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HDK 58 † Mesopotamian Death Cult

by VANDALORUM

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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    (〃^∇^)ノ The OSR scenario with map in .pdf format is included in the digital download!
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      €5 EUR  or more

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
    Subscription service exclusive

    Red vinyl 33 r.p.m. + fantasy-RPG module with map!

    Includes unlimited streaming of HDK 58 † Mesopotamian Death Cult via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 10 days
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      €26 EUR or more 

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 164 Heimat Der Katastrophe releases available on Bandcamp and save 90%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of HDK 164† Realmwalker, HDK 169 † Awaiting the Dragon, HDK 162 † The Black Smiling Cloud, HDK 145 † Disarmo o sterminio ?, HDK 163 † Beneath the Violet Kingdom, HDK 157 † Bunker-synth, HDK 152 † Trollpietra, HDK 153 † Ritmo Eccezionale, and 156 more. , and , .

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  • VANDALORUM "Mesopotamian Death Cult" cassette
    Cassette + Digital Album

    Professional dubbed red-pazuzu cassette + OSR scenario with map

    Includes unlimited streaming of HDK 58 † Mesopotamian Death Cult via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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1.
You are in a desert region. Only dry red-rock for several kilometers. Descending into a canyon that ends at the foot of a rugged mountain, you see the entrance to the temple. It is exactly as shown on your map: two monumental columns support an entablature with a tympanum. They are in ruins but their majesty is still great. The entrance is dark, the once majestic gate now lies torn to the ground, scorched by the sun among the cobwebs.
2.
It's full daylight, but you light your torch to illuminate the darkness you see inside. As you approach the threshold by moving the cobwebs with your hand, you hear a slight ticking that makes you immediately alert. The noise gets closer and you understand with dismay what it is: scorpions big as a wolf! They are in large numbers and attack you with their poisonous stings! You wield your weapon and engage in furious combat, helping yourself with your torch fire!
3.
The entrance hall had to be majestic. The vaulted ceiling has a dizzying height and you can't make out the details, because all is wrapped in a dense darkness. You see many writings in incomprehensible language on the large rectangular hall walls. They looks belonging to an ancient time. You feel deeply troubled thinking that here - centuries ago - lived a very advanced and totally unknown civilization.
4.
You walk ahead guided by the light of your torch. Beyond the majestic entrance hall, the temple is formed by a maze of corridors where it's hard to orient yourself. The danger can hide behind every corner and you proceed with caution but the continuous turns and the numerous crossroads give you a sense of profound uncertainty. You try to draw up a map in order to get your bearings but soon you realize you're lost...
5.
When the anxiety is near to began, you finally arrive in a room that you had not yet seen. It is finely carved by stone blocks with very sophisticated geometric decorative motifs that run along its entire perimeter. A door is flanked by four statues of human height. They depict priests dedicated to the worship of Pazuzu, you understand it from the effigy of the god on their tunics. You had seen some small statues of Pazuzu at the antiquities market in the city during your research. As you get closer, you notice that the statues have extremely realistic looks and seem really made with great skill. You cautiously approach the door and what you feared comes true: the statues start to move and attack you!
6.
After breaking up the last living statue, you stop to catch your breath. You realize that the door is finely carved with a depiction of the god Pazuzu: his humanoid body is covered with scales and the large wings give it a majestic appearance. It has the head of a lion, the right hand raised with a posture of stylized aggressiveness. The door is hermetically sealed. You try to push but you understand that it actually opens by lifting it upwards. It is very heavy and you have to use all your strength to lift it. To keep it up, you manage to block it with a piece of hard stone half a meter high. With a little concern, you lay down on the floor and roll over the other side.
7.
At the end of a long and monumental corridor, you reach the hall of a large burial. Probably here lies a king or an important personality of this disappeared civilization. The walls are completely cluttered with engravings in the unknown language that you have already seen at the entrance of the temple. The room is magically illuminated by eternal torches that give off a cold light and there is a large sarcophagus in the center. The heavy marble slab that closes it is very heavy, but you can move it just enough to look inside. The light of your torch reverberates spectacularly on the gold and the jewels that you see inside the tomb...
8.
You move again the stone slab and completely uncover the sarcophagus. The perfectly mummified corpse of a man lies inside, adorned with precious gems. As soon as you streach your hand on a large emerald, the corpse comes to life with a sinister move and blocks your arm. Feel an icy cold that pierces your body to the bottom of your soul. The mummy opens its scary and inhuman red eyes and attacks you: you have to fight!
9.
Sweaty and panting, you gather all your strength and strike the mummy with one strong blow. You hit it deadly on the torso while it was trying to bring its claws to your neck. The torso shatters and its body splits in two in a cloud of millenary dust. As you catch your breath, you hear the mummy who, still alive, utters with a horrible voice a sort of dark croaking litany. When you hear it clearly say "Pazuzu! Pazuzu!", a shudder shakes you. You try to put in your backpack and in your pockets as many gold and jewels as you can, because you understand that soon you shall must to run away...
10.
A dull roar shakes your bowels: the temple is collapsing! You immediately run off towards the exit but you notice with horror that the stone you had put to keep the door open was crumbled. You try to lift the door again but you can't, because from the inside it is perfectly smooth and you don't find handres. You look around searching for an escape route. You are going back in the corridor that leads to the tomb but as soon as you take a step, the blood in the veins freezes: against the light, illuminated by the cold light of the eternal torches, a monstrous creature is advancing whose profile you recognize instinctively. This is the Pazuzu God who arrived on earth from who knows where.
11.
You move back away and, trembling with terror, you hit the wall beside the closed door. While you think "I will die!" you touch something at your right: one of the stone blocks on the wall seems to move! You try to remove it as fast as you can. As you scream for the effort, finally the block falls to the floor, breaking itself in two. In front of you there is a tunnel that gives toward the darkness. Out of the corner of your eye you see Pazuzu's silhouette slowly advancing in the room. You crouch and jump into the dark.
12.
You crawl along the tunnel with the heart in your throat. With your great relief, the passage widens soon allowing you to stand up. After a few meters you feel fresh air: you're about to go outside the temple! Once out you try to get a look around: you understand that you have come out of a cave hidden among the rocks along the canyon. It is night and the moon is full in the sky. You throw away the torch still lit and you start running.
13.
You exit from the canyon walking into the rocky desert. As soon as you realize to have saved your skin, smiling at the thought of having become rich, you hear a thudding beating from above your head. With horror you see against the full moon the silhouette of Pazuzu who is swooping towards you. You look for a hideout but the desert offers only low dry brushwood. You run desperate as you feel the dark presence of the god above your head. Terrified, you stumble, fall down in the dust and lose consciousness.
14.
You are awakened by indistinct voices in the morning light. You are lying on top of a cart going slowly through the crowded streets of the city of Mesopoli. "Hey, you're awake at last!": It is the merchant who has find you unconscious in the desert. He has healed your blow to the head and has carried you on his cart. You recover slowly and realize that you are still alive. What happened to the terrible god Pazuzu? And above all, what happened to your backpack full of treasures that you no longer have on your shoulders? The merchant says he didn't see it: will he be a goddamn thief or he is telling the truth? However, you thank the man for saving you and he seems sincere to you, but your doubt remains. Putting your hands in your pockets, you find two large gems that will still be worth a nice gold bundle. It could have been worse: after all, you're alive and rich enough to have good times until the next adventure...

