Caystodd

Each of the kids found an alcove with fantasy-looking gear inside. Dallas had what was obviously supposed to be a wizard staff tucked away in his, with a floppy pointed hat, and gray and red robes.

"I'm a wizard? Let's go!"

Parker found a long black gown in her alcove. It was made of black linen, silk, and was strategically reinforced with pads of black leather and metal chains. There was also a separate black lace veil woven throughout with tiny black chains.

"Great. I somehow got dominatrix. Yay." She held up the gown and it had one long sleeve and one short sleeve. The short sleeve was on the side of Parker's withered, zombie-like hand. "I guess there's no question this is mine then."

Riley found white and golden robes in her alcove with a golden belt, a golden tiara, and a golden bowl. "I got....I don't know what I got." She held up the robes. They clearly were crafted to fit a grown woman. "Anyone know how to sew?"

~~~

After everyone collected their gear (or looked at it and left it behind for the moment), they followed the sound of Xander's voice into the statue room. The room was round like the others but a sizeable section of the wall, about a third of it, was cut out and look out directly from the top of a high tower. There was no rail and no safety net. The floor and wall simply ended, and the drop-off was hundreds and hundreds of feet. A hot, dry breeze was blowing in from outside. When the kids looked out from the top of the tower, from as close to the edge of the floor as they dared, they found themselves staring out over a vast sea of tall golden-brown grass that stretched as far as they could see. The sun was directly at their backs, and the tower cast a long shadow over the sea of grass.

In the center of the room, a giant seven-pointed sun was carved into the floor, and each of the points ended in a elevated circular platform about a foot high and three feet across. The circular platforms looked like the base of a statue or a low pedestal for a vase might look. Everything appeared to be made of the smooth sandstone-colored blocks that the other two rooms were made up of.

Then Xander pointed out the statues to those who were so occupied by the view that they missed them. They weren't, however, easy to miss. The statues stood easily twenty feet high, stretching up almost to the height of the lattice stone roof above. The statues were made out of the same smooth sandstone-like material as the walls and floor, but the color was a little darker. Each of the statues stood against the wall and stared out through the cut out in the wall.

And each of the statues kinda-sorta corresponded to one of the students. Now that they had seen their gear, the connection was even more clear. The statues were, however, greater, more heroic and more legendary than the kids, even with their gear.

The goblin statue wore an outfit similar to Xander's, but the goblin in the statue was tall and muscular and menacing.

The wizard statue was of an old man with a beard, but he was clearly dressed in Dallas's robes and carrying Dallas' staff.

The hobbit statue was tall (for a hobbit) and stout and with a mirthful face and nimble-looking fingers.

Parker's statue had its face covered completely by the veil, intricately carved in the stone, and her hand, the witchy hand, was outstretched threateningly.

The elf statue had her bow and arrows but wore a long gown that clung to her arms and shoulders, accentuating the shape of her breasts. The elf statue's armor, the armor Madison found, was neatly folded at her feet (just as she had found it in her alcove).

"Wow, boobs-o'clock!" Riley said, pointing at the statue and looking at Madison with a grin.

"Pot, meet kettle," Parker said.

Parker took Riley by the arm and turned her to face her own statue. Riley's statue was of beautiful young woman with long hair, kneeling in a pool of water, holding a bowl in her hands. The "water" of the "pool" was carved into the floor with astonishing detail. The woman was completely naked save for the tiara on her head. The young woman was partially covered by the kneeling pose, but her bottom and breasts were carved with....great detail.

Dallas chuckled. "Nice." But he was blushing a little and soon looked away.

The final statue was that of a great warrior. The statue was bare-chested and wearing Ariana's armor from the waist down. The statue held her spear, but the statue was, quite obviously, a man. He had a short beard, close-cropped hair, and bulging muscles.

It happens to me all the time. PbP is the worst possible way to try to play a RPG for this and many other reasons. The only thing worse than PbP is not playing at all. 😬

I don't understand your first question. You are standing in the top of a tall tower, so high that from the interior of the other room, you couldn't see the ground. When you walk to the other room and look over the edge, you can now see the ground. It is a sea of grass as far as you can see (but you can only see in one direction). The tower isn't moving or anything if that is what you are asking.

