Plundergrounds #2 04/2017

Credits
Plundergrounds: Kazarak is made for use with Dungeon World, a fantasy role-
playing game by Sage LaTorra and Adam Koebel. The dungeon starter
format is an invention of Marshall Miller. Additional creative input came
from Jason Cordova, Jim Jones, Eric Nieudian, and Marshall Miller.
Illustrations on pages 1, 5, 18 are © Sean Poppe; page 9 is © Jim Jones; pages
7, 12-14 are © Karl Stjernberg; page 24 is © Juan Ochoa. All other text and
illustrations are © Ray Otus, 2017.

For more Go to
Marshall Miller's Dungeon Starters www.finemessgames.com
Ray Otus Games & Supplements www.jellysaw.com
Sean Poppe Illustrations beardedruckus.tumblr.com
Karl Stjernberg Illustrations skullfungus on Instagram
Black Hack dngnsndrgns.blogspot.com
Macchiato Monsters quenouille.com

Play to find out what happens.

Sage LaTorra and Adam Koebel
www.dungeon-world.com

2
Plundergrounds #2
kazarak
———————————————————

Contents
Credits ..............................................................2
Ray's Page ........................................................4
Hillar Rockboots ..............................................5
Toolbox: The Risk Die ......................................6
Dungeon Starter: Kazarak ..............................7
Questions ..................................................8
Impressions ..............................................8
Threats ......................................................10
Moves ........................................................11
Titan Battle ...............................................12
Items .........................................................14
Dangers ....................................................16
Noftabulis .................................................17
Star Bears .........................................................20
d8 Dwarf Twists ...............................................21
Toolbox: Establishing Qs .................................22
Next Issue! .......................................................24
———————————————————
Plundergrounds is a series of theme-forward
zines devoted to Dungeon World adventures.
Subscribe at www.patreon.com/rayotus to
receive PDF issues in each even month of 2017.
Back issues are available at www.jellysaw.com.
Demand that I make print copies available,
provide feedback, or submit your ideas for
future issues to rayotus@gmail.com.

3
Ray’s PAGE
Kazarak has been knocking around my brain since 2007. I was
working on a game/scenario, Lords of the Last Citadel, about a handful
of dwarf lords fighting against besieging hordes, desperation, and
treachery to prevent the fall of their last major underground city and
the final repository of dwarven culture. The guts of that design
eventually became another game, Goblintown (which you can get at
my website, www.jellysaw.com). The story, however, is expressed here
… that is if you fast forward 100+ years beyond the city's fall!
The “Appendix N” of inspirational works for Kazarak includes:
̣ Polaris (rpg), Ben Lehman. The idea of playing out the final days of
a dying city is just one of many great ideas in this 2005 game.
̣ A Journey in the Dark & The Bridge of Khazad-Dum (Moria chapters
from The Fellowship of the Ring), J.R.R. Tolkien. Nobody does
dwarves and their underground cities like Tolkien, deal with it.
̣ The Hawk's Flight (chapter from The Wizard of Earthsea), Ursula K.
LeGuin. A primordial, evil flagstone and its demonic guardians!
̣ Pacific Rim (movie), Guillermo del Toro. Because … grappling titans
stomping all over a human(dwarf)-sized world.
̣ Sentient bears from Shardik (book), Richard Adams; The Jungle
Book (book), Rudyard Kipling; and His Dark Materials (trilogy),
Philip Pullman. Talking bears: so cuddly, so dangerous!
Kazarak has a LOT of stuff in it, including multiple Dangers. Don't
feel compelled to use it all, especially if you are running it for only a
session or two.
Also, the tone of Kazarak can be spooky or metal, or both. Consider
playing it with the lights dimmed and alternate between eerie or
hard-to-explain incidents, vistas of wonder, and over-the-top fights.
Just be sure it all ends in ruin and brag about how you made it sing at
the table with a post on Google+ (#plundergrounds) or by email to
rayotus@gmail.com!

