Castle Kelpsprot is my Dungeon25-ish project: a science-fantasy capsule game megadungeon designed for HUDless play. For background, see my first post on the project.
Session Six
Midday of the 5th day of spring, year 4201
Castaways:
Daeren of Grigiamba, Mesa-Born Colonist
Isaac Inkwood, Acquisitions Librarian
Professor Archibald Bandersnatch, Windblown Balloonist
| This session | All time | |
| Real world time played | 1½ hours | ~10 hours |
| In-game time elapsed | 1 hour | ~Two days |
| Rooms discovered | 13 | 53 |
| Denizens met | 4 | 30 |
| Castaways slain | 0 | 0 |
Highlights
- With assurances from the Sentinels of the Eagle that they would not become prey, the castaways used a grappling hook and rope to climb the wall between the small court abutting the glass tower and the Central Court.
- For the first time, they had a complete view of the Central Court, which covers about four and half acres of land. The gull folk were busy tilling their fields and otherwise preparing to plant their spring crops.
- The castaways exchanged information with the gull folk and received a tour of the gulls’ kitchen, smokehouse, armory, and other rooms that adjoin the hall in which the beast is trapped.
- The castaways also got a clear view of the beast through stained-glass windows. It has a twenty foot long slimy eel-like body with four pairs of large dragonfly-like wings and a triangular maw like a pelican eel.
Session Seven
Afternoon of the 5th day of spring, year 4201
Castaways:
Egil Lothbrok, Fog-cloaked Reaver
Hazel, Animist Sculptor
Lady Harlowe, Hapless Heir
| This session | All time | |
| Real world time played | 1 hour 40 minutes | ~11½ hours |
| In-game time elapsed | ~1 hour | ~Two days |
| Rooms discovered | 6 | 59 |
| Denizens met | 6 | 36 |
| Castaways slain | 0 | 0 |
Highlights
- The castaways headed west towards the tower that Lady Harlowe identified as the one described by her deed. Nearby, they discovered a wide, deep pit spanned by a plank. A seam in the plank and a bell-strung net below suggested a trap. Worried Lady Harlowe’s tower might be occupied by kidnappers, the party moved on.
- They opened the double doors adjoining the eagle court below the glowing stylized lips. Within, they found an eight-foot tall suit of champagne-colored ceramic armor—either occupied or animated—with a brass porthole in its chest, a dark purple liquid sloshing around within.
- Further into the hall, the castaways saw a group of bizarre creatures resembling headless bear cubs with striped ochre and russet fur, four fuzzy eyestalks sprouting from the tops of their torsos, raccoon-like paws, and huge mouths in their bellies. Egil called them “Blemmyes.”
- Several “Blemmyes” were busy playing cards on the floor, while another played with a tiger and two others rolled a two-foot diameter stone eye across the floor. Three Blemmyes greeted the players, introducing themselves as Jamfickle, Moonporridge, and Scrumdumpling. They referred to the suit of armor as Wineheart.
- The Blemmyes led the players into a large hall illuminated by a pair of glowing glass dice suspended from the ceiling. The castaways exchanged information with the Blemmyes then asked what could be found upstairs. The Blemmyes insisted on consulting “the oracle”—a device the players recognized as a slot machine decorated with fish, anchors, eyes, crowns, and more in colorful enamel.
- Egged on by the Blemmyes, Lady Harlowe inserted a silver coin into the machine and pulled the lever. Three tumblers spun behind a glass window before settling on symbols that the Blemmyes interpreted as negative.
- The Blemmyes consulted the oracle again when Hazel asked whether they should keep the stone eye, yielding a mixed but positive result. The Blemmyes insisted on keeping the eye.
- The castaways learned that the boarded-up door in the eagle court leads to the library. The scraped away the filth and removed the boards then opened the doors. Inside, they met a twelve-year-old girl named Astrid, her warrior companion—who insisted they address Astrid as “Her Majesty”—and Dandelion, a massive white bear.
- Astrid proved to be sarcastic, bored, and rude, but she did brighten at Hazel’s offer to carve her a statuette. Astrid requested a bear and admonished the castaways for neglecting to bring fish for Dandelion.
Reflections
- Since the rescue of the jellyfish hosts, we’ve had a few roleplay-heavy sessions. The castaways have covered quite a bit of new ground, but there hasn’t been much action or peril. On one hand, I intended Kelpsprot to offer a more social experience than most megadungeons, but I also plan on adjusting the random encounter procedure before next session. I’ve been using an Underclock as described on Goblin Punch. I’ve often rolled encounters while characters are in secret or cloistered areas where random encounters can’t happen. Then the Underclock resets, so an encounter becomes unlikely for at least several turns. As a result, players have seen far fewer random encounters than I’d like (three in seven sessions).
- I’ve had a blast during the roleplay-heavy sessions, and I particularly enjoyed portraying Astrid and the “Blemmyes.” I’ve also really enjoyed witnessing the players’ discoveries. The reveal of the sheer size of the Central Court and the location of Klaus’ eye(?) were particularly exciting!
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