An adventure for 4-6 crawlers of LV2
PROLOGUE
Victory was hard won and you’re headed
back to home in luxury! The carriage is
plush and your road is as smooth as
your conversation ─ until ──
BLIMEY, BLEMMYES !
BLIMEY, BLEMMYES! is an adventure
inspired by the old competition modules
like C1 Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan.
It works perfectly as a convention game
or early within an ongoing campaign.
BLIMEY, BLEMMYES! is an
independent product published under
the Shadowdark RPG Third-Party
License and is not affiliated with The
Arcane Library, LLC. Shadowdark RPG ©
2023 The Arcane Library, LLC.
Writing and dtp. by Sean F. Smith
Dungeon cartography by DungeonScrawl
Village cartography by Watabou
All rights reserved © 2023
The carriage is comfortable and not
quite decadent enough to get your
hackles up and the ride back to your
hometown has been pleasant so far.
The sun set about two hours ago and
your driver ─ a man named Mandevil
who is cursed with a real lack of brows ─
lets you know you’ll soon pull into the
village of Kilt to spend the night.
But the ride heaves and you hear
Mandevil curse and you feel the horses
spook. ( Looking beyond the curtains
sees the silhouette of a headless
horseman riding a headless horse! )
Within moments, the carriage comes off
the road and tumbles into the valley.
If you’re running a con game, this is the
optimal moment to have your players
introduce their crawlers.
Eventually the carriage comes to a stop,
and then there’s another thunk as a root
gives way and the carriage plummets
through soft soil.
● DC 12 CON or 1d4 damage.
Mandevil was outside throughout the
tumble. He does not survive the crash.
2
ACT ONE
( Not pictured: the crash, off left edge )
Generations back, the site was used as
the gaol for several clans of itinerant
shepherds. The rooms off the tunnel are
the decades-old alchemists’ chambers.
LIGHT ─ darkness throughout, except
wan moonlight down stairs at X and
ozone-glow from the chair in 9.
SURFACES ─ tiled floors, cinderblock
walls, raw stone ceilings.
DOORS ─ rooms 1 to 3 are banded oak
doors, all locked ( DC 12 STR smashes ).
Rooms 5 onwards are solid walnut, all
with keyholes but never locked.
ROOM DESCRIPTIONS
1 ─ alchemical office: desks and chair of
high quality but in poor condition;
smears of ash where once were papers.
2 ─ laboratory: balsa wood crates,
warped; glass vials, deformed like plastic
left in sunshine; dusty hand of glory
candle ( normal treasure, 1XP, 30gp ).
3
3 ─ intermittent sound of thudding
Shelves and storage, all stripped. Secret
door mechanism visible from this side.
● desperate VARGGANALAN with
golden molar ( poor treasure,
0XP, 1gp )
4 ─ shrine to ancient sheep gods:
seaglass mirrors behind curtains
5 ─ rustling noises within
Bent iron bars impede access ─ it’s one
at a time to get through. Warped walnut
shelves and rodent manure. Water
damage visible around secret door to 9.
● five VARGGANALANs
attempt ambush
6 ─ bare room: gouges in walls where
fixtures have been stripped; black chalk
graffiti reads “ do not kiss them ”.
7 ─ distant urine reek
Communal toilets: most terracotta and
one porcelain ─ yellow glint within ( gold
ingot ( normal treasure, 1XP, 50gp ).
8 ─ store room: outdated manacles and
trodden oakum.
9 ─ strong ozone scent
Murder basement: galvanic chair in
corner emits blue glow and sinus pain.
Touching the chair inflicts 3d10 damage
( DC 18 CON halves ).
Upon a walnut-panelled pedestal, a fine
golden bugle ( fabulous treasure, 3XP,
300gp ).
X ─ deep rumbles and swampy smell
Gaol: oakwood pillars stained with chain
rust. Mulch across floor. Wan moonlight
down staircase ( leads to surface ).
● one territorial SURINAM HYDRA
MONSTER DESCRIPTIONS
VARGGANALAN
A human head with shrivelled skin and
matted-hair wings. No thought, only bite.
AC 14, HP 3, ATK 1 bite +1 (1d6), MV
near (fly), S -1, D +1, C +0, I -2, W +0,
Ch +0, AL C, LV 1
Kiss. After second bite on same target,
DC 15 CON or infection. Infected cannot
gain hp and will become vargganalan
upon death.
SURINAM HYDRA
Pockmarked back hides several heads.
AC 10, HP 26, ATK 4 bites +2 (1d6),
MV near, S +2, D -2, C +2, I -2, W +0,
Ch +0, AL N, LV 4
4
ACT TWO
The night air is cool but clammy.
A storm is coming.
Having reached the surface, the crawlers
are able to see the distant lights of Kilt
barely three miles away.
LIGHT ─ weak moonlight makes it
possible to see ( with disadvantage ).
SCENE ONE
Crawlers have the option of taking the
open road or making their way through
waist-high grassland.
OPEN ROAD ─ the gravel is loose
underfoot, having been disturbed by
broad hoofprints.
Several flowering weeds poke through
the loose stone, but every single one of
them has been snapped high up the
stem. ( Close inspection reveals blunt
trauma at the break ─ these were no
bites or cuts, but manually pulling off the
heads ).
DC 12 CON or take 1d4 damage from
fatigue. This is increased to 1d6 if a
crawler has more than half of their gear
slots filled. This fatigue damage will
never remove a crawlers’ final hit point.
