Don't Make Me Say It Again: I'm A Cleaner - Angrboda the Cave Elf

I recently wrapped the Mountain of the Mad Marquis, an eight session delve into one of my dungeon23 projects. At the end of the last session, when the players returned to the bottom floor to loot the aftermath of the final fight, the random encounter table spat out a single Drow riding a Tuatara. With their consumable resources exhausted, their pockets filled with other treasure, and the NPC's capabilities unknown, the players elected not to challenge her for the haul. That's the origin story of Angrboda the NPC Cave Elf, who rocketed up to Level 4 off the loot, and her trusty steed Pythia.

Goblin Punch just made a cool post about ways to apply time pressure to dungeon exploration without having to track individual torch burn rates. One of his suggestions is to shrink the value of unclaimed treasure in the dungeon each time the players go back to the surface. There are a couple ways to explain this, such as dungeon creatures carrying off the treasure, or the dungeon being a metaphysically hostile place that didn't want you to take the money out of it. I prefer the former, since it's something real the players can interact with if they realize what's happening and plan around it. DCSS had monsters like this, slimes that would hoover up items and dissolve them if you were slow exploring. They'd eat anything you left behind in the Slime Pits once you killed the boss and opened up the vault.

Let's use Angrboda as our first Cleaner, to explain where all the money went. 

Mountain of the Mad Marquis - Masterpost

Thomas Cole

Pursuing a bounty on a legendary bandit, a party of adventurers on the edge of civilization descends into the ruined estate of a mad Marquis, and the unknown depths below.

 

Mountain of the Mad Marquis - Music Post

Pierre Woeiriot de Bouzey

 

Music from my eight session run of Mountain of the Mad Marquis. Items shaded in red never appeared in-game.

Mountain of the Mad Marquis - Epilogue

In the mountains, a mantis-man woke up to a strange presence in his tent. He was blind but he perceived the world through other senses, and he suppressed his instinctive reaction to kill the intruder when he realized it was none other than his long lost leader. The Bandit Chief's aura was hazy with sulfur and an inner-heat, like fire burning. But the smell and sound was unmistakable.

"Gorrister, you have returned to us" chittered the Mantis man. All was not lost. The headman would lead them out of their exile and it would be just like the old days, with blood and plunder for everyone.

The blind bug couldn't see it, but the bald bandit's eyes blinked twice, once with his eyelids and once with the nictating membrane over his new, slit pupils.

"Yes." the brigand said. "...Gorrister."

Mountain of the Mad Marquis - Session 8

On the tenth day, a pair of dungeon veterans gave the Mountains of the Mad Marquis another try.

• Al-Hafiz, Level 4 Fedayeen
• Laguna Tempest, Level 4 Warcaster

As usual, Al-Hafiz brought Eric the Barbarian along as extra muscle. They had cleared most of the Ancient Ruins on level 3 the previous expedition, and hoped to finish off the floor. They arrived at the ruined surface keep to find four Orcs carrying the corpse of a fifth. They were wearing brightly colored sashes similar to Ishizaka's mercenaries but under that they were clearly tribals from the hills. They had accepted Ishizaka's offer of protection in exchange for service, not interested in being picked off by scalphunters after surviving the onslaught of the berserkers. The sashes showed they were under the genie's protection, and it was illegal for Commonwealth bounty hunters to kill them for their ears.

The Orcs recognized the adventurers as friendlies, and accompanied them down the winch to the sinkhole. Thelema the Gravewarden received the corpse, and the Green Men offered a prayer of depositum custodi along with a flask of an unknown substance. Thelema asked the adventurers not to enter the sanctification rooms. She was teaching Endura how to cut up and prepare bodies, because having work to do made her sister less mopey and suicidal, and a group of armed thugs appearing wouldn't improve the situation.

The gang took the long way around, through the skeleton infested catacombs. This was harmless because Thelema whitelisted them after the first time the group rescued her, so the skeletons didn't attack. The players decided as long as they were over here, they would explore the water termite infested zone before going to floor three. There were still some unmapped areas and potentially some treasure.

 

Mountain of the Mad Marquis - Session 7

Nine days into the exploration of the Mountain of the Mad Marquis, three warriors answered the call to adventure.

• Al-Hafiz, Level 4 Fedayeen
• Jack Fatherd, Level 5 Survivor
  
• Porkesilaus Poliorcetes, Level 4 Hoglord

Al-Hafiz began the day by executing the three surviving Rose Hips. He had spent the last few days curing their addiction to Smoke and various other super-science drugs, but the damage was done. They gazed out of the cage at him with reptilian eyes, cold-blooded draconic beings who would do anything to escape and go back to their slave-trading ways. They didn't go quietly, but their Sleep and Charm spells were no match to the squad of adventurers and hirelings who joined in hacking them to pieces.

