Campaigning in a Dungeon World
Saturday, 31 May, Man Day Adventures voyaged into new territory for most of us, specifically Dungeon World. Out of the four of us who showed up, only Gary had played DW several times. I’d GMed the game a grand total of four times, all for 5th graders. My son Christopher and friend Terry had not played DW before.
And so we assembled in the living room, and I plopped the stack of blank character sheets down on a table. A few minutes later, we had three heroes ready for action:
* Gentleman Starkey, human thief, played by Christopher
* Tiern Longshot, human ranger, and Shadow, his wolf animal companion, played by Gary
* Mack Corkindale, human druid, played by Terry
This being DW, all three characters came with some interpersonal history. Mack believes a great danger follows Starkey. Starkey thinks he and Tiern have some sort of con in the works. Tiern, for his part, doesn’t trust Starkey because of his disrespect for nature, but Tiern trusts Mack because he does respect nature. What’s more, to add some additional details, I yoinked! these custom opening moves from Alex Barrett and tweaked them a wee bit. The players chose their opening moves from a list, and ended up with these results:
* Starkey had run up a tab at the Drunken Gryphon in order to get some strangers to drinking, talking, and sharing. As a result, Starkey ended up with a phial of a strange red liquid and a scroll that contained a cryptic bit of verse.
* Tiern worked security for Prince Zaph, who promised he owed Tiern a favor for saving his life during an attack by raiders.
* Mack stole a map from a tome kept in a Recondite Order library. He also made away with a mysterious scroll, presumably magical but written in an unknown tongue.
And so, with this done, it was time to hammer out some final, pre-adventure details. The first question that had to be answered was, “Why are you going to Salmagunderland?” Mack, who hails from a more arctic clime, had been told by a goose about the many strange animals that live in southern latitudes. Starkey figured the cryptic verse he’d acquired in the Drunken Gryphon hinted at something fabulous to be found in that jungle frontier. Tiern was simply capitalizing on his good reputation as a hired guard.
More questions and answers:
Q: “Is the Recondite Order good, evil, or something else?” A: They’re evil.
Q: “What is the name of the ship you’re sailing on?” A: Destiny’s Maiden.
Q: “What is the captain’s name?” A: Captain Jack Owen
Q: “How did you get passage aboard the ship?” A: As hired guards.
Q: “Have you made any friends among the crew?: A: Mack has become friends with crow’s next lookout Jorge Prido. Tiern has become friends with the captain. Starkey has become friends with Deadhand Dan, the ship’s resident gambler.
Q: “Have you made any enemies among the crew?” A: Mack has earned the dislike of Dev Purkayashta, who has a profound dislike for animals. Tiern has earned the enmity of First Mate Handsome Jim, who feels that the captain’s choice to hire guards is a slight against Jim’s abilities.
After all this, which took about a half hour, it was adventure time, using Will Doyle’s excellent winning entry for the 2014 One-Page Dungeon Contest.
Our heroes had been selling aboard Destiny’s Maiden for several days, sticking within sight of land, until reaching the proper latitude, at which time the ship set out westward, leaving the coast behind for the open sea. The storm hit suddenly about a week later. The crew performed admirably, but Destiny’s Maiden was blown off course. The storm left, but a dense fog settled in as the sun rose. Fortunately, Mack’s keen eyes spotted the tell-tale shadow of an island.
While Tiern alerted the captain about “Land ho!”, Mack transformed into a ram-horned seagull to scout out the island. (Nota Bene: No matter his form, Mack always has curving ram’s horns.) He saw a volcano oozing lava into the sea, thick jungles, mountains in the distance, a black river snaking through the jungle. Mack returned to the ship and reported to Captain Jack.
“I know where we’re at,” Jack said. “Head to the starboard! We’re making for Driftwood!”
Driftwood, the captain explained, was founded years ago by shipwrecked sailors who took shelter in a series of sea caves. Since then, others have come to Driftwood, seeking asylum from the civilized world. “Today,” Captain Jack said, “Driftwood is a collection of scuttled ships, huts on stilts, and scaffolds and bridges connecting everything. It’s not exactly a wretched hive of scum and villainy, but it ain’t paradise either.”
Captain Jack, Handsome Jim, and a few trustworthy sailors took one boat toward Driftwood while Gentleman Starkey, Tiern and Shadow, Mack, and Jorge took the other boat farther along the south beach, heading toward the swampy mouth of the river. Mack wanted to study some local fauna, and everyone wanted some fresh fruit and water.
While Tiern and Jorge worked on gathering fruit and water, Mack and Starkey decided to get a closer look at the crocodiles. Mack observed their movements, their shapes and sizes, and their modes of communication. A whole new world of animals was opening to him in these tropical lands! As Tiern and Jorge loaded the boat, Tiern’s keep eyes spotted a particularly large crocodile slithering up from out of tall grass toward Starkey.
“Watch out!” Tiern yelled, and just in time. The crocodile lunged forward, its jaws snapping shut mere inches from where Starkey had been standing. The nimble thief staggered in the mud and fell just a few feet from the reptile’s massive jaws. Tiern fired an arrow that glanced off the croc’s scaly head, momentarily stunning the beast. Starkey and Mack retreated.
