INTRODUCTION

One criticism often leveled at solo roleplaying is that it requires a lot of effort
and is often dismissed as a ‘creative writing exercise’. ROTTENER
BLACKER SLUDGE was an attempt to balance the sense of freedom that a
finely-grained journaling experience gives, with the quick, fluid gameplay that
a more mechanical approach provides.

Although I obviously wrote a fair bit down for this playthrough, most of what
is contained in these pages would have gone on in my head if I was playing
alone, and is intended to illustrate my thought-processes over the course of
the session. At most I’d have drawn the map, written the occasional ‘weak
hit’ possibilities table, and kept notes on any unique creatures I rolled up.

This playthrough uses the SÖLITARY DEFILEMENT solo ruleset for MÖRK
BORG, available for free at [Link]. It also provides a complement to
the gameplay example in Sölitary Defiliement, which concentrates on fine-
grained journal-style documentation and overland travel.

THE ACCURSED-ER DEN

I’ve run Pelle Nilsson’s brilliant ROTBLACK SLUDGE adventure several
times with groups, but decided that I’d like to explore it in a solo context
using Sölitary Defilement’s Dungeon Crawling rules. This meant abstracting
the dungeon so that it could still be surprising, while adhering to the general
plot and mood set down by the author.

The first task was to assign a dungeon DR – I decided to give it the standard
DR12.

Next, tables for common encounters needed to be compiled. Rotblack

Sludge already had two random encounter tables, so these were adapted
and slightly extended into d6 tables. Since there would only be one PC in the
game, numbers of enemies were halved where possible:
d6 Common Encounters
1. d2 Dusk Gnoums 4. Nesting Death (6 HP)
2. Mongrel 5. d2 Crooked guards
3. d2 Guards with sharpened teeth 6. d4 Mad prisoners (chained)

d6 Rare Encounters
1. Distraught spirit 4. A sarcophagus
2. Bazar from a distorted dimension 5. d2 Slumbering skeletons
3. A terrible silence 6. d2 Violet butterflies (DR12 Agility
to catch each one, heal d6 HP)

Rare encounters occur only once - reroll if already encountered.

Finally, four special rooms were selected from the Rotblack Sludge map to
give the adventure some form:

Special Room 1: Lesdy’s Greenhouse (Lesdy has two followers)

Special Room 2: Gem Room (Gutworm has 25 HP)
Special Room 3: Fletcher’s Forge (Fletcher has 10 HP)
Special Room 4: Aldon’s Cell

After this fairly brief prep, I rolled up a character with Scvmbirther: Kvetin the
Occult Herbalist – see the inner cover for their stats. It was now time to play!
PLAYTHROUGH

[Link]

DUNGEON CRAWL: DR12 vs 4, 5: Fail

What a start… my character has been deposited by the Shadow King’s

guards on a quest to find the king’s errant son… but he can’t even find the
damn entrance to the Accursed Den! I’ll roll on the Geographical Features
oracle for some inspiration:
18 - Crater

Ok, and for a bit more flavour, how’s the Weather?

6 - Dead quiet

Right, I could do a Micro-Crawl around the crater to find the entrance, but
I’m not going to make a big deal about this, since I want to get stuck in. I
assume that Kvetin is going to find the entrance, but maybe I’ll throw in a
couple of simple yes-no questions, too:

Do I encounter an enemy? 2 - No
Do I find any object? 2 - No

Cool. Kvetin finds the entrance… the Materials oracle tells me that the
trapdoor is made of dirty metal (13, 4). It creaks as it opens…

[Link] OF NESTING DEATH

DUNGEON CRAWL: DR12 vs 2, 20: Weak hit

Regular room: Description: Deceptive Passage
Exits: 2
Contents: Common encounter: 4 - Nesting Death
Kvetin climbs down the rusty, dirty ladder into a carven passageway… ok,
why is this passageway deceptive? There’s obviously the Nesting Death to
factor in. Let’s say that, at first, Kvetin thinks the ceiling of the passageway is
covered in mist… but on closer inspection it’s actually a spider web, with the
Nesting Death waiting for some prey.

Kvetin doesn’t have his lantern lit and is relying on light from the trapdoor.
First I’ll make a Presence check to see if Kvetin spots the Nesting Death… if
he does, then there’s a chance he can use Agility to sneak past.

GENERAL ADVENTURING MOVE: DR12 Presence: 5-1, 18-1: Weak hit

Right, he can just about see the gauzy shadow of the Nesting Death within
the web. But this is a weak hit, so what could screw things up a little? I know:
as Kvetin stands, transfixed in horror, a freak gust of wind blows the trapdoor
shut, plunging the passage into darkness!

Right - Kvetin's choice is now whether to light a lantern and perhaps betray
his position, or whether to just try and navigate the passage at a
disadvantage (e.g. DR14).

I’m going for the latter…

GENERAL ADVENTURING MOVE: DR14 Agility: 10, 16: Weak hit

Kvetin begins stealthily crawling along the muddy floor of the tunnel. He
doesn’t realise it ends in a junction and hits his head on the wall. He lets out
an involuntary curse.

YES OR NO? ORACLE: Does Kvetin’s curse alert the Nesting Death?
3 - No, but...
No, but… his voice echoes down the corridors, potentially alerting the
denizens of the den to Kvetin’s presence.

[Link]’S GREENHOUSE

DUNGEON CRAWL: DR12 vs 19, 19: Strong hit

Special room 1: Lesdy’s Greenhouse
Exits: None

The passage leads steeply down. Groping in the darkness, Kvetin decides it’s
time to light his lamp. He trudges down a curving, sodden tunnel, and then
sees another light in the distance and hears voices. He enters a room of
glass, looking out across a dismal, benighted vale. Lesdy is here, with two
followers…

The two options presented in the Core Book are to stay (and heal d6 HP with
a penalty), or to try and leave which involves fighting her two followers.

