Massimiliano Mauri (Order #52297842)
                                                                                                             Writing: Joseph Goodman, Harley Stroh
                                                                                                                  Editing: Aeryn “Blackdirge” Rudel
                                                                                                            Cover art and cartography: Doug Kovacs
                                                                                                       Interior art: Jeff Easley, Tom Galambos, Doug
                                                                                                       Kovacs, Peter Mullen, Stefan Poag, Jim Roslof
                                                                                                                    Contents ©2011 Goodman Games
                                                                                                                            www.goodman-games.com




          W
                              elcome to Free RPG Day 2011, a grand tradition inaugurated by Goodman Games in 2007. As one of the
                              creators of the concept and the very ﬁrst publisher to sign up for the very ﬁrst Free RPG Day, Goodman
                              Games is proud to take part in the ﬁfth year of this great event supporting RPGs in general and brick-
                              and-mortar game stores in particular.
          As announced earlier this year, Goodman Games is releasing the
          Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game in late 2011. The Free
          RPG Day supplement you hold in your hands contains two short
          adventures designed to introduce your gaming group to the
          DCC RPG. To play these adventures, you need to download
          the DCC RPG beta rules. These rules are available now from
          www.goodman-games.com!
          The DCC RPG beta rules are just that: a ﬁrst pass at the
          game’s rules. We welcome your input! Between now
          and the game’s formal release, we expect thousands of
          gamers to give the rules a try. Whether it’s through the
          adventures in this supplement or through home-brewed
          adventures, we’d love to have your thoughts on the
          game. Your input will shape the ﬁnal product.
          In the following pages you will ﬁnd three major
          entries:
             • A brief overview of DCC RPG.
             • The Portal Under the Stars, a low-
               level adventure for either a horde
               of 0-level adventurers or a smaller
               number of 1st-level characters.
             • The Infernal Crucible of Sezrekan the
               Mad, a level 5 adventure for more
               experienced characters.
          And now: Let the adventures begin!




          If you like what you see here, be sure to
          pre-order DCC RPG from your friendly
          local game store!

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Massimiliano Mauri (Order #52297842)
       You’re no hero.

       You’re a reaver,
       a cutpurse,
       a heathen-slayer,
       a tight-lipped warlock guarding long-dead secrets.

       You seek gold and glory,
       winning it with sword and spell,
       caked in the blood and filth of the weak, the dark, the demons, and the vanquished.

       There are treasures to be won deep
       underneath, and you shall have them...




       Return to the glory days of fantasy with the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing
       Game. Adventure as 1974 intended you to, with modern rules grounded in the origins of
       sword & sorcery. Fast play, cryptic secrets, and a mysterious past await you: turn the
       page…



                                                  Page 2
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Massimiliano Mauri (Order #52297842)
                                       bandon all presumptions, ye who enter

                  A                    here. Turn the pages of this tome only
                                       should you meet these qualiﬁcations:

                  T
                           hat you are a fantasy enthusiast of imaginative mind, familiar with the
                           customs of role playing, understanding the history and signiﬁcance of
                           the Elder Gods Gygax and Arneson and their cohorts Bledsaw, Holmes,
                  Kuntz, Moldvay, and Mentzer, and knowledgeable of the role of “judge” and the
                  practice of “adventure.”



                  T
                           hat you are in possession of the implements of role playing; namely, graph
                           paper and an assortment of polyhedrons, including but not limited to d4,
                           d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20; that you know the works of the great mage
                  Zocchi and are prepared to exercise d3, d5, d7, d14, d16, d24, d30, or d% should
                  they need to be deployed; and, although you may possess metal ﬁgurines and
                  erasable mats for purposes of enjoyment, you understand their role as optional
                  visualizers not prerequisites.



                  T
                         hat you understand and appreciate certain visual hieroglyphs derived
                         from denizens of the higher planes whose deiﬁc identities among mortals
                         are rendered, in the Common tongue, Otus, Easley, Roslof, Holloway,
                  Caldwell, and Dee.



                  T
                          hat you should be appreciative of a life of fantastic adventure and
                          escapades, and acknowledge that a dungeon crawl facilitates the judging
                          of a game focused thereon, but in no way excludes broader adventures in
                  the wilderness, at court, or on the sea, air, or outer planes.



                  T
                                   hat you apprehend the fantasy pandect recorded in Appendix N with
                                   reverence and delight, acknowledging its deﬁning place in creating this
                                   hobby.



                  T
                                   hat you are prepared to pledge, with right hand upon your little white
                                   books, that you shall uphold the honor of the hobby of role playing to all
                                   comers, whether young and old.



                  I
                                   f these conditions are not met, then replace this book upon the shelf on
                                   which it belongs and ﬂee with great celerity, for a bane befalls the heretical
                                   beholder of that which lies herein.



                  S
                                   hould you meet these qualiﬁcations, be aware that you are indoctrinated
                                   into the order of Dungeon Crawl Classics and will ﬁnd kind fellows of
                                   similar sentiment also within this order. You may proceed in good health.