4
HillaR rockboots
Solitary, intelligent. Instinct: to preserve dwarf culture. Moves: “you can't do
that with a shield!,” invoke rune: Rock Mind, consult The Book of Bears, invoke
rune: Healing Hands. Falchion (b[2d6], close, messy), 9 HP, 3 Armor.
———————————————————————————————
✦ Having discovered and mastered
a rune that roughly translates to
“Rock Mind,” she can stand as
immovable as a boulder against
an opposing force or resist
magical mental domination
effects. Both require serious
concentration.
✦ With her tattered and stained
copy of The Book of Bears, Hillar
can speak with star bears: the
rare and ancient race of sentient
bruins that haunt dwarven ruins.
✦ Once per day, Hillar can invoke
the Healing Hands rune to heal
Hillar is on a mission to preserve d8+2 hp or cure someone of
dwarven culture. In her zealous poison or disease.
search for artifacts, books, and other
bits of lore from her people's past, Characters may encounter Hillar
she has spent countless hours rummaging around Kazarak.
scouring dangerous old tombs and She knows where the last of the
underground sites considered taboo fabled dwarf-engineered titans
by other dwarves. is secretly cached and can
In her search, Hillar has mastered a activate its rune-controls,
though doing so would kill her.
number of ancient techniques:
(The ancients worked in teams
✦ Channeling her shield maiden to withstand the stress.) She will
ancestors, she can perform jaw- disclose the location of, and
dropping feats with her massive operate the titan only if the
warboard. Eyrok looses a giant demon.

5
DW Toolbox:
The Risk Die
The risk die is a cool way to track items that could break or
fail at a critical moment.
Knowing when your character is down to her last arrow is exciting. Ticking off
an arrow each time she fires her bow, however, can be tedious. Dungeon World
solves this by including ammo reduction as an option on a failed Volley roll.
But there are more things than arrows worth tracking for dramatic effect
Enter, the risk die.
The risk die originated with The Black Hack's usage die: a die that is rolled
when an expendable item is used, and stepped down to the next smallest
polyhedral on a low roll. Macchiato Monsters calls it a risk die, because you are
risking the resource when you use it. MM also expands the use of the die to
track all kinds of things, like magic charges, morale, or a hireling's loyalty.
To use the risk die in Dungeon World:
✦ Assign a likely item a risk die from d12 to d4. Record it using notation
like: dR12, dR10, dR8, etc.
✦ When a character uses the item (never before!), the player rolls the risk
die. On a result of 2 or lower, the die is reduced one size. If the die was a
dR4, the resource breaks, runs out, or otherwise loses any value.
✦ What constitutes a significant use of an item, what its deterioration
looks like, and what dR it starts with are up to the players and the fiction.
✦ Consider linking any effects of an item to its dR. This trick is featured in
MM and it plays out quite well at the table. A Wand of Lightning might
have a dR10 and a (matching) d10 damage. When you use the wand, a
dR10 roll of 2 means the wand does 2 damage and degrades to a dR8
(and d8 damage). You might note this as “dRn effect,” e.g. Wand of
Lightning: dR10 damage, or Salmagundi's Soothing Salve: dR6 healing.
Don't overuse the risk die mechanic! Not everything that can “run out” or
break needs one. The risk die should always be exciting to roll.

Some items in Kazarak were fashioned using lost dwarven lore and cannot
be repaired. They are noted with a risk die, e.g. Gauntlets of Power: dR10.

6
Dungeon Starter:
Kazarak
Covered in centuries-old ice, the Greater Talons hide a dark secret. Deep beneath their
towering blue peaks lies the fallen citadel of Kazarak: last and greatest of the ancient
subterranean city-fortresses of the dwarves.
Kazarak was not conquered by rampaging hordes like so many other dwarven cities.
It fell from within, victim to an evil no dwarf will name.
What malevolent force caused a once-proud race to abandon the preeminent seat of
their ancient culture? Why won't they speak its name? What treasures still lie
forgotten in the ancient vaults? Will it ever be safe to return?
Scattered throughout the land, the dwarves endure, forging soulless, utilitarian
objects for coin while they dream of a time when they might regain their former
homes and reclaim the glory of their race. Most have given up hope.
Unknown to any dwarf outside of your inner circle, you have uncovered a way into
Kazarak. As you stand before its massive gates, carved from living stone, you know
that the days upon days you spent searching and the countless hardships you have
suffered are about to pay off!

