Into the Bowels of Xor

Into the Bowels of Xor 
So my Lamentations of the Flame Princess vs Xor games happened.

System
A couple of things about the system. The players liked it's simplicity and I directed some to the free PDF. The summon generator http://summon.totalpartykill.ca/ is a must have to run summoning in game which is big fun. As demons and wizards are common foes the generator is handy for creating enemies too. The system is like BX but more streamlined and many sub sytems streamlined into d6. Quite a few things are varied and are a surprise if you are used to BX. The HD varients of classes are good. Dwarves are the HP class. Fighters are only class with hit bonus that grows per level. Specialist (theif) uses d6 skills and can alocate points to specialize in certain skills. Spells are a surprise too and it cant be taken for granted you know them. Damage below 0HP and healing area bit diferent too. Weapons can be used by anyone and weapons are simplified by size for damage avoiding huge weapon lists. Prices are good to with better variation in armour types. I would probably limit heavy weapons to fighters and have guns vary in damage more - light medium and heavy muskets and pistols. Anyone using any weapons is a bit of getting used too except the smaller races. I really enjoyed running it and as I said the simplicity worked well. Wizards seem alot more weird. The campaign rules for spending cash and magic lab work for magic are great. Alignment is more extreme with law and chaos being more like fanatic insanity.

Playing in the 1600s
The historical setting and the rule mods work well. Armour is scarce. Wizards might carry a rapier and several pistols. Because I chose 1642 England I made in my first game players choose sect of christian. This actually wasted half the first game as players roleplayed religious intolerance and douchebagery. A Scots Presbyterian, a wizard form church of England , a secret catholic and both clerics were vatican spies. One Catholic player wanted his priest to read rites to a dead witch and other players of other catholic characters insisted they dismember her and throw bits in a river without rites. On second thought playing a compassionate person not really so awful even if out of step with history during bloody religious wars. Second game I jigged to make more pro royalist church of england. I also first game wasted time with set up as players argued and wasted lots of time. Three players fell ill and another had back pain so we cancelled early. Second game I learned some lessons, had more cooperative layers and got more done. I started at 4th Lv as was a one shot and some players over being pissweak in my games.

The First Voyage 1642
Rob McMahon a Scottish Presbyterian mercenary serving royalists for cash
Thomas Bailey a commoner specialist found as boy by priests and used as a servant
John Hobbs a priest secretly a catholic agent and into shouting and burning school of faith
Catherine Fitzroy a bastard noble wizard student serving royalist nobility
Harold Jones a priest also sevring the Vatican spying and sabotaging royalists

Having served a master together hunting monsters and witches finally he was killed by witch hunters. It was kind of suspicious he knew where sorcerers were and where demons lurked. But he seemed to be fighting evil. So as war broke out and party avoiding witch hunters and puritans they arrived at coast port and got job guarding a ship taking the Kings treasure to Stuart lands in Scotland.

On return voyage a witch on board caused a storm and drove them ot to sea. Tom found her and killed her performing a summoning and tying knots in a leather cord. Storm grew worse and men cried out about a spherical rubbery grey skinned baloon demon aproached the ship. Managed to shoot it and finish in melee, bursting it and scattering skin and stinking gas everywhere.

Ship survived and blown north west and they travelled south to avoid west wind and current. After days sailing south they saw a distant limping spanish ship. Curoious the ship had a single pink sail and weird coloured hull patches. The sail ws a sheet of leather red on one side, the coloured patches were bone and flesh filling holes in the ship. It seemed under crewed. Spanish at war with french at the moment hailed for help and after negotiations invited officers to dine on the English ship. Over dinner Spanish told of their adventures in a land called Xor they found on way back from the new world. Spanish did not tell whole story and Tom swam aboard the Spanish galleon and saw men gambling over new world gold. Below decks he found exotic coloured slaves, animals and treasure from the new world and Xor.

Returned to tell captain who next day ofered to help Spanish with food and crew and escort. Night he sent them poioned wine and the English boarded the Spanish ship killing most of the crew, taking all the treasure they could and sunk the spanish ship all hands still alive on board. Officers killed and maps and documents were seized. With fantastic tales of a new land with convertible natives, exotic healing methods and strange treasure the Captain ordered they back track on the spanish route and find the land of Xoe to report to the King. Saw some pink sperm whales on the way.

They found the land and sent a jollyboat of the party and some marines and sailors and  Xor slave from the spanish ship who could speak some spanish. Over the pink waters to the flesh beach. Froth and bloody red weed was on the beach. Over hills saw naked flightless birds, giant fleas, gelatinous cubes grazing on fields of hair, swine and even killed a giant leech.  Someone saw smoke and the party moved that way. Over some hills on way they came across a valley where a titanic crab was being devoured by flies. Closer still they say hairless guineapig folk burrowing inside collecting crab meat. The kidnapped the startled guinepig men and marched them to the strange source of the smoke.  They found a citadel where magenta skinned people worked and entered a market seeing many exotic peoples. Met a wizard who translated with magic and made some basic trades and then returned to the ship with goods and strange prisoners to England.  Tom, his wife and John remained.

