(Continued from part one)
The Kimeras pulled up to the old warehouse. The uniformed Provincial Guards at the little bridge hadn't stopped their van on the way over.
The warehouse was rusty and damp, and there were three statues that hadn't been there on the Kimeras' last visit. Concrete and rebar sculptures of women, pitted and melted by acid rain and weathering.
The statues moved. Like a claymation missing frames. They spoke to the Kimeras in a voice like an orchestra. They were sad because the city was being destroyed. Bombed and burned and washed away into the sea. The flood saturated the porous concrete and it was only a matter of time before it became soft. The Kimeras told the concrete nymphs that they were going to kill the creature that created the flood. The nymphs told them the way to its lair.
The Red Caps and thugs placed themselves at the Kimeras' disposal. The Red Caps would scout ahead, and the thugs would provide backup firepower. They had a rough idea of where the Aboleth tomb was. Somewhere Northeast of the Vinculum basement, where Johan had escaped last time. Tristan and the Red Caps killed a giant spider on the way, but the journey to the Leviathan cult's fortress was otherwise uneventful. It was like the entire dungeon had gone into hiding, terrified of the forces about to be unleashed.
The two Red Caps quickly dispatched the single cult sentry guarding the entrance to the sewer cluster. Aside from that, the place was deserted, with chambers recently vacated. The Kimeras led the expedition to the path Johan had taken during his flight the previous week, and traced it back to the cistern where he met the Aboleth.
Tristan scouted ahead of even the Red Caps. He found the cistern empty, except for a pool of murky water. He reported back and the squad filed in. They took positions around the water, reading their attacks. A drop of water fell from the ceiling. Everyone looked up. A single fish cultist dangled from a chain, hanging off a pipe in the ceiling. The pipe broke. The cultist fell into the cistern. A torrent of water fell into the room. The doors began to slide shut.
The Kimeras opened fire on the lone cultist, who disappeared beneath the water. Devin took a commanding position up on the ledge the cultist had been standing on, using his power of flight respectively. Tristan wedged the door open with his axe, and the rest of the group filed out into the hall, keeping their weapons trained on the pit. The water continued to rise.
The Aboleth and eight cultists burst out of the cistern. The Kimeras opened fire with bullets and grenades. The Aboleth flayed Johan as revenge for his miraculous escape, but wasn't able to peel him apart entirely. It created a phantasmal illusion among the thugs and provoked them into shooting each other. It slapped Devin around with its tentacles. Devin froze the cultists with a snap of his new magic camera, and Dawn demolition-manned the frozen cultists to death with a grenade. One of the Red Caps stabbed the Aboleth from hiding, opening a deadly wound. The surviving cultists closed the wound with a healing spell and ensorceled Devin with magically induced slumber, leaving him far above the battlefield where nobody could awaken him. The aboleth flayed the red cap to death with magic, prioritizing revenge over sound tactics, and ineffectually commanded Tristan to let the door swing shut.
(The players later pointed out to me that the spell Flay hits additional targets if you cast it at a higher caster level. None of the NPCs in Esoteric Enterprise say what level they cast spells at, eg there's no "cast spells as a third level Cleric" in the book. So I just went with the assumption that the aboleth cast the base version of the spell rather than a higher spell slot)
The Kimeras pushed back, pumping a volley of shots into the fish monster and its acolytes. One of the thugs struck Eileen to launch her up to the ledge where Devin was sleeping, taking advantage of her involuntary levitation (Cobb inserted a piece of paradox beast carapace under her skin a few weeks ago). At this point the chamber was seriously flooded. The aboleth recognized things weren't going its way and swam to the exit opposite the Kimeras. It peeled the door open with its tentacles, and peeled Tristan open with a flay spell. He lasted long enough to jam the door with his axe for good before expiring. Devin and Eileen jumped off the ledge and struck at the fleeing aboleth, but fell into the water without result.
