TABLE OF CONTENTS G
W
Copyright © 2013 B oldly Games, LLC. All Rights Reserved
DEANNA NYGREN & TRENTON KENNEDY Art, Layout
Design, Writing
[email protected]
Te text o Grim World will be released under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0) starting in 2014. For details, please visit www.boldlygames.com/grimworld
W
: Stephanie Brown - Some Portraits, Assassin
douglasnisbet.com
oeatworlds.com
W
:
Jacob Randolph James Gibson Jerome Larre Joshua Bailey JP rudel
Justin Miland Ken Tronberry Nola Galloway Peter Johansen Quentin Bourne
Denise Cheek Don Kamillo Jacob Randolph James Orr
Ray Beckmann Sören Kohlmeyer im Franzke im Schroeder om Miskey
: James Schmitz Joshua Bailey JP Sugarbroad Marshall Cannon
A
Human . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Dwarf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Elf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Tusker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Haling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Drakarn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Infernal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Crystalline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Dhampir....... ...... ....... .12 Kobold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Faceless . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Firbolg...... ....... ....... . 14 Boag ...... ....... ....... .. 14 Centaur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Primordian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
DUNGEON WORLD PLAYBOOKS . . . . 16
Doug Nisbet- Cursed Magic Items
Adrian Toen Andrew VanOrden Brandon Massengill Dave Bozarth Greg aylor Hannah Forster
GRIM WORLD FOR DUNGEON WORLD . . 6 GRIM WORLD FOR FATE CORE . . . . .7 PLAYABLESPECIES . . . . . . . . . . .8
Robert Vincent Sage Laorra im Franzke
:
Based on Dungeon World (http://www.dungeon-world.com/), the work o Sage Laorra and Adam Koebel, licensed
under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Tis work is based on Fate Core System and Fate Accelerated Edition (ound at http://www.aterpg.com/), products o Evil Hat Productions, LLC, developed, authored, and edited by Leonard Balsera, Brian Engard, Jeremy Keller, Ryan Macklin, Mike Olson, Clark Valentine, Amanda Valentine, Fred Hicks, and Rob Donoghue, and licensed or our useunder theCreative Commons Attribution3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
Fate™ is a trademark o Evil Hat Productions, LLC. Te Powered by Fate logo is © Evil Hat Productions, LLC and is used with permission.
Battlemaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Channeler. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Necromancer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Shaman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Skirmisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Slayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 Templar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
FATE PLAYBOOKS. . . . . . . . . . . 62 Battlemaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Channeler. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Necromancer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Shaman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Skirmisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Slayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Templar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
MONSTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Grasper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Wendigo ....... ...... ....... 94 Harpy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Ursine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Cultist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Alpha Vampire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Nightgaunt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Skinless . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Ladon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Deep One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Chaugnar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Elder Beast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 The Ancient Hermit . . . . . . . . . . . . .100 The Jealous Dead. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 0
Vengeful Spectre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 The Grey Prince....... ....... .. 101 Death Shadow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Jet Scrolls of Shax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Hex Mites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 The Drohung . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Tunnel Spiders (Swarm) . . . . . . . . . . .104 The Yuurei . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104 TheNue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 The Phage....... ...... ......10 5
GRIM LOCATIONS . . . . . . . . LOCATION BUILDER . . . . . . . LANDS OF THE DEAD LOCATIONS . FRONTS/ARCS. . . . . . . . . . . . .1
. . 106 . . 107 . 108 10
A Taleof TwoTowns . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 The Baymoor Butcher . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 The Azurine Burden ...... ....... 112 The Rising Depths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 The Grand Hunt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Chaos of Crescent Valley. . . . . . . . . . . 115 The Phage....... ...... ...... 116 Aeon Star of Sair’n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
THE HUNT & THE HUNTER . . . . . .118 The Hunt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Compendium Class: The Hunter . . . . . . 119
COMPENDIUM CLASSES . . . . . . . 120 The Wendigo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 The Houndkin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Sibling of Stone .... ... ... .... ..12 2 The Indebted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 The Ethereal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Ghostwalker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Night-Crusader .... ... ... .... ..12 5 Lycanthrope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 The Death Knight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 The Assassin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
THE CURSED KNIGHT PLAYBOOK . . 130 CURSED MAGIC ITEMS. . . . . . . . 1 3 4 Cursed Item Toolkit . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
ADDITIONAL DEATH MOVES . . . . . 147 Generic Death Moves . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Dungeon World Base Classes . . . . . . . . 148 Inverse World. . . . . . . ....... . . .15 0 Jacob Randolph Playbooks. . . . . . . . . . 152 Funhaver Games Playbooks. . . . . . . . . 154 Adrian Thoen Playbooks ... ... .... .15 5
DUNGEON WORLD/FATE HACK . . . 156 SPECIAL THANKS!. . . . . . . . . . 1 58
Enter a dark, deadly world ull o gruesome beasts, sinister plots, and cosmic horror with this grim antasy supplement INTRODUCTION or Dungeon World and Fate Core.
4
DUNGEON WORLD CHAPER 3 Necromancer |
5
GRIM WORLD FOR DUNGEON WORLD
GRIM WORLD FOR FATE CORE Tis book is filled with ideas or potential Fate campaigns. As with anything Fate, you should take the content as inspiration, not law. Even the Dungeon World side o things might give you some ideas, so don’t be araid to read those sections!
In this book, you’ll find new classes, monsters, ronts, cursed/magic items, and more to fill your existing Dungeon World campaigns or spark a brand new one. Beyond a ew simple tweaks, you’ll find that the Grim World content should be compatible with most other Dungeon World content.
CHARACTER CREATION As a GM, it’s up to you to make the world eel dark and gritty. Tere are several strategies you can use, but first you should talk to your players to get an idea o how gr uesome they want the world. Ofen, it might be best to make things eel more dire than they actually are. However, some players really do want death and disaster to be always lurking in their peripheral vision.
MESSY TAG
ADDITIONAL GM PRINCIPLES • Every village has its secrets Te world is dangerous and it’s almost impossible or a village to remain unscathed or uncorrupted. What horrors threaten them? How has the village managed to survive? Perhaps they’ve bargainedwith the evil and must make bloody offerings. Or maybe the village hides a clandestine cult that has sinister ambitions.
Use it ofen and descriptively. Te Werewol’s jaws may have only dealt 3 damage, but it opened a huge gash in • Every beast has its weakness your leg that’s not going to stop bleeding any time soon.Silver, holy water, wolsbane; every beast has a weakness. Finding out what it is might give the players the edge USE UP THEIR RESOURCES they need to deeat it. Note: this doesn’t mean things Tis GM move is ofen overlooked but it’s vital to putbecome easy when you know a beast’s vulnerability. pressure on the players. Food, water, healing, ammo, Rather, it should show that a seemingly invincible potions, spells, weapons, armor, even allies (such as monster can in act be slain. Ofen, uncovering this hirelings). ake these resources away temporarily or inormation can be a great story goal or the players. permanently. • When a player dies, the world trembles.
ENCOURAGE PREPARATION
Making sure events have real consequences such as Running headlong into battle shouldn’t always be theplayer death can be vital to portraying a grim world. As a GM, encourage players to embrace character death most effective strategy. Monsters are a lot less scary when anyone can just fight them ace to ace. Encourage when it would make or a good story. Do your best to players to uncover a beast’s weakness, set a trap, or have always make a player’s death meaningul. It should be a a battle stratagem. big moment and above all else, it should be memorable.
PLAYABLESPECIES
DEATH MOVES
As you’ll see in the first section, species/race has been All Grim World playbooks have extremely powerul decoupled rom the class playbooks. In its place, you’llmoves that trigger when a character dies. Death Moves find a section special to each class (such as Natural help ensure all player death is memorable and i mpactul. actician or the Battlemaster, and Hexed Body Part or Furthermore, you’ll find an entire section devoted to the Necromancer). Tis means any species/race can play Death Moves or the base Dungeon World classes and as any class. other popular playbooks rom around the community.
However, having something special about your speciesLike with anything Dungeon World, creating your own that makes you different is still important. You’ll find eachmoves is encouraged and that’s true o Death Moves too. I species has their own unique move that you can keep inyou as a GM or a player wants to change or create one that mind or write down on your playbook when you choose. fits your character better, go right ahead. Don’t be araid to change them in play when the death actually happens. 6
STATUS EFFECT ASPECTS
You can use the standard Fate Core character creation method; however, i you choose, there’s a ew changes you can make to spice things up.
PORTRAYINGA GRIM WORLD
GRIM WORLD Introduction |
One way to make the world eel more grim is to use special situation aspects to reinorce the eeling o a dire situation. Tink o them like Consequences that may I you choose to use one o the classes in this book, youronly last a scene or two (depending on the situation). Examples: High Concept (and possibly your rouble) aspect should • “Dehydrated” • “Broken Sword” reflect your choice. Beyond that, instead o doing the Phase rio method, create three Details aspects. Tese • “Starving” • “Sundered Armor” can be inspired by your class or can be things like: • “Low on Ammo” • “Exhausted From ravel” • Special equipment: Sword o Arnock, Mithril As a GM, create these aspects and remove them when Gauntlets, Cursed Looking Glass, Chest o Curios it would make sense in the fiction (similar to situation • History: Veteran o the Red War, Werewolves Ate My aspects). Parents, Inamous Hunter, Ex-King’s Guard Under normal circumstances, these status effects could • Physical rait:Renowned Acrobat, Muscles Like ree be easily solved, but the players might not have the time runks, Heavier Tan a Horse, Crazy Eye or resources to do so currently. • Relationships: I’ve Got Nolly’s Back, Torbur is My Rival, Lord Dren Hates Me, Indebted to Aryn
DEATH EVENTS
• Unfinished business:I Will Avenge My Son, reasure In the hopes o making player death a more pleasant Map, Boontown or Bust, O Brother Where Art Tou? experience, optional Death Events have been added that trigger when a player character dies. Te goal is to ensure • Hatred: Te Old Gods Must Pay, Vampire Slayer, A player death is always memorable and meaningul. Good El is a Dead El, Te World Deserves to Burn • Multiclass: Consider taking an aspect rom one o the other class playbooks as a Details aspect!
SKILL LIST
Suggested skill list or a dark antasy campaign. You’ll notice this list has many o the deault skills, but some have been renamed and a ew new ones were added. You As a GM, i your players are up or it, there’s many Fate can also use the deault Fate skills list or create your own! Core mechanics that can be tweaked or adjusted to Alchemy (potions, Physique provide a deadlier world. Such as: medicine) Provoke • Invoke limits. Only allow one invoke at a time or Animals (riding, taming) Resources don’t allow stacking o “+2 to roll” invokes. Arcana (magic sensitivity) Spirit (spiritual • No stress boxes, only consequences! Athletics attunement) • Characters have additional rouble aspects (2+). Charisma (aka Rapport) Stealth(hiding, sleight o hand) Contacts • rouble Game Aspects. Similar to Game Aspects, Tievery (pickpocketing, but with a negative slant that causes trouble on a Crafing (aka Crafs) robbery) regular basis. Deception(aka Deceive) Volley(ranged combat) Investigation • More GM Fate tokens. Wilderness(camping, herbalism) Knowledge (aka Lore) • Monsters get a “+3 to roll” when they invoke their Willpower(aka Will) Melee (aka Fight) Instinct aspect, or one ree invoke. Perception(aka Notice)
INCREASINGDIFFICULTY
GRIM WORLD Introduction |
7
PLAYABLE SPECIES For Dungeon World,any species can be any class, assuming your GM is okay with the combination.In the lef box,you’ll find a special species-specific move. When you choose a species during character creation, make sure you write down this move somewhere on your character sheet. I you’re playing a non-Grim World class that has a “Race” section, ask your GM what to do. You can either ignore the race bonus, choose the one that makes the most sense, or create a new one.
For Fate Core,when you create a character, choose a species. Ten, decide how important your species is to your character’s identity. I it’s very important, it’s best to reerence it in your High Concept aspect. I it’s not that big o deal to your character, then make it one o your Details aspects. Sometimes you may even want to reerence your species in your rouble aspect, i it’s a source o great hardship or you. In the right box,you’ll find a section called “Free Invoke”. Tis is an innate bonus that your species has. As a GM, you can choose to allow this ree invoke to happen any time the requirements are met, or you may limit the ree invoke to only happen once per session. Te ormer will make species very important to your campaign, while the latter will limit its effect.
HUMAN
DWARF You must always remember the sacrifice at Mount Athûn. Remember the deeat. Remember the triumph. Do not expect others to understand. Tey will blame you or the appearance o the demonkin and say that it was the Dwarves who unleashed horror upon the land. It is true we delved deeply, but know it was hell itsel that clawed up through the earth to meet our tunnels.
Dwarves do not shirk our burdens or blame others or ailures. We knew the part we played, and so the call went out or all dwarves to make or the Capital. Tere in the carved halls o our ancestors, we made our final stand. But the hordes o the endless hellspawn were too great. We had no choice. We deployed Sundrin’s Failsae. Te great stone pillars that held Athûn’s grand peak were destroyed. Te entire mountain collapsed. Few dwarves made it out in time, but the river o demonspawn was finally dammed. Remember the sacrifice. Remember when the Dwarves gave everything or this world. • Common Qualities: Stout, Battle-Hardened, Stubborn, Courageous • Common Goals: o slay hellspawn, o atone or Mount Athûn, o recover the glory and riches o old
DWARVEN BATTLEBOND
FREE INVOKE
Te sacrifice o Mount Athûn has united the Dwarven When using Charisma on another dwar people. When you meet another dwarf, they always When using Crafing on stone treat you as a trusted ally as long as you do the same.
POTENTIAL COMPELS
When someone disrespects the Dwarven people When presented with a precious mineral or gemstone
ELF Tis world is always one step rom the precipice, and yet humanity endures. We are not as strong as the Orcs, nor as graceul as the Elves. We cannot match the heartiness o the Dwarves, and unlike the Drakarn, we live short, brutal lives. But who can match our diversity? Who can adapt to this cruel world as well as we? Humanity has spread rom sea to mountain, rom desert to swamp. In the midst o every orest, you will find a village that somehow manages to scrape by and survive. Tis is what it means to be human. • Common Qualities/Goals: Humans are the most common o species, but also the most diverse. Tere are no two alike.
Where are you? We are gone now, you know this. Te time o the Elves has passed. Why did you stay? Tis world belongs to darkness and shadow. Even our people could not hope to shine light into the world. Te corruption was seeping into our orests, could you not eel it? Our highland kin say the taint o evil was even spreading to their soil. Tis world is doomed. And so the Elvish fleet set sail one last time. May we find peace across the sea. What do they say about us? Do they call us cowards? I wish they knew the truth, that our hearts are broken. I they had seen what this world used to be… How grand! How beautiul! We could not stay and s ee all o that taken away. I know you eel it too. Why did you not come with us? • CommonQualities: Graceul, Wise, Beautiul, Arrogant, Vain • Common Goals: Te remaining elves have diverse goals, but each has a very specific reason why they chose to stay. What is yours?
HUMAN PLASTICITY
FREE INVOKE
When creating a character, you may choose to take a Starting Move rom any class playbook not already in use. However, one o your existing Starting Moves becomes an Advanced Move (you lose it, but you can choose it later when you level up). Te GM will ask you how you came to learn the ability.
8
Choose one o your existing aspects and put a star next it. Each session, the first time you invoke this aspect, it does not cost a ate point.
GRIM WORLD Playable | Species
ELVISH ARTIFACT
FREE INVOKE
When the other elves sailed across the sea, they lef you You have an additional Aspect that represents an Elvish a powerul weapon or item. It is one o the last known Artiact. It can be invoked or ree once per session. elvish artiacts. Work with the GM to create this item POTENTIAL COMPELS (it should have above average stats or possibly even When the Elves are called cowards or leaving magical properties), then name it. When vanity clouds judgment
GRIM WORLD Playable | Species
9
TUSKER
DRAKARN You may think us a proud people, but those that look deep enough to pierce our pride will see our eyes filled with sorrow. We are dying. No, not o age, time only makes us stronger. Not o disease, or our blood remains pure. But yet, we, our people, grow ewer in number every time another drakarn is laid to rest.
It is not wise to underestimate a tusker. Behind our calm demeanor is an intensity. Look deeply and you will see, as i we were sitting by firelight, a dancing flame o ury reflected in our eyes. o awaken a tusker’s temper is to beckon unto death. But please, heed my words. It is true some o us hide it better than others, but none o us wish to be known or the rage buried deep inside. Back when my tusks were no more than big teeth, the elder in my tribe used to tell us the source o our inner passion. She said o all the peoples in this world, ours is the closest to the spirit realm. When we eel intense emotion, we draw nearby spirits into us, eeding the flames o our soul. Tere is a power there, I think. But draw too much upon it and I ear we lose ourselves.
Dark memories haunt every emale drakarn, o eggs turning to dust with a touch, or worse, hatching unspeakable horrors. Te eldest o us, as ew as they are, speak o the Broodmother, she who gave lie to us all, she who slumbers in a orgotten place, she who knows the secrets o our inertility. And so we wander the world, and search. May she be ound beore there is no one lef to look. • CommonQualities: Nomadic, Rare, Driven, Prideul, Long-lived
• Common Qualities: Spiritual, Guarded, Wrathul, Passionate
• Common Goals:o find the Broodmother, o seek out other drakarn, o never harm another drakarn
• Common Goals:o respect the spirits, o attempt to stay calm
BERSERK TUSKER
FREE INVOKE
When you’re below 10 HP, you can choose one damage
die to reroll per attack
When you take a physical consequence, your rage awakens and you get a ree invoke.
POTENTIAL COMPELS When rage gets the better o you When you attempt to kiss someone
HALFLING
DRAKARN BROODMATE
FLAMEGUT
When you belch , two things catch fire. Choose one.
Te GM chooses the other.
INFERNAL Te hot blood o a demon flows through you. Was it your ather that made the bargain? Your mother? Was it you who chose the dark pact? Do not speak, you need not answer. I am not here to pass judgment.
So treat us with some respect! Or we’ll be glad to show you what we’re really capable o.
Others may ear or distrust you. Maybe they are right to. But they also want something. Everyone does. And it just so happens that within you flows the blood o a bargainer...
I see your horns have grown in splendidly. Do not be ashamed o them. Others will say they are the mark o true evil. Tey will call you fiend and hellspawn. But their words do not hold power. Tere is a will inside you, and it is more powerul than most. You decide your actions; you decide how to wield your power. Whether they call you good, or evil, or psychotic, it matters not.
• CommonQualities: Cruel, Calculating, Fierce, Feisty
• Common Goals: o gain wealth and power, o uncover useul secrets, o gain respect
FREE INVOKE
At character creation, choose your preerred type o When using [Choose only one: Resources, Knowledge, power: Wealth, Knowledge, Fear, or Social Status. Provoke, Contacts] as leverage to manipulate someone. When you Parley using your preerred type o power POTENTIAL COMPELS as leverage, always treat 7-9 as 10+. When taunted or being a halfling When offered significant power
10
When acting against another drakarn When hearing a rumor about the Broodmother
Tey call us weak! Tey call us tiny! Runty! Insubstantial! Pint-sized! Bah! Even the common name or our people “halfling” makes us seem lesser. But we are none o these! We have within us potential or true power! We must only seize the opportunity. Te world is in shambles, and yet everywhere you look you’ll find halflings thriving with genuine power! Some go the route o wealth and commerce. Others seek influence through dark secrets or grand magic. And don’t be surprised to find the local governor or gang leader is one o us! We always know the value o power, no matter its orm.
• Common Qualities: Greedy, Power-Hungry, Intelligent, Wily
HALFLING POWER
FREE INVOKE
When using Charisma or Knowledge on another You have met all other drakarn. When you come across one, the GM will tell you useul inormation about them drakarn or ask you to come up with some. POTENTIAL COMPELS
GRIM WORLD Playable | Species
• Common Goals:o tempt, o bargain, o gain power
INFERNAL TEMPTATION When you tempt someone and they act against their nature, alignment, or conscience, take +1 orward.
FREE INVOKE When you use Charisma to tempt someone
POTENTIAL COMPELS When your appearance causes distrust When you yoursel are tempted
GRIM WORLD Playable | Species
11
CRYSTALLINE
KOBOLD Awaken, now. You have been given a gif. Feel the subtle rumble inside you. It is your lie, your being, your heartgem. Listen deeply to the resonant hum. It will guide you. But you must fill it. Give it your emotions, eed it knowledge and companionship. Remember, your body was grown around it not just or protection. You are its escort, its chaperone to the world.
All will bow to the glory o Saranak! We are but his humble servants! Forever shall we serve his dark purp—oh he’s gone? FINALLY. Alright, sof-scales, listen up! We haven’t gotten long beore the big guy gets back. I heard rom Seven-ooth that you’ve been planning some kind o mutiny. Let me guess, you’re thinking we just kill this Saranak lunatic and take his stuff. Well, let me ask you this. Have you ever heard the phrase,knowledge is weakness? No? Tat’s because it’s the stupidest thing a kobold could say! We’re here because Saranak knowsthings. And where there’s knowledge, there’s power! Lucky or you, we’ve learned about everything we can here.
You will encounter beings made o flesh o all shapes and temperaments. Some may wish you harm, but not all. Tey will eel as oreign to you as you are to them. Do not despair, you will eel more like them every day. For better or worse, you will learn. And you must! For the sake o your survival and the enrichment o your heart. Awaken, now, and know lie!
Hey Seven-ooth! Yeah, you! Get that tripline set up or when Sarawhatever gets back. We’re leaving!
• Common Qualities: Patient, Curious, Naive, Malleable • Common Goals: o learn, o see the world, o gather memorable trinkets
• CommonQualities: Curious, Clever, Submissive, Excitable • Common Goals: o gather knowledge, o accumulate power, o discover
FREE INVOKE Once per session, you may invoke your Crystalline aspect to regenerate and remove a physical consequence.
POTENTIAL COMPELS When shown something new or interesting When taken advantage o
DHAMPIR My child to be, I write this letter or you. I think you are coming soon, or at least that is what the witch o the woods tells me. Carrying you has been a great hardship, I will not lie. Not because o the pain, nor the knowledge that I will not survive your birth. I do not ault you or that. No, it is the memories o your conception that has ruined me. I suspect your ather was not always a monster, but that night he was more beast than man. I it were not or the witch, I do not think you or I would still live, as bittersweet such a prospect. In truth, I do not know what my womb will gif upon the world. Te witch tells me you will have aspects o your mother and your ather, like any child. Surely, you will inherit some o your ather’s power, his strength, his agility, maybe even his bite. But rom your mother, it is not my blue eyes I wish to grant you. It is my rage. It is my hate. Tink o your parents what you will, but please my child, do not reject our gifs. Use them to ulfill your mother’s dying wish: Be the last of your kind. • Common Qualities: Agile, Deceptive, Conflicted
KOBOLD TRAPPER
FREE INVOKE
When you construct a trap , roll. I you have... ...the appropriate materials, take +1 ...help rom others, take +1 ...constructed it slowly and saely, take +1 On 10+, it works flawlessly. On a 7-9, it works! Sort o...
When you use Crafing to set a trap.
POTENTIAL COMPELS When there’s secrets to uncover When someone bigger gives orders
FACELESS
I
P
• Common Goals: o find a place in the world, o ollow or rebel against your nature
ACQUIRED TASTE
FREE INVOKE
When you drink the blood o a sentient creature , wice per session, you can invoke the vampire side o you are healed or 1d10 damage, but you gain the Sick you or ree to help you overcome an obstacle. debility (-1 CON) until the blood is digested. POTENTIAL COMPELS
When you eel the urges o your parent When others discover what you are
12
GRIM WORLD Playable | Species
GRIM WORLD Playable | Species
13
CENTAUR
FIRBOLG
Run Free. Tose are the words o the Centaur. Know them, live them. Remember it is better to die than to submit. I you find yoursel questioning, you need only look to our cousins. Watch the wild stallion run through the tall grass. Feel his joy. Ten look to the horses that ser ve mankind. Teir spirit is broken. Tey have chosen to submit. A lie o a slave is no lie at all.
Te clans may be scattered now, but I remember a time o glory! I told you stories o Lorna the Brute. Now there was a warrior! She must have been 8 eet tall with limbs the size o a horse’s neck. It’s no wonder she was clanmaster or two decades. I know what they say. Tat it was only her savage methods that kept the clans united. It’s true she saw ear as the only true motivator. And I won’t deny the world now sees us as barbarians. Maybe they’re right to think as much.
o truly run ree, you must be beholden to no one. What starts as a simple agreement or concession can lead to a saddle on your back. Mankind will impose their laws upon you. Tey will teach you the concept o “property” as i the word itsel held power. But who are they to say what does and does not belong to you? Does the hunter listen to the rabbit’s pleas? Must the gatherer ask permission o the berry bush?
But do not orget the honor she brought to her amily! Until the day she died, every action was or the betterment o her clan. Tat is what it means to be firbolg. We do not come into this world alone. We do not leave our kin to end or themselves. We are each other’s strength.
No. We are centaurs. We run ree. • CommonQualities: Nomadic, Chaotic, Prideul, Stubborn
• Common Qualities: Strong, all, Devoted, Unyielding • Common Goals:o protect one’s kin, o strengthen the clan and deeat its enemies
FIRBOLG WRESTLING
FREE INVOKE
When you grapple with someone smaller than, youWhen using Physique to wrestle or grapple with a roll+SR. On a 7+, youpin them. On a 10+, youmay smaller oe. deal your damage. POTENTIAL COMPELS
When kin is in danger When the clan is insulted
• Common Goals: o serve no man, o take what they will, o run ree
CENTAUR RAIDER
FREE INVOKE
When you Undertake a Perilous Journey and act asOnce per conflict, you can move two zones for free scout, on a 10+ in addition to spotting any danger, without rolling. you also find a good raiding target, such as a traveling POTENTIAL COMPELS merchant, caravan, or village. When the laws of man threaten a centaur’s concept o reedom
PRIMORDIAN
BOAG We Boag live in great swamp or many lietimes. We grow stuck in place like mudwillow. Ten long summer dry swamp to dust. Boag have no choice. We move to cold riverland. More lietimes. We grow at like belly lizard. Ten beasts come to eat us. Boag escape towards sunrise.
Our world is the ocal point between each o the elemental planes. Te curtain between realms can be weakened or punctured. Tis is why we can call upon fire with mere flint and steel. Tis is why lightning strikes the sky and water alls to the earth, bringing lie. Tis plane would be nothing without the elements to fill it.
We find marsh to raise new pollywogs. But man atop horse comes. He say boag not welcome. Boag say man not welcome. Man say all o us die Boag spear is best spear. We stay. But then even pollywogs. We teach man: come men who wear metal. Tey teach us: Boag spear is not best spear. Young pollywog, listen to wise words. You swim like fish but soon legs will grow. Legs are gif. Tat is secret to Boag survival. Always use legs. Boag who stays is like butterfly who wriggles on belly.
Te creatures o this world do not realize that they too are made up o the elements. It is the balance that determines our nature. Te dwarves are o earth, the drakarn o fire, the elves o air. And then there’s us. Our mothers and athers may be o this world, but we are the Chosen o the elemental planes. We are the Primordians. Pure elemental blood flows through us. • CommonQualities: As varied as the elements
• Common Qualities: Simple, Accepting, Wise, Nomadic
• Common Goals:O fen associated with their element
• Common Goals:o survive, o eat, o wander
TONGUE SNAG
FREE INVOKE
When your tongue grabs something tiny withinWhen you use Athletics or Tievery with your tongue. reach, roll+DEX. On a 7+, you quickly snatch it. On a POTENTIAL COMPELS 10+, nobody saw. When in a dry climate When staying in one place or too long
14
GRIM WORLD Playable | Species
PRIMORDIAN INFUSION
FREE INVOKE
Choose an element (fire, ice, lightning, water, etc.). Your You have an aspect that represents your elemental body is inused in specific ways (hair o fire, veins o inused body, such as “Eyes o Lightning” or “Earthly ice, etc.) and you are highly resistant to the element. Fists”. Once per session, this aspect has a ree invoke.
POTENTIAL COMPELS When you are called a dangerous aberration When your element causes you trouble
GRIM WORLD Playable | Species
15
DUNGEON WORLD PLAYBOOKS
Shaman totem carver, spirit binder, “C M ” Te carving knie scrapes against bone, the tibia o a satyr not long dead. Your finger spreads the black-green paste, mashed root beetles, painting long whirling lines. You hold the finished totem up to the light, pride unhidden. Your companions watch through squinted eyes as you begin to whisper. Te fire dims blue, and then comes the murmur. Te spirits are alive this night. And you call each by name.
Battlemaster tactical maven, gambit expert “I
.”
Your spear throw connects but it only enrages the grotesque shambler as its tentacles rip your shield away. It pulls you in close and the beast’s great maw finally opens. You shout, “NOW!” as you throw the blue oil flask straight down its bellowing gullet. Te hidden archer is revealed and lets loose an arrow o flame. Te explosion tears the shambler apart. You land on your back smiling, as entrails drop nearby. Another plan well done.
Skirmisher battle adept, opportunistic striker “T
.”
A blacksmith has their hammer, a painter their brush. With spear and shield, you are a crafsman, an artist like them, but your trade is war and your canvas is the battlefield. Other warriors will call you coward. Tey’ll shout at you to stand still as they attack with barbarous strength. But you are speed incarnate. Precision personified. You won’t stop moving until they all to the ground bleeding rom a dozen wounds. And then you’ll stand above them. Unscathed.
Channeler conduit to raw magic, elemental summoner
“I .” Let the mages wield their spellbooks and grand wisdom. None o them have what throbs inside o you: a conduit to pure magic. Your body is the gateway, like a dam holding back an ocean o power. “Does it hurt?” Tey always ask. the As cost, i thebut scars you how bear much are not answer enough. You think you know truly, can flesh weather? You expect you’ll find out, one way or another.
Necromancer corpse crafer, hexbody
Slayer
walking arsenal, addict
“I’ ’ .” Dry throat, red eyes, your hands shake, your muscles ache. How long has it been? Food doesn’t help, even i you could keep it down. Sleep? You know it’s utile. No, what you need is... there! Movement in the trees! You leap, the beast roars, there’s blood and ur and something like pain. And then it’s over. You pluck back the blade o silver and your body shivers. Euphoria. You laugh, you sigh. You are the Slayer.
“ARISE!” Well, here you are. Run out o another town. “Grave robber!” Tey wailed. “Mainiac! Death caller!” Death... caller? Pah! Do they not see? You are the lie bringer! Tat which was dead now RISES! Te sages say death conquers all. Ten who are you, i you have bested death? You will show them; and then what will they shout? Nothing. For the dead do not speak.
Templar red hot wrath, holy inquisitor
“ , .” You must seek out the seeds o heresy and evil; you must show this vile world it can be made clean once more. Foul beasts and blasphemers shall be the kindling to your righteous fires. And i the cleansing flame grows so hot that you too must be consumed, then you will burn in contentment, knowing you leave the world closer to absolution.
16
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
17
Battlemaster Your spear throw connects but it only enrages the grotesque shambler as its tentacles rip your shield away. It pulls you in close and the
beast’s great maw finally opens. You shout, “NOW!” as you throw the blue oil flask straight down its bellowing gullet. Te hidden archer is revealed and lets loose an arrow o flame. Te explosion tears the shambler apart. You land on your back smiling, as entrails drop nearby. Another plan well done.
STARTING MOVES GAMBIT
TACTICS Your knowledge and training allows you to assess a battle and know the correct tactical approach. Only one actic can be active at a time.
Aggressive When you Hack and Slash, deal your damage even on a 6-.
Cautious Gain +1 when you Dey Danger.
When you or someone you have a bond with takes damagerom an outside source, it was part o your plan the whole time, gain +1 Gambit. What some might see as an unwanted setback, you know it’s merely a stratagem to gain a later advantage.
• Deal your damage to an enemy (Cost: 2)
⃞ GOOD Endanger yoursel to make a plan succeed
Your maximum HP is 10+Constitution.
LOOK
When you are attacked in melee and attempt to counter, roll +DEX. ✴On a 7+, you expertly parry the attack. ✴On a 10+, you riposte and deal your damage.
• Te GM will help you reveal a trap, ambush, or plan that gives you and your allies a surprising advantage (Cost: 4)
Defensive When you use the Deend move, treat a 6- as a 7-9.
Multiple Gambits can be used and the effects stack. Afer the end o a battle or when it makes sense, your Gambit count resets to 0.
Reckless
WAR KNOWLEDGE
• Te new actic isn’t effective at first, take -1 Forward
When you Spout Lore about combat topics such as historical battles, military figures, martial weapons or armor, take +1.
BATTLE OF WITS You always know in which goblet resides the poison. When an enemy is watching you and there’s a difficult choice to make , the GM will tell you what the enemy expects you to do.
• An early plan lead up to this, spend 1 Gambit Te actic requires that you draw attention or put yoursel in a spot. Te GM will tell you how.
HEAVY ARMOR TRAINING You ignore the clumsy tag on armor you wear.
Sinewy Body, Bulky Body, Battlescarred
BONDS __________ has a lot to learn about the ways o battle.
My respect or __________ was earned on the battlefield.
I can always depend on __________ to ollow my stratagems.
GEAR Your Load is 10+STR. You carry dungeon rations (5
uses, 1 weight), a spyglass (1 weight), and a dagger (hand, 1 weight). Choose your defenses: ⃞
NATURAL TACTICIAN Choose a Default actic . By nature you always have this actic active until you Change actics. Aggressive, Cautious, Reactive, Deensive, Reckless
You can always spend 1 Gambit to instantly return to this actic.
Warhammer (close, 1 weight) and shield (+1 armor, 2 weight) ⃞ Halberd (reach, +1 damage, two-handed, 2 weight) Choose one: ⃞
⃞
GRIM WORLD | Dungeon World Playbooks
Scale armor (2 armor, clumsy, 3 weight)
Chainmail (1 armor, 1 weight) and adventuring gear (5 uses, 1 weight) Choose your armament: ⃞
⃞
20
⃞ EVIL Use someone as bait to give yoursel an advantage
Cropped Hair, Facial Scars, Bald Military Garb, Worn or Polished Armor
When you draw on your knowledge and training to
assess a combat situation , roll +IN. ✴On a 10+, you ormulate a plan and select a new actic. ✴On a 7-9, also choose one:
⃞ NEUTRAL Outwit a ormidable opponent
• Create an obstacle or distraction that a single enemy has to deal with beore they can do anything else (Cost: 3)
You cannot Hack and Slash, but you can Counterattack:
CHANGE TACTICS
ALIGNMENT
Your base damage is d8.
Calculating Eyes, Eyepatch, Wise Eyes At any time,r eveal your ployand use Gambits to: • Add +1 to anyone’s roll (Cost: 1)
Reactive
When you deal damage, deal +1d4 damage. When you take damage, take +1d4 damage.
STATS
Bag o books (5 uses, 2 weight) Bandages (3 uses, slow, 0 weight)
W ( L B), v:
G P I’ . A . W , v v . Y v k k k, k ’ . Wk GM v . T v j v, , j v . R , B , k v , v.
ADVANCED MOVES
GM ADVICE Dealing with Gambits
When you gain a level rom 2-5, choose rom these ⃞
moves.
PHASE 2
When you kill an enemy, you may immediately Change actics or ree.
⃞ BLOCK AND STRIKE Add your shield’s armor to your damage. Additionally, ⃞ PLAYING THE LONG GAME when you wield a shield in Reactive Stance, you can roll At the end o a battle (or when it makes sense) and your +SR or Counterattacks instead. Gambit count would reset to 0, you can keep 1 Gambit instead. ⃞ BATTLE LEADER ake +1 when you Order Hirelings. Ofen, Hirelings will accept your training as payment or their services.
⃞
MULTICLASSLEARNER
Get one move rom another class (excluding Called Shot
and Backstab). reat your level as one lower or choosing ⃞ RECKLESS AGGRESSION the move. When you select this move, tell everyone the When you’re using Reckless actics, your melee attacks story o how you came to learn it. gain +2 Piercing. When you’re using Aggressive actics, always roll damage twice and take the better result. When you gain a level from 6-10, choose from these ⃞ COMBAT SIGHT or the level 2-5 moves. When you’re using Cautious actics and you Dey Danger, on a 10+ you gain a Gambit. When you’re using Reactive actics and you Counterattack, on a 10+ you can ask the GM one question rom the Discern Realities list.
⃞ LETHAL GAMBIT You can spend 3 Gambits to add +1d10 Damage to anyone’s attack.
⃞ INTELLIGENTDEFENSE When you use your knowledge and training to decide
⃞
the best deense, you can use the Deend move with IN instead o CON. Furthermore, when you’re using Deensive actics, you can always spend 1 Gambit to halve an attack’s effect or damage directed at you or something you Deend.
AMBUSH MASTER
When you and your allies set up a surprise attack or trap, designate a number o Strikers up to your IN modifier (Min: 1, Max: 3). A Striker can be yoursel, an ally,or a trap object. Te first time each Striker deals damage, they can roll twice and take the better result.
⃞ COMBAT ASSESSMENT ⃞ BATTLEFIELDMOTIVATION Tis question is added to your Discern Realities list o When you rally your allies in the midst o battle, spend choices: 1 Gambit. Your allies can ignore the effects o a single • “What mistake has my enemy made that I can debility (their choice) until the debility is made worse or exploit?” the end o the battle. Optionally, you may choose to do this without spending a Gambit, but you draw unwanted When you Change actics, on a 12+, you may ask this attention to yoursel (the GM will tell you how). question or ree. ⃞ RISKY GAMBIT ⃞ SELF DEFENSE TRAINING When you tell an ally to do something obviously When you know the enemy you’re about to fight, you can dangerous and they are put in a spot, gain +1 Gambit. spend an hour or two training your allies on how best to Dey Danger. Te GM will tell you which stat modifier to
⃞ MISDIRECTION use, it’s up to you to explain why it’s effective. When you When you have an enemy’s attention, you can spend 2 or an ally uses Dey Danger with that method against the Gambits to let an ally make a ree attack (as i they rolled a 10+) against the enemy.
22
enemy, they get an additional +1 to the roll. Such training needs to be practiced daily to be effective.
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
⃞ ALL PART OF THE PLAN Spend 2 Gambit to negate the damage o any attack. ⃞
BATTLEFIELDDESPERATION
Gambits are central to the idea o a Battlemaster. Tey represent battle plans, ploys, and stratagems. Te way Gambits unction might seem very mechanical at first, but it’s important to take care to integrate them in the fiction.