“Tiern!” shouted Mack. “Kill that bird!”
Tiern put an arrow through the water fowl, and Mack retrieved the animal, slowly approaching the crocodile, doing his best to speak its language, offering the bird. Starkey made haste to get as far away from the reptile as possible. When the croc took a few steps forward and opened its maw, Mack tossed the fowl into the waiting jaws and then departed as well. (Nota Bene: I statted up some DW monsters and put them in this PDF. For the aforementioned croc, I adjusted the crocodile found in the PDF by applying solitary rather than group tag. Easy peasy.)
At this time, the foursome decided to pole their way farther upstream. The current was sluggish, and shallows near the banks were easy enough to navigate. Some distance later, they spotted a cluster of mango trees with sweet, ripe fruit just waiting to be picked. As they filled their baskets, they also noticed something was amiss. That cluster of plants over there wasn’t quite natural for someone had pulled the plants together to form something like a hunter’s blind. A quick check of the area revealed that a brief skirmish had taken place recently, that two victims had been dragged away, that one of the victims had likely been a maiden judging by the size of her footprints and the blue ribbon found tangled in a branch. That the attackers had been lizard men was undoubted. Gentleman Starkey found a cache of primitive javelins and distributed them.
“We cannot leave a maiden to whatever tortures lizard men may practice,” said Tiern, and the others agreed.
And so our heroes and Jorge, led by Tiern, tracked the lizard men through the jungle in a roundabout path that intersected the river even farther upstream. There the trail ended. Suddenly, a thunderous roar echoed through the jungle. More tracking ensued, and the heroes and Jorge found a lake around which were the tracks of some enormous bipedal lizard. At this time, Starkey decided to head off on his own backtracking the monster west by southwest through the jungle in direction of the volcano, while Tiern and Shadow, Mack, and Jorge moved in the other direction, heading east by northeast through the jungle toward the mountains. (Nota Bene: I’ve run DW a grand total of five time as of this writing, and every single time the party has split up.)
Our story now bifurcates!
Tiern, Shadow, Mack, and Jorge
The larger part of the group tracked the monster until they reached a rocky ridge before which sank a large depression and in which a gigantic red-scaled monster stood, roaring up at three lizard men who had a bound and hooded prisoner with them atop the ridge. It was evident that the lizard men were going to toss the prisoner into the gaping jaws of the giant lizard.
Mack sprung into action, transforming into a powerful polar bear and then charging around the pit and up the ridge toward the lizard men. Tiern fired an arrow, wounding and stunning a lizard man guard. Mack smashed through the other lizard men, gripping the prisoner with his powerful jaws, but not before a lizard man warrior grabbed his flanks with scaly fingers. Polar bear with prisoner and lizard man in tow rushed down the other side of the ridge before the magic of Mack’s transformation wore off. Tiern and Shadow broke cover, Tiern’s arrows and the wolf’s jaws making short work of the lizard man.
Then the monstrous lizard turned its attention toward the exposed heroes. Mack transformed into a caribou, and the prisoner and Tiern rode Mack like the wind, racing away as the monster thundered after them. After several minutes of high-speed pursuit through the jungle, Mack left the gigantic lizard behind. As he resumed human form, Mack realized that they’d left Jorge behind!
The prisoner, Jack Gibbard, explained that he and his daughter were in the jungle picking mangos when they’d been ambushed by lizard men. The lizard men split up in the jungle, the larger group taking his daughter toward Sacrifice Mountain, wherein the lizard men lair at the source of Blackfang River. The smaller group, which our heroes encountered, took Jack to the Pit in order to sacrifice him to their Lizard God. The group made their way back to their boat and left Jack there, promising him that they’d rescue his daughter.
But first they had to find Jorge. Unfortunately, after retracing their path to the pit, they discovered Jorge had been captured. The clever sailor left trail markers behind, including one of his hoop earrings, which made it easier for Tiern to track the group. Deep into lizard man territory traveled Tiern, Shadow, and Mack, intent on their mission. They avoided several lizard men patrols and arrived at Sacrifice Mountain as the sun set.
From a large cave surged Blackfang River. Adjacent to this cave was a worked archway across which the heroes spotted a lizard man walking as if on guard duty. Mack and Tiern adroitly ambushed the guard, slaying him without trouble. The chamber beyond had two exits, one leading upstairs toward an area from which they could hear the horrid, joyful sounds of perhaps dozens of lizard men celebrating some obscene rite. The other direction was a simple corridor, and this is the route the heroes took.
At the end of the hallway was another guard room. Four drunken lizard men hissed in private celebration, neglecting their duties. Another flight of stairs ascended out of the room. Mack turned into a ram-horned, white-furred mouse. He scurried through the guard room and up the stairs to discover a throne room complete with something like a lizard king, a huge lizard man guard, and several lizard men courtiers making some sort of report. Mack could again hear the horrid, joyful sounds. Realizing his magic would soon run out, Mack raced back down the stairs, but didn’t make it all the way through the guard room before he returned to normal form.
