Awaroth Woods

Into the Awaroth Woods… (1.2a)

A Dungeon World Conversion by Mark Tygart

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1NU_iANDGTDV7rwi_GJtB5O-4o4MES-v1

Of Lorenzo Santini’s Classic Wilderness One Page Adventure

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1f1dHoaAc8ldQgDz__tmEshagk4Ul17UZ

Lured by a scroll where the long dead sorcerer Urgaan boasts about treasures hidden in his tower, the PCs arrive at the outpost near the Awaroth Woods…

“Let fools seek it. They shall win it not. For although my treasure house be empty as air, no deadly creature in rocky lair, no sentinel outside anywhere, no pitfall, poison, trap, or snare, above and below the whole place bare, of demon or devil not a hair, no serpent lethal-fanged yet fair, no skull with mortal eye a-glare, yet have I left a guardian there. Let the wise read this riddle and forbear.”

 ---Urgaan the Builder, Warlock of Qarth

General Notes and Custom Moves

All currency (usually gp) is now Dungeon World coins.

All traps should allow a Defy Danger +DEX to either avoid damage (success) or take half damage (partial success).

GMs may roll on the wandering monster table as a hard move.

Urgaan’s Tower

When Urgaan’s tower is “activate” every player every player must make Defy Danger versus Dex for each “move” they make. I always play the Tower as allowing fleeing adventurers to escape (followed by bellowing laughter).

@A 10+ allows three moves

@7-9 allows a single move

@A fail allows the tower to attack (d10 damage)

The tower’s “mind” may also be opened with a successful Fighter’s “Bend Bars, Lift Gates” move, or a full success Defy Danger+STR roll. A partial success will allow the player two free moves without damage.

1d6 of the gems may Ioun stones, at the GM’s discretion.

Ioun Stones

These crystalline stones always float in the air and must be within 3 feet of their owner to be of any use. When a character first acquires a stone, she must hold it and then release it, whereupon it takes up a circling orbit 1d3 feet from her head. Thereafter, a stone must be grasped or netted to separate it from its owner. The owner may voluntarily seize and stow a stone (to keep it safe while she is sleeping, for example), but she loses the benefits of the stone during that time.

Ioun stones have 1 hit point, and an Armor of 5. The powers of each stone vary depending on its color and shape.

The following are examples:
Crimson spindle: grants user Infravision
Brown-green pyramid: allows the user to speak Treant
Crystal disc: generates light as per the clerical rote
Green-black star: immunity to all poisons
Crimson rectangle: immunity to ordinary fire; ½ damage from magical fire                                                 Azure triangle: allows user to breathe underwater

NPCs

Baran the Ranger	Solitary, Stealthy, Intelligent
Crossbow (b[2d10] damage 1 piercing)	16 HP	3 armor
Close, Near, Far

Instinct: To hunt monstrous threats

• Strike from a hidden location
• Blend into the environment
• Slay evildoers

Bregor the Werebear	Solitary, devious, intelligent
huge paws (d8+2 damage)	12 HP	1 armor
Forceful, reach
Special Qualities: Immune to most weapons, vulnerable to silver, lycanthropic curse

Werebears, as the name implies, are a species of people who can turn into bears. It's not exactly a hard concept to grasp, and not entirely without some mythological precedent; the Viking word "Baersark", a root word for "Berserk", literally means "Bear shirt", and Berserkers were often described as wearing bear-skin shirts (a symbol of how powerful they were), or even reputed to transformed into bears on the battlefield - as these same berserkers were also part of the heritage that gave us the more famous werewolf, tying werebears to them is not a major leap.

Instinct: To revenge

• Hug murders tight and don't let go
• Befriend the adventurers
• Change form

Oanga	Solitary, Organized, Intelligent, Hoarder
Elite weapon (b[2d10+4] damage 2 piercing)	16 HP	1 armor
Close, Forceful

The former leader of a mostly deceased bandit gang; the “Awaroth Raiders”... 

Instinct: To destroy and plunder

• Crush enemies with strength and will

Uskz	Solitary, Tiny, Intelligent
Melee Weapon (b[2d10] damage 3 piercing)	16 HP	2 armor
Hand, Forceful

At the pinnacle of rage, this barbarian's vicious blows allow them to tear armor apart with every blow, shredding their enemy’s guts and limbs.

Instinct: To crush her enemies with rage

• Get mad

Encounters

bear (Brown)	Large
Claws (d10+4 damage)	6 HP	1 armor
Forceful

Instinct: To survive

boar (Giant)	Group
Tusks (d8+2 damage)	6 HP	1 armor
Close
Special Qualities: Sharp tusks

Cantankerous and aggressive on good days 

Instinct: Dominate perceived threats

• Charge and gore

Centaur	Large, Stealthy, Organized, Intelligent, Cautious, Hoarder
Javelin (b[2d6+1] damage)	11 HP	2 armor
Close, Reach, Near
Special Qualities: Speed of Horse

Instinct: To take vengeance on evil forest wreckers and plunders

• Circle; throw javelins at evildoers
• Befriend Baran allies
• Sound the horns when evil approaches

Forester	Group, Intelligent
Bow (d8 damage)	3 HP	1 armor
Close, Near, Far

Foresters work in the wilds and have a sort of innate connection to it, though one not as powerful as that of druids.

