Archive | June 2016

Dungeon World – Session #3

Session #3 : The Lake

Cast of Characters:

  • Borin
  • Brand
  • Fedwig
  • Lumpy
  • Red
  • Russell

While setting up camp in the tunnel, the party is joined again by the cleric Borin and Red. They each tell of their adventures while they were absent.
Red was investigating the burned city and found some hidden traps and had some rubble fell on him from unstable buildings.

Borin went to the lake near the Evermoors in order to lay the ashes of The Lonely Maiden to rest. His divine magic awoke beings in the lake. As they came closer, Borin found them to be undead, skeletal dwarven pirates! They warned him against worshiping Hoptimus, and asked to show him the “truth”. The cleric refused and had to do battle with the skeletons. After much difficulty, he prevailed! He found an odd coin and an interesting waterproof satchel among their rags.

The party was very interested in Borin’s tale and investigated both the coin and the bag. It was found that the coin was very old, from a kingdom that no longer exists. And a map was found inside the bag. Upon further investigation an “X” was found on the map leading the party to believe that it was in fact a treasure map.

A lot of discussion happened between the party as they tried to decide where to go next. Eventually the party came to the conclusion that they should investigate the lake further.

Once at the lake, Fedwig set about studying a spell that would allow him to speak with the undead that had accosted Borin. Brand totally helped.
Lumpy shapeshifted into a frog to investigate the lake further.
Red started skipping stones into the lake.

Suddenly a group of bandits emerged from the brush and demanded tribute from Fedwig and Brand!
A HUGE crocodile was attracted by the stones and attacked Red and Russell at the edge of the lake!

Red and Russell dispatched the beast thankfully before Red could be eaten.
Brand calmly explained to the bandits that they outnumbered them, and that they should sod off. Two more bandits came from the woods accompanied by wolves and the fight was on!

Eventually the party triumphed over the bandits and wolves, finding some gold and an interesting note in their pockets:

R-
Everything is set and ready to go on your signal.
-V

Lumpy’s grand lake adventure had him plunge into the depths of the deep lake, avoiding large stalagmite-like protrusions from the bottom. At the center of the lake he found a sunken ship, split in two and partially buried beneath the silt at the bottom. He also had to avoid the female of the crocodile pair who had made her home inside the ship and was guarding a clutch of eggs. Bravely daring to get closer, Lumpy was able to scoop up a prize from the lake floor, dodging the female crocodile, and swimming as fast as he could back to shore.

Once there, Lumpy and the party discover that the prize he carried was an intricate skeleton key with silver filigree and a decorative metal-mesh ribbon. And even better, the filigree on the key matched the decorative stitching inside the waterproof satchel that Borin found!

Fedwig was finally able to cast his spell, and due to his diligence studying and Brand’s help, he was able to compel one of the dead dwarven pirates to answer three questions.

  • Question: Can you identify these objects? (The bag and the key) — Answer: Yes
  • Question: What is the significance of these objects? (The bag and the key) — Answer: They lead to and unlock the treasure we were searching for.
  • Question: What do you know of this? (The stone) — Answer: It is the Chaos Stone. It was created by the same forces that drive us. It will be your undoing. And now you know too much!


Places:

  • Kindlewood (now known as Nevermore), a formerly-wealthy town located on a trade route near the Evermoors. Used to boast a lovely tavern and a stone mage tower. Former home of Brand and Lumpy
  • The Evermoors, a stretch of swampland to the North-Northeast of the ruined Kindlewood
  • The lake, borders both Kindlewood and the Evermoors. It is located at the northern end of Kindlewood and empties into the Evermoors. Has large crocodiles living in it and also a sunken ship
  • The Lonely Maiden, formerly a cozy tavern within Kindlewood, now a burnt ruin. Russell and Borin met Fedwig here
  • The Bloodprow, a sunken ship Lumpy found at the bottom of the lake. This was mentioned by the skeletal figures that Borin met
  • Oakbridge Keep, a keep to the southwest of Kindlewood

Notable NPCs:

  • “R”, single initial printed on a note the party found on a dead bandit
  • “V”, single initial printed on a note the party found on a dead bandit
  • Hoptimus the Thirsty, dwarven deity whose worshipers include Borin Ironbottom

Previous Post: Session #2 – Kindlewood is Nevermore
Next Post: Session #4 (coming soon)

Dungeon World – Session #2

Session #2 : Kindlewood is Nevermore

Cast of Characters:

  • Brand
  • Fedwig
  • Lumpy
  • Russell

After the battle for Lumpy (where the party rescued the halfling druid from the kidnapping bandits), the party stands in the ruins of Kindlewood.
Suddenly a thumping noise is heard from below their feet!