And yes, you can see the base of the tower if you walk right to the edge and look straight down. It is the base of a massive sandstone tower, hundreds of feet tall at least. Feel free to make up any details about the base that excite your fancy.

9 hours ago, Caystodd said:

When he reached the other side of the room and carefully looked down, Xander was staring out over a vast sea of tall golden-brown grass that stretched as far as he could see. The three circular rooms were in the top of a tall tower. How tall, he could not easily estimate, but hundreds of feet at least. The sun was at his back but still high overhead and shaded by the walls of the room.

Quick post because I ran out of time:

• Xander, I just mentioned the statues and didn't go into detail, because you can't miss them. But let's get everyone in the room to have a look at the statues all at once before I write it all up.
• Everyone, this is your stuff in the alcoves. Whatever you have, it's there.
• Ariana, I have more on the result of your roll, but you need to go look at the statues first ;-).

On 5/14/2024 at 4:27 PM, luctius said:

The goblin moved to the open wall, stepping slowly the last 2 steps, and hold himself on to the left corner.

The first thing Xander noticed when he stepped into the room were the seven giant statues that lined the wall on either side of the door. The statues were easily twenty feet high, stretching up almost to the height of the lattice stone roof above. And it didn't take Xander long to realize that each of the statues kinda-sorta corresponded to one of the students: there was a goblin, a elf, a hobbit and so on. They didn't look like the kids, but the connection was there.

When he reached the other side of the room and carefully looked down, Xander was staring out over a vast sea of tall golden-brown grass that stretched as far as he could see. The three circular rooms were in the top of a tall tower. How tall, he could not easily estimate, but hundreds of feet at least. The sun was at his back but still high overhead and shaded by the walls of the room.

On 5/14/2024 at 4:40 PM, Morphling said:

"It looks big enough to be a supply closet or something," says Madison curiously, examining one of the doors. "Wonder what's inside." She sets Zeus down and allows him to poke around the room on his own as she tries to open one of the doors.

It took a few tries for Madison to figure out how to open the first of the stand stone doors, but once she did, it opened easily. After several tries, she pushed on the left side of the door. It sank in with a click and then slid right open. Inside the alcove lay a collection of items: a fancy bow with a pile of arrows, a pack, and an elaborate set of leather armor. It looked like something out of a very high-budget fantasy film.

On 5/14/2024 at 7:17 PM, matt_s said:

Enough of that, let's get those doors open.

Following Madison's lead, Fred pushed on one side of the stone door, and it slid right open. Inside the alcove behind the door lay another collection of items: a rapier, a bow and some arrows, a backpack, and a neatly folded suit of armor.

9 hours ago, LaChupa said:

"Maybe. Or this place could be really old." She looked around. It could have been old, she guessed. "And whatever it was that brought us here was supposed to transform us, like it did Xander, Fred, and Madison, but it didn't work right. Maybe it ran out of steam or something. Maybe Riley got the clothes of the person she was supposed to be." It didn't explain Dallas though.

Ariana wracked her brain to remember the order in which the students' slabs were arranged. If the outside wall of the room was considered the top of the sun and the side of the room that bumped up against the two other rooms was considered the bottom, then Ariana herself was at the top. She was the top-most point on the star. Xander and Fred were to her right and left. Then Madison was next to Xander and Parker was next to Fred. That left Dallas and Riley to be the bottom-most points on the star.

Riley was grateful for the wardrobe assist, and Ariana immediately diagnosed the problem as she tied off the wrap: it was far too big for a thirteen year-old. It was a wrap designed for a grown woman, which struck her as odd since everyone else's clothes seemed to fit just fine.

~~~

The room to the right was brilliantly lit. Sunlight filled the round room through a ceiling that was open to the sky. This room was the same size as the room they woke up in—it was big and the walls were high. It was also noticeably hot. It was spring in Virginia when they left it, but this felt like dead summer heat. The air was dry though and didn't feel stale or oppressive.