1643 The Second Expedition
Most of the slaves and guinea pig men died of plague in England over a year. A guinea pig man was dissected by royal college of physicians. One was sent to be a comical pet for the king and another sent to a menagerie. Rob managed to keep one named Jumanji around and they were asked to return to Xor by the king. Also brought the slave who survived the previous expedition as a guide. Finally Jack a wizard boy who was apprentice to the kings astrologer was sent as a scholar. After a week sailing they landed on Xor but could not find the coastline they recognized.

Travelled through a valley of gum like ridges and saw a hill growing with brains. Up close they found a sphicter gate in the hill and the cunning Jumanji reached inside to open it then stuck his spear inside to keep it open. Party entered and avoided a diseased tentacle and explored. Found a crystal building which was siome kind of outsider they avoided. Found mantis men harvesting brains and finally came across rat men performing a ritual. Managed to sabotage ritual, shot at them and Jack cast stinking cloud. The demon thing the rats called was a gelatinous blob which turned on summoners and caused the rat men to swap personalities while they were vomiting from the spell. The rats and demon were all killed and Jack was intrigued by the boxed rat cage spellbook with rats tatooed with spells. They found Tom wandering flesh tunnels

Found a burial place where blue skinned people were dissolving in gelatin. Then finally found a well the climbed to the surface near a citadel. They found a slave market and Jack traded some potions with a mutant. Rob and Tom traded metal for new wives. Tom told how last one had vanished possibly by serpant men. He mentioned John Hobbs tried to convert cannibals who ate him. Tom was a bit rougher looking and a bit flakier than he had been. But now he spoke Xorian. Jack summoned a small demon to test potions on and got a amoeba with floppy tentacles like a glove full of water. As it was minor it was permanently his servant. Jack tested a mutagen instead on a rat and it got a second mouth on its chest. He found appealing and drank the rest himself. Now he could talk and cast spells at once.

Cheif of tribe was a wizard who offered healing, slaves and trade deals if the party would stop a demonic taint. party agreed sure the rat men were the source and they returned to the lair. Exploring further rat men with crossbows attacked which were easily dispatched. A further rat man attack was mostly gunned don and dispatched with sleep magic. The rat men were using clothing, weapons and items from Germany which was a worry. Jack dissected one and found them mostly not human in any way.

Finally approached the demon chamber. and it filled with purple mist. Jack sent his demon he named Roomba in and they heard it being torn to shreds. The mist vanished and in its place were beautiful ladies and gold. Tom fired his bow and the women vanished to reveal a huge purple demon crab with boobs, arcane glyphs on carapace and a floppy trunk. Jace enfeebled it and the party won. Rob was wounded and took a Xorian healing glob. Found many corpses including Toms wife. Now he could enjoy his new marriage without the converted to church of england guinea pig man taunting him for lack of fidelity.

While returning men quibbled the lack of loot and asked about the crystal house. Rob not willing to rely on his charisma and as no lives lost decided to go looting. Little Jumanji helped sway others too by claiming men would revolt (which was untrue but he seemed to like stirring up moral problems).

So Tom crimbed the crystal wall and opened the gate. Jack put a barrier blocking the house doors that opened outward, Inside the small men in opalescent armour awoke from their crystal alcoves. Some fired magic missiles through windows and several shrunk and jumped out windows. Several marines fell asleep. A long spell and missile battle ensued and rob threw firebombs through window killing several. Eventualy there was parley and the elves bribed the humans away ewith silver and crystal which satisfied the men.

Back at village there wasa celebration. Of the heroes only Jumanji wanted to return to England. The returned to ship and explained they wished to establish a trade post and learn about the natives. The ship sailed away. Jack, Tom and Rob all wanted Xorian healing to restore previous wounds and and harm (they all had some stats below 9 which Xorian healers could treat). Compared to England Xorians had better health and perfect teeth. Jack wanted to learn to use the rat-spell book and of Xorian living spell books. Others were happily married to attractive exotic wives and  found Xor more peaceful than war ridden Europa.

Final Notes
Was a better game nobody got sick. Reskinning halflings as hairless guinea pig men worked very well. I was pleased characters wanted to stay on Xor. Some weird demon stuff impressed everyone. My first butt hole dungeon was a success. Weird scenery was popular with players and games gave me ideas for more tables. Players noted Xor on Psychon wouldn't be so weird but they said it would work on my Shadelport Exile Island setting. Big fun and a great last game. I'm moving a few thousand km away but will work in Sydney in April a bit. Seems to be guys wanting to play oldschool games in Adelaide - shops mostly sell 5th ed and pathfinder - even Cthulhu not in shops last ten years.