When a player adds a +1 to someone else’s roll, encourage the Battlemaster to say how they’re helping. When you use Battlefield Motivation, you rally your allies Perhaps they gave the ally advice previously, or so well that instead o just ignoring a single debility’s somehow they’ve given the ally an opening. effects, the debility turns into a +1 bonus or that modifier instead (this modifier cannot go above+3). Tis lasts Embrace the Retcon until the debility is made worse or the end o the battle. “Retcon” is a comic book term or “retroactive continuity”. It means to add or alter background ⃞ OMMAND LLY details later in a story (when it might not have been Replaces: Misdirection intended to be that way srcinally). You can spend 2 Gambits to let an ally make a ree attack Te Battlemaster is the king o the retcon. And that’s (as i they rolled a 10+) against an enemy. You may spend a good thing! It can make or some exciting and an additional Gambit to maximize the damage. surprising moments. Requires: Battlefield Motivation
C
⃞
A
SURPRISE ATTACK
Choose either Called Shot (Ranger) or Backstab (Tie). You gain this move. I there is already a Ranger or Tie, when you spend a ew moments coordinating to use the move at the same time, they can add your +IN modifier to the damage o their first attack (in addition to any other bonuses).
⃞ TACTICAL TEACHER You gain an additional Bond: I will teach _____________ to have a tactical mind. Whoever this bond is with can choose to gain the effects o your current actics.
When a Battlemaster wishes to use the 4 point Gambit to reveal a trap, ambush, or plan, it’s perectly okay (and expected) that they did not spend time during play to set it up. In the fiction, they certainly made preparations, but think o it as happening “off-camera” . How to “Be a Fan” of a Battlemaster Your Battlemaster player might be different, but here’s a ew things to keep in mind when GMing or them: • Don’t be araid to make a Gambit eel powerul. • When you help reveal a big Gambit, make it cinematic. Describe it like the climax o a movie. • When you describe a scene, occasionally tell the Battlemaster something only they notice (especially when it comes to their knowledge). • Te Battlemaster is all about flexing their intellect and outwitting opponents. Make your player eel smart! • Ask them lots o questions about how they know what they know. Ten reerence what they tell you later! Death Move: Grand Plan Tis should be the BIGGES reveal o all. It’s okay i it takes a ew minutes to work it out. Te Battlemasterash been planning something since the very beginning! Dig deep into their past. Make your players’ jaws drop. Blow their minds! Change the world!
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
23
Channeler Let the mages wield their spellbooks and grand wisdom. None o
them have what throbs inside o you: a conduit to pure magic. Your body is the gateway, like a dam holding back an ocean o power. “Does it hurt?” Tey always ask. As i the scars you bear are not
answer enough. You think you know the cost, but truly, how much can flesh weather? You expect you’ll find out, one way or another.
24
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
25
STARTING MOVES TRICKLE
Within you resides a gateway to pure magic.
You can emit a small amount o your Primary Element or mundane tasks or to impress someone without having to Channel.
Flame, Frost, Shock, Shadow, Wind, Water, or ______ Choose anEmanation Point . Tis is where magic leaves your body. Forehead, Eyes, Mouth, Chest, Fingers, Palms, or ______
CHANNEL
TECHNIQUES You have special echniques that allow limited control over the flow o magic. When you spend several hours developing a new echnique, add it to your list or replace an existing one. You can learn up to 3 echniques . Keeping in mind your Primary Element, name the echnique and choose 2 tags:
When you open your Conduit up wide and channel
magic through your body , roll +CON.
• Projectile (1d6 damage i Near)
✴On a 10+, raw magic o your Primary Element flows out o your Emanation Point. Use one o your echniques. ✴On a 7-9, the same, but the power is too much. You can use your body as a dam and take 1d4 damage (ignores armor) or allow the power through. I you allow the power through, the GM will tell you o one or more complications, such as:
• Blast (1d8 damage i Close) • 2 Piercing • Barrier (+1 Armor until next Channel) • Hazard (Environmental effect) • Forceul
Examples
• Te magic flows out o a different part o your body or is o a different element
Wind Push (Blast, Forceul) Earth Wall B ( arrier, Hazard) Icy Ground (Hazard, Forceul) Te Zapper (Projectile, 2 Piercing)
• he magic has an unintended eect on the environment • It causes a blast wave and you’re thrown backwards
SUMMON ELEMENTAL
ELEMENTALPROTECTION
When you beckon inwards to call forth an E lemental When you or your leashed Elemental takes damage being, choose any echnique tag and roll+CON. ✴On rom any source , you lose 1 Control and the damage a 10+, the Elemental flows out o you and a stream o is negated. magic connects it to your Emanation Point like a leash. Te Elemental’s nature and appearance wholly embodies LEMENTAL TTACK the tag you chose. You gain 1 d4 Control . When you command your leashed Elemental to use its ✴On a 7-9, the Elemental is also moody or troublesome, tag, roll+Control. ✴On a 10+, success. ✴On a 7-9, you choose one: also lose 1 Control. • You must immediately spend 1 Control
E
A
• It embodies a different tag instead (the GM will tell you which) • It resents you and will certainly be hostile later
As long as the Elemental remains leashed, you have the Elemental Protection and Elemental Attack moves. When you have 0 Control , your elemental is released! It can act and use its tag at will, and its HP is 2x your level. Maybe it’s riendly, hostile, mischievous, or just bored. 26
ALIGNMENT
Your base damage is d4.
⃞ GOOD Use your Conduit to help someone at cost to your body
Your maximum HP is 10+Constitution.
CONDUIT Choose aPrimary Element . Your magic is o this element.
STATS
GRIM WORLD | Dungeon World Playbooks
LOOK Glowing Eyes, White Eyes, Intense Eyes Bald Head, Wild Hair, attooed Scalp attered Clothing, Flowing Robes, Finery
⃞ CHAOTIC Use your Conduit to cause great disorder or chaos ⃞
EVIL
Use your Conduit to inflict devastation upon the world
Scarred Body, Hairless Body, Muscular Body
BONDS __________ has a lot to learn about the ways o battle.
My respect or __________ was earned on the battlefield.
I can always depend on __________ to ollow my stratagems.
W ( L B), v:
GEAR Your Load is 9+SR. You carry dungeon rations (5 uses, 1 weight) and a soothing balm (0 weight) that eels nice on your emanation point. Choose one: ⃞
Leather armor (1 armor, 1 weight)
3 healing potions and adventuring gear (5 uses, 1 weight) ⃞
Choose your backup weapon: ⃞ ⃞
Knie (hand, 1 weight) Bō staff (close, two-handed, 1 weight)
Choose one: Smelling salts (0 weight) and 1 antitoxin (0 weight) ⃞
⃞
Pouch with 1d10 coins
R You always wondered what would happen to your conduit if your body wasn’t here to impede it. Well, now the world gets to find out. W , k. W’ x . Ev k. Y , v . T qk . T, C, v k .
ADVANCED MOVES
GM ADVICE Elemental Arbiter
When you gain a level rom 2-5, choose rom these ⃞
moves.
⃞
THREAD THE NEEDLE
You have learned to increase the flow o magic even urther at the expense o your body. When you deal damage with a echnique, you can choose to roll an additional 1d4 bonus damage. I you roll a 1 or 2, you are also hurt by the bonus damage (ignores armor).
TELEPORT
Requires: Reabsorb Elemental
⃞ CONDUIT WARRIOR Your Primary Element enguls the weapons you wield. When you Hack and Slash and roll a 10+, you can add 1 echnique tag to the attack.
⃞
Your control over your primary element extends beyond your body. When you manipulate something in the nearby environment made o your primary element, When you gain a level from 6-10, choose from these roll+CON. ✴On a 10+, hold 3. ✴On a 7-9, hold 1. So long or the level 2-5 moves. as you do nothing but concentrate on controlling it, you may spend hold, 1 or 1, to choose an option: ⃞ ISSURE
F
• It does 1d6 damage to something
Requires: Tread the Needle
• It has the Forceul tag • It moves to a new position within sight
When you usebonus Tread the Needle, can2d4, chooorse3d4). to rollFor up to three damage dice you (1d4, each roll that is a 1 or 2, you are also hurt by the bonus damage rom that roll (ignores armor).
• It holds a particular shape (even afer you stop concentrating) ⃞ AREA BURST ⃞ SIGNATURETECHNIQUE You gain access to the “Burst” echnique tag. When a You gain an additional echnique slot. Tis echnique echnique has this tag, it affects up to 3 targets nearby can have 3 tags. Examples: Tunderclap (Blast, 2 Piercing, each other. I it deals damage, roll once and apply to each Forceul), Shadow Orb (Projectile, Burst, Hazard) target. Examples: Fiery Explosion (Blast, Burst), Shield Allies (Barrier, Burst)
⃞
ARMOR OF THE ELEMENTS
the fingers, you can toggle your Primary Element to Your Barrier tag now adds +2 Armor until your next this second element, or vice versa. Only one o the two Channel. elements can be considered your Primary Element at a time. Your echniques are the same and use the same ⃞ EVASTATION AVE tags, but the element changes. Requires: Signature echnique
D
⃞
MY BODY IS READY
When you have a ew minutes to concentrate without interruption, you can end your concentration by unleashing a Channel that is an automatic success.
OSMOSIS
You gain access to the “eleport” echnique tag. When a echnique has this tag, you instantly move somewhere Near. Describe what it looks like. Examples: Shadow Deense (Barrier, eleport), Frost Bang ( eleport, Forceul).
⃞ CALLUS Your body has become almost entirely immune to your ⃞ REABSORB ELEMENTAL primary element. You have 5 Armor against outside When you reabsorb an unleashed Elemental, roll +CON. damage consisting o your Primary Element. ✴On a 10+, the Elemental is sucked back through your Conduit. ✴On a 7-9, you absorb it, but your body suffers, ⃞ BENDER OF THE ELEMENTS take 1d4 damage (ignores armor).
⃞ DUAL CONDUITS Choose another element. With a grunt or a snap o
Remember who the Channeler is. Hint: it’s not you! You’re not the expert here on Conduits, the Planes, and Elementals. (Okay, okay, you might be an expert too, but...) ry to lean on the Channeler when fictional When you use Reabsorb Elemental and roll a 10+, your questions come up. Still support them when they need body heals 1d6 damage. it, but encourage your Channeler to be the expert.
⃞
W
When you use your Signature echnique, you may choose to temporarily add a ourth tag, but you take 1d4 damage (ignores armor) when it’s channeled.
FALLOUT
Tag: Barrier
When you kill an enemy by using Channel, the body becomes a Hazard.
⃞
CORPOREALTRAUMA
Ask the Channeler what it looks like! Is it a bubble o shadow energy or a shield o ice? Mechanically, they get more Armor; fictionally, it’s up to the Channeler to justiy why!
When you deal damage, you can choose to suffer a debility Tag: Hazard o your choice to reroll any or all o your damage dice. Tink o this as an environmental effect (possibly I you already have all six debilities, this move cannot even a permanent one). It’s dealt mostly fictionally be used. (instead o mechanically). It could be a ring o fire or an orb o water. When combined with a Barrier tag, ⃞ FFLICTION perhaps it’s a wall o ice that gives protection when When you Channel and roll 12+, choose something on you crouch behind it. your target (an item, a limb, a weapon). It melts, reezes, it’s corrupted or encased, or whatever makes sense or Tag: Teleport your primary element. Tis tag could just as easily be “Move Quickly”. Te effect doesn’t have to be a literal teleport. Perhaps the ⃞ ON T LINK Channeler is riding a bolt o lightning or is pushed Requires: eleport echniques with the “eleport” tag can now be used on by a gust o wind. Summoning Elementals other targets.
A
D
⃞
’ B
CONDUIT CHAMPION
Replaces: Conduit Warrior
Elementals are actual beings. Personiy them! Teir appearances and personalities can vary drastically. Give them physical traits that fit well with the echnique tag they embody. Tey don’t have to be one-offs, bring back the more memorable ones.
Your Primary Element enguls your body and the weapons you wield. When you Hack and Slash and roll a 10+, you can add 1 echnique tag and the Barrier tag Death: Rupture to the attack. Te Barrier lasts until your next Channel Other death moves ofen affect the world, this literally or Hack and Slash. changes it. Tis is the nuclear bomb o death moves. Te location is permanently and drastically changed. ⃞ ECKLESS UMMONER Make it eel like an earth shattering event (because When you use Summon Elemental, on a 10+, you can it probably is). Te other players just barely make it choose an option rom the 7-9 list to make the Elemental out alive and there’s a massive amount o elemental have 2 tags i nstead. allout.
R
S
Te land will never be the same. Tis is something new. Tis is now the Forest o Flame or the Hoarrost ower. Te Shadow Marsh. Death’s Lake. Tundervalley. Name it and don’t orget about it! Have your players come back here. Have NPCs speak o the event and the new location. Use it in other campaigns.
Make it memorable!
28
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
29
Necromancer Well, here you are. Run out o another town. “Grave robber!” Tey wailed. “Mainiac! Death caller!” Death... caller? Pah! Do they not see? You are the lie bringer! Tat which was dead now RISES! Te sages say death conquers all. Ten who are you, i you have bested death? You will show them; and then what will they shout? Nothing. For the dead do not speak.
30
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
31
STARTING MOVES CORPSE COLLECTOR
CURSE
When you spend a ew minutes collecting a corpse to use later, you can store it in one o your
When you use dark magic to curse someone or something, tell the GM what you’re trying to achieve.
3 Hexed Canopic Jars . Even though a jar is only about the Curses are always possible, but the GM will give you one size o your fist and almost weightless, each can magically to our conditions, such as: hold one corpse o any size. Opening a jar drops the • It requires the blood o ______
ALIGNMENT
Your base damage is d4.
⃞ NEUTRAL Animate a particularly powerul or unique corpse
Your maximum HP is 4+Constitution.
LOOK Crazy Eye, Squinting Eyes, Black Eyes
corpse in ront o you.
• It will require a lot o money
RAISE THE DEAD
• You’ll need a rare component
Hooded, Long White Hair, Deathmask Black Robes, Death attoos, Boneshirt
When you seek to use the blackest o magics to reanimate the dead, choose a nearby corpse or one rom your collection and roll +IN. Only one corpse can be controlled at a time and it must be around humanoid size or smaller. ✴On a 10+, the Animated Corpse rises under your control andyou have 3 Power. ✴On a 7-9, also choose one:
• Te best you can do is a lesser or limited version
Filthy Body, Stitch Lines, Lithe Body
• Te flesh resists you, start with 1 less Power.
⃞ CHAOTIC Kill a creature purely to collect its corpse ⃞ EVIL ruly horriy someone
• It will take days/weeks/months beore the curse takes effect • ______ will know or hear about it • You’ll need to travel to _____
REPLACEMENTPARTS
• You draw unwelcome attention or put yoursel in a Your knowledge o stitching together corpses allows you to reattach body parts, such as severed limbs, eyeballs, spot. Te GM will tell you how. or teeth. It takes you a ew hours and you’ll need the • Magic barely holds the corpse together and srcinal body part or one that is similar to the srcinal. aferwards, the corpse will disintegrate. Besides stitch lines and a slight odor, the body part is as good as new. When you run out o Power, the Animated Corpse collapses. it again. I there’s anything lef, you can attempt to raise
ATTACK COMMAND
FLESH WOUND
HEXED BODY PART
⃞
Te Animated Corpse ignores most lower damage attacks, but whenthe Animated Corpse takes a significant, hit the GM will tell you an important appendage (such as a claw, limb, or jaw) that may come loose. Spend 1 Power to keep the corpse together or the appendage will be destroyed.
PIECE OF MIND
LENDABLE EAR
When your hexed ear is detached, you can still hear through it. ⃞
IDLE FINGER
When you detach your hexed finger, name something you can see. As long as the finger remains detached, it will point to what you named. ⃞
When you or the Animated Corpse eats part o a sentient creature’s brain , the GM will tell you an interesting piece o knowledge the creature possessed.
BONDS ________ doesn’t seem to ear me, I must see to that.
I can’t help but think what a powerul corpse ________ would make. ________ always leaves a trail (or should I say buffet?) o corpses.
W ( L B), v:
When you order the Animated Corpse to perorm a A part o your bo dy is hexed and can be reely detached , such as attacking or using a special harmul action and reattached at will. Choose one: move, roll +IN. ✴On a 10+, the action is successul ⃞ ALL SEEING EYE and it deals 1d6 damage. ✴On a 7-9, the same, but you lose 1 Power. When your hexed eye is detached, you can still see through it.
32
STATS
CREEPY TOE
For reasons you don’t wholly understand, when you eat your hexed toe, it heals you or 5 Damage and then regrows afer a couple days. Don’t orget to describe the taste. Note: You’re not sure what happens when someone else eats it, nobody’s been willing to try...
GRIM WORLD | Dungeon World Playbooks
GEAR Your Load is 7+SR. You carry dungeon rations (5 uses, 1 weight), a shovel (1 weight), and a needle and thread (0 weight). Choose one: ⃞
Leather armor (1 armor, 1 weight)
3 healing potions and adventuring gear (5 uses, 1 weight) Choose your armament: ⃞
⃞ ⃞
Bone dagger (hand, 1 weight) Skull staff (close, two-handed, 1 weight)
You start with 3 Hexed Canopic Jars ( 0 weight), one jar already has a corpse in it: ⃞
A one-armed dwar Someone you used to know personally
⃞
A skinless hound
⃞
U A V. V . T’ ’ v k. W , . H . H . Y j k . T k : v. T . Y x v v v . L k , N, .
ADVANCED MOVES
GM ADVICE Attack Command
When you gain a level rom 2-5, choose rom these ⃞
moves.
ASSISTANT
You craf a special assistant out o the skin and bones o a corpse. It has 5 load and 1 HP. When you give it an ⃞ NLIVING ARGE order more complicated than “ollow me”, roll+nothing When you Raise the Dead, you can use the corpse o a (good help is hard to find). ✴On a 10+, choose one. ✴On Large creature. a 7-9, choose two.
U
L
⃞ DISPOSABLE When you Raise the Dead with a 10+, you can choose to treat the corpse as disposable flesh. Gain +1d4 Power, but the corpse always disintegrates aferwards. ⃞
MONSTROUS
• You have to explain your orders several times beore it comprehends
TRUE COLLECTOR
ABOMINATION
Requires: Amalgamation
Choose up to three corpses to amalgamate.
• ...was most powerul in lie? • ...had the richest burial? • ...lived the most noteworthy lie?
When you gain a level from 6-10, choose from these AMALGAMATION or the level 2-5 moves. When you you cantochoose twoDescribe corpses (nearby or Raise rom the yourDead, collection) combine. ⃞ COLOSSUS how you choose to meld them. Te Animated Corpse gains all the benefits and special moves o both. I the Requires: Unliving Large corpses survive, they can be split and stored again. When you Raise the Dead, you can use the corpse o a Huge creature. ⃞ DEAD MEAT SHIELD When you take damage and your Animated Corpse is ⃞ CORPSE EXPLOSION nearby, you can make the corpse take the hit instead, but Requires: Disposable you immediately lose all Power. Corpses you deem Disposable explode instead o disintegrating, dealing their damage to anyone within ⃞ HEXBODY Reach. Pick 2 more Hexed Body Parts. In addition, your teeth are hexed. When you detach a tooth, to others it looks ⃞ MORTIFEROUS exactly like a coin o the local currency. You can turn the hex on and off at will. Just keep in mind teeth don’t Replaces: Monstrous grow back... Animated Corpses under your control deal 1d10 damage. When you use Attack Command, on a 12+ the Animated Corpse deals the ull 10 damage (no roll).
⃞
34
⃞
• It takes a lot o time and drooling to ulfil your orders
G
You have an additional Hexed Canopic Jar that’s special. It can store a corpse normally, or it can store a preassembled Amalgamation or Abomination.
in the jar, add 1 Charge. When you go looking or a replacement part to add to a corpse (or living person), spend 1 Charge to find a suitable part.
• It causes problems or draws unwanted attention (the GM will tell you how)
⃞ RAVEDIGGER Animated Corpses under your control deal 1d8 damage. When you use Attack Command, on a 12+ the Animated When you scour a graveyard or new material, you may Corpse deals the ull 8 damage (no roll). always ask the GM: What dead thing here... ⃞
⃞ UNDEAD PACK RAT You have an additional Hexed Canopic Jar that can also be used to store replacement parts. When you cut up a corpse you don’t intend to use and put the body parts
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
⃞
HOPELESS NECROMANTIC
When you attempt to deceive someone into thinking your Animated Corpse is still alive, roll +IN. ✴On a 10+, choose two. ✴On a 7-9, choose one. • Te corpse can move convincingly as it did in lie • You can make the corpse say anything you wish • Te corpse doesn’t have a potent stench
Tis can be thought o as a catchall move or when the Animated Corpse attacks or does something special. What the corpse can do is primarily dealt with in th e fiction. For example, i it’s a corpse o a harpy, it can fly around at will. But when it dive bombs someone’s ace, the Attack Command move is triggered.
On a 7-9, the attack is still successul, but something happens (the corpse resists you, etc.) to make the Necromancer lose some o their control (they lose 1 Power). Flesh Wound An Animated Corpse is partially held together by magic. Low damage attacks (those that would only cut or bruise someone) do not phase the corpse. It doesn’t even notice. However, when the Animated Corpse takes a big hit, a portion o it is likely to be dislodged. As a GM, it’s up to you to trigger when this move happens. Don’t eel like you need to make it happen every time, it’s best to use it sparingly. Beating up or even stabbing an already dead corpse isn’t going to affect it much
⃞ CRANIUM ACCESSORIES Instead o just stitching Replacement Parts, you can add rigger this move when the Necromancer knowingly entirely new body parts to yoursel or others. New fingers, sends the Animated Corpse into harms way. rigger it when you want to give them a hard choice. eyes, or even whole limbs. But beware, go too ar and the GM may tell you about a side effect or complication...
Curse
⃞ SWARM Tis is somewhat similar to the Wizard’s Ritual move. You can Raise the Dead with the corpses o iny/Small It does not need a place o power automatically, but you can make that one o the requirements. creatures, creating a swarm that acts together. A canopic jar can hold a group o corpses that make up a swarm. Replacement Parts, Cranium Accessories
⃞ LIFE SAP When you use blood magic to transer health, choose a Blood die (1d6, 1d8, or 1d10). Roll the Blood die. You or an ally takes this much damage (ignores armor). Roll the same Blood die a second time and heal yoursel or an ally or as much as this second roll.
Tese moves are un an disturbing at the same time. You should treat any side effects or complication with the same philosophy. Maybe the new limb looks or smells grotesque; or maybe it has a mind o its own. Death: Undead Army
Army means ARMY! Hundreds o undead. Sure some o them might be slow and stupid, but there’s a whole lot o them. ry to make the corpses fit whatever environment you’re in. What would make sense to be buried here? I nothing comes to mind, then perhaps the corpses have clawed their way up rom the underworld. Don’t orget to give the dead Necromancer player a say in how the army acts and what it attacks.
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
35
Shaman Te carving knie scrapes against bone, the tibia o a satyr not long dead. Your finger spreads the black-green paste, mashed root beetles, painting long whirling lines. You hold the finished totem up to the light, pride unhidden. Your companions watch through squinted eyes as you begin to whisper. Te fire dims blue, and then comes the murmur. Te spirits are alive this night. And you call each by name.
36
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
37
STARTING MOVES SPIRIT PACT
SPIRIT CATCHER
You have made a pact with the spirit realm, allowing When you witness a creature die, you can bind its spirit to you to create up to 3 Worldly Spirit otems. Describe a special totem you carry, roll +WIS. ✴On a 10+, the spirit what your totems look like. Are they wooden statues? is captured. Te GM will tell you what happens when you Hex dolls or symbols carved rom bone? Maybe they’re release the spirit. Te effect is something supernatural ceremonial masks or the skulls o allen enemies? You and associated with the spirit’s nature or greatest desire have your own methods, but you always take great pride in lie. Your Spirit Catcher totem does not have Charges in crafing totems worthy o the spirits they hold. and can be released reely, but the spirit must move on afer it is used (Spirit alking does not work). You can otem Appearance: only ever have one Spirit Catcher totem. ✴On a 7-9, the GM will also tell you a complication, such as:
STATS
ALIGNMENT
Your base damage is d6.
⃞ GOOD Heal or help a troubled spirit
Your maximum HP is 6+Constitution.
LOOK Distant Eyes, Intense Eyes, Wise Eyes
⃞ NEUTRAL Show someone the wisdom you possess ⃞ CHAOTIC Facilitate a spirit’s revenge
Headdress, Mask, Wild Hair Boneshirt, Animal Skins, C eremonial Garb Lithe Body, attooed Body, Tick Body
• Te spirit is unpredictable
TOTEM CREATION
• Tere’s an additional undesirable effect
• Te spirit is restless and must be used within a certain When you spend uninterrupted time (an hour or so) amount o time creating a new totem, you can bind any Worldly Spirit on the list, or others the GM tells you about (which may URMUR be tied to a location or event). You cannot bind more spirits than your pact allows, you must choose one to When you Discern Realities, you can also ask:What do release first. Each totem starts with 1 Charge. Saying the the spirits whisper here? spirit’s name will release it and consume a Charge. When a totem runs out o Charges, the totem shatters and the spirit cannot return.
M
GUARDIAN SPIRIT
PIRITUAL ADVISER S You may give Worldly Spirit otems you have created
Choose a spirit that orever watches over you.
to your allies. Describe what it looks like and how many Once per attack, when you deal damage and roll a 1, the Charges it has. And don’t orget to teach them the name spirit comes to your aid. Reroll that damage die and... to say aloud to release the spirit held within. Te totems ⃞ BOAR SPIRIT work normally but keep in mind: only you can Spirit alk. ...add the Forceul tag to the attack
SPIRIT TALK
⃞
BEETLE SPIRIT
When you say the name o a spirit bound to a totem you’ve made, instead o consuming a Charge, you can roll +WIS.✴On a 10+, the spirit is successully released and it returns to the totem aferwards. ✴On a 7-9, the spirit is released but choose one:
...take +2 Armor Forward
You draw unwelcome attention or put yoursel in a spot. Te GM will tell you how. Your reputation in the spirit realm is damaged. ake -1 Ongoing to Spirit alk until you have about an hour to perorm a ceremony honoring the spirits.
...take +1 Forward to Dey Danger
⃞
FALCON SPIRIT
...take +1 Forward on your next attack ⃞
IRONTREE SPIRIT
A Charge on the totem is still consumed.
38
GRIM WORLD | Dungeon World Playbooks
BONDS It’s clear to me __________ has a troubled spirit. __________ and my spirits are bound together. I have heard the spirits speak o __________’s power.
__________ must learn to respect the spirit realm.
GEAR Your Load is 8+STR. You carry dungeon rations (5 uses, 1 weight), a Spirit Catcher otem (1 weight), and a carving knie (hand, 1 weight).C hoose your weapon: ⃞
Ceremonial Dagger (hand, 1 weight)
⃞
Spear (reach, thrown, near, 1 weight) Staff (close, two-handed, 1 weight)
⃞
Choose your defenses: ⃞
Painted wooden shield (+1 armor, 1 weight)
Light armor made o hide or bone (1 armor, 1 weight) ⃞
Choose one: Dreamcap mushrooms (hallucinogenic, 0 weight) ⃞ Poultices and herbs (2 uses, 1 weight) ⃞
⃞
Antitoxin (0 weight)
⃞
Ritual Drum (1 weight)
W ( L B), v:
T L T Y k , v. A , k. W , x . A . R j v k . F, . T : . Wk GM . I , , j. I . L , S, ’ .
ADVANCED MOVES
GM ADVICE Say the Name!
When you gain a level rom 2-5, choose rom these ⃞
moves.
⃞
CHAIN LIGHTNING
When you release a Lightning Spirit, it can jump to a nearby target. Roll an additional 1d6. You can decide which damage die affects which target.
⃞
WISE COUNSEL
When you show someone the wiser path, you can Parley with WIS instead o CHA.
⃞ WEB OF WHISPERS Whisper Wind spirits no longer count towards your totem limit. Anyone that whispers into a Whisper Wind totem can be heard rom all other Whisper Wind totems you’ve made.
⃞
WANDERINGSPIRIT
SPIRIT GUIDE
Your Spirit Pact allows or 1 additional Worldly Spirit otem, but it must be given to and used by someone else. Attempting to use it yoursel is in violation o your pact and the spirit realm wi ll seek retribution.
⃞
VISION QUEST
When you spend the night alone in nature and consume a vision enhancing substance (such as ghostroot or dreamcap), the spirits will offer you guidance. ell them something that troubles you. Tey will do their best to bestow wisdom. ake +1 Forward when acting on the problem.
When you gain a level from 6-10, choose from these or the level 2-5 moves.
⃞
TOTEM OF THE FIRST SPIRITS
When you spend about a day crafing a grand totem Your Spirit Pact allows or 1 additional Worldly Spirit otem, but the spirit realm decides what spirit is bound. worthy enough or the most ancient o spirits, choose a When you craf this totem, the GM will tell you which First Spirit to summon and bind. Tis totem always has 1 Charge and it always shatters when you call the spirit’s Worldly Spirit to use (and it’s likely one you haven’t used name (Spirit alk does not work). Your Spirit Pact allows much or at all). you to create and bind only 1 otem o the First Spirits at a time. Be wary, calling on the First Spirits too ofen and NCESTRAL EALING the spirit realm might begin making demands o you. You call upon your ancestors to act as Spirits o Mending. When you release a Spirit o Mending to heal an ally, add ⃞ OTEMIC EAPON your level to the amount healed. Choose a Worldly Spirit to bind to a weapon you carry. When you Hack and Slash or Volley with this weapon, ⃞ ÉANCE on a 10+ you may also release the spirit or ree. Your connection to the spirit realm grows stronger. You can now use Spirit alk when releasing your Spirit ⃞ EDIUM Catcher totem as i it were a normal totem. When you first meet a noteworthy individual, the GM will tell you what the nearby spirits whisper about the ⃞ NCITER person. When you Spirit alk, on a 10+ you can still choose rom the 7-9 list. I you do, the spirit’s effects double in power ⃞ AKER OF ALISMANS or the number o targets doubles (choose one). It takes a valuable or rare item (such as a gem or the bone o a powerul beast), but you can convert a Worldly Spirit ⃞ OTEMIC EFENSE totem into a talisman, giving it2 Chargesinstead. When When you take damage, say the name o one o the spirits a talisman runs out o Charges, instead o shattering, the you have bound. Te spirit blocks the damage, but its spirit just needs rest instead. At the dawn o a new day, totem is destroyed. or when you spend an hour or so perorming a reverence ceremony, the totem’s Charges reset to maximum. In every other way, the talisman acts as a totem would.
⃞
A
H
T
W
S
M
I
M
T
40
D
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
T
It’s more un i the player actually says the spirit’s
name! Encourage them to speak it aloud as the ⃞ SPIRIT WALKERS Shaman would.Yukaaaaa-OOOOM! When you and anyone with you sit in a circle around a fire, you may leave your bodies behind and enter the spirit Totem Creation realm. For as long as the fire burns, you may wander the As your Shaman player levels up and becomes more world and see as a spirit sees. powerul, you should consider giving them access (temporarily or permanently) to additional spirits. ⃞ OULGAZE Tese could be more animal spirits, or the spirit o When you look deeply into someone’s eyes and they gaze a location or event. In a way, they can be thought o back, you catch glimpses o each other’s soul. Reveal as magic items. Te benefits can be mostly based in something to them, such as a dark secret, desire, or the fiction or they can give mechanical effects as well. intention. Something equally meaningul about them is revealed (the GM will tell you what). Spirit Catcher
S
⃞ FLAME SPIRIT When you inhale the spirit o a flame rom a campfire or torch, the fire is extinguished and you carry the spirit
Another way to add more spirits is through the Spirit Catcher move. Tese are spirits captured when the Shaman witnesses a creature die. Te effects o such a totem should be inspired by the creature’s personality, under your tongue. At any time, you can spit out the desires, and abilities it had it lie. Tis is different rom flame spirit, dealing your damage and lighting your target raising the a corpse o a create (like the Necromancer on fire. can do).
P
For example, i the Shaman captures the spirit o a ROTECTOR Werewol, perhaps releasing it will cause the moon Te protection o your Guardian Spirit extends to anyone to rise, no matter the time o day/month. As you can you have a bond with (when they roll a 1 on a damage see, this is more supernatural and “spiritual” than
⃞
die).
what the Necromancer would be able to do. Totem of the First Spirits Tese are the weapons o mass destruction or power in the Shaman’s arsenal. Tere can and should be consequences to using them. I your Shaman player is constantly trying to solve all their problems with First Spirit totems, it’s time to bring the spirit realm into play. Have them make uncomortable or unexpected demands. Remember, the source o the Shaman’s power is his or her pact with the spirit realm. Death: The Last Totem
Unlike many other death moves, this does not cause an immediately powerul or catastrophic event. Te spiritual maelstrom that orms will likely shake the battle up some, but it’s mostly there to emphasize that a significant event is happening. A powerul magic item is being created! What makes this move memorable is not just what the item is, but what you do with it. Tis item should stick around and be incorporated as a permanent element o your campaign. Whenever a player uses it, they should be reminded o where it came rom. In a way, the Shaman is still around, helping the party. GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
41
WORLDLY SPIRITS ⃞
THE ANCIENT FIRST SPIRITS
SPIRIT OF MENDING
⃞
SPIRIT OF THE OWL “SUU’AK”
“NAANDAWI”
When released, this owl spirit will stay near you, waiting Releasing this spirit heals you or a nearby ally or 1d8 to bestow its wisdom. ake +1 when Discerning Realities. damage. I you get a 6-, the owl spirit will disappear, but not beore giving you one last piece o wisdom (reroll the ailure).
⃞
LIGHTNING SPIRIT “YUKA-OOM”
⃞
PLAYFUL TIGER SPIRIT
“AMOTEKUN” When released, lightning streams to a nearby target, dealing 1d6 Damage. Tis damage ignores armor, unless Once released, point to the target you wish the spirit tiger the target is made o something resistant like stone or to begin stalking. Anytime the target attempts a ranged wood. attack, the tiger will leap out and stop them, preventing the attack. Te spirit will then jump away and begin ⃞ PIRIT OF THE YTHON stalking the target again. Tis lasts until the target dies “CHU’A” or you call the tiger away. Releasing this spirit summons a large snake that quickly RNERY ONKEY PIRIT wraps itsel around your target. Te v ictim cannot move ⃞ “BALUBERA” anything but their mouth and the effect lasts until they take damage or you call off the snake spirit. Powerul When released, this particularly stubborn donkey spirit creatures may be able to break out o the constriction, will carry 10 load. Once a day, you must eed it berries but i they do so, they take 1d6 Damage. or some other delectable ood. It lasts until you dismiss it or it was not ed the previous day.
S
P
O
⃞
STUBBORN TURTLE SPIRIT “MISHI-MISHI”
⃞
D
S
WHISPER WIND SPIRIT
Tis turtle spirit increases the speaker’s Armor by your “MADWEYAASHI ” (the Shaman’s) WIS modifier, but only or attacks against Whenever you whisper, your voice emits rom this totem, the back. Once released, the spirit lasts until the end o no matter how ar away it is. Once a week, release the battle. spirit and rebind it, or it will begin to grow restless.
⃞
PRICKLY PORCUPINESPIRIT
“PAHEEN” Once released, the porcupine spirit lasts until the end o battle. When the speaker is struck by a melee attack, the attacker takes damage equal to your (the Shaman’s) WIS modifier and the damage ignores armor.
⃞
SPIRIT OF DESIRE “TELAKAPA”
Point this spirit’s totem towards someone when you speak its name. Te target will be filled with an immense desire to touch the totem. Tey will stop at nothing and do everything in their power to hold the totem. Once the totem touches their skin, the spirit releases and the desire disappears.
Te first time something happens is a powerul event in the spirit realm. Tese are ancient spirits created when the world was young. Only the most wise o Shaman can hope to call ⃞ upon the First Spirits, but when they do, the world trembles.
SPIRIT OF THE FIRST EARTHFORMER ⃞
SPIRIT OF THE FIRST HARVEST “SENU-LESQUA”
When released, this spirit causes every nearby ruit, vegetable, and crop to immediately grow and ripen, ready to be reaped and gathered. I there is nothing o the sort nearby then edible mushrooms, desert ruit, or something o nourishment will burst orth ready to be eaten.
“SENU-TAAHI” Afer releasing this spirit, the ground will grow hot and emit a deep rumble. Te earth will crack and melt away ⃞ SPIRIT OF THE FIRST WINTER as a volcano begins to orm. When it finally erupts, it “SENU-WANBER” will spew lethally hot lava and massive chunks o rocks Upon releasing this spirit, the temperature will plummet everywhere nearby. and the land around you will be covered in a thick snow. ⃞ SPIRIT OF FIRST LOVE Tose who are susceptible to the cold gain the Clumsy “SENU-NAYOK” tag (-1 ongoing) until they warm up. When you touch this totem to a person’s skin and release ⃞ SPIRIT OF THE FIRST SPRING the spirit, speak a name. I the person knows whose name “SENU-DOONA” you speak, they will all into deep, naive love with them.
When released, every plant as ar as you can see will Tis is no meager love potion; the effects are permanent, but note: hearts can still be broken. Beware the wrath o experience immense growth. Flowers will bloom brightly, saplings will grow into tall trees, and all manner o a lover scorned. undergrowth will flourish. Every creature nearby (no ⃞ PIRIT OF IRST EAR matter their alignment) will be healed or 2d8 damage.
S
F
“SENU-GOSHI”
F
⃞ SPIRIT OF THE FIRST SUN When you bind this spirit, speak the name o a specific “SENU-SAKUUN” person or creature. When that person or creature sees the totem, they will be filled with immense terror and No matter the time o day or night, the sun rises to its stop at nothing to get away rom the totem or destroy it. apex in the sky. Te temperature increases rapidly and I released, the spirit will haunt the person or creature any water nearby quickly evaporates. Plants dry up and shrivel and anyone caught in direct sunlight risks severe until you call it off or it’s exorcised. burns. ⃞ SPIRIT OF THE FIRST TRADE ⃞ SPIRIT OF THE FIRST STORM “SENU-GENV” “SENU-YUKA” When you press this totem to someone’s skin and release the spirit, choose something about your target, such as Te sky grows dark with clouds o black when this spirit their ace, magical ability, or even their spirit. Whatever is released. An immense and powerul s torm enguls the you chose, you will gain it and your target will gain land. Rain and hail pour rom the sky, lightning strikes something o yours that is the equivalent (a ace or a ace, every ew seconds, and thunder shakes the earth. You an ability or an ability, a spirit or a spirit). Destroying have limited control over the storm, allowing you to do such things as ocusing its rage on particular targets or the totem will reverse the effect. willing its hurricane winds to topple a building. ⃞ SPIRITS OF THE FIRST WOLVES ⃞ SPIRIT OF FIRST HOME “SENU-HOKA” “SENU-JATI” When released, this pack o erocious spirit wolves will Tis spirit can only be bound in a place you consider sae hunt and pursue a specific person or creature o your choice, no matter how ar away they are. When you raise and amiliar. Later, when you release this spirit, anyone your head to the sky and howl as loud as you can, the touching the totem will be dragged through the spirit pack will howl back and you will know which direction realm, eventually depositing them back at the binding they are. Tey will continue to stalk the target until you location. catch up, at which point the pack will disappear.