The guards stood stunned at the sudden appearance of this ram-horned human. Mack turned into a crocodile, and the lizard men jumped to their feet, exclaiming loudly and upsetting their table. Tiern, hearing this racket, knew something had gone wrong, and attacked. A fierce battle ensued. Mack was seriously injured before he, Tiern, and Shadow managed to kill the guards.
Gentleman Starkey
Meanwhile, Gentleman Starkey traveled alone through the jungle, intent on some errand but without much of a plan in mind. He quickly found himself blundering into the middle of several jungle dwarfs, the leader of whom informed Starkey that he trespassed on sacred ground and for that he must die. Outnumbered, Starkey surrounded. He was disarmed, bound, and dragged to the jungle dwarf village, where he was presented to their chieftain.
The chieftain pronounced sentence, but Starkey noticed a dwarf woman behind the chief’s throne who whispered something to the chief. The chief then demanded to know why Starkey had trespassed on their sacred lands.
“I was brought here by a cryptic verse,” Starkey said, and then he recited the verse he had acquired in the Drunken Gryphon. It spoke of a pale stranger who would free a people from a terrible curse.
The dwarf woman’s eyes widened, and she whispered to the chieftain again. He ordered Starkey be placed in the sacrificial hut to await his fate. Starkey was tied up in the hut a few moments later. Fortunately, he’d hidden a slender blade on his person, and he used it to cut his bonds. Just as he’d freed himself, the dwarf woman entered the hut. Starkey pretended to be bound.
“You know the story,” the dwarf woman said, “but do you have the blood of the Forge God?”
“Yes, I do,” Starkey said, revealing that he had freed himself as he pulled the strange phial of red fluid from its hiding place to show the dwarf woman. She dropped to her knees in reverence.
Shortly thereafter, Starkey was the honored guest in the village. He was bathed and oiled and dressed in clean clothes. He was given a grand feast. The chieftain explained to his people that the Chosen One had come at last. In the morning, the Chosen One would ascend the volcano to the Crucible of Steel in order to retrieve the Spear of Serpents, which he would then use to slay the Lizard God. There was much rejoicing. The chieftain presented Starkey with one of his virgin daughters. Starkey, being a gentleman, refrained from this last gift.
In the morning, Starkey’s weapons and armor were returned, and he was escorted to the edge of the jungle dwarfs’ territory and given rough directions to the Crucible of Steel near the volcano’s crater. Hours later, tired and begrimed with ash and dirt, Starkey reached the cliff top he had been seeking. He handily defeated a dwarf zombie, and then approached the formidable-looking structure built into the side of the volcano.
Inside, he found himself staring at two rows of three anvils each. He could hear the clang of hammers, but could see now smiths. Heat and the glow of lava filled the chamber. To his left, Starkey could see a massive portal in the wall, but no floor led to this portal, which stood many yards above a lava pit. As he entered deeper into the Crucible, sparks flew and six dwarfish smiths manifested, each seemingly made of smoke and flame.
“Once I was forging a mighty axe for a king and the blade fell into the coals. Without hesitation, I reached into the furnace with my hand and retrieved the blade,” boasted one ghost.
“Another time, a cave bear came into my hall. I leapt upon its back, gripped its top and bottom jaws in my fists, and then cracked open its skull,” boasted another.
“Impressive,” said Starkey. “Uh. One time, I, uh, saw a crocodile?”
The six ghosts roared with laughter as weapons manifested in their hands. A few seconds later, Starkey, injured and scared, fled from the Crucible. The ghosts laughed more and then faded from sight. The clang of hammers resumed. After catching his breath, Starkey re-entered the Crucible. The ghosts appeared again. One of them gestured for Starkey to come forward as the ghost swung his battle axe meaningfully. Starkey shook his head and gestured for the dwarf to come forward. The ghost chuckled.
Then Starkey pulled the bottle of dwarfish ale from his adventuring gear. He tossed it to the closest ghost, who deftly caught the bottle, smashed it open on the anvil, and then chugged from the bottle’s jagged neck. With a mocking grin, he tossed the bottle back. Starkey caught it and then chugged the remainder, sifting shard of glass with his teeth. He locked eyes with the ghost.
Then all six ghost dwarfs laughed merrily, and one asked Starkey why he had come to the Crucible of Steel. Starkey explained his quest.
“Do you have the key?” a ghost asked.
“Key?” Starkey asked. “What key?”
“You cannot open the door to the vault and retrieve the Spear of Serpents without the key, which was lost generations ago in the Land of Goliaths on the far west side of the island.”
“Oh,” said Starkey. “How can I find the key?”
“The blood of the Forge God glows ever brighter the closer to the key it comes,” a ghost explained. “If you have the Forge God’s blood, travel to the Land of the Goliaths, retrieve the key, and then return here. Only then can you enter the vault.”
The End…for Now
And so ended our first session. Did other lizard men heard the conflict in the guard room? Should Mack, Tiern, and Shadow press on, or should they retreat? Can Starkey descend the volcano and travel to the Land of Goliaths in order to retrieve the key? What of Jorge? Is he still alive?