Instinct: To protect the wild

• Work with beasts

Giant Spider (Forest)	Horde, Small, Stealthy, Devious
Bite (d4 damage)	3 HP	3 armor
Close

These giant spiders live swarms of up to half a dozen; an advantage they use to take down larger prey relying upon their stealth and venom. 

Instinct: Consume

• Ambush prey
• Trap in webs
• Inject weakening venom with bite (Defy Danger +CON to avoid; partial counts as a success, full success means player now immune to this type of spider venom.)

Hill Giant	Solitary, Large, Intelligent
Clobber (d10+2 damage)	18 HP	2 armor
Forceful

A solitary hill giant who brews beer and roasts whomever he can catch in the Awaroth Woods.

Instinct: To be left alone

• Grab and hurl
• Collects Martha Stewart recipes
• Be profoundly stupid

Hunter	Group, Intelligent
Bow (d8 damage 2 piercing)	6 HP	1 armor
Close, Near, Far

The hunters are trained rangers, who have learned to turn their skills towards a more predatory focus. As a result, they shoot with the precision of an eagle.

Instinct: To protect the wild

• Work with beasts

Owlbear	Solitary, Large, Terrifying
Teeth (d10+4 damage 1 piercing)	16 HP	1 armor
Forceful
Special Qualities: It has the calming face of an owl on a monstrous bear

Made by an accident yet it still craves to live, this THING survives purely by bloodlust. In the shadows, people may believe it is just an owl, but once they turn around, they are tackled by the pure fury of the owlbear. The only viable strategy to attack it alone is to not attack it alone. Just RUN. 

Instinct: to eat

• Devour

Shambling Mound	Solitary, Large, Stealthy
Crushing Growths (d10+2 damage)	16 HP	0 armor
Special Qualities: Absorbs electricity, Camouflage

Shambling mounds are large, mobile plants. They feast upon everything they can get their hands on, including living things which they ambush and smother in their grasp. They become especially active during thunderstorms. 

Instinct: To grow

• Hide in the undergrowth

Stirge	Horde, Tiny, Stealthy
proboscis (d4-2 damage)	3 HP	0 armor
Hand
Special Qualities: Flight

Stirges are vicious, blood-drinking swamp pests that prey on wild animals, livestock, and unwary travelers. While weak individually, swarms of the creatures are capable of draining a man dry in minutes, leaving only a desiccated husk in their wake. 

Instinct: To swarm prey

• Suck blood
• Hide in the shadows

Treant	Group, Huge, Magical, Intelligent
Smash (d10+5 damage 2 piercing)	18 HP	1 armor
Reach, Forceful

Treants are ancient beings, long-lives sapient plants. Capable of living for millennia, they take things slowly most of the time, moving at a pace befitting for a tree. But when their bellowed woodland is in danger, these peaceful, lumbering giants lurch into action with unmatched ferocity. 

Instinct: To protect the woods

• Talk with plants
• Protect trees
• Befriend friends of Bregor

Troll	Group, Large, Intelligent
Brutish strike (d8+2 damage 1 piercing)	14 HP	1 armor
Forceful

Trolls are powerful humanoids mostly known for their regenerative powers. All non-fatal injuries seem to fade in due time, with only fire and acid seemingly giving the troll trouble. Furthermore, trolls slowly adapt to their environment, changing to better be able to survive.

Instinct: To indulge itself

• Regenerate
• Turns to stone in sunlight
• Extort bribes

Wolf	Horde, Organized
Bite (d6 damage)	3 HP	1 armor
Close

Instinct: To hunt

Worg	Group, Hoarder, Terrifying
Rusty Battleaxe (b[2d8+2] damage)	6 HP	1 armor
Close
Special Qualities: Fur and a wolf head

The most aggressive of the evil beast-men, worgs gather in howling bands of hunters, scouring the forests where they live for fresh meat, preferably human.

Instinct: To consume

• Snap and snarl at a source of pain
• Dominate a weaker ally
• Feast

Wraith (Forest)	Horde, Devious, Amorphous
Life-draining touch (d4 damage)	12 HP	1 armor
Close, Ignores Armor
Special Qualities:  Only harmed by magic and magic weapons

Forest Wraiths, though undead, are not a single soul. Rather, they are several fragmented of different souls, often due to violent deaths, tragedy and negative feelings, that have coalescence into a new, dreadful being in a corpse of a dark magic user. The wraith has neither understanding nor empathy of mortal life. All it wants to do is add to its collective of fragments by harvesting the souls of living beings. Its touch severely weakens the living, causing the Sick condition. 

Instinct: To steal life

• Sense the living
• Moan and rattle chains
• Guard Tomb

Strange Things

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-sinister-scientist-behind-the-cias-mind-control-mayhem