The Prison of the Hated Pretender Downloads

The Prison of the Hated Pretender 

My Dungeon World Conversion Notes:

(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-LOXEQi_-4fTbkmGDA8EeM5IXDGIAODj)

Download this free module at: 

(https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_4yfZaJH0e5UXBlMXlrN2hDMjg/edit)

from the Dungeon of Signs blog 

(http://dungeonofsigns.blogspot.com/)

As promised. -MT

Iron God for Dungeon World

The Iron God

Lesser God  

Symbol: Iron shaped medallion with the Arrow of Law, Arrow of Law with a Skull or Gravestone or an Iron Golem with a Sword (think Academy Award in Iron)

Home Plane: “Underworld”

Alignment: Lawful neutral (Lord of Law)

Portfolio: Retribution, truth, discipline, death, darkness, graveyards, underworld, wealth

Worshipers: Fighters, monks, judges, constables, executioners and undertakers

Cleric Alignments: LN, N, Lawful

Domains: Destruction, Law, Protection, Strength, Death and Wealth

Favored Weapons: Sword, Mace

The Iron God is a largely forgotten deity of the Underworld that guards the spirits and bodies of the dead. He is neither evil nor good but highly lawful and very vengeful towards oath breakers and traitors to his own order. A sort of chthonic Hemidall he stands at the gates of the graveyard or underworld and he acts as a psychopomp. A psychopomp (from the Greek word ψυχοπομπός, psuchopompos, literally meaning the "guide of souls") are creatures, spirits, angels, or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afterlife. Their role is not to judge the deceased, but simply to provide safe passage.

Apparently his followers were originally a guild of undertakers than gained great wealth because of a boon he can offer: burial on the god’s holy ground will hold the deceased soul in a dreamless sleep in their tomb deferring judgment or forfeiture to dark powers as long as the tomb is undisturbed. Many powerful evil sorcerers and brutal aristocrats would pay enormous sums and powerful magic items to delay judgment day.

The problem was the harsh and judgmental nature of this deity who would strike down with terrible wrath any member of his clergy who violated his precepts. This coupled with the tempting target the rich graveyard monasteries and nunneries of his order offered to freebooters may have what lead to the cult’s decline. Ruins of his cultic sites and the god's few remaining cult centers remain popular targets for adventurers and robbers due to the cult’s fabulous wealth and known habit of stockpiling magic items donated by desperate and dying wizards and rulers.

(The Iron God was conceived by Matt Finch for his OSR adventure module The Tomb of the Iron God)

The Prison of the Hated Pretender from the Dungeon of Signs: A Few Dungeon World Conversion Notes

The Prison of the Hated Pretender 

from the Dungeon of Signs blog 

(http://dungeonofsigns.blogspot.com/)

Download this free module at: 

(https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_4yfZaJH0e5UXBlMXlrN2hDMjg/edit)

A Few, Brief Dungeon World Conversion Notes by Mark Tygart

General Rule

All types of metal coins (gp, cp, sp, etc.)= Same number of Dungeon World coins. All values are now in Dungeon World coins.

Questions

What treasure do you hope to find in the Prison of the Hated Pretender?

What do you plan to do with this treasure?

What stories have you heard about his crimes? His terrible fate?

What rumors have you heard about the crusaders who built the tower?

What do you think lurks within the tower?

What have you heard about the worship of "The Iron God"?

Items

I would replace silvered scale mail +1  in Crypt Area 10 with the following:

Prisoner's Ring

0 Weight

A simple silver ring set with a strange smoky blue stone. The owner of the ring may not be bound or confined by any locks, ropes, etc. on his person but may open these by pure mental will alone whenever desired. 

Note that the bindings must apply to the owner's physical person for the ring's magic to apply. Written in runic letters is a message inside the ring: "Happy Holidays Mouser! S."

I would also make each of the “small rubies” act as a potion of healing as opposed to just healing one point.

