Black Spaghetti Hack Session 03: Goodfellows Mount
Last adventure, the party climbed up a hill. This adventure, the party climbed down a hill. In between, they had lunch.
The party reached the house at the top of the hill and after some boot-quaking, Ha’Des called out a “hello” and received a “come on in” by way of reply. So the party did, and walked right into the goodfellows playing cards before lunch.
An experiment:
To make the goodfellows (thuggish fae pixies) somewhat weird I had them be the characters from the Under Hill, By Water game we played. The goodfellows are meant to be game logic defying creatures. At least that’s the read I get on them from Brancalonia book. Since this was the same group, I thought it would be funny if the NPCs talked to the players by referencing their characters from other games. This got a chuckle, but not much else. Instead of approaching them as funhouse ride, the party viewed them as a puzzle to be solved. Don Hector noped out after a few interactions. Ha’Des played it straight. Nico tried to figure out how the magic “worked” in a mechanistic way. All that said they still kept to their mission which was to convince a goodfellow to come back to town with them.
Nico and Ha’Des did much of the negotiating. Don Hector feigned sleepiness and went to explore a backroom. After some finagling, Nico developed a rapport with the goodfellows and Ha’Des offered to make lunch for everyone. Meanwhile, Don Hector came upon a horrible icon depicting the goodfellows’ grandfather (a horrible trickster fae the players encountered in a different campaign). As he reacted to the sight, the floor swung down, sending him tumbling down the mountain along. Fortunately, he landed in a haywain at the base of the hill and not the dung heap. He then set out to climb the hill again, taking the road this time.
Back up at the top, Ha’Des is doing his best to cook with no ingredients beside water and a potato. Nico continues to chat with the goodfellows, and they start asking him questions about his time with the fae. (Nico spent his childhood working in a faerie workshop.) In particular, the goodfellows reminded him of this horrible Ice Queen figure he encountered one time when he tried to escape the faerie lands. Nico’s not happy to be reminded. Some more ingredients got found, but Ha’Des convinced the goodfellows the greatest ingredient in any soup was love. They buy this as the soup gets served.
Don Hector learned that taking the road to the top of the hill doesn’t work and found himself at the bottom again. He headed through the brambles and encountered the donkey again. This time, he tried to rob the donkey and ended up at the bottom of the hill again. So, he decided to wait to see if the others succeed.
Finally, Nico and Ha’Des managed to convince a goodfellow to come with them down the mountain. The fellow climbed in the cooking pot. At the bottom of the hill, a disgruntled Don Hector greeted them. Also, they noticed the goodfellow’s pot had begun ticking. Realizing this can’t be good, they hurried to bring the pot to Count Chico. The goodfellow appeared. Count Chico’s delighted. He pays the party and turns over Gwardo Izznardo. The party hurries out of town, but not before stocking up on soap for the road. As they’re leaving, they heard a loud explosion come from Count Chico’s manor house.
At last, Gwardo Izznardo demanded they stop for the night and reveal what they wanted with him. The party tried to keep the cup secret, but Gwardo sees through all that. He promised he won’t betray the players if they will look after him in his old age. They agreed, and Gwardo deciphered the riddle.
“Church Yard San Basle.”
“Where’s San Basle?” The party asked.
Gwardo didn’t know, except that it was on the other side of the River. He does remember there was a legendary wine with that name and maybe they should talk to a chef to learn where exactly it came from. Gwardo named three places where they might find a chef. The party discussed which might be best, opted for one, and set off.
Next adventure, on the road again!
Crypt of the Muscle Mummy: Touch the Void, You Turkeynecks!
Granted immortality in the long-distant Primeval Eons, the Muscle Mummies have returned from the depths of time. Now, by using state-of-the-art isolation technology, meditative void techniques, and body-numbing repetitive exercises, along with the traditional twin engines of guilt and shame, they offer to cultivate the void mind within anyone!
Including you!
Only by honing the body as well as the mind in the void’s furnace can anyone hope to achieve immortality. A hard task. But don’t worry, our personal trainers are here to help!
Crypt of the Muscle Mummy is an adventure location featuring undead fitness coaches. It can be placed in any metropolitan fantasy setting. You can find it here on my itch page at https://yesterweird.itch.io/crypt-of-the-muscle-mummy
Musical inspiration from the Novas.