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Massimiliano Mauri (Order #52297842)
                                       THE CORE MECHANIC

                                                                             • There are three saving throws: Fortitude, Reﬂex, and


       T
                 he core mechanic in the Dungeon Crawl Classics
                                                                               Willpower.
                 Role Playing Game is the d20 roll. You will fre-
                 quently be asked to roll 1d20 and add or subtract        No matter what edition you’ve played before:
       modiﬁers. The goal is to roll high and beat a DC, or Difﬁ-
                                                                             • Clerics turn creatures that are unholy to their religion
       culty Class. Sometimes the DC will have speciﬁc terms, such
                                                                               – which may include undead and other creatures.
       as an Armor Class, or AC, which is a combat variety of a DC.
       A higher DC is more difﬁcult to beat, and a better-armored            • All spells are cast with a spell check, where the caster rolls
       creature has a higher AC.                                               1d20, adds certain modiﬁers, and tries to score high. A
                                                                               high roll yields a more effective result. Each spell has a
       If you roll equal to or higher than the DC (or AC), you suc-
                                                                               unique chart that adjudicates the spell’s results.
       ceed. Otherwise, you fail.
                                                                             • Wizards may or may not lose their spells after a cast-
       A roll of 1 is an automatic miss and often results in a fum-
                                                                               ing. A low result means the wizard cannot cast the spell
       bling failure of some kind.
                                                                               again that day. However, on a high result, he can cast the
       A roll of 20 is an automatic hit and often results in a critical        spell again.
       success of some kind.
                                                                             • Cleric spellcasting works differently from wizard spell-
       Occasionally, a character may roll a die other than 1d20                casting. Clerics never lose a spell after it has been cast.
       when acting. 1d16, 1d24, and even 1d30 are used for weaker              However, as a cleric casts any spell, he may take a -1
       or stronger warriors and spellcasters, as described herein.             penalty to his next spell check. By the end of the day, a
                                                                               cleric may have a signiﬁcant penalty to his spell checks.
                 HOW IS THIS GAME
                                                                             • There is a critical hit matrix. Higher-level characters and
              DIFFERENT FROM WHAT I                                            martial characters generate critical hits more often and
               HAVE PLAYED BEFORE?                                             roll on more deadly result tables.
       If you are familiar with the d20 system (3.0 and 3.5):                • You can burn off ability scores to enhance dice rolls. All
                                                                               characters can burn Luck, and wizards and elves can
          • DCC RPG does not have prestige classes, attacks of op-             burn other abilities.
            portunity, feats, or skill points.
                                                                          Those are the basics. Now: Go to www.goodman-games.com
          • Classes and races are one and the same. You are a wiz-
                                                                          and download the DCC RPG beta rules. Read them, then be-
            ard or an elf.
                                                                          gin your adventures with the following scenarios!
       If you are familiar with various iterations of 1E:
                                                                                              FUNKY DICE
          • DCC RPG uses an ascending armor class system. A nor-
            mal, unarmored peasant is AC 10; a warrior in plate mail      This game utilizes polyhedrons of unusual shapes. Speciﬁ-
            is AC 18.                                                     cally, it utilizes the standard suite of dice, as well as what the
                                                                          author refers to as “Zocchi dice.” As an experienced gamer,
          • Attacks, saves, and skill checks all involve rolling 1d20,
                                                                          you undoubtedly own a d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20. DCC
            adding modiﬁers, and trying to beat a number.
                                                                          RPG also makes use of Zocchi dice in the following conﬁgu-
                                                                          rations: d3, d5, d7, d14, d16, d24, and d30. Later this year you
                                                                          will be able to purchase these dice from Goodman Games.
                                                                          For now, you can purchase from your local game store (ask
                                                                          them to special order if they do not already stock them), and
                                                                          from www.gamestation.net, www.chessex.com, and www.
                                                                          koplowgames.com (as well as other select internet sites).
                                                                          It is easy to substitute for the “funky dice” with a regular
                                                                          dice set. For a d3, roll 1d6 and divide by two. For a d7, roll
                                                                          1d8 and re-roll on an 8. For d14 or d16, roll d20 and ignore
                                                                          rolls above the die-facing threshold. For d24, roll 1d12 and
                                                                          1d6; if the 6-sider is odd, add 12 to the 1d12 roll. And so on.



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Massimiliano Mauri (Order #52297842)
                    THE PORTAL UNDER THE STARS
                                                      A Level 0-1 DCC RPG Adventure
                                                           By Joseph Goodman


