We've got one final chapter in our draft manuscript, but it's massive and we'll be splitting it into two sections as we deliver the entire draft version of the book to you before the end of the campaign.
And it kinda breaks into two sections quite nicely. The first half is an interlaced adventure designed to test your characters' courage as well as a wide range of encounters to include in your stories. The second half is big set-pieces dealing with each of the Rat Kings themselves, sort of larger chapter and story-ending climaxes for your tales of the Underneath.
Today I've got a sneak peek from one of the encounters from the first half of the chapter. We'll get the entire text for the Adventures + Encounters half tomorrow, but until then, enjoy some BUG HIVE.
The Bug Hive
As you walk through the underground caverns, you begin to notice that the tunnels you’re in seem to have a uniformity about them, as if they were purposefully dug. They clearly weren’t shaped by tools or paws, but they’re all smooth-walled and similarly sized, as if hewn by a large instrument of some sort.
If the players succeed at a Cunning check (Notice or Survive) at difficulty 10, they realize the tunnels are part of a network leading to a massive insect hive. On a triumph, they also know some of the digging was recent, as if the insects were digging new tunnels or simply maintaining older ones. If they choose to stay and keep pressing into the tunnels, they will encounter giant ants (Realms of Pugmire, pp. 179-180). As it’s dark inside the colony, characters who can’t see in low light or darkness need to maintain some sort of light source to effectively fight the ants. As the party makes its way toward the center of the hive, roll on the encounter table to see how many and what kind of ants they encounter, adjusting if needed for party size.
Bug Hive Encounters (d4)
1d4 giant ant drones
1 giant ant warrior
1d8 giant ant drones
1d4 giant ant warriors
If you’d prefer not to roll the random encounters, have them face an escalating number and type of giant ants as they make their way toward the center, culminating with the queen. The following progression is a good example of play.
Approaching the Entrance
The entrance to the hive proper is meticulously dug out, with mounded soil off to the side and a gently sloping entrance. The acrid, musty scent of ant pheromones is everywhere, smelling of bitter citrus and faint mold. Either roll on the encounter table or simply have the characters encounter a few giant ant drones here. They’re easily scared off but even if they don’t flee, the hive is alerted to the characters’ presence, as ants share a hive mind.
Tunnels
The packed-earth tunnels are remarkably neat, and all twist their way toward a central chamber, if circuitously. You can hear many ant limbs moving in the darkness.
As the party explores the tunnels, they will encounter more ants attempting to keep them away from the central chamber. Some ants are simply drones, and might be startled by the characters, but as they fight more warriors will show up to join the fray. Either roll on the table or have a combat begin with one giant ant drone for every party member and then bring in a warrior near the end. Have as many encounters as makes sense to you or is dramatically appropriate before reaching the final encounter with the queen.
Other Chambers
Throughout the hive, there are chambers dedicated to various things, including garbage disposal, food storage, and rearing larvae. Sprinkle a few of these in throughout the encounter, or simply describe each once as the characters explore. Any of these rooms would be a good spot for a tight encounter, where the characters can’t get as much as range as they might prefer between themselves and the giant ants.
Food Storage
This large chamber is clearly a place the ants use for food storage. Piles of food in various stages of decomposition line the stained walls, from well-preserved seeds to reeking meat. The ants clearly don’t have a discerning palate.
Lining the walls of those foul-smelling room are piles of food the ants save for later or to feed their queen and larvae. It ranges from nuts and seeds to grubs, unidentifiable meat, and the occasional whole corpse of an animal. If the characters choose to search the piles, they may find some things suitable for rations, as well as an explosive egg of a type of your choice (Realms of Pugmire, p. 161).
At any time while in this room, drone ants may come in bearing foodstuff, and they will attack the characters if they’re spotted, though they can hide behind the food piles if they hear the ants coming with a Cunning (Notice) check, difficulty 10.
Nursery
Larvae and pupae in various stages of development lie in large depressions dug into the dirt of this chamber, and those old enough to move gambol around and over their fellows. Four drones tend to the young, cleaning them and feeding them some sort of mash.
This chamber is clearly some sort of creche or nursery, as the characters would understand it. The young are noncombatants, but the workers will defend themselves and their charges ferociously, calling in one or two giant ant warriors if they feel it necessary. If the characters attack the young in any way, one giant ant warrior for each player will storm the room, regardless of if the prior fight is finished.
If the players want to adopt an ant to raise as their own, they may take up to one larva each, each of which is the size of a typical feline. A fully grown giant ant can be a mount for a rodent as long as they’re on the smaller size, but requires several consecutive Presence (Handle Animal) checks, difficulty 15, to truly tame one, as they would prefer to get back to their hive. If tamed, the giant ant uses its usual drone stats, but doesn’t have its grab or acid sting, and otherwise acts as a horse or other pack animal. It is impossible to tame a giant ant warrior or queen.
Trash Disposal
This chamber smells worse than the food storage chamber or the ants themselves. It’s filled with bones, molted exoskeletons, and other refuse. Among the biological waste, you can see pieces of cast-off armor and rusting weapons, presumably from others who have tried and failed to defeat the queen.
