Friday Fantasy: The Tower Out of Time

A never-before seen ‘bearded star’—or comet—is seen skittering across the night sky that mystics and astrologers have labelled ‘Serbok’, which just happens to be the old word for ‘serpent’. Any coincidence? Then, in the nearby forest, woodcutters report the appearance of, again, a never seen before dark lake, its waters full of strange fish and other creatures, with a tower standing on the water’s edge, its walls not of traditional mortar and stone, but of a material with leathery appearance, as if cut and sewn from monstrously giant reptile! The woodcutters knew better than to stick around, but their departure was heralded by the sudden emitting of a burning beam of light out of the top of the tower and up into the sky. Even now, the fiery ray continues to sear its way into the heavens, visible from beyond the confines of the forest. Any coincidence? Are the two connected? Well, of course they are! The comet marks the impending return of S’lissakk, a serpent-man sorcerer of great renown from the empire of E’shernulus, who since that time has travelling the comos aboard his voidcraft. His return is guided by the tower, the Pharos of Scales, which itself has been piloted through time by S’lissakk’s apprentice, H’lisk, to ensure that the beacon is in the right time to anticipate his master’s return.

This is the set-up to Dungeon Crawl Classics #77.5: The Tower Out of Time, a scenario published by Goodman Games for use with the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game. The scenario was published in 2013 as a special incentive to Game Masters participating in the DCCRPG World Tour 2013, which promoted the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game both in store and at conventions, and then was later suggested as a demonstration scenario for Free RPG in 2013. It is designed for a party of six Second Level Player Characters and has both a quick set-up time and a quick playing time. It can easily be played in a single session and prepared in less than hour. That set-up also makes it easy to add to a campaign, the Judge only needing to locate the forests where the Pharos of Scales has appeared in her campaign world.

The Pharos of Scales is actually made of prehistoric reptile hide stiffened and toughened through the wonders of ancient Serpent-Man sorcery, with doors made of ‘soap-bubble’-like membranes that instantly reform when there is nothing is breaking them. This weirdness continues inside, enforcing a sense of ancient primordial hothouse origins on each of its floors. The layout of the tower is simple with no more than two rooms per storey. The lower levels consist of an arboretum that provides an environment more to the liking of H’lisk and his servants as well as their quarters. The latter are Ape-Men controlled via Cerebraleechs that look like parasites attached to the back of their necks and granting them a psionic attack in addition to their physicality. Above this is an example of Serpent-Man science, what looks like exotic jungle flower supported by three thick and fleshy stems to which are attached small, hairy anthropoid creature known as Antehumans, precursors to Humanity, via tubes that pierce their bodies, siphoning off blood to feed the flower-like device. This is the beacon itself and H’lisk and his Ape-Men servants will fight to the death to protect it!

One entertaining change to this style of adventure, is that it changes when H’lisk gets to do his villainous monologue! He gets to have this and any conversation with the Player Characters when they are on the floor below, so that when they do get to confront him, there is no delay in the fight starting. This is the only opportunity for roleplaying in the adventure and gives the Judge to explain some of the scenario’s background without the players deciding that their characters automatically attack rather than listen to any monologue. This is enforced by the design of the tower which places a trap on the ramp up from the storey that the Player Characters are on and the storey where H’lisk is. The point is highlighted in a rather entertaining section of boxed text, ‘Behind the Scenes’, which gives some insight to the final confrontation and what happened during the scenario’s play test.

The scenario comes to a close with a puzzle door—which comes with its own rather nice handout—that the Player Characters must solve if they want to get to the roof, though there not anything up there worth investigating. It may well be that the puzzle door is more rewarding if the Player Characters have climbed the tower and are attempting to break in from the roof. It ends that, with the arrival of S’lissakk in his voidship. Where he lands depends upon whether the beacon is still working. If it is, his voidship splashes down in the lake beside the tower, but if not, it will be much further way. What happens next—and the details of S’lissakk—are left for the Judge to develop. Rounding off the scenario, in addition to the map, are details of ‘Serbok: The Slithering Shadow’ as a Patron, although no new spells are included.

Physically, Dungeon Crawl Classics #77.5: The Tower Out of Time is decently presented. The writing is good, the artwork is decent, and the handout is nicely done. The cover is very well done, getting across its weirdness in comparison to normal wizard’s towers.

Ultimately, that is what Dungeon Crawl Classics #77.5: The Tower Out of Time is—a wizard’s tower. It is just that the wizard’s tower is a weird Serpent-Man wizard’s tower! Dungeon Crawl Classics #77.5: The Tower Out of Time is a small adventure, really only providing a session’s worth of engagingly thematic play. However, as much as his return is heralded by its background, the scenario leaves what happens with S’lissakk undeveloped and in the hands of the Judge, who is left without any ideas or suggestions. Without developing that further, as written, the actual ending of is either a cliffhanger or an anticlimax, and if the Judge decides to forgo the arrival of S’lissakk, then there is the possibility that the players and characters may have no idea what it is exactly they have been doing in the scenario. Dungeon Crawl Classics #77.5: The Tower Out of Time is short and very serviceable, but its ending leaves the Judge without any answers and plenty of questions to ask.