Extra-Dungeon Activities

This last session didn't come together, so we won't be playing again til next Thursday.  There are loose ends that have been neglected for too long, so I'm putting some though into them.

Here's where the group stands:

a. Their neighbors Janet and Chrissie disappeared.  Janet has stolen Mongo's evil book and left threatening messages
b. Their landlords, the Ropers, have disappeared
c. Their neighbor Jack was murdered.  Only his brain was left on the floor, the body is missing.
d. Threatening messages were left asking "Where's Krogo" and "Where's Roger", the two slaves that Netal owned.  Krogo, Roger, and now Netal have all died in the dungeon
e. While they were away, barefoot people were breaking into their apartment and chanting

So what's up with all that?  This is what's up...

Jack has plants on his mind.  He was carved up by the Society of the Luminous Spark, his brain replaced on the spot with a Serrated Mind Succulent seedling.

A Serrated Mind Succulent is a plant has sharp-edged leaves, coated with a virulent toxin, and it will slash with these leaves at anyone who gets close.  The toxin may be diluted to form an addictive drug.  The plants also whisper a word repeatedly, but it requires getting close, or using an ear-horn, to hear the word - anyone speaking the word to an addict under the effects of that plant's toxin will obey the speaker unquestioningly.  The plants can be taught a new control word by repeatedly whispering it to them.

A person's brain can also be replaced with the seedlings of this plant, and they will obey simple instructions, and be able to hold short meaningless conversations. It will be obvious there is something wrong with the de-brained individual, however (apart from the damage caused by cutting the skull open).

Dr. X, high-ranking member of the Society, has been having his minions de-braining the enemies of the Society and replacing their minds with this plant.  He has dozens of disposable assassins at this point, ready to strike at the slavers.

So that's one thread.  Netal is dead, so there's no particular motivation for the players to pursue it other than curiosity.  I'll have de-brained Jack find the party on the way out of the city, who will then follow them around until they kill him in some undoubtedly hilarious way.  If they take it from there, I'll wing it, otherwise that thread dies off.

When they return from the dungeon next session, it will be to a city plastered with wanted posters - for information about Mongo.  It has an address - a seedy inn on the Street of Lesser Men.  Should the party go there, they will run into their former landlords, Mr. and Mrs. Roper, who have been transformed into murderous cyborgs.  I'll leave some clues about the location of Janet & the book.  Mongo's player has an axe to grind with Janet, so to speak, so I expect they'll chase this one down.