bite, tackle.
Extremely strong, can wrestl, claw, bite, pummel.
Fronk
25 Health. Atk: Body slam, spore shower.
Thundering, reckless walk. Continuous gas of spores spewing from the pores.
Fungal cap
2 Health. Atk: Squeeze.
Quick bounce when attacking.
Ghoul
10 Health. Atk: Skull-splitting scream.
Horrifying to see and hear. Crawls on the walls.
Giant rat
6 Health. Atk: Bite.
Lumbering. Anxiously scurries to-and-fro.
Giant spider
15 Health. Atk: Sticky web.
Shoots stick web to paralyze.
Gnome
4 Health. Atk: Trinket tricks.
Very proud of their finicky and dangerous trinkets.
Green slime
10 Health. Atk: Acid spit.
Poisonous spit. Leaves a slippery trail of acidic slime whenever it moves.
Mushroom cap
15 Health. Atk: Cap bash, acid secretion with poison.
Very slow but can use it's cap to bounce around. Can squirt acid streams.
Myconid
2 Health. Atk: Spore shot.
Always keeps it's distance.
Reanimated corpse
4 Health. Atk: Punch.
Loose flesh and bones.
Skeleton
4 Health. Atk: Sword, wooden club.
Can block attacks. Can remove femur and get extra hits.
Sporish fiend
1 Health. Atk: Explodes at the slightest disturbance, no damage.
Causes uncontrollable coughing.
Troglodyte
8 Health. Atk: Sharp fists.
Ear piercing screams, potential hearing loss. Smells horrid.
Wolf
8 Health. Atk: Bite, claws.
Fast. Quiet. Pack mentality.
Credits
Caverns of Heresy
This is an expirement in adventure design and dice games.
Art used with permission
@PerplexingRuins - cave entrance and wandering party illustrations
David Glass - cave map