Solo Tabletop RPG Review & Actual Play – Dungeon World Solo Part Two

Make sure to read part one before this and part three next.

During my Dungeon World solo playthrough, I extensively used Perilous Wilds. While Parts Per Million’s Dungeon World Solo book is helpful, it only looks at Dungeon World. Here’s the thing about DW: it’s a fine game, but I have always felt it was underbaked. There’s very little about dungeon crawling in the core book, and some of the mechanics (Hirelings in particular) are confusing and not fun. Perilous Wilds feels like the missing portions of the game, providing revised rules for hirelings and tools to build dungeons as you play and even create monsters on the fly. These tools helped make this playthrough fun; I never knew what lay in store for me next.

I followed the solo book’s instructions to roll to build Fronts for this next session. Fronts are like adventure hooks with a collection of intersecting Dangers. My rolls gave me a Thieves’ Guild, a Demon Prince, and a Place of Power. I also rolled with Perilous Wilds and got a name for my next dungeon: The Sunken Tower. Using these pieces, I came up with this scenario:

Long ago, there was a great schism in the early days of the Explorers’ Guild’s excavation of The Celestial Sepulchre of the Eminent Thaumaturge Mujy al-Qurai. Some of those in the Guild saw the great treasure that was left behind in the sepulchre & the artifacts being taken out in the wild to dispel the vast dungeon and wanted to sell these things. The Guild held fast and said their purpose was to archive & preserve. One Guild member, Florentin Adam, began practicing the dark arts after learning some spells in the dungeon. He came into contact with the Demon Prince Ikelios, who fed off the theft of great treasures. One more learned in the magical arts might understand that it was Ikelios who lured Adam to him. 

This secret union resulted in a rebellion within the Explorers’ Guild. A third of them left the sepulchre and set up a headquarters in Drevania, the City of Eternal Night. They renamed themselves the Larcenists’ Society, an organization devoted to the theft of the world’s great treasures, both for wealth & to amass great arcane power. Centuries have passed, and Marlow has only ever heard of the Larcenists. They seem to keep to themselves for the most part. 

Marlow & Utiba meet with their handler, Reima, in the Market Square of Dungeon Town. Reima has an outdoor table at her favorite cafe, sipping on cavern brew, a stimulant made from a particular moss that grows in the sepulchre. She explains to the two relic hunters that her translation of the barbarian chronicle is complete, and she now knows the location of King Somberlas’ Bone Club. During the age of the Eastern Empires, many artifacts were plundered and stored in the Grand Hold, a tower off the coast of Mondeo. 

When external forces had chipped away at the Eastern Empire and were reaching the imperial core, one of the emperor’s orders was to blow the foundations of the Hold. His intent was that these treasures would be destroyed in the subsequent collapse, keeping them from their rightful owners. Alas, the Hold did not completely collapse, though much of the foundation gave out. It has been 300 years since that day, and the Sunken Tower is still slowly crumbling away. Many have attempted to venture inside, but they have yet to successfully return to Reima’s knowledge.

Reima explains how she scried overnight and found that her teleportation spells could not get Marlow & Utiba on the rocky shore surrounding the Tower. Its magicks have leaked into the surrounding waters, making them too volatile. She’ll instead be able to drop them just outside of the village of Daveza on the Mondean coast. They should be able to charter a boat from there with the gold pieces she provides, but the boat’s operator cannot know the purpose. 

Marlow & Utiba follow Reima back to her chambers in the Explorers’ Guild, and she performs the teleportation spell, ensuring the pair have a charged recall coin for their return at the end of their journey. In a flash of light, they find themselves standing on a cliff overlooking the vast Maldiac Expanse, the sea the Sunken Tower is sinking into. In the distance, Marlow spots the jagged black tooth of the tower, jutting up at an angle from beneath the waves. Below the cliff is a shipwrecked Imperial Goliath warship, which was turned into the seaside village of Daveza. The Goliath is on its side; the centuries that followed have seen its inhabitants refit and restructure it. Small huts and houses spread outward towards the cliff, signs of the population growth that occurred.

Marlow & Utiba move through the swaying yellow-brown grasses on the cliff to a stone path that winds down the village. They pass merchants and their horses, pulling carts of goods to sell in Daveza or on their way to see if the next closest settlement needs any of their wares. Once they are within the village limits, Utiba points out an argument happening at the base of the Goliath. The village’s mayor has been surrounded by around a dozen men shouting at him. Another man stands in the back, smirking, seemingly enjoying the misery the community leader is being put through. 