42
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
43
Skirmisher A blacksmith has their hammer, a painter their brush. With spear and shield, you are a crafsman, an artist like them, but your trade is war and your canvas is the battlefield. Other warriors will call you coward. Tey’ll shout at you to stand still as they attack
with barbarous strength. But you are speed incarnate. Precision personified. You won’t stop moving until they all to the ground bleeding rom a dozen wounds. And then you’ll stand above them. Unscathed.
44
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
45
STARTING MOVES FULCRUM
DISTRACTION
When you spend a moment getting into position near When you seek to distract one or more opponents , say an ally, they become your Fulcrum on the battlefield. how you try it and roll. I you do it... You can still act normally, but by keeping an eye on your • ...through intimidation or brute strength,+SR Fulcrum, you’ll ofen find opportunities or quick strikes +DEX • ...through acting ast or maneuvering, against enemies they engage. Tis ally is considered your Fulcrum or as long as you stay Near them or until you • ...by enduring bodily harm, +CON select a new Fulcrum. • ...with quick thinking or useul knowledge,+ IN When you Aid your Fulcrum, add +1 to your roll. +WIS • ...by overcoming a ear or being perceptive,
OPPORTUNITYSTRIKE
• ...with social prowess or charm, +CHA Te actions o your Fulcrum will ofen open up enemies ✴On a 10+, the distraction works perectly. to your attacks. An Opportunity Strike might be a quick ✴On a 7-9, the distraction is mostly successul but the stab o your spear, or a javelin throw, or a ast shot rom GM will tell you o a complication. Perhaps it only works your bow. briefly or an ally can’t help but be distracted too. When you perorm an Opportunity Strike, you deal d6 damage (and any weapon bonuses) to the target.
Reprisal When your Fulcrum takes damage , you can immediately make an Opportunity Strike against the attacker.
Anyone taking advantage o the distraction gets a +1 on their roll.
FEINT When you Hack and Slash, on a 7-9 instead o dealing your damage you can choose to avoid the attack the enemy makes against you.
ADAPTIVE SHIELDING
When you wield a shield , it gives an additional +1 armor.
Flanking Maneuver
When you do not wield a shield , your melee attacks
When your Fulcrum attacks and deals damage , you can immediately make an Opportunity Strike against the same target.
have +2 piercing.
(I the attack hit multiple targets, choose one.)
SPEAR THROW When you throw your spear , roll+DEX. ✴On a 10+, you hit your intended target and deal your damage. ✴On a 7-9, also choose one: • Te spear is lodged and won’t be easy to recover. • Te spear’s shaf is damaged, take -1 ongoing to Spear Trow. • Te spear’s head is broken, it deals -1 damage rom now on. When you spend an hour or so repairing your spear, remove its negative effects.
FULCRUM ASSISTANCE Using an ally as a Fulcrum gives you the benefit o plenty o opportunities or quick strikes. Likewise, your Fulcrum benefits rom your presence in a specific way. Choose one: ⃞
I’VE GOT YOUR BACK
When you alert your Fulcrum o a sudden danger, they are warned in time to act and they take a +1 orward against the danger. ⃞
SHIELD WALL
When you are within Reach o your Fulcrum, they gain the armor bonus o your shield against incoming attacks. ⃞
CONFIDENCE
Your current Fulcrum deals +1 damage when they attack. 46
GRIM WORLD | Dungeon World Playbooks
STATS
ALIGNMENT
Your base damage is d6.
⃞ GOOD Help your Fulcrum at great risk to yoursel
Your maximum HP is 8+Constitution.
LOOK Piercing Eyes, roubled Eyes, Calculating Eyes Plumed Helmet, Cropped Hair, Rugged Hair Battle Kilt, Light Clothing, Battle-worn Armor
⃞ NEUTRAL Distract a powerul opponent ⃞ EVIL Provoke someone into doing something they’ll regret
Lithe Body, anned Body, Muscular Body
BONDS ________ and I keep an eye out or each other. Tings never go as planned with ________ around. ________ can sense opportunity as well as I can. Sometimes I think ________ has a death wish.
GEAR Your Load is 8+SR.You carry a spear (reach, thrown, near, 1 weight), a parma shield (+1 armor, 1 weight), and dungeon rations (5 uses, 1 weight).
W ( L B), v:
F T
Choose one: ⃞
Leather armor (1 armor, 1 weight)
3 healing potions and select an additional secondary armament ⃞
Atlatl (1 weight, when used with spears/javelins they gain the Far and Reload tags) ⃞
Choose one secondary armament: Bundle o javelins (2 ammo, thrown, near, 1 weight) ⃞ Sling (near, -1 damage, 0 weight) ⃞
Fine Bow (near, ar, 2 weight) and a bundle o arrows (3 ammo, 1 weight) ⃞
Crossbow (near, +1 damage, reload, 3 weight) and a bundle o arrows ⃞
⃞
Spear (reach, thrown, near, 1 weight)
W , k . T . A v k . M k v . I F v, x .
ADVANCED MOVES
GM ADVICE/TIPS Fulcrum
When you gain a level rom 2-5, choose rom these ⃞
moves.
⃞
ARMOR BREAK
When you attack a specific section o physical or natural armor, roll+SR. On a 10+, you chip away or break the enemy’s physical protection in that specific spot. Any attack that manages to hit this spot ignores armor. On a 7-9, the GM will tell you o a complication or inconvenience, such as the effect is only temporary or the vulnerable spot is difficult to target.
⃞
RIOTER
When you Discern Realities on a person, add this question to the list o choices:
DESPERATETHROW
When you throw your last or only spear, on a hit you deal your maximum damage.
⃞ INTERCEPTION When you throw or shoot at an airborne projectile, roll+DEX. ✴On a 10+, the projectile is deflected and you choose its direction. ✴On a 7-9, the GM chooses.
• What is the best way to provoke them? When you Discern Realities, on a 12+ you may ask this question or ree.
⃞ SITUATIONALASSISTANCE Whenever you set a new Fulcrum, you can select a different Fulcrum Assistance to provide. (Only one o the three can be active at a time.)
⃞
EVADE
When you attempt to escape rom an enemy’s grapple or movement hindering attack, roll+DEX. ✴On a 7+, you quickly escape or avoid the danger. ✴On a 10+, you can also immediately make an Opportunity Strike against the enemy.
⃞ MULTICLASSDABBLER ⃞ MILITIA Get one move rom another class (treat your level as one When you organize a group o people to fight or harass lower when choosing). the enemy, roll+CHA. ✴On a 10+, choose two. ✴On a 7-9, choose one. When you gain a level from 6-10, choose from these or the level 2-5 moves. • Tey ollow their orders exactly • Tey are more effective than expected • Tey don’t suffer massive casualties
⃞
GROUP VOLLEY
⃞ SELF-CENTERED You can act as your own Fulcrum in battle, but Opportunity Strike cannot trigger itsel.
B
ATTLEKIN When you and one or more allies unleashes a coordinated ⃞ volley at the same time, the best roll is applied to ake a move rom the Battlemaster playbook. Additionally, everyone’s attack. For example, i you roll a 7 and an i there is already a Battlemaster, whenever they are ally rolls a 10, you both take the 10 instead. Damage is your Fulcrum, they can spend 1 Gambit to grant you an rolled individually as normal. immediate Opportunity Strike against any target. ⃞
RESOURCEFULCARVER
⃞
SPEAR MASTER
You are adept at crafing replacement spears, javelins, You deal an additional +2 damage with spears. arrows, or any wood-based gear you’re amiliar with. Te GM will tell you how long it takes and any additional ⃞ IRST LOOD requirements, but your allies will always be surprised by On your first successul attack in a battle, you deal +1d6 your resourceulness and speed. damage.
F
B
⃞
RABBLE-ROUSER
Requires: Militia
When you organize a Militia, on the roll... ...i you equip them with at least basic weaponry, take +1
...i you spend at least a day teaching them, take +1 ...i you lead them yoursel, take +1 On a 12+, they ollow orders exactly, they are more effective than expected, and they don’t suffer massive casualties.
When a Skirmisher player designates an ally as a Fulcrum, mechanically they’re basically saying they’re going to stay near them and use them to generate Opportunity Strikes. Fictionally, they could be in ormation, such orming a shield wall or back to back. Or the Skirmisher might just be staying nearby and keeping an eye on their Fulcrum. Spending “a moment getting into position” just means they’re changing their ocus to a different ally. Tey shouldn’t be changing Fulcrums too ofen, but it is okay to change in the midst o battle i it make sense.
I a Skirmisher picks the Sel-Centered move, it means they can act as their own Fulcrum. When they deal XPENDABLE HIELD damage or take damage, they can immediately ollow When you block the mightiest o blows with your shield, it up with an Opportunity Strike. However, this can it shatters into splinters. ake no damage and immediately only happen once. You can’t trigger an Opportunity make an Opportunity Strike against the attacker. Strike off o damage rom another Opportunity Strike (or obvious reasons).
⃞
E
⃞
TAG TEAM
S
When you make an Opportunity Strike, instead o dealing damage, you can set up your Fulcrum or a powerul hit. Teir next attack against the target deals +1d8 damage.
⃞
POWER THROW
Death of a Thousand Paper Cuts Te Skirmisher attacks a lot, but they deal low damage. Tis can make it tough to fight very strong opponents that have high armor. Tere are several moves that can help the Skirmisher overcome this. Armor Break
When you use Spear onIa you 10+ do, you your have damage the option remove enemy’s armor in a specificthem area. to It might bean difficult to hit and bonus the enemy o choosing rom theTrow, 7-9 list. is allows might try to counter it somehow, but i damage is deal doubled. to this area, the attack ignores armor. ⃞ OUTRIDER Also, the Skirmisher can always temporarily drop their shield on the ground (dramatically o course). When you Undertake a Perilous Journey and act as a scout, take +1 on the roll. On a 10+, you and your allies Adaptive Shielding gives them a +2 piercing to their melee attacks when they’re not wielding their shield. deal +1d4 damage orward against any trouble you spot. Spear Synergy ⃞ OFF-BALANCE When you use Feint, whoever attacks your target next Te synergy between Spear Master, Power Trow, Desperate Trow, and First Blood is intended and takes a +1 on the roll. encouraged. Tey won’t know what hit ‘em. ⃞ HARASSER Death: Final Throw When you hit and run against an enemy to provoke or conuse them, roll+DEX. ✴On a 10+, deal your damage As with any death move, this should be as dramatic a moment as possible. Most targets should die instantly and choose one. ✴On a 7-9, just choose one. rom the Skirmisher’s spear throw. I they don’t • Te enemy is enraged and ollows you die, then they should be weakened somehow or a vulnerability should be revealed. • Te enemy loses track o you temporarily • Te enemy breaks ormation or reveals a vulnerability Te dragon’s wing should break. Te God King should bleed, showing he is mortal afer all.
Tis is the spear throw they will tell stories about.
48
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
49
Slayer Dry throat, red eyes, your hands shake, your muscles ache. How long has it been? Food doesn’t help, even i you could keep it down. Sleep? You know it’s utile. No, what you need is... there! Movement in the trees! You leap, the beast roars, there’s blood and ur and something like pain. And then it’s over. You pluck back the blade o silver and your body shivers. Euphoria. You laugh, you sigh. You are the Slayer.
50
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
51
STATS
STARTING MOVES
ALIGNMENT
Your base damage is d10.
BLOODTHIRST
OLD FRIEND: _______________
When you roll 6- on any move , gain 1 Tirst. It has been You have an associate that occasionally helps you on too long since your last kill, causing your body to begin particularly difficult hunts. When you really need them, to show symptoms o withdrawal. they’re usually not ar away. How did you meet? Did something happen to make you allies or do they just ITHDRAWAL owe you a avor? Name them and choose their specialty:
W
As your Tirst grows, your health begins to deteriorate. Bloodshot eyes, muddled thoughts, you grow anxious and irritable. Your stomach sours, your muscles ache and tremble. Restlessness quickly turns to insomnia. Death lurks ever closer, you’re sure o it.
⃞
Experts on lore, they can be called upon to research any subject. Sometimes they need time or a avor, but they always tell you useul inormation. ⃞
THIRST When you gain a point o Tirst , take a debility you do not already have. I you have all 6 debilities, take 1d6 damage (ignores armor).
LIBRARIAN
BARTENDER
Knows everyone who’s worth knowing. Looking or someone? Tey’ll point you in the right direction. Keen to acquire goods? Tey’ll set up the deal.
SLAYER’S STRIKE
D10
LOOK Hungry Eyes, Bloodshot Eyes, enacious Eyes Flowing Hair, Mohawk, Piercings Bandolier, inker’s Pack, Hidden Weapons Lithe Body, Hardened Body, attooed Body
⃞ NEUTRAL Use your thirst to slay a grand oe ⃞ CHAOTIC Withhold satisaction to drive your thirst to dangerous levels ⃞ EVIL Slay an undeserving creature to sate your thirst
BONDS ___________ has seen me at my worst. I can always count on ___________ to lead me to a kill. One day, the time may come to slay ___________. ___________ shares my thirst or combat.
When you Hack and Slash , you may roll+HIRS
instead o SR/DEX.
W ( L B), v:
CATHARTICKILL
M
When you deal the killing blow to a pers on, monster, ANIFESTATION or beast, your Tirst is quenched and resets to 0. Any debilities caused by Withdrawal quickly ade away. Your bloodthirst ofen maniests itsel in unexpected and sometimes even helpul ways. Choose one:
SLAYER’S ARSENAL
⃞
DEADLY THROW
⃞
ADRENALINE
When you know of a specific weapon, tool, or substance When you Volley with a thrown weapon, you can that will aid in the slaying o a creature, unpack all o use Slayer’s Strike. your slaying gear and start searching. I it’s relatively
cheap or common, you have it. I it’s expensive, rare, or unique, roll+SR. ✴On a 10+, the GM will say you have it or something useul. ✴On a 7-9, the GM will pick one: • You have it, but it needs to be repaired, charged, or assembled • You have it, but there are serious drawbacks to using it • You remember having it, but it was stolen or lost • You don’t have it, but you do find a hint on where it is or how to get it
52
⃞ GOOD Show mercy despite your thirst
MERCENARY
A Hireling that you can call upon to help you on a hunt. Tey have 10 Hireling points and usually no cost, but call upon them too much and they may start requiring something rom you or they may call upon you to get them out o trouble. ⃞
Your maximum HP is 8+Constitution.
When you Dey Danger with strength, you can roll+HIRS instead. ⃞
TENACITY
You ignore the -1 effect o CON debilities. ⃞
PENETRATINGGAZE
When you Discern Realities on a creature you intend to slay, you can roll+HIRS instead o WIS.
GRIM WORLD | Dungeon World Playbooks
GEAR Your Load is 11+SR. You carry dungeon rations (5 uses, 1 weight), leather armor (1 armor, 1 weight), and your Slayer’s Arsenal (4 weight).
Choose your weapon: ⃞ ⃞
Dual battle axes (close +1 damage, 2 weight) Spear (close, thrown, near, 1 weight)
Claymore (close, +1 damage, two-handed, 2 weight) ⃞
Choose one: Bundle o javelins (2 ammo, thrown, near, 1 weight) ⃞ Crossbow (near, +1 damage, reload, 3 weight) ⃞
A trophy rom a recent kill worth 4d8 coins
S S T . W ? W ? W , . Y v . Y , . I ’ . T . F q v, v v . Y v, v 6 T. Y . Y . I , , q . F , S, k , .
GM ADVICE
ADVANCED MOVES
A Warning When you gain a level rom 2-5, choose rom these ⃞
moves.
Tis class should probably be considered “advanced”. It is very possible to end up killing yoursel when
SPONSOR
When you use Slayer’s Strike and deal damage, add your Tirst to the damage.
By taking this move, you acknowledge you might have a problem. When an ally attempts to calm your bloodthirst, roll+Bond. ✴On a 10+, your Tirst is reduced by hal (then rounded down). ✴On a 7-9, your Tirst is reduced by 1.
⃞ USEFUL SYMPTOMS Choose an additional Maniestation.
When you gain a level from 6-10, choose from these or the level 2-5 moves.
⃞
PARCHED
⃞ I’LL SLEEP WHEN YOU’RE ⃞ MARKSMAN When you Volley with bows or crossbows, you can use DEAD Slayer’s Strike. When you use Slayer’s Strike and ail to slay the target, your next attack against that oe deals +1d8 damage. ⃞ WELCOME THIRST
S
G
When you awake in the morning, you can choose to add ⃞ LAYER OF IANTS 1d4 Tirst (and any associated Withdrawal symptoms). When you Dey Danger against a Large or Huge enemy, take +1. ⃞ ILDLING
W
ake a move rom the Ranger class list. I there is already a Ranger, they’ll need to help you tame the beast or learn the move.
⃞ ARMORED SLAYER You ignore the clumsy tag on armor. ⃞
ASTE FOR THE
UNT
⃞ INSOMNIA creature has lef behind, When you ake Watch, you can roll+HIRS instead. WhenTyou taste something a H such as its blood, hair, or excrement, the GM will tell you On a 10+, you also deal +1d4 Damage against the the species o the creature. ake +1 Forward against it. approaching enemy. ⃞
EUPHORIC SLEEP
When you Make Camp and sleep with 0 Tirst, you gain all your HP back (instead o just hal).
⃞ SLAYING GANG Add an additional Old Friend or give your existing ally an additional speciality.
⃞ CONSTRICTION ⃞ ENSNARE You are a bolas expert. When you throw your bolas to Requires: Ensnare ensnare an enemy, roll +DEX. ✴On a 7+, the enemy is ensnared. ✴On a 10+, the bolas cannot be easily untangled.
⃞
WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE
When you throw your bolas and get a 10+, deal your damage. I this damage would kill the target, they all unconscious instead.
⃞
SIGNATUREKILLER
You’ve made unlikely allies with monsters or other nasties You gain the Signature Weapon rom the Fighter in the past. Maybe they saved your lie or gave you vital playbook. I there is already a Fighter, they must orge inormation, whatever happened, it was enough to spare your weapon or greatly aid in its procurement. them. Because o this, you can occasionally call upon Hirelings that are monsters or corrupted humanoids. Perhaps they’re not as bad as everyone thinks? Sometimes, they’ll have a Cost associated with their monstrous nature, like needing to eed on human flesh. I it doesn’t work out, you can always just slay them, right? 54
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
⃞ CORRUPTED playing as a Slayer, maybe even in the first session. It Sometime recently or in your past, you had a close call may take a little while or the player to understand with a virulent monster. You managed to prevent it rom ully inecting you, but you remain partially tainted. You gain a benefit (such as unnatural regeneration, speed, or reflexes), but also a detrimental side effect or weakness (such as daylight, silver, or holy relics).
⃞ AEGIS INK You have a tattoo that offers immunity to a specific magical effect or ability (such as possession, hypnosis, or mind control). Describe what the tattoo looks like. Te symbol will protect you as long as it remains intact.
⃞
BLISS
When you use Cathartic Kill, you are immediately healed or as much Tirst as you possessed.
how to balance their Tirst; when to satisy it and when to withhold satisaction. Bloodthirst and Withdrawal Te Slayer is powerul, but they’re also an addict. Tey can be perectly normal one minute and seriously jonesing the next. But that’s part o the un!
With every point o Tirst, the Slayer gets more powerul at killing, but potentially worse at everything else. Sometimes, a debility will contribute to a ailed roll which will lead to another debility, and the Slayer will spiral down into withdrawal. Tat’s intended. Tat goal is or the player to eel genuine ear at their rising Tirst. When a player says something like “Oh man, I really need to kill something or I’m a goner!” You’ll know it’s working. Slayer’s Arsenal
An important part o this move to note is the clause “or something useul” on a 10+. I the players need Te Sword o Kelthar to slay a beast, it’s okay to say the Slayer doesn’tas have Once in awhile have something rareit.and cool as thattheyshould (so they eel like a badass), but not necessarily always. Instead, the Slayer may not have that exact sword, but they do have Kelthar’s Whetstone that will make the sword more powerul when they do find it. Old Friend In popular fiction, a slayer or hunter might be the star, but they almost always have backup. Te Old Friend is one source o help. It’s also a perect opportunity or some great character drama and plot. Don’t be araid to use these NPCs in your campaign. Make them eel real, get the players attached, and then put the Old Friend in danger. I something happens to them, eventually you’ll want to introduce a “new” Old Friend or the Slayer to call. Death: Soulbound Slayer Usually it’s best to allow the Slayer to get their kill relatively quickly so they can truly die and move on. However, i it’s interesting to your group, you can draw this out over multiple sessions. Just make sure the Slayer is always trying to continue their hunt; don’t let them spend too much time delaying the inevitable.
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
55
Templar You must seek out the seeds o heresy and evil; you must show this vile world it can be made clean once more. Foul beasts and blasphemers shall be the kindling to your righteous fires. And i the cleansing flame grows so hot that you too must be consumed, then you will burn in contentment, knowing you leave the world closer to absolution.
56
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
57
STARTING MOVES WRATH EMBODIED
CONFESSION
When you hear someone else coness a sinul act or wrongdoing,you can grant them absolution. Te conession can be a recent action or something that happened in the character’s past. Roll +CHA. ✴On a When you spend time perorming your purification10+, they are healed or 1d8 damage. ✴On a 7-9, they ritual(an uninterrupted hour or so), set your Wrath to are healed, but the conession sullies your mind and you must immediately perorm penance, take 1d4 damage the max. (ignores armor). You are heavenly vengeance made maniest and Wrath is your currency. Te more pure your soul, the more holy power can pass through you. I your soul is immaculate, then you have 3 Wrath (the max).
PENANCE
INQUISITOR
When you quickly perform penance , take 1d4 damage When you hold a captive for questioning , roll+CHA. (ignores armor) and gain 1 Wrath. Penance is sel✴On a 7+, the captive (the GM) will tell you three punishment, such as tightening a cilice, using a whip or knout, or other orms o mortification o the flesh. Tis statements: two are true, but one is a lie. ✴On a 10+, type o brutal penance might be painul, but it’s the onlythe GM will tell you one o the three statements that is way to puriy your soul quickly, such as in the midst o definitely true (leaving the 2 unknown statements). I you choose to press the captive urther, pick a statement that a battle. you guess to be the lie. Your methods cause significant emotional or physical scars, but i you picked the lie correctly, the captive will break and truthully answer any questions you ask. RATH
W
:
/3
✴On a 6-, they won’t break, or they hold back, or something went very, very wrong. Oops.
STATS
ALIGNMENT
Your base damage is d8.
⃞ LAWFUL Show no mercy when extracting a conession
Your maximum HP is 8+Constitution.
LOOK Doubting Eyes, Vengeul Eyes, Sad Eyes
Wrath to deal +1d4 extra damage.
DIVINE FORCE When you Volley , on a 10+ you may spend a Wrath to orceully knock back all enemies who are close by to where your volley landed.
Scarred Body, Tin Body, Strong Body
BONDS I worry ____________ is practicing heresy. I don’t trust ____________, but they make a powerul ally. ___________ saw me stray rom the righteous path. Never again.
⃞
FEAR
+1 to Parley when the character ears you
BLINDING LIGHT
⃞
When you Dey Danger , on a 10+ you may spend a Wrath to emit an immensely bright holy light that temporarily blinds your attacker.
+1 Piercing against surprised enemies
CONSECRATEDGROUND
⃞
SURPRISE RUTHLESS EFFICIENCY
When Quartermaster on a Perilous Journey, treat 7-9 as 10+
FANATICALDEVOTION
When you Deend , on a 10+ you may spend a Wrath
⃞
to consecrate the ground around you. When an enemy first enters consecrated ground, they take damage equal to your level.
Ignore the effects o Charisma debilities
A W
GEAR Your Load is 10+SR. You carry dungeon rations (5 uses, 1 weight), interrogation tools and a penance device, such as a cilice, whip, or knout (1 weight).
Choose your weapon: ⃞ Short sword (close, 1 weight) and shield (+1 armor, 2 weight) ⃞ Flail (close, +1 damage, 2 weight) Choose your deenses: ⃞ Chainmail (1 armor, 1 weight) ⃞ Shield (+1 armor, 2 weight) Choose one: ⃞ ⃞
58
GRIM WORLD | Dungeon World Playbooks
W ( L B), v:
FACETS OF INQUISITION Tere are many acets o inquisition, choose one you avor:
⃞ EVIL Cause a heretic great pain beore they expire
Bald Head, Helmet, Mitre Red Robes, Shining Armor, Simple Garb
I have heard the s ecret conessions o ___________.
MITE S When you Hack and Slash , on a 10+ you may spend a
⃞ GOOD Uncover a vile or dangerous truth
Bag o books (5 uses, 2 weight) A recent offering o 3d6 coins
Let the cleansing fires consume the vile and unworthy. Let them know my wrath. W , . Ev . Y v, , z k . T v . U v v , v x . T GM k . E , T, v .
ADVANCED MOVES
GM ADVICE Inquisitor Usage
When you gain a level rom 2-5, choose rom these ⃞
moves.
CLEANSING CENSER
You gain a blessed censer that emits holy flames o purification. It hangs rom a chain and can be used as ⃞ ED OT RATH a melee weapon with Reach and +1 damage. When you Te weapon you wield glows hot with holy power, add Make Camp and puriy the campsite, anyone who sleeps your current Wrath to your damage. Additionally, Smite at least a ew hours is healed to ull HP. costs no Wrath on a 10+.
R
⃞
H
W
⃞
ARMOR OF WRATH
JUDGMENT
When you declare someone deserves punishment, spend Te armor you wear is charged by the purity o your soul. 1 Wrath. Te next time they deal damage, they are also You ignore the clumsy tag on all armor. When an enemy’s harmed or 1d6 damage (ignores armor). Describe what skin touches your armor, they take your current Wrath orm this punishment takes (it may appear coincidental in damage (ignores armor). or blatantly celestial).
⃞ CLEAN CONSCIENCE ⃞ HOLY VENGEANCE When you hear someone’s Conession, they deal +1d4 When you kill an enemy that has done you harm, you damage on their next attack. gain 1 Wrath. ⃞
PROPHETIC DREAM
When you gain a level from 6-10, choose from these or the level 2-5 moves. When you sleep or at least a ew hours, you have a vague dream warning you o a danger that will be aced in the ⃞ OUL IRE next day or so. You awaken with 1 Prophecy. Spend a Prophecy to make a Dey Danger an automatic success Smite now deals +1d8 extra damage instead and can be (10+). used on a 7+.
S
⃞ KEEN TO INQUIRE When you use Conession or Inquisitor, you can roll+Wrath instead o +CHA.
F
⃞ NOBODY EXPECTS You gain the benefits o all Facets o Inquisition.
⃞ FRIEND OF SINNERS ⃞ STENCH OF GUILT When you hear someone’s Conession, on a 7+ they are You can sense the guilt that weighs on someone as i it healed or 2d8 damage instead and penance is not owed. were an odor. Most people have at least a minor stink, but On a 10+, you are also healed or 1d8 damage. some reek o guilt. Beware o those who have no stench; you know how rare the truly pious are. It’s much more ⃞ VIVID PROPHECY likely you have ound genuine evil that eels no guilt at all.
Requires: Prophetic Dream
⃞ WARMING UP When you have a Prophetic Dream, you awaken with 2 When an ally Aids you, instead o taking a +1, you can Prophecy instead and your dreams can be about anyone you have a bond with. choose to gain 1 Wrath. ⃞ WE HAVE WAYS ⃞ WHITE KNIGHT Choose one move rom the Paladin class list. I there is When you act as Inquisitor, you can treat a 6- as a 7-9, or a 7-9 as a 10+, but the captive dies at the end o your already a Paladin, you must have similar belies or goals, brutal interrogation. or at least a mutual respect.
60
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
⃞
ZEALOTRY
When you use your holy authority to convince a believer to do something clearly dangerous, roll+CHA. ✴On a 7+, they do it, but you must spend a Wrath or each option you select. ✴On a 10+, you can choose one option or ree. • Tey’ll try as hard as they possibly can without hesitation • Tey won’t give up when aced with certain death • Tey’ll spread the word and try to get other believers to help
⃞
HOLY CRUSADE
Requires: White Knight Choose an additional move rom the Paladin class list. I there is already a Paladin, they can choose to take a move rom the emplar list when they gain a level.
⃞
MIRACLE OF HEALING
Requires: Cleansing Censer When you Make Camp using your Cleansing Censer, anyone who sleeps at least a ew hours can choose to heal to ull HP or remove 1 Debility.
⃞
GM: Okay, you tie up the poor merchant. Xan: I unpack my interrogation tools slowly in ront o him. I say menacingly: ell us what you know about the Cult o Korthaka! GM: He looks araid but sits up tall in his chair. Roll! Xan: I got an 11. Tis guy better spill it! GM: As you begin interrogating him, he tells you three statements; two are true, but one is a lie. Te first is: “I went to one meeting, but that’s it!” Te second is: “I only just moved here recently!” Te third is: “I stay away rom those Korthaka people!” Xan: I got a 10+, so you tell me one that’s true, right? GM: Oh yeah, so you remember his house looked like it was built recently. You conclude statement 2 isefinitely d true. Statement 1 or 3 is a lie, which is it? Aryn: Hey Xan, what i he’s just supplying them? Xan: Hmm, maybe! Okay, I push him urther. 3 is a lie!
BLESS ALLY
When you Aid an ally, you may spend a Wrath to choose one: • Teir weapon is blessed and deals +1d8 damage on the next attack. • Teir armor is blessed and the next damage they take is halved.
⃞
Tis move can take a ew tries to get the hang o it, but once you do, it makes interrogations a lot o un. When you come up with the three statements, try to keep them as simple as possible. A statement can be something relevant to the situation or it can just be a act about the NPC. Here’s an example:
WRATHFUL
You can choose to use Divine Force, Blinding Light, and Consecrated Ground on a 7+ instead o a 10+. Furthermore, on a 12+, you gain the effect or ree.
GM: Your methods cause some scarring, but he breaks airly quickly. And you’re right, he has been selling to the Cult. He was lying about staying away rom them. His spirits are broken. He’ll answer any question now. Xan: Mwahahahaha! Aryn: I eel dirty.
As you can see, by guessing what statement was the lie, you make the captive realize they’re powerless. Tey’ll break and answer any question truthully. I you guess incorrectly, they’ll know they can hold back the juicy inormation. Death: Angel of Wrath
Afer the emplar dies, they temporarily become an angel o wrath. Generally this will only last a scene, but make sure it’s a climactic one. I the effect needs to last a little longer to make the emplar eel like they’re really making a difference, that’s perectly acceptable. Possibly even until the end o the session. Remember, it needs to be memorable!
GRIMWORLDDungeon | WorldPlaybooks
61
FATE PLAYBOOKS
Shaman , , “C M ” Te carving knie scrapes against bone, the tibia o a satyr not long dead. Your finger spreads the black-green paste, mashed root beetles, painting long whirling lines. You hold the finished totem up to the light, pride unhidden. Your companions watch through squinted eyes as you begin to whisper. Te fire dims blue, and then comes the murmur. Te spirits are alive this night. And you call each by name.
Battlemaster ,
, “I
.”
Your spear throw connects but it only enrages the grotesque shambler as its tentacles rip your shield away. It pulls you in close and the beast’s great maw finally opens. You shout, “NOW!” as you throw the blue oil flask straight down its bellowing gullet. Te hidden archer is revealed and lets loose an arrow o flame. Te explosion tears the shambler apart. You land on your back smiling, as entrails drop nearby. Another plan well done.
Channeler
Skirmisher S ENTER A blacksmith has their hammer, a painter their brush. With spear and shield, you are a crafsman, an artist like them, but your trade is war and your canvas is the battlefield. Other warriors will call you coward. Tey’ll shout at you to stand still as they attack with barbarous strength. But you are speed incarnate. Precision personified. You won’t stop moving until they all to the ground bleeding rom a dozen wounds. And then you’ll stand above them. Unscathed.
, , “I .” Let the mages wield their spellbooks and grand wisdom. None o them have what throbs inside o you: a conduit to pure magic. Your body is
the gateway, like aAsdam holding backbear an ocean o power. it hurt?” Tey always ask. i the scars you are not answer “Does enough. You think you know the cost, but truly, how much can flesh weather? You expect you’ll find out, one way or another.
Slayer ,
, “I’
’
.”
Dry throat, red eyes, your hands shake, your muscles ache. How long has it been? Food doesn’t help, even i you could keep it down. Sleep? You know it’s utile. No, what you need is... there! Movement in the trees! You leap, the beast roars, there’s blood and ur and something like pain. And then it’s over. You pluck back the blade o silver and your body shivers. Euphoria. You laugh, you sigh. You are the Slayer.
Necromancer ,
, “RISE ”
Well, here you are. Run out o another town. “Grave robber!” Tey wailed. “Mainiac! Death caller!” Death... caller? Pah! Do they not see? You are the lie bringer! Tat which was dead now RISES! Te sages say death conquers all. Ten who are you, i you have bested death? You will show them; and then what will they shout? Nothing. For the dead do not speak.
Templar , “
,
, .”
You must seek out the seeds o heresy and evil; you must show this vile world it can be made clean once more. Foul beasts and blasphemers shall be the kindling to your righteous fires. And i the cleansing flame grows so hot that you too must be consumed, then you will burn in contentment, knowing you leave the world closer to absolution. 62
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
63
Battlemaster Your spear throw connects but it only enrages the grotesque shambler as its tentacles rip your shield away. It pulls you in close and the
beast’s great maw finally opens. You shout, “NOW!” as you throw the blue oil flask straight down its bellowing gullet. Te hidden archer is revealed and lets loose an arrow o flame. Te explosion tears the shambler apart. You land on your back smiling, as entrails drop nearby. Another plan well done.
64
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
65
HIGH CONCEPT
ASPECTS
Te Battlemaster looks like any other warrior and they’d love you to think as much. But underneath, their mind is racing, ormulating plans and all manner o tactics. Teir High Concept aspect should reflect their affinity or battle and tactical nature. Knowledge and strategy cut deeper than swords.
DEATH EVENT:
GRAND PLAN
COMBAT SIGHT
STUNTS
GO FOR THE SWEET SPOT When you take an aspect that grants you a truly tactical mind, you can take the Change actics stunt. Tis stunt gives different benefits depending on your current tactics.
TROUBLE
It’s time. All o your preparation or this moment must finally come to ruition. Your grand plan is revealed and your death proves to be the final gambit. Your allies may have known all along or maybe you kept them in the dark, knowing they wouldn’t understand. Work with the GM to reveal this master plot. Te plan should give your allies a major boon or advantage, or set up your enemies or destru ction, or set major world events in motion. Rest in peace, Battlemaster, knowing even now in death, the goals you had in lie will soon be achieved.
You can use Knowledge instead o Perception to determine turn order in a conflict, i your tactical prowess and training would give you an edge.
+2 when you use Melee to attack against heavily armored opponents.
BATTLEFIELDMOTIVATION +2 to Rapport when you deliver an inspirational speech to allies or a crowd.
Everyone has weaknesses; a good Battlemaster will know their own vulnerabilities as well as their enemy’s. rouble aspects don’t need to be related to being a Battlemaster, they can be things like “Drunkard” or “Wanted or Murder”. I you want the rouble to be related, concentrate on their past experiences (with war trauma or tactical sacrifices) or take their tactical nature to an extreme (like making them paranoid or a cold calculator).
CHANGE TACTICS
Aggressive actic: +1 when you attack with Melee
AMBUSH
DETAILS
Cautious actic:+1 when you deend with Melee
+2 to Knowledge when you use it to set up an ambush or trap.
Additional aspects can be anything, but good areas to concentrate on are history, relationships, and tactical tendencies. What events in your past affected you most? Who trained you? Who did you fight with or against? Do you tend to avor a particular tactic (like Reckless or Deensive)?
D
M
ESPERATE ANEUVER At the start o ever y scene, choose one actic to be active. You gain the corresponding Stunt, the title o which acts Once per scene, you can rally your allies. Any ally who as a temporary Aspect that can be invoked or compelled has taken a consequence in this scene gets a boost (+2) normally. Spend a ate point during a scene to change to on their next roll. a different tactic.
Reactive actic:When you deend with Melee, getting a tie or a success gives you a boost.
INTELLIGENTDEFENSE
Deensive actic:+2 when you deend with Melee i you’re standing in deense o someone or something
You can use Knowledge to deend against Melee, provided you are amiliar with the enemies technique or strategy.
Reckless actic:+2 when you attack with Melee, but -2 when you deend with Melee.
PHASE 2
When you take an enemy out o the conflict, you can immediately Change actics or ree. Once per scene, when you or an a lly takes a consequence, unveil your plan and create a situation aspect with a ree ELF EFENSE RAINING invocation. Once per session, you can teach your allies how best to deend against the enemy you’re about to fight. You and AIT your allies get a situation aspect or the next conflict and Once per scene, you can create an advantage or ree, but everyone gets 1 ree invoke each when using it to deend only i you or an ally is put in great danger. against that enemy.
GAMBIT
66
The Battlemaster
I’ll Show Them Reckless
Gambit Expert
Tactical Mind
Reckless Abandon
Battlefield Brute
Natural Tactician
War Hero
Tactical Maven
Battlefield General
Born on the Battlefield
Read You Like a Book
Trust In My Stratagem
Cold Calculator
Cautious to a Fault
Always Follow the Plan
My Plans Always Succeed
Tactics Are My Weapon
Veteran of War
Knowledge is Power
Dirty Trickster
War History Buff
I Live By My Wits
Heavily Armored
Enlisted Man/Woman
Battle Blooded
Calm and Collected
Master of the Gambit
Always the Bait
I Meant To Do That
S
T
WAR KNOWLEDGE
ALL PART OF THE PLAN
Be My Bait
+2 when using Knowledge to overcome something related Once per session, you can spend a ate point to ignore to historical battles, military figures, martial weapons or a mild consequence or reduce a moderate consequence armor. to a mild consequence.
I Trust __ With My Life
WELL TRAINED
HEAVY ARMOR TRAINING
__ is My Student __ is My Battle Brother
+2 to Knowledge when creating an advantage i it’s something you’ve read or were trained to do.
When you are wearing heavy armor, you always have +1 when deending with Fight.
BLOCK AND STRIKE
EXPLOIT WEAKNESS
When you deend with Melee and succeed with style, you +2 when you use Perception to create an advantage by can inflict a 2 shif hit instead o the boost. finding an enemy combatant’s weakness.
All Part of the Plan
Strategery
Grand Planner
__ is My Pawn
Aggression is Medicine
Everything’s Out to Get Me
__ Was My Teacher
Always First to React
Love a Good Ambush
__ Makes Good Bait
Evasive Maneuvers!
Paranoid
__ Is My Sworn Enemy
BATTLE LEADER
Defense is My Offense
Khan of War
Sworn to Protect _____
+2 when you use Rapport against soldiers, sellswords, or military personnel.
