TEXT: THE CALVINO CYCLE 
  OR, IF ON A
  WINTRY PLANE
  A FREEBOOTER
  AND FRIENDS
  
  1
  [1]
  You are about to begin playing Jonathan Walton’s 
  new Dungeon World module, If on a wintry plane 
  a freebooter. Best to find a space and time all to 
  yourselves. Text your other friends right away, “No, 
  I can’t go see a movie. Sorry!” Use more exclamation 
  marks; they may not be convinced otherwise. “We’re 
  playing an RPG!!! One with pencils and dice!!!”  
  Now hopefully they’ll leave you alone.
  This module was concieved on the information 
  superhighway, a marvel of modern convenience 
  that has, nevertheless, recreated nearly all the failings 
  of the previous ways of doing things. While it is, in 
  essence, a long string of zeros and ones—running 
  staccato like a Philip Glass opera through the innards 
  of computers—you (or the publisher) likely still felt 
  the need to print it out in preparation for giving 
  it life through your words and actions. Hence the 
  module will be reincarnated twice: transferred from 
  electronic bits to the flesh of dead trees and then to 
  your own fleshy selves, which—according to the 
  Gnostics—are merely prisons for the divine spark 
  within you. But hardly anyone believes that anymore, 
  so you feel confident that by instantiating the module 
  in your flesh you are not imprisoning it, but rather 
  setting it free and perhaps also, likewise, yourselves.
  
  2
  However, you are of course aware that this is merely 
  one drop from the infinite stream of dungeon-themed 
  games that has flowed incessantly since RPGs first 
  emerged like Venus from the ocean of wargaming. 
  Your expectations must be kept in check. While this 
  Jonathan Walton person has been known to exhibit 
  a taste for the experimental, this is still Dungeon 
  World. You might prefer to be playing something a bit 
  more provocative, such as Matteo Turini’s Novanta 
  minuti or Julia Bond Ellingboe’s Steal Away Jordan, 
  but your fellow players may exhibit undue caution 
  about straying too far from things that are tried and 
  true. They love adventures but only so long as they 
  are not particularly adventurous. This new Dungeon 
  World module may seem a bit odd—it doesn’t really 
  begin as you’d expected it would—but surely it will 
  soon proceed with the delving and freebooting and 
  clashes with monsters. Should you discover that the 
  module becomes unnerving, causing you to question 
  previously held beliefs about games that you’d rather 
  not be dissuaded from, you and your friends can 
  always play Munchkin or Mario Kart instead.
  Indeed, it’s a wonder you find the time to play games 
  at all and, even more, that you have chosen this 
  particular module. In doing so, you have managed 
  to survive unscathed—or perhaps only been lightly 
  
  3
  wounded—on your way through the increasingly 
  dense forest of games: Games You Have Always 
  Wanted to Play, Games Others Have Repeatedly 
  Insisted You Must Play, Games That You Often 
  Pretend to Have Played That You Should Probably 
  Really Play at Some Point, Games That Everyone 
  Else Has Already Played So You Better Play Them 
  Soon, Games You’ve Discussed So Much That It’s 
  As If You’ve Already Played Them, Games Your 
  Friends Have Made That You Feel Obligated to Play, 
  Games That Are Increasingly Crucial to the Current 
  Understanding of RPGs, Games Made by Up-and-
  Coming Designers Whose Names are Already 
  Whispered in Semi-Reverent Tones, Games That 
  Could Help You Understand Other Games Better, 
  Games That Are More Fun or More Important Than 
  This Game, and so forth.
  But here you are now, having created a new set of 
  characters—or pulled existing ones out of your 
  stylish messenger bags—ready to embark on a 
  journey into the unknown. Pre-planned modules 
  for Dungeon World, or any other sandbox game, are 
  peculiar things! How will the author invoke a set of 
  colorful and exciting circumstances and yet allow the 
  players sufficient leeway to follow their own whims 
  and caprices? You suppose it’s time to find out.
  