7
Questions
✤ For what discovery were the dwarves of Kazarak known throughout the
civilized lands?
✤ Survivors do not speak of Kazarak's fall! What happened to the last dwarf
who broke the silence?
✤ How is your family history interconnected with Kazarak?
✤ What did you vow to bring back from Kazarak and to whom did you make
your promise?
✤ What were you forced to sacrifice/leave behind before finding the hidden
way to Kazarak? Why have others not been able to discover this or another
way in? Why will it be tricky to get out by the same route?
✤ What changed/awakened when you crossed the citadel's threshold?
✤ What stories have you heard of the dwarven titans, mechanical defenders
of the ancient cities?

Impressions
✦ Block after block of multi-story, empty-windowed houses arranged with
geometric precision stand under a sky of stone.
✦ A pentagonal tower looms over everything, its battlements reaching into
the cavern ceiling.
✦ Out of the dark shuffles a trio of half-starved bears with white “stars” of fur
on their foreheads. They stand on their hind legs, paws outstretched,
making odd sweeping motions and lurching towards you. (See Star Bears.)
✦ Scummy canals are segmented by rusty gates and dotted with abandoned
scows, some still loaded with cargo.
✦ Rails recessed in the center of the streets are occasionally interrupted by
rough bore-holes as big around as a shield. (See Threats: Xorn.)
✦ The crushed body of a barrel-shaped creature with strange, trilateral
symmetry. (See Threats: Xorn, Danger: Noftabulis.)
✦ A cluster of life-like statues: dwarves sculpted in postures of terror or
agony. (See Threats: Hyronia the Cruel.)
✦ A pallid, cloudy-eyed dwarf with a ring of rag-wrapped keys (to keep them
silent) and a beard so long it is coiled around his waist, scurries silently
from shadow to shadow. (See Threats: Spectre?)
8
✦ Bas-relief carvings show a dwarf titan standing with outstretched arms
over the city, twice as tall as the tallest buildings
✦ A ransacked library with thousands of volumes moldering on the shelves.
✦ The cluttered workshop of a genius. Prototypes of “impossible” machines
lie scattered in various stages of completion. (See Moves: Mole Machine.)
✦ A gilded cage houses a tiny skeletal bird that animates and sings loudly as
you pass!
✦ The happy squeaking of a pod of rust monsters, feeding on a nearby
stockpile of iron. (See Threats: Rust Monster.)
✦ A temple with walls faceted like an intricate gem, each step within
occasions deep, musical groans. In the groans, words (perhaps names)
may be heard.
✦ A huge column carved with the sleeping faces of Kazarak kings.
✦ Open, rune-covered mausoleums “squat” at the center of five-point
intersections like spiders in a vast web.
✦ An open-walled sarcophagus displays the gold-plated skeleton of a giant
bear, arranged amid rune-covered armor and weapons of war. (See
Threats: Giant Bear Skeleton.)
✦ A curiously stained flagstone in the tower floor doesn't quite match the
matrix in which it is laid. (See Danger: The Eyrok.)