I would add as items of treasure at various locations:

Hecate’s Ghostly Dagger

1 Use, 0 Weight

A dagger, silvery and bright, but strangely lighter than one would expect. If you stab yourself and sacrifice half your hit points you will be immune to attacks from the undead for the rest of this adventure, but during that time your hit points may not be regained. After one use the dagger vanishes.

Wand of Bone

1 Use, 0 Weight

If this wand of bone touches any undead creature in the tower then that creature and the wand will both crumble into dust.

LORE

I made the crusaders and their leader followers of the Iron God from Matt Finch’s excellent Tomb of the Iron God module. The Iron God is a largely forgotten deity of the Underworld that guards the spirits and bodies of the dead. He is neither evil nor good but highly lawful and very vengeful towards oath breakers and traitors to his order. I also dissolved the Phantasms if the Hated Pretender was freed from his anguish and awarded extra XP for the deed to good or neutral players. The Iron God is also the patron of  "Tannoch: Rest of Kings" in my Dungeon World conversion:   (http://www.trilemma.com/blog/adventures/06%20Tannoch.pdf ).

Monsters

Hated Pretender	Solitary
Skeleton Claws (w[2d4] damage)	12 HP	0 armor
Close
Special Qualities: Undead, Regenerates

Whatever the Hated Pretender did he's likely been punished for it long since. He was converted into an undead and undying parody of himself by a sect of fanatically lawful warrior priests and placed in the prison to be tormented by Phantasms of Vengeance trapped with him. The Pretender can be destroyed by normal means, but his battered limbs will reform and his unlife will return the night after he is 'killed' unless his body is burnt and the ashes scattered or purified with unholy water. The Hated Pretender is a pitiful undead wretch, who despite retaining a normal intelligence, has been driven several varieties of insane and barely remembers his previous life as some sort of monarch. The Pretender's torturers were successful in tormenting him to madness and the thing lives in constant, overpowering fear of being burned and shredded by the Phantasms (having had this happen to him numerous times). He appears as an obviously unwell man: skeletal, stooped, with wild hair and beard, parched crackling skin, open wounds that ooze only crusted brown ichor and huge bright green eyes. He wears the cast off remnants of peasants' clothing (from a more recent victim) and a comical "crown" constructed of small animal bones, bird feathers, twigs and bits of thread. He is not actually aggressive, but the Phantasms require light to manifest he is equally afraid of light as he is in phantasms. The Pretender becomes agitated in the presence of light, fleeing to a dark area if possible and launching a furious attack with his claw like hands and unholy strength on anyone carrying a light if trapped. This monster was adapted from the famous and free mini OSR module "Prison of the Hated Pretender". 

Instinct: Light Panics

• Suffers
• Regenerates
• Hates Light

Phantasm of Vengeance	Group, Construct, Amorphous
Spectral Strike (d4 damage)	3 HP	0 armor
Close, Ignores Armor, Near
Special Qualities: Vengeful lawful manifestation, Undead, Noncorporeal, Regenerates

A nasty species of vengeful lawful manifestation, each of these entities is the distilled desire for just and holy revenge of any number of lawful victims who died of violence. They are not complete spirits themselves, just a collection of the departed souls' earthly disbelief, rage and sadness at their slaughter. Phantasms are not very intelligent and seek vengeance on anyone they can reach that isn't a cleric or anointed follower of a specific lawful religion or cult. The phantasms can't really be destroyed; except by a proper exorcism (or similar ritual), but can be forced to dissipate and reform hours or days late by attacking them with normal weapons. Phantasms of Vengeance are nyctophobic and cannot abide darkness, even the darkness of normal night. Torchlight or magical light is sufficient for them to manifest. Each individual Phantasm's appearance varies; examples include: a fiery warrior, a ball of blue fire or a female ghostly figure wrapped in spectral chains. This monster was adapted from the famous and free mini OSR module "Prison of the Hated Pretender". 

Instinct: Vengeance on the unlawful!

• Haunts
• Inflicts Terror
• Strikes

Happy Thanksgiving Tabletop RPG Fans!