Either of those options are going to be potentially disastrous. Since I can’t

carry on a conversation with Lesdy as one might do with a GM, I decide that
Kvetin is going to use his Presence to try and get out of drinking the potion
and make his apologies:

GENERAL ADVENTURING MOVE: DR12 Presence: 13-1, 14-1: Strong hit

Kvetin manages to somehow bluff his way out of the situation, feigning that
he is already well-rested and well-fed… while also conspicuously laying his
hand of the bottle of black poison hanging from his belt. Lesdy and her hosts
are uneasy, and let him retreat back up the passage…
[Link] OF THE CADAVER BIRD

DUNGEON CRAWL: DR12 vs 17+1, 4+1: Weak hit

Regular room: Description: Sickly catacomb
Exits: 1
Contents: Unique Dweller

Ok, I’m going to use Feretory’s The Monster Approaches to roll up the
‘unique dweller’ for this room. The result is:

Giant Cadaver Bird

6 HP 12 Morale d8 damage No armour
Special: Sprays acid every-other round. Normal damage plus 2-in-6
chance of reducing armour (+d4 damage w/o armour)

A vaguely bird-shaped mass of necrotic flesh and feathers. A giant

black beak protrudes. It croons disgustingly. Cadaver birds are usually
found in graveyards and catacombs, using their acid spit to break-
down corpses. They love shiny things, and steal bleached bones,
jewelry and other treasures to decorate their nests.

Ok: as Kvetin enters this catacomb, bones crunch underfoot… there is a

sickly, deathly stench. Sitting bang in the centre of the passage on top of a
pile of gleaming bones is what looks like a giant, decaying bird. Kvetin can
hardly do anything but brace for combat…

Initiative: 5 (to Kvetin)

Kvetin chucks the black poison at the cadaver bird, who makes a DR14 roll,
scoring 11. The poison hits for d6 damage… and by a crazy fluke, Kvetin rolls
6! The cadaver bird shrieks and hisses, flapping madly, sending black
feathers swirling around the room, and bleached bones bouncing off the
walls. Eventually it writhes its last and collapses.

Since the Cadaver Bird is a hoarder, I’m going to treat searching the bone
pile as a ‘strong hit’ on the Searching for an Object move. I roll 2, which
gives me a roll on the Items of Worth oracle. Kvetin finds an unclean scroll:
Daemon of Capillaries!

Time to move on…

DUNGEON CRAWL: DR12 vs 6+1, 4+1: Fail

Oh… Kvetin didn’t realise that the Cadaver Bird also had a chick, who has
watched everything from a shit-covered nest plastered near the ceiling. As he
moves to the exit, the creature squawks and flaps wildly…

Initiative: 5 (to Kvetin)

I’ll run the Cadaver Bird chick as having 3 HP.

Kvetin gets in a good mace hit, reducing it to 1 HP. He then defends

successfully, and rolls a 20 to attack, finishing it off.

4. PIT OF DESPAIR

Ok, having resolved the Dungeon Craw weak hit, I roll the next regular room:

Regular room: Description: Unclean Pit

Exits: None
Contents: Rare encounter: 3 - A terrible silence

So, no exits… a terrible silence makes everything seem muted, even the
drops of water falling from the cavernous ceiling and into the dark, muddy
waters of the pit. There are no exits. Kvetin is despairing. Might as well throw
himself in the pit and either drown (- a blessed release! -) or find some other
way ahead… I’ll use Toughness here...

GENERAL ADVENTURING MOVE: DR12 Toughness: 13-1, 9-1: Weak hit

Kvetin stashed his lamp in his backpack, takes a huge lungful or air and
jumps in…

Ok, this is a weak hit. I think it sometimes helps to have a few possibilities so
that the game feels more unpredictable and GM’d. I decide that on a d6:
1-2 Kvetin loses an object
3-4 Oxygen deprivation (-1 HP, -1 Agility)
5-6 The waters are cursed (an Arcane Catastrophy occurs!)

Uh oh, Kvetin gets 5 and rolls 18 on the Arcane Catastrophes table in the
Core Book… he is now gaunt and drained, restoring only half HP when he
rests.

[Link] OF AN UNKNOWN HERETIC

DUNGEON CRAWL: DR12 vs 2+1, 18+1: Weak hit

Regular room: Description: Uncanny Temple
Exits: 1
Contents: Rare Encounter: 4 – A Sarcophagus

Kvetin emerges into a weird temple. The light is weird. The carvings are
weird. The arch leading out of it is weird… the weird sarcophagus on a weird
dais is weird. Kvetin decides to have a look in the sarcophagus…

I decided that on a d4, 1-2 Teleports to a random new room, while 3-4 means
that you can use Search for an Object move. Kvetin gets 4.
SEARCH FOR AN OBJECT: DR12 Omens: 13+2, 13+2: Strong hit
Corpse Plunder: 34 - Flayed face.

The Sacrophagus is empty… except for a leathery, flayed face… Kvetin takes
it and continues...

[Link] GEM ROOM

DUNGEON CRAWL: DR12 vs 14+1, 12+1: Strong hit

Special room 2: Gem Room
Exits: 1

Kvetin enters the gem room… he can see the rotblack sludge bubbling and
smoking… the skeletal forms on the 50’ pillar playing violin… and the gems
on the wall glitter alluringly.

Ok… Kvetin isn’t going to hang around. He heads for the next exit…

[Link]’S GATE

DUNGEON CRAWL: DR12 vs 14+2, 4+2: Weak hit

Regular room: Description: Infernal Doorway
Exits: None (e.g. it is sealed)
Contents: Unique Dweller

Ok, another unique dweller. Rolling on the Feretory tables conjures this fellow
up:

Graniteface
1 HP 8 Morale d4 damage -d4 armour
A winged stone head… Conversational and attempts to persuade PC
to do something...
Seems obvious that Kvetin reaches some sort of arched door, which is
sealed. A one-eyed, winged skull sits over it. The obvious thing is that it
wants is a new eye… a jewelled eye. Trekking back to the gem room is a
risky proposition, given that the Gutworm attacks anyone who removes
gems. Kvetin is going to try and use Presence to persuade it:

GENERAL ADVENTURING MOVE: DR12 Presence: 2, 2: Fail

The head is utterly unconvinced. Kvetin trudges back to the gem room to rip
out some gems….

GENERAL ADVENTURING MOVE: DR12 Strength: 15-1, 11-1. Weak hit

On a weak hit here, I’d suggest that the gems aren’t quite loose enough to
pull away, but would take another round to extract (e.g. the Gutworm could
attack twice while Kvetin attempts to pry the jewel out).

I decide I’m not going to risk it an burn omen to replace the 11 I rolled. I re-
roll and get 19-1.