  4
  IF ON A WINTRY PLANE A FREEBOOTER
  The module begins in a railway station. A locomotive 
  coughs to life, steam and smoke obscuring the view. 
  Crowds of people mill about, railway workers hauling 
  goods and travelers wrapped in heavy coats against 
  the cold. Behind you, the station windows are 
  webbed with a network of icy lines that intersect.
  This is Sultana’s Crossing, a major junction on the 
  borderlands between the city of Dis and Svernaria, 
  the great plane of winter. Your crew is here on a job 
  involving Esmerela Lucca L’Apostata, a defrocked 
  nun of the Eternal Order of the Gathering Dark. 
  The person who found this job chooses which of 
  these they don’t want the job to be, and rolls+Wis:
  •	
  to ensure that Esmerela arrives safely at the 
  Most Distant Monastery in far Svernaria
  •	
  to throw Esmerela from the train, deep in 
  the unforgiving tundra
  •	
  to discover the identity and motives of 
  those pursing Esmerela
  •	
  to uncover the crimes for which Esmerela 
  was banished from the Eternal Order
  On a 10+, it’s not that one; choose which of the 
  others it is. On a 7-9, not that one, but the GM picks.  
  
  5
  On a 6-, it’s the one you chose. Your client is Momus 
  —formerly Lorenzo Lucca, Esmerela’s brother—who 
  became a Road Warden after he was killed by the 
  Eternal Order. He has promised you 100 silver to 
  bring him clear evidence that the job is done, but 
  Esmerela is to know nothing of his involvement.
  Esmerela is important to a number of interests. 
  The GM should pick 1-2 of the jobs that you didn’t 
  get assigned and concoct rival freebooters or other 
  groups (including, perhaps, Road Wardens) that are 
  pursuing goals in cross-purposes with your own.
  Esmerela is in possession of one or more of these:
  •	
  an unborn child of power and prophecy
  •	
  a monstrous text the Eternal Order assumes 
  has been destroyed
  •	
  knowledge of the true secrets that lie 
  beneath the Most Distant Monastery
  •	
  a signed contract of conspiracy, listing 
  those involved in her brother’s death
  •	
  something else of the GM’s devising
  The whistle blows. “All aboard!” calls the conductor. 
  You watch as Esmerela slips quickly from the station 
  to one of the passenger trains and climbs on board, 
  navigating the surging crowd. What do you do?
  
  6
  [2]
  You have now played for a few hours and are 
  becoming caught up in the story. Having paused at 
  a suitable cliffhanger, you turn the pages eagerly to 
  the next section, wanting to know how the stakes 
  are raised and how complications are introduced.
  However, you find that the next section is identical 
  to the previous one, opening with the train station, 
  the engine coughing, and the lacy pattern of ice on 
  the windows. Perhaps you are meant to play through 
  these scenes again? What is the name the Nordic 
  folks give to that technique? “Try it another way?”
  But no! Looking at the page numbers you see they 
  are repeated. Flipping through the rest of the module 
  you find nothing new but rather the same opening 
  section over and over, as if you were frozen at the 
  edge of Svernaria like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. 
  While the author may be a bit experimental, this is far 
  too much; surely it is not intentional but a mistake, 
  perhaps a printer’s error or a glitch in exporting the 
  file from InDesign! These things happen from time to 
  time, especially when the author is still running OSX 
  Lion on an ancient MacBook, as he has repeatedly 
  complained about on G+.
  
  7
  Thinking quickly, you email a friend and ask if they 
  know of a more recent version of the module. You’re 
  in luck! Your comrade in gaming forwards you a file 
  that they claim is the updated adventure: a document 
  called “Walton_module-new.pdf”
  Elated, you turn back to the other players and signal 
  that you are ready to continue. Though as you glance 
  through the new document, you quickly discover 
  that it is not a continuation of the paused module, 
  but an entirely new adventure.
  