about

The legend of the god Pazuzu cult is quite common along the banks of the Eufri river... In the taverns of the city of Mesopoli, you can hear about enormous treasures hidden inside its ancient temple excavated in the depths of the mountain. Pazuzu was a great evil god worshiped by an empire buried in the folds of the centuries.

Your name is Yamade and you are a warrior-priestess of the Sun-God Lamaztu’s cult. But all those rules were not for you and you decided to change your life and go for adventure in search of treasures and riches. You are a good fighter quite skilled with the short sword and you know some good healing spells. After days of research, you managed to buy a map from an old smuggler that clearly shows the entrance to the ancient temple. You decide to start for adventure trusting in your strength and courage...

O===[==================-

Oh yeah, we are really happy to present this release! This is an incredibly varied and vigorous classic dungeon synth album, by a truly excellent and loved author, the mighty VANDALORUM.

"Mesopotamian death cult" is the soundtrack of a fantasy RPG scenario in the classic HDK style: each track is linked to a situation on the dungeon map, for a truly exciting and engaging exploration experience!

Collect all the OSR releases of the HDK Dungeonostalgie series and use them to write adventure modules for your favorite rule system and to play (and listen!) with friends!

credits

released July 3, 2020

Ejoy the excellent VANDALORUM music at vandalorum.bandcamp.com

The statue of the demon Pazuzu that appears in the j-card of this cassette is an original work of the Italian artist and sculptor Luca Van Dort. Enjoy his works here:
www.instagram.com/lucavandort
www.facebook.com/lucavandort
www.deviantart.com/lucavandort

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Heimat Der Katastrophe Milan, Italy

DIY label focused on ambient punk, minimal-synth, dungeon-drone, wartime music and post-nuclear wave. Managed by a creative punx collective from Milano city.

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