Friday Fantasy: Shrine of the Cabbage God

High in the mountains, across the sea in an old colony, there is plateau long dried out and dusty from drought and the wind. Once it was fertile, dominated by fields of rich brassica, or cabbages, and at the centre stood a temple. A temple to Oleracea, petty-god of cabbages. His followers and priesthood were slaughtered men who came in boats and the temple was all but destroyed, partially buried by a vengeful Earth goddess. For decades, if not centuries, Oleracea has been forced to sleep, weakened by a lack of worshippers and a lack of tribute, but now the weather has turned and rain has soaked the soil of the plateau and cabbages are growing again. Word is spreading that there is one last temple to plunder, a temple to a minor agricultural god, but a temple said to be full of gold and precious gems that was ignored when the colony was originally conquered. Perhaps the Player Characters learn about the temple by rumour or are sold a map showing its location? A priestess of the god of earth has received visions of a minor, but annoying god of old stirring in the mountains and wants to hire adventurers to ensure that this god remains buried or a messianic nobleman wants proof of his divinity and wants the wak’as—or relics—of other gods for planned new temple, and his aides have identified Oleracea’s shrine as a potential source? A famous hero has gone missing and the only clue is a map to Oleracea’s shrine that he left behind or a local family is getting annoyed by the recently awakened skull of an ancestor which keeps telling his descendants to go to the shrine in the mountain and they want someone to return the skull to the shrine.

This is the set-up to Shrine of the Cabbage God, a dungeon-scenario published by Coldlight Press. It is designed for a party of Fourth to Sixth Level Player Characters and is written for use with the B/X version of Basic Dungeons & Dragons. Which means that it will work very well with Old School Essentials from Necrotic Gnome and can be easily adapted to the retroclone of the Game Master’s choice.

The background to the scenario does have some demands to make it fit a Game Master’s campaign world. In particular, a Mesoamerican world faraway over the sea that long ago was discovered, conquered, and colonised, much like Central and South America. Sufficient time also needs to have passed for the temple to Oleracea to have fallen into ruin, and of course, it needs to have a pantheon with an earth goddess. Surprisingly, the one setting that is actually more or less fits much of those demands is Pirate Borg!

The temple complex itself consists of several crumbling Offering Houses above ground with the two Levels of the temple below ground. Everywhere there is dust and other signs of disuse, but the brassica theme shines through, whether it is the statues of men with cabbages for crowns, a seedbank of ancient cabbage varieties, and a tomb where an Avatar of Oleracea crouches in deep sleep, its bolted cabbage body humanoid in shape, but with its ears and eyes covered by the stony hands of a rocky statue. This rocky statue is an earth elemental assigned by the earth goddess to ensure that Oleracea can see or speak through his avatar, its presence a pleasing reminder of the earth goddess’ desire to punish the minor god! This is not this is not the only sign of the earth goddess’ presence in the temple as several earth elementals prowl the complex. The Player Characters may also discover other manifestations of Oleracea.

There are some utterly fantastic details to the scenario. For example, there are classic traps in the scenario a la the film Raiders of the Lost Ark, corridors with poison dart traps in the walls. It is called the ‘Genuflectory’ and its walls are carved with scenes of priests bowing deeply and kneeling, a hint as to what the Player Characters should do. Yet if they do activate the poison dart traps, it is so long has passed since the temple was actively used, the darts themselves have crumbled and all the holes out of which the darts were once fired do is belch the poisonous dust that remains. In the past, the priests would have kneeled and bowed to avoid the darts flying overhead, but now, if the Player Characters take the hint on the walls, they will be bowing and kneeling into the poisonous dust! It is a lovely detail that although effectively a bait and switch, is thematically appropriate.

Elsewhere, the Player Characters find a table with two masks on it, one of which has a melted face on the inside of it, whilst on the floor lies a dead man with his face missing! Both masks are valuable, but will literally melt the face off anyone who wears it without the correct vestments being worn. Nearby, there is a mummy on a table who will communicate with the Player Characters only sarcastically unless she is plied with food and alcohol. A gleaming golden dagger hangs suspended five feet above a raised square platform in a Calendar Chamber, a domed chamber with a ceiling painted in now yellowing white, marked with black specks for the stars. The dagger is one of the more powerful magical items in the scenario and the Player Characters are likely to want to grab it. Should a Player Character do so, he will find his hand and arm inserted in goopy acid! The platform is actually occupied by a translucent gelatinous cube, with the dagger suspended at its centre.

However, the scenario is underdeveloped in places. For example, the scenario does not explain to the Game Master what the mummy will tell the Player Characters and there are various bodies strewn about the complex, all of them thieves who were pillaging the temple, but none of the bodies are detailed. Similarly, the Game Master may want to detail the thieves who have survived the dungeon so far and have been unable to find their out. She will also need to decide where some of the individual locations are in a room since they are not clearly marked.

Physically, Shrine of the Cabbage God is scrappy. There are few illustrations and the maps are serviceable at least. The writing is often rushed and could have been better phrased in places.

Shrine of the Cabbage God is thematic delight! Who knew you could design such an interesting and enjoyable dungeon around a common garden vegetable—and do so as effectively as this? However, the scenario needs a polish, some development of the details, and an edit. In other words, Shrine of the Cabbage God deserves for someone to give it the professional treatment and make it shine as much as it deserves to.