Author: Blue Tyson

Originally shared by Blue Tyson

A Dungeon World first foray

Played a Dungeon World game thanks to Kaillan Reukers  on Thursday night.

The first character that sprang to mind was a brute warrior.  Then the twist entered my head.  How about a reverse John Carter type move.

Thence was born Thark.

Thark being a Thark suddenly waking up in the body of a human Fighter in Dungeon World.  Being a Thark the only thing he could remember, not his name, so that is what he called himself. Only minor problem as I discovered was that the GM’s gaming literature education is Burroughs deficient, so didn’t know what a Thark was.  He should rectify that!

His partners in mayhem were a halfling thief and the priest of a fertility goddess.  He has a con type game with the former…who, being a Thark and having NFI what halflings or elves or kobolds are whatever thinks is just a little boy.  Hence worthy of some protection.  Adults of course, can look after themselves.

So they head for a tavern in a nearby town that appears of interest, as you do when looking for marks.

At the bar, Thark gets the complete cold shoulder and sneers from the local toughs.  So the Thark solution is to punch the biggest toughest looking guy in the face.

The bartender is a dwarf, so Thark is a little annoyed at his complaining about the mayhem after one of Thark’s companions glasses a local.  There’s also a rather more classily armed and armoured dwarf in the bar, too.  The locals clear out on orders as as the barkeep calls for the guard.

No-one will get Thark a drink, so he grabs the bartender to lift him up bodily over the bar.  At this point the other dwarf gets annoyed and comes over to inroduce Thark to his axe.  Fast warning from friends lets Thark react in time to continue the grab the bartender from behind the bar turning him into a dwarven shield.  The dwarf’s axe whacks the guy in the head a glancing blow, knocking him out and leaving said axeman outnumered three to one.

Thark tells him he should buy them drinks, but the dwarf declines. the ungrateful wretch, and leaves.

The trio grab booze and decide that police=bad and loaded with some halfling mead and proper man’s drink, get out of there.

They see something in the sky that Thark thinks might be something like a Martian airship, which they go to investigate.

As it turns out, it is a kobold pirate ship raiding party.  They don’t take kindly to interruption of their looting and move to fight.  Thark defends the boy and fights back, disposing of opponents outside.  He cuts another couple in half.

They then decide to climb up to the ship, portly priests needing a bit of help.

On board they discover a much, much, larger pirate captain kobold.

And a dragon, clearly confined as part of the ship and rather annoyed.  Tharks are not much for waiting around and he really wouldn’t mind a ship, so he decides to go and deplane or deship the pirate captain, forthwith.  He manages to pin the trident wielding captain to the ground, while the halfling gets a surprise, a bit of dragon telepathy.  Apparently big lizards like telepathy, but not assaults by fighters and biting and frying of Thark is tried.  Again, he decides smaller people make good shields and avoids a frying after some horribly botched teamwork with his priest friend.  He does manage to make the pirate captain go splat.  

Separating him from his trident sees the grumpy dragon eat it.  Apparently the controlling device enabling them to slave the dragon to the ship structure.

The dragon orders them off itself in no uncertain terms.

Thark doesn’t want the ship enough to be dead over it.  Halfling Rook fancies some minor looting a little bit too much but they manage to talk him out of it, by leaving.  Leaving the not enriched thief a bit annoyed.

Down on the ground the crew are a bit shocked at the captain’s dispatch.  Thark considers crew possibilities having impressed the now leaderless and dragonshipless bunch.  More unwisely decide to fight and don’t last long.  Leaving Thark’s situation improved.

The halfling thief decides to drug Thark with a poison throw to the back of the head to get more of his way while his attention is on his possible new lizardmen type mates.

Therein ends this sword and sorcery tale lacking in drinking and robbing for now.