The final Red Cap knifed the aboleth, opening another deep cut. It flayed her, commanded three of the surviving thugs to kill the Kimeras, and swam away into the tunnels. One of the thugs got a lucky hit and mangled Johan's leg. Then the fight was over, temporarily.
Dawn led the surviving thugs back the way they'd come, while the surviving of the Kimeras pushed through the rushing water to pursue the aboleth. Eileen, Devin and the injured Johan paused to catch their breath and wait for Dawn to find her way around. There were gunshots from the tunnel ahead, and a sizzling feeling. Their skin felt like bubbly champagne. Devin lifted the patch on his EM sensing eye. There was a massive energy signature ahead, and the aboleth's biosignal was fast fading.
Cobb pressed ahead. He was going to get that aboleth's brain.
Agent Karla and the Masked Man of the Men in Black stood over the corpse of the aboleth and its two surviving disciples. They were accompanied by two more MIB Agents, another white masked man, and a truly unsettling black masked man, crackling with arcane power. The Agents carried unknown weapons with enormous batteries and sights like marbles wrapped in wire. Cobb went to work cutting up the aboleth, ignoring the feds. They told him that he could stop rolling around and garbage and work for them, if he was so interested in weird science.
The rest of the Kimeras caught up to Cobb. Agent Karla said it was great that the Kimeras had got rid of the Red Caps' recalcitrant, taken over the organization, and were going to run the Coal City underworld for the MIBs. She was ecstatic that all the supernatural gang war and bombings and floods and monsters and killing random civilians could finally stop. The Kimeras angrily demanded to know where the fuck the MIBs were when Tristan, Zeke and Kaldron died. Turns out, Karla and Kid had been busy pleading with her superiors not to kill the Kimeras. Reminding them that when Chairman Mao killed all the sparrows, a plague of locusts immediately caused a famine.
The Kimeras were ready to cooperate.
The thugs walked into the room. Dawn wanted them to return to the surface, but they insisted on finding the Aboleth that had killed the last of the second generation Red Caps. Devin begged them to put their weapons away.
They didn't listen.
Dawn watched as her surviving siblings and cousins raised their guns against the Men in Black. The black masked man peeled back his black mask for a moment, sending the thugs reeling, seizing and vomiting.
Devin cast suggestion. He told the surviving third generation Red Caps that their mother wanted them to live. She loved them, and she wanted them to let it go and survive.
All the thugs listened except one.
"You killed my dad" he whispered.
He raised his gun again and missed. The Men in Black ventilated him with a volley of laser fire.
The Kimeras pulled up to the old warehouse. The uniformed Provincial Guards at the little bridge hadn't stopped their van on the way over.
The warehouse was rusty and damp, and there were three statues that hadn't been there on the Kimeras' last visit. Concrete and rebar sculptures of women, pitted and melted by acid rain and weathering.
The statues moved. Like a claymation missing frames. They spoke to the Kimeras in a voice like an orchestra. They were sad because the city was being destroyed. Bombed and burned and washed away into the sea. The flood saturated the porous concrete and it was only a matter of time before it became soft. The Kimeras told the concrete nymphs that they were going to kill the creature that created the flood. The nymphs told them the way to its lair.
The Red Caps and thugs placed themselves at the Kimeras' disposal. The Red Caps would scout ahead, and the thugs would provide backup firepower. They had a rough idea of where the Aboleth tomb was. Somewhere Northeast of the Vinculum basement, where Johan had escaped last time. Tristan and the Red Caps killed a giant spider on the way, but the journey to the Leviathan cult's fortress was otherwise uneventful. It was like the entire dungeon had gone into hiding, terrified of the forces about to be unleashed.
The two Red Caps quickly dispatched the single cult sentry guarding the entrance to the sewer cluster. Aside from that, the place was deserted, with chambers recently vacated. The Kimeras led the expedition to the path Johan had taken during his flight the previous week, and traced it back to the cistern where he met the Aboleth.