When their grim work was done, the adventurers decided what to do. They weren't interested in the agreement Wakefield and Laguna made with the Scalphunters the day before, and instead took Eric the Barbarian off the bench for a dive into the dungeon. They picked up their daily dose of smoke from the re-activated lab, went to the sinkhole and used the pulley system installed by the Dwarven Surveyor to descend the pit.

 

Thelema the Gravewarden reminded the adventurers that her sister Endura was still seriously injured. Nobody was allowed inside the mausoleum because Thelema was worried Endura's burns would get infected, or her mostly-destroyed lungs would get some form of pneumonia. The adventurers realized that they had enough God power between the three of them to cast a combined restoration spell... but decided to wait until after they were finished plundering the dungeon for the day.

 

Mountain of the Mad Marquis - Session 6

Day eight of the Mountain of the Mad Marquis. This time, two adventurers showed up to give it a try.

• Laguna Tempest, Level 2 Warcaster
• Wakefield, Level 2 Burglar

The pair of robbers decided they needed some muscle, and hired a pair of mercenaries from Ishizaka's enterprise. They worked for Cortez, but hadn't seen him lately. Laguna bought magical reagents and scribed a scroll of Fireball for emergency use. Then they set off for the keep of the Mad Marquis.

The first thing they noticed is that a group of people had come through the surface castle before them. At least three visitors, some time between the previous day of adventuring and this morning. The duo proceeded cautiously with Wakefield in the lead scouting the path, following the footprints down to the next level.

Mountain of the Mad Marquis - Session 5

On day five of the dig, three adventurers left Ishizaka's shop to deal with some unfinished business on the upper floors of the dungeon.

• Al-Hafiz, Level 3 Fedayeen
• Ivaqirax Obus, Level 1 Mage
  
• Protesilaus Poliorcetes, Level 3 Acolyte

They brought Eric the Barbarian with them. Their first task was to shut off the smoke vent in the Vivisectionist Library that they opened on the first day of the excavation. This would enable Irene to re-establish smoke production in the Library, ensuring a steady supply of the drug. Protesilaus also wanted Irene to cultivate a yellow mold sample he took, for use as a biological weapon.

The group tried to use the secret hatch they discovered on the first day to get into the Library. It was visibly bulging and smoke was seeping out of the seams around it. Opening the hatch almost took Protesilaus' head off. A jet of superheated smoke came shooting out of the hatch, where it had been accumulating for four days. The beam cut the limb off a nearby tree and the group decided to find another way down. Like the stairs.

Mountain of the Mad Marquis - Prep For Session 5

GIANT BIRDS

Cortez the Orc says he saw a pair of giant birds flying over the mountain. Way bigger than the giant crows that live in the old keep. They were too high in the air to shoot, even with his rifle.

 

IRENE AND THE LAB

Irene the Vivisectionist may be lawful aligned now, but that won't stop her from getting the old lab up and running, if someone goes in there and shuts off the smog vent so she can actually work. It'll cost 1,000 silver pieces to get smoke production back online, granting a daily supply of dragon drugs.

ISHIZAKA'S GENTLY USED SPELLBOOKS

Ishizaka the Genie is selling gently used spellbooks at rock bottom prices. 1,000 silver pieces gets you a tome guaranteed to contain a single random spell, which you can add to your own spellbook for later memorization and casting. All sales are final.

THE MUTOIDS

Gowonry the Bear Headed Man has taught the Centipede Headed Woman the basics of reading and writing. Her name is Ai, but everyone just calls her Grit. 

THE STORY OF THE BERSERKERS

Eric's gang of Berserkers came to the Mountain of the Mad Marquis because a shaman told them it was going to give birth to a supreme evil that would leave the dungeon and inflict itself on the world. The Berserkers were trying to stop it by cleansing the dungeon of life.

 

Mountain of the Mad Marquis - Gods of the World

A handful of deities from the world of ANGUISHEDWIRES, The Manor of the Giant Arminius, and the Mountain of the Mad Marquis. If your character has at least one Soul Die, it might be fun to pick a God from this list. They don't have any special effects, yet...

Mountain of the Mad Marquis - Session 4

Day four of the Mountain of the Mad Marquis. The adventurers made good progress last time, and with the berserkers out of the way were ready to push forward and get the Duck Signet Ring from the tomb of the Mad Marquis so they could reach Level 3 of the dungeon.

This time, five adventurers showed up to dig into the dungeon.