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
D
B
BATTLE OF WITS GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
You can use Knowledge in place o Stealth, provided you had time to study or research what you’re hiding rom. 67
Channeler Let the mages wield their spellbooks and grand wisdom. None o
them have what throbs inside o you: a conduit to pure magic. Your body is the gateway, like a dam holding back an ocean o power. “Does it hurt?” Tey always ask. As i the scars you bear are not
answer enough. You think you know the cost, but truly, how much can flesh weather? You expect you’ll find out, one way or another.
68
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
69
Hal monk, hal magic user, the Channeler has a conduit to raw magic inside o them. At any time, they can open the conduit and release the magic through their emanation point. Ofen this will harm their bodies in the process, i they’re not careul. A Channeler always has a primary element (such as flame, rost, shock, shadow, wind, or water) and an emanation point (like orehead, eyes, mouth, chest, fingers, or palms).
DEATH EVENT:
RUPTURE You always wondered what would happen to your conduit i your body wasn’t here to impede it. Well, now the world gets to find out. Te dam has broken. What’s lef o your body explodes as raw magic pours through. Everyone nearby is enguled or thrown backwards. Your conduit now hangs in the air, orever a gateway to the elemental planes. Te area around this location will be permanently irradiated with your magic and quickly show signs o your primary element. ruly, Channeler, you have lef your mark on the world.
You can channel elemental magic through your conduit, allowing you to make magic attacks with Physique.
BENDER OF THE ELEMENTS Your control over your element reaches beyond your body. +2 when you use Conduit Channel to manipulate anything in the nearby environment made o your conduit’s element to create an advantage.
FALLOUT
You can choose to add +1 when you use Conduit Channel but you take 1 shif o stress on a tie or ailure.
ELEMENTALCALLUS
HAZARD
DETAILS
+4 when overcoming or deending against your primary element.
You can use Conduit Channel to create advantages when targeting the environment.
OSMOSIS
Additional aspects might be related to how they view their body or their power. Some might treat their body as a temple and put runes and tattoos on their skin. A Channeler may have had a traumatic childhood due to their abilities. Or maybe there was an event that awakened their powers?
TELEPORT
Once per scene, when you touch something o your primary element in the environment, you can heal one o your stress boxes.
Never Enough Power
Immune to Lightning
Body Can’t Take Much More
Elemental Warrior
Covered in Calluses
Hands of Flame
The Iceman Cometh Armor of the Elements
Energy Blaster
Water Dancer
Elemental Conduit
Shadowmolder
Shocking Fingertips
Frost Champion The Dwarven Torch Chaotic Elementalist
Wind Waker I See the Raw Potential in __ Planar Touched The World Will Know My Hair of Fire
Self-Inflicted Scars
Breather of Fire Barely Contained
My Conduit Helps The Needy Minor Control Issues Wanted
for
Wanton
I Wield Dual Conduits
Ravaged Body
Bender of Flame
Ice To Meet You Glowing Eyes
Runic Tattoos
Complicated Childhood
Elemental Subjugator
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
BARRIER
DUAL CONDUITS
Choose another element. With a grunt or a snap o You can use Conduit Channel to deend against Melee the fingers, you can toggle your Primary Element to attempts. this second element, or vice versa. Only one o the two elements can be considered your Primary Element at a time. PIERCING +2 when you use Conduit Channel to attack against heavily armored opponents.
ELEMENTALWARRIOR
Your primary element enguls the weapon you wield. You can Conduit Channel in place o a Melee attack when attacking with your weapon. +2 when you use Conduit Channel to create advantages i that advantage involves knocking the target down or ELEMENTALCHAMPION into something. I you use Elemental Warrior and succeed, you still get a boost. SUMMON ELEMENTAL
C
Power
Pyromaniac
Burn, Baby, Burn
Once per scene, you can use your elemental magic to teleport two zones or ree.
FORCEFUL
I Am My Own Worst Enemy
Gateway to Magic Mistress Freeze
When you take an aspect that gives you permission to have a Conduit, you gain the Conduit Channel stunt or ree. Tis allows you to use the Physique skill as your primary way to attack and gives you access to all urther stunts.
Once per scene, when you kill an enemy by using Conduit Channel, you turn the victim into a hazard and create an environmental aspect with a ree invocation.
Elementals Do My Bidding
I Am the Devastator Fire Does Not Harm Me
I you are controlling an Elemental and you take a hit, you can negate the ull attack (stresses or consequence) but doing so unleashes the Elemental. It is now controlled by the GM and could be hostile, riendly, or just bored.
THREAD THE NEEDLE
Te biggest trouble to a Channeler is always going to be themselves. I they open their conduit too ar, the magic will take its toll out o their body. Channelers tend to have scars or other visible signs o this distress. For other possible roubles, they can also be power hungry or arrogant rom knowing how much power they can wield.
Elemental Summoner
Icy Glare, Literally My Body Is Damaged
STUNTS
CONDUIT CHANNEL
TROUBLE
The Channeler Conduit to Raw Magic
Master of the Wind Shadowy Eyes
70
ELEMENTALUNLEASHED
HIGH CONCEPT
ASPECTS
Destruction
T
Once per session you can beckon to what lies beyond ORPOREAL RAUMA your Conduit and summon orth an Elemental being. Te Elemental has 3 stress boxes and you can Conduit When you Conduit Channel and get a ailure or tie, you Channel through it with an additional +2, as long as you can treat it as i you succeeded with style (3-shifs), but you immediately take a mild consequence rom letting remain in control o it. too much magic through.
ELEMENTALMASTER
AFFLICTION
You can spend a ate point to Summon Elemental i you When you succeed with style when using Conduit have used your ree session summon. Channel, you can add a situation aspect with a ree invocation to the target instead o a boost. Tis aspect DEVASTATIONWAVE should be something your primary element has done to You can use Conduit Channel with a +2 but you take 1 them, such as “Melted Weapon” or “Frozen Limb”. shif o stress. GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
71
Necromancer Well, here you are. Run out o another town. “Grave robber!” Tey wailed. “Mainiac! Death caller!” Death... caller? Pah! Do they not see? You are the lie bringer! Tat which was dead now RISES! Te sages say death conquers all. Ten who are you, i you have bested death? You will show them; and then what will they shout? Nothing. For the dead do not speak.
72
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
73
HIGH CONCEPT
ASPECTS
Central to the Necromancer is their ability to raise the dead. Tey may or may not be evil, but they do tend to gravitate toward darker impulses. Tey always have a unique perspective on death. Feel ree to add additional descriptors like “Inamous Necromancer” or “Misunderstood Necromancer” to flesh out your High Concept.
DEATH EVENT:
UNDEAD ARMY Vengeance. Vengeance and hate. Tat’s all that’s lef when your vision ades to black... And then the earth begins to tremble. Hands o bone and decaying flesh burst orth. Hundreds o bodies dig their way out. Your canopic jars break open and your corpse collection rises leading the horde o undead. Tey seek only one thing: revenge. Te ones who caused your death will be torn apart. Your army will exist until your vengeance is achieved or every last one o them is destroyed. Let them know true per il, Necromancer, show them once and or all.
Most people don’t take kindly to their riends being raised rom the dead. Ofen, a Necromancer’s biggest trouble will be the living. How do you view others? Do they not understand you? Or do you just not care what they think? Maybe you’ve made some powerul enemies in your disturbed past. Necromancers tend to be rail and physically weak. Tey also work with corpses all day, you can imagine what that does to their appearance (and scent).
DETAILS Due to their proximity to dark magic, ofen Necromancers have body alterations such as sewn on limbs or hexed body parts. A detachable hexed eye might allow them to spy on others. Other aspects should concentrate on their past. Did they flunk out o wizard school? Were they a cleric or paladin beore they chose a darker path?
The Necromancer The Dead Will Rise
You Will Fear Me
Fallen Cleric
Ooo, a New Corpse!
I Will Make You Pay!
Infamous Gravedigger
_____ is my Minion
Compulsive Monologuer
Death Is Only the Beginning
I Horrify _____ Amalgamator
Cursed Mage
Hex: All Seeing Eye Hex: Lendable Ear
Life Sapper
Thrown out of Magic School Black Hearted
Hex: Idle Finger
Swarm of Undead
Hex: Creepy Toe
Meet My Abomination Extra Appendage
Organ Transplanter
Corpse Crafter Corpse Collector
Haunted Past
+2 when you use Tievery to steal a corpse.
THE SWARM
When you have an aspect that gives you necromantic abilities, you can take the Raise the Death stunt.
You can Raise the Dead on a group o creatures smaller than you. Te swarm acts as one and gains the “Swarm o Undead” aspect.
HORRIFIC
RAISE THE DEAD
+2 when you use you or your Undead Minion to Provoke You can use Arcana to overcome death. Choose a nearby someone by scaring them. corpse that’s around humanoid size or smaller. Te GM will set the passive opposition based on how powerul IECE OF IND the corpse was in lie. Succeeding raises the corpse and puts it under your control. It has the “Undead Minion” You can use Arcana in place o Knowledge when you aspect and any other aspects or stunts it had in lie (that or your Undead Minion can eat a portion o a sentient it would make sense to have). Only one corpse can be creature’s brain and gain their knowledge.
P
raised at a time.
M
CORPSE COLLECTOR
UNLIVING LARGE
+2 when you use Resources to acquire a corpse.
You can Raise the Dead on corpses that are exceptionally large.
DARK AURA
CORPSE EXPLOSION
You can use Arcana instead o Deception when you animate a corpse purely to trick someone.
You can use your Arcana or your Undead Minion’s Physique to orce it to explode, ma king an attack against anyone nearby.
LESSER CURSE
ABOMINATION
+2 when you use Arcana to curse a target to create an advantage.
GREATER CURSE
You can Minion, choose multiple corpses to combine into one Undead gaining the benefits o all the corpses and any new aspects that would make sense.
Once per session, you can put a Curse aspect on someone or something that can be invoked or compelled. Such as “Curse: Unlucky” or “Curse: Klutz”. Te GM may give certain conditions like it requires: the blood o a creature, a lot o money, a rare component, considerable Your knowledge o stitching together corpses allows you to reattach body parts, such as severed limbs, eyeballs, time, a special location, or there might be unintended consequences. or teeth. It takes you a ew hours and you’ll need the
REPLACEMENTPARTS
srcinal body part or one that is similar to the srcinal. Besides stitch lines and a slight odor, the body part is as MORTICIAN good as new. +2 when you Investigate a corpse or are dealing with anatomy.
CRANIUM ACCESSORIES
Cranium Accessories
Misunderstood Motives
Reaper of Souls
Skin and Bones
Ex-Apprentice
Stitcher of Limbs
I Want ____ Undead Careful, I’m Fragile!
____ Wants Revenge
Instead o just stitching Replacement Parts, you can add LIFE SAP entirely new body parts to yoursel or others. New fingers, Once per scene, you can transer a stress rom you to an eyes, or even whole limbs. But beware, go too ar and the ally, an ally to you, or an ally to an ally. Te ally should GM may tell you about a side effect or complication... probably be willing...
Life Bringer
HEXBODY
Hexed Canopic Jars Brain Eater
Evil Cackler
I Have Bested Death!
MONOLOGUE
+2 when you use one o your hexed body parts (assuming You love a good monologue. You can use Arcana in place you have a corresponding aspect) to gain an advantage. o Charisma to distract or preoccupy someone.
Brrraaaaains...
Don’t Mind the Smell
I Will Curse You
Looks Like Death Curse you ____!
Mortiferous I Fear Nothing
DEAD MEAT SHIELD
CARRY ME!
Hated by the Living
Master of Death
You can use your Undead Minion to deend an attack against you or ree, but the Undead Minion is destroyed.
You can use your Undead Minion’s athletics in place o your own, provided they can help you perorm the action.
Hopeless Necromantic Hexbody 74
TROUBLE
GRAVE ROBBER
STUNTS
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
75
Shaman Te carving knie scrapes against bone, the tibia o a satyr not long dead. Your finger spreads the black-green paste, mashed root beetles, painting long whirling lines. You hold the finished totem up to the light, pride unhidden. Your companions watch through squinted eyes as you begin to whisper. Te fire dims blue, and then comes the murmur. Te spirits are alive this night. And you call each by name.
76
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
77
HIGH CONCEPT
ASPECTS
You are the Shaman. Te one who can hear the murmur o the spirits. Others may not understand the wisdom you possess, but they will quickly see the spiritual power you wield when you call each spirit by name. Your High Concept should convey your pact with the spirits or your totem carving ability.
DEATH EVENT:
THE LAST TOTEM
TROUBLE
As all o your totems shatter and release the spirits held within, a chrysalis o spiritual energy orms near your body. Finally, the spiritual maelstrom dissipates, leaving your totemic legacy: an artiact o great power. Work with the GM to create a powerul magic item. It could be an amulet, or spear, or any type o object. Its magical effects should be related to what you desired or stood or in lie. Let this be your heirloom, Shaman, your spir it’s endowment to uture generations.
Ofen others do not understand your power and thereore they tend to ear it. And really, when you carry around bone carvings all the time and hear whispers on the wind, you’re not doing your reputation any avors. Maybe you don’t like leaving the wilderness or you have strange habits that alienate others. Or perhaps you hate when people disrespect the spirits and your need or vengeance is always causing problems.
DETAILS Spirits are core to your being and there are many ways this can affect you. Do you have avorite spirits that you always call upon? Maybe you’ve beriended one that acts as your guardian? Perhaps there are certain items in your possession (such as Dreamcap Mushrooms) that serve your purposes, but others look down upon.
MURMUR
STUNTS
You can use Spirit in place o Perception when you listen to what the spirits tell you.
When you have an aspect that grants you a spirit pact or communication, you gain the Spirit Pact stunt or ree.
SPIRIT PACT
SPIRIT CATCHER When you witness a creature die, you can bind its spirit to a totem. Tis stunt is replaced with a otem Spirit aspect, ollowing the same rules as your Spirit Pact. At any time, you can release and invoke this spirit or ree, but it then disappears and you regain Spirit Catcher.
In place o taking a stunt, you can gain a otem Spirit aspect instead (this has the same costs as a normal stunt). SPIRITUAL ADVISER You can take one rom the list or create your own and you can have as many as the normal stunt rules allow. You can now use your Spirit Pact to give your allies When you have a ew hours, you can craf a new totem otem Spirit aspects. Tese work the same as your other and add or swap out an existing one (instead o waiting otem Spirits, but either you or your ally can pay the cost associated with them (the stunt slot or reresh). or a milestone).
otem Spirit aspects symbolize a spirit that is bound to GUARDIAN SPIRIT a totem you carry and they grant any permissions such an aspect would give. Sometimes totems will let you use When you have a Guardian Spirit aspect and this stunt, your Spirit skill in place o other skills (like using Spirit once per scene you can spend a ate point to invoke the Guardian Spirit aspect to reroll AND give a +2, i the in place o Volley using a Lightning Spirit). spirit can easibly help. Once per day, they have a ree invocation, or you can invoke them as you would any other aspect. You are the VISION QUEST Shaman, it’s up to you to decide how invoking a spirit When you spend time in the wilderness and eat vision will help. enhancing substances (such as ghostroot or dreamcap), When your character invokes or uses a spirit, they must you can use Spirit in place o Investigation or Contacts. speak its name aloud. Here are some examples: Aferwards, or a ew hours (or a scene) you have the “Might Be Hallucinating” aspect.
OFFENSIVESPIRITS
78
The Shaman
Wind Whisperer
Listen to the Murmur
Spirit Talker
Friend of the First Spirits
Namer of Spirits
Spirit Catcher
My Spirit is Restless
Troubled Soul
I Hear Dead People
Seeker of Troubled Spirits
Dreamcap Mushrooms
Totemic Warrior
Master of Ceremonies
The Spirits Will Be Avenged
Totem Crafter
Sharer of Wisdom
Binder of Spirits
Vengeful Spirit
Spiritual Adviser
Pact with Spirit Realm
Wielder of the Lightning
I Watch Over _____
Inciter of Spirits
My Spirit Is Bound to _____
Spiritual Medium
I Follow the Spirit of _____
Maker of Talismans
Respect the Spirits!
Renowned by Spirits
Guardian Spirit: Boar
One with the Wild
Spirit Guide
Guardian Spirit: Beetle
Hermit
I Owe the Spirit Realm
Guardian Spirit: Falcon
No One Understands Me
My Ancestors Watch Me
Guardian Spirit: Irontree
A Touch of Insanity
Wise Counselor
Soulgazer
Your Ways Are Strange
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
No One Is Past Help Stranger than Strange Prideful Carver Eye of Wisdom Eclectic Witchdoctor
Lightning Spirit Playul iger Spirit Prickly Porcupine Spirit Constricting Python Spirit
“yuka-oom” “amotekun” “paheen” “chu’a ”
SOULGAZE
“naandawi” “mishi-mishi” “suu’ak “balubera” “madweyaashi”
CHAIN LIGHTNING
HELPFUL SPIRITS Spirit o Mending Stubborn urtle Spirit Spirit o the Owl Ornery Donkey Spirit Whisper Wind Spirit
POWERFUL FIRST SPIRITS Spirit o the Earthormer Spirit o First Love Spirit o First Fear Spirit o First rade Spirit o First Harvest Spirit o First Winter Spirit o First Spring Spirit o First Sun Spirit o First Storm Spirit o the First Wolves
“senu-taahi” “senu-nayok” “senu-goshi” “senu-genv” “senu-lesqua” “senu-wanber” “senu-doona” “senu-sakuun” “senu-yuka” “senu-hoka” GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
When you look deeply into someone’s eyes and they gaze back, you catch glimpses o each other’s soul. Reveal something to them, such as a dark secret, desire, or intention. Something equally meaningul about them is revealed (the GM will tell you what).
When you use a Lightning Spirit to attack and succeed with style, you can immediately take another attack on a nearby target as the lightning arcs to them. Tis can happen multiple times.
WISE ONE You can use Spirit in place o Charisma i you are showing someone the wiser path.
SPIRIT WALKERS When you and anyone with you sit in a circle around a fire, you may leave your bodies behind and enter the spirit realm. For as long as the fire burns, you may wander the world and see as a spirit sees.
79
Skirmisher You must seek out the seeds o heresy and evil; you must show this vile world it can be made clean once more. Foul beasts and blasphemers shall be the kindling to your righteous fires. And i the cleansing flame grows so hot that you too must be consumed, then you will burn in contentment, knowing you leave the world closer to absolution.
80
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
81
HIGH CONCEPT
ASPECTS
You are a Skirmisher. You specialize in the spear and shield. You are ast, athletic, and cunning. You fight best when you can maneuver around the battlefield at will. You’ll do anything to gain advantage or provoke your enemies into showing a vulnerability. Your high concept should reflect this combat style. While you might lack the raw strength others have, you make up or it in pure skill, accuracy, and timing.
DEATH EVENT:
FINAL THROW When you die, you see one last opportunity or a strike beore the lie drains rom you completely. Trow your spear at any enemy you can see. A creature o lesser or average power is killed instantly. More powerul creatures are dealt a significant blow or their weakness is revealed to your allies. I your Fulcrum still lives, they get a +4 on their next attack against your target.
TROUBLE When deciding a Skirmisher’s trouble aspect, consider how it would affect you both in and out o combat. Are you headstrong or always looking or a fight? Do you hide your abilities or flaunt them? How did you learn to be a Skirmisher? I you can’t find something related that you like, don’t eel you need to always tie your trouble aspect to being a Skirmisher.
DETAILS Additional aspects might be related to a militaristic past, a combat tendency, or a past mentor. You likely carry some kind o ranged weapon, such as javelins, a bow, a crossbow, or even an additional spear. Maybe you have a scar rom a particularly nasty battle. With such skills in combat, surely you’ve made some enemies. Perhaps you travel with a companion that you’ve sworn to protect.
82
EXPENDABLESHIELD
STUNTS
Any time you deend with Melee, you can choose to succeed with style automatically but your shield is completely destroyed by the attack.
When you take an aspect that identifies you as a Skirmisher, you can take the Fulcrum stunt.
FULCRUM At the start o a conflict, choose an ally to be your Fulcrum on the battlefield. You can still act normally, but by keeping an eye on your Fulcrum, they’ll ofen give you openings you can exploit when you attack.
MILITIA +2 to Charisma when you’re organizing a group o people to fight or harass the enemy.
RABBLE-ROUSER
Requires: Militia When you organize a Militia, you can give them a situational aspect (with a ree invoke) such as: Any time your Fulcrum is hit by an attack, you gain a “Equipped With Good Steel” boost against the attacker. Any time your Fulcrum hits an enemy, you gain a boost “We Survived Basic raining” against the enemy. “Expertly Lead By
” Such boosts represent an opening that you can take advantage o on your next turn. Te boosts do not stack RESOURCEFULCARVER and they ade afer your turn even i you don’t use them. +2 when you use Crafing to create replacement spears, javelins, arrows, or any wood-based gear you’re amiliar DISTRACTION with. +1 when you use a distraction to create an advantage using any skill. RIOTER
SHIELD WALL
wice per session, you can ask the GM how best to Provoke an NPC to create an advantage. You get a +2 +2 when you deend with Melee and you’re standing next on the roll when you do so. to your Fulcrum.
CONFIDENCE
EVADE
The Skirmisher
Who Needs Armor?
Bullseye!
Master of Spear and Shield
Faster Than Lightning
Scars of Mind, Scars of Body
+2 when you deend using Athletics i your opponent Choose a skill when you set an ally as your Fulcrum. is attempting to grapple you or hinder your movement. Tey receive +1 to this skill as long as you are close by.
Faster Than You
Arrowstorm
Sunderer of Armor
ADAPTIVE SHIELDING
Famous Marksman
No One Calls Me Coward
Everyone Can Be Provoked
+1 when you wield a shield and deend with Melee.
Battle-hardened Veteran
Unassuming Appearance
This Calls For a Distraction
+1 when you don’t wield a shield and attack with Melee.
Born for Battle
Respects Only Skill
Flashy Moves
Watch This!
Crossbow Adept
FEINT
Memories of War
Perfect Timing
Headstrong Warrior
Thirst for Combat
Maneuvering Maven
Wanted War Criminal
Hard to Catch
Can’t Stay Still
Hand Carved Javelins
Obsessive Compulsive
Walking Arsenal
Chronic Athlete
___ Owes Me Big
Hits and Runs
Fashionably Late
___ Is My Sworn Ally
Skilled Tumbler
My Spear Is My Wife
I Will Make ___ Pay
Show Me Your Moves!
Survival of the Fastest
___ Is My Commander
Shieldmaiden
Skilled Arbalester
I Will Always Hunt ___
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
Attended Stealpeak Academy Veteran of the Crimson War Always Scout First I Will Never Forget ___ ___ Taught Me Battle
TAG TEAM
Any time you take a physical stress or consequence, your Fulcrum gets a boost against your attacker.
POWER THROW
Any time you attack with Volley using your spear, you can choose to add a +2 but afer the throw your spear is When you succeed with style on a Melee action, you can reduce the hit by two. I you do so, choose two allies. Teylodged and is difficult to recover. each get a boost against your opponent.
HARASSER
SELF-CENTERED
When you succeed with style on a Melee action, instead You can act as your own Fulcrum in battle, but you gain o reducing the hit by one and taking a boost, you can reduce the hit by one and attach a situation aspect on the boosts only when you’re hit by an attack. your opponent (with a ree invoke). Te aspect should reflect your actions and your opponent’s rustration, FIRST BLOOD anger, or concern. You always get a +2 on your first attack in a conflict.
ARMOR BREAK
OUTRIDER
+2 when you use Melee to create an advantage by breaking +2 when you use Perception to create an advantage by or damaging an enemy’s armor. scouting ahead.
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
83
Slayer Dry throat, red eyes, your hands shake, your muscles ache. How long has it been? Food doesn’t help, even i you could keep it down. Sleep? You know it’s utile. No, what you need is... there! Movement in the trees! You leap, the beast roars, there’s blood and ur and something like pain. And then it’s over. You pluck back the blade o silver and your body shivers. Euphoria. You laugh, you sigh. You are the Slayer.
84
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
85
HIGH CONCEPT
ASPECTS
You are the slayer o beasts, the killer o monsters. Not every hunt is as easy as sticking them with the pointy end. Ofen you’ll need to show how resourceul you can be. Every beast has its weakness and you always find it. Your High Concept should reflect your desire to slay and your ormidable combat abilities.
DEATH EVENT:
SOULBOUND SLAYER
TROUBLE
Tere was a name on your lips when you elt your heart stop. Say the name aloud. Your soul is now bound to hunt them. Your body might be in shambles. It doesn’t matter. For as long as your quarry lives, you have control over your body. You may act as i you still live, but you have the “I’ll Die When ____ Is Dead” aspect. You have +4 to Fight/Volley, but -4 to all other skills. Every action you take must be in pursuit o your target or you will quickly lose control. I your body is destroyed in the pursuit, then your soul will be a phantom, haunting your quarry until its death. Find them, Slayer, kill them, and only then may you rest.
86
Your trouble will almost always be your bloodthirst. As good o a slayer as you are, you’ve become addicted to the hunt. Slaying is a part o you; it fills your lungs with air and pumps blood through your veins. As your thirst grows, your health begins to deteriorate. Bloodshot eyes, muddled thoughts, you grow anxious and irritable. Your stomach sours, your muscles ache and tremble. Restlessness quickly turns to insomnia. Death lurks ever closer, you’re sure o it.
DETAILS Slayers tend to have others who help them on occasion. It might be an old riend or even another hunter. Some slayers might eel more at home in the wilderness, while others hunt in the dark underbelly o a city. Maybe you’ve been partially corrupted by what you hunt or you specialize in slaying your own species.
ARMOR PIERCER
STUNTS
+2 when you use Melee to attack against heavily armored opponents.
SLAYER OF GIANTS BLOODTHIRSTY
You can spend a ate point to automatically deend against Melee attacks by enemies that are significantly larger When it’s been awhile since your last kill and you choose than you. (or you’re compelled), add the “Minor Withdrawals” stunt/aspect, or i you have that already, swap it to the next LAYERS RSENAL step. Each works as both a stunt (giving you passive skill modifiers) and an aspect that can be invoked or compelled +2 when you use Resources to find a specific weapon, normally (think o it as a temporary consequence). When tool, or substance that will aid in the slaying o a creature. you deal a killing blow, the stunt/aspect disappears as OLAS ASTER your addiction to slaying is sated or now. Minor Withdrawals (+1 to Melee, -1 to all other skills) Major Withdrawals (+2 to Melee, -2 to all other skills)
Major Withdrawals (+2 to Volley, -2 to all other skills) Dying From Withdrawals (+4 to Volley, -4 to all other skills)
PENETRATINGGAZE
Deadly Thrower
The Bigger the Better
Stubborn? No, Tenacious!
Painful Past
Renowned Marksman
Check Out These Scars
Thirst for Blood
One with the Wild
I Dream of Blood
Killing Is Cathartic
They Call Me Wilding
Sucker for a Pretty Monster
INSOMNIAC
Addicted to Blood
Troubled Insomniac
Know My Pain
Addicted to Slaying
Bolas Master
+2 to Perception when you’re taking watch or something attacks at night.
I Have to Slay
Taste for the Hunt
Adrenaline Junkie
I Can Control My Thirst
Slayer’s Arsenal
Well Armored
Seeker of Trophies
Walking Tank
_____ is an Old Friend
Slayer of Giants
Librarian _____ Owes Me
I Welcome My Thirst
Merciful Hunter
Dhampir
Corrupted by ____
Family of Slayers
___ Shares My Bloodthirst
Half-blooded ____
The Chosen Slayer
I Trust _____ Implicitly
Taste for the Hunt
Walking Armory
Penetrating Gaze
I Dwell in the Shadows
I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
_ Has Seen Me At My Worst Friend to ____ the Mercenary
M
+2 when using Volley to create an advantage with bolas by ensnaring your target.
L
FIRST BLOOD
When you have the Dying From Withdrawals aspect, your turn is always first in combat (provided you’re not taken off guard).
TASTE FOR THE HUNT
+2 to Perception when you use it to create an advantage +2 to Investigate when you can taste something a creature against a target you intend to slay. has lef behind, such as its blood, hair, or excrement.
Bloodthirsty Slayer
_____ the Bartender Owes Me
B
H
Slayer of Beasts
I Hunt For the Good of All
’ A
Dying From Withdrawals (+4 to Melee, -4 to all other IDDEN ETHALITY skills) When you are not holding any obvious weapons or appear I your character is more ranged oriented, you canotherwise harmless, you gain +2 when you attack with instead change the withdrawals to be: Melee. Minor Withdrawals (+1 to Volley, -1 to all other skills)
The Slayer
Always Has the Right Tool
S
I HIDE IT WELL
LIMITED CONTROL
When you use Deception on someone to hide your Withdrawal symptoms, ignore the Withdrawals stunt penalty.
Choose a skill. Tis skill is not affected by the penalties that come with your Withdrawals.
OLD LIBRARIAN FRIEND
FORCE OF WILL You can spend a ate point to temporarily suppress your bloodthirst. For one exchange, you grit your teeth and ignore the benefits and penalties o whichever Withdrawal aspect you have.
+2 to Knowledge when your old librarian riend helps WILDLING you overcome or create an advantage. Your Wilderness skill benefits rom your Withdrawal symptoms.
OLD BARTENDERFRIEND
+2 to Contacts when your old bartender riend helps you overcome or create an advantage.
COMBAT EXPERT When you attack with Melee and succeed with style, you can discover a weakness and reduce the result by one shif to make a situation aspect (with a ree invocation) instead o gaining a boost.
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
ARMORED SLAYER When you are wearing heavy armor, you always have +1 when deending with Fight.
EUPHORIC SLEEP You can remove a mild or moderate consequence when you sleep afer slaying a notable enemy. 87
emplar You must seek out the seeds o heresy and evil; you must show this vile world it can be made clean once more. Foul beasts and blasphemers shall be the kindling to your righteous fires. And i the cleansing flame grows so hot that you too must be consumed, then you will burn in contentment, knowing you leave the world closer to absolution.
88
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
89
HIGH CONCEPT
ASPECTS
Te clerics pray, the paladins quest, the monks chant, and you, emplar, you dole out heavenly wrath. Your devotion is unquestioning. You might be quick to give mercy to those who need it, or you may not. Maybe you even get sick pleasure rom burning heretics. Your High Concept should reflect your devotion to seeking out and puriying evil.
DEATH EVENT:
ANGEL OF WRATH Your eyes boil and burn away as a holy light pours out o you. Every inch o your body radiates hallowed flame. You wield the sword o vengeance, the shield o righteousness, and your gaze pierces the souls o all you look upon. Te ground you touch is orever consecrated. Until your wrath is delivered to those deserving nearby, every roll y ou make counts as a success with style. Te GM will soon tell you your work here is done. Embrace serenity, emplar, you have lef this putrid world one step closer to absolution.
+2 when you use Empathy to judge i someone has evil intentions.
CONFESSION When you have an aspect that grants you divine authority or holy power, you gain the Bestower o Blessings stunt.
+2 when you use Charisma to hear someone’s conession and overcome mental consequences.
UNYIELDINGDEVOTION +2 to Willpower when you use it to deend against something that goes against your aith.
TROUBLE
BESTOWER OF BLESSINGS
Not everyone agrees with your methods (they do tend to be extreme). Sometimes your wrath gets the better o you. Ofen you’ll need to atone or your actions by taking penance. You carry a device or that purpose (be it a cilice, whip, or knout) that you use on yoursel. Maybe that makes you anatical, but you know how important it is to keep a pure soul.
When you perorm a holy ritual or hear someone’s OLY UTHORITY conession, you can cleanse a person or object o worldly filth and bestow a Blessing aspect. You can only have 3 +2 when you use Charisma to order someone who Blessings active at a time, but they can be on yoursel, respects you or your religion. others, or an object. Once per scene, Blessing aspects gain FFERINGS a ree invocation. Tey can be invoked and compelled normally. +2 when you use Resources and have access to ollowers You are the emplar and you determine what the blessing o you or your religion. is or how it might be used. Here are some examples:
DETAILS ry to use additional aspects to flesh out more o your backstory. What is the religion you ollow? What made you wish to seek out and destroy blasphemers? Maybe you have visions o the uture, or there are prophecies about you. Tink about taking an aspect that draws attention to your inquisition or crusade.
H
A
O
Divine Wrath. Divine Grace. Divine Purpose. Repel Evil. Holy Bastion. Spiritual Buoyancy. Sanctuary. Miracle Healing. rue Sight. Hallowed Ground. Sanctified. Ethereal. Immaculate.
CRUSADE
I you are not already on a Crusade, add a Crusade aspect and state your intention, such as “Crusade: I Will Deend Jeral Castle” or “Crusade: I Will Slay the Elder Beast”. Once per day, you can invoke this aspect or ree i it urthers your Crusade. Te aspect can also be invoked IVINE KILL or compelled normally. Once the Crusade is complete, When you use Bestower o Blessings, instead o giving remove the aspect. a Blessing aspect a ree invocation per scene, instead
D
S
Fear! Surprise!
I Am the Law
Join My Crusade
Ruthless Efficiency!
Heavily Armored
Bless You, Child
Fanatical Devotion!
Defender of Truth
____ Will Burn For Their Sin
____ Is My Disciple
Divine Authority
Robes of Holy Power
Heretics Will Suffer
Cannot Tell a Lie
I Am The Inquisition!
____ Knows My Secrets
Holy Knight
I Can Smell Your Guilt
Germaphobe
Voice of Authority
Zealot
you Blessing can pickcan a skill +1 to the still to be give invoked orpassively. compelledOtherwise, normally.DARK SECRETS When you gain inormation that would embarrass or give you leverage on someone, create a situational aspect PENANCE with a ree invocation. Sometimes your methods are questionable or you can’t help but bend the rules. I you do not already have the “IRENOWNED Owe Penance” aspect, you can add that aspect to yoursel and immediately gain a ate point. Getting rid o the “I +2 when you use Contacts using your network o church Owe Penance” aspect requires mortification o the flesh officials or devotees. or spending time praying. Do this too ofen and your PROPHETIC DREAM god(s) might require more... Occasionally you have prophetic dreams that warn PUNISHMENTENOUGH you o impending danger. Once per session, you can Requires Penance. I you have the “I Owe Penance” aspect automatically succeed when you deend. and you take a physical consequence, remove “I Owe HEAVENLYPURPOSE Penance”. You can use Charisma in place o Tievery i you can NOBODY EXPECTS convince the person you need what you’re stealing or a divine purpose. Choose a skill. +2 when you attack with that skill unexpectedly.
Shun the Nonbeliever!
Devout Follower of ____
Censer of Cleansing
KEEN TO INQUIRE
I Know the Secrets of ____
You Will Be Converted
I’ve Secrets of My Own
Blasphemers!
Disciple of ____
Heavenly Crusader
The Templar
Pure Soul
Martyr Waiting to Happen
Holy Inquisitor
Bestower of Blessings
Anointed One
Daily Penance
True Prophet
More Humble Than You
Holy Confessor
Dreamer of Prophecy
By Fire Be Purged!
Burn the Witch!
Nobody Expects Me
Beacon of Light
No Mercy For Heretics
We Have Ways of Making Know My Wrath
Seeker of Truth
90
EYE FOR EVIL
STUNTS
You Talk
GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
I Trust In the Tenants of ___
YE BE JUDGED
Once per scene, you can put the “Blasphemer!” aspect on someone. For the duration o the scene, gain +2 when When you hold a captive or questioning, you can gain a +3 to Investigation, but the target always dies rom your you attack them, but -1 when you attack anyone else. severe interrogation methods. GRIM WORLD Fate | Playbooks
91
MONSTERS Te world is not a sae place. You need not travel ar to find ancient horrors, gruesome beasts, and all manner o monster. Here are but a ew o the lurking evils that exist. Some are intelligent; some even have legitimate goals.
But most just want to eat you.
For Dungeon World,you’ll find the stats or each monster in the lef box. Tere’s also a new piece o inormation on some monsters called “Vulnerability”. Tis is a potentially crucial piece o knowledge that could give characters the edge they need to deeat the monster. Players will likely need to seek out such knowledge beore they engage a beast.
NOLA ART? I
P For Fate Core,the bottom right box g ives some suggested aspects and a skill pyramid. As a GM, when you use a monster, it’s up to you to choose the level o skill it has. Some can be average, air, or good nameless NPCs. Te more powerul beasts should likely be supporting or main NPCs. Follow the “Creating the Opposition” section o the Fate Core rules as you would normally.For example: I decide to use Harpies in my campaign and I make the nameless ones Good. Teir skill pyramid says: Athletics, Melee, Tievery. Tereore, a Good one would have: Good (+3) Athletics, Fair (+2) Melee, Average (+1) Tievery. However, the Queen Harpy is a different story. She’s a main NPC and has much higher skills. She might haveFantastic (+6) Athletics, Superb (+5) Melee, and even more skills depending on what I intend or her in the campaign.
Later, you’ll find monsters, swarms, and other nasties that have been submitted by the community. Some are intended to be used with one o the Front or Location contributions, but any o them can be added to an existing campaign as a new threat. Many submissions were srcinally created or Dungeon World, but they can be easily used as a basis or a Fate monster.
MISCHIEVOUS FAE BY NOLA GALLOWAY & DEANNA NYGREN 92
93
HARPY
GRASPER Listen here, boy. Tese woods might look green and all genial like, but don’t end up like your pop. “Ho! Tat’s a strange lookin’ tree!” Was his last words. I saw it happen. Grasper, got him beore he could even squeal. What’s that, you ask? Did he teach you nothin’? You’ve seen those caterpillars... yeah, yeah, the ones who turn into those pretty butterflies. Picture that but bigger than a horse. It’ll blend right in with the trees, then strike when you’re not ‘spectin it. It’s the stuff o nightmares, believe me. What’d you say? What’s it turn into i not a butterfly? Gods, boy, what’s wrong with you, asking me somethin’ like that? Don’t think I’ll sleep ever again.
You could call them a nuisance, always stealing ood like they do. But when a hal-woman, hal-bird o prey with bloody sharp talons picks you up and drops you rom 500 eet in the air, maybe “nuisance” isn’t the right word. Did I mention they travel in flocks? You know what they say, a woman scorned hath no ury like a hungry horde o harpies. • Steal rations • Dive and rake with talons
• Camouflage as a tree
• Drop someone rom a great height
• Grab someone suddenly • Retreat to camouflage again
Grasp and munch (d10+2 damage) 12 HP | 3 Armor Reach Large, Solitary, Stealthy Instinct:o eed on unsuspecting prey Vulnerability: Watch or trees that do not belong
Aspects ◊ Giant Caterpillar ◊ Camouflaged Danger ◊ Only Justa Larva Skills ◊ Stealth, Melee,Physique
WENDIGO
Aspects ◊ Hal-Bird, Hal-Woman ◊ Hungry Scavenger ◊ Devious Flight Skills ◊ Athletics, Melee, Tievery
URSINE In the realms o man or beast, there is nothing more abhorrent than eating the flesh o one’s kin. Whether it comes rom malice, desperation, or starvation, such a vile act opens one’s soul to darkness. Tey become Wendigo. For as long as they still draw breath, they will eel the hunger. Tey will stop at nothing to gorge themselves on flesh. Yet, no matter how much they consume, their hunger will not be satisfied. For with every bite taken, they grow larger and more grotesque.