  8
  OUTSIDE THE DUNGEON OF MALBOR
  Your crew emerges from the dread caves of Malbor, 
  blinking, gasping, groaning, bleeding, retching, 
  husks of the people you were weeks ago.
  Malbor was an ancient kingdom of ant-folk whose 
  subterranean citadels and libraries were ransacked 
  by an invasion of their descendents, corrupted by 
  an alien god in the far future and sent into the past 
  to undo their own existence. The burrows of Malbor 
  are now filled with dangerous fragments of what 
  once was—and what will now never come to be.
  Erase half of your equipment, representing the gear 
  that has been destroyed, lost, or left behind on your 
  journey. What does each of you carry now, as spoils 
  from Malbor? Have each survivor roll 3d6, reading 
  the result of each die as follows:
  1. Wounds: Say what wounded you and roll damage 
  as appropriate. Work with the GM to describe how 
  you received the wound. If you are now dead, set 
  your HP to 1. You are hanging on by a thread.
  2. Treasures: Roll on a random treasure table (any 
  one you like) and tell the GM the result. The GM 
  will add extra description to make it a strange and 
  dangerous treasure, a fitting relic of Malbor.
  
  9
  3. Secrets: Tell the GM what kind of secrets you 
  hoped to find in the caves. The GM will describe an 
  appropriate situation and tell you to roll Spout Lore 
  or Discern Realities, whichever you prefer.
  4. Love: Roll randomly to select a crewmember; ask 
  them what horrible or wondrous experience brought 
  you together in the darkness, and then each write 
  a new Bond inspired by it. Decide if the love you 
  feel is true friendship, respect and trust, besotted 
  infatuation, and/or raw lust.
  5. Hate: Roll randomly to select a crewmember; ask 
  them how you abandoned or mistreated each other 
  in a time of urgent need, vulnerability, or chaos, 
  and then each write a new Bond inspired by these 
  experiences. Decide if the hate you feel is one that 
  calls for humiliation, pain, payback, and/or murder.
  6. Corruption: You carried something out of the 
  darkness. Tell the GM what it is, and they will 
  help describe how you acquired it and what it feels 
  like. The corruption will soon destroy you; start a 
  countdown and ask the GM what it’s called.
  You gaze at each other in the late afternoon light 
  that now fills the cave entrance. Night will be falling 
  soon and you are a long way from the nearest village. 
  What do you do?
  
  1 0
  [3]
  Things are going swimmingly. Outside the dungeon 
  of Malbor may not be related to If on a wintry plane 
  a freebooter—indeed the premises are completely 
  different—but the drama feels more personal, being 
  built on a quickly concocted set of memories and 
  histories that bind the characters together.
  But what is this! You turn a page only to find that 
  the next one is blank. There are no descriptions of 
  the areas surrounding the cave mouth of ancient 
  Malbor, no mentions of the dangers that are surely 
  lurking there, and no details on the briefly mentioned 
  village that might serve as a refuge for your weary 
  spelunkers. Your friend has given you a document 
  just as incomplete as the last.
  But glancing around at the other players, you see 
  drooping eyelids and wandering attentions, so you 
  decide to call it a night, promising that you will do 
  your best to track down the missing portions of 
  If on a wintry plane a freebooter and Outside the 
  dungeon of Malbor. Perhaps you can finish playing 
  these modules on alternating weeks? It wouldn’t do 
  to let too much time pass before continuing with 
  either one, and you very much want to know how 
  they turn out.
  
  11
  The next day, you post about your experiences on the 
  online forum Gente Che Gioca, to see if anyone has 
  encountered such issues. One user, Havana23, writes:
  Surely what has happened is that your friend sent you 
  the wrong file. It must have slipped their mind that 
  the module might be by RACHEL Walton rather than 
  JONATHAN Walton. People often get them confused, 
  you see, since one is the designer of The Long Orbit 
  and the other designed Geiger Counter, both of which 
  are unfinished space horror games. Even now I myself 
  am unsure which designer wrote which game! Perhaps 
  if you played another adventure by one of the two 
  Waltons—who are completely unrelated, as I recall 
  —you could compare its stylistic characteristics with 
  the other two modules and at least narrow down the 
  author whose adventure you are looking for.
  This seems like completely sensible advice! You thank 
  Hanana23 very much for her (or his?) help and begin 
  scouring the internet. Just when you begin to lose 
  hope, you stumble across a discussion of Bleeding 
  from a dire wound, a module submitted by “Walton” 
  for RPGGeek’s annual One-Page Dungeon contest.
  You call up your fellow players and explain. They 
  are as baffled as you, but are willing to try another 
  adventure by one of the designers of the first two.
  
