[Actual Play] Dungeon World – Temple of Ungu

AP written by Ian, thread on story-games available here for further discussion. Dungeon World is a modification of Vincent Baker’s Apocalypse World for D&D-style play – the free version (requires Apocalypse World, available for loan from SAGA Inc.) is available here

We join our heroes trekking for days through the leech-infested rainforest to reach the dread Temple of Ungu, intent on killing Florimel the Spider-Witch. They each had their reasons- Jenk, the Thief, was motivated by dreams of gold- with his wife and child under dire peril of eviction, a fate the heartless rogue claimed moved him not at all. Rurgosh, the dwarven Cleric, was tasked to cleanse this blighted sanctum on threat of penance- to be stripped of rank and wander the land spreading the word of Helferth with but the shirt on his back. Aldara, the elf Wizard, was here to destroy hir former lover- the rift between them growing as Florimels evil did. Octavia, the Paladin, knew Florimel in her days as an initiate of the Order, when she had sworn always to defend the now black-hearted mage.Octavia did assault the study temple door in the name of the holy Zorica with intent to cleanse all taint within, in blood if necessary. Battle-axe thus stuck twixt the stout oak planks, wily Jenk did try the handle, to find it open. Within, our intrepid delvers discovered a ragged tribe of desperate Goblins, at which sight bold Jenk responded with his famed battle-cry of “What here is valuable to me?!” Though delivered in internal monologue, these brave words (and quick fingers) did deliver unto him in turn the pin of Queen Ya, most prized treasure of the Goblin matriarch.

Sensing the mettle of these newcomers, and the bright pink glow from Octavia’s armour, clearly the work of a higher being (Zorica, or Aldara, depending on who one was to ask), the matriarch approached the band and with hacking cough proposed she escort them to the Chief to discuss how they might arrange to confront the Spider-Witch, without death coming to her clan. Cunning Jenk was too canny for fall for her ruse, however, bravely running her through from behind. To support his accusation that the withered, arthritic matriarch was about to attack, he produced as evidence a pin, highly serviceable as a weapon. This alone was not enough to convince wise Octavia of the goblins’ malicious intent, however silver-tongued Jenk was able to Parley the return of Octavia’s holy symbol (see Bonds) that the matriarch had clearly stolen, into a convincing case that duplicity was in the air (and Octavia marked XP). Indeed, were not the goblin women and children even now running in fear, calling their warriors to arms? Treachery!

Doughty Rurgosh set himself to Defend the his friends from the onrushing goblins, but caught a spear in the shoulder for his valour. Confident Aldara muttered an incantation and disappeared from view, while vengeful Octavia advanced to meet the treacherous humanoids in battle. Clear-thinking Jenk, for his part, volunteered to guard the rear and comb the possessions of the cowering females and children for other evidence of trickery. A few pointed dispute resolutions later and there was no more resistance from that quarter.

On the front lines, hacks were exchanged, Danger defied, with the heroes growing Experience allowing them to remain in the fight. Sharp-eared Jenk did hear, over the wailings and lamentations, an ominous guttural chanting and with all haste withdrew to warn his colleagues. Instead of foul curses following him (the gods missing a trick here), good Jenk saw a chance to defy danger to strike at the last goblin warrior, which would put him on the other side of his allies, back facing the unknown darkness. So he demurred, instead contemplating a(nother) set of whispers in his head, pointing out the tactical value of striking down his allies one-by-one while they did not suspect him. Impulses he naturally declined, the room being far too brightly lit.

The last goblin fell and the liturgical heroes did enter a pissing- sorry, healing- contest to see who’s divine patron was the more potent- a theme which would be revisited several times. Honest Jenk, with a premonition that trouble was about to arrive, snuck past the distracted religious figures and their invocations, retrieving Octavias’ money pouch which she had no doubt dropped, a detail he forgot to mention in the excitement.