Bite (d10+2 damage) 15 HP | 1 Armor Close, Messy Solitary, Large Instinct:o consume flesh Vulnerability: Use their hunger against them
94
alons (d6 damage, 1 piercing) 8 HP | 1 Armor Close Horde, Flying Instinct:o steal ood Vulnerability: Where the wings meet the shoulders
You think that paw print is rom a regular, run-o-the-mill, steal-somehoney, eat-some-salmon, bear? When’s the last time you saw a paw print you could sit in the middle o ? Tis is no meager bear. Tis is something rom a nightmare: an ursine, a dire bear. Your daddy told you not to get between a mother bear and her cubs. I’d say that applies. Just keep in mind an ursine’s cubs are probably bigger than you are.
• ear out a chunk o flesh
• Drag meat back to its den
• Grow larger afer a meal
• Protect its cubs
• Chew on their own limbs or lips when no prey is around
• Rend and tear a trespasser
Aspects ◊ Insatiable Hunger orFlesh ◊ Grows Larger WithEvery Bite ◊ Will Always Follow ItsHunger Skills ◊ Physique, Melee, Athletics
GRIM WORLD Monsters |
Bite, Claw (d10+5 damage, 3 piercing) 24 HP | 1 Armor Reach, Forceful, Messy Huge, Solitary Instinct:o protect its cubs and den Vulnerability: Tey tend to keep to themselves, just never go near its den
GRIM WORLD Monsters |
Possible Doodle Placeholder
Aspects ◊ Ferocious DireBear ◊ Mother Bear ◊ erritorial Skills ◊ Physique, Melee,Provoke
95
CULTIST
NIGHTGAUNT Te world’s a deadly place or such a small, secluded village like this one. Tink about all the gruesome beasts you had to slay just to get here. Does this community even have a town watch? Well, that group looks airly well armed. And now they’re holding you at spear point, binding you to a log. Tey take you underground and there’s some sort o altar. Now the tall villager with black eyes is calling out in a vile, guttural tongue; he’s holding a blade o obsidian high in the air. Te fires flare brightly when the dagger meets your throat.
A gaunt, aceless horror, with dark rubbery skin and massive claws. Its barbed tail whips around behind large, skin-taut wings. I its physical appearance wasn’t bad enough, it easts on nightmares and pain. Without a mouth, it is utterly silent. • Cause waking nightmares • Lash out with its barbed tail
• Call upon the power o their dark god
• Lurk in the shadows
• Sacrifice themselves • Make a vile deal to ensure their town’s survival
Ceremonial Weaponry (d6 damage) 4 HP | 0 Armor Close Horde, Organized, Intelligent, Stealthy Instinct:o serve and give tribute Vulnerability: Some are not as anatical as they seem
Aspects ◊ Member o aDark Cult ◊ Made a Desperate Deal ◊ Fanatical Devotee Skills ◊ Deception, Charisma, Arcana
ALPHA VAMPIRE
Claws, Barbed tail (d8+2 damage) 10 HP | 1 Armor Close Stealthy, Planar, Flight Instinct:o eed on nightmares Vulnerability: Sunlight
SKINLESS Maybe it’s just paranoia, or maybe Byran the Blacksmith is acting stranger than normal. Perhaps he was gathering wood in the orest behind his home late in the day, when a strange person with grotesque sagging skin came upon him. Perhaps Byran was overpowered and skinned alive. Maybe this monster stepped into the skin o Byran like it was a pair o pantaloons and a nice hat. Maybe that’s why he stares at you so strangely. Or maybe it’s just paranoia...
Look into my eyes. Yes, like that. Deeper. Peer into my soul. Do you see another young armboy or a meager cobbler? No, those were two o my recent children you slew on the way in here. Tey were beautiul creatures, but weak. I am not like them. Don’t you understand? I am the first. I walked this land when the world was young, giving your ancestors my gif. Now the time has come or you to join me. • Mesmerize
• Assume the appearance o an ally
• Give the gif
• Skin someone alive
• Escape into the shadows
Bite, Claws (d10+4 damage, 2 piercing) 18 HP | 2 Armor Close, Forceful Group, Intelligent, Stealthy, Cautious, Regeneration Instinct:o rule rom the shadows Vulnerability: A wooden stake carved rom a tree older than the Alpha
96
Aspects ◊ Faceless Horror ◊ Feeds onNightmares ◊ S hadow Lurker Skills ◊ Stealth, Melee,Arcana
Aspects ◊ Te First Vampire ◊ Mesmerizer ◊ Survival AtAll Costs Skills ◊ Charisma, Athletics, Physique,Knowledge
GRIM WORLD Monsters |
• Gain trust beore striking
Dagger in the Back (d8 damage) 10 HP | 0 Armor Close Devious, Intelligent, Stealthy, Cautious Instinct:o assume another’s identity Vulnerability: Decapitation
GRIM WORLD Monsters |
Aspects ◊ Wears ____’s Skin ◊ Skinner o Flesh ◊ Acting Strangely Skills ◊ Deception, Stealth, Melee
97
LADON
CHAUGNAR I consider mysel ortunate that I have only seen the creature known as Chaugnar in works o twisted art. Hal mad sketches in an archaic tome, a crude carving chiseled directly into the wall o an abandoned house, and a priceless statuette made rom pure ivory. Chaugnar’s connection to the elephants o the southern savanna seems undeniable. Even his appearance resembles them in a ashion. However, it is true I have not seen the elephants since I was a boy, but I do not remember the trunks to have teeth. And only Chaugnar walks upright, holding his monstrously long, almost tongue-like trunk in his hands. He is spoken o with reverence reserved or ancient demigods o old, and I doubt I shall regret never seeing him in person. • Demand veneration
I cannot athom how such a creature as the Ladon came to exist. A beast o such massive size is not difficult to track; the difficulty is only gathering one’s own courage. When I finally caught up to it, the sun was beginning to rise. I ound it impossible to accurately count all o its snake-like heads, even with many o them sleeping. Tere must be hundreds. ruly, i there was a mother o hydras, the Ladon would be it. I’m beginning to think its entire mass is made up o ever growing heads. Even its legs and tails look as i several o its long necks melded together to orm them. Tere is much I could still learn, but I cannot linger here any longer. Several o its heads have done nothing but stare in my direction rom across the valley. • ear something apart • Fight over ood
• Constrict someone with its trunk
• Roar with a hundred voices
Bite (5d6, 2 piercing) 25 HP | 3 Armor Reach, Near, Messy Huge, Solitary, erriying Instinct:A beast with hundreds o minds that agree on only one thing: ood. Vulnerability: urn its heads against one another
Aspects ◊ Ancient Serpentine Horror ◊ Countless Heads ◊ Countless Minds Skills ◊ Melee, Physique,Perception
DEEP ONE
• Suck an unbeliever dry
Maw-like runk (d10 +4 damage) 22 HP | 3 Armor Close, Reach Solitary, erriying, Planar Instinct:o be revered Vulnerability: It eeds only rom its trunk
Aspects ◊ Ancient Demigod ◊ Monstrous Mutant Elephant ◊ eeth Filled runk Skills ◊ Physique, Melee,Provoke
ELDER BEAST Whether they’re humans corrupted by the sea, or creatures rom the depths becoming more humanoid, I cannot say. In my travels, I’ve ound three different specimens. Te first had the head o a fish, its body covered in scales. Te second was more rog-like, with a terrible, croaking voice to match. Te third was the worst. Not because it was the most monstrous, in act it was the least. Beore I realized its true nature, I took it to be a slightly malormed human, with long, lanky limbs. It was his expressionless eyes, those o a fish, that gave him away. I shudder to think what his srcin could be, but I cannot ignore the rumors o Deep Ones living amongst humans along the eastern shores.
You may have heard by now, the entire town o Brooker lies in ruins. Only a quarter o its population was able to flee in time. I was there when the last o the Elder Beasts was put down. It was I who led the expedition to find any egg sacs lef behind. For you see, that is its only true weakness. It is true the monster is not immortal nor impervious to a well-sharpened spear. But no ull grown Elder Beast has ever been killed without a trail o bodies behind it. Once its dead, you must scour the countryside and find its offspring. I you are ortunate, you’ll find them still in their sof egg sacs stuck under a tree or cave. Wait more than a month and its offspring will have hatched, and the bloody cycle will begin anew.
• Emerge rom the sea • Demand tribute to its master
• Frenzy at the smell o blood
• Call upon its kin
• Bellow a massive roar and charge • Consume chunk by bloody chunk
Spear (d8 damage) 8 HP | 1 Armor Close, Near Group, Organized, Intelligent Instinct:o serve what lies beneath the sea Vulnerability: Its large eyes
98
Aspects ◊ Creature romthe Depths ◊ Serves Its DarkMaster ◊ A lien UnblinkingEyes Skills ◊ Volley,Melee, Athletics
GRIM WORLD Monsters |
Attack (d10 damage, 2 piercing) 12 HP | 3 Armor Close, Messy Large, Group, erriying Instinct:o consume until death Vulnerability: Its offspring
GRIM WORLD Monsters |
Aspects ◊ Monstrous, Hungry Beast ◊ Bloody Frenzy ◊ S pawns Offspring Quickly Skills ◊ Melee, Physique, Athletics
99
BY
ADRIAN THOEN
Drivethru RPG Publisher Page rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?manuacturers_id=5316
Tis work by Adrian Toen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
VENGEFUL SPECTRE Sometimes, mortals live tragic, pain-filled lives, or suffer tragic, painfilled deaths. Tese traumas can cause them to cling to a person, place, or object instead o passing to the Great Beyond. Tey exist mostly in the Shade, but can influence the land o the living in small ways - moving objects, noises, causing a chill to descend on the immediate vicinity, giving the living rightening visions. Vengeul spirits will ofen have an agenda against someone or something. Tey can have an obsession, or relive their trauma over and over, oblivious to their actual situation or their effect on the world around them.
google.com/+AdrianToen
THE ANCIENT HERMIT Te Ancient Hermit lives in a cave hidden in a valley that has never elt the light o the sun, the moon, or the stars. It is an immortal being o twisted cruelty and malice. It hates the living and the dead, since it can never join either, and wishes only to cause as much suffering as it can. It is a small, incredibly dirty, horrifically smelly humanoid shrouded in shadow, but its head is covered in countless rheumy, cataract-blinded eyes. Te Hermit collects small things o perect beauty, and will trade old secrets about the lands o the dead or them. It will only allow the living or dead to pass through its cave into the Underworld i it is given a gif o an eye that has seen true beauty. It will only let them out i the gif is one o their own eyes. • Demand a beautiul trinket or a secret o the Great Beyond. • Demand an eye that has beheld rue Beauty or passage through the cave to the Underworld. • Demand one o their own eyes or passage back to the Living. • When they give you an eye, see everything the eye has seen. Curses and Hexes (w[2D10] damage) • When a player attacks, vanish into the shadows o your cave. Near, Far • When players invade your cave without paying the price, hex them Solitary, Stealthy, Cautious, Devious, rom the shadows. Magical, Intelligent, Hoarder • When the light o the sun shines on you, go blind at its touch. Instinct:Demand grisly payment to enter • When they have you cornered or trapped, beg or mercy. it’s cave. Quality:Can’t stay dead Special
• When they show you mercy, betray them later. • When they kill you, rise later to exact terrible revenge.
• Exist trapped in repeats o your own personal nightmare. • When the object o your vengeance or an approximation is nearby, bring your hatred against them. • When they are in a heightened emotional state, possess them. • When the object o your obsession is threatened, use all your power to protect it. Spectral Energies (D6 damage) • When others invade your personal nightmare, incorporate them 6 HP | 0 Armor into it. Close, Reach, Near • When your trauma is resolved, externally or internally, pass Solitary, amorphous, planar, intelligent, peaceully into the Great Beyond. terriying Instinct:o include others in your suffering. • When you are exorcised, be violently driven rom that which you haunt or possess and wander the Shade, to become the Jealous Special Quality: Cannot be harmed by Dead. mundane means.
THE GREY PRINCE Indestructible spirit o entropy, can never truly be destroyed. Te Grey Prince is an ancient spirit rom beyond the stars, a wanderer rom when the world was a hot swirling cauldron o potential. It is then that the Grey Prince came, and cooled the world with its chill, hollow touch. When the first living thing crawled upon the world’s surace, it was the Grey Prince that touched it, and gave it the gif o death. Te Grey Prince is ancient, eternal, and wishes only to conquer and dominate the Dead. When its army o dead souls is large enough, the Grey Prince will invade the bright warm world o the living, and suck out its warmth and light, until it too is a pale, cold shadow. Ten the Grey Prince will leave this hollowed out world to find another bright, hot cauldron to cool with its hollow touch. In order to do this, the Grey Prince needs its Red Right Hand, which was lost at the beginning o the world.
THE JEALOUS DEAD Te Jealous Dead can be ound in the Shade, the Grey Desert, and many other limbo-like aferlives. Tey are the souls o those that did not cross through a Gateway to the Great Beyond, or had no Aferlie to belong to. Tey either wander these limbos with no purpose (no way to interact with their surroundings), continuously relive some traumatic event rom the lives, or watch the living with envious eyes. I the Jealous Dead sense the spark o something living in their realm, they are drawn to it, and will try to possess it when it sleeps or is unconscious. • When the living enter your realm, be drawn to them and wait or an opportunity to possess them.
• Bleed their souls o wonder.
• When they are asleep or unconscious, possess their living body. • When discovered, drive them unconscious with your ghostly touch. • When they attack you, overwhelm them with greater numbers. • When they strike you with magic or pure iron, recoil in pain and ear.
Ghostly touch (d6 damage, nonlethal, ignores armor)8 HP | 1 Armor Horde, Stealthy, Devious, Intelligent, erriying, Amorphous Special Quality: Can only be hit by magic or pure iron.
100
GRIM WORLD Monsters |
• Bind the dead to your service with clever words.
Hollow ouch (b[2d12+2] damage) Close, Ignores Armor Solitary, Magical, Stealthy, Divine, Organized, Intelligent, Cautious, Hoarder, Planar, erriying, Amorphous Instinct:Conquer the Shade
• When you have regained your Red Right Hand, tear the veil between the living and the dead. • Call up your horde o dead souls. • Dominate them with ancient knowledge. • Retreat in the ace o an innocent heart orged in blood.
GRIM WORLD Monsters |
101
DEATH SHADOW
BY
TOM MISKEY
Tere are two ways a Death Shadow may be created. Te first, and most common means, is or a necromancer to curse a character so that their heroic death will come back to haunt the ones they love. Te second method is more rare, but sometimes when a hero dies and perorms their Death Move on exceptionally corrupted ground, a Death Shadow may be spontaneously created a ew days later. However it orms, though, it appears to be a solid black silhouette o the character with menacing red eyes. It has all o the memories o the person that died, and it will attempt to kill those the person loved, and destroy any good that they did. It exudes a eeling o malevolence and the chill o death... In act, i a room suddenly gets colder, or you get a chill up your spine like you are being watched by something evil, a Death Shadow may be lurking in the shadows nearby.
HEX MITES
BY
HANNAH FORSTER
d4 damage 3 HP | 0 Armor Hand Solitary, Large Instinct:o corrupt and devour Magic Items
Tese tiny insects seem insignificant; at first. But soon the sheen o that priceless sword you ound starts to tarnish around the edges, and it soundly seems almost eager or blood. Eventually as you sleep your arcane weapon disintegrates slowly, slowly eaten away by the tiny buggers.
• Use a class move rom its creator (including casting spells)
• wist the purpose o a Magical Item
• Fade into one shadow and step out o another within sight
• Devour a Magical Item when given time
• Perorm a weaker, corrupted version o the Death Move that created it when it is destroyed
• Latch on and hide rom sight
Shadow-weapon (Class die+2, 2 Piercing)
Aspects (For example, a Fighter uses d10’s or damage, so a Fighter Death ◊ “Whatever my creator knew, I know too, but Shadow rolls 1d10+2 or damage, with 2 points o Piercing) whatever my creator loved, I shall destroy!” 10+ class bonus HP | 3 Armor ◊ “Te shadows are my conduits, my hunting blind, my escaperoute, or I am one with them now.” ags based upon weapon used ◊ “I you slay me, Ishall exact swif and terrible Instinct:Whatever its creator loved, it hates and will revenge!” seek to destroy it Skills Vulnerability: Attacks rom the same class as the Death Shadow automatically penetrate its Armor. ◊ Same skills ascreator
JET SCROLLS OF SHAX d6 damage 10 HP | 0 Armor Close, Reach Magical, Group, Small, Devious, Stealthy Instinct:o consume flesh
Te treasure is there or the taking; the glittering gold, the sharpest o swords and scrolls o untold arcane powers. Upon opening this supposed vessel o knowledge you see the page is blank, and the ends o the charcoal paper begin to snake around your wrists… • Constrict around a victim • Bind them magically or physically
BY
HANNAH FORSTER
THE DROHUNG
BY
RAY BECKMANN
12 HP | 1 Armor Solitary, Intelligent, Devious, Planar Instinct:o create a body o its own Vulnerability: Use their hunger against them Born in a realm o pure darkness and sorrow, the Drohung is a creature o unbridled malice. It has no solid orm o its own so it seeks to create one out o parts stolen rom its victims. Once it is reed rom its home dimension, it lurks until it can find a suitable host to latch on to. Te Drohung merges with the victim’s shadow and begins to whisper horrible secrets into their ear. At first the victim cannot ully hear the Drohung, its voice is just a subtle itch in the back o their mind. Eventually these whispers do maniest as subconscious masochistic desires. Te victim will put themselves in harm’s way or even injure themselves and not notice. Te next stage is when the Drohung starts to appear in their dreams, always as a shadowy figure in the distance. By this point the Drohung is strong enough to be understood by the victim when it speaks. Tey will demand flesh in exchange or hidden truths, orcing the victim to disfigure or dismember themselves in the dream. Sadly, when they awaken, their severed parts are missing and the Drohung has moved on. • I a Drohung can collect enough parts rom enough victims, it can ully materialize as a horrible creature o immense nightmarish power.
• Cover their eyes, ears or mouth
102
GRIM WORLD Monsters |
GRIM WORLD Monsters |
103
TUNNEL SPIDERS (SWARM)
BY
RAY BECKMANN
Fangs (d10+3 damage) <20-30HP> Fangs (d8+2 damage) <10-20HP> Fangs (d6+1 damage) <0-10HP> 30 HP | 1 Armor Close Swarm, iny, Stealthy Instinct:o consume
Te bane o adventures and arachnophobes the world over, tunnel spiders are an unortunately common sight. Each the size o a melon, their slightly thorny bodies blend in perectly with natural surroundings and dungeons alike. • Enmesh in webbing • Attack from above New Monster ype: Te Swarm Swarms o monsters act in a slightly different ashion rom other Dungeon World monsters. Rather than having a set number o monsters, swarms are considered innumerable. Swarms typically have much higher HP than a regular monster. Te HP o the swarm is more o a representation o how many are lef beore they flee or are otherwise neutralized. Whenever a hero does damage to a swarm, they are actually killing scores o creatures. Another good option or a swarm is to start with a high damage rating that decreases when it loses HP, showing that there are less creatures attacking the heroes.
THE YUUREI
BY
Bite (d10+2 damage) 3 HP | 2 Armor ouch Amorphous, Horde, Stealthy Instinct:o draw warmth rom the living. Special Qualities: Incorporeal Te Yuurei are trapped souls, unable to move on. Tey act as the Nue’s heralds in the waking world. Wherever the Nue goes it is preceded by thick mist made up o ghost-stuff which the Yuurei can melt in and out o at will. Tey crave warmth and crowd around heat sources, draining it rom anything they touch. • Silently surround • Melt in and out o the og
BY
QUENTIN BOURNE
QUENTIN BOURNE
Te servant o a grim god, the Nue is a terriying, tiger-headed creature which lurks in dreams and mist and dark planes and can only exist during the hours o darkness. It eats memories and has power over dreams. It can trap sleepers in nightmares while it eeds on them and will sometimes offer them cruel deals or play cruel tricks. Its arrival is always heralded by a thick mist which surrounds the area, which is in act made up o unulfilled spirits called the Yuurei. I the Nue is ever killed, whoever killed it is bound to take its place as the new servitor o its god. • Consume a memory • Pull dreamers into nightmares which can only be escaped by completing an unknown task • Enshroud the world in mist • Offer cruel deals
THE PHAGE
BY
JOSHUA BAILEY
ouch of the Phage (d10 damage) Close, Ignores Armor Small, Group, erriying, Slow Instinct:o eed endlessly reasure:Only the souls that it has devoured Special Qualities: Cannot be touched by conventional nor magical damage. Cannot be directly perceived
What you see beore you resists your minds eye. Pushing away and pulling to the dark corners o your mind. It’s at home there. Your mind reuses to piece the image together. Instead you see ragments o vision, pieces o blur, ripples in reality, wisps o chaotic darkness. It can only be described as anathema, abomination… the Phage. • Devour Lie Force • Appear as that which the beholder ears most
• Drain warmth with cold hands
104
THE NUE Mindrend (d10) 28 HP | 5 Armor Near, Far Large, Magical, Devious, erriying, Intelligent, Solitary, Stealthy Instinct:o eat away at dreams and memories until nothing is lef. Special Qualities: Cannot be killed in the real world.
• Phase through the shadows
GRIM WORLD Monsters |
GRIM WORLD Monsters |
105
GRIM LOCATIONS THE GREAT DESOLATION
LOCATION BUILDER THE EDGE OF THE WORLD
Previously a orest ull o immensely sized trees that In a monastery high atop the cliffs, where the sands o the reached up to the clouds. A oul corruption has spread Crystal Wastes meet the endless Boiling Sea, the abyssal throughout almost the entire orest, killing the trees, but monks keep vigil. Forever they watch the steaming leaving their massive husks standing. What was once a horizon. Forever they wait and worship in the sandstone sanctuary or flourishing wildlie, now is home to the halls o the monastery. Soon the simmering waters will oulest o beasts and the tainted druids who worship recede and the world itsel will expand. Te monks will them. Legends tell o a city built into the treetops, but be the first to walk the new land. Tey will plant the new what’s become o it, no one knows. seeds o lie. And only then will the shining City o the Chosen orm out o the dust, an oasis, the paradise that has been promised. And all o the sacrifices, all o the HE SHFALLS screams o those boiled alive, will have been worth it. When a range o dormant volcanoes known as Te Slumbering itans erupted a year ago, the nearby towns HE PEAR OF THE KY thought themselves lucky to survive. Ten came the ash. No one knows where the colossal spear came rom, or What seems to be an eternal rain o soot and ash has drastically altered the surrounding land. Most inhabitants even what seemingly unbreakable material it’s made rom. have died off or moved on, but there are those who have Some say it ell rom the heavens when the world was managed to hang on to a bleak, desperate lie; just watch ormed. Others believe it belongs to a giant, though no or movement on the gray horizon. one has ever seen one big enough to wield it. For all the theories and the endless conjecture, no one UNSTOUT AVERN had anything to say when one winter morning, the sun rose to illuminate a massive hole in the ground. Impressively sized and older than most would dare to guess. You can say the same about the owner and tender, Te spear was gone. Torbur Sunstout. Also home to the inamous Mug o Holding. Very ew know about the hidden backroom, OVEL OF THE UD ITCH and even less know what’s in it. Some say Torbur is a
T
A
T
S
S
S
TRAIT 2
A [adjective] [place] that [trait 1], and also has [trait 2].
ROLL 7D6 OR CHOOSE! For example: 1,1, 3, 4,3, 1,2 A wealthy townthat has bizarre customsand also has a cult that kidnaps travelers. 4,5, 1, 1,5, 2,3 An ugly hamletthat first appears devoutand also has a hidden monster that is actually a person.
ADJECTIVE
T
H
M
W
You’ll find it somewhere in the sinkingit swamps and retired Hunter anda the backroom one there o their secret bogs. At first you’ll mistake or yet another lodges. Others say game o dice isis held that has belching the power to change one’s destiny. Don’t bother asking hill o mud, but then you’ll notice the light smoke trailing rom a roo hole. Beore you can avoid it, an old crone Torbur, he’ll only laugh until he’s red in the ace. with ading red hair will appear in the doorway. She’ll tell you her name is Elys, short or Elysandra. A name RUINS OF NURAMZAR she says her parents didn’t choose until her 11th birthday An ancient dwarven city built into a snow-topped when they suddenly remembered she lacked one. mountain. Te gates have long been sealed and until recently, it was thought abandoned. Ten a crazed man Elys will seem lonely, and it’s true, so ar rom civilization, she is. She’ll smile at you, an expression made awkward appeared in a nearby town claiming to be the solesurvivor o a band o ortune seekers. Te ruins are not rom missing teeth, but endearing none the less. And then abandoned, according to him, yet it is not dwarves who you’ll smell something strange cooking. Your stomach walk the halls o Nuramzar. I the man’s ravings are to will rumble loudly and you’ll realize you’re starving. be believed, the Dwarves orged something new beore Beore you know it, Elys will insist you stay or dinner. they disappeared. Something made o metal and magic. You’ll hear yoursel agree, surprising Elys as much as you. Something alive. As you sit on an old log, she’ll eed you hot mushroom stew and tell stories that can’t possibly be true but you’ll THE WORM WAYS find yoursel believing anyway. And then, when your head eels heavy and your body aches rom travel, Elys Underneath stone, underneath earth, the tunnels are everywhere. From orest to sea, rom mountain to marsh, will turn to look at you. Her eyes filling with an unsettling the Worm Ways are below. Tose who have walked the deepness, she’ll finally speak the words she’s been waiting all night to say: channels know that strange things happen under the crust o the world. What seems a month underground, “Beore the winter comes, you will be dead and buried. might be a day above. But be warned, traveler, they say I have seen it. May I tell you how?” And somehow, as i the creatures that ormed the Ways still use them. you’ve known her or a lietime, her words will ring true. But they come with a cost.
106
TRAIT 1
GRIM WORLD Grim | Locations
PLACE
GRIM WORLD Location | Builder
107
LANDS OF THE DEAD LOCATIONS BY
ADRIAN THOEN
THE HERMIT’S CAVE
Drivethru RPG Publisher Page rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?manuacturers_id=5316
Tis work by Adrian Toen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
plus.google.com/+AdrianToen
Adrian Toen is a publisher o 3rd Party Dungeon World content. Released so ar are 4 playbooks, Te Spellslinger, Te Fae, Te Giant, and Te Fool. Adrian is also working on a number o other supplements, most notably Te Lands o Te Dead, which will eature locations, monsters, magic items, compendium classes, and ull classes or playing in the realms in the Great Beyond on the other side o the Black Gates.
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONTAGS
In Lands o the Dead, Locations are important places Location tags are used to describe a location’s properties that have their own tags, descriptions, and GM moves. in simple, evocative words. Here are a ew examples, but Locations can be as big as entire planes o existence, don’t hesitate to make up your own. or as small as a orest glade or a crossroad, or a room G :It can take the Dead (and under the right in a dungeon. Ofen a monster or group o monsters conditions, the living) to an Aferlie, but can’t ofen will be associated with a location as its denizens. be used to travel back. A : It is where souls o the dead that meet certain requirements spend eternity. OCATION NSTINCT L : It is conusing to navigate, with many dead A location’s instinct describes what it attempts to do, ends and wrong turns. It may have magical means to and ofen points to why it is a problem or the players. It should be short and evocative like “to trap them” Iconuse those thatto attempt to traverse it. :It’s hard get to, requiring a difficult journey or “to isolate them in darkness” or “to crush them”. and ofen secret knowledge to find. D : It is dark, with no natural light o its own. OCATION ENIZEN S U : It is in some way unstable and likely to collapse, explode, erupt, or other wise change violently. Denizens cover the creatures, people, and notable entities that inhabit the location. It can be as general H : It hates intruders, and actively tries to kill as a type o species, or as specific as an important or expel them. individual. R : It is a single enclosed space, usually a room in a larger structure. P : It exists as a separate plane to the material. OCATION ESCRIPTION D : It is a dangerous series o rooms, chambers, Te description is a paragraph o text that more and tunnels filled with traps, monsters, and dangers. thoroughly describes the location, what it is, why S : It is a community anywhere in size rom people would travel there, and what makes it a small village to a large city. interesting or dangerous. F :It has external deenses to keep intruders out. OCATION OVES R : It is old and has been abandoned or destroyed long ago. Many areas have collapsed. Location moves are extra, specific GM moves that can be used while the players are in that location. C : Tis tag can be used to note which other locations this one connects to. E.g.: “Connects to: mountain hive, hidden valley.”
L
108
I
L
D
L
D
L
M
( )
GRIM WORLD Locations |
Isolated, Gateway: Underworld, Labyrinth, Dark Instinct:o trap them in labyrinthine tunnels. Denizen:Te Ancient Hermit [See Monsters Page]
Possible Doodle Placeholder
Deep in a valley with no name, where light o the sun, the moon, or the stars can never touch, there is a cave. In the cave there is a oul smelling, indescribably dirty hermit o indistinct gender and race. I you bring the Hermit an eye that has beheld true beauty, it will replace one o its countless rheumy, cataract-blinded eyes with your gif, and will let you pass into its cave. Te cave is worse smelling than the Hermit, and winds ever downward. Te cave’s floor is littered with the bones and viscera o uncountable dead things. Eventually the cave opens up into the Underworld, one o the Aferlives in the Great Beyond. When you leave the cave, its exit vanishes completely and can only be ound again i the gif you gave the Hermit was one o your own eyes. • Conuse them with twists and turns. • rip them with scattered bones. • Lead them astray with alse echoes. • When they have paid the price, show them the way to the Underworld.
THE SHADE Planar, Unstable, Aferlie Instinct:o imperectly mirror the material world o the Living. Denizens:Fae, Souls o the Dead, Ghosts, Spirits, Dream Creatures
Possible Doodle Placeholder
Te Shade is a shadow , a pale twilight reflection o the physical world.It is the closest land o the dead tothe land o the living, and the easiest to cross to and rom. Te souls that inhabit the Shade are o people who have died, but not crossed through a gateway into the Great Beyond. Ghosts and restless spirits ofen live in the Shade, and cross over to influence the physical world rom time to time. Some living people can catch glimpses o the Shade, or even visit it in their dreams. Many Fae or magical creatures exist partially or entirely in the Shade. While the souls o some dead reside in the Shade, it is not technically an aferlie, as it is not part o the Great Beyond. Te Shade is an ephemeral, hard to define plane. While it reflects a lot o the physical world, and you can even sometimes see reflections o the living, only things that are permanent in the physical world have a solid, reliable orm in the shade. An ancestral home would be solid and defined, but a new home would be vague, with some walls that randomly vanish. Doors flutter, or occasionally vanish, or cannot be budged. An ancient orest has a strong presence, but a regularly tilled field flickers and changes between states in patches. Souls appear in the Shade as spectral orms o light or shadow, becoming more indistinct or changing the longer they are in the Shade. Te living cannot take their physical body into the Shade. Many souls are tied to the place o their death, or somewhere or something that was important to them during lie. Tese are where the stories o ghosts come rom. Some cultures’ souls live in the Shade, ofen these cultures have strong relationships with their ancestors, so the ancestors live in the Shade reflections o their homelands, watching over their descendants. • Make impermanent things flicker indistinctly or vanish. • Present them with restless spirits o dead rom their past. • Conuse them with dream logic and strange laws.
GRIM WORLD Locations |
109
FRONTS/ARCS
MERA FAYNOR THE WEREWOLF
THE BAYMOOR BUTCHER Te town o Baymoor sits on the edge o a oul
Mera is a seemingly innocent teenager terrified o the recent events. She slowly begins to realize that she is the werewol and the cause o so much blood. However, her hatred or her ather may give her reason to embrace her new ound power. Mera’s elicit relationship with Daymund is a badly kept secret in the town.
smelling marsh. Recently, livestock has gone missing.
Impulse: o east in the moonlight
Te players are contacted by a amily member or
Grim Portents:
riend that lives in the village (make sure to give
• Tamund the blacksmith is eaten
the players incentive to stick around the town and
• Laura the baker thinks she saw something large, with black ur,
TOWN OF GLIMMERKEEP(MAGES)
A TALE OF TWO TOWNS river, with only a rickety bridge between them:
A town built on the ruins o an old keep that once stood as the center o the Guild o Magi. Almost all citizens still consider themselves mages, but most can wield no more than parlour tricks. Tere is a powerul, but secretive inner circle that seeks to destroy the occultists o Whisperwillow. Tey will recklessly call upon the creatures known as Nightgaunts to do their bidding.
Glimmerkeep and Whisperwillow. What was once
Impulse: o destroy Whisperwillow
a harmless rivalry has turned deadly. It quickly
Grim Portents:
becomes clear that each town wants the other
• A beloved mage is ound dead, afer clawing his own ace off
wo very different towns sit on either side o a
destroyed. Te cultists o Whisperwillow hope to summon their dark master. Te inner circle o Glimmerkeep sees Whisperwillow as a threat to their saety and will attempt to use orbidden magic to destroy them. All the while, a greedy band o
see what’s happening). Soon, more villagers are brutally murdered. Te players must uncover that
Impending Doom:Te lycanthropic curse spreads
She is being protected by her ather, Galeon, the
• Te corpse o a Nightgaunt is ound near Whisperwillow
mayor. Furthermore, a member o the Hunt known
MAYOR GALEON FAYNOR
Impending Doom: Nightgaunts descend on Whisperwillow, killing everyone
as Kante shows up to investigate. I lef unchecked, he will begin to suspect the players o oul play.
CULTISTSOF WHISPERWILLOW CAST
• Walden, dwar mage, leader o inner circle • Sorna, halfling, Whisperwillow cultist
Impulse: o summon Chaugnar
• Tamund, the Blacksmith • Daymund, blacksmith’s son, Mera’s secret
• Emerald, firbolg, leader o Silver Spears
• Archaic tomes are stolen rom the library o Glimmerkeep
or coin and combat.
CAST
Grim Portents: • Te ancient obelisk at the center o town is restored
STAKES
• A secret ritual causes the obelisk to emit dark energy
• Which side will the players choose? • Will the inner council o Glimmerkeep succeed
in controlling the Nightgaunts?
• Will the cultists o Whisperwillow succeed in
summoning the demigod, Chaugnar?
• Will the Silver Spears be a powerul ally or a
deadly enemy?
• What ancient treasures are stored in the tower
o Glimmerkeep?
OPTIONAL TWISTS • Te Nightgaunts or Chaugnar destroys both
• Daymund the Blacksmith’s son contracts lycanthropy
• Whisperwillow is publicly blamed or all the recent problems
What first appears as a peaceul town living in har mony with nature, the dark intentions o the Chaugnar Cult will so on be revealed in Whisperwillow. Te cultists seek to summon the demigod known as Chaugnar. Tey see Glimmerkeep as a threat and wish its destruction, but will pretend to be harmless nature lovers and the victims o the “evil” Guild o Magi.
mercenaries, Te Silver Spears, sees an opportunity
last night
• Laura the baker and her amily are killed
Mera Faynor is a Werewol with a deadly nightlie.
Galeon is the proud mayor o Baymoor. He loves his daughter, but his controlling nature has driven a wedge between them. Still, he will do anything to protect his daughter, even afer discovering her dark secret. Galeon will eliminate anyone he deems a threat. Impulse: o protect his daughter, Mera
• Mera Faynor, teenager (Spoilers: She’s a big scary
Werewol)
• Galeon Faynor, Mayor, ather o Mera • Kante, member o the Hunt
Grim Portents: • Galeon finds out Mera is the werewol, but keeps it secret • He attempts to lock her in the basement, but she breaks ree • Covers or Mera by blaming wild animals using (alsified) proo
boyriend • Laura, harmless baker • ____, amily member or riend o a player
STAKES
• He sees the players as a threat to Mera Impending Doom:Galeon incites the town against the players, causing a dangerous mob
KANTE THE HUNTER
Grim Portents:
• Daymund has known all along
Somewhat o a wildcard, Kante is a member o the Hunt and is also in town investigating the strange happenings. His personality should be directly opposed to the player group’s tendencies. I they’re do-gooders, he should have borderline evil tactics. I the players are neutral or evil, Kante should be a paragon. Either way, he will come in direct conflict as he begins (wrongly) suspecting it is the recently arrived players who are the cause o the killings. Te players can attempt to prove their innocence or just kill him and take his stuff. Impulse: o hunt those who do harm
• Te Silver Spears arrive and camp nearby
• A player or an ally contracts lycanthropy
Grim Portents:
Impending Doom: Chaugnar rises and destroys Glimmerkeep
THE SILVER SPEARS MERCENARIES By happenstance, a company o mercenaries known as the Silver Spears is camped nearby. A bidding war rom Glimmerkeep and Whisperwill begins. Both wish to have the mercenaries destroy the other town. Impulse: o get paid
• What will happen to Mera? • How ar will Mayor Galeon go to protect her? • How will the players deal with Kante?
OPTIONAL TWISTS • Someone else is a werewol too (Galeon, Laura,
Kante, etc.)
• Tey meet with emissaries rom both towns
• Investigates the killings at Baymoor
• Te Silver Spears switch sides
• Tey begin marching to one o the towns
• Investigates something the players have lef behind (e.g. a
• Te Nightgaunts east on Glimmerkeep i nstead
Impending Doom:Te Silver Spears destroy one or both
towns
battleground, corpses, people they’ve talked to)
• Grows suspicious o the player group
towns
• Stalks the player group and watches
Impending Doom:Players are designated as targets worthy o death by the Hunt 110
GRIM WORLD Fronts/Arcs |
GRIM WORLD Fronts/Arcs |
111
THE BLUE GOLIATH
THE AZURINE BURDEN
A massive giant, recently inected by the Azurine. He slowly ollows the player’s group, destroying anything in his path.
THE DEEP ONES
THE RISING DEPTHS
Impulse: o ollow the beckoning o the Azurine
Grim Portents: When the players kill a creature (can be anything) with blue skin, its corpse dissolves and leaves a blue gemstone that hums with power. When the gem is touched, it immediately “melts” into the skin o the person who touched it, disappearing and turning the person a permanent shade o blue. What the players will soon discover, one o them has just joined the cursed ranks o the Azurine. Te inected person can immediately eel a subtle beckoning in multiple directions: towards the other inected!
errible fish-like people that worship the Ladon as a god. Because the Deep Ones are ofen eaten by the Ladon, they seek to find others to be eaten instead. Tey see Olmstead as the perect tribute to their god. Impulse: o serve the Ladon
• Te inected player eels a beckoning that seems to ollow them
Grim Portents:
• A town or location the players have recently been to is destroyed
• A strange fish-like monster is seen outside o town
• Te Goliath appears on the horizon
• Te Deep Ones raid Olmstead and kidnap townspeople
Impending Doom:Te Goliath attacks
• Te captured townspeople are ound dead on stakes placed on
THE HARPIES OF SAPPHIRE PEAK
the beach
Impending Doom:Olmstead is offered as tribute
One o the longest lived Azurine is the Harpy Queen o Sapphire Peak. Her hundreds o offspring all have light blue eathers, a side effect o the inection. Te Queen preers to stay saely on the peak, waiting or other Azurine to come to her. Many corpses o the Cerulean Order can be ound littered around the mountain.