  1 2
  BLEEDING FROM A DIRE WOUND
  It was supposed to be an easy job. Break into a 
  relatively nondescript building in Ditchwater Parish 
  and abscond with a book of financial records. They 
  didn’t tell you that the building was the headquarters 
  of the tri-parish thieves guild known as the Ghost 
  Friars, or that your crew was a diversion while more 
  seasoned professionals set about the real business.
  Things fell apart quickly. Esger took a crossbow bolt 
  through the eye and was done. Everybody else take 
  2d4 damage right now from traps and scuffles with 
  a pack of trained killers. Count yourselves lucky 
  that most of these assassins are used to taking their 
  prey silently in the dark, not through brawls and 
  swordfighting.
  Then pick the character that is the heart and soul of 
  the crew, maybe not the obvious one, but the person 
  whom—if something happened to them—there’s 
  no way this crew would stay together. Made your 
  choice? Okay now, unfortunately, they’ve taken a 
  barbed arrow through the side of the neck.
  Surprisingly, you didn’t totally fall apart right then. 
  You handled the situation properly, cutting the barb 
  off, pulling the shaft out, and then wrapping the 
  wound tight. But the bleeding won’t stop, not even 
  
  13
  with magical attention. Probably nicked an artery 
  with that cursed wormwood barb; it’s not fully 
  severed—because then they’d be dead by now— 
  but enough that they’re going to bleed out over the 
  next hour unless you can get them serious help. 
  And there’s no such help to be had in Ditchwater, 
  especially not with the Ghost Friars in pursuit.
  Tell the wounded crewmember to start a countdown 
  with six boxes. After every 30 minutes of real time 
  have passed, tell them to mark one of the boxes. 
  Also tell them to mark a box if they do something 
  physically strenuous—such as running full speed, 
  fighting, climbing, etc.—or if they take additional 
  harm. If they run out of boxes to mark, then that’s 
  it, they’re not going to make it. They may not die 
  right away, but they’re approaching Death’s Door.
  Your crew has just broken out from the Ghost Friars’ 
  headquarters into a random alleyway in Ditchwater, 
  full of the local flotsam and jetsam. Probably one or 
  two of you are helping your wounded crewmember 
  to move as quickly as possible without risking further 
  injury. Who’s doing that? In a few moments, more of 
  the Ghost Friars will surely be right on top of you. 
  What do you do?
  
  1 4
  [4]
  Just when the group is taking a break, your phone 
  rings. It’s an unfamiliar number but, for some reason 
  —intuition perhaps?—you answer it anyway.
  “It’s me,” says the caller, “Havana23!” How did they 
  get your number? The caller explains that they’re a 
  friend of a friend, someone you actually met at a local 
  game convention one time, now that you think of it. 
  You can picture them in your mind, recalling that 
  you found them striking in both form and demeanor, 
  the kind of person that, given the excuse to spend 
  time in each other’s company, you’d get along with 
  quite famously. While you didn’t play any games 
  together, you could sense at the time that they had a 
  deep personality with many layers, but also a strong 
  sense of fun and an exciting hint of mischief.
  “Look,” the caller continues, sounding more urgent 
  than mischievous, “I’m sorry to bother you like this, 
  but I’ve discovered something interesting, a possible 
  solution to your mystery!” Dare you hope that they 
  have found what you seek?
  “I’m down here at Scaramuccia, the hip game store 
  that just opened in the center of town, along with a 
  group of friends. On the used game shelf here, we 
  
