September Short Adventure 10: Pounding Sand

Preamble

A September of Short Adventuresis an OSR Challenge initiated by Matt over at the Asshat Paladinsblog. You can click on the Moustache Dragon over on the right-handside-bar (just above Features) to learn more about all of this stufffrom Matt directly. All of our 25 (possibly more...) entries areformatted along the lines of what Matt calls the Get Ready, GetSet, Go! format. In a nut-shell, this approach breaks eachadventure into a Title, Three escalating sections of adventuredetails (the Ready section is limited to an elevator pitch only 2sentences...), and a final catch-all section for any NPC notes/stats.The idea is to keep it short, simple, easy to read without any maps,drawings, diagrams or 8X10 glossies. Keep description to a minimum,avoid lengthy exposition, and no casts of thousands -- unless it's aninvading horde of three-eyed orcs or goblins riding purple wombats.

We're also going to aim to keep thingsgeneric, setting agnostic and thus portable or adaptable to anycampaign/setting using the particular rules-set we'll be using in anygiven September Short Adventure such as Mutant Future,Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry (White Box), etc.

FreeRules

Labyrinth Lord:http://www.goblinoidgames.com/labyrinthlord.html

Mutant Future:http://www.goblinoidgames.com/mutantfuture.html

Swords and Wizardry (White Box):http://www.swordsandwizardry.com/whitebox.htm

SeptemberShort Adventure Number 10

Title: Pounding Sand

Rules: Mutant Future

Ready

The Player Characters have reached asandy shoreline running along a sizable body of water, perhaps a lakeor even a small in-land sea.

Set

A small group of colorfully-dressedEloi (MF p. 70) arevery intently walking in formation across a stretch of sand, just upfrom the low-water mark, pounding it with rough wooden poles. Theyare looking for something in the sand...and they do not seem tonotice the PCs if they choose to approach.

Go!

If the PCs decide to investigate theEloi and what they're doing, they will pass through a carefullytended hedge that borders the sandy stretch leading up from theshoreline itself. The hedge is cut into a bewildering array oftopiary-shapes as though designed by a madman.

The Eloi will not acknowledge the PCsunless or until one or more of the PCs come onto the sand in theimmediate vicinity of the Eloi. Then they will stop all at once andturn to face the PCs with a collective, glassy stare that makes mostplayers uneasy.

There is a large Brain Plant (MFp. 64) carefully hidden within the topiary-hedge. It istelepathically directing and influencing the Eloi who serve it theway they tend to serve anything that orders them about.

The Eloi have been pounding the sandwith poles in search of Vampire Stars (MFp. 100). The Brain Plant has strange plans for how todomesticate or possibly meddle with the genetics of these mutatedstarfish...

There is a 30% chance that any PCwalking across the sand will disturb a Vampire Star colony...the Eloiwill cheerfully remove the Vampire Stars from the PC as it will maketheir task that much easier.

The Brain Plant will not be inclined toreveal itself to the PCs and will direct the Eloi to get rid of themat the first opportunity.

Notes / NPCs

Eloi Slaves (3d6) [AL N, MV 120'(40'), AC 9, HD 3, #ATK 1 (weapon), DG 1d4, SV L1, ML 4, Mutations:Atrophied Cerebellum, Weak Will] (MFp. 70)

Brain Plant (1) [AL N, MV (asmutation), AC 8, HD 3, #ATK (as mutation), DG (as mutation), SV L10,ML 10, Mutations: Empathy, Metaconcert, 1d6 Mental Mutations and 1d4Plant Mutations] (MF p.64)

Vampire Stars (2d10) [AL C, MV20' (7'), AC 8, HD 1, #ATK 1 (bite), DG 1d6, SV L1, ML 12, Mutations:Toxic Weapon] (MF p.100)