Marlow pulls up his hood, hiding his face, and saunters closer, trying to suss out what is happening. From what he can tell, these are farmers upset about the constant raiders from beyond the hills. They have just absconded with the bruise carrot harvest, one of the key crops for making it through the winters. The mayor has instituted a stance of people remaining indoors during these raids and not engaging with the attackers. The farmers want to fight back. Marlow determines the man in the back of the crowd is likely the one who stirred them up, wanting the mayor’s power for himself.

Marlow tells Utiba that they should move on before things get really ugly. They find their way to the docks, where a broad-shouldered tattooed woman sits untangling fishing nets. They introduce themselves; she’s Suminten. Marlow explains their need to charter a boat to reach the Sunken Tower. Suminten immediately shakes her head no. She doesn’t go out there. The fisher explains the creatures in the water out there are vicious and nasty, inedible too. She suggests they keep their distance, too. However, Taito is desperate enough for money, so he might go out there. She tells them he’s on the third floor of the Goliath, drinking his life away in Yelki’s Tavern.

Our heroes make their way there and find a dashing & disheveled man sitting at the bar, drinking his life away. He eyes them with suspicion when they approach and offer him a job. Taito finishes his current drink and nods, saying he’ll do it. However, they need to do him a favor. You see, he’s in love with Marah, but she left him months ago for Arvi, a navigator on one of the larger diplomatic ships. Taito has no shot with Marah as long as Arvi is around, so if these two strangers in town might see a way to make Arvi disappear…well, there could be a boat trip out to the Sunken Tower.

Marlow doesn’t like hurting innocents but takes up Taito’s deal, hoping to convince Arvi to slip out of town for a day or two. Searching around the Goliath, Marlow learns Arvi is at a tinker’s shop getting his instruments fine-tuned before setting out for sea in a week. Marlow & Utiba pass themselves off as travelers passing through looking for anything unique among the tinker’s wares. Marlow manages to “accidentally” spill some of his goldenroot potions on Arvi, making the navigator suddenly much friendlier. Marlow brings up the angry crowd he saw outside and warns that things may be about to get nasty in Daveza. It doesn’t work; Arvi laughs and says he should be fine, but thanks to the concerned stranger. He can’t leave because Arvi plans to propose tonight to his love, Marah. Shit.

Marlow tells Utiba they must steal a boat when it gets dark. That night, they head out to the docks and find a dogger that should do nicely. Utiba has some sailing experience, having grown up along the coast of Malarue. She gets things ready quick enough for the pair not to be spotted, and they set off towards the tower in the distance. As they get closer, Marlow notices a glow from the waters surrounding the Tower. Utiba lowers the sails to slow the vessel, and they see hordes of giant indigo jellyfish beneath them. They watch the creatures perform mitosis, splitting apart and quickly multiplying their numbers. Utiba says she can sense tremendous magic in these animals, and they are likely hungry after expending so much energy. These must be some of the creatures Suminten warned them about.

The jellyfish notice the boat, and one quickly moves toward the surface. The boat rocks as it smacks against the bottom, trying to spill them out. A glowing tentacle swings over one side of the boat, searching for prey. Marlow and Utiba try to attack the tentacle, but it rears back, crackling with magic, and smashes the vessel into two pieces. Marlow grasps his Ward of Protection and says the chant his grandmother taught him. It glows, and the jellyfish begin to drift back down below. He breathes a sigh of relief, cut short when an arrow thunks into the wood on his half of the fishing boat.

In the distance, another fishing vessel bearing down on them. In the moonlight, Marlow can make out the enraged face of Taito. The boat, however, is Suminten’s, and she is piloting. This is when the rogue realizes they took Taito’s ship, and he wants it back as well as their heads. Marlow realizes he doesn’t have many options, raises his hands, and shouts that they give up, Taito has them, and they will surrender. Of course, that isn’t what he plans on happening, and he quickly signals to Utiba to do her thing. However, Utiba finds her attempt to conjure an illusion to scare the fishers away only sputters out. The magic leaking out of the Tower must have some nullifying effect on her magic.

Suminten’s boat bumps up against Marlow’s sinking half. Taito points his blade under Marlow’s chin, shouting, “Up here! Now!” Marlow feigns complying, but when he has the chance, he kicks Taito’s legs out from under him, sending the fisher into the water. The jellyfish quickly begin swarming back. Suminten cries out when she sees her comrade go under and fires an arrow. It finds purchase in Utiba’s shoulder, the young mage collapsing on her still sinking boat-half in pain. Marlow charges Suminten to knock her overboard. She’s far more muscular than Taito and grapples back with the rogue. Their fight is suddenly broken up by the sound of a gong and a boom in the air.