Digging around in the rubble, a locked metal door is unearthed. Without their trusty expert, Red, the party is left to pry the door open. Russell does this with his sword (which is roughly the size of a grown human… and serrated…). The door bursts open, a bandit rushes out screaming bloody murder, and the opening down into the cellar of the merchant’s basement is left with jagged and sharp edges.
The bandit is quickly dispatched and the party is left figuring out how to get down into the basement without harming themselves.
Russell chooses to muscle through and let his armor do the work for him.
Lumpy turns into a quick-footed rabbit and leaps down the stairs after him.
Fedwig, being of slim build, slips through unharmed.
Brand grabs the clothing from the dead bandit and uses that pad the edges so he can make his way downstairs.

In the room beyond, the party finds lots of smashed open and looted crates and barrels. A pattern in the dust alerts the party to a hidden door, and they search for the mechanism with which to open the door. Brand and Russell find this (and share a bro-ment) and a secret door opens!

Beyond the secret door lies a looted and smashed workshop. Fedwig realizes that the chemicals and equipment contained in the room is definitely used in the manufacturing of poisons! He also spies a poisonous beetle escaped from his captivity crawling around on the benches. Lumpy makes friends with the beetle and learns a little about the operations of the place.

Beyond the workshop was a hallway. Lumpy hears an odd voice echoing down the hallway speaking very creepily of eating something. He attempts to speak with the entity beyond. After stalling for a bit, the being Lumpy made contact with reveals herself as a giant spider and shoots webbing at Russell!
A fight begins and everyone gets covered with sticky webbing. Lumpy shapeshifts into a great bear to do battle with the spider, and through a series of events Russell ends up riding Lumpy into battle as he became stuck to his fur while trying to leap over the bear. Fedwig enrages the spider by shooting magic missiles into her eyes, Brand gets wrapped in webbing but uses his firemancy to conjure a spider of fire, and together the party slew the great arachnid!
Searching the room, the party finds a bunch of spider eggs, which Brand quickly dispatches with a conjured beast of fire. The webbing and eggs are burned away, along with whatever, or whomever, was rolled into cocoons…

Lumpy’s friendly poisonous beetle makes an appearance, crunching on some moss (which is known to have psychedelic properties for its species) and informs the party to a group of bandits is waiting in the room beyond.
The party thinks on the best way to get the drop on them, even though the bandits know they’re coming. While they’re deciding how best to do this, they hear a fight break out in the room, and footsteps pounding away!

Fedwig readies himself by turning invisible. Rushing into the room beyond, they find a small storeroom. At the back of the room is a tunnel leading up and a pedestal with smashed glass at the bottom. A bandit lies slumped against the pedestal, desperately trying to hold his insides in!
The party charges in! Lumpy shapeshifts into the form of a wolf. Russell puts the dying bandit out of its misery, and the party summarily dispatches two of the three other bandits. The last one is hamstrung by Lumpy and the party questions him. Brand is able to get some information out of the bandit (he found a treasure in the room, and he desperately wants to keep it) and the party promises to let him live, but Russell ends up killing him anyway! Russell also ends up killing the friendly poisonous beetle for threatening to touch the stone.

The party investigates the treasure the bandit found, which is a curious stone. Russell touches it and it promises him power… but he has to kill Fedwig! He declines and drops the stone. The stone is carefully stowed away in a bag for safekeeping.

Following the tunnel further, the adventurers find that it empties out into the Evermoors.

Deciding that was enough excitement for one day, the party decides to make camp in the tunnel leading out.

Places:

  • Kindlewood (now known as Nevermore), a formerly-wealthy town located on a trade route near the Evermoors. Used to boast a lovely tavern and a stone mage tower. Former home of Brand and Lumpy
  • Nevermore, a ruined town that was burnt to the ground during a horrific bandit attack. Has a large burnt and blackened stump of a great tree near the edge of town. Surrounding the ruined town are farmlands
  • The merchant’s basement, a curiously fortified basement that survived the burning of the building above and held quite a few mysteries and unanswered questions in its depths

Notable NPCs:

  • The friendly poisonous beetle, friend of Lumpy
  • Wealthy merchant, used to have a home in Kindlewood. The party believes that the merchant had been creating poisons in his basement and selling them to the bandits

Previous Post: Session #1 – Character Creation
Next Post: Session #3 – The Lake