In 1748 the famous libertine baronet Sir Francis Dashwood ordered the excavation of a complex of chalk caves under his family seat of West Wycombe Park. The work incorporated existing caves and mine tunnels, as well as new chambers and galleries, and may have linked to some of the "follies" on the grounds of the manor — and possibly to the crypt of St. Laurence's Church, the Dashwood family mausoleum, and an underground river.
The place is known as "Hell-Fire Caves" because it was the meeting-place for Dashwood's notorious social circle known as the "Hell-Fire Club" (or, more formally, the "Order of Monks of St. Francis of Wycombe" or the "Mad Monks of Medmenham." The organization was chiefly an excuse for drinking, whoring, and frat-house blasphemies against Catholicism.
Or . . . was it? Digging a complex of underground passages and coming up with an elaborate set of rituals blaspheming a religion none of the members followed anyway seems a bit over-the-top, even for Georgian-era aristocrats. Surely one of the guests would have rolled his eyes and snorted "Enough jabber about devils and the Pope, Dashwood — bring in the laudanum and the whores!"
What if Dashwood and his friends were using debauchery and "harmless" mockery of Catholicism to cover up something more nefarious? The underground warren of tunnels at West Wycombe recalls the secret underground complex described in 1797 by the madman/spy James Tilly Matthews as the headquarters of the "Air-Loom Gang," using their clockpunk machines to inflict madness on him. Needless to say, Matthews was hardly the most celebrated madman of the era: what was really behind George III's bouts of insanity beginning in 1788? What was the real source of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's visions of a "pleasure dome" with "caverns measureless to man" and an underground river in 1797? What really caused a "madman" to assassinate Prime Minister Perceval in 1812? To find out, the heroes must venture into the Hell-Fire Caves!
ENCOUNTERS IN THE HELL-FIRE CAVES
There is a 50 percent chance that any titled member of the aristocracy is actually a Reptoid lizard-man using Mesmeric illusions to appear human. Also, unless noted, all gentlemen are accompanied by 1d4 prostitutes dressed in "naughty nun" costumes and acting drunker than they really are.
Roll 1d20 if the characters are moving about the caverns, 1d10 if they remain in one room.
1: Roll Twice and Combine.
2: Plot-Advancing Encounter.Someone or something connected to the reason the adventurers are in the Hell-Fire Caverns.
3: Baboon! A live, full-grown baboon with devil's horns crudely tied to its head. The beast is drunk, confused, angry — and can bite a man's arm off.
4: Deros. 1d6 short, obese, hairless denizens of the Earth's interior, secret allies of Dashwood and his Club. Their ancient technology lies behind the Air-Loom, and their own monstrous desires are a perfect fit for the Club's debaucheries. They carry nerve-whips. A chamber containing Deros has a 50 percent chance of being a concealed entrance to their own deeper tunnels.
5: Druids. 2d6 men in Druidical robes, carrying gold-plated sickles. They are slightly less drunk than other Club members, and are preparing to carry out a real blood sacrifice. Guess who the victims will be?
6: Ghouls. 1d6 rubbery, hoofed corpse-eaters — more of Dashwood's secret allies, the Ghouls act as "cleaners" to dispose of any inconvenient bodies, witnesses, or interlopers. A room with Ghouls has a 50 percent chance of holding a secret entrance to their own damp tunnels leading in the direction of the nearest burying-ground.
7: Historical Figure. Hey, it's that guy! Roll 1d6. 1: Cagliostro; 2: Sir Francis Dashwood himself in full fake Papal regalia; 3: Benjamin Franklin, a guest of the Club; 4: George, the Prince Regent (future George IV); 5. The Comte de Saint-Germain, even though he's supposed to be dead; 6. John Wilkes, notorious political radical and libertine.
8: Lamia. One of the "Nuns" of Medmenham isn't a London doxy at all. She's a snake-bodied vampiric Lamia, irresistibly seductive and deadly. Most of the Monks probably don't care.
9: Mad Monks of Medmenham. 1d6 "normal" members of the Club. They're dressed in monks' robes over white suits, they're rich and powerful, and they're unbelievably drunk. They're looking for more booze, sex, or something to wager over — and preferably a way to combine all three.
10: Secret Agents. 1d6 of Francis Dashwood's elite secret operatives, dressed in the same white suits and monks' robes as the other members. But these men are stone cold sober, armed, and skilled at combat.
11: Air-Loom. A prototype of the "magnetized air" device which the secret conspiracy has installed under London, this one only affects the environs of West Wycombe Park itself. The device can produce various effects under the control of a skilled operator. An unskilled person monkeying with the controls gets random results. Roll 1: Amnesia; 2: Fear; 3: Loss of inhibitions; 4: Mania; 5: Pain; 6: Rage; 7: Sickness; 8: Visual hallucinations; 9: Voices inside one's head; 10: Roll twice and combine.
12: Alarm! Someone has notice intruders skulking about the place and raised the alarm. While the guests are too preoccupied to notice, Sir Francis's agents (see #10) and a crew of burly footmen make a sweep through the complex looking for anyone who isn't on the guest list.
13: Booby-Trap! A tripwire across the doorway dumps a bucket of noxious stuff onto whoever comes in. Possible contents of the bucket include human feces, ink, paint, urine, or ice water. Hilarious! The 1d4 Mad Monks who set the trap are waiting to mock whoever triggers it.
14: Captive Fairy. A fairy girl of unearthly beauty is tethered by an iron shackle to the floor. She begs to be set free. Note that her beauty is a psychic effect; her true form is a hairless gray humanoid with huge black eyes.
15: Evidence. This otherwise unoccupied room does hold a treasure. A member's discarded coat has signed letters in the pocket implicating both the coat's owner and Dashwood in occult treason.
16: Exit to Surface. A hidden ventilation shaft ascends to one of the "Follies" on the grounds of the manor.
17: Orgy in Progress. 2d6 Mad Monks, along with a like number of "Nuns" are engaged in drunken sex acts of unusual depravity. New arrivals are invited to join in, and any refusal may arouse suspicion.
18: Pagan Temple. A shrine of Venus — although the images of Venus on the walls feature a lot more eyes and tentacles than conventional depictions usually have. The bloodstains on the altar are real.
19: Wardrobe. It doesn't lead anywhere, but the big wardrobe in this room has 1d6 sets of black "Mad Monk" robes.
20: Tracks/Aftermath. Roll again to see what the adventurers just missed.
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