                               INTRODUCTION                                             ENCOUNTER TABLE


       S
                 eeking wealth and escape from their peasant lives,       Area     Type      Encounter
                 the characters investigate a supernatural portal
                                                                          1-1      T         Searing light trap
                 that appears only once every half-century when
       the stars are right. The portal leads to the burial tomb of a      1-2      T         Spear-throwing statues
       war-wizard of eons past. The characters must ﬁght iron men,
       a demonic snake, the living dead, and a variety of strange         1-3      T         Flame-launching statue
       statues to recover the treasures left by the war-wizard.           1-4      C         Ssisssuraaaaggg the immortal demon-snake
       This adventure is designed for 15-20 0-level characters or 8-      1-5      C         Seven piles of living bones
       10 1st-level characters. Remember that players should have
       2-3 characters each, so they can continue enjoying the fun of      1-6      C         Six crystal statues
       play even if some of their PCs die off. In playtest groups of
                                                                          1-8      C         78 clay soldiers
       15 0-level PCs, 7 or 8 typically survive. The author has play-
       tested this adventure with groups of up to 28 PCs and expe-
       rienced one complete TPK and several sessions with only a
                                                                                   PLAYER INTRODUCTION
       handful of survivors. The adventure focus is on traps and          For long years, you labored in the ﬁelds like all the peasants, sweat-
       tricks rather than combat, as that ensures the greatest likeli-    ing hot and dirty in the summer, only to shiver under threadbare
       hood of low-level survival. Nonetheless, there should be an        hides when winter came. This year’s harvest ended like all the rest,
       expectation of the lessons of mortality. The author recom-         and autumn’s work was hard on Old Man Roberts. When you
       mends that the judge tweak the challenge of certain encoun-        visited his bedside at the end, he spoke in labored breaths of con-
       ters on the ﬂy depending on the size and skill of the adven-       stellations that hadn’t been seen since he was a young lad. The last
       turing party, particularly area 3 (which has the potential to      time the Empty Star had risen in the sky, it was more than ﬁfty
       wipe out the entire party if they cluster around the doors).       winters past, he said. Under the light of that strange star a portal
                                                                          had opened by the old stone mounds. He’d seen jewels in there and
                                 BACKGROUND                               ﬁne steel spears and enameled armor, but he’d run when the iron
                                                                          men had attacked. Now, old and dying, he wishes he’d taken the


       E
                 ons ago, a primitive war-wizard ruled this land          chance on a life of adventure. The Empty Star is once more rising,
                 with the aid of barbarian tribes and strange crea-       and a young man with courage could be more than just another
                 tures from beyond the stars. When his mortal form        peasant – if only he’d take the chance Old Man Robert hadn’t.
       was close to expiration, his alien allies instructed him to seal
       himself away in a protected tomb. Within the tomb the war-         You’re taking that chance. You stand before the monolithic rocks
       wizard could then use astral projection to travel the stars        of the old stone mounds, under the dark light of a starry sky. The
       beyond our world. He intended to return later to take pos-         Empty Star is clear and bright above you. Three of the large stone
       session of his mortal body, which his spirit could do when         blocks lean haphazardly together to form an upright rectangular
       the stars were properly aligned. However, the war-wizard’s         portal about the size of a man. They seem to be placed directly
       extraplanar adventures did not go as planned. Now his              beneath the star’s path. As the Empty Star ascends to its brightest
       body sits perfectly preserved in the tomb built, protected         point, its light catches in the portal, and a shimmering stone-lined
       by enchantments and the remains of his barbarian hordes.           corridor is visible through the stones, but only from one side of the
       If these defenses can be bested, the treasures within are ripe     opening. Grasping your pitchfork with white knuckles, you step
       for the taking.                                                    into the starlit portal which was not there before today, thoughts of
                                                                          jewels and scorching wheat ﬁelds foremost in your mind.




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Massimiliano Mauri (Order #52297842)
                       AREAS OF THE MAP                                         Observant characters (DC 12 Intelligence check) notice many
                                                                                ﬁne scorch marks on the marble ﬂoor, as if campﬁres had
       General Features: Unless otherwise noted, the dungeon                    been started there.
       is dark and dry. Doors are unlocked unless speciﬁed other-
       wise. Access to the tomb is restricted, so there are no wan-             The granite statue weighs many tons but rotates freely on
       dering monsters.                                                         a well-oiled (but concealed) base. With a deep bass groan-
                                                                                ing sound, it swivels to track the characters’ movements. If
       Area 1-1 – Portal: Even though the hallway is visible from only          the party splits up, it tracks the largest group. The extended
       one side of the portal, you tread on solid ﬂagstones. The starlight      hand marks its line of sight.
       fades as it reaches into this hallway, which dead-ends ahead at a
       stout iron-banded door. Jewels or crystals in an odd assortment of       If any character moves to exit the room (including opening
       star shapes are inscribed on the door.                                   a door or leaving as they arrived), the statue sends forth a
                                                                                scorching burst of ﬂame from its ﬁngertip: +6 to hit, 1d6
       The hallway appears only under certain constellations re-                damage, 1d6 additional burning damage each round there-
       lated to the Empty Star. The star shapes on the door approxi-            after until a DC 10 Reﬂex save is made to put out the ﬁre.
       mate the nighttime sky visible through the reverse end of                Once provoked, the statue launches ﬂames continuously,
       the hallway.                                                             once per round, for up to 5 rounds, at which point its fuel
       If the characters wait two hours, movement of the nighttime              supply is exhausted.
       sky makes the view back through the portal reveal the same               Strong characters who remove the doors from their hinges
       star pattern as that inscribed on the door. (A character real-           in areas 1 and 2 can use them as a shield against the statue.
       izes this with a DC 14 Intelligence check.) The door swings              This full-body shield increases AC by +4 but reduces move-
       open easily for this ten-minute interval.                                ment to half.
       Door: At any other time, the door will not budge. Treat as               The statue can be placated by uttering the name of the war-
       locked; DC 15 Strength check to break down; DC 15 Pick                   wizard in whose likeness it is carved. But that name is lost to
       Lock check for a thief.                                                  time. Otherwise, it is so large as to be beyond the ability of
       Trap: If the door is forced, a searing light burns from the              the characters to damage.
       star-shaped inscription. The character in the lead takes 1d8             All doors are unlocked.
       damage (DC 10 Reﬂex save for half). The trap is detected
       with a DC 20 Search (PC notices arcane arrangement of the                Area 1-4 – Scrying Chamber: A wide stone throne faces
       star-shaped inscriptions).                                               you from the center of this square room. The walls are hung with
                                                                                primitive clay tablets, head-high and inscribed with strange sym-
       Area 1-2 – Guardian Hall: Across from this room is another               bols. Each tablet is a few feet wide and there are dozens hanging on
       stout door. Four iron statues ﬂank the door, two to a side. Each stat-   the four walls. However, your attention is riveted to the enormous
       ue depicts a different ﬁghting man in a round iron helmet and thick      snake that has crawled out from behind the throne. It is ringed in
       scaled armor holding a long spear in a throwing position. All the        crimson bands the color of hellﬁre and has a demonic horn in the
       spear-tips are aimed at the door through which you just entered.         center of its fanged head.
       The statues are mechanical creations of the war-wizard.                  The immortal demon-snake guards this scrying chamber. It
       They wait for an opportune moment, then suddenly hurl                    speaks in a sibilant hiss: “I am Ssisssuraaaaggg, and you in-
       their spears at the characters. Four spear attacks: +2 to hit            trude on my guardianship.” Then, without parley or hesita-
       (additional +2 if characters stand in doorway bull’s-eye),               tion, it attacks.
       damage 1d8.
                                                                                Ssisssuraaaaggg, the immortal demon-snake: Init +0; Atk
       The jerky spear-throws are clearly mechanical. The stat-                 bite +6 melee; Dmg 1d8; AC 13; HP 20; MV 20’; Act 1d20; SV
       ues remain in the post-throw position and make no further                Fort +8, Ref +4, Will +4; AL L.
       movement. They can be attacked but are made of solid iron
       and only damage weapons used against them. Their scale                   When Ssisssuraaaaggg is killed, its body dissolves into ash,
       mail armor is beautifully enameled with shining black stone.             leaving only the demonic horn behind. The horn can be used
       The armor can be removed from the statues and worn or                    to commune with a demon, and when meditated upon (DC
       sold for twice the usual price.                                          12 spell check), confers access to the spell invoke patron.

