Strange Aeons Module 1

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The players start with no equipment, weapons or armour. It is much more fun for them to scavenge for whatever they can find. However, this does mean making some encounters less difficult.

There are various books, letters, etc. throughout this module. I have created a PDF handout for them here.

A1a: the “tools” being used Dr Scaen do 1d3 dmg and have the fragile condition.

A1b: there is no equipment here, or familiars. The viol remains.

B9: when the asylum was partially drawn into the dreamlands, the zoog got separated from its kin and lost here. It has been cornered by dire rats and is fending them off when the players encounter it. If a player is missing a familiar, the zoog adopts them. This gives plenty of opportunity for role-playing (esp. in Module 3 Enchanted Forest), as well as the zoog’s affinity for magical items, enjoyment of human flesh (ideally decayed) and especially cat meat.

The following encounters are potentially TPK and should be toned down or handled with great care:

Ghouls (in general): a ghoul encounter can be lethal, given their paralysis ability. The GM should reduce the number of ghouls, fudge rolls or treat ghouls as already injured if necessary.

C7 (Nightguant): this should be played for fear effect. There is something in the fog, dark and indistinct. Even a player grabbed and lifted up and then dropped should not have a clear look at the creature. The players should elect to escape, not defeat.

C14: The players find (amongst other things) a copy of On Violent Sands.

E1: Dr Elbourne warns the players against heading up to area F1 because there is an “army” of Zandalus’ apostles up there. However, after sending them off to investigate the tower with the Oneirogen in, the players return and are simply expected to head up to F1 despite the former dire warnings.

I applied the logic that some asylum inhabitants (chaotic aligned) change to ghouls, others (lawful aligned) change to doppelgangers, and the unchanged humans are stuck in-between. There has been an ongoing conflict between the three factions, which the ghouls are winning. While the players are investigating the tower (E11), the main Zandalus camp (E1) is attacked by the ghouls, seriously depleting the numbers on both sides. When the players return, Dr Elbourne is tending to many seriously wounded individuals, and indicates that Zandalus is probably at his most vulnerable in the immediate aftermath of the attack.