I’m working on an escape encounter checklist for the #Kazark issue of Ray Otus’ #Plundergrounds zine.
Originally shared by Jim Jones
Escaping Kazarak Encounter Checklist
I am going to be running Ray Otus’ #Karazark dungeon starter from issue 2 of his #Plundergrounds #DungeonWorld zine. If you haven’t already seen it or joined his Patreon (http://parteon.com/rayotus) to get a copy you should. Or you can wait for the collected annual that will be available as print on demand sometime early next year.
The Kazarak dungeon starter sets up a really cool final scene, complete with a really evocative custom move, that plays out a climactic battle between a giant dwarven mech construct and an awakened world devouring demon. It’s really cool!
As I am preparing this as a one shot for my son’s birthday, I wanted to spice up their character’s run for safety as the battle between the mech and demon topples the underground city around them. To that aim, I am started working on an Escaping Kazarak Encounter Checklist.
So far, I am thinking about including the following encounters:
# Goblin Raiding Party
# Rust Monster Stampede
# Tidal Wave of Mice
# Constructs Run Amok
I’ll be filling each encounter with descriptions, stats, and custom moves as needed.
Constructs run amok and rust monster stampede are pure gold. Change the goblins to derro maybe – the wizards stooges trying to get out. You can describe them as runty blue-skinned creatures with huge bulbous eyes, which could be goblins or morlocks or whatever. Maybe have them toting a bunch of items/books the wizard wants to rescue. I feel like the stampede or rusties and wave of mice might feel a lot the same in play, so I’m not sure about the mice. How about giant spiders that have hastily flung up webs to catch fleeing creatures? Star bears would be a good encounter, as they might help show the characters a way out (esp. if the party contains a dwarf). I could see something with the ghosts too – like all the ghosts of dwarven dead rising at the commotion and swirling about. It would make people dizzy or confused/turn them around.
Yes! I like these!
Giant spiders is a great idea!
You have the flavor exactly right. I’m thinking the a crumbling city is going to cause all bets to be off and set up some interesting interactions as all the denizens beat feet out of the place in order to save their own hides (or use it as an opportunity to gain an advantage on other things that are fleeing).
My idea for Tidal Wave of Mice was that they weren’t so much as dangerous on their own, but could trip of the characters and/or carry dropped items away as they flee en masse. Maybe it doesn’t work.
Lucky Son! This looks like a ton of fun!
I like the mice idea Jim Jones. Especially if you treat it as something more like a force of nature than a horde. Ray Otus’s spider idea is cool too but I REALLY like his star bears. It reminds me of the old Grimm’s tales where the animals might help out if they were treated with kindness earlier.
“or carry dropped items away” … okay. Now you have me. I figured the slippery footing thing. I didn’t think about watching something you drop be carried away in the “current” of mice. That’s pretty cool. That will be a great hard choice for a 7-9 Defy Danger DEX result. Go down under a wave of mice or drop something to keep your balance.
Ray Otus and Logan Howard, that’s exactly what I was thinking. The mice are more of a force of nature than a monster horde that can be combated. There are so many of them that it would be pointless. Instead, I see them as an environmental encounter.
I should probably have waited before posting, but I am so excited by the idea and I also always enjoy the input from this community. I’ll post more as I flesh out the list and their details (with input that I get from these threads).
Thanks for the copies of the zines, Ray. I am having a blast reading through them and getting ideas and inspiration and I can’t wait to share them with Ranger and his friends to celebrate his birthday. He is psyched by the way.
Keep notes. This thread gave me an idea and I just posted it on the Patreon, so you’ll get an email. I want to collect feedback from people playing Plundergrounds stuff and include it as commentary in the annual.
Ray Otus I will do that!
I don’t get patreon emails.
Jim Jones Ok. It’s a public post. I also forwarded it to your email. Thanks for letting me know.
I’ve already had one response!
Found it!
Thanks. I’m looking forward to what comes out of it.
Listening to Fear of a Black Dragon has really reminded me how useful it is for a GM to hear what others did with a module or where it is a little odd/clunky. I feel like if I get enough feedback, this section will be really helpful for people who want to legitimately run Plundergrounds stuff.
I couldn’t agree more Ray Otus! I always make adjustments to the way I approach my material when I find out how it worked for others. It’s also useful for me to see how people are engaging your work or the material in Codex or Session Zero. This is really helpful Jim Jones!
Okay…
I am adding Star Bear Escort for a roll of 2. I am swapping out Goblin Raiding Party with Derro Deserters for a roll of 3 and I am adding Web of Whoa (giant spider ambush) for a roll of 11.
Nice!
😀 Web of Whoa. I hear Joey Lawrence.
Web of Whoa
The characters stumble into a giant web stopping them in their tracks as they try to escape from the crumbling city. Each of them must roll Defy Danger + Str to attempt to ascape. On a 7-9, a Giant Spider hidden in the shadows above is alerted by their struggles and begins to move in. On a 6, A Giant Spider leaps out of the darkness and encases the character in a spider silk and hangs them from the ceiling next to its writhing egg sac.
Something like that.
If you didn’t want to get bogged down in an actual fight, I would have it be 10+ escape just in time. 7-9 escape but take damage from a bite as you fight your way free. 6- escape, but take damage and you are sick from poison -1 CON ongoing. (Or maybe sticky/trailing web -1 DEX.)
I think I am fine with a fight. Should I not be?
… my gut says you want to keep that final showdown from going on too long, so any fights should be quick and intense. Keep the pressure on them so that they are fighting to get away, not just fighting to wipe out creatures. Maybe if it does get bogged down, have a sudden event change things. Like a crack in the earth separates the party from the spiders. Or the mech’s foot as it steps backward unknowingly and suddenly crushes the spiders into jelly not two feet from the closest party member! 🙂
If I shouldn’t, then I will definitely move along the lines of what you are thinking, Ray Otus.
Ray Otus My operating principle was going to be fight while it is fun and let the events happening around them change the course of any fight as needed. Your foot squishing the spider example is exactly what I was thinking. I want it to be very dynamic, but also tense. I want them to feel accomplished if they make it out and not just that it was a run for the door.
I don’t think there’s a right or wrong. Just think about the story and what makes sense. I’m not sure how you plan to pitch that part of Kazarak. I picture everyone fleeing as if from a forest fire. Overhead the mech is clanking around and the demon is swinging big haymaker punches and screeching. Their heads are scraping the cavern ceiling, knocking down stalactites. Their feet are stepping on stone houses and fountains, causing the latter to shoot up spray. The world is coming down around you. … So the question is how long can you keep up the intensity/excitement of that? That’s why I would push the pace. You may picture the titan battle as smaller and a bit more “far off”. If so, then you can get away with some more set pieces in that final escape sequence. Make sense?
I see the battle as happening across a huge underground city, starting away from the entrance that the characters came in. It’s going to take them a while to get out. I am thinking kaiju battles that last a whole movie with people trying to get out of their path that include mini set pieces along the way, like Cloverfield. The battle is going to rage all over the place, so I will be switching back and forth about what is happening in the distance, what is happening in encounters, and what is happening when the two collide.
That’s cool. The occasional fight while fleeing makes sense then!