Yes! Kvetin manages to gouge out 3 jewels. The Gutworm rears from the
rotblack sludge…

Initiative: 2 (to Gutworm)

Defend vs Gutworm: DR12 Agility: 18
FLEE FROM COMBAT: DR12 Agility: 13, 10: Weak hit: Gutworm gets
opportunity attack.
Defend: DR 12 Agility: 19

Kvetin manages to flee and evade the Gutworm’s opportunity attack.

Graniteface lets him pass...
[Link]’S ABBATOIR

DUNGEON CRAWL: DR12 vs 12+2, 2+2: Weak hit

Regular room: Description: Neglected Abbatoir
Exits: 0 (none obvious)
Contents: Remains of something...

A room full of hooked chains hanging from the ceiling. They are dusty. The
dry husk of a mangled corpse dangles from one.

Kvetin is going to look around for some way out...

GENERAL ADVENTURING MOVE: DR12 Presence: 20-1, 1-1: Weak hit

Kvetin methodically pulls the chains… one of them opens a secret door… but
since this is a weak hit, it is right beneath him! He falls down the shaft. I
decide the following options on a d4: 1-2 take d2 damage in the fall; 3-4
Break a random item.

Kvetin ends up taking 1 HP damage as he crashes to the bottom.

[Link] PITFALL

DUNGEON CRAWL: DR12 vs 14+2, 1+2: Weak hit

Regular room: Description: Infested Passage
Exits: 0 (none obvious)
Contents: Rare encounter: 1 - Distraught Spirit

Kvetin finds himself in a narrow pit - it seems like there is no way out, until a
twisted face emerges from a wall. “Avenge us!” it pleads before vanishing…
Kvetin sees that the bricks are loose in the place where the spirit emerged…
it opens into a tall, but narrow passage, filled with decaying, hacked up
corpses hanging from chains… Kvetin decides to take a rest to recover his
missing HP.

CAMPING/RESTING: DR12 Presence: 19, 1: Weak hit:

Recover HP, 1 Omen, Lose 1 Ration

[Link]’S FORGE

DUNGEON CRAWL: DR12 vs 13+2, 19+2: Strong Hit

Special Room 3: Fletcher’s Forge
Exits: 1

After an awkward rest amongst the squeaking chains and corpses, Kvetin
continues. The passage gets smokier and a red haze shimmers in the
distance… Kvetin emerges into Fletcher’s Forge. I’m going to just use a
simple yes or no to see if Fletcher has his back turned (butchering or
blacksmithing…) or whether he is facing the entrance:

Does Fletcher see Kvetin? 1 - Yes

Initiative: 1 (To Fletcher… Gutworm will join in second round)
Defend: DR12: 9… Burn an omen: 15
Kvetin casts Daemon of the Capilaries… DR12 Presence: 5… fail…. burns an
omen: 4… another fail. Lose 2HP, cannot cast Powers.
Defend vs Fletcher: DR12 Agility: 18 Defend vs Gutworm: DR12 Agility: 14
Kvetin throws Black Poison at Fletcher. Fletcher fails his DR14 defence. 3 HP
damage, 1 absorbed by Fletcher’s skin.
Defend vs Fletcher: DR12 Agility: 17
Defend vs Gutworm: 9 - Gutworm does 1 HP damage.
Kvetin is broken… the Gutworm bites off his arm and he collapses to the
ground. He’s incapacitated for d4 rounds: more than long enough for the
Gutworm to finish devouring him.
THE END
    
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ShadowClink   is   supposed   to   be   difficult:   most   characters   will   probably   die   two   or  
three   rooms   in.   Therefore,   it’s   going   to   be   a   real   rush   when   you   survive   a   little  
longer.   The   idea   is   that   you   can   play   it   like   a   computer   game   in   the  
Rogue/Nethack   style,   or   a   casual   game   like   Pelle   Nilsson’s   Dark   Fort   or  
Themeborne’s  Escape  the  Dark  Castle:  no  prep  required,  just  use  Scvmbirther  to  
spit  out  a  character,  jump  right  in,  die,  repeat  several  times  in  a  session.  Keep  as  
few  or  as  many  notes  as  you  want.  
 
Tips for players
 
You  start  naked  and  unarmed.  Characters  who  do  not  need  equipment  to  use  a  
special   skill   (e.g.   Gutterborn   Scum   with   gob   lobbing   powers,   Fanged   Deserter  
etc)  will  probably  have  a  slight  advantage  here.  
 
It’s  unwise  to  try  to  take  on  the  guard  in  the  Lockup  if  you  are  unarmed!  Maybe  
back  out  of  the  door  and  come  back  when  you've  improvised  a  weapon!  
 
Try  to  threaten,  cajole,  bribe,  or  otherwise  persuade  as  many  NPCs  as  possible  
to  join  you:  you're  unlikely  to  make  it  out  alone.  
 
The   materials,   sounds,   and   odours   &   tastes   Oracles   in   the   Sölitary  
Defilement   rules   (p.11)   are   useful   for   prompting   ideas   when   you   are   stumped  
by   a   ‘something   blocks   your   way’   roll   or   similar.   Furthermore,   use   simple  
yes/no   Oracles   (e.g.   1   –   Yes,   2   –   No)   for   anything   you’re   not   sure   about:   the  
liquid   that   just   dropped   on   your   head…   is   it   acid?   Is   it   oil?   Does   it   harm   you?   Is  
it  cursed?    
 
A  weak  hit  doesn’t  necessarily  mean  a  mechanical  penalty  or  having  to  come  up  
with  some  outrageous  plot-­‐twist.  Managing  weak  hits  is  something  of  an  art  –  
see   Sölitary   Defilement   p.24   for   more   of   a   discussion.   There   are   plenty   of  
times   in   the   playthroughs   of   ShadowClink   (overleaf)   and   Rottener   Blacker  
Sludge  where  you  will  find  examples  of  weak  hit  management.  
   
Playthrough
 
My   first   couple   of   playthroughs   were   pretty   brief.   Rest   in   peace   Kvast,   Occult  
Herbalist   (killed   by   the   Lockup   guard   after   fumbling   his   rolls)   and   Theras,   the  
Wretched  Royal  (whose  face  is  now  a  new  patch  on  Splinterface’s  cloak).  Lucky  
Vrakh,  the  Esoteric  Hermit,  managed  to  survive  up  to  the  Corpse  Disposal  Pit.  For  
this  playthrough  I’m  going  to  present  the  tale  of  Jarbeth,  a  Heretical  Priest,  whose  
masses  of  Presence  (and  by  extension  Powers)  gave  her  a  huge  advantage:  
 
Jarbeth
Heretical Priest Strength -1
HP 5 Agility ±0
Omens 4 Presence +2
Powers 6   Toughness ±0

Equipment (- in the Lockup!)

