Sorcerous Scrutinies: Doom of the Savage Kings

 Doom of the Savage Kings

DCC #66.5: A Level 1 Adventure by Harley Stroh

Goodman Games

You puzzle over the Serpent Mound, the silvery streams that flow around it, and the glittering pool they spill into.  Bronkle the Brainless steps into the pool without a thought, an expression of pure simplicity on his broad face.  “Junk down here,” he mutters, kicking an ancient bundle aside in a violent splash.  A worn weapon and some coins fly from the parcel.  The brute splashes forward and begins struggling with the large stone set into the mound, his massive arms taut in strain.  

Scrooge the halfling moneylender stews beside you.  “Gotta get in there,” he mutters, and then whistles and snaps at your other companions.  They grudgingly move to help Bronkle with the stone.  You feel that something is amiss.  “Should we make an offering?  Some coins, perhaps a weapon?” 

Scrooge cackles and shakes his head.  “Of course not!  What a waste of precious resources.”

Your stomach turns.

Bronkle rolls the stone aside with the help of your companions, revealing an opening.  “We go down.”

The silvery water begins to pull together into a serpent-like mass before you, and your eyes widen in terror.  Scrooge screams in shock, and shoves you.  “I told you we should have made an offering!”

The Serpent Spirit lunges forward at the unsuspecting Bronkle…

What It Is

When Dungeon Crawl Classics released in 2012, you may have been lucky enough to have an accompanying module included with the purchase/pre-order of your core book.  That module was Doom of the Savage Kings, the iconic level 1 adventure by Harley Stroh that remains a gold standard.

DotSK is an expansive adventure that begins in media res, immediately throwing the party into an NPC rescue opportunity that leads the party to the town of Hirot, where the plot thickens.  Hirot introduces a handful of flavorful NPCs and adds background pressure to the adventure with the foreboding ballots, while also developing the module’s primary antagonist and recurring foe, the Hound of Hirot.  The intended flow of the adventure from there leads the players to a tomb complex, and then towards a climatic encounter with the Hound.  

The recurring threat of the Hound is very well done, the special means for truly destroying the creature are well conceived, and the secondary antagonist in Hirot is conniving and devious, sure to give players something to rebel against. 

Unlike many modules that are inclined to plop players directly into a dungeon, Doom does a very good job of giving us a variety of social encounters alongside typical dungeon fare, which will likely delight your players.  

At The Table

Doom is more than just a dungeon romp, it can feel very episodic, like a mini-campaign.  I often run three hour sessions, and Doom could easily stretch into three such evenings if players are enjoying the exploration of Hirot and the interactions with its more interesting residents (one of my tables insisted on devoting an entire session to robbing the Jarl, a cunning heist that they remember fondly to this day).  

The meat of the module’s encounters lie in the Tomb, which is a quintessential dungeon filled with dangerous encounters, cunning traps, and wondrous treasures to bolster the party in their battle against the Hound.  Stroh's well designed Tomb is not a 25-encounter monster dungeon that will grind your players down, it’s a very manageable (but still not strictly linear) delve that will keep the momentum of the adventure alive.

The showdown can be a bit anticlimactic due to the action economy of a five person party versus a single foe, but consider softening the party up with Sunken Fen encounter 7 before having the party enter the lair to enhance the tension.  The Hound is a worthy foe, and can wreak havoc on a smaller party if the dice lean in its direction, 3d20+3 is almost certain to eviscerate a hapless, unarmored wizard!

The epilogue encounter for Elves and Wizards is such DCC poetry.  Perhaps a greedy player will investigate, lust for power, and begin the cycle again!

 

Play Highlights

It took me two runs, but on my second playthrough I finally had someone take the plunge and commit to the Mad Widow!  Oh how the party laughed and jeered at this unfortunate fool, but the reversal was all too sweet when I read Ymae’s epilogue and bestowed the would-be husband with his mighty reward.  Just awesome writing that can bring out the best in your role-players. 

I’ll avoid serious spoilers for the players reading who may not have run the adventure yet, but the ambush encounter that is written into the flow of the module is just perfect.  It springs up at the most inconvenient time for players, is totally unexpected, and amps up the conflict back in Hirot in a really motivating way.

The chaotic final battle is fantastic!  Players will be torn between fighting, scrambling to heal the huge damage spikes of the Hound each turn, and puzzling over how to permanently end the menace.  Almost like a puzzle integrated into a boss encounter, I find the whole setup and execution to be very well done.  

Art Spotlight

The one-two punch of Kovac’s brutal, nightmarish, mystical cover and Poag’s shocking interior page on the inside cover reminds me why I love DCC.    The game can be very serious, atmospheric, and dark, but you can also revel in the shock of your players as you describe a snake-thing ‘erupting’ from a corpse’s belly towards their throat!  Kovac’s maps are also a thing of beauty, we’re lucky enough to get three full pages in DotSK.  

Judge Takeaways

Reseason the Flavor

Don’t be shy about rewriting the intro flavor text to match the funnel you’ve chosen for your party.  Coming from The Portal Under The Stars, a Judge could add, “The jewel-encrusted Portal that sealed you within the War-Wizard’s tomb now opens, but not to familiar sights.  You stand in a wooded clearing in a strange land far from your home, unsure of your next move.  “Hirot…North by starlight,” the War-Wizard whispers into your minds.  Without another option, you bear North.

DotSK serves as a nice follow-up to Sailors on the Starless Sea and its sequel Chanters in the Dark, which culminates in a perilous climb out of the cave complex through a narrow bore hole.  That bore hole could lead to a sequence like this:  You crawl from the complex into a forest clearing, and hear the calamitous sounds of collapse behind you.  You take in the fresh air for the first time in days, and marvel at the starscape above you.  You are in an unfamiliar land, far from your home and the cursed Keep where your adventures began.  A mossy marker-stone stands before you in the clearing.  It bears an arrow, and says: HIROT.  Lacking a better option, you follow the arrow in hopes of finding civilization once more.  

Try a Shady Trader

Looking to inject your games with magic items of your own invention, or want to add another point of interest to Hirot?  Add a shady trader to the Three Rats flophouse, and have him offer your players the chance of a lifetime: ‘Come, adventurers, and see…’ The shady trader produces a sable cloak, and opens it, revealing a seemingly broken wand, a jet black ring, and a pendant bearing a preserved eyeball.  Gold, gems, or curiosities, I’ll trade for my treasures!’  Throw in a curse with every boon and watch your players cackle as you give them +1 Strength, but have their two eyes fuse into one, or a +1 to spell checks that bestows upon them a spectral beard that will terrify clergymen across the realm.  

Consider Jarldom

Especially after the encounter that follows the PCs exit from the tomb, your player may have a serious bone to pick with the Jarl of Hirot.  That conflict may…escalate, and your players may wind up in a power vacuum.  Perhaps the Warrior in your party would make a fine Jarl indeed, fielding quests and receiving protection tithes from his beloved populace?

Conclusion

Doom of the Savage Kings represents the gold standard for 1st level play in DCC for good reason.  The adventure is tight, varied, it may represent the first opportunity your players get to interact meaningfully with NPCs and a town setting in Hirot (if you’re coming from Sailors or Portal).  If successful, Hirot then serves as a fantastic hub for further adventures.  

I love Lankhmar, and that urban setting has excellent level 1 adventures, but if I’m running a first-time table or a more rural adventure path, I will always include Doom of the Savage Kings.

Doom is a staple of the DCC canon, and I hope you get the chance to run or play through the module.  Grab your Wolf-Spear and plunge into the inky darkness, but be mindful not to lose yourself in the murk therein…