TEXT: AGENDA 
   
  Make the world fantastic 
   
  Fill the characters’ lives with adventure 
   
  Play to find out what happens 
  QUESTIONS 
   
  Why do you want to harvest black pearls from swamp 
  polyps? 
   
  What do you hope to gain? 
   
  What relationship do you have with the vampire ruler 
  of Blackwater swamp? 
   
  What experience do you have diving? 
   
  Why do you desire pearls above all other gems? 
  IMPRESSIONS 
   
  The endless mangrove trees in black  water 
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  The hum of biting insects 
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  The smile of a large saltwater crocodile 
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  The stench of rotting vegetation 
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  Spider eyes peering from the mangroves 
   
  The song of  harmless giant tree frogs 
   
  Defaced statute of the vampire queen  
   
  A cloud of flying toads soars above 
   
   
   
   
  BLACK PEARLS & 
  BLACK WATERV1.0B 
  A Dungeon Starter by Mark Tygart 
  For Sage LaTorra and Adam Koebel’s 
  Dungeon World 
  www.Dungeon-World.com 
  GOA LS 
   
  Establish details, describe 
   
  Use what they give you 
   
  Ask questions 
   
  Leave blanks 
   
  Look for interesting facts 
   
  Help the players understand the moves 
   
  Give each character a chance to shine 
   
  Introduce NPC’s 
   
  Fill out your worksheet 
  DU NG EON M OVES 
   
  Change the environment 
   
  Point to a looming threat 
   
  Introduce a new faction or type of creature 
   
  Use a threat from an existing faction or type 
  of creature 
   
  Make them backtrack 
   
  Present riches at a price 
   
  Present a challenge to one of the characters 
   
   
  “The world is fixed, we say: fish in the sea, birds in the air. 
  But in the mangrove swamps by the Niger, fish climb trees 
  and ogle uneasy naturalists who try unsuccessfully to 
  chase them back to the water. There are things still 
  coming ashore. ” ― Loren Eiseley 
   
  CUSTOM MOVES 
   
  When you search the gullet of a Blackwater Swamp Polyp 
  roll 1d12 x 100 for the coin value of the black pearl you 
  find. 
  LORE  
  Saltwater crocodiles hold the record for the 
  highest bite force ever recorded in any animal. 
  Despite the strong muscles to close the jaw, 
  crocodiles have extremely small and weak muscles 
  to open the jaw. The jaws of a crocodile can be 
  securely shut with several layers of duct tape.  
  Of all the crocodilians, the saltwater crocodile has 
  the strongest tendency to treat humans as prey, and 
  has a long history of attacking humans who 
  unknowingly venture into its territory. The only 
  recommended policy for dealing with saltwater 
  crocodiles is to completely avoid their habitat 
  whenever possible, as they are exceedingly 
  aggressive when encroached upon. (Source: 
  Wikipedia) 
   
  
  THINGS 
   
  Blackwater Pearl Harvesting License                                      
  Allows the bearer to harvest pearls from the swamp 
  polyps in exchange for 75% of the net profits going to 
  Tanith, legal ruler by conquest of Blackwater Swamp 
  Monsters 
  Blackwater Swamp Polyp                                Solitary, Small 
  Bite (d10 damage 1 piercing) 
  Close, Reach                                                          12 HP 
  Special Qualities:  Aquatic, Immobile 
  Swamp Polyps have a columnar body with the beak 
  uppermost surrounded by a ring of tentacles. They will 
  often develop valuable "black pearls" in their guts like 
  oysters, but have a nasty bite.                
  Instinct: Grab 
   
  Crocodile, Saltwater                                            Horde, Large 
  Jaws (d6+2 damage) 
  Forceful 
   
          7 HP, 2 Armor 
  Special Qualities: Amphibious 
  Scaly primeval ambush predator that favor saltwater 
  marshes and aggressive tactics... 
  Instinct: Consume 
  Custom Move: When a Saltwater Crocodile ambushes you, 
  ROLL+DEX. On a 10+, you escape. On a 7-9, you dodged 
  but choose 2 anyway: 
  •Your weapon is lost in the swamp. 
  •Your armor is damaged beyond repair.                                                                                                           
  •Say goodbye to your backpack.                                                                                                                                                        
  On a 6-, all three and take full damage. 
   
  (Inspired by Nifft the Lean by Michael Shea, 
  Fritz Leiber’s Lankmar stories and the saltwater 
  crocodile horror film Black Water) 
   
  Visit the Cats of Tindalos 
  (http://catsoftindalos.blogspot.com/) 
  Mummy, Bog                                 Group, Magical, Terrifying        
  Strangle (d8 damage) 
  Close, Near 
                                       12 HP 
  Special Qualities: Undead 
  A bog mummy is a human cadaver that has been naturally 
  mummified in a peat bog. Such mummies are also called 
  bog zombies; a type of undead it resembles more than a 
  traditional mummy. Unlike most ancient human remains, 
  bog mummies have retained their skin and internal organs 
  due to the unusual conditions of the surrounding area. 
  These conditions include highly acidic water, low 
  temperature, and a lack of oxygen, and combine to 
  preserve but severely tan their skin. While the skin is well-
  preserved, the bones are generally not, due to the acid in 
  the peat having dissolved the calcium phosphate of bone. 
  The overall impact is to make them tougher than the 
  average zombie.  
  Instinct: Obey Tanith 
   
  Newhon Salt Spider                  Solitary, Small, Devious                  
  Bite (d8 damage) 
  Close 
                                       12 HP 
  Special Qualities: Poisonous bite 
  This is a huge ugly spider about the size of a large pig. It 
  has large suction pads on its feet allowing it to travel over 
  any non-slippery surface. It lives in great salty swamps, 
  where it makes complicated sticky web traps. It has a 
  deadly poisonous bite.  
  Instinct: Hunt 
  Custom Move: When first bitten by the Salt Spider the 
  player must roll +CON: On 10+ the player is immune; 7-9 
  the player takes -1 on all rolls until magically healed. On a 
  fail the player will fall into a coma until magically healed or 
  death occurs.  
   
   
  “The rarest things in the world, next to a spirit of 
  discernment, are diamonds and pearls.”  
  -Jean de la Bruyere 
   
  Tanith, Ruler of Blackwater Swamp (Solitary, Magical, 
  Stealthy, Intelligent, Terrifying) 
  Draining kiss, claws. (b [2d12] damage 1 piercing) 
   
  Close, Ignores Armor                                                     16 HP 
  Special Qualities: Looking into her eyes fills the observer 
  with dread, Undead 
  Ruler of Blackwater Swamp, Tanith is an ancient swamp 
  vampire. She has lived through many kingdoms and 
  empires. She is known to hire adventuring groups and 
  spare pearl poachers for obtaining ancient treasures. 
  Some say she devours such parties after the treasure is 
  delivered.  
  Instinct: Drink blood, enthrall others 
   
  Consumes life force to create bog mummies 
   
  Rules Blackwater Swamp  
   
  Can take the form of mist, flying toad or 
  saltwater crocodile 
   
   Use normal vampire methods to kill 
   
   
   
  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons 
  Attribution 4.0 International License. 
   
   
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Powered by the Apocalypse/Dungeon World/Adventures/Tygart Dungeon Starters/Black Pearls _ Black Water.pdf