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Post by doublejig2 on Sept 14, 2021 11:29:58 GMT -6
Title: Servant of Darkness
Mission: Transport a lens
Hook: Wronged, seeking revenge
Antagonist: Deranged alchemist
Potential ally: Wise sage with useful lore
Complication: Local laws are bizarre and restrictive
Obstacle: Riddle that must be solved
Twist: Goals and motivations of important NPCs have been misrepresented
Reward: Gold
Adventure [race] Ashur: Servant of Darkness
The mission seemed simple enough. Take revenge for a great wrong, by delivering the death dealing lens of Ashur to the Alchemy Guild at Kutchal. They would then know how to discipline one of their own.
And this discipline is overdue. For the deranged alchemist, Shuat, stands accused of poisoning the water supply for the entire city of Jola Mola. It was the sage, Olilion, who discerned the truth of this calamity amid cries of divine punishment from the priests and the populace.
Ironically, impeding progress are the bizarre civic ordinances of grim Kutchal, where alchemy is prized and the alchemist beyond reproach. Those breaching these laws may well face the wrath of constables, judges, and magistrates.
In any case, before all is said and done a strange riddle must be solved. For in truth, in recent years the people of Jola Mola have taken to the lurid worship of strange blasted dieties and in so doing have practiced all manner of depravities.
Bringing this aspect of the story to light is the purpose of the lens. Pressed into service by those who know how to wield the its power, the lens will reveal the budding rival to the alternative Alchemy Guild, which Shuat now serves, and, which has hitherto remained shrouded in darkness.
How will canny adventures work this information?
The official Alchemy Guild at Kutchal will reward those who serve the truth in this matter with copious quantities of gold bullion and coin.
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Post by doublejig2 on Sept 14, 2021 11:52:17 GMT -6
Title: Queen of the Mountain
Mission: Seek the mountain
Hook: Dared or had courage questioned
Antagonist: Deranged alchemist
Potential ally: Vengeful spirit
Complication: Local laws are bizarre and restrictive
Obstacle: Bandits or pirates
Twist: Important NPC has a twin, leading to mass confusion
Reward: Precious jewels
Giant-king Queen of the Mountain
You don’t normally take dares, but your dander was up at the tavern. Little did you know that the bartender was beholden to the deranged alchemist, Camit, and he slipped a drug into your ale to cloud your judgment and fire your pride.
So now you’re seeking the legendary Queen of the Mountain. The reported site of this lost artifact lies in a particularly lawless region of Zamora where bandits are treated as nobility, and those who can’t pay for their protection are imprisoned or enslaved.
Lucky for you, Camit, had a twin brother, Ranit, who he slew in jealousy over attainments. Now Ranit’s spirit seeks revenge, and he will assist you in defeating the region’s brigands. With this help, can you locate the Queen of the Mountain, which is no less than a large cache of spectacular jewelry, situated beneath a forlorn mausoleum of a long forgotten race?
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Post by doublejig2 on Sept 14, 2021 11:54:03 GMT -6
Title: Children of Chaos
Mission: Find the crystal
Hook: Lost or shipwrecked
Antagonist: Cult leader
Potential ally: Unworldly scholar with vital information
Complication: Phobia or taboo of a PC is violated
Obstacle: Inscription needs translating
Twist: Entire adventure is the jest of a mad god
Reward: Gold
Barachan Children of Chaos
The pirate infested Barachan Islands hold many secrets. Your ship was wrecked in a storm amid the islands off the coast of Zingara. You and your party were the sole survivors.
Working your way inland, you encounter a strange compound. Its purveyor is a bizarre 3-armed sage named Tirio. In exchange for a long boat to return to Zingara, he needs you to find a crystal horse, which Adraso the Cultist has purloined.
To assist, Tirio can translate the scroll, which Adraso commands as ward to protect his hide out. Once garnered, the words are simple enough. They say, the Children of Chaos are pirates.
Strangely, once the ward is revealed, if you succeeded, then you find yourselves back on your original ship. Your adventure has been the whim of a mad god. Ruffled, you suffer chills and shuddering, but the gold stuffed into your belt pouches is new and real enough.
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Post by jeffb on Sept 14, 2021 14:30:00 GMT -6
I've used it previously for a one shot. But it was years ago. I cannot recall the details. There is also some great stuff for DMs to steal for this type of thing in Yochi Gal's One Shot World ( especially pages 12+) at the Dungeon World Syllabus |
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Post by doublejig2 on Sept 14, 2021 16:41:38 GMT -6
City classification: Commune
Population: 9
Number & type of structures: 6
storage: grainhouse/silo
Population mood: indifferent
Crime rate: below average
Housing:
3 cabins/cottage/house
1 hut/hovel/shack
Number of traits: 1
walled/moated
City plot: 3
bountiful harvest
disappearances
holy days
Hyperborean Commune at Shugola
For a small community of a half dozen structures and less than 10 residence, the Hyperborean commune at Shugola manages to impress. The d**n place, cold and dreary, is walled in thick black stone and moated. Behind such protections loom a grain house, 3 cottages, a shack, and a well.
