The Indigo Galleon

by John Aegard INTRODUCTORY ADVENTURE For FirSt LeveL cHaracterS

Summary of the Situation

The octopus folk magically summoned the storm and directed it to drive Relentless aground. They did this so they could capture the notorious marauder Hobart. Hobarts villainous soul and blood-soaked hands make him a sacrifice of epochal potence. The octopus folk will use his death to summon the Void Ark and trigger the Great Migration. If all goes as planned, they will be carried up to hyperspace, where they will resume their true forms and live lives of mad joy. If all goes poorly, their entire host will swarm from the sea and wreak furious, indiscriminate revenge. So far, their plan has proceeded perfectly. Hobart was captured and brought to the ritual caves to await his ritualized drowning by the tide. However, the remainder of the marauders escaped Relentless and established a camp within an abandoned dwarven iron mine. They are preparing to rescue their leader from the octopus folk. Meanwhile, the crew of Relentless continue to see to their duty. The disaster triggered the necromatic protocols encoded in their loyalty oaths. Living or dead, they transformed into fanged sea ghouls, and their minds harnessed by a single crude impulsekill any who dares to interfere with the Emperors treasure!

Front: Hobarts Fortune

DOOM: The tide drags Relentless out to sea and its treasure is lost forever. STAKEs: Will the party recover the real treasure from the galleon? CAST Unlucky sailors and marines, now transformed into treasure-guarding sea ghouls GRIM PORTENTs: Your feet are awash Water is over your ankles It is a struggle to move against the onrushing waters Relentless is afloat and is drifting uncontrollably towards the open water Swim for your lives!

Front: Unwelcome Imperials

DOOM: Hobart is not recaptured and Codcliffe suffers Balbus wrath. sTAKEs Are Balbus hostages restored to their human form? Does Balbus summon summon an Imperial detachment to occupy Codcliffe? CAsT Captain-Senator Balbus, owner of the Relentless Apothiko Vitula, Balbus bodyguard, alchemist, and sorceror GRIM PORTENTS Apothiko Vitula polymorphs some villagers into chickens and promises to reverse the process if Hobart is apprehended A villager begs the party to reverse the polymorph Another villager asks the party to kill the Imperials A villager tries to kill Balbus but Apothik Vitula foils the attempt Balbus sends a message via pigeon to the nearest Imperial detachment An imperial detachment arrives, turning Codcliffe into an occupied camp, collecting taxes and enslaving useful villagers

Beginning Play
Begin the game by introducing Codcliffe and the stormthe first paragraph from the cover should suffice. Ask the characters if they have come to know any villagers in the past week. Use their responses to populate the village. Then read the remaining introduction and go straight to a scene in the village square. The villagers have gathered to listen to Balbus call for hunters to find the escaped Hobart. No one steps forward. Codcliffers are fishers, not bounty hunters! If the party hesitates to act, then tick off the first Grim Portent of the Unwanted Imperials front. From there, be sure to use your answers to their knowledge-gathering moves to reveal the backstory and point to the three encounter locations. And give them this bit of knowledge for free: the Imperials forbid them to tamper with Relentless, as she is guarded by the Emperors strongest magics...

Last week, a once-in-a-decade tempest forced your party to take shelter in the tiny fishing village of Codcliffea hardscrabble settlement far from the heart of the Empire. This morning, after the storm broke, you were joined there by a Captain-Senator and his bodyguard. These impressive persons are castaways from HMS Relentless, an indigo-sailed Imperial treasure galleon. She lies beached on a nearby tide flat that is shunned by the villagers, a place where the octopus folk gather to bellow at the comets. These ragged Imperials come not as guests but as overseers, and they demand the service their Empire is due. For in the chaos of the wreck, Relentless lost her most valuable cargo: the prisoner Mr. Hobart and his notorious crew of corsairs. The Emperor has commanded that Hobarts marauders be presented to the Court in time for High Season, so that he might proclaim a nine-day execution feast in their honor. The Captain-Senator will do whatever is necessary to fulfil his Emperors wishes, and he demands Codcliffes assistance. The villagers are apprehensive. They loathe the tax-hungry Imperials, they are terrified of marauders, and they have known for generations that it is unwise to trespass on the lands of the octopus folk...