This room is set apart from other chambers, and will probably be walled off soon as the ants fill it and require a new refuse chamber. Most of the equipment seen in the pile is useless, having rotted or rusted away, but if you want the players to find a fix or wonder here, that makes perfect sense. This is also another good place for a drone encounter, should you so choose.
The Queen
As you near the central chamber, you can hear chittering insect sounds ahead of you. When you round the corner and your light reveals the chamber’s contents, you see a gigantic ant in the center of the chamber. This is clearly the queen, and she’s busy laying eggs while other ants attend to her needs. When her multifaceted eyes turn toward you at your sudden intrusion, she lets out a clicking wail that echoes mournfully through the tunnels.
The ant queen is terrifying, and is attended by 1d6 drones and 1d4 warriors. If the characters attack her, the whole ant colony rouses to her defense, sending reinforcements each round the queen is undefeated. If the characters defeat the queen, the rest of the hive flees, taking their eggs and young with them, along with as much food as they can grab. If you want to reward the players for this encounter, the queen’s chamber is an excellent place to have a relic, wonders and fixes, or a lot of plastic, perhaps given to the queen in tribute or offerings to dissuade the colony from attacking.
The Dead Tunnel
The stench of rotten flesh grows as the party moves deeper into a tunnel. Stepping past a series of stalagmites, the ground becomes soft and the stench grows more profound. Bugs and worms move along the chamber walls, feeding on the rancid material. Realization strikes. This isn’t a tunnel. It’s a corpse. An Intellect (Know Nature) or Cunning (Survive) check at difficulty 10 — made at a hindrance by those from the surface other than rodents — reveals this as a dead Spelunking Gullet (p. xx). If the party is brave enough to explore the creature’s mouth or descend into its belly, they may discover a valuable bounty. The Guide should roll on this table, select their preferred option, or use these items as inspiration for other objects the party might uncover:
Bounty in the Dead Tunnel (d6)
Among the partially digested creatures littering the area, you find the remains of a nameless rodent, dog, or cat adventurer. While most of their gear is ruined, you find a torch and a container of ammunition within what remains of their rucksack.
Some foul energies have animated the dead here. The floor quivers as several partially digested adventurers shamble forth, reanimated as zombies (Realms of Pugmire p. 192).
A surviving, but traumatized creature — or group of creatures — claws its way out of the gullet as the party approaches. Use any combination of the enemies. Stomach acids have seared the creature’s flesh and eyes causing them to be Blind. They are in agony and lash out as a result. This causes them to automatically succeed on morale tests regardless of their tags.
The monster’s belly is filled with riches left behind by its former meals. Fill the monster with 1d10 items, including relics, fixes, or wonders from any Realms of Pugmire book.
The party finds an egg sac nearly the size and weight of a full-grown rodent. A successful Cunning (Survive) or Intellect (Know Nature) at difficulty 12 reveals the egg contains a gestating Spelunking Gullet (p. XX). A triumph reveals the egg will hatch in 2d4 weeks.
From deep within the gullet the party hears a squeaky voice call out, “A little help here!” A grappling hook emerges from the dark maw, embedding in the rotten wall. A rope connects to the hook, descending into the deep, dark chasm below. Almost immediately, the hook begins to pull loose from the wall. If the party wishes to help, one character must make an Agility test at difficulty 10. A second character may use the Help action to grant a boon on this test. Success allows the party to catch the hook before it breaks free. They may then easily pull up the rodent on the other end of the rope. The grateful explorer introduces themself as one of the famed Underneath explorers, infamous salvagers of Spelunking Gullets, and proprietors of the Gus’s Goods family business. The Gus family are well known as reputable merchants. This merchant could be any of the Gus siblings: Ann Gus, Angus Gus, Esoph Gus II, or Prodi Gus. They all use the stats for the Clever Trapmaster (p. xx). The mouse is drenched in rot and filth but seems unbothered. They thank the party for their aid and offer them any supplies they need. Treat this member of the Gus family as a well-stocked merchant, willing to give each party member one non-masterwork item for free as thanks. They are willing to barter for additional items and their disposition level toward the party is Liked.
So that's a sneak peek at one of the many, many encounters that are in this chapter, alongside a full adventure. Pieces to build your story and adventure in the shadows and under the Realms of Pugmire.
Check back tomorrow for the full draft manuscript for Chapter 5 PART A, and then a sneak peek at the Red Paw Gang on Thursday. On Friday, I'm gonna have an information and scheduling page as we get into our final week, so you'll know what to expect over the last days of the campaign.
But for now, please continue to spread the word and share this campaign on your social media and in your social circles, and let's see if we can upgrade another map for this chapter before we're done!! This is the third and final upgrade and has to do with the big climatic location that we'll see in the second half of Chapter 5, coming in one week!
At $8,000 in Funding - LAIR OF THE RAT KINGS MAP UPGRADE III
Map Upgrade 3 - Secret Lair. The big set-piece Secret Lair map will be upgraded and built to add excitement to this underground experience.