Handaxe d6 damage
Leather armour -d2 damage, tier 1
Shield (-1 HP damage or break to ignore one attack)
Waterskin and 2 days' worth of food
6 torches
Stones taken from Thel-Emas' Lost Temple
159 silver  
 
1. The Hall of Sorrows
 
Jarbeth  luckily  rolls  3  on  the  starting  table,  giving  her  the  Enochian  Syntax  power,  
but  docking  her  one  Power  for  using  it  to  free  herself.  
 
Dungeon  Crawl:  DR10  vs  1,  3:  Fail  
 
I   decide   to   use   this   fail   to   a   roll   on   ShadowClink’s   Common  Encounter   table,   and  
get  3:  d2  Guards  and  Prisoner.  
   
So   -­‐   just   as   she   is   making   her   escape   from   the   Hall   of   Sorrows,   Jarbeth   hears  
footsteps  and  a  guard  emerges  into  the  hall  with  a  chained  prisoner.  
 
Jarbeth   uses   Enochian   Syntax,   rolling   16   on   her   Presence   check.   She   tells   the  
guard   to   walk   on.   Having   resolved   her   failed   Dungeon   Crawl   move,   she   then  
enters  a  regular  room.  
 
[Link] of Discord
Sickly  Passage  
3  exits  
Something  blocks  your  path…  
 
I   decide   to   use   the   sounds   and   odours   &   tastes   oracles   to   try   and   prompt  
something.  I  get  a  bitter  smell  and  music,  which  immediately  spark  an  idea:  
 
As   Jarbeth   cautiously   creeps   along   the   corridor   she   hears   dissonant   voices.   A  
wailing  mass  which  is  crudely  imitative  of  singing.  The  prison  choir  is  practicing  
here…   one   warden   conducting   a   throng   of   chained   and   desperate   inmates,   who  
are   singing   a   psalm   in   praise   of   Nechrubel.   They   are   right   in   the   middle   of   the  
crossroads,  taking  advantage  of  the  acoustics  that  come  from  the  vaulted  ceiling  
above.  
 
Jarbeth  decides  to  come  back  later,  once  choir  practise  is  over.  
 
I  roll  1  on  the  Backtracking  table,  as  Jarbeth  returns  to  the  Hall  of  Sorrows.  No  
encounter.  
 
Dungeon  Crawl:  DR12  s  8,  19:  Use  Omen  and  replace  8  with  13:  Strong  hit  
 
3. The Lockup
 
The   other   door   opens   into   the   Lockup.   The   guard   is   slumbering   by   the   fire.  
Jarbeth  decides  to  push  her  luck…  
 
Agility  test  1:  DR12  vs  20  
Agility  test  2:  DR12  vs  14  
 
Jarbeth  manages  to  quietly  retrieve  her  equipment  and  retreat  to  the  door.  
 
Since  Jarbeth  is  traversing  the  Hall  of  Sorrows  again,  I  roll  on  the  Backtracking  
table   –   it   comes   up   3   (no   encounter),   leaving   her   to   return   to   the   Passage   of  
Discord.  
 
Returning   to   the   Passage   of   Discord,   I   want   to   know   whether   the   choir   has  
finished   and   departed.   I   use   the   Yes/No   oracle   on   p.10   of   the   Sölitary  
Defilement  rules:  
 
Is  the  choir  still  there?  2  –  Yes,  but…  the  warder  is  taking  a  solo…  
 
The  choir  is  still  amassed,  but  the  warder,  standing  on  a  small  stool  before  them  
is   undertaking   a   long,   melismatic   solo,   the   words   “Nechrubel   in   infernis”   being  
drawn   out   over   several   minutes.   Jarbeth   decides   to   sneak   past   while   he   is  
distracted…  
 
General  Adventuring  Move:  DR12  Agility  vs  8,  7:  Fail  
 
The  move  fails.  The  warder  notices  Jarbeth.  Jarbeth  decides  that  it  is  time  to  use  
another  Enochian   Syntax.  She  rolls  7  for  her  Presence  test.  A  failure.  She  burns  
an   Omen   to   re-­‐roll   and   gets   13.   She   tells   the   confused   warder   “leave   this   place  
and   return   to   your   quarters,”   laughing   as   he   shuffles   off   down   one   of   the  
passages.  
 
Dungeon  Crawl:  DR10  vs  6+1,  8+1:  Fail  
 
Something   prevents   Jarbeth   from   continuing   ahead.   I   decide   that   a   prisoner  
grabs  her.  Rolling  on  the  Reactions  table  comes  up  with  ‘Indifferent’.  Phew  –  it  
was  a  false  alarm:    
 
“Oh,  sorry…  thought  you  wuz  my  brother…”  says  the  inmate,  as  Jarbeth  bats  his  
hands  away  and  ducks  down  one  of  the  tunnels.  
 
Having   resolved   the   failed   Dungeon   Crawl   move,   Jarbeth   moves   into   another  
regular  room.  
 
4. Deathly Chamber
Deathly  Chamber  
2  exits  
Unstable  environment  
 
As   with   the   blocked   path   in   the   Passage   of   Discord,   I   decide   to   use   the   sounds  
and   odours   &   tastes   oracles   to   work   out   why   this   environment   is   unstable   or  
hazardous.  The  oracle  comes  up  with  a  rotten  smell,  and  rhythmic  dripping.  
 
This  chamber  smells  of  death…  the  ceiling  is  sagging  alarmingly,  and  some  sort  of  
liquid  drips  regularly  through  cracks  above,  gathering  in  a  dark  pool  on  the  floor.  
 