Location: Codcliffe
Codcliffe is perched upon a 100 cliff. Two hundred souls live humble but stable lives here. They do a modest trade in smoked fish and oil with nearby dwarf settlements. Tags: moderate wealth, steady population, no defenses, resource: fish

Front: The Marauders New Home

DOOM: Marauders seize Codcliffe as a base from which to rebuild their fortunes. CAsT Pretty Pete, leader of the free marauders. GRIM PORTENTS Marauders learn that Codcliffe is nearby Marauders scout Codcliffe, seeing it is nearly undefended Marauders test Codcliffe, raiding it, seizing hostages, food, and goods Marauders make demands: Codcliffe must yield or be pillaged

Species: Octopus Folk

Octopus folk are truly amphibious, equally comfortable at sea or on land. At sea, they move by jetting water from muscular bellows. On land, octopus folk can walk on 4-8 of their legs, and are especially adept brachiators. They have three different modes of communication. Passionate feelings cause their skin to flare purple-red. They can whistle alarms and greetings through their water bellows. For detailed, nuanced communication, a pair of octopus folk will link one or more arms and exchange information using a language of twitches and grasps.

Front: The Great Migration

dOOM: The octopus folk sacrifice their prisoner and summon their void-ark sTAKEs Will the ritual be spoiled by the rescue of Hobart? If it is, will Codcliffe survive the rage of the thwarted octopus folk? CAsT The Decaturge, ten-armed high priest of the octopus folk Hobart, battered marauder leader and intended sacrifice Talley, lonely halfling octopus folk cultist GRIM PORTENTS The decaturges consorts are painting ritual sigils on the prisoners The tides are rolling into the caves A huge wave of octopus folk surge out of the water, towards the ritual caves The marauders are drowning

NPC Names
VILLAgERs: Calix Felix Fatime Atria Henoc Dolfina Beatriz MARAUdERs: Todd Obby Mutt Jovon Penny Hargs Burl Hefney

Glory
WRITING + DEsIgN John Aegard. ILLUSTRATION + MAPS Zach Fischer. DUNGEON WORLD BY Sage LaTorra & Adam Koebel. PLAyTEsTING Fred Lott Adrienne Mueller Peter Adkison Seth Johnson Jon Leitheusser Dylan Mayo Kristian Haapa-Aho Christian Griffen Matthew Gagan Alex Cooley Bryan Yarrow. VERSION 1.0 - August 15, 2012

For use with the Dungeon World RPG

Location: The Beached Hulk of HMS Relentless

Relentless will still float, but with her rigging in tatters, she is not seaworthy. Her DEcKS ANd RIGGING u swarm with spry sea ghouls. They will fight viciously to keep the party away from the cApTAINs cAbIN v and its sealed treasure vault. The seal will detonate into a spray of acid (3 damage / penetrate 2 to all in the cabin) if anyone but the Captain-Senator touches the lock. Inside the vault are coin and gems (2000 coin, 20 weight). This treasure is actually a swarm of tiny golems who will drop their illusion and attack when the party next makes camp. The OffIcERs cAbINS w and the cREw bUNKs x will each yield 80 coin in coin and jewelry. The ARMORy y contains 500 coin worth of arms, all in good repair. Any weapon or light armor can be found here. The hOLd z is half given over to a sEAgOINg pRIsON { and is still rank with the smell of its last occupants. Graffiti testifies to weeks at sea. Underneath the hold, along the keel, is the ballast. The true (but still cursed) treasure (3000 coin worth of gems, coin, and jewelry, 30 weight) is concealed within the stones. Recovering the whole treasure will take much of the day and will check off a number of Grim Portents.
Codcliffe

coDcliffE VILLAGERS
organized group

gibbous small organized horde

Octopus folK

Fisherman: 7 hp 0 armor improvised weapon (close) d4+1 Stay away from trouble

v y z

u x { w
RELENTLESS

w w

organized magical hoarders

ImpErials

Decaturge 12 hp 2 armor weapons (close) 1d8x2 Drag foe underwater Whip followers into fury with stinging tentacles Folk 3 hp 1 armor beak (hand) 1d6 Those marked with the killing ink must be slain Disregard all others unless they interfere with your tasks. Mark your opponent with the killing ink. Drag foe underwater

