Play Report: Lorn Song of Bachelor x Mangayaw (Session 6)

This is a retelling of a game session of Lorn Song of the Bachelor run with Mangayaw

The Binmanwa Party

• Malakas, a shamanistic healer
• Bantok, a hunter
• Eumining-gud, an aswang (?)
• Dumalapdap, a ratfolk musketeer
• Tusok, a witch’s apprentice

A Deal With The Catfish Captain

Grimkin San Mor looks like a corpse wearing pirate regalia, with a catfish attached to her crotch. In actuality, the catfish is Grimkin herself. “This is my crew. We are family. What skills can you offer? Will you join us? My crew always needs capable hands. Join our family.”

The party asked the captain about her goals. She said wants to control the Bachelor by attaching a catfish on it. She doubts her crew can take the beast on with just themselves, so she is looking for help.

And if she gains control of the Bachelor, “what then?”, the party asks. More power, Grimkin answered. She did not elaborate.

The party felt that Grimkin attaining power would not be the best for the Gleaming Fins, and for anyone else really. They planned to go with her plan, only to betray her at the last minute.

“Would we need to have catfish attached to our crotches as well?” they asked. “Not yet,” Grimkin answered, “consider this a free trial to our family.”

The Warrior

Grimkin had the key to the stupa in the Bachelor-Filled Belly. Opening it revealed a staircase leading somewhere deep down. At the end of it is the interior of a longhouse.

The longhouse has glinting tapestries, silver fixtures, and a carpet of bones and skulls. In the far side, a dais holding mummified remains. It is guarded by two person-shaped piles of teeth. A figure skulks up above, on the timber struts.

Not knowing how to approach this situation, Bantok nonchalantly entered the interior and wipes off wet-corpse slime covering his hands on one of the tapestries. This prompted the tooth golems to approach him, teeth grinding as they move. The mysterious figure started singing, and teeth from the skulls on the ground stirred to form into another golem.

Dumalapdap scampered up to the timber struts using the tapestries with such agility. He caught sight of the figure: crocodile scales tattooed all over its body, teeth filed into points that it evokes a crocodile’s maw, a bestial look on his face. He was very clearly a Warrior.

Dumalapdap tried tackling him, with Eumining-gud attempting to distract it with her long neck. But the Warrior would not budge. Dumalapdap is left clinging on to him to avoid falling onto the floor. Realizing her approach is ineffective, Eumining-gud started to chant Maga Kulam, directed at the Warrior.

Below, another tooth golem arose. Malakas and the party’s companions move in to back Bantok up against them, with Tusok shooting blowdarts from behind. The wet-corpses move in against one, with Grimkin barking orders.

There was a clash of blade and teeth. Malakas was bitten by an armful of teeth and was dragged into a hug of a thousand incisors. Bantok hacked at the golem to save him, but it did not budge.

The Warrior jumped from the struts onto the carpet of bones and reached for Dumalapdap, who let go to avoid it. Eumining-gud finished her chant and the Warrior’s neck swelled, limiting his airflow. He pants and coughs, his movement dulled, but he remains a huge threat.

The Warrior drew his great machete from the wooden scabbard strapped to his waist. He swung it at Dumalapdap who failed to dodge it, producing a large gash across the ratfolk’s chest. He swung a punch with his other hand, launching Dumalapdap into the wall.

The group of wet-corpses hacked their tooth golem down, but the rest of the party are still having difficulty dealing with theirs. Bantok is hug-munched by the other golem. Tusok, realizing the grim ending that awaits them should they continue this fight, remembered the Mentala tattoos etched on his arms by the witch he once called master. He knows not what the Mentala would do, but he chanted it anyway.

Tusok’s form changed in a moment. His skin to thick leather, his limbs to stumps, his ears to wide flaps, his nose into a trunk, and his canines into tusks. He had become taller and wider than any other in the room.

Tusok used this form to cause a ruckus, than the others might escape. Once they did, he let go of his bestial form and made for the stairs himself, but the Warrior pounced on him. He failed to escape.

GM Comments

This fight was epic, even if the odds weren’t in the players’ favor. They even had a detachment on their side, but still no luck. I’m glad my players enjoyed the session despite my dropping in and out of the voice chat because internet in the Philippines is broken.

Here’s a funny story about safety tools. At the start of the campaign, I had the player fill out their Lines and Veils. Someone put Dental Horror on the Ask Me First category. Knowing about the Tooth Golems in the adventure, I knew we’re eventually gonna have a conversation about that. That time was this session.

I asked the player what they don’t want to happen in-game, and they proceeded to describe the Tooth Golem’s critical hit effect almost exactly. I was beyond amused. I hope this short story amuses you too..