Jarbeth  is  going  to  use  her  Presence  to  navigate  the  safest  way  through:  
 
General  Adventuring  Move:  DR12  Presence  vs  17+2,  8+2:  Weak  hit  
 
Jarbeth   gets   across   the   room   but   a   droplet   hits   her…   Using   a   simple   yes/no  
Oracle   I   (finally)   manage   to   come   to   a   decision   about   what   this   sinister   liquid  
does:  
 
Is  it  infectious?  No  
Is  it  acidic?  No  
Does  it  reduce  a  stat?  No  
Does  it  make  an  item  decay?  No  
Is  it  harmless?  No  (-­‐  come  on…  give  me  a  clue!)  
Does  it  drain  Powers?  No  
Does  it  drain  Omens?  Yes  
All  of  them?  No  
One  of  them?  Yes  
 
We   got   there   in   the   end!   So   -­‐   the   water   is   cursed   with   ill-­‐luck.   Jarbeth   loses   an  
Omen.  
 
Dungeon  Crawl:  11+1,  3+1:  Weak  hit  
 
5. Ancient Stairwell
Ancient  stairwell  
2  exits  
A  gathering  or  ritual  
 
Jarbeth  arrives  at  the  top  of  a  flight  of  stairs.  Torches  glimmer  and  chanting  can  
be  heard  at  the  bottom.  There  is  a  wooden  door  to  the  right…  
 
Jarbeth  is  going  to  use  Agility  to  quietly  open  the  door:  
 
General  Adventuring  Move:  DR12  Agility  vs  1,  16:  Weak  hit  
 
She  slides  through  the  door,  but  it  creaks  as   it  closes  –  alerting  whoever  is  at  the  
bottom  of  the  stairs…  
 
Dungeon  Crawl:  13+1,  9+1:  Strong  hit  
 
6.  Torture  Chamber  
No  exits  
 
There   is   a   2-­‐in-­‐6   chance   that   Splinterface   would   be   distracted.   Unfortunately   it  
seems   that   the   creaky   door   has   distracted   him   from   his   work.   He   is   ready   for  
Jarbeth  as  she  enters.  
 
I   decide   that   the   ritual   at   the   bottom   of   the   stairs   was   being   led   by   a   Lesser  
Ritualist,   who   will   arrive   in   the   room   in   d6   combat   rounds.   I   roll   2.   I’m   taking   the  
Macabre  Ritualist  stats  down  1  point  or  tier  to  reflect  their  lesser  status.  
 
Splinterface   has   the   initiative   –   whacking   Jarbeth   with   the   branding   iron.   Her  
armour   and   shield   takes   most   of   the   damage,   but   she   still   takes   -­‐2   Agility   from  
the   brand.   Fortunately   her   first   attack   is   a   critical   hit,   shredding   Splinterface’s  
cloak.   After   avoiding   an   attack,   Jarbeth   literally   splinters   her   assailant’s   face   with  
her  handaxe.  
 
Splinterface  is  dead…  but  the  Lesser  Ritualist  barges  into  the  room!  
 
Hierofex, Lesser Ritualist
HP  5/5  Morale  10  Light  Grimmrobe  –d2  Shadestaff  d6  
 
Jarbeth  fortunately  gets  the  initiative  and  uses  it  to  cast  (yet  another)  Enochian  
Syntax:  “Allow  me  to  strap  you  to  the  torture  table…”  she  tells  Hierofex.  
 
Jarbeth   hacks   wildly   with   her   handaxe,   and   as   Hierofex’   decapitated   head   rolls  
across   the   floor   she   notices   someone   else,   bound   to   a   rack   in   the   corner   of   the  
room.  
 
I  a  roll  on  the  NPC  table  comes  up  8,  telling  me  to  use  the  Solitary  Defilement  NPC  
Oracle.  This  is  what  comes  up:  
 
Noel, the Eccentric Tailor (arrested for crimes against fashion?)
HP  1/4  Morale  8  Hands  d2  
 
Jarbeth   frees   him…   so   I   roll   on   the   Reaction   table:   8+3:   very   positive.   Noel  
decides  to  team  up  and  escape  together.  
 
Jarbeth  gives  Noel  her  Handaxe,  and  takes  the  Shadestaff  and  Branding  Iron  for  
herself,  and  the  pair  return  to  the  stairwell…    
 
A  roll  on  the  Backtracking  table  comes  up    as  1  -­‐  No  encounter.  
 
Last  time  we  were  here,  there  was  a  gathering  led  by  Hierofex  at  the  bottom  of  
the  stairs.  Time  to  use  a  simple  yes/no  oracle:  
 
Did  Hierofex  dismiss  his  assembly  before  entering  the  Torture  Chamber?    
2  –  No    
 
Ok.  I  assume  there  are  d4  other  ritualists  at  the  bottom  of  the  stairs…  Oh.  The  
dice  comes  up  tells  me  there  are  four  of  them.  
 
Have  they  noticed  us?  No  
 
So,  Jarbeth  decides  that  they  should  sneak  back  to  the  Deathly  Chamber:  
 
General  Adventuring  Move:  DR12  vs  Presence  :12+2,  6+2:  Weak  hit  
  
Jarbeth  creeps  along  the  wall,  back  to  the  Deathly  Chamber,  but  Noel  lets  the  side  
down  by  loudly  scuffing  his  cloak  against  the  wall.    
 
Do  the  ritualists  hear?  2  -­‐  No  
 
Arriving  at  the  Deathly  Chamber,  a  roll  on  the  Backtracking  table  comes  up  5  –  a  
common   encounter:   Jailer.   A   roll   on   the   Reactions   table   declares   him   to   be  
indifferent  to  our  presence.  
 
Jarbeth   decides   to   bribe   the   jailer   to   assist   their   escape  -­‐   he   demands   60   silver.  
She  pays  the  fee.  
 
Dungeon  Crawl:  2+2,  7+2:  Fail  
 
As  the  party  moves  toward  the  eastern  exit,  the  dripping  ceiling  finally  collapses  -­‐  
everyone  must  defend  (DR12)  or  take  d6  damage  and  lose  an  Omen.  
 
Jarbeth:  17-­‐2:  Pass  
Noel:  7:  Fail  
Glort:  19:  Pass  
 
Glort  and  Jarbeth  leap  through  the  doorway,  but  Noel  is  caught  off  guard   -­‐  a  huge  
stone  block  falls,  and  splatters  him  over  the  dank  walls  of  the  chamber.  
 