Cpt-Sen Balbus 12 hp 2 armor saber (close) d10 Recover the prisoners Slip away from danger Apothiko Vitula 19 hp 2 armor acid (reach) d10 Obey your patron Melt/char a foes weapon Stay awake and alert for a month Hear the stealthy, see through disguises and ruses Transform people to animals Heal wounds, regrow limbs Sea Ghoul 5 hp 0 armor claws / fangs (close) d6+1 Guard the Emperors treasure Entangle w/ whiplike tongue Pounce from the rigging. Tiny Golems 2 hp 0 armor bite (hand) 1d2 (piercing 3) Disguise self as treasure Feed when prey is asleep Get inside armor and clothes Take dmg from weapons Cursed Treasure Return to the Emperor Attract bounty hunters Turn wine to vinegar Spoil food / consumables Make sleep restless

OLD iron mine

Location: Octopus Folk Ritual Islet Caves

All areas except the Circle of the Tempest are fully innundated at high tide. Only those octopus folk who are involved in the Great Migration, or who are siring young, will be here. The rest all live beneath the waves. The halfling Talley lurks at the cAvE MOUTH. u He has been stung by the Decaturge and yearns to join the Great Migration, but is not allowed inside the caves. Talley has learned to communicate with the Octopus Folk and will be eager to lend assistance if he thinks it will earn him his ticket. In the sIRINg DEN v female octopus folk weave great lattices of rubbery vines from which their eggs hang like grapes. Octopus sires stand vigil or brachiate the vines, fertilizing the choicest eggs. Fertilized eggs are a delicacy and a powerful reagent. (25 eggs, 1 weight, 25 coin). There are two hundred such eggs here. Atop the islet, the CIRcLE Of ThE TEMpEsT w is above the high tide line. This is the ritual space used by the Decaturge to summon the storm. The lightning-blasted corpses of many of his kin are scattered here. Their bodies are studded with ornate piercings (55 coin, 1 weight). The VAULT Of ThE VOID-ARK x is an impressive tall-ceilinged chamber decorated with golden alien hieroglyphics and black ink frescos. Within are the Decaturge, his warriors, and the marauder prisoners. The marauders are trussed up in ropes stolen from Codcliffe and are secured to a heavy chunk of broken mast from Relentless.

GMS BASIC MOVES

Monster/danger/place move Reveal unwelcome truth Show signs of doom Deal damage Use up their resources Show opportunity, perhaps with cost Put someone in a spot Say the requirements or consequences and ask

v x u
SEA at low tide

shunned tide flat ritual islet

falls

AGENDA
Make the world fantastic Fill the characters lives with adventure Play to see what happens

x y w

PrinciplEs
Draw maps, leave blanks Address characters, not players Embrace the fantastic Make your move, but misdirect Never speak the name of your move Give every monster life Name every person Ask questions, use answers Be a fan of the characters Think dangerous Begin and end with fiction Think offscreen, too

Location: Marauder Refuge / Old Dwarven Mine

The ragged marauders, with Pretty Pete in command, have sheltered in an abandoned iron mine. Pete has posted lookouts at both ENTRANcEs. u Any unstealthy daytime approaches to the mine will be observed. Beyond the mine entrance runs a cENTRAL RAIL LINE. v This line pierces the entire hill west to east, running about a mile. The marauders know this line and will use it to escape if they face serious trouble. Their main encampment is located at a shAfT sTATION w about a hundred yards in from the east entrance. A working crane provides access to the levels below. The marauders have not expored downwards. This is fortunate, as this mine was abandoned due to a monster infestation. The shRINE Of ThE IRON gOd x dominates the north wall. A MEZZANINE y surrounds the rest of the chamber; doors lead off to offices for dwarven priests, bosses, and merchants. These offices serve as the marauders sleeping quarters.

EscapED MarauDErs
organized group

u v
about 1 mile about 100 yds

u v

Take revenge on Balbus Establish a new stronghold

Pretty Pete 8 hp 1 armor cutlass (close) 1d8+2 Marauder 3 hp 0 armor improvised wpn (close) 1d6