9
ThreatS
๏ Giant Bear Skeleton: large, ๏ Rust Monster: group, corrosive
solitary, ancient & noteworthy. touch. Instinct: to decay. Moves:
Instinct: to rest in peace. Moves: turn metal to rust, gain strength
reconstruct from scattered bones, from consuming metal, surprising
track those who steal its leap. Corrosive touch (d8, close,
treasures. Claw (d8+5, close), ignores armor), 6 HP, 3 Armor.
10 HP, 2 Armor. ๏ Spectre: solitary, intelligent,
๏ Derro: horde, devious, intelligent, insubstantial. Instinct: to drive life
organized, telepathy. Moves: fill a from a place. Moves: reveal the
mind with foreign thoughts, take past, haunt a creature, bring the
control of a beast's mind. environment to life. Withering
Pickaxe (d6, close), 3 HP, 2 Armor. touch (d10, close), 12 HP, 0 Armor.
๏ Grinder Golems: group, large, ๏ Star Bears: group, intelligent,
construct, body of metal, slow. magical. Instinct: to watch over
Instinct: to remove obstacles. dwarven cities. Moves: speak
Moves: follow orders, use built-in when spoken to in the ancient
tool or adaptation. Grinder Fist tongue, serve as a guide in
(d10+5, messy), 8 HP, 3 Armor. dwarven ruins, suffocating hug.
๏ Hyronia (medusa): solitary, Claws (d8, close, forceful),
devious, hoarder, stone gaze, 8 HP, 1 Armor.
neutral. Instinct: to collect. Moves: ๏ Tower Guardians: group,
turn a body part to stone with a construct, stealthy, true-sight,
look, attract someone's eyes, wings. Instinct: to do the bidding
reverse the curse with her blood. of the Eyrok. Moves: watch from
Claws (d6, close), 10 HP, 0 Armor. above, blend into stonework,
๏ Noftabulis (human wizard): swooping attack. Claw (d8, hand),
Solitary, intelligent, magical, lord 7 HP, 4 Armor. (See Items:
over others. Instinct: to obtain Guardians’ Eyes.)
power at any cost. Moves: attack ๏ Xorn: solitary, burrowing. Instinct:
while pretending to parley, to eat stone. Moves: tunnel under/
polymorphic ray, teleport within through, emit a burst of light and
sight. Flaming skull bombs heat, curl into a ball and roll. Maw
(b[2d8], near), 9 HP, 1 Armor. (d10, close, reach), 8 HP, 2 Armor.

10
MOVES
̣ When you speak to the spirits of the dead in this place, roll+CHA.
‣ On a 10+ they are “friendly” and will answer several questions you ask
(and one you don't) about the city or themselves. They are not fully
aware and mostly know only what happened in their lifetimes.
‣ On a 7-9 they answer a question, maybe even two, before becoming
distracted or distraught and fade away.
̣ When you attempt to resist the call of the Eyrok, roll+INT.
‣ On a 12+ you are immune to its evil control, explain why.
‣ On a 10+ you have stabbing pains behind your eyes while in its
presence, but you can resist its evil control with concentration.
‣ On a 7-9 you are stricken blind with pain and must flee the tower to
regain your senses and retain control of your mind.
̣When you try to operate the Mole Machine, roll+INT.
‣ On a 12+, the machine works without a hitch for up to 6 hours and the
machine reveals a useful or interesting new feature of the GM's
choosing: e.g. claw hands, a periscope, or a secret cargo hold.
‣ On a 10+ the machine works without a hitch for up to 6 hours.
‣ On a 7-9, the machine works for up to 6 hours, but the GM chooses 1.
-The machine enters an unexpected and/or potentially dangerous space.
-The power crystal suddenly dims; you must recharge it at a cost!
-The machine encounters a subterranean creature.
̣When you try to use/spend your Kazarak treasures without attracting
attention, Defy Danger WIS or be marked as Defilers by the dwarves!
Entering Kazarak and revealing its secrets and/or looting its treasures is
forbidden, even to dwarves. For outsiders to have done it…

The following pages contain a custom move for when/if Hillar Rockboots
sacrifices herself to fight the Eyrok demon in a reactivated dwarf titan.
This is just one way in which you might end a Kazarak adventure. Should
the characters find the titan on their own, the titan's interior spaces are
tight, even for dwarves. Also, a trio of dwarves trained in ancient runes is
required to operate it. Other crews risk death; the magic that animates
the titan is both unstable and toxic in large/prolonged doses.