The people here are tall, moody, and brooding. Most are escaped slaves. They exist today to distill whiskey and harvest rye, punctuating drunken ceremonies with obeyance to their rather terrifying death god.
And perhaps to some effect. Harvests have been bountiful of late. But offsetting today strangely timed disappearances lend gloom to the settlement. And, another holy day is rapidly arriving, so the cultists are on edge.
The truth is strange indeed. For a former member, believed slain, now hunts the community, personifying in violent act the dire implications of its morbid worship.
Visitors to the commune are rare, and rarely tolerated for long. Icy wind and overcast skies mark time here. Sullen agricultural industry finds its niche but with little treasure.
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Post by jeffb on Sept 15, 2021 9:53:45 GMT -6
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Post by doublejig2 on Sept 16, 2021 18:21:27 GMT -6
Title: Whisper of Eternity
Mission: Recover chest
Hook: Overheard conversation
Antagonist: Depraved monk
Potential Ally: Friendly witch
Complication: Rebels are plotting to overthrow the government
Obstacle: Great distance
Twist: Betrayal by a supposed ally or friend
Reward: Favor of a cult or deity; Potion or alchemical preparation
Shem: Whisper of Eternity
Walking back from a tavern by way of an alley in the city of Eruk, you overhear two priests of Anu, talking about a mahogany chest of mystical power, which they say is located at the shrine of Aoju in the Talain Mountains south of dread Kuthchemes. The chest can be used to lift a terrible curse, placed on the whole realm of Khoraja by the dread desert sorcerer, Natohk.
It turns out your eavesdropping was noticed. And, the next day a depraved monk leads a mob of knife wielding cultists to attack you at the inn you are staying at in the city. But you are warned of this villainy by a witch who has feelings for one in your party and so are prepared for the attack.
After the fighting, you form your expedition to retrieve the chest. Even as you do so, rebels in the city stage a coup attempt. Their effort is crushed by the city garrison but not before drawing you into the fighting. During the fight, a powerful warrior, Suk al Sat, assists you in combat against cabal forces. It turns out he’s looking to add his strong sword arm to an adventuring party.
Kuthchemes is 1000 miles from Eruk one way. And, the chest is located in a shrine some 50 miles further to the south. You make the journey with some adventures and mishaps, arrive at the shrine, and secure the locked chest from the presiding hermit. He explains that the chest can only be opened by the queen of Khoraja. He then blesses the party. Upon receiving the blessing, Suk al Sat is exposed as a demonic being sent by Natohk, and a terrifying fight takes place.
If still alive, then returning through Shem and unto Khoraja, will you deliver the chest to Queen Yasmela, earning her highest favor and as reward, a number of potent potions and tinctures and a bucket full of fist sized gems? For the chest when open brings forth the Whisper of Eternity, and this sacred wisdom is enough to lift the curse over the city and surrounding countryside.
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Post by doublejig2 on Sept 19, 2021 15:26:18 GMT -6
Title: Queen of the Moon
Mission: Transport sarcophagus
Hook: Overheard conversation
Antagonist: Fanatical priest
Potential ally: Priests who speaks for the gods
Complication: PC falsely accused of a capital crime
Obstacle: Native cannibals or headhunters
Twist: Original mission actually a red herring; real mission: Paths of the Deeps
Reward: Scrolls and a magic ring
Turan Queen of the Moon
Sitting in a boisterous tavern in the Turanian coastal city of Sultanspur, you catch of fragment of a nearby drunken conversation. It seems a group of mercenaries had been charged with breach of contract for failing to deliver the Queen of the Moon, which is a mummy in a sarcophagus, to the Turanian city of Shangora.
It turns out the priest who hired the mercenaries, one Shapur, is furious at the failure and has cursed these hapless men. Considering the possible opportunity, you travel to the temple of Thutala for advice on how to proceed.
At the temple, pious Samerlik the High Priest, warns of slander and gossip, directed at the adventurers; word of their interest in the sarcophagus travels fast. And indeed, soon after the meeting with the priest, one of the adventurers is falsely accused of murdering a city official.
With little to lose, when you hear of the next muster, you join as a second group of mercenaries to escort the sarcophagus out of the city, and this time to an Iranistani destination as per Samerlik's instruction.
Your company travels south with its burden as far as Ashan in Iranistan. There the sarcophagus is handed over to a withered seer, who brings it to the urban Temple of the Moon. And this is where the story ends, except the Queen of the Moon is no mummy.
Instead, she is a key to a hidden double door of iron, located in the cellars of the temple. It is into this dungeon that the priest throws you, having stricken you down by way of dastardly sorcery.
You’ll have to fight your way out of the Paths of the Deep, picking up whatever treasure you may find, whether scrolls or magic weapons or rings, along the way.
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