  15
  discovered an anthology of adventure seeds where 
  the characters begin in unfortunate circumstances. 
  The cover’s been torn off, so it doesn’t have proper 
  title information, but the anthology includes Outside 
  the dungeon of Malbor! And we just finished playing 
  through a remarkable adventure seed called Fearing 
  neither pain nor death…”
  That sounds fascinating, you say. What if you and 
  your fellow players come down to Scaramuccia right 
  now to take a look? Perhaps you can even swap a few 
  players, to mix things up a bit, and explore a couple 
  more of these adventure seeds?
  Soon, you have found your way down to the store 
  and met Havana23 and the rest. The members of 
  Havana’s group are too tired to continue playing 
  but leave your crew the book with the torn-off cover 
  and plan to join you in a nearby restaurant later. 
  Havana and the other players can’t stop talking 
  about the adventure they just finished, sparked by 
  the seed called Fearing neither pain nor death. In the 
  end, your group decides that you might as well play 
  that one too, so that the two groups can exchange 
  experiences later.
  
  1 6
  FEARING NEITHER PAIN NOR DEATH
  The Aurelia are a parasitic people who mingle their 
  identities with those of their hosts. Each Aurelian is 
  composed of all the beings they have ever been, with 
  their original identity lost amid the rest. However, 
  the strain of carrying these souls is brutal, decreasing 
  the lifespan of an Aurelian host to mere months. 
  The Aurelia, then, are always looking for new hosts.
  Hence the Butterfly Revels, a bacchanalia of epic 
  proportions hosted regularly by the local Aurelia 
  with the distinct purpose of meeting, evaluating, and 
  acquiring new hosts. The Aurelia can only transfer 
  their consciousnesses to willing souls. Consequently, 
  they desire to claim hosts that are striking, sensual, 
  or enthralling, those that will enable them to acquire 
  a new and attractive host in just a few short months.
  There are many who would gladly accept what the 
  Aurelia offer: an immortality of indulgent pleasures, 
  even as part of a joint consciousness. That is in fact 
  why you are here. The strikingly beautiful Celestus, 
  son of a noble and wealthy elven house, has run off 
  to join the revels. His family is certain that he will 
  abandon his immensely long elven life to become 
  a host. “He’s a foolish boy,” his father explains, “just 
  turned 119 years old, and throwing his life away!” 
  
  17
  If Celestus can be safely recovered, his family has 
  offered you an heirloom: an orb that can restore 
  broken or ruined objects to their original state. The 
  elven house has also provided you with clothing in 
  the latest fashions, to allow you to blend in. 
  This year, the revels will take place on the spire-filled 
  rooftop of the Cathedral Planetarium, a research 
  center for celestial studies. You emerge from a spiral 
  staircase into the open air, lights from the cosmic 
  planes shining down on the revelers, and are stunned 
  by the size of the crowd. What do you do?
  When you move through the assembled revelers, 
  name your target and roll+Dex or +Cha, depending 
  on whether you are using grace or tact; you may try 
  other methods, but violence will not be tolerated. On 
  a 10+, you close the distance to your target; roll on 
  the table below to see what obstacle you successfully 
  navigated. On a 7-9, you close the distance but your 
  target is currently blocked by an obstacle:
  1. Someone seeking pleasure, maybe from you.
  2. Someone you know, perhaps from a job.
  3. Individuals engaged in distracting behavior.
  4. Servants offering you food, drink, drugs, etc.
  5. An ominous threat to you or someone else.
  6. The personal attentions of an Aurelian.
  
  1 8
  [5]
  At the restaurant, you remark to Havana23 that it 
  was interesting how Fearing neither pain nor death 
  attempted to replicate being disoriented in a large 
  crowd, where it’s easy to lose track of people. It is 
  a reminder, you say, of how even in the midst of a 
  raucous party, one can sometimes feel very alone.
  “That’s certainly true,” they reply, “but I found it to be 
  optimistic. At first, for each ‘random party encounter’ 
  rolled, we described the variety of sights, sounds, 
  and experiences on display, no two alike. But then, as 
  the players rolled the same numbers or one random 
  result was connected to another through the fiction, 
  things began to reappear. For example, there was this 
  one serving girl who wouldn’t leave Kirai alone, so 
  we began to suspect she had ulterior motives. In that 
  way, it reminded me that—while we all start out as 
  strangers—even seemingly random or serendipitous 
  meetings can lead to deeper relationships.”
  Yes, just like what’s happening here, you say, all 
  thanks to a faulty InDesign export! In the dim light 
  of the restaurant, it’s hard to tell, but it appears that 
  Havana reddens slightly.
  “That reminds me... there’s another adventure I want 
  to show you, one that hasn’t been published yet. It’s a 
  