       The spears can be recovered. The door is unlocked and not                A magical portal hangs on the back of the entry door. If the
       trapped.                                                                 door is shut, someone seated on the throne looks directly
                                                                                upon the portal, which shows stars unlike any seen before
       Area 1-3 – Monument Hall: This spacious chamber has mar-                 in the night sky. The constellations slowly move across the
       bled ﬂoors and a door on each wall. At the far end is a towering         “sky” shown in the portal. A powerful wizard can use this
       granite statue of a barbarian, one hand outstretched, index ﬁnger        portal to see far-away places (DC 25 spell check).
       pointed toward you. The muscular savage wears animal hides, but
       his eyes are intelligent and his engraved neckline sports amulets        Anyone who studies the tablets can make out their story.
       and charms. A grimoire hangs beside a broadsword on the hip of           They tell of an alien race that came from the stars to bring
       the thirty-foot-tall monument.                                           magical implements to a barbarian tribe, who in turn con-
                                                                                quered many lands with their new powers. The aliens will

                                                                          Page 10
Massimiliano Mauri (Order #52297842)
          return when the stars are right. Many less signiﬁcant events            crushed through normal means.
          are foretold by the stars (and tablets) as well: droughts,
                                                                                  Seven piles of living bones: Init -2; Atk bite +0 melee; Dmg
          plagues, the birth and death of kings, and so on.
                                                                                  1d4-1; AC 8; HP 2; MV 5’; Act 1d20; SV Fort +0, Ref -4, Will +1;
          Area 1-5 – Chieftains’ Burial: This musty room is clearly a             AL C.
          burial chamber. Seven shrouded alcoves hold piles of loose bones.
                                                                                  Most of the weaponry and armor in this room is rusted and
          Rusty arms and armor adorn the walls beside each alcove and fu-
                                                                                  worthless, but a hand axe, a battle axe, and a set of chain
          neral masks are mounted beneath the loose skulls.
                                                                                  mail can be recovered. Due to their age and brittleness the
          The funeral masks show primitive, almost simian features                two axes are at -1 to attack, and the chain mail offers only +4
          on stern faces. Examination of the bones shows they are not             armor class for similar reasons.
          quite human: the limbs are too thick, the spines too short,
                                                                                  Area 1-6 – Gazing Pool: This enormous chamber is ﬁlled with
                             and the beetled brows jut out too far.
                                                                                  a large, rectangular pool of water running the entire length of the
                                       Each of the seven skeletons was a gen-     room. Diffused light shines upward from the pool, illuminating
                                        eral in the army of the war-wizard. If    wide pillars lining the walls. Strangest of all, however, are the
                                         the skulls in this room are destroyed,   man-shaped crystal creatures visible in the shadows. They shufﬂe
                                           the spirits that animate the war-      about slowly, their strange crystalline bodies sparkling like jewels
                                              riors in area 8 are released to     whenever they catch the light from the pool. There is a door in the
                                                ﬁnd peace.                        far corner of this chamber.
                                                   The bones are living dead      This room represents the war-wizard’s vengeance against his
                                                    that have decayed over        enemies. He transformed his foes into living crystalline stat-
                                                     the eons. They shake         ues, then trapped them here. Now possessed of only animal
                                                      and rattle as characters    intelligence, they are no longer capable of speech nor do they
                                                       approach; however,         need sustenance. They have wandered this room for millen-
                                                        they can no longer        nia, trapped in the unending hell of their crystal bodies.
                                                         animate into cohe-
                                                                                  There are six crystal statues. Their features are hard to dis-
                                                          sive skeletons. The
                                                                                  cern because of their translucency, but they are perfect rep-
                                                           skulls clack, clat-
                                                                                  licas of the eons-old proto-human warriors who were trans-
                                                            ter, and attempt to
                                                                                  formed to create them. They are attracted to light and shufﬂe
                                                             bite, but are eas-
                                                                                  toward torches and lanterns. They do not attack, but their
                                                                   ily avoid-
                                                                                  approach may seem menacing, and they will defend them-
                                                                      ed and
                                                                                  selves. If they reach a torch or other light source unmolested,
                                                                                  they simply stand next to it and absorb the warmth.
                                                                                  Six crystal statues: Init -2; Atk punch +2 melee; Dmg 1d4; AC
                                                                                  12; HP 8; MV 10’; Act 1d20; SV Fort -2, Ref -2, Will +0; AL N.
                                                                                   The pool is 3’ deep. Its bottom is painted pitch black and
                                                                                    encrusted with thousands of crystals forming the stars of
                                                                                      a nighttime constellation that is unfamiliar. (It is in fact
                                                                                        the sky as it will appear twenty thousand years from
                                                                                           now, when the war-wizard’s strange benefactors
                                                                                             will return.)
                                                                                                  The light shines through the crystal stars
                                                                                                   from area 8 below. Each crystal is worth 10
                                                                                                     sp and takes 2 minutes to pry out. Prying
                                                                                                      out crystals causes the water in the pool
                                                                                                        to drain into area 8. Air bubbles rise,
                                                                                                         then a current starts, and after 10 crys-
                                                                                                         tals are pried out, the draining is obvi-
                                                                                                         ous. After 50 crystals are removed, the
                                                                                                         ﬂoor buckles. After 100 crystals are re-
                                                                                                         moved, it collapses onto area 8, send-
                                                                                                         ing any characters within the pool
                                                                                                         crashing down into to the room below
                                                                                                         in a sloshing mess (1d6 damage, DC
                                                                                                         12 Ref save for half).




