Inverse World Trip Report!

Originally shared by Adrian Thoen

Inverse World Trip Report!

Our regular monthly Pathfinder game was a few too many players short this evening, so instead our pathfinder GM asked if the others wanted to play Dungeon World instead. I was happy to GM, and asked if they wanted to play our regular DW game, or try something different. They were happy to try something different as a one-shot, so we looked through the Inverse World playbooks and a few others.

While I hunted down the Inverse World introductory text, the players created a Survivor named Roland, a Mechanic named Kellor, and a Treekin Giant named Eric.

The Players set bonds, and I read the Inverse World Blurb and got to asking questions.

The Treekin Giants were very rare, mostly only heard of as servants of nature in history, The Mechanic had a patchwork suit cobbled together from bits of ancient technology and his own inventions and the Survivor’s island had turned on itself, society devolving into chaos.

I asked they group “You’re all running away from some very angry villagers. What did you do to make them so angry?” The Mechanic was responsible for selling his dangerous and faulty inventions to the villagers, the survivor reminded them of something terrible, and the giant accidentally broke their sacred monument.

After a perilous run through a crevasse with rockfalls, the trio managed to hijack a skyship and escape the island, leaving the ship’s captain and most of the crew behind. After some discussion, the trio bribed the 3 remaining crew with wealth and a magical item take them to Irongate, a nearby Island City.

 Along the way, in the shadow of an island far below and through thick mists, sky pirates attacked from above, and were swiftly slaughtered by the Trio. After some further discussion, the plan to go to Irongate was abandoned, in favor of interrogating the location of the pirate’s hideout from some surviving attackers, so the Trio could loot the pirate treasure, and perhaps steal a ship for themselves!

They gained some information about the hideout, that it was in an island that had ‘flipped’ centuries ago, plunging the forest into darkness and killing it, and dropping the town and it’s citizens down into Sola. There was a narrow cave on the underside that lead to a cavern where the pirates had their own little town. The also were told that the pirate captain was both less and more than human.

The Trio hatched a plan for Eric the treekin to magically grow a path of trees on the underside of the island to make a walkway so they could sneak in, and the made it with a few close calls. During the infiltration of the cavern, the Survivor was doused in flammable alcohol, the Mechanic showed a proficiency for sneaking and starting fires, and the treekin a habit of jumping into the town center, and sending his carnivorous ambulatory luggage after terrified pirates. The rum-soaked Survivor was set on fire. a lot. And then had a building dropped on him. And then hit by a giant water barrell. A lot of this was thanks to the Mechanic.

After setting the town of fire, the Trio had sufficient distraction to find the Captain’s manor and break in. Breaking in consisted of the Treekin smashing the door and most of the doorway into oblivion. As Eric entered, I described that the door and the furniture inside seemed too big for a normal person – and it turned out the Pirate Captain was a giant stone Jaguar Golem, that cold-cocked the treekin in the back of it’s trunk.

A brutal fight broke out, and was finished after some savage blows when all three of the Trio hit the Jaguar at once, obliterating it and taking damage when exploded.

They then found the secret entrance to the Captain’s Stash, navigated a few traps, and made off with an impressive haul.

They escaped the burning town and stole the largest, finest ship, rendezvoused with the sailors and the other ship, gave them some treasure and a sapling from the Treekin, and went to IronGate to get some answers about the strange artifacts they found in the Captain’s treasure.

They now have an adventure to steal some sacred books, buy the help of a famous bard, and get a disgraced Lantern to help them bring Tree Life to the worldcrust.