7. Defaced Passage
Defaced  passage  
1  exit  
Unique  dweller  
 
Using  Feretory  I  rolled  up  the  ‘unique  dweller’  stats,  and  riffed  a  bit  on  what  its  
purpose  was  in  the  dungeon:  
 
Scouring Abomination
HP  4  Morale  11  Feathered  Hide  –d4  Stinging  Ichor  d2  
A  mass  of  tentacles   emerging  from  a  feathered  body,  the  Scouring  Abomination  
drags   itself   along   leaving   a   bleach-­‐like   trail.   They   are   bred   to   clean   up   the  
dungeon,  and  mindlessly  suck  up  corpses,  bones  and  other  litter.  
 
Combat  begins.  Jarbeth  and  Glort  have  the  initiative,  and  manage  to  scorch  it  with  
the  branding  iron  and  whack  it  to  death  with  the  cudgel  in  the  first  round.  
 
Dungeon  Crawl:  14+2,  5+2:  Weak  hit  
 
8. Unnatural Abbatoir
Unnatural  Abbatoir  
2  exits  
An  object  -­‐  empty  perfume  bottle  
 
The   Room   Contents   Oracle   told   me   there   was   an   object   here,   which   ended   up  
being  the  empty  perfume  bottle.  I  use  a  simple  Yes/No  Oracle  to  find  out  more:  
 
Is  it  guarded?  Yes  
By  another  Scouring  Abomination?  No  
 
Ok,  I  roll  on  the  Common  Encounters  and  it  comes  up  d2  Guards  and  Prisoner.  I  
decide  there  will  be  no  prisoner  in  this  instance,  and  the  d2  roll  comes  up  as  1.  
 
The   walls   and   ceiling   are   stained   with   blood,   although   the   floor   is   unnaturally  
clean  since  the  Scouring  Abomination  passed  through  recently.  A  guard  is  in  the  
room,   and   we   find   him   sniffing  an   apparently   empty   perfume   bottle.   Perhaps   the  
lingering  scent  tempers  the  bleach-­‐like  secretions  that  linger  in  the  wake  of  the  
Abomination.  
 
Despite   being   momentarily   distracted,   the   Guard   takes   initiative   in   combat   and  
charges   at   Glort,   who   deflects   his   blow.   A   scuffle   ensues,   ending   with   Jarbeth  
plunging  the  blazing  branding  iron  into  the  guard’s  face.  
 
Jarbeth  takes  the  bottle…  a  floral  smell  still  lingers.  Glort  picks  up  the  sword.  
 
Dungeon  Crawl:  18+2,  10+2:  Strong  hit  
 
9. Corpse Disposal Pit
  2  exits  
 
Entering   the   chamber   of   the   corpse   disposal   pit,   two   Fleshrats   poke   their  
pointed-­‐snouts  out  from  the  towering  pile  of  naked  dead.  The  Fleshrats  have  the  
initiative:   Glort   and   Jarbeth   are   momentarily   rooted   to   the   spot   in   surprise   and  
horror.  
 
The   fight   is   gruelling.   The   Giant   Fleshrat   tears   Jarbeth’s   leather   armour   apart,  
before   she   is   able   to   sink   the   burning   brand   into   its   pallid   flesh.   The   Giant  
Fleshrat  writing  in  its  death-­‐throes  results  in  a  Morale  check  for  the  remaining  
Fleshrats.   One   of   them   flees,   while   the   other   remains,   to   be   swiftly   dispatched   by  
Glort.  
 
As  Glort  and  Jarbeth  stand  over  the  dead  Fleshrats,  panting,  and  gathering  their  
bearings,  they  hear  a  voice  from  atop  the  pile  of  corpses:  
  
“Er,  excuse  me?  Could  someone  get  me  down,  please?”  
 
Climbing   up   the   pile   of   corpses,   Jarbeth   finds   the   decapitated   head   of   a   notable  
heretic.  He’s  still  very  eloquent…  but  very  boring.  She  shoves  the  head  in  a  bag  to  
shut  it  up.  
 
Camping:  DR12  Presence  vs  16+2,  3+2:  Weak  hit  
   
It’s  difficult  to  rest  amongst  the  flies,  the  stink,  and  the  muttering  of  the  head,  but  
Jarbeth  does  her  best…  She  gains  4  HP,  and  1  Omen.  Since  Glort  is  resting,  too,  he  
messily  eats  one  of  her  rations.  
 
Dungeon  Crawl:  17+3,  8+1:  Strong  hit  
 
10. Sewer Entrance
  No  exits  
 
It’s  time  for  the  final  showdown…  Jarbeth  and  Glort  enter  the  chamber  with  the  
sewer   trapdoor,   but   Humphrey   Sharpaxe,   massive  and  enveloped  in  black  silk,  is  
already  brandishing  his  axe  in  anticipation.  
 
Jarbeth  hardly  has  a  chance.  The  huge  axe  swings  through  the  air,  smashing  her  
to   the   ground.   She   burns   all   her   remaining   Omens   trying   to   avoid   this   fate,   but   to  
no   avail!   She   lies   helpless,   while   Glort   vainly   swings   his   purloined   sword   in  
Sharpaxe’s  general  direction.  
 
Staggering  to  her  feet  Jarbeth  gets  a  decent  blow  in,  while  Glort’s  sword  shatters  
against   the   iron   polearm   of   the   axe.   Jarbeth   rolls   out   of   the   way   of   Sharpaxe’s  
next  blow,  and  attempts  to  utter  Enochian  Syntax.  Her  Presence  roll  fails,  burning  
her   remaining   HP.   She   is   reduced   to   0   HP,   rolling   on   the   floor   helplessly,   choking  
on  her  own  tongue.  A  roll  on  the  Broken  table  comes  up  4:  Dead.  
 
Glort  follows  Jarbeth  quickly  to  the  grave.  After  making  a  few  more  spiteful  blows  
against  their  corpses,  Sharpaxe  opens  the  trapdoor  and  pushes  their  bodies  into  
the  sewers.  
 
So…  Jarbeth  did  make  it  out.  Technically.  
 
-Fin-
 
ShadowClink Companion is an independent production by 1d10+5 and is not affiliated
with Ockult Örtmästare Games or Stockholm Kartell. It is published under the MÖRK
BORG Third Party License. MÖRK BORG is copyright Ockult Örtmästare Games and
Stockholm Kartell.
    
