Six-Armed Villagers, Glowing Tubes, Evil Shrines and Galmim ... Cush I

Here are a few early previews of Cush, starting in the west where the trees are as thick as thieves ...

01.29: You see a small village (population 90) surrounded by a ditch and wooden palisade by a lazy stream. Within the palisade there are ten buildings constructed from woven branches and thatch. The oviparous humanoids of Obaala are tall, statuesque and have white skin, fair hair, dark eyes and six arms placed evenly around their bodies. Each of their bee-hive shaped houses contains a nest tended by the male of the species. The obaala are matriarchical, with the most aggressive females leading the others. They are known for their sense of humor and their skill at assassination (surprise on a 1-2 on 1d6, double damage from surprise attacks).

The obaala enjoy the services of Zemmu the blacksmith and Yazur the healer. The largest building in the village is a temple dedicated to Gwardaja, their goddess of knowledge. She is served by the priestess Kasbaba who dresses in pale yellow robes that at once clutch at her body desperately and mingle with the breeze.

Gwardaja appears as a tall, obaala female with eyes the clor of roe and a serene expression. She is dressed in a yellow toga hung with amber beards and carries palm fronds in three of her hands and clay pitchers in the others.

OBAALA: N Medium Humanoid; HD 1+1; AC 13; Atk 2 weapons; Move 30; Save F13 R15 W15; XP 100/CL 2; Special: None. Gear: Hand axes (2), beaded armor (+2 AC), shield.

02.14: Lord Galmim is a Zinji adventurer who established a small, walled castle here 12 years ago and instantly set about annoying his neighbors. The castle is built of adobe brick and the walls are topped with sharp wooden spikes. Galmim employs a 50 archers (padded armor, shortbow, short sword) and rules over 44 peasant families who dwell in thatched huts within a log wall about 15 feet all. Galmim’s arms are a yellow doe rampant on a field of purple.

GALMIM: CE Fighter 12; HP 87; AC 19; Atk 3 weapon attacks; Move 30; Save F7 R11 W11; XP 600/CL 12; Special: +1 to hit with spear; Gear: Spear (cold iron tip, painted with spirals of charcoal and red; 1d6+3), light mace (head shaped like a spiked cylinder, haft wrapped in blue crocodile hide; 1d4+4), chainmail, shield, potion of extra healing (thick, ruby colored); Abilities: Str 18, Int 12, Wis 10, Dex 16, Con 16, Cha 15.

03.22: A small shrine of ancient Kolos stands here, choked with jungle vines. Inside there is an idol of Charon, the Stygian boatman. The idol looks like a gaunt figure in black robes. Where the idol’s face should be there is a merely an empty socket that probably once held a large gemstone. The shrine is now inhabited by a family of five pot-bellied ghouls, the largest having been the shrines keeper hundreds of years ago. The ghouls have 3 pp and 70 gp (in the ancient coinage of Kolos) lodged in clear view in the gaps between the stones.

04.20: A tube of metal 4 ft. in diameter sticks 12 ft. out of the ground at a slant. It is rusted and empty. The jungle around the tube is blighted. People touching the tube or spending the night near it must save vs. disease or develop painful blisters on the skin, losing 1 point of dexterity and constitution and glowing for 1d4 days. Glowing adventurers attract monster encounters on a roll of 1-2 on 1d6.