OLMSTEAD TOWNSPEOPLE Te townspeople o Olmstead think the only chance or survival is making secret deals with the Deep Ones. Tose in power begin kidnapping and giving townspeople to the Deep Ones to ensure the survival o the town.
Impulse: o nest and wait
Impulse: o survive
Te players will find out more about the Azurine
Grim Portents:
through their own research or rom dealing with
• Te inected player e els a beckoning towards Sapphire Peak
the Cerulean Order. Legends say i an Azurine
• Te players are attacked by a group o blue eathered harpies
Te coastal town o Olmstead has enjoyed decades
Grim Portents: • ownspeople begin going missing • Kidnapped townspeople are ound but they’re… changed
• Te harpies kidnap someone close to the inected player
o abundance and prosperity, until now. A grotesque
Impending Doom:Te harpies kidnap the inected player
tribe o fish people known as the Deep Ones have
THE CERULEAN ORDER
begun to surace. Tey worship the Ladon, a massive
CAST
An ancient order that seeks out the Azurine and kills them
monstrosity o the sea. Te townspeople will do
THE LADON
• Te Blue Goliath
when they get too close to each other. Impulse: o keep the Azurine separate
what it takes to survive, even i that means losing their humanity.
Among most ancient o horrors, itsIt immeasurable bulk is made upthe o countless snake-like heads. is currently lurking off the coast o Olmstead.
manages to consume all the gemstones, they will hold enormous power.
• Te Queen o Sapphire Peak
Grim Portents:
• Ellariel, emale el, leader o Cerulean Order
STAKES the Azurine?
• Will they seek to cure the player or attempt to
gather all o the Azurine together? • What power does the ull Azurine hold when gathered?
Impulse: o devour
• Te players receive a message rom Ellariel, warning them to
CAST
Grim Portents:
• A Cerulean assassin attacks the inected player
• Te Deep Ones
• Reports o a horrific sea serpent
• Ellariel seeks to destroy the inected player hersel
• Te townspeople o Olmstead
Impending Doom:Te Cerulean Order attacks in orce
• Te Ladon
• Te Ladon appears near shore with greater regularity
STAKES
Impending Doom:Te Ladon walks on dry land
ignore the beckoning
• How will the players react to being inected by
• More and more townspeople are turned into Deep Ones
Impending Doom:Te townspeople are orever corrupted
• Te Olmstead shipyard is decimated at night
• What will become o Olmstead?
OPTIONAL TWISTS
• Will the Deep Ones corrupt the townspeople? • Will the Ladon rise rom the depths?
• Tere’s more Azurine than just two others • Being inected causes powerul beneits or
detriments • Ellariel secretly wants to gather the Azurine or hersel
Possible Doodle Placeholder-Gemstone
OPTIONAL TWISTS • Tere’s a cult in Olmstead that worships the Deep
Ones • Te Ladon can be bargained with • Te Deep Ones are actually slaves to the Ladon
112
GRIM WORLD Fronts/Arcs |
GRIM WORLD Fronts/Arcs |
113
THE URSINE
THE GRAND HUNT
While not an evil beast, the Ursine will protect its cubs and its territory. Having grown bigger than a house, it is not to be underestimated. Impulse: o protect its cubs and be lef alone Grim Portents: • Marigold miners are slaughtered
CHAOS OF CRESCENT VALLEY Crescent Valley is named or its mountain range that
• Marigold is orced to shut down its mines
almost completely surrounds the valley. Te main
• Te mayor begins making plans to leave
entrance is along a river that enters the valley and
Impending Doom:Te town o Marigold is abandoned
empties into the massive lake called the Mouth. In
THE OPEN HUNT
the center o the Mouth is a single mountain island
Te Hunt does not ofen make one o its contracts public. In this case, the Ursine has killed so many hunters, the bounty or its massive pelt would make an entire village rich.
where the demigod known as Korthaka slumbers within. Te Wardens watch over his body, the Children o Korthaka seek his power, and all the
Impulse: o collect the bounty
while ancient monsters known as elder b easts have
Grim Portents:
been unleashed on the valley.
• Te Hunt announces the public contract • wo groups o hunters fight each other
A massive bear known as the Ursine has awoken rom a long hibernation and is terrorizing the mining town o Marigold. Te bear has killed at least a hundred miners and the death toll has continued
• An Ursine cub is captured as bait or a trap
Grim Portents: • A fishing boat is set aflame or coming too close to the island • welve villagers are simultaneously kidnapped • Te villagers are sacrificed to wake Korthaka early
Impending Doom:Korthaka awakens, urious that his slumber has been cut short
ELDER BEASTS Some say elder beasts are not rom this world; that they came here to consume it when the world was young. Now something has awoken them rom slumber and the elder beasts are once again growing in number. I they are not stopped inside the Crescent Valley, the entire world may all to their unchecked virility.
• Korthaka, slumbering demigod • Te Children o Korthaka, a secret cult
Grim Portents:
STAKES
• A nearby merchant caravan is decimated
when the Hunt announces a public contract that pays an enormous bounty or the pelt o the Ursine.
• Te Wardens who guard Korthaka
Impulse: o consume and multiply
• Elder beast eggs are ound near the r iver
• Will the Wardens awaken Korthaka?
• Te town o Valley’s Edge is slaughtered
back the rom the people o Marigold. guard the wilderness Ursine against hunters. Te druids seek to b Tey eckonwill the Ursine to destroy Marigold.
• Will the elder beasts escape rom Crescent Valley? • Will the Children o Korthaka gain his dark
Impending Doom:Te elder beasts spread outside the Crescent Valley
Impulse: o destroy civilization
OPTIONAL TWISTS
Grim Portents: • A hunter is ound dead, encased in a tree
power?
THE CHILDREN OF KORTHAKA
• Te Sun Stone was brought to the valley in the
• Te druids hide a Beckoning otem inside Marigold
merchant caravan • Te Children see themselves as good
• Te Ursine, a monstrous bear the size o a house
• Te Ursine appears near Marigold
• Te towns o Crescent Valley begin a mass exodus
• Hunters, Adventurers, Cutthroats
Impending Doom:Te town o Marigold is destroyed
CAST
Impulse: o guard Korthaka’s slumbering body
CLAWTOTEMDRUIDS An ancient order o druids who worship beings such as the Ursine. Tey see the Ursine’s awakening as a sign to take
cutthroats alike.
A secretive order o guardians located on the mountain island in the middle o the massive lake known as the Mouth. At first they appear to be keeping Korthaka imprisoned, but in reality, they only guard him while his body slumbers. Tey have released the elder beasts to attempt to slow the Children and buy themselves time.
Impending Doom:Te Ursine is enraged and destroys Marigold
to rise. Te town is on the brink o economic collapse
Such a large sum attracts adventurers, heroes, and
CAST
THE WARDENS
• Clawtotem Druids, who worship the Ursine
A shadowy cult that has members rom all over the towns o Crescent Valley. Tey revere Korthaka and at first might be taken or his ollowers. In reality, they only seek to steal his power while he slumbers. o weaken Korthaka’s body enough to steal his power, they have ound an ancient artiact known as the Sun Stone that emits immense heat. Tey seek to put the stone in the lake and boil the Wardens and Korthaka alive. Impulse: o usurp and gain power
STAKES
Grim Portents:
• What is the ate o the town o Marigold?
• A bright light is seen flowing down the river until disappearing
• Will the hunters manage to collect the bounty? • Will the druids use the Ursine to destroy
Marigold?
OPTIONAL TWISTS
in the lake
• Fish and anything living in the Mouth die as the lake heats up
Possible Doodle Placeholder-Pawprints
• Te Mouth begins to boil, Korthaka’s body begins to deteriorate
Impending Doom:Tey steal Korthaka’s power and begin enslaving the world
• Te Ursine is sentient • Te players are attacked by greedy hunters • Te Ursine’s mate is revealed
114
GRIM WORLD Fronts/Arcs |
GRIM WORLD Fronts/Arcs |
115
BY
THE PHAGE
JOSHUA BAILEY
Your world has allen into chaos. Evil o all sorts has crawled out o every orifice o the land you once called home, taking advantage o the wake o destruction lef by a new orm o evil. An evil that seem unconcerned with motive, purpose, lie. Evil spreading across your world as a plague. Some have taken to calling them Te Phage, or they only devour. Devour each other. Devour your love and hope. Devour you. Nowhere eels sae, but some have tried carving out a resting place in this new world; some place that they may one day be able to call home, but that day is eons away rom the now. Te short, meaningless lie lef to be lived in the wake o destruction is in your hands now. Can you give it meaning? What do you do?
CAST/PLACES
THE PHAGE (HORDE)
unto the mortal plane, the Aeon Star rests on the sun scorched fire plains ar beyond the reach o any sane man. Still, Sair’n calls out or a Prophet. peace, and generosity. Someone to shepherd the
Someone that can spread the word o unity, o
Impulse: to destroy all semblance o order
aithul across the ashen dunes o the deep desert and claim the Aeon Star or mankind.
• Orcus, the Mad
• Erebus’s Baleul Attendants
• Te Phage destroy civilization
• Dazhar, Orcus’s
• Spire o Madness
• Te Phage destroy the wildland
• Spire o Darkness
Impending Doom:Rampant Chaos
• Hellclef
ORCUS (ARCANE ENEMY)
HISTORY QUESTIONS
intelligence Sair’n. Expelled rom the heavens
✴On a 6-, one o the Phage attaches itsel to the your soul; not to eed… or something worse.
IMPULSE: • o convert and draw in the living
GRIM PORTENTS:
During character creation, choose our and ask:
Te mad wizard responsible or this. In his quest to become a lich, he discovered a way to use living beings
• How ar have the Phage spread? • Are there any strongholds lef untouched?
Impulse: o seek magical power
• Can the Phage devour anything apart rom souls?
Grim Portents:
• Te Ritual o Unity is perormed
• Who did Orcus used to be?
• Orcus beings to bring the now empty bodies o the dead
IMPENDING DOOM:
• What drove Orcus to his quest to become a Lich?
to unlie
• Orcus lays claim to a seemingly meaningless site • Did anyone attempt to stop Orcus while he amassed power, Impending Doom:yranny or did he rise unopposed? • What sort o abominable creatures does Orcus have watching over Erebus? • Can demons be redeemed? • Where is Erebus being held?
STAKE QUESTIONS
THE GIVING PLAGUE When you are touched by the Prophet , either by his hand, his words, or spirit; roll +WIS. ✴On a hit, you are consumed by the thought o community and generosity.
✴On a 10+, choose two traits below. ✴On 7-9; choose one trait below. ✴On a miss, you may act as your wish, but gain 1xp i you immediately and violently attack a Prophet or member o his entourage. riendly. When you act in this way and it brings you harm, gain 1xp. • Deender o the Gif:Provide succor to the weak and downtrodden, preserve all that Sair’n has brought into this
Te Cult Prophet o Sair’norms Appears • Te o Altruism
world and take +1 ongoing against those denied the blessing o the Heart o Gold .
• Singularity (Pestilence) - the coalescence o all living beings within the circle o Sair’n
• Speaker o Unity: You now count as a Prophet, and others must make this roll when you interact with others. When other Prophets suffer at the hands o another, you are aware o it and
have a general sense o where it took place.
EREBUS (CURSED PLACE)
THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE...
Te demonlord tricked by Orcus to be a never ending ountain o destruction; destruction in the orm o the Phage. Te portal rips at Erebus’s body, only as ast as it can heal.
When you take a moment to bask in the presence of the Aeon Star, roll +WIS. ✴On a 10+ you gain all three. ✴On a 7-9, choose one. • Te touch o the star is cool and rereshing; you will not
succumb to the desert’s heat, nor thirst beyond your means, or hunger without sustenance this day.
Impulse: o disgorge chaos demons
• How can the Phage be deeated?
Grim Portents:
• Can the souls devoured by the Phage be restored?
• Te portal grows, accelerating the spread o the Phage
• Te light o the Sair’n eases your burdens, heal +1d6. All o your healing attempts will enjoy an additional +1d6 or the next day.
• What happens when you are devoured by one o the Phage?
• Te portal grows too large to ever be truly sealed • How will creatures rom beyond the material realm react Impending Doom: Destruction to Orcus’s rapidly growing power?
• So moved by your experience, Sair’n imparts some o his essence unto you and are now a Prophet in regard to Te
Giving Plague move.
• Is Erebus the only portal Orcus has?
✴On a Miss; you are not moved by the Aeon Star and denied the blessings o Sair’n. Sair’n knows this and so do all that have been called. You will never become a Prophet o Sair’n and will never be afflicted by the Giving Plague.
• How can the portal through Erebus be shut down? • Can the portal be reversed? 116
When the Ritual Circle is completed around the Star of Sair’n,all living things, rom man and woman, goat and cow, to the lowly worm and the very grass on the ground becomes one with the Star and its imprisoned intelligence. Te circle can be as big as the Cult can make a solid uninterrupted circle (it may simply be a line dug in the dirt, poured salt, intricate stone blocks or a metal ring). Te ritual leaves the contained area a barren patch o land unable to sustain lie or many years while all buildings and natural eatures rapidly wear away.
• Heart o Gold:You are driven to be generous, sincere, and
• Starall •
as phylacteries.
DAVE BOZARTH
CUSTOM MOVES: THE RITUAL OF UNITY
belies its true purpose, to imprison the allen
✴On a 7-9, Orcus appears to you, amused to find someone powerul enough to see.
Grim Portents:
BY
geometry o the Aeon Star’s metal construction
✴On a 10+, your vision is obscured with ears o your past. Your answers are tinged with ears o your past. Ask one question, as Discern Realities, and take +1 orward when acting on it.
• Erebus, portal o Madness
Homunculus Abomination
Beneath its silvery radiance, the mind-bending
When you Discern Realities in the presence o the Phage, use these results instead.
• Te Phage
• Orcus’s Demon Army
AEON STAR OF SAIR’N
ironhawkgames.com
GRIM WORLD Fronts/Arcs |
GRIM WORLD Fronts/Arcs |
117
THE HUNT & THE HUNTER COMPENDIUM CLASS: THE HUNTER THE HUNT Te world is dark. Te world is deadly. Tere are no white knights. No heroes o a benevolent order to tuck us in at night. Te world wants to eat you. Te world wants to chew on your bones. And there is nothing to stop it. Except us. We are the Hunt. Tere is only one law:
Good Must Outweigh Evil Hunters are not here to save you. We are not here to hold your hand when you walk a night path. Our business is delivery and the parcel is death. Break our law and we will hunt you.
RANKS Te Hunt does have ranks, but it’s less o a command structure and more o a way to honor successul hunters. Te ranks are: Initiate, Blooded, Veteran, and Retired
BECOMING AN INITIATE Tere is no public sign-up orm or recruitment center. Te Hunt preers to keep themselves hidden and decentralized. Most initiates are ound by chance by hunters. When a hunter sees potential in someone, they may take them on as an apprentice o sorts, or send them to the nearest lodge. It’s rare, but particularly clever individuals have been able to find a hidden Hunter’s Lodge and infiltrate it without help. I they’re not outright killed, they’re given an initiate’s bounty and a chance to prove themselves.
THE BLOODED When an initiate has proven themselves and successully completes their first hunt, their rank is raised to that o the Blooded. It’s not easy to make it past the initiate stage o the Hunt, but i they do, a Blooded hunter is given access to Hunter’s Lodges and Caches and a Hunter’s Mark to guide them. Unortunately, a hunter’s survival expectancyveterans. is always low and most hunters die beore becoming
VETERANS
THE LAW OF THE LAND
When a Blooded hunter is deemed experienced enough, they are promoted to the mostly ceremonial rank o Veteran. Hunters who have managed to live this long are almost always scarred, maimed, or otherwise grizzled in some way. Tey’veseen things. Tey’ve been to hell and back again. No, really, they probably have. Beyond the considerable respect they receive rom other hunters, Veterans are also in charge o creating new bounties i they come across something that needs to die.
Te Hunt is not a government. Te Hunt does not hold RETIREMENT office. We are not town elders, mayors, or kings. We do When you manage to live long enough to retire rom the not collect taxes. We do not grant property. Tat is not Hunt, you are given authority over a lodge. It might be the purpose o the Hunt. We have only one goal. Te an existing lodge you’re amiliar with, or a brand new Hunt demands one thing rom the world: Good must one in a location o your choice. A lodge’s true purpose outweigh evil. (a secret location or the Hunt) can be hidden behind a acade o a tavern, workshop, or store, or the lodge can A good act can wash clean an evil deed. Evil means are justified by an end that is a greater good. Te Hunt be entirely out o sight. demands this simple thing rom the world. But we are not Younger hunters will ofen seek you out or training or idealists. We know the world will not listen. And so we inormation. You’re responsible or creating and paying hunt and we kill those who do not justiy their actions. We out bounties, keeping the cache stocked, and coordinating hunt beast, we hunt man, and i a hunter loses his way… with the other lodges. We’ll hunt him too. Enjoy your rest, hunter, and good luck staying retired.
118
GRIM WORLD Te | Hunt
Unlike other compendium classes, players need not spend a level up or advancement on these moves. Instead, when a character joins the Hunt and increases their rank, they automatically gain access to the moves listed below.
HUNTING BOUNTY Requires Rank: Initiate Whether you’re a recent initiate or a grizzled veteran, hunters have access to plenty o potential hunting quarries. Tese bounties are created by other veteran hunters who deem a creature worthy o death. Occasionally, you might even see a bounty or the head o a hunter i it’s decided they’ve done more harm than good. Murder is a surprisingly lucrative business and most bounties pay well.
HUNTER’S MARK Requires Rank: Blooded When you complete your first hunt as an initiate, you are given a special brand or tattoo called a Hunter’s Mark. ACHE It is your guide to locating Hunter’s Lodges and Caches. UNTER S When you concentrate on the mark, you will be given a Requires Rank: Blooded vague sense o the nearest lodge or cache. Hidden in tree stumps, under stones, in caves, or inside lodges, a Hunter’s Cache is a magical supply device that ATHER ROPHY uses a bartering system. Place one or more items inside, Requires Rank: Blooded close it, and when you open it again a different item When you kill acreature, your Hunter’s Mark glows briefly. will be inside. Te new item will tend to be the same You immediately recognize the part o the creature’s body value as what you put in. Te cache is not limitless nor that would make the best trophy (such as a horn, tooth, inexhaustible, but the magic within will attempt to give you what you need or your current hunt. Likewise, when or ur). Tis trophy holds within it a testament to the you place a trophy inside o it, the cache will reward you creature’s lie. Te more harm the creature did in lie, the more valuable the trophy. A creature can only have as appropriately as it can. one trophy o this type.
H
G
’ C
T
HUNTER’S LODGE
BOUNTY CREATION
Requires Rank: Veteran Requires Rank: Blooded When you set a bounty on someone’s head, name the bounty’s conditions and reward. A day or two afer you Whether it’s hidden underground or in the backroom o a tavern, a Hunter’s Lodge is a secret place or hunters place it in a Hunter’s Lodge, the bounty will have spread to rest, resupply, group up, and find new bounties. Te to all other lodges. Hunters aren’t always known or their larger lodges will usually have a retired hunter watching subtlety, but they’ll get the job done i the reward is worth over the lodge and there will likely be beds, ood, a wellit. Just be wary o placing a bounty on the wrong person. stocked cache, and other helpul amenities. A small lodge UNT might just be a muddy hole in the ground in the middle PEN o the orest. Regardless o its size, a lodge always has a Requires Rank: Veteran bounty board filled with potential hunts. When you declare a b ounty as public, anyone, even nonhunters may participate. Tese types o contracts tend to simultaneously attract the best and worst the world has to offer. Tere will likely be more blood shed rom fighting over the bounty’s reward than actually accomplishing the contract, but desperate times and all that, right?
O
GRIM WORLD Compendium | Class: Te Hunter
H
119
COMPENDIUM CLASSES THE WENDIGO
BY
HANNAH FORSTER
PASSING HUMAN
When you willing partake on the flesh o your own
kind on the winter solstice, the next time you level up you may choose to gain this move:
OF ICE AND HUNGER You can now take the orm o a Wendigo; a horrific amalgamation o stag, bear, wol and hunger. In this orm you have the tags Forceul, Messy, erriying and erocious claws (close, piercing +1). However rom this point onwards whenever you are asked to mark off a ration, you must instead consume the flesh o a sentient creature. Tis is the only way you can gain sustenance in your new twisted existence. When you have taken the above move, you may ta ke any o the ollowing moves instead o a move rom your class when you level up:
When you eat “normal food” that is not a part o your… actual diet, roll +CON. ✴On a 10+ you manage to choke it down and actually derive some nutritional value rom it. ✴On a 7-9 choose 2. ✴On a 6- you regret even attempting this. • You manage to get it down with out inching, retching or grimacing. • You feel perfectly ne right aer consuming it. • You suer no weird or horrible side eects from digesting it.
CHILLING APETITE
WINTER’S CHILD
When you Hack & Slash with the intent to devour your prey, add +1d6 damage.
Cold no longer has any physical effect on you, as the spirits o ice are now your brethren. You can see through snowstorms, sleet and og as i it was the clearest o days. However now sunny and warm weather renders you uncomortable.
WINTER’S TOUCH
Requires Winter’s Child You are an embodiment o winter itsel, cold emanating rom your very skin. Wherever you pass through in CY AGGERS your journeys, snow will ollow regardless o season or When you commune with the spirits of ice and, winter location. Your very touch can cause rostbite; your hands roll +WIS. ✴On a 10+ you create several floating ice now have the tags Debilitating and Elemental Ice. crystals (thrown, near, Elemental Ice, +2 piercing, 2
I
D
Ammo). ✴On a 7-9 choose 2: • You can only generate a small amount, gain only 1 DEATH MOVE: ETERNAL HUNGER Ammo worth. • Tey aren’t that sturdy and will melt soon; you have Even as everything else ades away it still remains; your hunger or flesh. Your icy brethren still scream or it. And to move ast. neither o you are going to let something as irrelevant as • You have to pay tribute for the spirits’ help, take 1d4 death get in your way.W hen you die , join your brethren damage (ignores armor). in mind and soul; become a truly monstrous spirit o winter. Where you die will always be marked by winter, • You upset the spirits and they take their anger out on and will orever be your domain. Beore you lose yoursel you; take -1 ongoing to WIS until you eat flesh. to the spirits’ undeniable appetite; name your first prey in • Te crystals came out the wrong shape; lose the piercing your new domain. Hunt. Rip. ear. Devour. Tey never tag. had a chance against what you’ve become, Wendigo.
THE HOUNDKIN
BY
KEN THORNBERRY AND TRENTON KENNEDY
Te world was still young when a lone wol accepted a haunch o meat and an invitation to sit by the campfire. A silent, but solemn covenant was orged that night between the first human and the first hound. When the sun rose the next morning and every morning afer, it shone down on what would prove to be a timeless companionship. Te Houndkin is the chosen embodiment and guardian o this sacred pact. When you are chosen by a spirit hound to be its companion , when you level up, you may take this move:
SPIRIT HOUND By accepting a spirit hound’s companionship, you reaffirm the timeless covenant. Te spirit hound coalesces into a physical maniestation. Choose a name, breed, and appearance. Your hound is bound to you in spirit and in flesh. You act as one, sharing each victory and eeling ATCHDOGS every deeat. You share HP; i your hound is harmed, When you Make Camp , your hounds act as watchdogs you take the damage. and no one needs to ake Watch. With the extra rest, You have a new modifier: +Hounds, equal to how many everyone can add +Hounds to the amount o HP healed. hounds you have. You start with 1. I something approaches the camp, the hounds will wake everyone up in time to prepare a response and the camp • When you attack, add +Hounds to the damage. gets a +1 orward. • When you take damage, add +Hounds to your armor. Furthermore, when send your hounds to protect a • Your hounds growl at anyone wishing you harm. , you can add +Hounds to your Deend roll. downed ally
W
• When you command a hound to etch something small
you can see, it’ll do it swifly and enthusiastically. • When you command your hounds to Dey Danger, use +Hounds.
DOGLIKE
When you gaze deeply into your hound’s eyes by firelight, its spirit bestows a canine trait upon you o your choice.You determine how subtle or pronounced the physical change is to your body. From this point orward, you can only replace your current canine trait, you must always have exactly one, no more, no less. Here are some examples: ELEASE THE OUNDS • Ears: canine hearing ability and sensitivity When you command your hounds to attack a target , • Snout: smelling ability and an overwhelming urge to sniff new scents roll+Hounds. ✴On a 10+, choose two. ✴On a 7-9, choose one: • Eyes: motion acuity, lower light vision, color blindness • Your hounds deal 1d10 damage, with +Hounds • Fur: a thick coat makes you resistance to cold piercing. • ail: slightly better balance but mostly just shows • Te attack is Forceul or Messy. others your mood • Your hounds enter a renzy, the next time you Release the Hounds take +1 on the roll. HOST • Your hounds surround the enemy, the next ally to Your hounds exist somewhere between the corporeal attack this target gets a +1 on the roll. world and the spirit realm. Tey can step between the planes at will. You no longer share HP with your hounds. Instead,when a hound takes damage , its physical orm MISSARY You represent the sacred covenant between canine and dissipates and the hound is gone. man. Dogs, wolves, even three-headed hellhounds will When you throw a resh haunch o meat or a good treat you with respect. Tey will reuse to harm you in bone into the air , beore it touches the ground, a missing any way. Likewise, they will expect the same rom you. hound will rematerialize and catch it.
You gain an additional hound each time you take a Houndkin move, up to 3. You can now choose these moves when you level up:
R
H
G
E
120
GRIMWORLD Compendium | Classes
GRIMWORLD Compendium | Classes
121
SIBLING OF STONE
BY
H
JUSTIN MILAND
O S
Basilisks. Wizards. Artiacts. Tere are many ways you EART F TONE might be turned into a statue—and the process o reversal In an emergency, you can be healed by opening yoursel is not always perect. But those who have not ully returned to the nature o stone, but the stone takes something in rom stone find there are benefits to being bonded with a return.When you call upon your connection to stone to , roll+CON. ✴On a 10+, roll b[2d10]; substance older than human civilization. Because the earth heal your wounds you heal that much damage. ✴On a 7-9, roll w[2d10]. remembers. Because the earth speaks. Either way, the wound becomes rock as it heals over. ✴On a 6-, there is no effect and the GM makes a move as normal. No matter the result, you must make a Recover I you have been imperfectly cured of petrification , you move beore using this move again. may take this move at advance...
THE CITY SPEAKS
STONE COMMUNION
Your understanding o stonespeak has been refined. You A part o you is still stony rom your petrification; describe it. When you stand still and open yourselcan now use Stone Communion to communicate with stoneworks or magical stone: cobblestones, buildings, to the natural earth around you , the GM will tell you what the stone in your area knows. Stone does not have a statues, etc. You can track a oe through the city, evade complex “language” but it can communicate basic things: the City Guard’s nightly patrol routes, or the like. weather patterns, animal trails and dens, hidden creatures and ambushes, etc. I you designate a target, the stone can guide you towards it and help you track it so long as the target remains on or near natural stone. Stone Communion gives +1 orward to certain moves when appropriate, such as ake Watch, Hunt and rack, etc. Once you’ve taken Stone Communion, the ollowing moves count as class moves or you. In addition to your normal list o moves, you may choose rom this list when you level up:
EARTHLYACQUIESCENCE When you plead or politely ask the earth for assistance , roll+CHA. ✴On a 10+, the effect you desire comes to
pass. ✴On a 7-9, choose one: • Te effect you desire comes to pass perectly. • You avoid paying nature’s price or aid. When you demand or threaten the earth into helping you, roll+CHA. ✴On a 10+, choose two. ✴On a 7-9, choose one. ✴On a miss, some catastrophe occurs as a result o your impetuousness. • Te effect you desire comes to pass. • You avoid paying nature’s price. • You retain control.
Simple Sketch or Icon Placeholder
THE GREAT WALL strength. A troop o orcs will crash against you like sur upon the beach.
GRIMWORLD Compendium | Classes
BY
JUSTIN MILAND
Tere are many gods in the world; some o them were orgotten beore your kind even walked the earth. And sometimes they take an interest in your kind. You came ace to... ace..? with one at the Black Gates. It was your time to pass beyond, but this eldritch lord decided it had a task or you. It made a deal—either with you, or with Death itsel—and it has returned you to lie. But in return you must s ometimes enact its plans. Plans you cannot begin to athom.
I you have died but an ancient deity negotiated your return to life , you may take this move at advance...
ELDRITCH GUIDANCE You have a physical maniestation o the elder god that owns your lie: either a small icon (Weight 0), a tattoo that appears upon your body, or something similar. Describe it, and name the god.When you contemplate this symbol and ask the de ity for guidance , roll+WIS. ✴On a 10+ ask three o the questions below. ✴On a 7-9, ask one. ake +1 orward when acting on the answers. • What does the god want to happen here? • What is hidden here? • Who here will act against the god? • Who protects this place? • Who here can be swayed to work or the god? • How can this place be defiled? Once you’ve taken Eldritch Guidance, the ollowing moves count as class moves or you. In addition to your normal list o moves, you may choose rom this list when you level up:
Simple Sketch or Icon Placeholder
A TASK IS OWED When you work to further the deity’s goals despite a danger to yourself , either gain 1-hold or take +1 orward. I taken as hold, you may add this to any hold generated rom a move you take. I taken as orward, you may add this to any roll you make, including damage. Your capacity or hold/orward generated by this move is equal NHOLY ONGUE to your level, but you may only use one point o hold/ You’ve heard the ancient god’s voice squirm in your head. orward rom this move at a time. When you speak in the ancient tongue , roll+WIS. ✴On a 10+ you instill ear and madness in your opponents and AKE IM NSTEAD they flee in terror until their resolve returns. ✴On a 7-9, When you personally kill a sentient creature that defied they flee but choose a consequence: your god, you gain +1 orward towards your next Last Breath. I you loudly proclaim devotion to your god when • Your allies run off as well. the creature dies, you grant +1 orward to those present • You take d6 damage as your mind and body rupture, who also worship the deity. unable to channel the eldritch language.
U
T
When you call upon the strength and durability , of rock you cannot be moved except by eats o extraordinary
122
THE INDEBTED
H
T
I
GRIMWORLD Compendium | Classes
123
THE ETHEREAL
BY
ADRIAN THOEN
GHOSTWALKER
Drivethru RPG Publisher Page rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?manuacturers_id=5316
BY
TIM FRANZKE
www.tinyurl.com/FDungeonWorld
Tis work by Adrian Toen is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
google.com/+AdrianToen
When you have lost or abandoned your physical , body the next time you level up you may take the ollowing move instead o a move rom your class:
When you have suffered a tragedy from the hand of a into the realm o ghosts or i you ound a way to return Monster of the Night (Vampires, Werewolves, Ghosts, rom the Underworld with a living body, you can choose etc.) and have sworn revenge on their kind, you can the ollowing move when you level up: choose the ollowing move when you level up: When you have come back from death and had a glimpse
GHOSTWALK
PREPARE THE HUNT
When you leave your body behind and turn your soul When you prepare to fight against the Monsters of the into an incorporeal ghost, roll +Ghost and then lose 1 Night in a steading , roll+WIS. Ghost. ✴On a 10+ choose two. ✴On a 7-9, choose one: ✴On a 10+, choose two. ✴On a 7-9, choose one: • You can find a weapon or spell that will get past their • You can still affect the physical world in your ghost dark deenses. orm. • You find out something interesting about their past or unholy lie. • You create ghostly copies o your gear. • You can maintain your ghost orm as long as you want. • You find a way to protect yoursel and your party against them. You also get this move: • You assemble a mob with pitchorks and torches.
EPHEMEREAL You do not have a physical body. You can pass through physical matter, including people, but you cannot pick up physical objects. When you have taken the above move, you may take any o the ollowing moves instead o a move rom your class when you level up:
NINE TENTHS
ABSORPTION
When you attempt to possess the sleeping or unconscious body of someone or something , roll+WIS. ✴On a 10+, You gain total control o the body. ✴On a 7-9, you have to regularly struggle with your host’s consciousness to maintain control.
Simple Sketch or Icon
POLTERGEIST
Placeholder
When you attempt to move an object with your strong emotions, roll+WIS. ✴On a 10+, choose one. ✴On a 7-9, choose two: • You make a terrible mess. • Someone’s put in danger. • You leave ectoplasmic residue behind. • You break something.
WHAT DREAMS MAY COME When you touch the minds of those grieving for their departed loved ones , roll+WIS. ✴On a 10+, choose one now, and hold 1 or later. ✴On a 7-9, choose one. ✴On a miss, the GM chooses one. Spend hold, 1 or 1, on the ollowing: • You drive them into a vengeul ervor. • You bring them peace and acceptance. • You destroy their will to live.
124
NIGHT-CRUSADER
GRIMWORLD Compendium | Classes
When you absorb a ghost, you hold 3 Ghost (max 3). You may absorb a ghost by killing it, talking it into giving up its existence, or absorbing the rest o its essence when you help it pass on.
REBUKE
You can now choose these moves when you level up:
roll+WIS. ✴On 7-9, no Monsters the also Nightmust can come within reach oa you. ✴On a 10+,othey flee the light.
GHOST EFFECT
You can now choose these moves when you level up:
When you call on the light and pray or protection,
SCARRED BY DARKNESS
You can spend Ghost 1 or 1 or the ollowing effects: Te first time you take a debility or suffer great personal • Unleash a poltergeist to haunt a room. harm afer you gain this move, do not mark that debility • Drain all the warmth rom an object or person or a or suffer that harm. Instead gain one o the ollowing scars: moment. • A hand bloodied: your body is a weapon with the Hand • Create a terriying ghostly illusion. and Forceul tags. • A body scarred: you have +1 armor. NOT SO FINAL RIGHTS • A mind shattered: you take +1 to De y Danger against When you take the time to properly bury your enemies , being manipulated in any way. you collect parts o each o their spirits and gain 1 Ghost rom the process. • A heart broken: take +1 orward against any who insults your quest against darkness. UNLEASH THE SPECTRES • A scar burning: this scar glows and burns when another You can spend 3 Ghost or one o the ollowing effects: Monster o the Night is close. • Ignore one o the conditions o the ritual move. LIFT THE CURSE • Unleash a banshee howl and name one GM character Requires: Rebuke present, they will die soon. • Cast the Resurrection spell but the character will be When you spend a day o uninterrupted time and perform a ritual of exorcism on a Monster of the Night , plagued by visions o the dead. you can lif their curse and return them to their mortal existence. GRIMWORLD Compendium | Classes
125
LYCANTHROPE
BY
Inner beast : Wurm, Bear, Wol, Boar, Owl, Rodent, Panther
JAMES BRANDON MASSENGIL
H
S
EIGHTENED ENSES rigger: Intense Heat, Anger, Lunar Cycle, Fear When you are wounded by a shape changer’s bite For or a ew hours or days afer you transorm, your senses are heightened to levels that match your inner beast. Afer claws,you gain the ollowing two moves: reverting back to your natural orm, take a +1 Ongoing to WIS rolls relating to tracking and detection. Tis effect NLEASH THE EAST lasts until you ail a roll or the GM says otherwise. When you experience your trigger , roll +CON. ✴On a 12+, you resist the curse and do not transorm. ✴On a 10ILD TTACK 11, you transorm but remain in relative control o yoursel. Choose three. ✴On a 7-9, you transorm and choose two:Your inner beast is always just under the skin. When you let your inner beast show and make an a,ttack roll • You can still communicate. +DEX. ✴On a 10+, deal damage and choose two. ✴On a • You are in control o your inner beast’s violent urges. 7-9, deal damage and choose one. ✴On a 6 or less, deal damage and you are WEAK until you can rest. • Your orm is more humanoid than beast. • Deal an additional 1d8 damage. • You gain a combat monster move appropriate to your • Your attack has the Messy tag. inner beast. • You gain a non-combat monster move appropriate to• Your attack has the Forceul tag. your inner beast. • Deal 1d6 damage to an additional target. ✴On a 6 or less, you transorm and your inner beast is in NGRY LL THE IME control. Te GM will describe the nature o your savagery M and the consequences. When you call upon your inner beast to aid, you roll +CON. ✴On a 12+, you gain a couple physical benefits EMOVE THE URSE o your inner beast without actually transorming. Hold 3. ✴On a 10+, you transorm and hold 2. ✴On a 7-9, You On the eve o your transormation, melt 2 silver coins and apply to your beast mark/scar and roll +CON. ✴On a 12+, transorm and hold 1. ✴On a 6 or less, the beast resists You control the curse, losing all Lycanthrope moves andyou and you are CONFUSED until you have a chance gain the move I’m Angry All the ime, ✴On a 10+, youto steady your mind. drive out the curse and lose all Lycanthrope moves, ✴On a • Spend 1 hold to perorm an inner beast monster move. 7-9, you delay the curse. You may select a non-lycanthrope move the next time you level up and are SCARRED until• Spend 1 hold to quickly revert to your natural orm. you receive medical attention. ✴On a 6- the curse is driven • Spend 1 hold to take +1 orward to the next roll or deeper into your essence. You gain another Lycanthrope the stat o your choice. move immediately and are SCARRED until you receive medical attention. YCANTHROPE ONDS
U
B
W
A
I’ A
R
A
T
C
L
B
________ ears me and with good cause. POWER OF BLOOD When you mix the blood of another lycanthrope with With ________’s help, I can be rid o this curse. the silver used or Remove the Curse and perorm a ritual While transormed, I have dreamt o ________. chant, roll +IN. ✴On a 10+, receive a +2 to your Remove the Curse roll. ✴On a 7-9, receive a +1 and you are WEAK DEATH: CONSUMED BY THE BEAST until you have a chance to rest. ✴On a 6 or less, You are When you have taken all o the Lycanthropy moves , WEAK and SICK until you have a chance to rest. the curse has corrupted you completely. Your inner beast bursts orth rom your flesh, set ree rom the morality CALL OF THE PACK o your soul. It is the curse maniest. As it devours the Animals that are o a similar type to your inner beast see remains o your ruptured body, your spirit grants its you as a one o their pack. When you call out for aid andprotection to one o your allies. Tey are immune to are near animals of your pack , roll +CHA. ✴On a 10+, the curse o the lycanthrope and their touch is its bane. you receive immediate aid. ✴On a 7-9, you receive aid, but I they already carry the curse, they are cured as i they with a complication. Choose one: rolled a 12+ or the Remove the Curse move. • It takes longer than you would like. Once you have become a Lycanthrope, youmustchoose • It isn’t as many or as strong as you would like. rom the ollowing moves when you level up: • It will aid you and no one else. 126
GRIMWORLD Compendium | Classes
THE DEATH KNIGHT “Do you think you can stop me? A thousand men have allen beore my blade. Tey thought their valor or their aith would save them. Tey were wrong. At night, I hear their souls crying in agony rom my blade, and I laugh. Afer you are gone and your proud city has crumbled to dust, I will still be here.”
