Thursday, April 20, 2017

Dreamer's Guide - A playing aid for Deadly Dreams


Deadly Dreams, the first supplement to Lovecraft's Revenge, is now out for sale.  In addition, I've completed the Dreamer's Guide, which provides rules and other options for running games outside the scenarios.

Here's an example.


Our heroes started in the small town of Ulthar, where the priests found one of their own lying on the ground, eyes bulging, veins clearly visible in his face.  They asked us to investigate what could have caused this.

We're told the nearby ruins may hold ancient scrolls which describe ancient horrors that crossed the lands.  We decided to head there next.


Outside the ruins, we ran into some lava gatherers, on their way home from the mountains (I couldn't find any minis to represent them, so I just went with d6 this time.).  After a brief dialog, they pointed us toward the ruins.


Arriving, we explored the ruins and found the scrolls in the only vase that was in one piece.  According to the scrolls, the land between Ulthar and the distant mountains teemed with dark magic, and spiritual figures terrorized the populations until imprisoned in a vault just north of the ruins. That's where we're going next.

Unfortunately, the vault we found was opened and destroyed.  Rushing to the nearby towns, we found nothing, until the last one . . .


Entering Dylath-Leen, we saw that the graveyard had grown considerably.  Natives of the town told us of an evil spirit preying on the populace.  Knowing we've found our goal, we camped out near the graveyard an awaited the creature.  We weren't disappointed.


By midnight, a shimmering crimson glow appeared and manifested into the form of a Hobgoblin.  Not wasting any time, we attacked.


It struck back, blasting Percy and Justin with the crimson blast before turning to me.  In a panic, I rushed to escape as the swirling bloody energy surrounded me.


And, I woke up, in my home, all safe.  Leaping out of bed, I phoned Justin and Percy, and both were alive, though shaken by crippling dreams.  They'd recover in time, but for now they were okay.  Setting the receiver down, I sat on my bed and breathed a sigh of relief . . .



 . . . until I realized the breathing wasn't mine and was coming from behind me!




Deadly Dreams is now out from Two Hour Wargames.

Go here for the Dreamer's Guide:

http://site.twohourwargames.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=3222

And sleep tight!

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Dead Dreams - Search for Kadath


I thought it was all a freak occurrence, maybe something I ate or something I read.

Then the weird dreams continued . . .


Justin, Percy and I found ourselves wandering the docks of mysterious city.  We had no idea where we were going.  Our only clue was what has to be a far-off location, a single word:   Kadath.

We questioned several sailors, but most of them ignored us, until a slanty-eyed gentleman waved us over.


"You seek passage?"  he asked, watching us with both eyes, simultaneously.

"We're looking for a place called Kadath," I answered.

Nodding, his face never lost the toothy grin.  "I'l take you where you need to go."



He took us aboard his ship and we sailed for many days.  Looking out over the water, I could've sworn the ship was floating atop the clouds.  As night fell on the third day, we dozed in a corner of one of the cabins.

We awoke, still a night, but in a deserted train yard, with no water in sight.



"I thought he was taking us to Kadath," Justin said as we inspected our surroundings.

From above, a familiar voice crackled in the breeze.  "I said I would take you where you Need to go, and you now are."

Following the markings on the ground, we searched for any life in the area.  Unfortunately, we learned the railway wasn't quite as deserted as we thought.



From the darkness, several figures emerged into the moon-lit circle.  They wore robes, but their faces ended in long white tentacles.  As the moon fully escaped the clouds, they fell to all fours and howled into the wind before turning and stalking toward us.



Percy shot one, but this only seemed to anger the rest.



Suddenly, two of them leaped and before I could flinch, they were upon me, growling through hidden mouths, tentacles around my throat.  I choked and fought to free myself.



As my vision began to fade, I heard a gunshot, and the two released me, vanishing into the fog.  Percy raced forward to keep them from returning while Justin checked to make sure I was okay.



My senses returning, they helped me back to my feet.

"You okay?"  Justin asked.

Touching my fingers to my still-bruised neck, I nodded.  "Yeah, what were those thing?"

Percy shrugged.  "Beats me.  Hope that's the worst we see."



Funny he should say that because, moments later, we heard what we thought were wings flapping above.  Spinning to face the sound, we backed away as two creatures that looked like face-less men with leathery wings and long nails, dropped from the sky before us.


"The Thing in the Moonlight" is one of several story HP Lovecraft wrote for his Dreamlands settings, and the creature that attacked my group were prominent in that tale.  As for the two winged creatures at the end, well, you'll have to see for yourself.


Deadly Dreams, the first supplement to Lovecraft's Revenge is coming soon from Two Hour Wargames.  Keep an eye out at

www.twohourwargames.com

And also keep an eye focused above, for that howling you hear may be something much worse than a wolf!

