Today’s post is part of an in-between DCC RPG Actual Play session postings to provide a little more insight into the cast of characters and players that make up the campaign.
Dustin plays the character Tsanth. Dustin has been with the group from the start of the campaign, though Tsanth made his appearance a few sessions in. This week Dustin provides fans of the podcast with some insight behind Tsanth.
Tsanth
Human Male Cleric of Mani
Tsanth came to the initially-named Grand Charter Company of Mustertown during its transition into Satan’s Glee Club, and joined the group shortly after their adventures in Slither’s End. Incidentally, Tsanth began working miracles in Dark Cthulhu’s name, manifested as turning demons away, healing the party, and throwing darkness at weird birds that attacked us. It was a grand time.
As the group became more chaotic, Tsanth found Cthulhu answering less and less of his calls for aid. Before long, even healing the group and ordinary spells became difficult. This became a greater problem when the group faced off against death. Needing the artifact-sword the Argent Falx, the group raided the Temple of Mani and stole the sword. Later, after the group retrieved Gonlex and Meffridus from Death, they adventured in the Sunken City to an abandoned Temple of The Harrower in order to “save” the Argent Falx and turn it into the righteous instrument of badassery it should be.
It was there that the group first met Jargon, a larcenous halfling. Tsanth suffered the disapproval of Cthulhu within the temple when he donned a temple robe as a disguise. By the time the group reached the idol of the temple and made their request to solidify the Argent Falx blade, Tsanth was nearly irate. Cthulhu was answering less and less. As an attempt to appease his uncaring, dead and dreaming god, Tsanth ripped a large emerald from the idol of The Harrower.
The theft of the emerald triggered the collapse of the temple. Most of the group escaped and returned to the Great City, where the group was attacked by mercenaries hired by the Temple of Mani. Satan’s Glee Club quickly dispatched the mercs, then turned the their attentions towards revenge. After hiring some additional muscle, the group holed up for the night in the chapel of Cthulhu that Tsanth had lovingly restored within the city. There, Tsanth made fresh sacrifices to his tentacled god before the big showdown with the followers of Mani.
The showdown was intense. Satan’s Glee Club approached the temple directly, where they battled more mercenaries on the steps of the giant ziggurat. There at the front of the temple, mighty Jargon fell. Tsanth attempted to heal him, but Cthulhu would not answer. Failing in two attempts to reach his god, Tsanth reached down deep and sacrificed his own blood to save Jargon. As part of this “sacrificial life burn,” Tsanth’s holy tentacle glowed red hot, and pressing it deep into Jargon’s chest, the burning fire of Cthulhu rushed into the halfling, scarring him for life but saving him from death.
The bloodied but victorious group pushed their way into the temple, and facing more eunuchs and handmaidens, the group took an early beating. One of the group’s mercenaries turned back time and saved the party, and armed with what MIGHT happen in the future, the group turned the tide of the battle and began to slay those servants of Mani, and seemed poised to wipeout the temple.
But Mani had other plans in mind. Sending a colossal Moon Dragon avatar, Mani began smiting the Glee Club members. Warrior after warrior fell. Soon, only a small retreating group remained while KpNooney-Klaus and Tsanth remained. While KpNooney rained fiery missiles on the Moon Dragon, Tsanth drained all of his remaining power to call upon Cthulhu. With a desperate prayer, he attempted to wrest control of the spirit avatar away from Mani. But Cthulhu did not answer.
With the group smashed and broken, Tsanth turned away from Cthulhu and offered the last thing he had to Mani, this angered Goddess of the Moon – his service. Bargaining for the lives of his friends and companions, Tsanth threw off the yoke of an uncaring and silent god and accepted Mani into his soul. With this, Tsanth promised the restoration of the temple under his influence and supervision, which Mani surprisingly accepted.
Tsanth now serves Mani devoutly. While he initially was cautious, knowing the severity of his and the groups transgressions and fearing dark reprisals from the Moon Goddess, Mani has been close to Tsanth since the transformation – even answering his prayers during his recent adventures with Satan’s Glee Club on another planet. Now, his devotion is approaching zealotry. He now leads preparations for the next Ceremony of the Moon at the temple, ready to bless a new Handmaiden and signal the coming of a new age of Mani within the Great City.
The new Dungeon Crawl Classics campaign kicked off earlier this week with my online group. We are starting out in the Shudder Mountains from the recently released Chained Coffin boxed set from Goodman Games. The set has plenty of great material to get the campaign rolling and we opened up with the 0-level funnel, Sour Spring Hollow.
