Critter Gitters

 Several months back, I got a new group of PCs going in Wampus Country, using 5e.  I'm not in love with 5e, but it's good to play with it to figure out what changes would be needed to get a Wampus feel out of pairing that ruleset with this setting.  That's the experiment!  Pleasingly, this group - eventually known as the Critter Gitters - plays on Fridays, just like the "classic" days of the Rat-House Bastards.  They also ended up as a multi-wizard group, too, but we're not there in the story yet.

The 'home base' for this run is the tumbleweed down of Bitter Luck, out on the edge of the badlands.  I used Bitter Luck once previously when I was attempting to run Dungeon of the Selenian Conclave, using 5e, a couple years back, but we only did one session of that before it fizzled.  Maybe Bitter Luck is the 5e town in Wampus Country?

Initially we had three PCs:

Okrem, a robgoblin (half-orc rogue).  Fleeing debts and rival gangsters in a larger town (probably River-Town, or potentially Thistlemarch), Okrem has made his way to Bitter Luck to start over.  He bills himself quite insistently as a locksmith, but he fools no-one with this protestation.

"Pips" Mulligan, a deadeye gunslinger (halfling fighter).  Pips fancies himself a gambler and a daredevil - regrettably he lacks the funds or reputation to support those assertions.  

Umberhulk Hogan, a bug-man wrestler (goliath barbarian).  Hogan is some sort of brawny insect-man from the desert; his chief life-goal is to get famous as a badass rassler.   Hogan carries a folding chair.

These three worthies gathered together in the Roadrunner Saloon in Bitter Luck, agreeing to work together to make some cash - and perhaps a name - out here in the badlands.

FIRST SESSION:  The PCs chat with various town NPCs to get the lay of things, and end up going out into the wilderness to hunt valuable creatures.  They end up killing some giant harmadillos and some other things and dragging them back into town to sell to local wizard The Amazing Flim-Flam for parts.  Whatever bits Flim-Flam doesn't want for magic/potion use, they sell to the tanner and butcher in town.  Thus do they gain their name...the Critter Gitters.  No quarry too big, no target too small.

At this point the Gitters add a fourth member: Fear-Not, a tiefling warlock.

SEVERAL FOLLOWING SESSIONS: The Gitters follow a rumor to investigate the ruined tower across the dry riverbed outside town.  For these sessions, I used The Ruined Tower of Zenopus - a great update and reimagining of the intro level from the Holmes rules.  Zach's update of this dungeon is fantastic, I've run it twice now - and that's pretty much the best compliment I can give an adventure!  The Critter Gitters cleared out most of the place, and clashed with the resident wizard, one Lord Halitosis.  In addition, they took over the wizard's house - y'know, like PCs do.  By the end of the several sessions, the Gitters were claiming the subterranean complex (and the house above) as their new HQ.  They've been living there since, despite a few corners of the place not quite being secured...  Somewhere in here, Fear-Not gets killed and resurrected with a mix of suspicious/janky potions, and although he comes back to life, he now has a tomato for a head.

HALLOWEEN EPISODE:  Just in time for Halloween, the Critter Gitters accepted an assignment from local rich-dog Sir Reginald Toiletwater to head north and investigate/reclaim The Haunted Mills.  I was glad to finally implement this goofy adventure idea, and as it turned out it took two sessions to get through it.  By the end, the Gitters had vanquished the threat - after nearly dying a couple times, as is only fair for a Halloween game - and the flaming blue ghost of Beau Barry had ascended to some more evil plane.  He'll be back, no doubt.

Next time: We'll catch up to today, as the Critter Gitters acquire a few more (associate?) members and investigate a flying castle.