Lost Ubar, Irem, the City of Pillars, the Atlantis of the Sands...

Beautiful Art...

The Quran, chapter 89 (Al-Fajr), verse 6 to 14:

6: Have you not considered how your Lord dealt with ‘Aad -

7: [With] Iram – who had lofty pillars, 8: The likes of whom had never been created in the lands 9: And [with] Thamud, who carved out the rocks in the valley? 10: And [with] Pharaoh, owner of the stakes? – 11: [All of] whom oppressed within the lands 12: And increased therein the corruption. 13: So your Lord poured upon them a scourge of punishment.

14: Indeed, your Lord is in observation.

Iram is used in quatrain 5 of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam to describe the brevity of human endeavors:

Iram indeed is gone with all its Rose,

And Jamshyd's Sev'n-ring'd Cup where no one knows;

But still the Vine her ancient Ruby yields,

And still a Garden by the Water blows.

Also a great location in the video game Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception...:)

Upcoming Sword breaker Dungeon World Fanzine to feature this location....http://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/11205/Sword-Breaker



I wrote a Dungeon Starter based on Ubar's Legend in this product (City of Pillars)......http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/194173/20-Dungeon-Starters

Prisoners of Molok Dungeon World Stats

Amazon Prisoner of Molok	Group, Cautious
Crude Weapon (2d4 damage)	6 HP	0 armor
Close, Near

In Greek mythology, the Amazons were a tribe of women warriors. Classicist Peter Walcot wrote, "Wherever the Amazons are located by the Greeks, whether it is somewhere along the Black Sea in the distant north-east, or in Libya in the furthest south, it is always beyond the confines of the civilized world. The Amazons exist outside the range of normal human experience." These Amazons are based on J.E. Holmes "Maze of Peril" version, noble female warrior enemies of evil. Think Wonder Women in a Gygaxian World.

Instinct: Destroy Evil

• Fight
• Use guile
• Be fearless

Like Dr. Eric Holmes (and certain hobbits) I prefer Amazons to rescue me..MT:) 

(Maze of Peril reference, bonus points if you got it!)

Gelatinous Cube	Solitary, Large, Devious, Amorphous
Acidic push (1d8 damage)	16 HP	1 armor
Special Qualities: Transparent

A slime monster shaped into a cube, perfectly sized for many underground hallways. It is completely mindless, subsisting on whatever grime, pest and adventures blunder into it. 

Instinct: To feed

• Engulf food
• Paralytic slime
• Transparent

Always a favorite monster....

Vat Ghoul of Molok	Group, Construct
Shiv (1d4 damage)	6 HP	0 armor
Close
Special Qualities: Grown in Molok's Vat, Undead

An undead minion grown in a vat from vile goo by Molok, the Vat Ghoul needs to neither eat nor sleep and exists purely to obey the orders of its creator. Poor warriors if killed they dissolve back into a foul smelling ichor. 

Instinct: Worships Creator

• Obey
• Perform duties flawlessly
• Attack poorly

Molok the Grell	Solitary, Large, Intelligent, Hoarder, Planar
Tentacle grab (d12 damage)	16 HP	0 armor
Close, Ignores Armor
Special Qualities: Paralyzing Tentacles, Flight

Grell are fearsome alien predators who exist only to devour other living beings. These aberrations divide all creatures into two categories, the eaters and the eaten, and humans fall into the latter. Grell resemble a bloated flying jellyfish. Their gray-green mass is covered in folds and wrinkles and appears like nothing so much as an enormous brain with a hard bony beak. The creatures have no eyes, instead perceiving the world by receiving sound waves and electrical impulses through their skin, which functions as a single huge ear. A grell is immune to gaze attacks, visual effects, illusions, and other attack forms that rely on sight. A grell’s body is naturally buoyant. This buoyancy allows it to fly at a speed of 30 feet. This buoyancy also grants it a permanent feather fall effect (as the spell) with personal range. A grell has ten pink or purple prehensile tentacles with retractable barbs that inject a paralytic toxin. Sages hypothesize that the creatures spread from world to world by planar travel, either through magical portals or the Vale of Shadows. Grell have no ambitions of conquest or slavery, desiring only food, making a grell a purely local problem, but left unchecked it can represent a plague of predation capable of depopulating an entire area. 