Black Spaghetti Hack Session 02: Riddle Me Wrong
Last adventure, the party found a cup holding the key to a vast treasure. It just needed for them to solve a riddle. They failed so, this adventure started with the party waiting around a tavern for a guy named Gwardo Izznardo. They hoped he could solve the riddle that gave the location of the treasure.
While the party waited for Gwardo they gambled. For the Brancalonia fans, this was a round of poppycock. It’s a fine game to simulate an hour of game time playing cards. Nicolo won the pot, and two of the other card players began triggering his knave sense. One was dubbed Cigarello, the other Tall Hat. Cigarello seemed connected to the local hoodlum ecosystem. Tall Hat just seemed shifty. A third card player was a demi-giant (a morgant) mercenary. Nicolo filed all this information away for possible future use.*
About now some mercenaries arrived that the party recognized as louts from the same mercenary company (Toad-Faced Larry, Knuckles and Red Fredrick).
Don Hector wanted nothing to do with them and went to get a bath. Nicolo ignored them and chatted with the other card players. Ha’Des went over to the louts to see what they knew about the local area. The louts however weren’t talking.
Right then Gwardo showed up. Red Fred went to grab him. Ha’Des tripped him and grabbed Gwardo. The tripped Red Fred collides with a tavern patron and like the dew proceeds the dawn, a full scale bar room brawl erupted.
Don Hector’s away from it, but impressed by the laundry ladies being eager to scrap. Ha’Des and Toad-Faced Larry started a tug of war over Gwardo. Nicolo and the other card players watched the fight unfold. Tall Hat took the opportunity to pick Nicolo’s pocket and stole his coin purse before sneaking out the door.
A round or two later, the guards arrived and they promptly arrested Gwardo and began to put down the fight.
The guards took Gwardo away. Ha’Des followed. Don Hector headed for the back door, pausing only to attempt to steal some soap. A laundry lady spotted him and towel-whipped his hand. He fled. Nicolo waded into the fight hoping to use his magic hurdy gurdy to put people to sleep. Instead he got knocked out by a brawly monk. The guards arrested him and carted him off to jail.
Ha’Des and Don Hector reunited. Don Hector attempted to do some sneaking around the guardhouse and failed miserably.** The guards chased him away, but not before he heard screaming from inside the guardhouse.
Morning came around. Ha’Des and Don Hector went to see if they needed to bust Nicolo out of jail. Meanwhile, during the night, Nicolo also heard screams from inside the guard house.
Ha’Des and Don Hector arrived and did some shenanigans outside. The guards weren’t having it, but the captain had a proposal for Nicolo. The captain escorted Nicolo to where Gwardo and a local noble, Count Chico, were talking. Chico is angry at Gwardo for some unmentioned “destruction of property”, but he’ll gladly free Gwardo into the party’s custody if the party climbs the hill outside of town and brings back a faerie goodfellow from there***. The party agrees, but before they go the captain of the guard says he wants a word.
Turns out Count Chico had first sent the guards to bring back a goodfellow, but it ended in disaster. He brings out a very disturbed guardsman who was the source of all the screaming at night. The party questions this guard and hears an overwrought tale.
The hill is near impossible to climb unless it wants you to climb it. There’s a donkey on the hill and they must be careful about it. The guard seems particularly traumatized by the donkey and breaks down as he tells about it. The party’s now on edge, but heads for the hill.
Don Hector notices the woods are slightly magical and chats with the bushes. The bushes tell him the road is not going to get them to the top of the hill and they’ll have to climb up the overgrown side. The party does so, suffering damage but reaching the road when it curves back around. Standing on the road is a donkey. The party does not approach the donkey, even though it has saddlebags that jingle.
They follow the donkey to the top of the hill where they find a clearing, a shack built out over the ledge, and a tree hung with bodies. Don Hector realizes the tree with the bodies is an illusion. Nicolo tries to recall events from his childhood time with the fairies. All are too scared to go up and open the shack’s door.
Time goes by.
At last Ha’des gets fed-up and goes and knocks on the door. A voice answers and tells them to come in… and that’s where we ended the session.
Next session: Lunch with the Goodfellows
*These card players are proving a decent well for NPCs and people met on the road. Tall Hat in particular has become a nemesis for Nicolo, since he stole Nic’s coin purse.
** Don hector failing stealth checks has become a feature in our game. Since he’s made from wood we imagine him trying to sneak around in wooden shoes like a Dutch peasant on cobblestones.
*** This is an adventure straight from the Brancalonia book.
Yesterweird 