A large galleon is making its way towards them, carved from an ebon oak, a wood only found in the ashen lands of Anzal in the far north. The figurehead on the vessel’s bow is a wild-eyed devil, its snake-like tongue frozen in a curl, its claws bared, ready to strike. A skull & crossbones wave from the main sail. A whooshing cannonball barely misses Suminten’s vessel, making reverberations in the water & rocking it violently. Suminten gets hold of the steering wheel and begins swinging her boat around to return to Daveza. Marlow can’t leave Utiba behind and jumps from the deck to her sinking half. 

Utiba looks at Marlow, the arrow jutting from her shoulder & bleeding out. Her eyes look scared, and Marlow assures her they will be fine, internally unsure if that is true. The black ship comes closer, and the figure on deck shouts down, “Prepare to be taken captive, or we’ll blow you out of the water!” Marlow shouts out their surrender, having no real choice. Men descend on a web-like rope ladder that hangs from the side, disarm their captives, and bring them onboard. Standing on deck, smoking from a pipe, is a grinning woman decked out in a stolen & weathered naval uniform. She’s clearly made modifications to it after plundering it from the corpse she found it on. The woman’s smile sparkles in the moonlight, a mouthful of golden teeth. 

Sacks descend, and our heroes are shoved below deck, waiting for hours. The ship moves and stops not long after. Marlow focuses on the voices. Chatter amongst the crew informs him they will execute Marlow & Utiba at midnight. He catches the mention of “praise be to Ikelios” and realizes he’s among the Larcenists’ Society. This pirate captain must be one of the insidious seven lieutenants performing the Chief Burglar’s orders. He also catches the name of the boat, The Mermaid’s Tear.

Soon after, Marlow and Utiba are pushed up to the deck, and the sacks are finally removed. The captain steps forward and delivers a speech about how these two were about to steal what is rightfully the Society’s. And by god, Captain Molly Rhys will see them delivered to the devil’s doorstep before they set foot inside that tower before the Larcenists figure out how to. She raises her blade…Marlow shouts, “Now, Utiba!”

The young mage shouts a chant that vibrates through the air, sparking off a fire that bursts into a magical flame that burns away the rope bonds. The crew is briefly blinded, and Marlow snatches the cutlass out of Molly’s hand, wrapping an arm across her midsection and holding the blade to her throat. He shouts at the crew to listen as Utiba grabs her staff away from one of the pirates. 

They will be taking Captain Molly with them; she will be dropped at the sinking wreckage of their ship to be retrieved later. If Marlow spies The Mermaid’s Tear following them at any point, he’ll slit Molly’s throat and toss her to the hungry fish. He wants the crew to prepare a dinghy and no trying to sabotage it. The crew doesn’t seem to take Marlow seriously and begin stepping forward. He decides to be bold and brings the cutlass down to slice off Molly’s right hand. A fountain of blood erupts, hitting some of the pirates. They realize he’s serious now. The crew complies and soon Utiba & Marlow set sail with Captain Molly as their hostage, muttering curses at them.

The two halves of Taito’s boat still float where they left them. “You were slick back there, I give you that,” Molly spits; Utiba had bandaged her stump. “You take my hand; I swear I’ll take your life. That whole damn Guild will burn, and we will take its riches. You aren’t doing anything but just slowing us down for a bit.”

Marlow responds, “We’re all very terrified. Onto the driftwood, now!” Pointing his sword. Molly complies, shouting curses as Utiba guides the oars to bring them closer to the Sunken Tower in the daylight. Molly becomes a minuscule speck as the boat drifts closer to the tower. There’s a ledge that they bring the boat up to, steering around to hide it behind a corner and tie it up. It’s been a long day/night, and so they make camp.

Marlow agrees to take the first watch, knowing that the pirates will come for their captain eventually and then for our heroes. His attention is drawn through the archway they are camped outside of. A sound bounces off the stony walls of the Tower. Marlow inches inside, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness within. There’s a rectangular spiral of stairs going up and down; some have crumbled away, making it a precarious jump between levels. Down below, he spies a lumbering figure constructing a barricade against a door. On closer inspection, Marlow realizes he’s looking at an orc. Instead of a greenish or brown pallor, this orc has purple skin, a sign of arcane infection. The way the orc moves seems so strange, though Marlow has only met a few in his travels. How this orc came to be trapped and continues to survive in the Tower stands out to our hero. That will have to wait until morning when he and Utiba are well-rested and ready to journey inside.