Molok is something of an over achiever among grells. He is a skilled alchemist who has created his own servants from the dead and supplies alchemical supplies to various evildoers for a price to fund his workshop of horrors. Molok is fascinated by slimes, oozes and jellies and is constantly experimented with them. He recently got a new shipment of pet food from a mysterious new supplier: the players and as many Amazons as the GM needs.

Instinct: Devour humans

• Paralyze with a touch
• Grapple with tentacles
• Disappear into shadows

New Dungeon World/Dungeon Planet Adventure Conversion: In the Moon Bog

"Some time ago, the Screeching Comet shattered the night skies and crashed into the Moon Bog. Since then, a creeping doom has slowly warped the flora and fauna of the area. Those spending too much time in the bog are overcome by an alien sickness. Recently, mutant man-frogs have been encountered and villagers have gone missing. What horror resides in the Moon Bog?"

One Page Dungeon: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1zbDFaBoF3GEYJP3COibdoNL9aAyGMTOW

My conversion notes: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1NPUj_1Nzu1VCYFGLHhWQ6HBAdc_VElQP

Once again trapped in a hospital waiting room, when I should be writing something else I end up with writer's block that results into my converting this one page dungeon gem homage to Dave Arneson's classic The Temple of the Frog. If your idea of Thanksgiving fun isn't battling mutant frogs and giant hairy space aliens how do you spend your holidays??

As always feedback of any type,comments, general observations, lavish undeserved praise, war stories, etc. are most welcome!

Roses “Hawklord2112” Kingston's Dungeon World Grick

Inspired / enthused by +Mark Tygart​​'s Grell post...
Another of my favourite 3e mobs, The Grick
Small, subterranean, Mindless, Hunter
6hp, 1 Armour
SQ: unharmed by unenchanted weapons.
Barbed Tentacles, b(2d4)
Instincts: hide and Eat

Grick are aberrant, a cross of slug, squid and nightmare. Silent in motion, able to stick to walls and ceilings, and to create burrows in most types of rock.
Usually solitary but every so often Grick will swarm together, gorge themselves on whatever they can find, then spawn and lay thousands of eggs.
Grick are blind, chemotactile and use a form of magical spatial perception to locate prey.
Moves:
* drop from above
* stalk silently
* shred armour with tentacles

Dungeon World Grell

Grell	Solitary, Large, Intelligent, Hoarder, Planar
Tentacle grab (d12 damage)	16 HP	0 armor
Close, Ignores Armor
Special Qualities: Paralyzing Tentacles, Flight

Grell are fearsome alien predators who exist only to devour other living beings. These aberrations divide all creatures into two categories, the eaters and the eaten, and humans fall into the latter. Grell resemble a bloated flying jellyfish. Their gray-green mass is covered in folds and wrinkles and appears like nothing so much as an enormous brain with a hard bony beak. The creatures have no eyes, instead perceiving the world by receiving sound waves and electrical impulses through their skin, which functions as a single huge ear. A grell is immune to gaze attacks, visual effects, illusions, and other attack forms that rely on sight. A grell’s body is naturally buoyant. This buoyancy allows it to fly at a speed of 30 feet. This buoyancy also grants it a permanent feather fall effect (as the spell) with personal range.A grell has ten pink or purple prehensile tentacles with retractable barbs that inject a paralytic toxin. Sages hypothesize that the creatures spread from world to world by planar travel, either through magical portals or the Vale of Shadows. Grell have no ambitions of conquest or slavery, desiring only food, making a grell a purely local problem, but left unchecked it can represent a plague of predation capable of depopulating an entire area. 

Instinct: Devour humans

*Paralyze with a touch
*Grapple with tentacles
*Disappear into shadows