In the center of the room, recessed into the floor, lay a circular pool of clear water. From the vantage of the archway, the water gleamed in the sunlight like a disk of molten gold. But when the travelers approached the pool, the gold gave way to an azure as the surface reflected the blue sky through the open ceiling. The sound of trickling water came from the pool, but the travelers could not detect the source for the sound.

Riley stood at the edge and bent over the pool. “It’s not very deep. You think the water's hot?”

Dallas who followed behind kept to the shade of the arch. He was sweating profusely through his linen clothes.

Fred and Madison looked around the room and noticed that the walls were supported by seven evenly spaced pillars that were flush against the wall. These pillars were easily three or four feet wide and stood twenty or thirty feet from the pool. Each of the pillars was emblazoned with a large carved image of the seven-pointed sun about midway up the wall, and each of the pillars was home to a nearly invisible door (which Fred easily spotted). After just a little bit of looking, however, Fred and Mason could make out the outline of the door in each of the pillars. The sat at about waist height and were probably four feet by four feet in size.

~~~

On 5/12/2024 at 4:55 PM, luctius said:

Xander instead wandered around looking for any repeating or divergent iconography, starting in the center room and moving towards the left room.

As Xander looked around the room for symbols other than the seven-pointed sun (of which he found none), he got a better look into the room to the left. It too was round, and it was clear that the shade of the room was caused by the position of the sun. The sun shined directly into the room to the right which provided shade for the room to the left.

In the room to the left there was a giant seven-pointed sun carved into the center of the floor and each of the points ended in a elevated circular platform about a foot high and three feet across. The small circular platforms looked like the base of a statue or a low pedestal for a vase. Everything appeared to be made of the smooth sandstone-colored blocks that the other two rooms were made up of

But the most striking thing about the room to the left was that about a third of the wall, the wall directly opposite the arch that led into the room, was missing from floor to ceiling. The wall was open to the outside world! But all Xander could see was blue sky. They must be very high up.

Here are some OOC notes for my last post:

• I reduced the number of NPCs to three. There are now seven beds, not eight.
• I tried to make NPCs that were clear of the niches you carved for yourselves with your characters. If I swerved into anyone else's lane, let me know and I'll make adjustments.
• I also wrote this: "The seven students took several minutes to talk among themselves and take in what had happened to them. Once the shock of it all had started to wear off, they began asking questions." This will allow you to move on to the more gamier parts of the scene without having to feel like you need to sit around and post five or six more times about how confused you would naturally be. You can, however, adjust as quickly as you like.
• I haven't made a map, but the complex you are in is made up of three round rooms adjacent to one another in an upside down triangle shape. You are in the bottom circle now and there are exits to the left and right that lead to the other circular rooms which I describe briefly in my post. Everything is made of smooth stone that is roughly the color of sandstone, so that is what I am calling it.

If you have questions, ask them here or in the Discord.

Xander, Ariana, Madison, and Fred were joined on the slabs by Riley, Dallas, and Parker.

Riley was a the blond girl of 13 or 14. Everyone at the high school knew her as "the freakishly smart girl who skipped like all of middle school or something." She wasn't at the high school full time (she was also taking some college classes), but when she was there, the older kids typically stared at her like some sort of zoo animal. The kids remembered Riley as being scrawny with mousey hair, a pimply face, and glasses. But the Riley that sat on the slab before them all now, wrapped all in white, looked like a goddess—still definitely a child; she hadn't aged a day—but a goddess none the less. She was breathtakingly beautiful with piercing blue eyes, golden hair, and porcelain skin covering her delicate proportions. She was just stunning; even in a totally not creepy way, looking at Riley was like looking at a Michelangelo or a Bernini. It was hard not to stare.

Which is why Dallas, a ninth-grade boy wearing a white, ankle length white robe, was staring at Riley from the moment he sat up. Dallas had a freckled face and red hair and was a good bit overweight, and unlike some of the other kids in the circle, he looked exactly the same, except for the white robe. Dallas looked away when Riley looked at him.

"What?" Riley said when she caught Dallas staring. "Is something wrong with me?" She clutched the white wrap tightly to her and then folded her arms across her chest.

"Nothing's wrong, sweetheart. You just had some sort of glow-up. We all got something." The last kid to speak was Parker. She had dark hair, dark eyes, and light brown skin. She was a junior at the high school. She was all-in on student government and was just elected to Junior Class president. "He's green, He's short, she has pointy ears, and she's....well, she looks healthier, I'd say." Parker pointed to Xander, Fred, Madison, and Ariana in turn. "Dallas looks like himself. You look like you have a permanent Instagram filter on, and I....well, let's see what happened to me" Parker stood up. She was wearing a white frock that only went over one shoulder. She did a little spin to look at herself. "Nothing. I guess I got what Fred got."

"Uh, what about that? Your hand...." Riley said making a terrible face and pointing.

"Oh, @#$%." Parker raised her left and and held it in front of her face It was pale and shriveled with long fingers and sharp nails. It looked like a witch hand or a zombie hand from a movie. She wiggled her fingers. "You don't see that every day."

 