Tristan scouted ahead of even the Red Caps. He found the cistern empty, except for a pool of murky water. He reported back and the squad filed in. They took positions around the water, reading their attacks. A drop of water fell from the ceiling. Everyone looked up. A single fish cultist dangled from a chain, hanging off a pipe in the ceiling. The pipe broke. The cultist fell into the cistern. A torrent of water fell into the room. The doors began to slide shut.
The Kimeras opened fire on the lone cultist, who disappeared beneath the water. Devin took a commanding position up on the ledge the cultist had been standing on, using his power of flight respectively. Tristan wedged the door open with his axe, and the rest of the group filed out into the hall, keeping their weapons trained on the pit. The water continued to rise.
The Aboleth and eight cultists burst out of the cistern. The Kimeras opened fire with bullets and grenades. The Aboleth flayed Johan as revenge for his miraculous escape, but wasn't able to peel him apart entirely. It created a phantasmal illusion among the thugs and provoked them into shooting each other. It slapped Devin around with its tentacles. Devin froze the cultists with a snap of his new magic camera, and Dawn demolition-manned the frozen cultists to death with a grenade. One of the Red Caps stabbed the Aboleth from hiding, opening a deadly wound. The surviving cultists closed the wound with a healing spell and ensorceled Devin with magically induced slumber, leaving him far above the battlefield where nobody could awaken him. The aboleth flayed the red cap to death with magic, prioritizing revenge over sound tactics, and ineffectually commanded Tristan to let the door swing shut.
(The players later pointed out to me that the spell Flay hits additional targets if you cast it at a higher caster level. None of the NPCs in Esoteric Enterprise say what level they cast spells at, eg there's no "cast spells as a third level Cleric" in the book. So I just went with the assumption that the aboleth cast the base version of the spell rather than a higher spell slot)
The Kimeras pushed back, pumping a volley of shots into the fish monster and its acolytes. One of the thugs struck Eileen to launch her up to the ledge where Devin was sleeping, taking advantage of her involuntary levitation (Cobb inserted a piece of paradox beast carapace under her skin a few weeks ago). At this point the chamber was seriously flooded. The aboleth recognized things weren't going its way and swam to the exit opposite the Kimeras. It peeled the door open with its tentacles, and peeled Tristan open with a flay spell. He lasted long enough to jam the door with his axe for good before expiring. Devin and Eileen jumped off the ledge and struck at the fleeing aboleth, but fell into the water without result.
The final Red Cap knifed the aboleth, opening another deep cut. It flayed her, commanded three of the surviving thugs to kill the Kimeras, and swam away into the tunnels. One of the thugs got a lucky hit and mangled Johan's leg. Then the fight was over, temporarily.
Dawn led the surviving thugs back the way they'd come, while the surviving of the Kimeras pushed through the rushing water to pursue the aboleth. Eileen, Devin and the injured Johan paused to catch their breath and wait for Dawn to find her way around. There were gunshots from the tunnel ahead, and a sizzling feeling. Their skin felt like bubbly champagne. Devin lifted the patch on his EM sensing eye. There was a massive energy signature ahead, and the aboleth's biosignal was fast fading.
Cobb pressed ahead. He was going to get that aboleth's brain.
Agent Karla and the Masked Man of the Men in Black stood over the corpse of the aboleth and its two surviving disciples. They were accompanied by two more MIB Agents, another white masked man, and a truly unsettling black masked man, crackling with arcane power. The Agents carried unknown weapons with enormous batteries and sights like marbles wrapped in wire. Cobb went to work cutting up the aboleth, ignoring the feds. They told him that he could stop rolling around and garbage and work for them, if he was so interested in weird science.