11
⌂
Sacrifice: Armor:

⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂⌂

̣ As Hillar and the Eyrok demon battle, roll 2d6+Sacrifice (starts at 1).
For each point of damage to Hillar's titan, mark out a scale of armor. If the
armor fails while the characters are still in the city, they get one last
glimpse of the battling giants as the titan goes down and the cavern
ceiling collapses, forever burying Kazarak. Then they each roll Last Breath!

12
‣ On a 10+, Hillar buys you some time. Add 1 to Sacrifice. If Sacrifice ≥ 3,
you escape as the cavern collapses behind you, burying Kazarak!
‣ On a 7-9, Hillar buys you time, at a cost. Add 1 to Sacrifice and the titan
takes d6 damage. (You need a 10+ roll to escape, even if Sacrifice ≥ 3.)
‣ On a 6-, the titan takes d6 damage and a rockfall bars your way. Lose 2
Sacrifice unless one character rolls Last Breath vs. being crushed.

13
Items
❖ Arkas’ Autoarmor. 3 armor. 3 weight. This golden-hued plate armor is
covered in bas-relief images of dwarves at work in a forge. You find it on a
humanoid skeleton that looks like it was in the process of removing the
armor. When you put it on, the figures animate, moving across the armor
and perfectly reshaping it to your form in just a few minutes. If damaged,
the figures work to repair the armor while you rest. If you are injured, the
figures also “repair” (heal) your wounds. The armor matches (doubles) any
healing you get from resting. However, in the process of healing you, it
embeds itself into your flesh. When you remove the armor, roll Last
Breath.

14
❖ The Book of Bears. 2 weight, fragile. This huge tattered tome contains the
collected wisdom of the dwarves on the subject of star bears, so called
because of the patch of white, star-shaped fur on their foreheads. These
bears were uplifted by the gods of the dwarves millennia ago, to serve as
allies in war and as guardians over their cities. (Some dwarves also
believed them to be watchers/informants for the gods.) With some study,
the book allows characters to speak with star bears and to better
understand their fierce but noble nature.
❖ Collapsible Cargo Haulers. 3 weight, dR6. These bucket-shaped iron
vehicles are big enough for 2 people to ride in, but can be telescoped down
into a backpack-sized disc. Using its control rod, a hauler can be moved in
any direction on its magic treads. When you try to steer the hauler without
first connecting it to rails or guidelines, roll+DEX. On a 10+ it steers
perfectly. On a 7-9 your progress is meandering and time-consuming.
❖ The Forge of Arkas Grayborn. An anvil of pitted green-black metal, the
forge may be used by a blacksmith to imbue a weapon with a green-black
hue and the tag unbreakable. The process takes d6 hours and is noisy.
❖ The Guardians’ Eyes. dR12/6* If you look through the gemstone-eye of a
Tower Guardian, you can see through all concealing magic and illusion.
When you pry one loose, roll+DEX. On a 10+ you extract it unharmed
(dR12). On a 7-9 it is cracked and its power is slowly leaking out (dR6).
❖ Malik's Cylinder. dR10. This cylindrical object has rotating tumblers that
respond to various buttons and sliders at one end. The object may be used
to locate gateways between the fire, earth, and prime planes.
❖ Mole Machine. (See Moves.) The cockpit of this massive tunneling
machine can fit 12 dwarves, or 8 human-sized occupants if they bend into
uncomfortable positions or strip the interior of chairs. It is powered by a
glowing crystal that is noticeably dimmed at one end.
❖ Power Gauntlets. 1 weight, dR10. These gauntlets store kinetic energy in a
magic coil. Take +1 ongoing while engaged in feats of brute strength with
your hands. Take -1 ongoing while engaged in any fine, delicate work.
When the gauntlets are reduced to dR4 they emit a barely audible
whining noise. When they fail, they explode on a dR roll of 1 causing d6
damage to the wearer.
* See The Risk Die

15
Danger: The
Slow Death
Kazarak is being slowly
but surely consumed by
natural forces.
Subtle tremors can be
felt, at first by only the
most sensitive in the
party: a vibration in the
soles of the feet, an
almost subsonic
throbbing, and mild nausea.
As the characters pass a
two-story building, it
trembles and collapses,
spilling huge chunks of
stone into the street.
A pack of rust monsters, smelling non-
corroded metal, bound at the characters in
astounding 20’ leaps.
Pushed beyond its breaking point by battling titans (See Hillar, Danger:
The Eyrok), the city's last supports collapse and the mountain falls in on
Kazarak.

