In sorting out how to convert B2: Keep on the Borderlands to B2: Keep on Kickassistan, certain changes to the basic logic behind the module are being made. In Kickassistan, a lot of the staples of D&D adventures get their volumes turned up to eleven and others have their tunes changed entirely. This is the first (or is it the second?) article discussing the specifics of just what B2 looks like here in Kickassistan. I've borrowed the module format used by Goodman Games for its COMPLETELY FRIGGIN' AWESOME series of adventures that really are what makes DCC such a great game.
The ascent of the Dominion of Man has not been an easy thing. Though he now rules Ur-Hadad, the First City, and has for one thousand years, Man does not yet hold sway over every corner of the world. In the millennium since the fall of the Elder Races, Man has extended his grasp beyond the First City's walls, but often his progress is rebuked by other races, unaligned tribes and the forces of Chaos. These are the threats to the Keep on Kickassistan.
When the first human settlers built the Keep here in the borderlands on the very edge of Ur-Hadad's influence a mere forty-two years ago, they had no idea that, in doing so, they were awakening a power that had been hidden from the mortal world since the fall of the Elder Races. They had no idea that their mere proximity had, deep within the nearby network of caves a few miles away, brought a relic known as the Heart of Chaos once again to life.
The Heart of Chaos beat slowly at first and only the meekest agents of Chaos answered its pleas. In each passing decade, the Heart beat louder and attracted more followers who would arrive at the caves after receiving dreams and visions of plunder and pillage to be had if only these followers would heed the siren song of the Heart. Over the course of those forty-two years, beast men and other humanoid tribes have filled up the caves surrounding the Heart -- caves that are now known as the Caves of Chaos -- and gradually increased their depredations against the lands protected by the Keep. Soon, the Heart's designs will come to fruition and these tribes will assault the Keep and claim it as its own. Soon, Chaos shall reign on Mankind's borderlands.
Answering the call to bring light to the darkest corners of the world, you have taken up arms in support of the Keep that stands as a sole bulwark against the forces of chaos and savagery in this part of the borderlands. The Caves of Chaos are known to be home to terrible tribes of beast men that have been ravaging the country side for decades, though rumors speak of even worse monsters and nightmarish secrets deep within the warren of passages.
The forest that you had trekked through to get here darkened and twisted as you pressed on, the fragile path that you followed becoming overgrown seemingly before your very eyes. You had no doubt that you were on the right trail, though, as you could feel the cruel eyes of hidden watchers track your progress and found traces of the grisly remains of the beast men's raids; often, human remains. The grim trail led you through briar and thorn, as if nature itself were trying to ward you off for your own safety, and as you forced your way into the desolate valley that the Caves of Chaos circumscribe, a murder of crows took flight, as if to warn your gods to prepare seats at their tables for you.
Now, steel in hand, you face the threat that gnaws at the Dominion of Man here on the borderlands. Now, you gird yourself for your journey into these grim and forbidding caves, ready to meet either victory or death itself. Now, you prepare yourself to win gold and glory through sorcery and swordsmanship or face the grave for having dared.
Adventure Background
The ascent of the Dominion of Man has not been an easy thing. Though he now rules Ur-Hadad, the First City, and has for one thousand years, Man does not yet hold sway over every corner of the world. In the millennium since the fall of the Elder Races, Man has extended his grasp beyond the First City's walls, but often his progress is rebuked by other races, unaligned tribes and the forces of Chaos. These are the threats to the Keep on Kickassistan.
When the first human settlers built the Keep here in the borderlands on the very edge of Ur-Hadad's influence a mere forty-two years ago, they had no idea that, in doing so, they were awakening a power that had been hidden from the mortal world since the fall of the Elder Races. They had no idea that their mere proximity had, deep within the nearby network of caves a few miles away, brought a relic known as the Heart of Chaos once again to life.The Heart of Chaos beat slowly at first and only the meekest agents of Chaos answered its pleas. In each passing decade, the Heart beat louder and attracted more followers who would arrive at the caves after receiving dreams and visions of plunder and pillage to be had if only these followers would heed the siren song of the Heart. Over the course of those forty-two years, beast men and other humanoid tribes have filled up the caves surrounding the Heart -- caves that are now known as the Caves of Chaos -- and gradually increased their depredations against the lands protected by the Keep. Soon, the Heart's designs will come to fruition and these tribes will assault the Keep and claim it as its own. Soon, Chaos shall reign on Mankind's borderlands.
Player Introduction
The forest that you had trekked through to get here darkened and twisted as you pressed on, the fragile path that you followed becoming overgrown seemingly before your very eyes. You had no doubt that you were on the right trail, though, as you could feel the cruel eyes of hidden watchers track your progress and found traces of the grisly remains of the beast men's raids; often, human remains. The grim trail led you through briar and thorn, as if nature itself were trying to ward you off for your own safety, and as you forced your way into the desolate valley that the Caves of Chaos circumscribe, a murder of crows took flight, as if to warn your gods to prepare seats at their tables for you.
Now, steel in hand, you face the threat that gnaws at the Dominion of Man here on the borderlands. Now, you gird yourself for your journey into these grim and forbidding caves, ready to meet either victory or death itself. Now, you prepare yourself to win gold and glory through sorcery and swordsmanship or face the grave for having dared.