 WARNING, GENTLE READER!
This is a playthrough of ‘Chalice of Ruin’, an adventure that accompanies the
ALÖNE IN THE CROWD city-crawling supplement for SÖLITARY
DEFILEMENT. It contains spoilers, and also a lot of gore and head-
chopping. Proceed at your own risk!

PRELUDE
Von, a Wretched Royal, has been a faithful acolyte of the Order of Two-
Headed Basilisks for most of his life - and has always paid more than is
expected in donations to Galgenbeck Cathedral. The Order has so much
compromising material on him that he could hardly do otherwise. Just as he
could not refuse the task set out for him by the High Inquisitor, Askarac, to
assassinate Svamp: an upstart prophet whose seeming powers over life and death
have rendered him immune to all previous attempts on his life.

All that is needed is the Chalice of Ruin, said to be secreted in the Tomb of
Aversus, somewhere within a catacomb beneath Galgenbeck. Unfortunately the
key to the catacomb is in possession of custodian who is sympathetic to
Svamp’s prophecies.
PART THE FIRST:
THE CUSTODIAN
The sky is lifeless grey, as Von wanders through a deserted, boarded-up
undercroft beneath Galgenbeck Cathedral. He wanders to the filthier end of
the vaulted passage and finds a crossroads. The entrance to the Cathedral
Library is here, as is a bored looking guard, who approaches Von.

“’ERE! aren’t you that noble who we’re after for —”

LOP! Von's Ancestral Blade swooshes through the air, sending his head
rolling in mid-sentence.

“No.”

Dabbing the blood-spray from his doublet, Von pays the six silver entrance fee
for the library. Hmm, a book on divination, a scroll about conjuring foul
weather… nothing worth reading, let alone stealing.
The undercroft opens out onto a largely-abandoned plaza. Dogs fights beneath a
ruined market cross. There is rowdy chatter coming from behind the door of
one of the two buildings that are inhabited. A sign hangs outside: The Crooked
Key.

The other inhabited building is evidently the custodian’s lodge - carved above
the door is the coat of arms of the Upstanding Covenant of Catacomb
Custodians. Candle-light flickers weakly behind the cracked diamond-pane
windows.

Von figures it might be good to have a bit additional help to ‘persuade’ the
Custodian to part with the key. He enters the Crooked Key, swaggering
nonchalantly.

Casting his eye over the clientele, Von spies a charming, roguish sort. He’s
buying people drinks, and covertly picking their pockets. Von makes him an
offer: "I need someone to help me persuade someone and then to help me pick
up an item... I’ll make it worth your while.” Hunf - for t’is the knave’s name –
is intrigued.

“Maybe I need one more body,” thinks Von, surveying the motley assortment
before him. His eye falls on a butcher, hacking at a vast jellied eel with his
cleaver. He looks the miscreant type…

Von lets it be known to the butcher that he might need two able bodies to
restrain the Custodian while he breaks their fingers.

“BREAK THEIR FINGERS?!” the butcher shouts, “The Custodian is my

brother!”

Unsurprisingly, the butcher forcefully swings his cleaver. After taking a chunk
out of Von, the Ancestral Blade neatly bisects him. The tavern sinks into chaos
and confusion. Amidst the shrieks and fighting, Hunf manages to snatch up the
cleaver, and he Von barge through the door before it becomes barred by
wrestling bodies.

As if nothing had occurred, they rap on the Custodian’s door, gaining

admittance to his dark, candlelit chamber, where he seats himself behind a desk
piled with blueprints of the catacombs, and codices of deaths, burials, and
disinterments.
Von feels something – a new feeling, one that most people call ‘remorse’, He
throws a hundred silver on the table. “For the key,” he says, taking the huge
iron key from the desk.

Then, under his breath as he leaves - “And for your brother’s funeral.”
PART THE SECOND:
THE CATACOMB
Crossing the plaza, the pair come to another undercroft, running beneath a
tottering mill. It’s well decorated, with a certain classy, funereal feel imparted
by the carved skulls and withered reapers embossed on the walls. Von is so
taken with the stonework, that he almost slips on something… a bloody scalp,
with long black hair lies on the ground. Up ahead, he sees the huge iron gate of
the catacomb. There’s a corpse collector standing by it - and she’s looking
extremely sheepish.

She’s guarded, but friendly: it turns out that she’s lost her license to dump
corpses in the nearest plague pit, so has been butchering them and posting them
through the bars of the city’s catacombs. Von spies an opportunity: for a lucky
dip amongst the corpses, he’ll open the catacomb door and give her the key.

A deal is struck. Von is rewarded by a nasty, infected bite from a rat hiding
amongst the bodies. After catching his breath and regathering his composure,
the door to the catacombs screeches open on its rusty hinges. Von and Hunf
descend the roughly-hewn passage, into the darkness beneath the city.

The passage through the catacomb is remarkably smooth. The pair enter a
deserted shrine - smashed by vandals or graverobbers in earlier days.
Descending further, down a bleak stairwell, they find one of the idols from the
shrine smashed at the bottom. Von picks up a stone talon as a souvenir…

Finally they happen upon Aversus’ crypt… it is dark and eerily still. Until,
with a blood-curdling shriek, the decaying form of the demi-lich lunges out of
a sarcophagus. Hunf narrowly avoids its grasp, as Von sets upon it with the
Snake Skin Gift. The creature lets out a rasping moan as the dagger pierces the
shadow where it’s heart would have been.
Not wishing to loiter any longer in the sinister atmosphere, Von snatches up
the Chalice of Ruin from the dusty sarcophagus and they begin to look for a
way out…
PART THE THIRD:
THE TOWNHOUSE
The pair emerge form a manhole in the same seedy undercroft that Von started
in. Chalice in hand, they go in the opposite direction, reaching a frosty market-
square. Von surveys the market, noting a jeweller, taxidermist, and members of
a gymnasium demonstrating their physical prowess in the stale open air. The air
turns fetid as a rain of sewage hits Von from a window above.

Having frantically attempted to clean this feculence off his already

bloodstained doublet, Von decides a spot of training might be in order, only to
be rebuffed by the scarred, hulking proprietor. She looks at his soiled clothes
and the festering rat bite on Von’s hand: “Eff off. You oughta see a doctor!”

Not a bad idea. Von attempts to ask a passer by, collaring a dishevelled groom
holding a worn old riding crop. Von is roundly ignored by the groom. At least,
until he sets off on his way once more. Then the groom turns on his heel,
angrily berating Von: “How dare you even speak to me you, filthy aristo.”