The Inheritors
Xorn eat stone and expel light and heat, making them an ideal tool for the
rough work of starting new mines or tunnels. With the dwarves gone, the
xorn have escaped their pens and multiplied. Unchecked they are eating the
city stone by stone. Kazarak is already far more fragile than it looks; key
supports have been honeycombed with bore holes. And while the xorn feed
on the stone of Kazarak, the rust monsters feed on its metal. Once a pest the
dwarves easily kept in check, the are now a full-blown infestation.
These creatures, coupled with some still-functioning machines, ghosts, and
monstrous squatters, give the city a kind of second, if temporary and highly
unstable, life.

16
Danger: Hyronia The Cruel
A reclusive medusa has made her home in the city's “gardens.”
Those wandering in the city will at times hear beautiful singing. Tracking
its source is difficult, due to the city's weird echoes and the fact that the
singing is rarely sustained.
Hyronia becomes aware of the intruders and cleverly plants a map
where they will find it. The map depicts the location of the gardens and
displays a suggestive “X” over her lair.
In her lair, Hyronia appears as a demur beauty in a fetching head scarf.
She plays a lyre and sings in a melancholy voice, until the intruders draw
near. Then she whips off the scarf and goes to work!
Hyronia will let everyone else go (or will she?) if one person will remain
behind and "pose" for her.
Hyronia artfully arranges her new fossilized trophy/trophies near a
tinkling fountain.

Gardens of Stone
Kazarak's gardens are a zone filled with columns, abstract and complicated
sculptures (some animated), and various boulders shot through with
precious ore or gemstones that have been carefully exposed but not removed
from their matrices. The gardens are arranged according to elaborate,
geometric patterns, often creating optical illusions.
Hyronia loves the gardens and is furnishing them to her taste with her
original, life-like statuary.
Her lair is a beautiful pavilion at the center of the gardens, surrounded by
reflecting pools and polished bronze mirrors (objects of obvious utility to her
in dealing with visitors). She uses the pools for scrying and maintaining her
connection with the outside world.
In her ample leisure time, Hyronia is working her way through the pick of the
city's library. She has many valuable tomes of ancient history, grimoires,
fantastic anatomies, etc. stacked around the pavilion. All are fragile and
flammable, so any fight in this location could cause them irreparable harm.
If she sees The Book of Bears, she will certainly want to add it to her collection!

17
Danger: In the Name of Noftabulis
A band of derro are squatting on the city's locked and trapped treasury, awaiting the
return of their powerful wizard lord, Noftabulis.
Any beasts that wander too near the treasury are mind-controlled and
forced to bash themselves to death against a rock wall, then left to rot as
a warning/deterrent to others.
The derro attempt to put any intelligent intruders in harm's way by
planting thoughts in their sleeping minds (when they are most
susceptible) like “The way into the treasury is through the tower cellar” or
“There is a jewel-encrusted statue in the city gardens.”
The derro make hit-and-run attacks on the intruders, using mind-
controlled xorn, rust-monsters, or other creatures.
The derro finally break into the treasure chamber, past all the dwarven
safeguards, using a mind-controlled xorn to tunnel in.
The wizard Noftabulis,
alerted to their success,
arrives to claim his
treasure and deal with
the intruders.

Servant
of chaos
Noftabulis has bargained
with the powers of chaos
too often in his quest for
power. He has horns, bird-
like claws, and a few other,
less visible mutations.
His only concerns are
wealth and power. He will
parley with someone just
long enough to get the
information he wants,
then attack without
warning.