A feral growling was heard and chains did slip. Cocky Aldara, having reappeared to cast an eldritch bolt at the goblins, responded to the dire portent by disappearing from view once more. From worgs, canine hunting beats with an excellent sense of smell and a taste for warm flesh. Fortunately (?) for the prim Elf, diving into nearby goblin sleeping pelts provided olfactory cover, even if thereby the Wizard did remain isolated…

…Two slavering beasts did accost our heroes, valiant Octavia Defying the pounce of one to strike with her axe and knock it off it’s leap. Sturdy Rurgosh was less fortunate and stumbled over the goblin whose head he had caved in moments previously, landing awkwardly with a rabid Worg savaging him. Hacking and Slashing away, Octavia assisted her ally. Disheveled Aldara once more appeared, amidst a jumble of rancid bedding, to project sorcerous will at the injured worg. It seemed the arcane winds favoured the Elf once more, until Aldara was put in a spot, indeed fixed in one unable to move, ominous chanting just out of view. The eldritch bolt struck a glancing blow, but amongst the smallclothes that flew across the chamber, sharp-eyed Jenk did spot something most valuable to him indeed, a fine Elven mirror.

Heroic Octavia ignored the injured but angry Worg at her feet to aid Aldara, defying fate once more, but was savaged and watched her battleaxe clatter across the room. Proud Aldara was affronted to be touched once more by goblin magic, as an orb of acid struck fast. Spurred to new levels of arcane mastery and able to move again, Aldara launched firey doom toward the shadowy opponent, who screamed his last.

Unfortunate Jenks’ venture to discover what lurked down the corridor resulted in his capture (on the spot) by the goblin chiefs’ remaining warriors when his attempt to Parley (“Those brutes are attacking your womenfolk!”) failed. Having seen the decimation of his holding, the elder offered truce in return for Jenks life. Hard-hearted Octavia was however more of a mind to Deny Mercy to the unbelievers, which she was increasingly certain included worldly Jenk (“No, I’m Good! Go on, detect my alignment!”). Further negotiations ensued, disputes about the veracity of truthful Jenk’s testimony (“The matriarch was going to stab you… but you stabbed her first, from behind?!”) were aired. The result (as the group felt Time pressing upon them) was that the Goblins would require healing from the divines for their many wounded in return for safe passage to the inner chamber. They noted with interest the many womenfolk with thin stab wounds or second degree burns, unlike those caused by battle-axe or hammer. Octavia received a souvenir from her laying-on of hands. “Goblin Pox? That doesn’t affect humans, right?” “It doesn’t affect humans in the same way it affects goblins.” Rurgosh attracted unwanted attention…

Thus the heroes were escorted to the chamber of butchery. As they contemplated the pony corpse (no F#$# cutie mark either focussed Jenks’ keen search for a valuable opportunity caused him to miss that the Goblins had swiftly withdrawn, bolting the doors behind them. Undeterred by hard labour, Rurgosh revealed the chamber beyond, thick with cobwebs. Fireball coming on line once more, Aldara swiftly dealt flaming death to the screaming baby giant spiders, their human faces contorting in agony as their spider bodies shrivelled in the heat.

Sensing the end of things, and assured by Jenk that there were no traps (“in this room”), bold Octavia led the way down the slick, greasy corridor, to be presented with a stark choice- slide into the dark pit she had missed, or lose her trusted battleaxe to same. (Cruel, cruel fate for a 7-9 perhaps?) Choosing to advance at all costs, Octavia was deposited in a dark, webbed pit, full of the moldering offerings to a serpent god. The bright, rosy glow of Zorica/Aldara revealed the contorted face of her once-friend Florimel as the bloated abomination skittered down a steel-strong thread. Octavia was trapped beneath a fallen column as she attempted to avoid the web-spit of the Spider-Witch.

In other news, watchful Jenk discovered he should be on the lookout for the bear-sized giant spider approaching from a tunnel in the ceiling, which fortunately turned out not to be immune to flame either. Faithful Rurgosh reached out to Helferth, intending the spider to rise again and do his bidding, but disaster struck as the entity which had earlier taken affront at his invocations intervened, inky blackness seeping down the divine channel into the dwarf as he felt silk glands swelling in his throat, mouth locked in rictus. Worse, he could no longer feel his connection to Helferth, denied his mystical power to cast spells!

