The Hall of Legends #001 – Lair of the Ankheg Queen

The Hall of Legends #001 – Lair of the Ankheg Queen

Date: January 30th, 2014

Game: Dungeon World

Players: Sean Smith Derek Grimm Eddy Gonzalez Ferrell Riley 

One of the things that makes Dungeon World so compelling is its freeform nature. The results of a die roll are not necessarily predetermined by the rules, particularly when a move calls for the GM to add a complication or to make moves of his own. Indeed, so long as everyone is being true to the established fiction, the story can go in all sorts of different directions.

Nothing demonstrates this aspect of Dungeon World better than the Mage. Instead of having lists of spells from which to choose, the Mage chooses a focus (such as The Forest or The Dragon or The Abyss). Within that focus, he can cast spells that do virtually anything. The player need only provide some descriptive narration for what his spell does. But the player must also select a number of limitations for his spell, depending on the result of his roll. Those limitations can include (among other things): 

“Your spell won’t last long – you must hurry to take advantage of it.”

“Your spell affects either much more or much less than you wanted it to.”

“Your spell has unforeseen side effects, and might draw unwanted attention.”

Each of these limitations can lead to varied and exciting outcomes in the fiction. They reinforce the idea that magic is wild and, ultimately, not entirely within the control of the caster. If the player misses his roll, the move says “Something has gone horribly wrong. Your spell may well have worked, but you will regret casting it.” This leads to even more deliciously unpredictable and amazing results, as evidenced in a game of Dungeon World from early in 2014. 

We were in the middle of my conversion of the Temple of Elemental Evil for Dungeon World. It was the fourth session, with the group having just successfully raided a pre-Hommlett dungeon. They were on their way back to civilization, bearing grave news: a contingent of 5,000 orcs had amassed in the catacombs beneath the moat house near Hommlett. 

During their journey home, they encountered an ankheg, which is kind of a giant, acid-spitting centipede (and a favorite monster of mine). Derek’s clock mage, Halwyr, attempted to cast a spell that would reverse time around the ankheg and return it to a larval or egg form. Unfortunately, Derek rolled a miss, and the party found itself suddenly in a dark, underground chamber. When they lit a torch, they were horrified to see a mass of ankheg eggs in the center of the chamber, and the grotesque, pulsating body of an ankheg queen all around them!

The remainder of the session involved the party trying to escape the ankheg lair, battling her drones and, eventually, the queen herself. When they escaped, they took their bearings and realized that, indeed, the original ankheg had been returned to egg form, as per the intent of the spell, but that the entire party was whisked back in time and teleported to the nest from which the egg originated. 

The adventurers had been well and truly hosed by Halwyr ‘s blown spell, but the players LOVED it! And in the end, it was a blessing in disguise: now that the party had been transported back in time, they had the ability to stop the orcs from amassing at the moat house. 

The session was amazing. It reinforced why Dungeon World is a house favorite. It took our adventure into a direction no one saw coming (even me). And it was something we continued to talk about for months afterwards. It was, in short, a legendary moment at the Gauntlet table, and it deserves to be remembered.