                                                                            Page 11
Massimiliano Mauri (Order #52297842)
       Area 1-7 – Strategy Room: The spiral staircase leads to a                stands that he can use it as a scrying ball. Such a wizard
       long, narrow room with a door in the far wall. There are several         can view a location he has seen or has reference to (e.g., can
       ledges holding miniature clay solders and two tables with armies         view a creature whose lock of hair he possesses); DC 18 spell
       of opposing soldiers are laid out around buildings and hills.            check to activate for 1d6 rounds; -2 penalty for each consecu-
                                                                                tive use in a day. However, once every 1d8 days, an alien
       The war-wizard intended for this room to be a planning sta-
                                                                                countenance appears in the ball to look back at the wizard.
       tion for his afterlife conquests.
                                                                                These are the extraplanar benefactors of the war-wizard,
       Four of the clay soldiers are solid silver. They are the gener-          who taught him to use this crystal globe to guide his astral
       als, clearly the leaders of the four armies laid out on the two          projection, and who occasionally use it to look upon the
       tables. DC 10 Search check; worth 20 gp each.                            mortal realm. See also area 9.
       Area 1-8 – Clay Army: The door opens upon a breathtaking                 Area 1-9 – Treasure Vault: At the end of the long hallway
       scene. An enormous, three-tiered chamber spreads before you. An          is a spartanly appointed room containing simple wooden shelves,
       oversized throne rests upon a raised dais at the far end of the room.    a camp chair, and a sleeping pallet. The wooden shelves hold a
       Seated on the throne is a clay warlord that resembles the giant          bronze rod, a copper brazier, ﬁne weapons and armor, and a brass-
       statue you saw earlier. A pulsating light emanates from a crystal        bound tome. In the center of the ﬂoor is a large pentacle with a per-
       globe atop the throne.                                                   fect crystal circle at its center. Inside the circle is a stone table on
                                                                                which rests a wrinkled ancient body whose countenance matches
       Below the dais at ﬂoor level seven statues of clay generals stand
                                                                                the war-wizards. At the head of the table is a concave depression.
       motionless. Below them, in a huge pit that runs the length of the
       room stands an army of clay soldiers. There are dozens of soldiers       Here are stored the trappings of the war-wizard:
       arrayed in marching formation, their clay armor and clay spears
       equipped for war.                                                          • The bronze rod of rulership is engraved with half of a
                                                                                    demon’s face. It is worth 150 gp, but read on.
       A great stillness pervades the room. It is the stillness of death; the
       silence of a tomb. Then, suddenly, the stillness is broken as the clay     • The copper brazier is worth 10 gp.
       warlord jerkily raises an arm toward his generals. Then, the entire        • The assortment of weapons includes a longsword, a long
       army takes a lurching step forward, shattering the silence with the          bow, 40 arrows with quiver, a mace, a spear, a battle axe,
       tramp of doom.                                                               a dagger, and a hand axe.
       This is the warlord’s elite guard, preserved and reanimated                • There is a suit of scale mail.
       for eternity. The characters have no hope of defeating the 70
       warriors, 7 generals, and warlord. All share these same stats:             • The tome is written in a language so ancient it is indeci-
       Init +0; Atk spear +4 melee; Dmg 1d8; AC 12; HP 9; MV 10’;                   pherable to modern man. A wizard who studies it may
       Act 1d20; SV Fort +2, Ref +0, Will +0; AL N.                                 discover (with a DC 14 spell check) a spell of the judge’s
                                                                                    choosing.
       However, there are several clever ways to win passage:
                                                                                If a character places the crystal ball in the depression on the
          • If the clay army is submerged in water by removing
                                                                                table, he sees this:
            crystals to sink the pool in area 6 all creatures in this
            room take 1d6 damage from falling debris as the ceil-               Gazing into the crystal ball, you see an endless ﬁeld of bright stars
            ing collapses. Additionally, any surviving clay soldiers            on a faint gray background. A ghostly image of the war-wizard
            slowly turn to mud, taking an additional 1 point of dam-            drifts in the star-strewn ether, perfectly still. Then a harsh goat-
            age each round until they dissolve into a puddle.                   like face ﬁlls the full sphere, staring intently at you. “I have wait-
                                                                                ed a long time for someone to take the warlord’s place,” says the
          • The life force of the clay generals is linked to their skel-
                                                                                strange goat-man in a deep voice. “His astral voyage was cut short
            etons in area 5. If the skulls there are destroyed, the clay
                                                                                before he could rekindle the spark of his mortal coil. I am still in
            generals’ heads shatter to shards and dust. The charac-
                                                                                need of an ally on your world. Fill this copper brazier with wood
            ters may arrive to ﬁnd the generals already destroyed.
                                                                                from a dryad’s tree and ignite it with the spark of a living ﬁre. The
          • Smart characters may try to assassinate the warlord di-             blaze will reveal the location of the other half of the rulership rod.
            rectly, which quickly ends the threat.                              Find that for me, and you shall be rewarded.” Then the globe dims
                                                                                to mere crystal.
       If the warlord and generals are alive, the warriors climb
       from the pit (1 action) and attack while the generals look on.           They say a dryad has been seen in the forests east of here…
       If the generals are killed, the warriors lack organization and
       spend a few rounds milling about before moving forward to
       attack. If the warlord is killed, the entire army loses anima,
       becoming simply a set of clay statues.
       The secret door is found with a DC 14 search.
       The crystal globe emits an ongoing light. It is worth 200 gp
       as a work of art. A wizard who unlocks its secrets (DC 18
       spell check plus study time and arcane consultation) under-
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                                  THE INFERNAL CRUCIBLE OF
                                     SEZREKAN THE MAD
                                                            A level 5 DCC RPG adventure
                                                                    By Harley Stroh