Friday, April 7, 2017

Escaping the Underworld - Deadly Dreams AAR


In Deadly Dreams, the first supplement to Lovecraft's Revenge, you journey through the Dreamlands, where reality takes a backseat and the absurd is the norm.  This world, created by HP Lovecraft through such stories as The Cats of Ulthar, The Thing in the Moonlight, and The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, is filled with all new wonders of fantasy, and of course, horror.  with new locations, attributes, and creatures, Deadly Dreams brings new adventures to your games.

Let's continue to follow our heroes on their present journey.

The next night, my dream continued . . .


Percy, Justin, and I, along with two ghouls who accompanied us, traveled through the cave and toward the exit out of the Underworld.  Pickman, or rather the ghoul that had once been Pickman, tasked us with finding his missing masterpiece, and he feared the one who stole it was looking for a way out of the Dreamlands with it.


The tunnel opened into a large room with a pool in the center.  As we approached, bubbles reached the water's surface and we heard a groan in the distance.


Not trusting out chances, we sought another way out of the cave.  For several minutes, we explored the tunnel as our new friends strayed back a bit to watch our backs.  Then our fears turned to reality.



Having taken a wrong turn, we were now lost.  Fortunately, although I usually suffer from claustrophobia, I didn't feel nervous at all in the tunnel, not even as even our ghoul friends jumped slightly at the growls in the distance behind us.



Finally, the tunnel opened into a huge, multi-leveled cavern.  We stepped out of the tunnels mouth, when Justin froze, his eyes locked on the ground.  Shining my torch, I then realized what had startled him; we had stumbled upon a boneyard.  Something was using this cavern to feast.

And hearing growls, we looked up and saw exactly what that was.



One of the ghouls grumbled something, and my friend translated.  "They call them Wamps, huge creatures that feast on anything smaller that they find in these caves."

Sure enough, the creatures inched forward, no doubt eyeing us for their next meal.



The ghouls lunged forward, but within seconds, the Wamps reduced them to bloody stains on the cavern floor.



Justin and Percy attacked and somehow managed to drop two of the creatures.  Picking up a skull, I hurled it at another, but the Wamp barely acknowledged the hit, and the rest of the towering monsters lurched toward us.



Choosing discretion over anything resembling valor, we bolted into a random tunnel mouth, fleeing as fast as our legs would carry us.  We heard the thumps behind us as the Wamps gave chase, but after ducking into another tunnel, we eventually lost them.



And speaking of lost, here were are again, not having a clue where 'Here' is exactly.



But seeing a light ahead, we decided to investigate, hoping none of the monsters living in these caves knew how to work torches.

Instead we found an older man, wearing multi-colored robes, all alone in a small room.

"We're looking for the way out of the Underworld," I said, hoping against hope that this person could help us.



"Indeed," he said, smiling widely and revealing way too many teeth than we needed to see.  "Just follow the path behind me and then take the red-stoned tunnel to the surface."

"Thanks," I replied.  We started forward but the man remained.  "You're not coming?"

"Oh don't worry about me," the man answered, still with his creepy grin.  "I know my way around."

Entering this new tunnel we searched for our way out, but then we encountered a new problem.



"Two paths," Justin said as he inspected the ground, "and both are lined with red stones."

Percy looked back and forth.  "Which do we take?"

Returning through the tunnel, I decided to find that mysterious man and ask him again.  Maybe he had forgotten about there existing two paths.


 
However, when I returned to the room, the man was gone.  Of course, he could've found another way out, but as I stepped closer into the cavern, I noticed footsteps only entering from the far tunnel, none exiting.

It's as if he'd vanished into thin air.

But no man can do that, even in this world, right?


Lovecraft's Revenge:  Deadly Dreams is coming soon from Two Hour Wargames.  

What will occur in your dreams?

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

I had the weirdest dream . . .



I found myself walking down a long hallway toward a single door, and as I got close, it opened .



Passing through the door, I ran into my friends, Justin and Percy, who claimed to have passed through similar doorways, but as we all looked back, every door closed, and vanished.



Each friend claimed to feel . . . a little . . . different.

"I can hear the trees talking."

"There's something alive in that direction.."

"Strange, I'm not shuddering in terror like usual."


Noticing the cave around us, we set out, exploring the large tunnel with lighting from a source we couldn't see.  Even stranger, this light shone from above, though we were still in the cave.  Then, looking around, we found ourselves in a graveyard,



and we weren't alone!



Emerging from the shadows, they surrounded us.  We had no weapons.  This dream was about to end with my jolting awake in a cold sweat as the ghouls ate us, but I remained, and curiously I felt nothing, no terror, no trembling sensation, not even a shiver.

But instead of attacking, one of them spoke to us.

"They want us to follow them," Percy said.
"You can understand them?"  I asked.
Percy shrugged.  "I don't know how, but yes."


Leading us past the graves, we stopped before a hut, and a ghoul dressed in pants and a formal jacket emerged.  Stopping before us, he began to speak, and Percy translated for us.

"I am, I was Pickman, and I need you . . ."


Deadly Dreams, the first supplement for Lovecraft's Revenge, is coming soon from Two Hour Wargames.




You told your story; now tell us your dreams . . .