18
Danger: The EyroK
A sentient stone embedded in the floor of the tower cellar broods on the enslavement
and destruction of all intelligent life.
The Eyrok becomes aware of the intruders when they encounter the
tower guardians, enter the tower, or first cast a spell in Kazarak. The
characters feel as if they are being watched … because they are.
The Eyrok orders the gargoyle-like tower guardians to capture the
characters and bring them to the tower.
The Eryok calls any who enter the tower into its service, offering power
beyond imagining. It attempts to mind-control any who refuse.
The Eyrok transforms a sacrifice (willing or enthralled) into a 30’ tall
demon that will first eradicate any intelligent life within the city, and
then break out to terrorize the land above.

The Old Powers

The Eyrok is one of the old, indestructible powers of the earth: entities of
chaos that existed before recorded time and may well witness the world's
end. They manifest in various forms, but the Eyrok appears as a pock-marked,
rugose stone with a patina of dark stains. Any good-aligned person can sense
the stone's evil sentience. It hates all free-thinking, rational life forms, but is
patient and has thus far ignored the derro in an attempt to trap/enslave their
master. How did it come to be embedded in the flagstones of the tower? Did
it play a role in the downfall of Kazarak?

19
Star Bears
Group, intelligent, magical. Instinct: to watch over dwarven cities. Moves:
speak when spoken to in the ancient tongue, serve as a guide in dwarven
ruins, suffocating hug. Claws (d8, close, forceful), 8 HP, 1 Armor.
———————————————————————————————
When the dwarves retreated from their underground homes, they left
behind a small but stable community of magically-awakened subterranean
bears living in the caverns and tunnels surrounding the old cities. At one time
the bears conversed with dwarves who knew the ancient tongue and even
served them as allies in war. Now they are silent observers to the devastation
of the dwarf homeland.
Star bears are set apart from other bears by their unusual habitat and the
star-shaped markings on their foreheads, a reminder of their magical
transformation. They are generally peaceful, but dangerous when provoked.

20
d8 dwarf twists
Is your group tired of the same old dwarf tropes? Try one of the following
twists to make your dwarves interesting and different. The twist might apply
to all the dwarves in a world, or only to a specific clan.
———————————————————————————————
1. Dwarves are ascetics who never touch strong drink or engage in other
hedonistic pleasures. They attempt to always speak truth, avoiding
figurative or colorful language. (Goodbye, drunken Scottish dwarves.)
2. Dwarven smiths put a small bit of their soul into each of their master
creations. Dwarves see such items, when possessed by another race, as
“on loan.” They are always looking to recover them.
3. Dwarves define nudity as not having on armor.
4. Dwarf beards are formed of living hair. When feeling angry or
threatened, a dwarf's hair poofs up. This makes the dwarf appear larger
and more intimidating, but it also makes it difficult for dwarves to hide
how they feel. They have gotten used to not even bothering.
5. Dwarves can smell treasure. The larger the deposit, the easier it is to
locate by smell and the further the smell travels. (Credit to the Dungeon
Crawl Classics RPG for this idea!)
6. Dwarves are xenophobic. They distrust all other races, not just elves.
They will not willingly speak of dwarvish things around other races and
they always expect any negotiations or deals with outsiders to go sour.
7. A significant number of dwarves are skinchangers. They can assume a
bear form and some even hibernate. (Or, instead of a bear, maybe some
kind of dire mole or badger?) When in animal form, they have less
control over their actions. Other dwarves understand and respect this,
but a known skinchanger is often unwelcome in non-dwarf circles.
8. As dwarves age, they ossify. They become less flexible, less mobile, and
less interested in eating/sleeping. A truly old dwarf may sit for days
without even seeming to breathe. Eventually they “pass into stone.” The
transition from life to death is imperceptible. Thus the halls of the
ancients are places where dwarves speak to “statues” as if they are alive …
because they might be.