BY
PETER JOHANSEN
REBUKE UNDEAD
When your voice resonates with the land of the, dead roll+CHA. ✴On a 10+ any mindless undead near you are cowed into submission, and you may command them to do your bidding. ✴On a 7-9 the undead will not approach you, but neither will they ollow you. Intelligent undead are more resistant to this move. Tey cannot be commanded, but a successul roll may convince them to help you or a while. For them, on a 7-9, there’s a price, When you pledge your soul in service to the Lich , King the next time you level up you may choose to gain this the GM will tell you what. move:
BLIGHT
REAPER
Your touch is toxic to all lie. Plants swifly wither and die in your grasp. When you grab a person and You are given one o the black-bladed weapons o the will the Blood Plague upon them , roll+CON. I you unliving, describe it! Your weapon has the ollowing succeed, they are inected. Te plague deals 1d4 damage tags: close, two-handed, messy, +1 damage, 2 weight. immediately, and another 1d4 damage every day until I you have the Signature Weapon move, this weapon cured. Te damage rom the disease cannot be healed replaces it, gaining any enhancements or other moves until the plague is cured. ✴On a 10+ choose three. ✴On that improve the weapon. a 7-9 choose two: When you slay a living person with your dark blade and consume his soul , you take +1 orward to your next move • Te plague is very virulent; increase the damage dice to 1d6. and heal 1d6 damage to yoursel. Souls consumed by you cannot be resurrected unless your weapon is destroyed. • Te plague is extremely difficult to treat, and will Additionally, when you take your Last Breath, take -1. require magical intervention or a rare, expensive Death doesn’t like to be cheated. medicine. aking this move immediately changes your alignment • Te person you inected is contagious, though anyone
to evil, and when you snuff out the hope o the living, he spreads the plague to is not. mark XP. • Anyone killed while they have the plague will rise the I you have the move Reaper, these count as class moves next night as a ghoul. or you; you can choose rom them when you level up: When you use this move, you cannot use it again until you slay and consume a living soul as per the Reaper move.
CHILL OF THE GRAVE
Rime ice coats your blade. Your black-bladed weapon deals +1d4 damage, and all damage done by your weapon counts as cold damage.
ARISE!
Requires: Rebuke Undead AND Blight When you sound the horn of Ragnarok, roll+CON. A number o undead equal to the result o your roll rise up around you. ✴On a 10+ you have complete control o When you swing your black-bladed weapon overheadyour undead horde. ✴On a 7-9, your hold is somewhat to summon a wave of darkness , roll+SR. ✴On a 10+ tenuous. Recently killed corpses rise immediately as you deal your damage against any target in near range. ghouls. I there are no corpses around you, skeletons ✴On a 7-9 you still deal damage, but you take 1d6 damage claw their way rom the earth to serve you, but it takes a little time or them to get there. yoursel, ignoring armor. When you use this move, you cannot use it again until you When you use this move, hold orment equal to twice slay and consume a living soul as per the Reaper move. the number o undead raised. You cannot use this move again until you have gotten rid o all o your orment. Healing rom the Reaper move may be instead spent to NSTOPPABLEAS EATH remove torment on a 1:1 basis. Your maximum hit points are increased by the sum o your SR and CON modifiers. Additionally, you can never become weakened or sickened, and you ignore the Forceul tag on any attacks made against you.
RAVEN’S FEAST
U
D
GRIMWORLD Compendium | Classes
127
THE ASSASSIN
BY
PETER JOHANSEN
She could be anywhere. She could be anyone. No place is sae rom her, no one too powerul or wealthy to all to her blade. By the time you know she’s there, it’ s too late. She slips in unnoticed, makes her kill, and then disappears without a trace, just as quickly as she appeared.
SHINOBI
HIDDEN BLADE
ASHES TO ASHES
When you move through the shadows across a dangerous or difficult path, roll+DEX. ✴On a 10+ choose three. ✴On a 7-9 choose two: • Your steps are completely silent. • You leave no trace of your passage. When you slay an important person at the behest of •a You are not harmed or hindered while you move. member of the Dark Brotherhood, the next time you • You move with near superhuman speed and grace. level up you may choose to gain this move: When you whisper a prayer to the Night Mother in You may conceal a melee weapon no larger than a dagger , their body on your person. Te weapon will not be ound i you are the ear o someone you have just killed turns to dust as they die, leaving no corpse. Te victim searched; not even magical detection can fi nd it. You can cannot be resurrected, and any type o communication draw this weapon in the blink o an eye. with their spirit ails. You can also choose to have some When you get close to your mark to make a surprise or all o their possessions turn to dust as well. Magical attack with your hidden blade , roll+DEX i you use items cannot be destroyed this way. stealth or speed, or roll+CHA i you use deception or charm. ✴On a 10+ choose two. ✴On a 7-9 choose one: ANISHING RICK
V
• You deal your damage+1d10. • Te attack is silent. • No one sees where the attack comes from until it’s too late. When you gain this move, i you also have the Backstab
T
You can create a vial o alchemical smoke at a cost o 10 coins. When you throw the vial upon a hard surface , a cloud o smoke bursts orth rom it. Te smoke briefly blinds and causes a coughing fit in anyone caught in the cloud except you. You may only possess one smoke vial at a time.
move, youmove may immediately Assassin list or ree. gain another move rom the DEAD MAN WALKING I you have the move Hidden Blade, these count as class You are immune to ear, as well as any magical effects moves or you and can choose rom them when you that would make you eel ear. When you take your Last level up: Breath, you take +1.
INCOGNITO When you attempt to remain inconspicuous as someone passes by , roll+CHA. ✴On a 10+ gain both o the ollowing effects. ✴On a 7-9 choose one: • Your presence is ignored, or otherwise forgotten. • No one will remember what you looked like.
RIGOR MORTIS When you kill someone with your hidden blade , you may instead choose to leave him or her alive but paralyzed or several hours.
ASSASSIN’S MARK When you leave a dagger upon your quarry’s pillow
and he discovers ,itthe next time you deal damage to that target, you automatically deal the maximum damage on all o your damage dice. You may only have one mark active at a time. A mark lasts or twenty-our hours.
128
GRIMWORLD Compendium | Classes
GRIMWORLD Compendium | Classes
129
THE CURSED KNIGHT PLAYBOOK
BY
TIM SCHROEDER
rpgnow.com/index.php?manuacturers_id=5554
RIP AND TEAR! When you invest some o your dark power into a mighty strike , roll +SR. ✴On a 10+, deal your damage and add two o the ollowing tags to your attack: Forceul, Messy, Area. ✴On a 7-9, same, plus the enemy makes an attack against you and you gain 1 urge. ✴On a miss, gain 2 urge in addition to any other outcomes.
BREAK FREE I a move would cause you to exceed your maximum urge or i you take damage while at your maximum urge, roll +CON. ✴On a 10+, choose one. ✴On a 7-9, choose one and the GM chooses one. • Lash out at an ally. • Corrupt something or someone else. • Break something important.
STATS
ALIGNMENT
Your base damage is d8. Your maximum HP is 8+Constitution.
⃞ GOOD Endanger yoursel to protect another.
LOOK Feral Eyes, Clear Eyes, World-Weary Eyes Wild hair, Hooded Head, Ritual attoos Piecemeal Armor, Shining Armor, Excessively Spiky Armor Scarred Body, Muscular Body, Monstrous Body
⃞ CHAOTIC Give in to your desires. ⃞ EVIL Prove your power over others.
BONDS
PURIFY When you take several hours to meditate , lose all urge. Your maximum urge is 3.
THE NATURE OF THE BEAST Some orce or entity has a hold on you.
Choose its nature: ⃞ B :You can smell the ear o those around you. ⃞ D :Add “cut a deal with your demon” to the options or Break Free and all moves that replace it. gregtaylorart.com ⃞ C : You possess a weapon with (close, +2 damage, 1 weight), describe it. I you are ever separated, your cursed weapon can be called to your hand at will. ACE ⃞ U I : a move tells you to mark off a ration, ⃞ HUMAN ignore it. , In addition, choose how your curse inconveniencesWhen you roll a 12+ on Rip and Tear or its replacements you may additionally dismay, awe, or terriy a lesser you: opponent. ⃞ P : Your curse is obvious to those around you, ⃞ E LF and whenever something bad happens you always seem to be the first one blamed. When you meditate using Purify or its replacements , ⃞ B R All : Break Free rolls are made at -1. you may additionally count as having used the Bolster move or one week. ⃞ B Gain : 1 urge whenever you allow an enemy to live. ⃞ B : Some material, symbol, or type o person burns you on contact or 1d8 damage and, in sufficient Area tag: Tis attack sweeps a wide radius, striking every quantity, can orce you to flee its presence. Consult enemy within range. with your GM.
__________ knows something about my past that I’d preer to keep hidden. __________ is wise to ear me. Intentionally or not, I’ve caused great trouble or __________. I am sworn to protect __________. ___________ stood up or me when no one else would.
GEAR
R
GRIM WORLD | Full Class: Te Cursed Knight
Your load is 8+STR. You start with dungeon rations
(5 uses, 1 weight). Choose a Defense: ⃞ Predator’s Armor (1 armor, worn, 1 weight) ⃞ Destroyer’s Armor (2 armor, worn, 3 weight) Choose Your Armaments: ⃞ Battle Axe (close, 1 weight) and Spiked Gauntlet (hand, +1 armor, 1 weight) ⃞ Monk’s Staff (Stun, close, reach, 2 weight) ⃞ Rending Claws (hand, 2 piercing, 0 weight) Choose one: ⃞ A scroll o orbidden knowledge (0 weight) ⃞ A precious memento (0 weight) ⃞ Proo o your guilt or innocence (0 weight)
W ( L B), v:
Ex F , . A , , k . A , v. W , x, v v v . F , ’v v k. T , ’v k .
ADVANCED MOVES When you gain a level from 6-10, choose from these or the level 2-5 moves.
When you gain a level rom 2-5, choose rom these
moves.
HUNTER’S INSTINCT
KILLER’S INSTINCT
BLOODHOUND
Add your current urge to your damage.
Add twice your current urge to damage.
BONDS OF SILVER
DARK ASCENSION
When you track a living creature whose blood you have tasted, roll +WIS. ✴On a 10+, choose one. ✴On a 7-9, choose two: Replaces: Break Free • Tey know you’re coming. You possess an item that helps restrain your “condition”. • It takes a long time to catch the trail. I a move would cause you to exceed your maximum urge or i you take damage while at your maximum urge, roll • Te trail leads through somewhere inconvenient. +CON. ✴On a 10+, choose one. ✴On a 7-9, choose two. ✴On a miss, you are rendered temporarily unconscious. ATE HE EAST When you kill a living being , you may reduce your urge • Lash out at an ally. by 1. Once you have taken this move, you cannot take • Corrupt something or someone else. Starve Te Beast. • Break something important. TARVE THE EAST • ake 1d6 damage, ignores armor. I a move tells you to gain 2 urge, gain 1 instead. Once you have taken this move, you cannot take Sate Te Beast. ARK ASSAGE
S
T
B
S
D
B
P
R
W
When you step into one shadow and out another that IDE THE AVE you can se ,eroll +CON. ✴On a 10+, you get through easily. ✴On a 7-9, same, but gain 1 urge. ✴On amiss, When you would be forced to use Break Free or any of gain 2 urge in addition to other outcomes. its replacements , you may instead orgo rolling to enter a berserker rage which lasts until you exhaust yoursel. In this state, add hal your urge rounded up to armor and UELL THE PARK you must Dey Danger to distinguish riend rom oe. I When you drain life force from a dying , rollfoe +CON. you would gain additional urge in this state, you must ✴On a 10+, you gain 2d6 hit points. ✴On a 7-9, you gain immediately make the Break Free (or replacement) move. 2d6 hit points and 1 urge. ✴On a miss, you gain 2 urge and something you didn’t want.
Q
S
MULTICLASSDABBLER
Replaces: Ride the Wave When you would be forced to use Break Free or any of its replacements , you may instead orgo rolling to enter Replaces: Majesty a berserker rage which lasts until you exhaust yoursel. In this state, add hal your urge rounded up to armor Your maximum urge is 5. and you must Dey Danger to distinguish riend rom oe. I you would be orced to make the Break Free (or PEX REDATOR replacement) move in this state, don’t. When you open your senses to their fullest ,capacity roll +WIS. ✴On a 10+, you can track enemies at near range by EATH AGE heartbeat. ✴On a 7-9, same, but gain 1 urge. ✴On a miss, While you are at your maximum urge, being reduced to gain 2 urge in addition to any other outcomes. 0 hit points does not make you take a Last Breath until battle ends.
A
P
D
R
HURRICANESLASH
Replaces: Bonds o Silver I a move would cause you to exceed your maximum urge, roll +CON. ✴On a 10+, you dey the beast and may lose 1 urge. ✴On a 7-9, choose one. ✴On a miss, mark a debility or every stat (i you cannot do this, you are instead rendered temporarily unconscious). • Lash out at an ally. • Corrupt something or someone else. • Break something important. • ake 1d6 damage, ignores armor. • Suffer a debility o your choice.
SCATTER BEFORE ME!
Get one move rom another class. reat your level as one lower or choosing the move. Replaces: Rip and ear! When you invest some of your dark power into a mighty AJESTY strike, roll +SR. ✴On a 10+, deal your damage and add three o the ollowing tags to your attack: Forceul, Messy, Your maximum urge is 4. Area, +1d4 damage. ✴On a 7-9, same, plus the enemy makes an attack against you and you gain 1 urge. ✴On a miss, gain 2 urge in addition to any other outcomes.
M
INHUMAN RESILIENCE You may gain 1 urge in place o spending hold to deend.
Simple Sketch or Icon Placeholder
GRIMWORLD|FullClass:TeCursedKnight
RIDE THE HURRICANE
QUENCH THE SPARK Replaces: Quell Te Spark When you drain life force from a dying , rollfoe +CON. ✴On a 10+, you gain 3d6 hit points and take +1 orward. ✴On a 7-9, you gain 3d6 hit points and 1 urge. On a miss, you gain 2 urge and something you didn’t want.
DIE! DIE! DIE!
Replaces: Scatter Beore Me! When you invest some of your dark power into a mighty strike, roll +SR. ✴On a 10+, deal your damage and add three o the ollowing tags to your attack: Forceul, Messy, Area, +2d4 damage. ✴On a 7-9, same, plus the enemy makes an attack against you and you gain 1 urge. ✴On a miss, gain 2 urge in addition to any other outcomes.
SAVAGESILHOUETTE Requires: Dark Passage When you step into one shadow and out another that you can see, roll +SR. ✴On a 10+, you leap rom the shadows with murderous intent and deal your damage to a nearby enemy. ✴On a 7-9, same, but your target makes an attack against you and you gain 1 urge. ✴On a miss, gain 2 urge in addition to any other outcomes.
MULTICLASSINITIATE Get one move rom another class. reat your level as one lower or choosing the move.
GRIMWORLD|FullClass:TeCursedKnight
CURSED MAGIC ITEMS VIAL OF DEFERRED PAIN Not all magic items are entirely beneficial or without cost. Te items in this section hold great power but beware the cost o using them. Be sure to read the Cursed Item Toolkit or tips on creating your own or tweaking an existing item. For Dungeon World,the items will be used primarily through the fiction. Te oolkit also has suggestions on how to add mechanical benefits/detriments as well.
For Fate Core,it’s best to treat a powerul item as an aspect. Whoever wields the item holds the aspect. As with any aspect, the item can be invoked or compelled. As a GM, you may also wish to give a magic item a ree invoke under certain circumstances or once per session.
You’ll also find a large grab bag o cursed/magic items contributed by the community. Tey can be taken straight out o the book or used to inspire your own creations.
When this vial is filled with a substance, the bearer becomes immune to harmul effects associated with its contents. Filling it with ashes gives immunity to fire. Filling it with the blood o someone gives the bearer immunity to that person’s attacks. I the vial were to ever break, all o the built up harmul effects would instantly come to pass upon the current bearer.
BANOCA’S BOOK OF FAVORS A small leather bound book with an unknown sigil on the cover. Inside are hundreds o avors written and crossed out, some in black ink, others in red. Write a short sentence describing a avor you wish to be done. Te moment you stop writing, a sentence will appear on the opposite page. Do this new avor, and your own request will come to pass. For every day that you do not act towards the new avor, your own request will begin to change, word by word, to something less desirable until such an unortunate event comes.
CORN OF
FULGRUM’S LOCKBOX
A airly large chest that has been magically made impervious to any damage. Instead o a keyhole, there is a slot or coins. Above the coinslot, there is a mechanical display o words and a number. It says “Incalculable Wealth Awaits! Please enter coins to open:” and then a number. Te number will go down with every coin entered, but randomly (and always on the last coin entered) the display will temporarily say “Countereit coin detected, please try again.” and the number will reset. I players ever manage to open it (likely by cheating), they’ll find that the coins were being sent through a small portal and the box is designed to never open.
A
ORRUPTION
C
A blackened, oul smelling seed o corruption incarnate. When this acorn tastes even just a drop o water, it immediately begins to sprout and meld itsel into whatever it touches. Te putrid contamination will spread aster and aster with every rise o the moon. Anything or anyone affected by the blight will be both physically and mentally corrupted, tending to more and more evil acts. Whole lands will be consumed unless it is burned away and contained.
INKLING THE EMBEREYE A brilliant fire opal the size o a cherry, carved and polished to be perectly round. Holding it in your hand allows you to see what any flame within miles sees, as i you were standing there. Be warned, the longer you use it, the hotter the gemstone becomes. Use it too ofen and you may even begin to associate burning with pleasure.
134
GRIM WORLD Cursed | Magic Items
A (usually mischievous) sentient being made o pure arcanist’s ink. It is able to travel across any surace that can be drawn on, such as paper, wood, or skin. It can magically speak and sometimes even knows spells (likely stolen or overheard). Most o the time it will stay still and hide as a drawing or tattoo, but it can move and animate at will. Inklings are easily amused, but have short tempers.
GRIM WORLD Cursed | Magic Items
135
CURSED ITEM TOOLKIT WORD OF DAY’S REGRET A seemingly mundane slip o paper, with a single word written on it in an ancient tongue. When the word is read, the piece o paper turns to ash, but the sole reader sees the letters burnt into their mind’s eye. At any time in the uture, this person can spea k the word aloud. Te entire world immediately turns to ash beore the person’s eyes, but afer a moment o darkness, they wake to find time has reset to the morning o the same day. Anyone who heard the word spoken still has their memories o the day’s events, but no one (not even the speaker) remembers the word.
SCROLL OF THE NIGHTSHADES What first appears to be a blank scroll, viewing it at night shows glowing runes o an ancient language. When viewed or more than a moment, the black and white o the viewer’s eyes invert. Teir pupil turns white, their sclera turns black. Likewise, they see the light o the world completely opposite. Te darkest night will seem as bright as day. Tey will be completely blind on a sunny day. Tis effect lasts until the next eclipse.
FRUIT OF CRAVING A perectly succulent ruit o any type (such as an apple, plum, or peach). Likely cursed by a dark ae with a cruel sense o humor. When this cursed piece o ruit is consumed, the eater experiences a ew moments o immense bliss. Unortunately, their mind is slightly altered in the process. Whenever they see an ordinary ruit o the same type, they are filled with an intense craving. Tey will do everything they can to get their hands on it. Tey may be compelled to trade their belongings, give away secrets, steal or even murder.
THE BLOOD DRINKER A ceremonial dagger with small grooves running along the blade. Whenever it touches blood, such as when it is stabbed into the flesh o an enemy, the grooves glow and drink the blood in. Te blade’s thirst is unquenchable and will drain an entire body i lef in long enough. Every day, the dagger must drink hal a flask o blood or it will begin to dull or rust, and eventually break.
MAKING A CURSED ITEM Here’s a list of some possible cursed item tags, butOfen don’t it’s best to keep things primarily fiction driven, be afraid to create your own. but or the tags that give a character certain impulses, A good cursed item is just as tempting or the player as emotions, or desires, GM’s may want to add a mechanical effect. it is to the character. And the best cursed items ARE
tempting. An item that’s just bad all around isn’t nearly as interesting as an item that holds great power but comes with a cost. Consider perhaps the most inamous cursed item o them all: Te One Ring. Also, as a GM, don’t eel you need to always reveal every detail o the item. Sometimes it’s best to tell the player what they’re risking, but ofen it’s more un to find out the item’s curse through play.
For Dungeon World , when you give in to such an impulse,
take +1 orward. When you resist, take -1 orward. Another option is only allowing partial successes (7-9) when you act against the c ursed item. For Fate Core , treat these impulses as a Compel against the item’s aspect (versus the wielder). Occasionally, you may wish to add a situation aspect, i the scene calls or it.
ANTITHESIS
IMPULSIVE
When this item is in your possession, something about you (such as your personality or alignment) will be completely opposite. Te bold will become meek; the good will turn evil.
Occasionally, the item will put a troublesome impulse in your mind without you realizing it. Te item might want you to steal a valuable, betray an ally, or start a fire, depending on its personality.
APPETITE
INCITE
Periodically, the item needs to consume or soak up a
Te item will encourage a specific emotion, such as anger,
specific substance (such the as sunlight, tree sap, etc.). I this is not done, item will blood, not unction or begin to degrade.
SENTIENT
ear, sadness, or apathy.
DISGUST
Whether it’s magically powerul or seemingly mundane, a sentient item is one with a mind, will, and goals o its own. Maybe it’s a spirit living inside the item, or the personality o a past bearer has imprinted itsel. It’s not always inherently evil, but beware what happens when you disagree.
When this item is in your possession, everyone around you will eel an inexplicable sense o disgust towards you.
TRIGGERED
BACKBITER When you attack with this weapon and ail, the damage is dealt to you instead.
Something (usually bad) happens when a particular trigger is hit. Te trigger could be a fictional event (when An item with the Bound tag means it’s somehow attached the item is in moonlight), or something mechanical (like rolling a speci fic number). to the wielder. It could be embedded in your skin, or cause you great pain when you put it down. Perhaps NLUCKY every time you attempt to rid yoursel o it, somehow the world conspires to give it back. Te item could bind Unlucky items will cause their bearers misortune. itsel to you as soon as you pick it up, or need to be used Depending on the severity, this might maniest as a -1 or triggered first. to all rolls, or as s erious complications that unexpectedly happen when the character acts. Particularly unlucky ISTRUST items will tend to “attach” themselves to their owner somehow, making them very difficult to get rid o (see: When this item is in your possession, those you interact Bound ). Ofen, another person must be tricked into with will be deeply suspicious and think you’re up to accepting the item. something.
BOUND
U
D
136
GRIM WORLD Cursed | Magic Items
GRIM WORLD Cursed | Magic Items
137
BY
RAY BECKMANN
SHALANDAR’S BRACER (1 weight, Worn)
THE CURRENCY OF GOBLIN GREED (0 weight) Te first coin ever earned by a certain notorious goblin ‘merchant’ who reused to ever part with it. When he was captured by authorities who wanted to talk to him about his ‘business’ practices, he swallowed the coin to keep it sae. Unortunately his incarceration was longer than he expected so this became a… reoccurring event. While this coin itsel has no monetary value anymore, swallowing it will cause the character to vomit up several pieces o useul currency. Tey will gain the Sick debility and it takes twice as long as normal to remove. Te coin will come into the character’s possession again once the debility has been removed.
TALISMAN OF ANCIENT SORROWS (0 weight, Worn)
During the battle his arm was badly mangled so he crafed a bracer rom the skin o the hellhound that maimed him. He soon ound that while the bracer strengthened his arm, it prevented the wound rom ever closing properly – seemingly out o pure spite. While wearing the bracer you become nearly immune to fire and heat. Likewise, you gain bonuses on eats o strength. However any healing effects you receive are significantly lessened unless it comes rom a source that causes pain and suffering to another. When you put on the bracer it sears itsel to the flesh o your arm, so removing it will be problematic at best.
RAZIEL’S WINGS (1 weight, Worn)
Created by a shaman rom a long-dead tribe, this necklace o monster teeth has been passed down rom warrior to warrior. Once you own it, it is said that you must wear it until you all in battle or your dreams will orever be haunted by those who find you unworthy. While wearing the talisman, you can hear the thoughts o any monster
Te exact srcin o this extraordinary cloak is open to debate. Some believe that it was made rom the wings o a allen angel who was looking or his long lost love. Others say the wings were torn rom a noble vampire that was betrayed by his master. Either way, those who wear it or extended periods begin to hear whispers in the back o their mind and eel a
you are fighting. Tis can allow you to gain insight into its motivations and strategies (i any) but you can easily become overwhelmed by the mind o such creatures.
compulsion to find something called the ‘Sword o Micah’. When the wearer o this torn grey cloak pulls it tightly around them, they can ade into a realm o shadows. Once there they can see and hear everything around them as a muffled reflection while remaining hidden themselves. Planar creatures or those heavily attuned to darkness and magic have a chance to sense the wearer.
Whenever you kill a noteworthy monster, you may add a tooth to the talisman. Tis will help – and hinder – you in unusual ways.
THE TRICKSTER’S VIAL (1 weight) According to legend, a bet was made between a vindictive king and his court jester. O course, when the king lost, he ordered the jester executed rather than honouring his bet. Trown into the dungeon, the jester offered his soul to the God o Fools i he would save him rom his terrible ate. Amused by the jester, the God o Fools gave him a small vial filled with gently glowing white liquid. When the jester drank the liquid, he ound that he could convince the guards o any alsehood that he spoke. Using this trick, he escaped and eventually plotted the downall o the king. When you drink rom the vial, people become willing to believe even the most outrageous alsehoods. While under the effect o the vial, you can not speak the truth and are compelled to make up outlandish stories. Also, the people you trick will eventually realize that you were lying and likely seek revenge. Te rickster’s Vial will slowly refill itsel i emptied.
138
Long ago, a traveler with a wanderlust like no other made his way to a sinister temple. Hearing chanting rom within but heedless to the danger, he ventured inside and came across a dark ritual. A young maiden was about to be sacrificed so the traveler intervened and saved her but was beset by the cultists and the hellhounds they summoned.
GRIM WORLD Cursed | Magic Items
Also, i the wearer lingers too long in this shadowy realm they begin to attract the attention o the oul denizens that live there.
THE FANG OF THE WORLDEATER (1 weight, Close, +2 damage, 3 Piercing) Tis dagger is supposedly made rom the creature that devoured the world beore this one. Even i you do not believe this tale, a sense o dread fills whomever holds it and no one can deny its deadly properties.
Tis weapon can damage any creature, regardless o immunities or other such effects. Whenever a creature harmed by this dagger dies (even rom some cause other than the dagger), the person who currently owns the blade senses it. Te death causes a deep hunger to arise in the owner and they become obsessed with satiating themselves. Tis hunger can be a craving or whatever the GM chooses, even i it is a desire the character doesn’t normally have. GRIM WORLD Cursed | Magic Items
139
BY
VEMONSPIT
HANNAH FOSTER
https://plus.google.com/u/0/105149460475600709454
(1 weight, Close, Near) A staff o inky black wood carved in the shape o a hissing serpent. For centuries, this staff was held by the leaders o a powerul necromantic sect. When the sect was finally destroyed by a group o adventurers, the staff became a war trophy that brought both glory and misery to those who used it. Te user will find hidden barbs located along the length o the staff. Tese barbs can be used or bloodletting (and it can happen accidentally i they are not careul) which will cause all spells to become ar more potent and requently have additional effects. However, a small amount o necromantic venom is injected into the character as they do this. Over time this venom can build up and cause insanity, death… or worse.
BY
VOODOO DOLLS 100 coin, 3 uses, 1 Weight Scorned by a lover? Draconic Boss? Irritating Nemesis? You can make them all pay! Just grab a lock o hair, maybe a nai l clipping, and some blood never hurts, and put it in this doll here! All you need is a couple o needles and they’ll rue the day they crossed you! O course we give a seller’s guarantee, its not like these things could ever ail...
CIRCLET OF ENFYS
TOM MINSKEY
+1 Armour, 0 weight
POTION OF THE FLUID FORM
Te circlet always settles neatly on your head; when worn ghostly apparitions fill your vision. Tey are hauntingly beautiul; but never trust them. Tey aim to lead you astray, ool your senses and leave you addled. And never sleep with the circlet on; once in your dreams they no longer require the circlet as a gateway to your eyes.
When someone drinks this potion, their entire body becomes liquid or a ew moments. Tey may flow under doors, around the bars o a cell, down a drain pipe, etc. While in this orm they take no damage and can
SHOE OF THE WHITE HORSE
do nothing butspells, move or at do their normalelse speed. Tey may not attack, cast anything in this orm.
1 weight A seemingly ordinary horseshoe, with a slightly tarnished appearance. When nailed to a being, object, or place, the unortunate host starts to suffer rom Te Rot. Disease and decay will spread rom the shoe, until t he point o complete ruin.
RING OF MEMORIZATION
BLINKERS OF THE RED HORSE
When worn by a spellcaster who must prepare their spells, this ring allows them to memorize a number o spells whose total levels don’t exceed their level +3 instead o +1.
SERPENT’S TONGUE While holding this mummified snake’s tongue in their hand, the possessor may speak to and understand all snakes and snake-like beings. Tis does not mean the snakes will want to talk to you or do as you say. Some say that whatever process that created the Serpent’s ongue may be used on other types o animals as well i their tongues were used, but so ar no other types are known to exist.
140
GRIM WORLD Cursed | Magic Items
1 weight
MUZZLE OF THE BLACK HORSE
A pair o vermilion equi ne blinkers. When attached to a living creature, they morph into a perect fit. Te creature wearing the blinders will all into blind rage, and lash out at anything that moves. It is impossible to reach the mind o anythi ng wearing this item.
B
P
H
RIDLE OF THE ALE ORSE 1 weight 1 weight A muzzle; when placed on the ace o a living creature, it will immediately shif and bind their mouth. Te muzzleA abled item brought back rom the Black Gates is near irremovable, leaving the poor unortunate to by a legendary Tie. Nobody knows what it does; starve at an accelerated rate. nobody has been willing to try.
GRIM WORLD Cursed | Magic Items
141
BY
DAVE BOZARTH
BY
SOREN KOLHMEYER
DEAD MAN’S ARM Tis mummified arm is ofen ound choking the throat o a dead, onearmed body in black robes. I you’re a Necromancer, you can stitch this arm to your body. I you do, you must give some o your lie energy to the arm to keep it happy. Choose how much Constitution you lose (1 to 4). Whenever you Raise the Dead, the arm will give you +1d4 extra Power. But be warned, i your bonus Power is ever more than the amount o Constitution you gave the arm, well, you get the point...
BONE ARMOR NECROMANCER
OF THE
2 Armor, Stress 3 Created rom the remain o great warriors lost to the fields o war, the Bone Armor bears the unmistakable mark o necromancy and stench o the dead. While you wear this armor, you are or all purposes considered undead. Additionally, you may take any o the ollowing as advanced moves. Doing so, bonds the Bone Armor to you orever.
SHIELD OF UNLIFE
GRAVEPACT
When you would take damage while in the Bone Armor, you may negate that damage by marking
By investing a little o your lie essence (-3HP) you can graf a dead limb or organ to the armor, able to
T
THE RED RIGHT HAND A severed right hand, coated in slick red blood that never dries. It is said to belong to the Grey Prince, a being rom beyond the stars that brought death and decay to the world at the beginning o time. For the price o a piece o your soul, you can use the hand to tear the veil between the
it as an extension o your own body and gain an 1 Stress. When the Bone Armor takes Stress, markuse one o the ollowing: extraordinary trait like one o the ollowing:
living and any land o the dead, but youseeks will gain Prince, who tirelessly his the lost attention Hand. o the Grey
• Bruised: You no longer gain any o the benefits • Arachnoid: When you take limbs and join them o counting as the Undead, though all o the into a semblance o spider legs (or s imply use large negative effects still apply. spider legs), you may move along walls and ceilings just as well as you would the floor. • Battered: Te Bone Armor no longer provides
When you slash at reality with the Red Right Hand, say which land o the dead you made an opening to, and roll+WIS.
an Armor value. • Beaten: Te orces that bind the Gravepact have altered, those conjoined body parts no longer unction.
• Second thoughts: By grafing parts o the brain and spine to your armor, you grant it the ability to operate without anyone inside o it, ollowing your orders without question.
• A thousand Eyes: Afer you attach the extra eyes to your armor, you are able to see any direction that they are pointing, granting you 360* vision. Tis does not allow you to see in the dark or beyond OMENTO MORI your normal limits o sight. Tat will require When you make camp, taking some time to adorn another graf. your armor with the remains o the reshly dead Serrated Bone Ridges: Extending the bone plates • and grave decorations o your homeland, you may and jagged edges o the armor allows you to use it unmark 1 Stress. as a weapon with a range o Close.
When every Stress box is filled in, the Bone Armor is reduced to dust.
M
• Te Heart Cage: When you graf the hearts o 7 strong and stout warriors (the GM’s call i they count) to your armor, gain +1 Stress Box.
142
A
Drivethru RPG Publisher Page BY DRIAN HOEN rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?manuacturers_id=5316 Tis work by Adrian Toen is licensed under aCreative google.com/+AdrianToen Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
GRIM WORLD Cursed | Magic Items
MOONSHADEBREW A potion that glows with a strange negative light. When you drink the brew made rom the flowers o the rare and mysterious moonshade vine, and sleep there during the dark o the moon, roll+CON. You will pass into a deep slumber. Your spirit will drif ree o your body and enter the Shade, where you can see and interact with the souls and other creatures in the Shade.
THE BLACK COMPASS A large, indestructible flat disc made out o an unrecognizable metal. It is always cold to the touch, even i thrown into the heart o a orge fire. When struck, or hit on something, it makes no sound. Te disc is perectly flat and smooth, apart rom a small indent in the center, large enough or a single drop o liquid.
GRIM WORLD Cursed | Magic Items
143
BY
ANDREW VANORDEN
http://ajvanorden.blogspot.com/
WYTCHKNIFE (1 weight, Hand) It appears to be a shard o volcanic glass, sharper than sin and blacker than a moonless midnight. It should be as ragile as ice, but seems harder than steel when its edge is put to the test. One end is swathed in strands o strange leather, while the rest is etched with sigils o pain and loss and ear. It slides through flesh as easily as air, and blood seems to seep into its thirsty surace, never spilling a drop. And it whispers, cajoles, pleads with you – just a little pain now or so much power later.
BY
JAMES GIBSON
THE TOME OF THE ETERNAL SHADOW Probably best not to think about what this book is bound in. I mean, it looks like old, cracked leather, but it just eels weird... Te pages o the book tell stories, and the stories are o those who lived centuries ago. I the entirety o a story is read, then the reader will undergo a painul transormation, over hours, days, or even weeks, into the character described, while, unseen, the words on the pages shif and crawl to tell a new story...
Once per level, the wielder may make a Pact with the Wytchknife. Te wielder permanently loses 1 HP and may choose one of the following benefits: • Pact of Pain:Mere metal cannot hold back the misery the Wytchknie can inflict. Gain Piercing 2 • Pact of Hate: Te Wytchknie burns with the purple flames o hatred. Add the tag Flaming to the Wytchknie (hack and slash moves can light objects and enemies on fire). • Pact of Misery: Te wounds made by the Wytchknie last a lietime. Add the Messy tag to the Wytchknie. • Pact of Shadow:Tose who cannot see the Wytchknie have already tasted its edge. Te wielder may use the Backstab move rom the Tie playbook with the Wytchknie. I you already have this move, you may now choose 3 on a 10+ and 2 on a 7-9.
SECRET BOOK OF KHAL’AMOR Te thin pages o this book have been read by only a handul. Tose that read this book are gifed with a great insight into the nature o reality, which unortunately will likely drive them quite, quite mad. Te player may ask one thing o the GM (a truth, perhaps, or even a avor...) but rom now on, whenever the poor soul that read it rolls a 6-, they will suffer a debility. Also, their character is totally insane. Like, gaa-gaa goo-goo.
• Pact of Spirits:Tose slain by the Wytchknie eed its strength and its cruelty. Each opponent killed by the wielder with the Wytchknie gives a +1 ongoing to damage or the encounter. Tis is cumulative. o Blood: • Pact the the Wytchknie deep, may sustain both flesh and bone. Each kill with the Wytchknie heals wielder 1drinks HP per Pactand made.
Power, however, comes at a greater price than a mere pound o flesh. Once the wielder has made 3 Pacts to the Wytchknie, the whispers cease and no more Pacts may be made. Te Wytchknie retains its powers, but its spirit is now reed. A creature o darkness, an inky shadow in the likeness o its ormer master, it seeks to spread mayhem and murder. It does not necessarily attack the wielder or his party straight away, but its misdeeds soon reach their ears as it carves its way through nearby steadings and the peaceul olk therein, taking special pleasure in harming those the wielder called riends and allies.
THE TALON A small, unassuming obsidian knie. When a place is whispered to it, however, the blade can draw apart the olds o reality, depositing the user at their destination afer a harrowing trip through strange dimensions. It’ll probably take some time anyway, but afer all, isn’t that how the crow flies?
CHAINED GODSBLADE Tere are beings, once worshiped as gods, now pulled down by those who proessed their worship and orged into a shadow o their ormer glory. No less dangerous or their all, these chained divinities are wielded as weapons almost as dangerous to their wielder as they are to those who find themselves under their edge. Each blade is the twisted essence o a once-powerul being; beyond that, no two are alike in appearance or consequence.
When you roll your damage die while wielding the Chained Godsblade, roll a second damage die one die type higher than your class’s base damage die (eg, a d8 becomes a d10, a d10 becomes a d12), and add them together However, i both dice come up the same number, the spirit o the blade takes hold, causing a complication determined by the nature o the blade. 144
GRIM WORLD Cursed | Magic Items
EXOTIC MATTER Floating in a magical prison, entombed beneath the earth, summoned by an insidious cult... It doesn’t matter where this stuff came rom, but you can tell by looking at it that it’s wrong. No light escapes it, there’s no hef to it, and worse, it changes everything it touches. And it doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
GRIM WORLD Cursed | Magic Items
145
BY
JEROME LARRE
ADDITIONAL DEATH MOVES
www.tartorez.com
GENERIC DEATH MOVES WHIP OF BRUTAL DOMINANCE When you are on top o a monster big enough to carry your weight and want to tame it, roll your damage dice. Te monster loses as many hit points but it will recover them as soon as he is reed, tamed, or you lose your grip. You cannot use this move again beore the monster has made another move. I the monster is brought to less than 1 hit point by this move, roll+SR. On a ail, you lose your grip and its next move is targeted at you. On a success you can use the monster as a mount. On a 10+, you get 3 hold. On a 7-9, you get 1 hold. You can spend 1 hold to: • Ride the monster a very long distance. • Ride the monster through a very perilous path. Both o you are unharmed. • Make the monster use one o its moves at the target o your choice. • Make the monster display its special abilities in a very useul way (smash a wall down, etc.). • Kill the monster is a very graphic and cruel way.