~~~

 

The seven students took several minutes to talk among themselves and take in what had happened to them. Once the shock of it all had started to wear off, they began asking questions.

Ariana was, indeed, quite healthy. She could breath freely in a way she never had in her life. It was nothing short of a miracle. Dallas looked high and low for something that was changed about him, but he was, apparently, still just Dallas. He was quite disappointed.

Eventually, some of the kids got up and began looking around the room.

 

~~~

 

The smooth and unadorned walls of the massive space stretched up to a high vaulted ceiling that opened only partially to the sky. A complex latticework of stone high above filtered the brilliant sunlight down onto the circle.

The room was round and the seven sandstone beds formed a circle around the center of the room. At the very center of the room, carved into the smooth sandstone floor was the emblem of a sun with seven rays. Each ray pointed toward the foot of one of the sandstone beds.

Riley walked around the room, still holding onto her oversized wrap for dear life, until she stood under an open space in the latticework that was flooded with light. Her blonde hair shone as brightly in the sun. Riley looked up and squinted at the brilliance. “What do they do when it rains?”

“Maybe it doesn’t rain,” Dallas said.

“It has to rain.”

The entire complex appeared to be made up of three circular rooms, arranged in a roughly triangular pattern, that were connected to one another by giant open archways. The capstone of each of the archways was adorned with an emblem of a seven-pointed sun, a miniature version of the sun emblem in the center of the room.

The room beyond the left arch was shaded, at least partially, from the bright sun outside by the walls of the room they were in. The room beyond the right arch was flooded with sunlight. And from the right-hand room, the travelers could hear the trickling sound of water.

Great questions! You wake up dressed in a simple white garment. Doesn't have to be a toga. Could be a anything simple, robe-like, and white. Everyone's can be different. And yes, you, the PCs are now your Dungeon World characters.

Great discussion, y'all. I'm going to lock this to keep things simple. Continue this discussion in the OOC thread or on the Discord.

Everyone make your first "I'm waking up" post to get your RP feet under you. Then I'll post again on Saturday (or tomorrow if everyone has posted) to introduce the NPCs, and then you can post a description of your character and start making some of your first decisions.

Put the OOC stuff here. If you want to put dice rolls or one-off OOC comments in your IC post, that is cool, so long as they are unobtrusive. If you have an OOC comment or question that needs to be responded to, please post it here or ask in the Discord, since we aren't going to carry on an OOC discussion in the IC thread.

Riley opened her eyes and blinked at the sunlight on her face. She was lying flat on what felt like hard stone, her arms at her sides. Like waking up from a deep sleep, Riley struggled to remember where she was or how she had gotten to sleep at all. The haze didn’t last long, however, and Riley sat up.

“Uh…what the heck?”

 

 Riley found herself lying on a raised stone platform, the size of a large bed. She leaned back on her hands and struggled to focus her eyes. The stone was smooth and warm, and there were six other “beds” with seven other sleepers around her in a circle with all their feet pointing toward the center. The room around them was big, and the walls were the color of white sand. Filtered sunlight poured in from somewhere high above.

Riley looked down and wiggled her bare toes. Not dead, she thought. She was covered by a white linen wrap that hung off her like an oversized sheet.

A toga? Maybe I really am dead. “Uh, what the heck?!?”

 

The other sleepers were beginning to awaken.

The ad period is expired and the game is beginning. Thanks for the interest!