  19
  2-player scenario called Looks down at the gathering 
  dark, and it’s fairly experimental. We should grab it 
  from my apartment as we’re walking back...”
  Oh ho! What is afoot here? Does this Looks down at 
  the gathering dark actually exist or does Havana23 
  have a different sort of 2-player scenario in mind? 
  Gazing into your companion’s stunning eyes, you 
  decide that you don’t particularly mind one way 
  or the other. You’re in the mood to find out what 
  happens in this particular adventure.
  Later, as you prepare to leave the restaurant, your 
  friends humor the explanation for why you are 
  walking back to Havana’s apartment. “Don’t get 
  consumed by an Aurelian!” one  shouts as they 
  head off grinning into the night like Cheshire cats.
  It turns out to be a small place, a few rooms filled 
  with brightly colored rugs and furniture, and bearing 
  several abstract paintings on the walls. Your host 
  goes immediately to a shelf, pulls out a few pages, 
  and hands them sheepishly to you. The top of the 
  first page reads: “Looks down at the gathering dark, 
  a game for 2 players, by Havana23.”
  You take your coat off and begin to play.
  
  2 0
  LOOKS DOWN AT THE GATHERING DARK
  You knew it was dangerous to loot the borderlands. 
  There were plenty of valuables to be scrounged, 
  since most people wisely departed before the city 
  of Dis advanced and began consuming their homes 
  and livelihoods. But there was no telling when the 
  landscape might shift and trap you in a newly 
  fashioned oubliette or crush you to pieces. Luckily  
  for you and your partner, you have only suffered the 
  former fate and hope to still avoid the latter.
  Arrange the play area—a single room, perhaps, 
  or a few small adjoined rooms—to resemble the 
  inescapable oubliette in which you are trapped. Close 
  doors, block exits, and obstruct or extinguish light 
  sources as needed.
  Every 15-20 minutes, roll on the following table to 
  determine how your prison changes and readjust 
  the play area appropriately:
  1. It contracts slightly.
  2. It contracts significantly.
  3. It rearranges things.
  4. It connects to a new area.
  5. It manifests a new feature.
  6. Roll twice on this table.
  
  21
  Say or act out what your character says, thinks, feels, 
  or does, making moves as necessary, with the other 
  player serving as MC when needed. Explore your 
  surroundings and treat them as aspects of the fiction. 
  Perhaps the bookshelf is a temple wall covered in 
  runes. Perhaps the bathtub is a sarcophagus.
  How will you spend these last moments, as the 
  walls close in? Can you find a way out? Can you 
  say the things that need to be said? Your torches are 
  beginning to flicker. What do you do?
  
  2 2
  [6]
  By the time you finish playing Looks down at the 
  gathering darkness, you are both exhausted, kept 
  awake mostly by a combination of adrenalin and 
  the hormones inspired by your mutual attraction. 
  You are telling Havana how much you enjoyed the 
  game, punctuated by a few yawns, some tired, some 
  provoked by nervousness.
  “So... I’ll be honest with you,” your companion says. 
  “I invited you over with half a mind to seduce you, 
  but I haven’t finished breaking up with someone 
  else. I mean, it’s over between us, but they don’t 
  necessarily know that. And it’s too late to call them 
  now, especially for this. I apologize for not making 
  things clear; I thought it would be okay, but now I 
  feel like I need to end it before starting something 
  new. Does that make any sense?”
  You completely understand, you say, trying to hide 
  your disappointment.
  “But I won’t kick you out! You’re welcome to sleep on 
  the couch or even in the bed if you behave yourself.”
  You grin and say you’d better take the couch. Later, 
  collapsed amid the blankets and cushions that once 
  imprisoned you in Dis, a game fills your dreams.
  