• Al-Hafiz, Level 2 Fedayeen
• Jack Fatherd, Level 5 Survivor
• Laguna Tempest, Level 1 Warcaster
  
• Protesilaus Poliorcetes, Level 2 Acolyte
• Wakefield, Level 1 Burglar

They brought Eric the Barbarian along with them as an extra pair of hands to hold weapons and treasure. Several adventurers sported plate armor formerly worn by the skeletons, refurbished at Ishizaka's shop.

By Stepan Alekseev

The giant crows were back in the surface keep, watching Jack Fatherd to see if he would give them more treats. One of the beasts approached him and let him stroke its feathers. It dropped a shiny trinket for him: a small blade of prismatic obsidian, attached to a wooden hilt. He rewarded the bird with a silver coin.

The group descended the excavated stairs at the Southwest end of the old keep, and from there went down through the smashed floor in the Holy Mountain room to the Necropolis.

Mountain of the Mad Marquis - Session 3

Another day, another descent into the Mountain of the Mad Marquis. This time four adventurers left the camp to delve the ruins.

• Al-Hafiz, Level 1 Fedayeen
• Jack Fatherd, Level 5 Survivor
• Laguna Tempest, Level 1 Warcaster
  
• Protesilaus Poliorcetes, Level 1 Acolyte

They were accompanied by Gowonry and the centipede woman, two Mutoids recruited on a previous delve into the dungeon. Laguna had some boards to cross the broken bridge in the bone pit, and the group hoped to retrieve the duck signet ring from the Marquis' tomb so they could progress to the next level of the dungeon. They decided to go down the fast way, using the one tun barrel and the rope around the tree. They all hopped into the barrel and left the centipede woman on the surface to lower them into the pit. It was a risky move, with their combined weight she could just barely lower them into the pit without dropping them. She wouldn't be able to haul up more than a couple people at a time.

The gang saw before they got to the bottom that something wasn't right. The plants in the cemetery sinkhole were trampled and the doors of the makeshift inn were smashed open. Whoever wrecked the place went through the South door, and the gang followed their footsteps to see what was going on.

Mountain of the Mad Marquis - Session 2

The adventurers were not eager to spend two days hiking back to the nearest town, but they had treasure to sell and items they needed to purchase to improve their odds of survival. They descended the mountain along the old cart path, overgrown with trees and bushes.

 

An Orc came up the road, clad in garish armor, wearing rose colored glasses and carrying a muzzleloading rifle. He didn't make any special effort to stay hidden, nor did any of the mercenaries following him.

 

By me

The adventurers observed from stealth as Cortez the Orc placed an iron flask on the ground, waited about a minute expectantly, then gave it a kick. A cloud of smoke emitted from the vessel, resolving into a genie. The spirit theatrically fell on his hands in mid-air and vomited up a whole tent and market stall. Ishizaka's market was open for business.

The concept was simple. Ishizaka the Genie knew there was treasure in the dungeon, and he was the only person within a week's travel who had the capital to buy it all with currency. He'd take whatever the players brought up from the Mad Marquis' mansion, and they could use the coin they earned to buy supplies to bring up more treasure. And if they died, there would be more adventurers to take their place. All he had to do was wait, and sell useful items at market rates.

Two adventurers took him up on the deal.

• Laguna Tempest, Level 1 Warcaster
  
• Zigar Kneecapper, Level 1 Thug

They picked up rope, spikes, a hammer and a wax writing tablet for Gowonry the Mutoid, so that he could communicate more complex ideas than just "yes" and "no".

Then they went back to the ruined keep, for another crack at the Mountain of the Mad Marquis.

Mountain of the Mad Marquis - Session 1

At the very edge of the Commonwealth, six adventurers made the difficult hike up to the DeCavalier estate, an abandoned ruin from the defunct Monarchy's failed colonization effort. They were hot on the tail of the  bandit Gorrister the Great, and they intended to claim the 15,000 silver piece bounty on his head.

 

The adventurers in question:

• Ivaqirax Obus, Level 1 Mage
  
• Jack Fatherd, Level 5 Survivor
  
• Laguna Tempest, Level 1 Warcaster
  
• Protesilaus Poliorcetes, Level 1 Acolyte
  
• Wakefield, Level 1 Burglar
  
• Zigar Kneecapper, Level 1 Thug
  

By Throneseeker

The DeCavalier estate was still impressive, despite its dilapidated state. It occupied a commanding position in the mountains, atop a peak that dropped right down to sheer cliffs. The road up through the hills was partially overgrown, terminating in a drawbridge that hung open without chains to articulate it. The view of the surrounding mountain range was breathtaking.

The whole thing would be picturesque if it wasn’t for the Orc crucified over the entrance.