LONG GRASSES ─ the soil is solid but
the grass grows erratically and it’s a
hassle to plot a simple path.
The grasses have rough undersides that
scores ugly scrapes on brittle leather.
There are snakes in the grass ( spot
them with DC 09 WIS ).
● two LERNEAN SERPENTs
SCENE TWO
The grassland gives way to a sparse
walnut woodland which cuts close to the
road. Another choice: land or tree?
OPEN ROAD ─ the gravel shifts
underfoot but remains stable and easy
to walk upon. Invariably, the shelter from
the trees has slowed erosion here.
Despite being more obscured here,
thieves and anyone with +2 WIS or
better get a funny feeling. Those
crawlers get advantage on initiative
as the headless horseman attacks !
● one HEADLESS HORSEMAN
After two rounds, the horseman
disengages and gallops away ─ away
from Kilt.
5
WALNUT WOODLAND ─ the trees are
tall and lush, though not implausibly so.
Walnut trees have few low-hanging
branches and their leaves are shaped
like teardrops. The crushed leaves
underfoot have a subtle polish smell.
Looking for signs of intelligent life will
find some ( DC 15 INT otherwise ). There
are carved and stained marks on some
trees, each of which have signs of their
branches and twigs being harvested.
Following these signs brings the
crawlers to the tent of a dwarfen woman
named BRIGG.
She wants to be left alone and has been
doing perfectly fine out here on her own
thank you very much. Look if I give you
some information will you just go away?
She will answer any one question and
knows literally everything the Game
Master knows. If the crawlers don’t have
a question, she suggests you can beat
horsemen by un-horsing the man.
SCENE THREE
Eventually the trees give way to steeper
land, where the road cuts through
sidings or the bluff can be scaled.
OPEN ROAD ─ the gravel here is firm
again. ( In fact, it is regularly repaired by
the townsfolk and supplemented by
scree from the bluffs. ) Walking the road
this close to Kilt gives welcome respite
from additional danger.
THE BLUFFS ─ scaling the slope isn’t
especially difficult and under the anemic
moonlight the short grasses look sickly.
At the very top of the hills, the crawlers
get an excellent view of Kilt ( you can
show them the map now ). Taking it all in
grants advantage on tactics within Kilt
that rely upon understanding its layout.
MONSTER DESCRIPTIONS
BRIGG
Killing her makes you the monster.
AC 8, HP 2, ATK 0, MV near, S -2, D -2,
C +1, I +2, W +5, Ch +0, AL N, LV 0
LERNEAN SERPENT
A short fat poisonous snake.
AC 12, HP 6, ATK 1 bodyslam +1 (1d4),
MV near, S +0, D +1, C +2, I -3, W +0,
Ch -2, AL N, LV 2
Poisonous. If eaten, DC 09 CON or die.
Regenerate. Regenerates 2d6 hp on its
turn as it regrows new tails ( always
more tails than before ). Fire cauterises.
HEADLESS HORSEMAN
HEADLESS HORSE
( Full description overleaf. )
6
ACT THREE
The atmosphere in Kilt is one of distress
and barely suppressed panic. The
HEADLESS HORSEMAN has been
attacking the village nightly for a good
week now. Barricades are at breaking
point and the arrival of some armed
outsiders might be the perfect moment
for us to strike!
● one VILLAGE MOB joins the fight!
VILLAGE MOB
Wild-eyed and desperate. Barely armed.
AC 08, HP 110, ATK 1d4 tools +0 (1d4),
MV near, S -1, D -2, C -3, I +0, W -2, Ch
-2, AL N, LV 0
Mob. Yes, 110hp equals 110 population.
Crawlers can spend their actions to
direct the mob ─ DC 12 CHA increases
either AC or ATK bonus to match the
directing crawler’s. If this check fails, the
increase lasts one round;
success and the increase
lasts this whole battle.
The party can also
instruct the mob once
each round. Instructions
remain until dismissed
and can stack. For
example, the crawlers
might ask the mob to
block certain routes, or to
drive the headless horseman into the
fields, or to trap the bridge. These
instructions never require a check to
enact but the horseman may get a check
to avoid the effects.
The horseman will attack for 1d4+2
rounds, after which it will leave the area
for a year and a day.
CONCLUDING THE ADVENTURE
There are three potential outcomes:
● Failure ─ the horseman leaves,
but fewer than sixty villagers
remain. The party gains 0XP and
each crawler loses any luck tokens
● Survival ─ the horseman leaves
and more than sixty villages
survive. The party gains 3XP and a
plaque is made in their honour.
● Victory ─ the horseman is killed!
The party gains 10XP and a
festival is held in their
honour. If more than
ninety villagers survive,
the party is also awarded
an egg of the
cockatrice.
7
MONSTER DESCRIPTIONS
HEADLESS HORSE
Peculiar mutant horse ( no head ).
AC 11, HP 11, ATK 1 hooves +3 (1d6),
MV double near, S +3, D +1, C +2, I -3,
W +1, Ch -2, AL N, LV 2
HEADLESS HORSEMAN
A shirtless man the size of a weightlifter,
with no head and instead eyes and a
face right smack in his chest.
AC 16*, HP 22, ATK 2 sword +3 (2d6)*,
MV near, S +3, D +1, C -2, I +2, W +1,
Ch +0, AL C, LV 4
Horsed. If unseated, AC becomes 10
and ATK becomes 1 sword +3 (1d6).
8