The rest of the Kimeras caught up to Cobb. Agent Karla said it was great that the Kimeras had got rid of the Red Caps' recalcitrant, taken over the organization, and were going to run the Coal City underworld for the MIBs. She was ecstatic that all the supernatural gang war and bombings and floods and monsters and killing random civilians could finally stop. The Kimeras angrily demanded to know where the fuck the MIBs were when Tristan, Zeke and Kaldron died. Turns out, Karla and Kid had been busy pleading with her superiors not to kill the Kimeras. Reminding them that when Chairman Mao killed all the sparrows, a plague of locusts immediately caused a famine.
The Kimeras were ready to cooperate.
The thugs walked into the room. Dawn wanted them to return to the surface, but they insisted on finding the Aboleth that had killed the last of the second generation Red Caps. Devin begged them to put their weapons away.
They didn't listen.
Dawn watched as her surviving siblings and cousins raised their guns against the Men in Black. The black masked man peeled back his black mask for a moment, sending the thugs reeling, seizing and vomiting.
Devin cast suggestion. He told the surviving third generation Red Caps that their mother wanted them to live. She loved them, and she wanted them to let it go and survive.
All the thugs listened except one.
"You killed my dad" he whispered.
He raised his gun again and missed. The Men in Black ventilated him with a volley of laser fire.
The rest of the thugs gave up.
The Kimeras agreed to collaborate.
The Men in Black left.
The Red Kimeras stumbled back to the surface. They went out through the abandoned Vinculum gate. The morlocks did not contest their escape. The police let them through.
The sun was going down in the West. The Red Kimeras watched it sink behind the Hill. For a moment, the Necropolis was lit blazing red, marking the spot where the Kimeras had first descended into the underworld months ago.
What would happen to them next? What fate awaited them as creatures of the Men in Black, allowed to rule the ruined city at the convenience of those in control?
I don't know, because once they left the dungeon for the eleventh and final time, they passed beyond my power to help or harm.
In their own words:
Dawn is the Matriarch of the Red Caps and of course the surviving members run "The Red Kimeras" with her
Eileen stays in Coal City, keeping an eye on things. She eventually reopens a new bar where the Blood for Sex once stood, but always warns new explorers about "the men in the suits"
Cobb's gotten everything he wants out of adventuring. He started dropping out of school with the realization that science is a lie. He ended in the MIBs' lab, realizing that science is whatever he says it is.
Johan's getting out of the game. He just wanted magical powers, instead he watched a bunch of people die, ended up becoming a murderous scumbag out of desperation and fear and is no longer human
Devin would lead the Red Caps, cause it's his fault they all didn't die to the MIBs. He's also quietly dedicated himself to gaining enough power to get out from under their boots
The Speedfreaks Underground step into the boarded up gin palace and take another job off the Unseelie Queen, who no longer trusts her wayward children. The Sharp Objects spend their ill-gotten gains on childish delights at the night markets. Agent Karla types up her report and chews her fingers bloody thinking about what happened to Agent Kid. The morlocks crawl through the ruins of the underworld and snuff the lights, returning it to the dark. The sun drowns somewhere in the whirling bay to the West.
This is the first campaign of any RPG I've ever seen through to the end. I came away with much greater respect for Esoteric Enterprises, even after having its glaring flaws shoved in my face over and over. I don't know if I can recommend it, I never want to reward someone for releasing an unfinished product. All the players went out and bought the PDF though, so the result speak for themselves.
I think my appraisal at the end is the same as the one I had when I first picked up the game: a flawed mess of a system, carried over the finish line by a procedural world creation system that brings the game to life.
More lessons learned and debriefing posts to come.
This is the first campaign of any RPG I've ever seen through to the end. I came away with much greater respect for Esoteric Enterprises, even after having its glaring flaws shoved in my face over and over. I don't know if I can recommend it, I never want to reward someone for releasing an unfinished product. All the players went out and bought the PDF though, so the result speak for themselves.
I think my appraisal at the end is the same as the one I had when I first picked up the game: a flawed mess of a system, carried over the finish line by a procedural world creation system that brings the game to life.
More lessons learned and debriefing posts to come.
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