Caves of Qud

I like to think I have a pretty high tolerance for learning cliffs and obtuse game mechanics, but I was still on the fence about qud for the longest time as it isn't exactly the most approachable in many ways. After some time I have learned to appreciate it as one of the most interesting and complex systems driven sandboxes I have had the pleasure to play

It got that ehalcadawg in it

So insanely peak.

drink brain brine, shoot the pope, throw hand-held nuclear weapons and sublime a group of hyena people. all things possible in the caves of qud

Roland arrives in Joppo after a long trek across an endless desert. I approached the town leader and announced, "I am Roland of Gilead, and I come as myself", to which Elder Irudad told me of their dire situation, and that their source of life and commerce was running dry. I was invited to perform a water ritual in hopes that the gods would be in our favour and not see the town perish, but Irudad stressed something was going on much farther north, at a place called Red Rocks, which had been tampering with the water supply for a while. Was it reivers, bandits or the gods themselves, I wondered - and I boldly suggested that I would not see my new friends perish and would resolve this dilemma.  The townsfolk gave me a haunting stare, and one of the guards leaned over and spoke gently that I was not the first to try, and that the others, well, they never returned! So I kept a confident posture although cowering inside, and I went to the merchant to see if they had any supplies that might lift my spirits for my treacherous journey north, and I was not surprised to discover they had very little that would help me.  All I had was a few goat skins of fresh water and a shiny stone (might bring me luck? Or I can use it as a bribe if captured? Either way, I'll need it!). Slung to my belt are my two chrome revolvers, and my vintage chest bandolier is stocked full of spare bullets. Without a doubt in my mind, I will need to find something to help along the way before something else finds me and sees me perish. - The Journey Begins I set off at sunrise, and the entire town is banded together to see me leave. I was hoping for enthusiasm, but the scene reminded me of old stories of the ancient wars when young men were conscripted for conflict, and although everyone was told to be proud. Everyone knew not many would return.  The town's dog - "Bartholemeu" - approached me with wide eyes and a batting tail - I will never forget the love in that creature's eyes, and if I live to see that again, I will be happy. It was a 4-day trek into the mountains before I made it to the old underground aqueduct at Red Rocks. I saw the towering mountainous structures from miles away, thinking I was approaching sandstone rock formations, but as I got closer, it became apparent they were created by the dwellers of this world. Which race or species, I have no clue, but this massive complex has been here for aeons, and I could feel the relics of old souls and their watching eyes all around me. I entered the hallway as a storm was ramping up outside, and truth be told, the wild had been picking up as I was climbing to the higher altitudes, but now it was ferocious out there. Was this just a weather blip, or was there something out there trying to tell me something about my decisions to continue? I decided to light a small fire indoors and cook some baboon meat I had butchered earlier in the evening. Night fell quickly, and I was asleep before my head hit the pillow, or a rolled-up denim jacket in this instance. - The Sun Rises As I Descend into Darkness I wake as the sun is peaking over the horizon, illuminating the hallway where I spent the night with a warm amber glow. There are relics and remains scattered from not only what looks like past adventurers and travellers like myself, but there is also a small kiln, storage crates (empty unfortunately) and a brazier which has not been ignited in some time due to only a faint smell of oil - it also appears that people once lived here, possibly traders, labourers or people who tended the waterway. I feel some of these poor folk may have been some of 'the others' the guard had mentioned back in the town. One thing I did find was a journal. More of a foreman's logbook of the upkeep of this water complex. It was mostly just logs of shifts and works in progress, but towards the end, there are a few mentions of issues on the lower floors, even specifics of "the men are stirring, and a few have abandoned the job because of a spider-like creature and a hooded man lurking on the lower fourth level. So, as exciting as that sounded, I knew where I had to go looking first, although cautiously! - Nothing Much to See Here, But I Feel IT... Most of the morning was spent walking dark hallways, some of which were partially flooded, lighting torches along the way to mark my route, and after travelling down 3 flights of stairs and finally finding the fourth stairwell, I stopped for a break. I had been searching for this fourth-level stairwell, and from what I could see when peering down, the lower level was partially flooded, but it didn't look too bad. After a quick snack on some dried jerky, I inspected my revolvers just in case, and after a few swallows of water, it was time to head to the lower level. - Onwards into the Void From the start, things were looking dodgy. The bottom half of the stairway was crumbling, and I decided to drop down and landed in knee-deep water. The splash instantly echoed across the large room, followed by an excruciatingly high-pitched screech from down a distant hallway. Quickly afterwards, I heard many loud, frantic and heavy splashes in quick succession, running in my direction... really not what I planned, but it's safe to say that I've startled the spider! A few moments later, that felt like an instant, the huge donkey-sized spider screamed into the room, followed by a human-like figure wearing a long black trench coat and a long hood covering its face. The man in black raised his hands in the air, the spider roared deeper than a lion, and it felt like the pressure in the room dropped to nothing, and I started panicking and feeling really hot! Not my proudest moment, but I turned and ran down the corridor behind me. Running for my life at this point!  As I stumbled, slid, and tripped as I ran in panic, I realised the warming sensation I was feeling was actually coming from the gemstone in my pocket, and I could see its purple glow through my faded denim jacket. I reached the room at the end of the hallway, and it was the largest room in this complex I had seen so far.  I quickly climbed up to a pedestal that looked out over the room like a holy man's altar looks out over the cathedral floor, and at the same time, the monstrous spider and the figure in black entered the room, and I fell back onto my behind. It was now that the magic gemstone floated from my jacket pocket and started spinning at an alarming rate, shaking violently and getting brighter and brighter by the second.  I hit it as hard as I could with the butt of my revolver, and it pinged off the chrome reinforcement on the gun's handle and shot across the room towards the duo harrowing in fear on the other side of the room. After a mind-bending flash and bang, and when the shell-shock receded, it appeared the man in black had vanished, and the spider was terribly injured. Had the stone that I was close to selling for a flask of water back in Joppa just banished the evil creature that was about to bring my end?! Leaving that thought to linger, I quickly went over the spider and finished it off while it was down, and took my trophy from it to show the Elder back in town. - I quickly looked around the adjacent rooms and collected a few trinkets before heading back topside and making my way home to tell the villagers the good news, although I will be letting them know that someone should probably visit Red Rocks again very shortly to clear up the mess in the waterway. And, who knows where the man in black went? I fear I'll be following in his footsteps for a long time, and someday we might once again stand face to face in the years that follow.

Putus Templars did nothing wrong.