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DW Toolbox:
Establishing Qs
Great sessions are built on the back of great questions. The following
spotlight specific playbooks and elicit responses that should establish things
in the fiction about the characters and the world they inhabit. Ask all the
questions at once or save some for later, but be sure to incorporate the
answers into play as soon as possible.
Many of the questions echo those found in John Aegard's excellent:
Dragonslaying on a Timetable: Running Tight 4-Hour Dungeon World One-Shots
with Zero Preparation. Read it at http://tiny.cc/tight-dw-oneshots!
———————————————————————————————
✤ Barbarian: you believe the savage land in which you were “forged” made
you and your kin superior to civilized folk, in what way? ✣ What is
different about the land or culture around you now, and in what way has
it made people weak? ✣ What are you doing about it? Or, if you can't
change things, what are you doing to avoid getting soft yourself ?
✤ Bard: for what might people in this place remember you? ✣ What has
changed since you were last here? (If you've never been here, how does
this place fail to match up to the tales you have heard of it?)
✣ You are bringing an important new song or tale with you, how will you
make it heard and what reaction do you hope to get?
✤ Cleric: who in this place is a friend to you and your faith? How well do
you know them? How and when did you meet for the first time, if ever?
What was your last parting like? ✣ Who or what here is an enemy to your
faith? ✣ Is the threat out in the open and supported by local
government, or is it secret and backed by only by shadowy figures?
✤ Druid: deep within your attuned land you have an unusual house. Of
what is it made and what lives in it with you? ✣ How is your home
guarded when you are away? ✣ What spirits inhabited your home (or
the land under it) before, and why were you forced to exorcise them?
✤ Fighter: your signature weapon bears a scar from a famous battle or
encounter, who/what were you fighting? ✣ Who/what did you lose in
that struggle? ✣ The scar is a reminder of how the weapon itself saved
your life in battle, what happened?

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✤ Paladin: within your order, you have a rival. What is their name and what
are you competing over? ✣ What did they do to get “one up” on you? ✣
Why do you consider them a poison to the order and why can't you say
anything about it openly?
✤ Ranger: what danger did you rescue your animal companion from (or
did they rescue you from) at your first meeting? ✣ There is an unusual
condition to your friendship; if you break it your companion will
abandon you. What is that condition? ✣ Your companion left you once
before, why? What changed, or what did it accomplish while away?
✤ Thief: what did you come here to steal and why haven't you told the
others about your plan? ✣ Where does your intelligence say you will find
it? Do you have any idea how it is guarded? ✣ What is your source of
information and why don't you completely trust it/them?
✤ Wizard: what is it about this place that reeks of power? What ritual
would you love to perform here? ✣ What hard-to-obtain ingredient
must you get first? ✣ What disastrous thing happened to your mentor or
another famous wizard when they attempted the same ritual years ago?

An audio magazine
for Dungeon World.
We offer play advice, rules
hacks, custom moves &
magic items, and our beloved
‘comic strip’ actual play.
Check us out at
gauntlet-rpg.com!

23
This Issue
̣ Explore an abandoned subterranean city.
Jellysaw Games

̣ Meet Hillar Rockboots, dwarf archaeologist.

̣ Encounter rust monsters, xorn, and derro!
̣ Fight a petulant wizard, the inhuman
www.jellysaw.com
mistress of a deadly garden, and a
thoroughly evil … rock?
̣ Witness a world-ending battle between titans!

In the Toolbox:
̣ D8 Dwarf Twists
̣ The Risk Die
̣ Establishing Questions

Next Issue
The Hoard. Stuffy, claustrophobic, irrational … these are the words running
through your mind as you explore tunnel after tunnel of meticulously
stacked crap, looking for “the good stuff.” It's definitely your turn to find
something valuable. Donny literally stumbled over a whole urn of grass-
green gems. Leia ripped an obviously magical axe out of the hands of a
zombie minotaur. And Grax … well, he sort of got his face eaten off by a
dragon crab … but then he always was careless!

24