                                   INTRODUCTION                                 Elzemon the Forgotten: Unfortunately for those seeking to
                                                                                plunder the wizard’s secrets, Sezrekan was notorious amid


          T
                   his adventure is designed for 4 to 8 5th-level char-         the infernal hierarchies for summoning demons and devils,
                   acters. If this is your ﬁrst exposure to DCC RPG,            and then simply refusing (or forgetting) to release them.
                   you can roll up 5th-level characters and use this            One such being, a minor demon named Elzemon, remains
          scenario as a contrast to a preceding one to get a sense of           imprisoned in this workshop to this day. And in a desper-
          low-level versus high-level play.                                     ate bid for its own freedom, the demon has transformed the
                                                                                workshop into an elaborate trap.
                                       BACKGROUND
                                                                                Elzemon has free reign within the various areas of the labo-


          I
                     nfamous in the darker cycles of lore and legendry,         ratory, but cannot escape the complex until the sand in the
                     Sezrekan the Mad was a notorious sage, diabolist,          hourglass (area 1-1) runs out. He begins the adventure in
                     and warlock bent on a quest for immortality. His           area 1-2 and is quickly drawn to any disturbance.
          perilous quest played out over several hundred years, and
          none can say whether the Old One achieved deiﬁcation or               The demon’s downfall is its delight in tormenting mortals.
          lost his soul vying with infernal powers.                             The pot-bellied demon follows the PCs through the cham-
                                                                                bers, invisible, doing its very best to egg the PCs into wast-
          Sezrekan’s pursuit of lost secrets and forbidden lore spanned         ing precious minutes.
          the face of Áereth. In these far-ﬂung cities and crumbling ru-
          ins, the wizard-sage created simple workshops and found-              Elzemon the Quasit: Init +4; Atk claw +3 melee (dmg 1d6+2);
          ries to aid in his research. Here, amid frothing retorts and          AC 17; HP 23; MV 35’ (ﬂy); Act 2d20; SP Invisible at will; SV
          forbidden scrolls, the aging warlock plumbed the mysteries            Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +5; Immune to Will-effects unless true
          of life, death, and time. Every new discovery opened another          name is known; AL C.
          line of inquiry, leading Sezrekan to abandon the workshop
          for another city or ruin, never to return.
                                                                                             ENCOUNTER TABLE
                                                                                Area     Type     Encounter
          An untold number of his abandoned workshops remain un-
          discovered to this day. One such laboratory is hidden in the          1-1      P        Puzzle
          ancient city of Punjar.                                               1-2      C        10 Glyph Worms
                                                                                1-3      P/C      Sezrekan’s Ape
                                 JUDGING NOTES                                  Any      P/C      Elzemon