The ad period has expired. The kids I nanny for go down for a nap after lunch (in about 5 hours). I'll move us along to the next thing then.

Welcome!

If you have played any Powered by the Apocalypse games, you'll pick up Dungeon World quickly. If you haven't, think of DW as the game that is birthed when someone fully immersed in modern game design principles, trends, and fads tries to distill old school D&D into its most essential elements by making rules only for those essential elements, and dispenses with everything else. Probably the most striking thing about DW for people who have never played PbtA games before is that something interesting always happens with every roll. You never just roll to hit the monster. You roll to see if you are hurt, the monster is hurt, or both are hurt by your attack. You never just "don't pick the lock" on a failed roll. The story always moves forward every time you pick up the dice (so do so cautiously).

But yes, we are happy to have someone new to the game join us. We'll walk you through it.

1. I like this fine, and I have no problem reskinning the salamander to something skeletal, but he has to look somewhat like himself most of the time. This is a game about high school kids trying to survive after all. But maybe when he uses his powers he looks like a flaming skeleton. That would work. Also, personality-wise, you wouldn't be Ghost Rider. You are a high school kid trapped in a fantasy world with cool powers.

2. Is there a legal, free copy of the Summoner playbook somewhere? My (very quick) google search didn't turn it up.

3. That all works. You can skin your character however you want, so long as he is somewhat recognizable to the others.

4. That works. There will be some swampy in the Sea of Grass.

 

Personally, I like 1 and 3 the best.

FYI, I like the apps we have so far, so this game will definitely happen, and applications close on the 9th. I can take five players responsibly, so if we have more than that, I'll have to make a hard decision. :(

Sounds good. You are all set.

 

Are you on Discord? If you are and would like to be a part of the pre-game group DM for potential players, find me on the MW discord and send me a friend request (@caystodd) and I'll add you.

2 hours ago, luctius said:

I would like to play a Goblin Bard, or alternatively a Goblin, provided the goblin playbook is accepted, otherwise I will have to rethink my character ;-).

I think Goblin Bard works fine. See my post in your character thread for some additional considerations.

Welcome to the game forum! When the application period closes, I'll give all the applications a good looking at to make sure they all work well together. But for now, here are a few quick notes:

• Make her 16. Only NPCs are younger than 16. I know it is a bit arbitrary, but 16 feels better to me.
• I like the Goblin racial move, no problem.
• Regarding Bardic Lore and A Port in the Storm, we'll have to play these by ear a bit, since this is a D&D Cartoon style game and everything in the world is brand new; you've never been anywhere. We have two options here: 1) she could be some sort of fantasy nerd, nerd-troping her way through the world.

"How did you know the giant spiders would be afraid of fire?

Don't you read? Giant spiders are afraid of fire in like every fantasy novel I've ever read."

• Or 2) maybe she gets magical flashes of insight to just know things. Do you have a preference?

Yikes! Not sure how that happened. Should be good now. I think. 🙃

Fun app. I love it! 😀

I love what you have so far. 😁

Great. Thanks, y'all. I think everyone is going to get to play whatever they want without any conflict.

@LaChupa, what is your second choice? Just in case.

Also @Morphling are you on Discord? If you want to join the group DM I'm going to create to help keep the game moving, message me on Discord (caystodd is my Discord name) and I'll add you.

Everything looks good so far. Poke me on Discord when you are done.