Friday, October 6, 2023

In Fair Cuccagna: Lost Adventures


My typical readership will probably be surprised to learn I'm still running Cuccagna. Given my failure to blog about the escapades of the various characters and my propensity for both gamer and actual ADHD behavior, one would be forgiven for thinking this game had been shelved. But it's not true! 

I will try to briefly recount the major points I missed.

The House of the Gnoles
  • Two expeditions were made against this ignoble house of tar-covered beasts! Both involved significant combats occurring on the front lawn. 
  • During the first, they also encountered a spooky sheet ghost and a bunch of animated knick knacks.
  • A fairy sword of great puissance was won and is currently carried by Lord Saurr. It's powers are such that it was perhaps unwise for me to hand it out as treasure, but alas the deed is done.
  • On the way to their second expedition, Saurr almost got eaten by an alerion, the lord of all eagles.
  • The second expedition was mostly mopping up after the first, though a second - and more formidable - ghost was encountered in the attic and teleported using The Sword of Elfland to the manse of Prospero the Orange.
The Temple of Apollyon
  • All the men in the village of Serpentona had gone missing (and many of the women too). Oh no!
  • Turns out there was a cult of maenads worshipping Apollyon there!
  • They were squatting in an Acherontic ruin.
  • They fought a lot of serpents - with at least one causing them to debate the taxonomy of "serpents" vs "snakes" in the World of Nightwick.
  • The also fought, and sometimes captured, a bunch of maenads with snake-like appearance. Weird!
  • The most dramatic fight was possibly with a group of harpies in the second delve (of 5), who attempted to pick up and drop several of the party from a great height. It was clear they had done this with the men of the village.
  • During their stay in Serpentona they met Prospero the Red and found out he is both sexist and totally whipped. What a loser!
  • In keeping with the strategy developed in the House of the Gnoles, both an amphisabaena and a creature I will only call "the Shining One" were both teleported to the manse of Prospero the Orange. I bet he's mad!
  • In the largest treasure hoard of the dungeon they found a treasure map leading to seemingly somewhere in the middle of the Starry Sea. Jules' research showed this place was likely to be the Palace of the Sea King, an Old God formerly venerated on the island chain.
I forgot When Exactly
Current Hooks and Loose Ends
  • Noble men (and a few women) have been building strange seaside doors on their townhouses. Soon after they go missing. Mysterious!
  • Prospero the Orange seems to have moved men into both the Lapis Vaults and the House of the Gnoles. Who knows what he's up to?!
  • Speaking of which, a lot of the lowest level of the Lapis Vaults remain unexplored. I wonder if they'll ever go back.
  • They have a treasure map! Exciting!
  • Prospero the Green's chief henchman Mercutio told Skleras the Stray  to sneak into Castle St Swail to spy on the Knights in White Satin. He hasn't done it yet. I hope Mercutio isn't mad!

No comments:

Post a Comment