          T
                      he Infernal Crucible of Sezrekan the Mad presents the
                      adventurers with both a crafty villain and a deadly                PLAYER INTRODUCTION


                                                                                T
                      battle, but the most dangerous challenge is also the              he adventure begins with the discovery – either by
          most subtle: Escaping Elzemon’s trap requires that at least one               assiduous research or by accident – of the entrance
          foe is left alive. Adventurers given to scorched-earth style ex-              to the workshop: a portal set into the ﬂoor. Read or
          peditions will be the instruments of their own demise. If the         paraphrase the following:
          PCs slay both Elzemon and Sezrekan’s Ape, they are left with
          a gruesome dilemma: Which of their own to leave behind?               Eagerly you scrape away the mud to reveal a circular portal of dull
          How the PCs go about making this decision may reveal more             gray metal set into the ﬂoor. Set into the center of the portal is a
          about true character than the players care to admit.                  silver bas-relief depicting a two-legged serpent biting its own tail.
                                                                                Above the serpent, cast in gold, is a crown.
          The adventure is located in sprawling, decadent Punjar. Specif-
          ically, the workshop is hidden in the sub-basement of a decay-        The portal is roughly 3 feet in diameter, though attempts
          ing manor in Smoke – the worst of Old Punjar’s wards – where          at precise measurement hint its diameter to be the value of
          Dim Lane intersects the Shiv. Here, hidden among the crum-            π. The portal is cast of lead to foil scrying and inter-dimen-
          bling tenements and foul night smokes, Sezrekan was free to           sional travel. Wizards and thieves examining the portal are
          pursue his mad experiments without fear of interruption.              overcome by a powerful sense that something terrible lurks
                                                                                behind the lead portal.
          Though nominally set in Punjar, the adventure can be easily
          placed in nearly any location. The PCs can discover the hidden        The portal is three inches deep and can easily be pried free
          portal in the ﬂoor of a musty tomb, in the cellar of their favorite   of the ﬂoor, revealing a narrow spiral staircase descending
          pub or chapel, or even in a forgotten gallery of their own keep.      into darkness. The value of the raw silver is 15 gp; the value
                                                                                of the gold is 25 gp.
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                          AREAS OF THE MAP                                          A large granite table dominates the chamber. It is laden with glass
                                                                                    retorts and a series of skulls, ranging in size from a ﬁeld mouse to
          Area 1-1 – The Magic Circle: A thick coat of dust covers the              that of a tusked giant. An open tome rests on a stand beside the
          ﬂoor, obscuring what appears to be a magic circle, carved in runes,       table.
          circumscribing the entire chamber. Stone faces of tormented de-
          mons ring the ceiling, and a pit set into the center of the chamber       The walls are covered in sheets of hammered copper, stained with
          pulses with a hellish crimson light. Beside the pit rests a tall golden   vile liquids and scored by acid. The top of each sheet is attached
          hourglass.                                                                to a chain and counter weights that run to the ceiling and then
                                                                                    descending to hang just above the stone table.
          Inspection by cautious wizards reveals that the magic circle
          prevents the escape of demons. However, just inside the                   There are seven skulls in all: ﬁeld mouse, monkey, goat, hal-
          circle of runes is a pentagram, drawn in blood and hidden                 ﬂing, elf, human, ogre, and the giant. The cranium of each
          by dust, that traps any living creature entering the chamber.             skull is sawn open, and the interior cavity is set with plati-
          The pentagram was cast by the demon Elzemon. These two                    num spacers to accommodate a smaller brain.
          thaumaturgic inscriptions interact in strange, unpredictable              The tome is open to a dusty page with a simple passage:
          ways.
                                                                                                      a curse upon thieves that dare
          The instant a PC crosses over the runes, read or paraphrase                                     to gaze upon the works
          the following:                                                                                    of mighty Sezrekan
          A thunderous crack echoes through the chamber and electric blue           Beneath the passage is a large glyph inked in red and black.
          waves of tormented faces cascade through the air, revealing a sin-        The quickest inspection of the page activates the glyph.
          ister pentagram scrawled in blood across the ﬂoor of the chamber.         It ﬂashes brightly (Ref save, DC 15, or be blinded for 1d3
          The hourglass rotates in its base, and the sound of maniacal laugh-       rounds), and then animates into inky black worms. With
          ter echoes faintly from below.                                            horrifying speed, the worms begin to consume every writ-
          No magic shy of a deiﬁc patron or infernal power can wrest                ten word within the chamber.
          the PCs from Elzemon’s trap. From this moment forward, it                 In the ﬁrst round, the glyph worms consume the tome. In
          is impossible to leave the chamber, save for the pit down.                the second and third round, they squiggle behind the cop-
          Sezrekan’s golden hourglass stands nearly three feet in height            per sheets covering the walls and consume all the tomes
          and weighs roughly 30 lbs. A minor relic discarded by the                 and sheaves. On the fourth round, they move on to the PCs,
          Old One, the hourglass keeps perfectly precise time of any                and on the ﬁfth round, the worms consume any spellbooks,
          duration, and grants a +2 bonus to spell checks for spells                maps, tomes, or scrolls in the PCs’ possession. The glyphs
          taking one turn or longer to cast. Destroying the hourglass               die in writhing agony on the 8th round.
          has no effect other than to eliminate the PCs’ means of track-            Glyph Worm (10): Init +2; Atk –; Dmg –; AC 15; HP 1; MV
          ing time.                                                                 20’; Act 1d20; SA consume written words; SV Fort -1, Ref +3,
          The pit is 50’ deep and runs to area 1-2. Given the opportu-              Will immune; AL N.
          nity, Elzemon ﬂies up from area 1-2, eager for the chance to              The copper sheets hanging on the walls function as primi-
          push a PC into the pit or cut an unattended rope.                         tive blast shields, protecting the valuables behind them from
          Wizard, sages, or lucky thieves pausing to study the interac-             any explosions that might take place in the main chamber.
          tion between the magic circle and the pentagram can deduce                Pulling on any one of the ﬁve hanging chains raises the cor-
          the following principles:                                                 responding metal sheets, revealing ﬁve sets of shelves:

             • So long as the thaumaturgic inscriptions remain intact,              The ﬁrst set of shelves is heavy with the weight of time-
               no creature can be summoned into the crucible.                       blackened tomes, stacks of rolled vellum, and sheaves of
                                                                                    worn parchment – Sezrekan’s discarded research. If collect-
             • At the end of the hour, both the magic circle and the                ed and studied by a wizard or sage, they yield 1d5 spells (to
               Elzemon’s pentagram part for an instant, permitting es-              be determined by the judge or rolled randomly). The shelf
               cape.                                                                also contains a scroll that holds the true name of Elzemon
             • No matter how many exit, at least one living creature                and details the demon’s weakness: striking the demon with
               must remain inside the circle.                                       lead renders it visible and inﬂicts 1d4 points of damage per
                                                                                    round of contact.
          One ﬁnal principle applies that can only be inferred: The last
          creature left within the circle is trapped there for all eter-            The second set of shelves is laden with retorts, strange ﬂasks,
          nity.                                                                     and vials stoppered with wax. They once contained elixirs,
                                                                                    potions, and concoctions resulting from the Old One’s experi-
          Area 1-2 – The Infernal Crucible: The pit opens into a                    ments. Time has reduced most of these mixtures to poison.
          cluttered octagonal chamber. A sinister, crimson light emanates           Sages and wizards succeeding on a DC 13 Intelligence check
          from web-laden globes that hang from the ceiling, casting a charnel       can identify 1d5 vials of strong acids and bases; thieves suc-
          glow over the chamber’s contents.                                         ceeding on a DC 20 Handle Poison check can identify a similar
                                                                                    number of poisons (efﬁcacy to be determined by the judge).

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       The third and fourth sets of shelves are empty.
       The ﬁfth set of shelves is laden with the raw materials vital to Sezrekan’s studies. Four coffers rest on the shelves. Inside
       the coffers are 10 silver bars (worth 30 gp each), 5 gold bars (worth 100 gp each), 2 platinum bars (worth 500 gp each), and
       a nondescript pouch containing lead dust shot through with ﬂecks of adamantine (worth 1,000 gp).
       Area 1-3 – The Chamber of the Ape: Water drips in thin rivulets down the walls of this chamber, pooling on the ﬂoor. A trio of
       large clay vessels, each nearly 4’ in height, stands against one wall. Beside the strange jars rest a trio of iron rods.
       At the far end of the chamber is heavy iron gate.
       The gate is secured with a massive lock that is easily picked (DC 15). Inside the cell is the body of an enormous ape atop
       wooden planks. Unmoving and unresponsive, the ape is Sezrekan’s unfortunate attempt to transplant a human mind into
       the body of an animal. Branded onto the ape’s shaven scalp is the mark of Sezrekan.
       The egg-like vessels are primitive batteries. The top of each jar is sealed with clay and pierced by a hole matching the width
       of the iron rods. If each of the three rods is inserted into a corresponding vessel, the circuit is completed, initiating a rapid
       series of events:
       Arcs of electricity fan into the cham-
       ber, striking any PC standing in the
       pooled water. PCs in the water take
       1d4 points of damage per round
       and must succeed on a DC 17 Fort
       save to make any actions. The semi-
       paralysis ends with the destruction
       of at least one of the vessels (AC
       10, hp 10) or by escaping the pool.
       Other PCs can pull their paralyzed
       companions from the water, but if
       they step into the pool, they are also
       caught by the arcing current.
       The current is sufﬁcient to shock
       Sezrekan’s Ape back to life. One
       round after awakening, it tears the
       iron gate free of its moorings and
       casts the twisted wreckage aside.
       On the third round, it proceeds to
       do the same with the PCs.
       Due to its rage and Sezrekan’s mind-
       altering magics, the ape is immune
       to the paralysis effect, as well as to
       any charm, sleep or mind-altering ef-
       fect permitting a Will save.
       Finally, if the PCs are loathe to ex-
       periment with the rods and vessels,
       an invisible Elzemon closes the cir-
       cuit for them, waiting for the op-
       portunity to paralyze the greatest
       number of PCs.
       Sezrekan’s Ape: Init +2; Atk ﬁsts
       +5 melee (dmg 1d12); AC 15; HP
       65; MV 40’; Act 2d20; SA Rend for
       additional 1d16 dmg on natural 18
       or 19; SV Fort +5, Ref +1, Will Im-
       mune; AL C.




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Massimiliano Mauri (Order #52297842)