HORN OF DESTINY When you1 blow the Horn olevel. Destiny, chooseisitsgreater Wrath,than which is a number between and your actual I Wrath 3, Roll+3. Otherwise, Roll+Wrath. On a 10+, you deal Wrath times your damage to all enemies around. On a 7-9, you deal Wrath times your damage to all enemies and allies around. On a 6-, you deal Wrath times your damage to all allies around.
BY
JACOB RANDOLPH
Drivethru RPG Publisher Page rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?manuacturers_id=4996
Don’t like the Death Move your playbook comes with? Feel like it doesn’t mesh with your character concept? You can replace it with one o the ollowing Death Moves instead:
RETIREMENT
FINAL WILL AND TESTAMENT
You really do not want to die. When death comes your way, you do everything you can to avoid it, but at a cost Your character has some kind o abulous wealth, and in - you suffer a major, permanent injury, that orces you your time adventuring, you decided to write up a will. to retire rom adventuring. You settle down somewhere Now that your time is up, it’s time to cash in. When you to live out your retirement. Determine where you are settling down, and within a week, you’ll have a sae place die, or each Bond you have with another player, that player gains the rights to some great material good your set up or the other players to retreat to. Te settlement you have settled down in will regard anyone you have a character has owned this entire time, possibly without bond with ondly. In addition, choose one benefit: telling anyone. A ew examples o a Great Material Good: A mansion or summer home, a retinue o servants or bodyguards, vast wealth (approx. 500 coins), a place o power, a position o office or nobility, an expensive ship or vehicle, an exotic mount, or an improved, custom version o a normal piece o gear.
•
•
THERE’S SOMETHINGI STILL MUST DO
S :You set up a school or spreading your teachings. All other players gain +1 to Spout Lore while in your settlement, and gain an additional +1 Preparation when using the Bolster move.
M You : set up a band o mercenaries and operate as their center o intelligence. All other players gain +1 to Recruit while in your settlement, and any Hirelings gained this way have +1 Loyalty.
M :You own the settlement you settle down in, ruling over it however you best see fit. Other players You die with vengeance on your lips and unfinished are immune to the Outstanding Warrants move in business in your heart. When you die, you come back as this settlement, and don’t need to spend any coin to a ghost. Choose something or someone to be bound to take the Carouse move in this settlement. you cannot get arther than Reach away rom them. ell us what your unfinished business is - once that business is AST TAND completed, you will finally die. Your unfinished business must be a single task that needs completion, such as You have a burning need to die in final, glorious combat, seeing someone killed or delivering a message or item to someone. It cannot be a more nebulous or indeterminate and nothing will stop you rom achieving it. When you goal, like “guard ____” or “regain my honor.” You retain die outside o battle, you press on, unable to die until a all your stats and moves, except you no longer have HP worthy opponent aces you in combat. When you die or Armor, and you can walk through physical obstacles during battle, you press on until the battle is over. In such as walls or enemies. You do not need to eat, drink, either case, when making a move during combat, take a result o 12 without rolling. When the battle is over, win or breathe, but you do still need sleep. Now go orth, ghost - you have unfinished business to attend to. or lose, you finally die. •
UNQUENCHABLE Whenever you kill one o your allies with Unquenchable and explicitly let the sword devour its soul, you hold 1 Soul. You can spend 1 Soul to get one the ollowing: • Double the damage you deal with Unquenchable. • Give you hal o your lie points back. • Make a 10+ on a take watch move. • Make a 10+ on a discern reality move. Unquenchable makes some very disturbing sounds while doing any o the above (screams, almost inaudible whispers, etc.). Te first time you find Unquenchable, it has 2 Souls. Whenever you have 0 Souls, you take -1 orward on all your moves. Te sword cannot be willingly given or lef to somebody else.
146
GRIM WORLD | Cursed Magic Items
L
S
GRIM WORLD | Additional Death Moves
147
DUNGEON WORLD BASE CLASSES BY
JACOB RANDOLPH
Drivethru RPG Publisher Page rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?manuacturers_id=4996
THE BARBARIAN
THE CLERIC
A GOOD DAY TO DIE
LAST RITES
Tere is that tranquil moment, beore death, where None are closer to your god than you, and they will everything slows to a crawl. Most waste that moment, personally visit you in your final moments. When you but not you. No, you seize that moment and do not die, your god will show up, in person, to escort your soul let go. When you die, you enter a deathless ury. For to the realm o the dead. Any witnessing your god will about a minute (to you), nothing else can move or take be stunned with awe, terror, or bliss, whichever is most any actions at all, and you can do anything you want appropriate. Your god will grant you a final request. I unopposed. When your time is up, only a moment has you request vengeance, the ground your god walks will passed or everyone else, and the results o your actions orever be cursed and every attack it makes will scar all take effect at once. Afer one last line or a bellowing the land. I you request anything else, whatever your laugh or both, you die. god touches while completing the task will be eternally consecrated. In either case, your grave becomes a holy place, and any petitioner who visits your grave with an HE ARD appropriate offering can speak to your god directly.
T
B
ENCORE
THE DRUID
It can’t end here, not like this! It was just getting to the good part! When you die, you make sure you get in the last word: you’ve got just enough lef in you or one final WHERE THE WILD THINGS GROW perormance. When the time is right, you get back up Your connection to the wilds runs deeper than even you and steal the spotlight. Deliver a monologue, play a song, realized. When you die, the area around you is suddenly anything that draws a lot o attention. You automatically filled with the natural energies which had been pent up take a result o 12+ on all Spout Lore, Bardic Lore, Arcane inside you. Your body is encased and preserved inside Art, and Aid Another rolls during this perormance. o a massive and sudden growth o nature related to While you have the spotlight, no one under the GM’s your Land - perhaps a tree, a stone spire, or a glacier. In addition, everywhere within a mile or 10 suffers a control will take action - they are spellbound by your perormance and will only act in response to another massive biome shif, permanently gaining the eatures o player attacking them directly. When your perormance your Land. And finally, the area is suddenly populated is finished, take a bow, or your time is up. with every type o creature or elemental whose orm you have ever taken, the strongest o which will spawn right where you ell. You may be gone, but your mark on the world has been made.
Simple Sketch/Icon/Grime Placeholder
148
GRIMWORLD Additional | DeathMoves
THE FIGHTER
THE THIEF
SHATTER BARS, CLEAVE GATES
THE ULTIMATETHEFT
When you finally all, you make sure someone’s coming You always took every opportunity, grabbed every with you. With every last bit o strength you have in your treasure, every upper hand you could get. Ultimately, even your Death is just another opportunity. When you die , weary bones, you make a final, ultimate strike. When you die, choose any enemy you can see and deal double your you steal something straight rom the realm o the dead. It maximum damage to them. Tis attack does not stop at can be literally anything, except your own lie. If you steal If you your target - everything between you and your target, as a soul, they come back to lie, inhabiting your body. well as everything directly behind your target out to Far steal a magical artifact , it is ound clutched in the hands range, is also hit. I you were using a bladed weapon, you o your corpse.If you steal invaluable knowledge , it can create a rending scar, tearing through everything in its be ound written in your blood on the walls around you. path. I you were using a bashing weapon, you create a crushing quake, shattering everything in its path. I you THE WIZARD were using a stabbing weapon, you create a gouging hole, piercing through everything in its path. With this final DYING WISH blow completed, you collapse, very much dead. You’ve known this spell or ages - the ultimate spell, which can rewrite reality however you see fit, at the tiny cost o THE PALADIN your own lie. It’s been burning in the back o your mind, ever since you ound it wasting away in that moldy old ETERNAL GUARDIAN tome, orgotten by time. But now there is no more time - not or you. It’s now or never. When you die, you cast You have proven yoursel such a valiant champion o your belies that not even death will keep you away rom your final, ultimate spell: Wish. Shout out your wish, but urthering your cause. When you die, your spirit lives make it quick - you are dying, you know. Te last thing on with those who remember you. Each other player you see beore your body disintegrates into dust is reality holds 1-Reckoning. When another player is in dire need, twisting and thrashing to make your wish come true. they can spend 1-Reckoning to summon your spirit to aid them. Tis spirit comes with 6-hold or the Deend BY HANNAH FORSTER move, deals 10 damage with any attack it makes, grants +1 to any move it helps out on, and has enough power google.com/+HannahForster to restore 3d6 HP or remove 1 disease or debility rom any one person. Your spirit will stick around long enough to see the trouble through beore ading away, and only THE FIGHTER those who knew you in lie will be able to see this spirit.
LEGENDARY WEAPON
THE RANGER
Tere it is to your side; your best riend, your lie, your weapon. Your weapon, that without you, was useless. Without your weapon, you were useless. You are soulbound to this weapon; with your last breath you Death is an expected part o the natural world. You had grasp it and take your last stand. You automatically ully accepted the inevitability o your death long ago, and you succeed on one Hack & Slash or Deend roll, beore you had also prepared or it, in ways no one likely expected. finally all.Your signature weapon now contains your When you die, you reveal that you were the bait or the soul; it becomes a magical weapon retaining 2 o its ultimate trap. Reveal the nature o this trap now, be it an enhancements, and gaining one new magical effect. ambush, a misdirection, or an unexpected reveal. Tis trap should give your allies a major boon or advantage, or Its magical effects should be related to what you desired set up your enemies or destruction, or set major world or stood or in lie; Work with the GM to decide its power. events in motion. You may have had to become prey in Tis Legendary Weapon will be orever bloodstained; within lies your sleeping soul, waiting to be awakened. the end, but you were always the hunter.
MAY WE DIE IN THE FOREST
GRIMWORLD Additional | DeathMoves
149
THE SKY DANCER
INVERSE WORLD BY
GIFT OF FLIGHT
JACOB RANDOLPH
Drivethru RPG Publisher Page rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?manuacturers_id=4996
THE CAPTAIN
THE GOLEM
DOWN WITH THE SHIP
SELF DESTRUCT IMMINENT
You and your ship are eternally linked by ate. When you Tis is it - your core is leaking. Your systems, ailing. die, your ship comes with you. No matter where you are Te magic holding you together, dissipating. You’re a or what you were doing, when you die, your ship comes power load, and you’re about to explode. When you crashing down, smashing into whatever thing you no die, you stand up one last time. You have 60 seconds to longer want existing. And it is crushed, and destroyed, get anyone important away rom you, and anything you and it is gone. Everyone important on your ship will bail want to stop existing next to you. Tere is no armor or out beore impact, but nothing your ship slams into will protection in existence that will shield something rom survive, and your ship won’t either - they are all smashed what happens when your timer hits 0. When your time is into a massive pile o debris and destruction. up, everything within Reach o you disintegrates, burnt away and gone orever.
THE COLLECTOR
THE LANTERN
SOULBOUND COLLECTION Somewhere, so deeply buried in your collection you
DYING LIGHT
probably it existed, is a cursed curio. You picked in A Lantern’s dutywill is tobebring to this andbody even it up as an orgot idle curiosity, ignoring the warnings that said death, there light.light When youworld, die, your it would steal souls as nothing more than superstition, shines bright light out o your eyes and mouth, your or as something you might use to catch a ghost one day. hands and wounds, and or just a moment, you gain Well, your soul just got put up or grabs. When you die, access to Sola’s great powers. You then perorm a single describe a curio related to your collection’s theme - a ew divine act o massive scale or strength, with the ull might minutes afer your death, you wake up inside the item, o Sola behind you. Once the action has been completed, now in control o it. I the curio cannot move by its own you explode into a blast o light, temporarily blinding any means, you float along, a couple eet above the ground, who were looking directly at you. Everything non-living and you are 1-weight, should anyone need to carry you. affected by this blast will orever glow sofly, in a color You keep your stats, damage, HP, and the Curiosity move, o your choice. but nothing else. When you roll up a new character, maintain control o your Collector as a second character. I the curio is destroyed, your Collector dies or good.
Simple Sketch/Icon/Grime Placeholder
150
GRIMWORLD Additional | DeathMoves
Tis is it - your flying days are finally over. But the thrill o flight will never truly die. When you die, choose an ally who you have a Bond with and give them your character sheet. Tey gain your Gif o Flight and the ake o Te Sky move - describe how they obtained it. In addition, THE MECHANIC that player holds 2-Memory. At any time, they may spend 1-Memory to gain access to every move you had on your AUTOPILOT ENGAGED character sheet until the current danger or obstacle has Beore this latest mission started, you’d input the been surpassed. Tey roll +2 or all o your moves gained parameters o your objective into your suit, just in case rom spending Memory. something happened to you. Unortunately, something THE SURVIVOR did. When you die, your suit automatically goes into auto-pilot, on a mission you pre-determined or it. ell us your suit’s objective now. Your suit will remain active SURVIVOR’S GUILT until that objective has been completed, no matter howTere’s something unny, about dying. Specifically, you’re damaged it gets or how long the mission takes. Anyone really bad at it. When you should die, instead, you are who gets inside your suit will gain its Armor, as normal, injured severely and lose something you cherish, such but cannot override the autopilot by any means. I you as a limb, a riend, or an item o great sentimental value. gave your suit a mission with no clear end point, such as Afer this, you gain another Eternal Mark, a reminder “guard ____,” it will perorm that task until it is destroyedo what you have lost. When you would die while you or the objective can no longer be ulfilled. already have 6 Eternal Marks, you have lost too much
THE RAINLORD AND THE SKY OPENED UP
and reuse to lose anything more. You gain infinite hold or the Deend move, and do not die as long as anything you cherish is currently in danger. As soon as the danger passes, you finally, actually, die.
Te storm that has ollowed you since your existence I you are playing with Death Moves in your campaign, began is finally coming to a climax. When you die, the Te Survivor does not have the Further Marked and More greatest storm the world has ever seen comes crashing Scars Tan Skin advances. down. Te wind whips around where you ell, at orces strong enough to drive a knie through concrete. With HE ALKER winds that strong, even the rain hits hard enough to dent metal and tear skin. But that is not all - you are ADRENALINECRANK also in control o it. Tis final storm, your final wrath, is all directed exactly where you want it to be, and thisWhen Death comes or you, you run. You run so ast not storm will rage or an entire day. owns can be destroyed,even Death can keep up with you. When you die, break underground dungeons collapsed, enemies wiped rom ree o anything holding you back and keep moving. As long as you don’t stop moving, you have infinite hold or the earth. When the storm has finally passed, there is no trace o you lef. Just a swath o destruction and the the On A Mirror’s Edge move, and you automatically take peaceul glimmer o light through the parting clouds. a result o 12 when you Dey Danger with SR or DEX. When you stop moving, choose one o those benefits to lose. When Death draws near once more, break ree o anything holding you back and keep going. When you stop moving again, that’s it - Death has finally caught you.
T
GRIMWORLD Additional | DeathMoves
W
151
JACOB RANDOLPH PLAYBOOKS BY
JACOB RANDOLPH
Drivethru RPG Publisher Page rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?manuacturers_id=4996
THE ARTIFICER
THE DASHING HERO
GHOST IN THE SHELL
ONLY MOSTLY DEAD
You’ve always wanted to be as perect as your machines, When you die, you go down hard. It’s horrible, grisly, but never had the guts to do it. With Death staring you there’s no way you could survive that! So no one checks. down, the risks suddenly don’t seem so bad. When you You are lef or dead. Little do they know, you are only die or the first time, you transer your mind into a mostly dead, which is quite different rom all-the-waysmall robot, which runs off and escapes to attach itsel dead. When someone is in need o a hero, you show up, to a mechanical body you had prepared or yoursel in heavily wounded and on the verge o death, but very advance. Tis body is the same as your old one, except it much alive and here to save the day. You appear anywhere does not need to eat, drink, or breathe, and it has 4 less you want to be, and immediately take dramatic action. Load than your old body did. Your gadgets and armor are Whenever you make a move, you automatically take a now built into your robot body, and have 0 weight. When result o 12 until you have successully saved the day, or the time is right, reveal your new body to everyone with your actions allowed someone else to do so. When the a dramatic reappearance, then replace this death move day is saved and everyone gets excited about how you’re with the Golem’s Death Move, Sel-Destruct Imminent. still alive, you pass away with a smile.
THE CULTIST THAT IS NOT DEAD
THE MAGE SHATTEREDFOCUS
Your lie is but a small part o the grand machinations o When you die, the great and terrible power o your spell your cult. When you die and actually stay dead, your body ocus shatters your body and bursts orth into the world. burns a mark into the ground where you lie. Tis mark Te area around you will be orever marked by the magic is not in the shape o your mortal orm, but rather, it is o your ocus, and crazy magical effects related to your in the shape o your great and terrible god. Te eldritch ocus will warp the land around you. For example, a being you have worshipped all this time uses this shape Winter ocused Mage will find the area coated in ice and as a gateway into this world, and steps through into our swirling snow, with no ability to support lie. A Dragon reality. Tis elder god now walks the world, and its wrath Mage will find the area burning with eternal fire, but will be terrible and incomprehensible. Describe this god, anything surviving will have the strength and passion and tell us the first thing it is going to do now that it is o dragons. Other ocuses will have similarly powerul, in our world. permanent effects.
THE MEDIC
THE TEMPLAR
MIRACULOUS INOCULATION
STANDINGORDERS
As a habitual victor over Death, Death is all too happy You are a leader o men, and death will not stop their to finally claim your soul. It’s such a shame you’ve made advance. Just the memory o you is enough to keep them preparations to thwart Death post-humously. When you moving orward. When you die, keep your bonds and die, choose a single disease, poison, or other potentially any moves that modiy the Aid Another move (It’s Not curable condition you have encountered in the past. Tem You Should Be Araid O, Proessional Courtesy, You have recently developed the ultimate cure or thatand Who old You o Stop). You can continue to use condition, which begins to take effect just now. Anyone those moves rom beyond the grave, but only with you’ve had non-hostile contact with recently, including players you have a Bond with. When you Aid Another the other players, is now entirely immune to the chosen while they have less than hal HP, they are considered to condition. Additionally, each player holds 1-Antidote. be within arm’s reach o you. Tis lasts until they have Tey can spend this Antidote at any time to remove finished the current mission, and everyone has saely any curable condition they are currently or about to returned home. Tis could be a very long time - roll up be suffering - you already gave them an immunization a new character, but keep your emplar’s sheet on hand. beore your death.
THE PRIEST
THE WITCH
HEAVEN OR HELL
CURSE YOU, AND YOUR LITTLE DOG TOO
Witches are well known or their vengeance, and your vengeance is no exception. When you die, you place a powerul curse upon something responsible or your ☐ Manipulate the realm your deity Controls. Tis demise. Choose a person or place, and describe the manipulation is permanent and universal, but your deity will not allow changes that weaken their Control. horrible effects o the curse you have placed upon them. I you curse a person, the curse will also affect their ☐ Command everything your deity Represents. Tey descendants and anyone who ever loves them. I you will ollow this command to the best o their ability. curse a place, the curse will affect anything trying to live there or any amount o time, even i it is only a single ☐ Create a holy area around where you all. All o night. Te curse can only be broken by having someone your deity’s Worshipers who are in the area will be empowered with strength and speed. All o your deity’s suffering rom your curse beg you or orgiveness, ace to Enemies who are in the area will be weakened with ace. A daunting task, considering you just died. lethargy and despair.
With your last breath, you call out to your god. Tey answer. When you die, do each o the ollowing:
Simple Sketch/Icon/Grime Placeholder
152
GRIMWORLD Additional | DeathMoves
GRIMWORLD Additional | DeathMoves
153
FUNHAVER GAMES PLAYBOOKS BY
JACOB RANDOLPH
Drivethru RPG Publisher Page rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?manuacturers_id=4996
INITIATE
SHAMAN
THE STUDENT BECOMES A MASTER
THE PARTING OF THE VEIL
You have always been keenly aware o how limited Your flesh has succumbed, and so it is time or your your time in this world would be. o immortalize your soul to leave this world or the spirit world. Beore you techniques, you have been taking on students and ade away completely, there is a single moment in which teaching them your ways. Only through your death does your consciousness merges with the veil between the two your most recent student finally take your teachings to worlds. When you die, you can allow a single soul passage heart. When you die, choose another player you have a between the two worlds. Choose one: Bond with. Tey gain your Signature Style, with all the ☐ Name one character other than yourself whose soul same options you had, and they hold 3-Discipline. At was in Death’s possession: that character is returned any time, they may spend 1-Discipline to have another to lie, in their prime, ree o any injuries (physical or o your disciples show up. Each disciple is a Hireling with mental) and with their memories intact. +2 Loyalty, Cost: Spread the eachings, and 5 points to ☐ Name one character who has previously evaded divide between the Protector and Warrior skills. Death’s cold grasp. Teir time is up, and their soul ollows yours to the other side
NAMER
THE UNNAMEABLE
WARLOCK
In your final moments, you speak aloud the name o DEATH PACT something that should not be named: Lie, Death, a God, or a concept, like ime or Gravity. In speaking this true When you die, it is not Death you answer to, but your name, you alter some o your target’s nature. When Patron. Tey take hold o your soul, but only afer ulfilling the final clause o your contract. Afer you die, you die, tell us what you’re naming, and what you’re changing about it - this change takes place immediately your soul remains in this world, bound to your Patron, until tomorrow’s dusk sets in. During this time, you are and suddenly, and is a permanent change. in control o your Patron, able to draw upon their ull power or this final day. ell us what great power they possess - you too possess that power, along with all your other moves, and you automatically take a result o 12 to all Dey Danger rolls beore your soul is taken.
Simple Sketch/Icon/Grime Placeholder
154
GRIMWORLD Additional | DeathMoves
ADRIAN THOEN PLAYBOOKS A
T
Drivethru RPG Publisher Page BY DRIAN HOEN rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?manuacturers_id=5316 Tis work by Adrian Toen is licensed under aCreative google.com/+AdrianToen Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
THE FAE
THE GIANT
BITTEREST CURSE
DUTY’S END
Your untimely death brings only misery, bitterness and As you eel your lie ebbing away, only your Heritage recriminations. When you die, say aloud a curse against Magic and its Duty remain. You can eel your power a land, a people, or an individual. Describe the nature sinking deep into the surroundings, binding your o the curse, whether it is drought, amine, war, or a remains to this place orever. When you die, describe curse that turns them into a monster, something that how your heritage magic and duty change your final causes suffering and uncertainty. You may also describe resting place orever - a sacred grove ecund with plant the condition under which the curse can be lifed, such lie, an impenetrable ortress that protects something as the ruling amily’s removal rom power or death, the precious, a giant wall that divides something stoically, a righting o a wrong, etc. chilly zone, where rost and snow always cover the earth no matter the season. Tese places can be as large as you like up to the size o a small region, and have ar-reaching THE FAE consequences. Te very spot o your death also becomes a place o power or magic users to draw upon, so long as they support you duty as it was in lie and is in death. PERFECT WISH In your final moments, all the goodwill and riendship you have enjoyed in your lie maniest in one final perect THE SPELLSLINGER wish or one person you name. When you die, name one person that you grant aperect wish to. Teir wish, no matter what it is, will come true and at its core effects THE KILLING RUNE will turn out as the wisher intends, though there may be Ever since you learned it, the Rune has twitched and longer reaching consequences out o their control. itched on your skin, begging, cajoling, demanding that you use it. But the price has always been too high. Now that you are passing beyond death’s door, you cannot hold THE FOOL it back, and the Killing Rune is unleashed. When you die, name an individual you know the name, moniker, THE CALAMITY PUNCHLINE or title o. With your last gasping breath, you utter their Your dumb luck has finally run out, or your rotten luck name, and the Killing Rune will hunt them down and has finally caught up with you. Either way, everything’s strike them irrevocably dead or inert at the next sunset. come crashing down around you and everyone else Tey die hearing your last words in their ear, knowing will have to live with the consequences. When you die, who has delivered their end to them. consider what the most calamitous, outrageous, and disastrous results could be or the current situation that doesn’t immediately and directly end in your companions’ deaths, and describe how it came to pass rom your hilarious demise. Now laugh helplessly as your surviving companions struggle to deal with the mess. GRIMWORLD Additional | DeathMoves
155
DUNGEON WORLD/FATE HACK Tis is an experimental hack that takes Aspects rom the Fate Core system, simplifies them, lathers them in paste, and messily sticks them onto the Dungeon World system. We hope you like the taste, but be warned, this is a hacky hack!Satisaction is not guaranteed. I you’re going to play with this hack, you’ll definitely need to know the Dungeon World system. It will benefit you to know Fate Core as well, especially the way Aspects work in that system. Te main goal o this hack is to encourage players to roleplay their characters and make decisions that may not be in their best interest (meaning, it discourages metagaming). Plus, it rewards players or helping the GM put them in interesting (and problematic!) situations.
HOW TO PLAY Use the Dungeon World system, but during character Example Hindrances creation, have the players write down three Hindrances or their characters. Tere’s also three new moves: Compelled, Lucky Reroll, Stroke of Luck. Tese new PSYCHOLOGICAL moves should be easy to remember afer you try them PHYSICAL Napoleon Complex Hears Voices out. Crazy Eye Short-emper Clumsy Skeptical Burned Face Lawul Good Eye-Patch Deathwish INDRANCES Wooden Leg Overwhelming Curiosity Homely Illiterate Bad Back Reckless A Hindrance is a character trait that causes trouble rom Elderly Indecisive time to time. It does not need to be, nor should it be an Pleasantly Plump Zealot extreme hindrance. Having “Limbless” as a hindrance is Compulsive Liar likely going to ar (although, interestingly, it would make HISTORY Compulsively Honest Superstitious or an extremely lucky character). Each hindrance should War Veteran Overconfident come up at least once or twice in an average game session.Te Hunt is Hunting Me Absentminded Players can change their hindrances when it would make Wanted in Brooker Gullible I Will Avenge My Son sense to do so in the fiction. Bad Manners Cursed By A Witch It’s in your best interest to have hindrances that cause you Spoiled Big Mouth trouble semi-regularly, because every time you’re put inBad Reputation Smartass Pacifist a spot because o one, you get a Luck token! Amnesia Hedonist Minor Case o Insanity RELATIONSHIPS I’ve Got Nolly’s Back PHOBIA Torbur is My Rival UCK OKENS Pyrophobia Lord Dren Hates Me Aquaphobia I Owe the Redblades Money Acrophobia Tese can be poker chips, glass beads, coins, or anything Indebted to Aryn Skittish physical and easy to pass around. Luck tokens are given
H
L
T
V
ICE to players when one o their Hindrances causes them trouble or puts them in a spot. Tey are primarily usedAddicted to Sundust to encourage good roleplaying that leads to interesting Unrepentant Gambler It’s 5 o’clock Somewhere situations. Players can spend them at any time to rerollSticky Fingers one die (that they rolled). Or, they can spend a Luck Bloodthirsty token to have a Stroke o Luck and the GM will reveal a helpul circumstance. 156
GRIM WORLD Dungeon | FateWorld
Compelled When one of your hindrances might cause you trouble , suggest a problematic outcome. Te GM will accept it or offer an alternative trouble. Gain 1 Luck token. Example1 Example2 GM: Okay, Dilbin, the well-armed hunter looks you over GM: As you’re browsing the merchant’s wares, he tells you and realizes you’re a halfling. He scoffs and says, “Someone he’ll be back in a moment and walks to the back room o o your size should be hiding with the children.” the shop. Crim, you notice a jewel encrusted sheath hanging on the wall that would fit your shortsword quite well. Don’t Dilbin:Did he just call me short? you have a hindrance called “Sticky Fingers”? Torbur:Oh, here we go… Aryn:Oh come on Crim, you promised to be on your best Dilbin:He just called me short! With my “Napoleon behavior… Complex” hindrance, I don’t think I can let this go, even Crim: I know, I know. But look how shiny it is! I guess I i he might kill me. My ace flushes red and I kick his shin could try hard to resist the urge, but that really goes against as hard as I can! my character, doesn’t it? GM: Aren’t you wearing plate mail boots? You hear a crack GM: You hear ootsteps rom the back room, what do as the hunter’s shin bone ractures. He yells out and alls to you do? the ground. When he rises to one knee, he has d aggers in his hands and murder in his eyes. Here’s your Luck token. Crim: I can’t resist! I quickly grab the sheath rom the wall and stick it under my cloak. I can’t help but grin Dilbin:Uh oh. mischievously. Alright, gimme my Luck token.
Lucky Reroll You can spend 1 Luck token to reroll any one die that you rolled. Example1 GM: Okay, Aryn, throwing your spear would be a volley, roll DEX. Aryn:I got a 3 and a 1 on the roll, plus 2 dex i s 6! Dang, I really need to get this guy. Okay, I spend a Luck token to reroll the 1! I got a 5, that means 3+5+2 = 10. Woohoo!
Example2 GM: Your flames burn the beast, roll your damage! Nolly:I got a 2?! No way! Here’s a Luck token. I rolled… another 2?! Crim:Can I give her one o my Luck tokens? GM: Nope, sorry, it’s her luck and hers alone. Nolly:Well I’m not done yet! Tis is my last Luck token! Annnnd… a 6! Tat’s more like it!
Stroke of Luck When you could really use some luck , spend 1 Luck token. Te GM will reveal a helpul coincidence or convenient circumstance (you can also suggest something).
ake a +1 orward when acting on it. Example1 GM: Tings look bleak, Dilbin. You’ve lost both your swords and the hunter stands above you ready to deal a killing blow. What do you do? Diblin:I need some luck! Here’s a Luck token. GM: You eel your luck improve; have an idea how? Diblin:Well… He knocked one o my swords out o my hands beore, right? Where’d it land? GM: As you look up at the hunter rom the ground, you realize you’re lying on something… your sword!
GRIM WORLD Dungeon | FateWorld
Example2 GM: Okay, you’re using your Luck token, do you have something in mind? Aryn:I’m not sure. Maybe something to help me deal with the Nightgaunt that keeps dive bombing us! GM: Well as you look around, you notice an old fishing net hanging up by the docks. Aryn:Oh! I run over and grab it. I’ll try to ensnare it the next time it flies by!
157
SPECIAL THANKS!
ADAM KOEBEL “Chaos Canadian”
Placeholder
JONAS WAVESINGER 158
SAGE LATORRA “Design Wizard” 159
160
FRED HICKS “Transparently Evil”
FROST HOLLIMAN
PAM WELLUMSON “Pamcohantus Paddler”
BEN WELLUMSON “On a Paddle of Discovery”
“Title Goes Here”
161
Placeholder
Placeholder
DIANE DRESBACK
GRACIE KENNEDY
“Title Goes Here”
“Title Goes Here”
DEVON DRESBACK
THOMAS BLAIR
“Title Goes Here”
“Title Goes Here”
Placeholder
162
163
MICHEAL ZENKE “Writer and Designer”
PAUL WELLUMSON “Professional Hobbyist”
Placeholder
Placeholder
164
ADAM BLINKINSOP
THOMAS BLAIR
“Coder, Musician, Gamer”
“Kitten Wrangler” 165
NPCS
Placeholder
JOE PARRINO “Captain of Chickens”
Placeholder
LARZ SMITH “Title Goes Here” 166
Aaron the garrulous barkeep Adam Koebel the CREAOR Adam the agressive fighter Adam the idealistic advocate Adric the mischievous myconid Aggie the wild-eyed messenger Ahoapap the womanizing war chie AJ VanOrden the brooding author Akritarcos the crazed miner Alexander R. Corbett the spendthrif knight Allan the loyal hunter Amanda the adorably witty leatherworker Andy the androgynous acrobat Angelo the pious sorcerer Antti the peculiar saunamancer Areson the flamboyant bard Arimeus the thinker priest Arno o Deidramena Ashaleon the devious alchemist Ave the silent bookkeeper Bardo de valenda Bartholomew the herald o light Benton the unlucky-in-love bard Bertram Kedric the notorious champion Bertram the unapologetically nosy cobbler Bleys the mystical cook Bo the drunken scholar Brådd the at and acrobatic encing master Brandon the depressed librarian Brendan the cynical scribe Brent the erotic bookworm Brett the mayor o Easterbrook Brian the crimson blade Brian the shify wizard Brock the ascinating librarian Buddha the budget paladin Caleb the rockin’ robot Chad the lost druid Charles the unusually ortunate Chiv the wild arcanist Chris the charismatic gravedigger Chris the roguish troubleshooter Christian is a hack writer Claw the thoughtul potter Craigen the eccentric wordsmith Daniel Roanoke the rivet witch Daniel the inamous baker
Daniel the obsessive curio-hoarder Daniel the patient soil builder Danoss the hairy hammersmith Dave the distracted blacksmith Dave the insane hermit monk Dave the tale-spinning bard Dave the unscrupulous fishmonger David the ambush interrogator David the unstable rifweaver Derek the agitated alchemist Derick the hairy daddy Donovan the intent duelist Drew the landlord Dunael the vain scholar Dylan Boates the reluctant oarsman Dylan the noted huntsman Eddy the death minstrel Edgar the silver-tongued sneak Edward the antiquarian hermit Eli the less than punctual wizard Elliott the dubious poet Ellipsis the somnambulant pyrotechnician Eric Coates the master at arms Eric the aristocrat inventor Eric the beleaguered barrister Eric the orgetul golem crafer Erick the wandering rogue Eyeshine the guardian o the glade Flanagan the riendly barkeep Friedrich the over-righteous paladin Gary the omnipotent master o all he surveys Gary the savvy sage Ghoomdul the hal-orc cleric Ghuldim the rugged dwarven spelunker Giovanni the inamous inquisitor Glenn the surly tinkerer GmGerrymander the demented librarian Gnukkel the child-like blacksmith Gonne the unsettling i ntellectual Gorten the jostling fighter Green the red-eyed ragman Grellek the reclusive librarian Greymalken the cunning charlatan Gryffin the grizzled knight Hamish the black elven sell-sword Heimi the colossal I-Guy Heinrich the cracy mathematician
167
168
Hrathor the muscle-bound barbarian Hubnutzen the crazy wizard Hustle Royale the tame sociopath Ignatious the astidious printer Ignatius Montenegro the supernatural investigator Igor the eager entomologist Jack Foster the big game hunter Jack Gulick the ghoul Jack Hunter the shadowy tradesman Jack the jumbled philosopher Jack the paranoid hospitaler Jagash the doomsayer James Klingler the beuddled mage James the morose comedian Jarkan the angry invoker Jason Smith the unexpected hero Jason the black-hearted barrister Jayson Nordgren the cobbler on the mountain Jeffrey the acerbic wordsmith Jenga the beetle vendor Jeremiah the tipsy tavern owner Jeremy Friesen the ruby wizard Jeremy the tinker Joe the lazy engineer John Eternal the everlasting emperor John the harried dog handler John the reluctant bard Jon the nerdy engineer Jonathan the lone wol
Luticus the orgetul sage Magnus Ultrahammar the nihilistic temple architect Martin the peaceul blacksmith Mastino the weary swordman Matt the meticulous glasses salesman Matt the misfit bard Matthew Keevil Matthew the argumentative cartographer Matthew the unheard bard Mel the reluctant NPC Mendel the emerald druid Merrick the traveling salesman Michael the clumsy demolition Michael the mad mathematician Michael the pedantic sage Michelle the crafy merchant Mike the addled scholar Mike the baffled wizard Mike the stoic siege-engineer Mike Weem, voted most likely to do the next supplement Misha the mystical mage Misomar the artul actor Montajay “Stretch” Honeydale the tallest halfling in the clan Mopsothoth the brownie hobo Mortaine the outgoing diver Nashkey the cheerul gravedigger NAHAN the BEMUSED ORCHBEARER Nemomeme the doubtul embalmer
Robby the savage genius Robert the doom-laden prophet Robert the insincere courier Robert Warren David III the trueborn king Ronnie the lascivious mime Rorik the lazy tanner Rostow the skilled second-story-dwar Ruhig the eccentric scribe Rutger the laconic scout Ryan the cynical mosaicist Sage the mad wizard Salamander the naive druid Salty the sneaky rutter Samuel the artul sellsword Samuel the bookish jester Scaramaus the swashbuckler Scynt the quiet bonesmith Sean Pollman the eard corsair Sean the blind archer Sean the sinister sneak Sean the superior swordsman Sebastion the meglomanical necromancer Seth the bored city watchman Sharky Dangerthorn the unconventional card player (esp. Orkish Nod) Shawn the golem sculptor Silkmist the honest rogue Simon the truthul town crier Sir Izzy bard o ace-melting riffs
Jonathan Westmoreland the anatical cartographer Jonna, chronicler o the Old Ones Joseph Le May the wily ratcatcher Josh the kooky crime lord Joshua the mad mathematician Joshwa the beardly innkeeper Julian the diabolical biloquist Kalthazar the tormented wizard Kapsberger the cantankerous turnip armer Karl the dwar savage Karlen the scrappy hermit Keith the gentile brain in a jar Kenneth the truculent scribe Kerric the knie-wielding thie Ketwyld the hawk the p ouncing hunter Kieran the brooding angel Kirby the unscrupulous teacher Krinn the scheming daemonologist Kuowen the nightblade Kyle the gregarious graverobber Leonard the incompetant mage Lucien the kept man Lucien the one-eyed priest Luis the paranoid lamplighter
Noel the o Blind Io Obbi the priest razzled apothecarist Orion the crafy cooper Orphen the mind wizard Patrick the caeinated wizard Patrick the mysterious mayor o a small village Paul the bard o classic rock Paul the flatulent innkeeper Pedr ap Gruffudd the bookish priest Pete the roguish proessor Phil the mustachioed baker Phil the scatterbrained scholar Philip Cramphand the ink-stained scribe Quentin the short-tempered apothecary Random the “sometimes-broken” automaton Remy Handler the notorious guardian Rex the decadent noble Rex the incapacitated guardsman Reymond the wilderness scout Rian the preeminent artisan Richard Mundy Rill Leeward the drunken duelist RJ Stewart the talesmith Rob the savvy engineer
Skeetch thepuisant bitey beggar Soma the scholar Steam Crow the battle poet Steel Tul the ruler o night Steve the monotonous minstrel Steven the inquisitive jack that asks questions Stras the tree-house grower aral the careul wizard ed the sociopathic poisoner eo the honored loremaster erry the clumsy wizard Tarin the wetwork operative im the ornery technomancer ony the disgruntled arcanist ony the hulking category manager radyvarius the Unortunate, late an alchemist, with an extensive career in bookbinding that ended tragically rebor the dashing assassin rip Space-Parasite the sketchy brain-hunter su the insane monk uraan the grumpy innkeeper yler the tone-dea minstrel yler the wiley street urchin Umo the blind librarian
Victor Wyatt the rontier gentleman Vidiian the sinister scholar Walter F. Crof, His Own Damn Sel, the quixotic thaumaturgist Warts the wandering toad whisperer Wesley Cole the irritated historian WestWinds the brutish techno-wizard Whitecrow the wanderer o the wild Wightbred the scheming necromancer Will the shy druid William the grandmaster Willie the swarthy merchant Willow the deadly gambler Zarathud the discordant disciple Zarth the generous cleric
169