  23
  ON A CARPET OF BONES  
  ILLUMINATED BY THE MOON 
  Your dreams recreate a morality play performed 
  during the Festa della Concezione di Città, one that 
  tells of the Sultana’s suitors and explores the mystery 
  of Dis Pater, the unknown father of Dis.
  One player portrays the Sultana herself, the only 
  survivor of the destruction of a previous universe. 
  She makes her dwelling in a field of bones, the ruins 
  of the past, with the glistening skull of the moon—
  itself once robed in flesh—shining down.
  The other players portray the Sultana’s suitors. With 
  the universe extinguished, they have come to offer 
  themselves to the Sultana so that new things might 
  be born to fill the emptiness. These suitors include:
  •	
  the Outer Darkness, wishing to know light;
  •	
  Chaos, wishing to known form;
  •	
  one or more ghosts, wishing to know life;
  •	
  the skeletal Moon, with its own purposes.
  The Sultana chooses whose children she will bear, 
  though she may be intimate with whom she pleases. 
  The Sultana frames scenes with suitors in different 
  combinations. Once each suitor has been in three 
  scenes, the game ends, even if the mystery remains.
  
  Just as you begin to wake, the full shape of the pattern 
  finally becomes clear...
  SE SU UN PIANO INVERNALE  
  UN FILIBUSTIERE
  [1]
  If on a wintry plane a freebooter
  [2]
  Outside the dungeon of Malbor
  [3]
  Bleeding from a dire wound
  [4]
  Fearing neither pain nor death
  [5]
  Looks down at the gathering dark
  [6]
  On a carpet of bones illuminated by the moon
  [7]
  Around the ancient tomb
  [8]
  What events await our discovery? 
  [9]
  
  25
  [7]
  You rouse the next morning to find yourself alone in 
  Havana23’s apartment. You move groggily through 
  the now familiar space. Indeed, it’s astounding how 
  comfortable these rooms feel after carefully exploring 
  them in Looks down at the gathering dark.
  Your host has at least left you a note, which makes 
  your abandonment seem cute and heartwarming 
  rather than awkward and sad. It reads:
  Good morning! There is bread in the cabinet above 
  the toaster, along with butter and jam. Please help 
  yourself! I hope you slept okay on the couch. As for 
  myself, I had the strangest dreams: must have been 
  the conflicted feelings from last night.
  Sorry to leave you alone, but my absence is truly with 
  your best interests in mind. I am off to break-up with 
  my ex. Please do not feel any guilt or pressure about 
  this! As I said, I should have done this a long time 
  ago, and I am not assuming anything about your 
  feelings one way or another. This just frees me to find 
  out what happens next.
  P.S. Since I wasn’t sleeping well, I spent half the night 
  furiously developing a campaign concept. I’ve left a 
  draft on my desk if you are interested...
  
  2 6
  AROUND THE ANCIENT TOMB
  The dungeon-sized space sarcophagus of the death 
  god Abaddon (see Dark Heart, p. 32) is slowly being 
  consumed by the city of Dis, though the process 
  has been quite a struggle, particularly because 
  Abaddon awoke before Dis was finished absorbing 
  the god’s undead corpse. Now the remnants of his 
  tomb have become the Noble Parish of Abaddon, a 
  gerrymandered district drawn around the macabre 
  chunks of the death god and his sarcophagus that 
  where strewn about the city during the struggle. 
  Nearly all contain dark magics, death traps, and 
  necromantic auras.
  No one was willing to stand for election to the new 
  parish council—a thankless and highly dangerous 
  job, given the circumstances—but some of your 
  enemies and rivals conspired to get your name on the 
  list, along with a handful of other ne’er-do-wells and 
  rapscallions. The Sultana has blessed the election’s 
  results, and so here you are: councillor of a patchwork 
  assortment of ancient weapons of mass destruction, 
  scattered about the urban landscape of Dis. What 
  do you do?
  In the interest of getting your councillorship off to 
  a great start, here are some of your responsibilities:
  