The groom’s revolt lasts about half a second as Von and Hunf leap upon him.
LOP! The Ancestral Blade claims another victim. The taxidermist eyes the
head as it rolls amongst the stalls of the market. He imagines stitching it to an
exotic animal’s body.

Wandering vainly in search of either a doctor or Svamp’s townhouse, Von

finds the damaged remains of an effigy of a wyvern, made of leathery,
interlaced skin in a dark, forgotten arcade. After further being dealt a glancing
blow from four nobles on horseback chasing a pair of pigs through the street,
Von and Hunf finally stand before Svamp’s townhouse. Acolytes loiter
outside the front door, but sneaking down a nearby alley, they find themselves
at the back of the building. A drunken porter slumbers by an open door - and an
open window on the second floor taunts them.

The porter is silently dispatched with the Snake Skin Gift, and the duo step
over his body, following a damp, once-whitewashed hallway into the great hall.
A cloaked figure sits at the end of the long refectory table - suddenly leaping
up and throwing his glass of wine to the ground. The cloaked Svampist Adept
silently marches toward Von and Hunf, fixing them with obsidian eyes. Von
feels his life being leeched by the Adept’s stare, but manages to resist. Hunf
gets in a couple of prime cuts with the cleaver, before falling under the Adept’s
irresistible gaze. As Hunf falls to the ground, a drained and withered shell, the
Adept’s wounds begin to heal. Von makes a desperate swing with his Ancestral
Blade, separating the Adept’s legs from their torso, which lands with a thud on
the table.

Von searches the room - not much to see, but the Adept was studying
something: a map, which seems to describe other worlds and planes. A way out
of the Dying Lands? Or a dangerously heretical expression of Svampist
cosmology?

As he opens a panelled door into an adjacent hallway, Von stands face to face
with a Svampist Acolyte, who was just about to knock. The Acolyte swiftly
stabs Von with a long, thin needle, penetrating the armour that lies beneath his
silk doublet. Von takes a step back and...

LOP! The Ancestral Blade claims another head.

Catching his breath, and eating a decaying apple that he found under the
refectory table, Von patches himself up, before following the hall to a chapel.

The chapel was evidently once a place of private worship, dedicated to the
Two-Headed Basilisk. Those effigies of the old ways are now smashed to
pieces, consigned to dusty corners. Occult diagrams of Svamp’s theories adorn
the walls, and a portrait of Svamp is on the altar, before which two Acolytes
are praying.

They don’t stand a chance.

LOP! One head rolls.

The second Acolyte cowers and makes a feeble attempt to strike out at Von,
before…

LOP! The second head rolls.

On the altar, Von spies a chalice. The smoky vapours, crackling with muted
psychedelic colours, indicate that it is Ezumiel’s Vapour. A powerful
hallucinogenic: probably the sacrament that Svamp uses to convince his
followers of the truth of other dimensions.

Von notices a small door in the wall, and climbs a spiral staircase, entering into
another chapel. An Acolyte lies on the floor, dead: their last agonising
contortions preserved in their silently screaming visage. The cause of death is
apparent: a serf stands over the Acolyte’s body. She holds a flaming stang.

“What are you doing here, peasant?” Von asks incredulously.

“I’m upwardly mobile,” she replies, before sarcastically adding “My lord.”

It transpires that the serf, Gohst, shares the same aim: killing Svamp, although
her motive is revenge for indoctrinating her family into his cult. Yet there’s
something that tells Von she can’t be fully trusted

Von and Gohst rifle through the Acolyte’s robes, turning up a small book on
necromancy entitled Whispers Pass the Gate.

They proceed into a store-room. It smells acrid and mouldy. Everything

concerned with Two-Headed Basilisk worship has been unceremoniously
shoved into tottering shelves: crumbling bibles, classics like the Theologia
Inversum de Nechrubelis, chalices, ritual knives, the vast, two-headed spiked
candlesticks, et cetera, et cetera.

As the pair cross the room to the opposite door, the mass of ritual
paraphernalia shifts with an audible, metallic sound. They dash to the door,
slamming it behind them as some unknown and malevolent force throws the
religious bric-a-brac across the room. The spike of a candlestick penetrates
through to the other side of the thick, oak-panelled door.

All this noise has certainly alerted Svamp, in whose chamber the pair now
stand. He sits at a small writing table, piled high with arcane texts, flanked by
two Acolytes. In the corner of the room is a purple four-poster bed, its curtains
drawn.

Svamp immediately attempts to fix Von with his own life-leeching gaze, but
Von is having none of it, shielding his eyes and plunging the Snake Skin Gift
into the heart of one of the Acolytes. While Gohst struggles with the other
Acolyte, Von calmly stabs the blood-soaked Snake Skin Gift into Svamp’s
heart.
Upon seeing this, the Acolyte drops their needle and flees.

While Von attempts to restrain Svamp, who is once again regenerating his life-
force, Gohst pries open his jaws, placing the Chalice of Ruin to his lips. With
agonising slowness, a single drop of black blood forms in the bottom of the
Chalice, and threads its way to Svamp’s lips…

The first Arcane Catastrophe comes on strong: Svamp’s eyes burst, leaving two
bloody wells. Suddenly his corpse is lifted from the floor as five skeletal arms
burst from his back. Now restored to something resembling life, Svamp groans
as his skin tatters, then flows from his limbs like wax.

Then, the curtains of the four-poster bed part revealing a dark void within. A
vast, shadowy, claw-like hand - of Nechrubel, or one of his minions? - reaches
out. It snatches up both Svamp and the Chalice, pulling them into the abyss as
the curtains close once more.

The townhouse is quiet. Von coughs and seats himself at the desk. Yes, he
thinks, this will do nicely as a second home in the city.

Invoking his hierarchical authority, Von tells Gohst to scurry off back to her
root vegetable patch. Gohst has other plans, and holds the white-hot stang in
her hands defiantly.

“I told you, I am upwardly mobile.”

Von cannot stand this insolence, and rushes at her with the Snake Skin Gift,
which shatters as it meets the flaming head of the stang. The fight is extremely
brief and nasty.

As the smell of Von’s charred flesh fills the room, Gohst looks across
Galgenbeck, wondering what to do with her new-found assets.

FIN.