Distrustful of the Dwarfs new speech impediment, but gamely seeking to aid their comrade, reliable Jenk was lowering Rurgosh down the slope, waiting till nearly, almost, the last moment before being dragged in himself to let go of the rope. Recovering his feet and attempting to defend the wounded Octavia, Rurgosh found his hammer stuck fast with webs spat from a mouth fearfully similar to his aperture. Octavia cut off the forelegs of Florimel, even as one clawed leg impaled her own. In pain, she asked for divine succour for her wounds, which Rurgosh was hesitant to deliver for once.

Above, eldritch Aldara and resourceful Jenk sought another way into the pit, discovering a sacrificial platform. A fine pair of magical wings, no doubt once intended as an offering, was worthy Jenks reward for his battle cry. He prudently did not wish to test them at once, while Aldara had one of his patent original ideas. Fire!! This seemed a Dangerous course, though more for his allies in the pit, should he Miss. Undeterred, headstrong Aldara launched the fireball towards the glowing battle. Weal and woe! The Empowered fireball caused great and furious damage (25!), releasing cursed Florimel from her twisted form, but sending brave Octavia to the very gates of Death. Rurgosh was badly burned but still standing, Aldara caught in the backdraft for half effect, though defiant. Shifty Jenk was able to Evade the roiling backblast.

A hush fell… what would become of valiant Octavia? She saw the crystal city of Zorica, the goddess herself smiling, arms spread in benediction (“No, she’s the Three-Fold Dragon.”), wise compassionate eyes (“No, fiery vengeful eyes!”) looking back at Octavia before shaking her head sadly and…

<…and, somewhere else… Last Breath… roll… Boxcars! High Five!!>

…sending her crusader back to her roasted flesh.

We basically wrapped on that high note. Much fun was had by all!

Random thoughts and observations:

1. Dungeon World is really fun! We had a whole lot of exploration in about 2.5 hours. The main question was ‘are you going to run a campaign now?’ Always a good sign.
2. Stop reading this! Go play Dungeon World now!
3. I may have bent some principles towards the end, as I was anxious to play to find out what happened when the heroes met Florimel and I rushed/softballed/steered a little bit to get there in the time remaining.
4. Jason Morningstar rocks. Those treasure cards are gold- “What here is valuable to me?” “Uh, (draws card- the dress pin of Queen Ya) you see the familiar glint of precious metal amongst the rags.” Great for the one-shot and nice story-fodder.
5. Make two copies of the spell sheets. Never know when the Paladin will pick up Divine Favour.
6. (Empowered) Fireball FTW. Damn.
7. Marking XP for both playing your Bond, and playing that of others was probably worth about a level to the PCs (at 5XP per level). Most characters hit 5th level. Thoughts- reward for playing something concrete on your character sheet gets the thumbs up, generally. Maybe the Bond can only be milked for XP once per level? And/or the bond must be re-written and intensified/expanded when invoked in this way? We wound up with ‘insult your god again, ner ner’ type stuff until I requested escalation for each successive XP marked. Not strictly enforced, though. I had a lot to think about!
8. My approach was to use my GM highlight for their ‘main’ stat where unchecked.
9. I found coming up with hard bargains on Defy Danger 7-9 hard. I’ve played some but not run AW. I may have veered into more failure territory. Is it OK to offer a choice between essentially the original thing you’ve (partially) defied and another undesirable result (like losing a weapon?)
10. “What is about to happen” on Discern Realities seems strange, verging on getting ahead of the play and- gasp- planning story. How do others play it? Just show another sign of doom?
11. I found always thinking in terms of Moves hard. There weren’t that many 6- rolls.
12. “What do you do?” is a great tool, to be spread round lavishly.
13. I called for Defy Danger instead of Hack and Slash when the Worg lept at Octavia and she wanted to axe it. Right call or a misinterpretation?
14. I called for Defy Danger a lot. A generally useful fallback, it seems. Sometimes, the Danger seemed like it should be aimed at someone else (like a pyro mage launching fireballs into a dark pit).