  27
  Mapping Your Parish: Take a map of the city of Dis 
  and flick some drops of coffee or wine on it. These 
  are the borders of your parish. Some portions may 
  be enclaves of other parishes, requiring extensive 
  negotiation with those ruling the neighboring parish.
  Deadly Puzzlebox: A set of alleyways has been 
  transformed into a constantly shifting ebon maze 
  that gruesomely maims all who pass through. The 
  Road Wardens are planning to intervene and secure 
  safe passage for travelers. They seek your assistance.
  The Dreamer’s Revenge: In one fragment of your 
  parish, where one of Abaddon’s rings fell, young 
  people can’t stop dreaming of a lovely figure in a 
  crimson robe that beckons them to follow.
  No Exit: Your parish is being rapidly depopulated, 
  and it’s not just the deathtraps. When people enter 
  structures that were once part of Abaddon’s tomb, 
  they soon find themselves lost in these buildings, 
  no matter which exit they take.
  Unwelcome Intruder: The voice of Abaddon talks 
  to you on occasion, suggesting what he would do 
  in your situation. If you follow his advice, mark XP. 
  Each move or trait you buy using this XP is touched 
  by the ghost of the death god. Ask the GM how.
  
  2 8
  [8]
  Havana23 returns just as you finish reading Around 
  the ancient tomb. You apologize for getting jam on 
  the campaign draft, but your host laughs and says 
  “You’ve just followed the directions and drawn the 
  parish map!” The laugh is forced and full of emotion. 
  Though Havana insists that the break-up wasn’t a big 
  deal, it was clearly painful and awkward.
  You try to provide a welcome distraction by talking 
  about Around the ancient tomb, but it’s soon clear 
  that your host isn’t in the mood for death traps. 
  After a little while, Havana says: “That concept is 
  about responsibilities, being trapped in something 
  you don’t want, and ghosts of the past. That’s what I 
  was feeling last night when I couldn’t sleep, but now 
  I don’t need to feel that way anymore. Maybe I will 
  come back to that campaign idea later, but now I 
  want to play something about adventure... about life, 
  love, and standing up for your ideals!”
  You smile sympathetically and glance around at 
  the bookshelves. You spot Calvino, of course, and 
  Primo Levi, and P. Craig Russell’s opera comics, and 
  Elias: The Cursed by Sylviane Corgiat and Corrado 
  Mastantuono, and the first two volumes of Saga by 
  Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples.
  
  29
  Then the idea sets in, starting as a vague hint of 
  something, but growing until you’re certain. You 
  reach out and pull a few books down, setting them 
  on the table. Together, the two of you begin working 
  on something new, something that is exactly what 
  your new friend needs right now.
  You’ve been working on it a while when Havana 
  catches your eye, grins, and then says: “It’s a bit ironic 
  to be working on a game concept so strongly focused 
  on relationships and parenthood, especially with 
  you, considering the circumstances. But it doesn’t 
  feel weird; in fact, it feels totally normal. Still, we’ve 
  just gotten to know each other and are spending 
  all day working on games together! What will our 
  friends say when they see this module?”
  You joke that the other players already assume there’s 
  much more mischief going on between the two of 
  you than there is.
  “Hmm,” your collaborator says, “in that case, why 
  aren’t we getting up to more mischief?”
  The project is quickly abandoned as the two of you 
  find other creative pursuits, but the breeze coming 
  through the open widow gently rustles the jotted 
  notes for What events await our discovery?
  
  3 0
  WHAT EVENTS AWAIT OUR DISCOVERY?
  Some jobs aren’t tasks that you perform and then are 
  done with. Take, for example, parenthood. By some 
  means—whether your own doing, the schemes of 
  others, or a happenstance of fate—you have come 
  into possession of a (the?) child of destiny. Or, really, 
  they have come into possession of you.
  Their Destiny Awaits: Create a countdown! For a 
  one-shot it should have three boxes. For a campaign 
  or long arc it might have five or six. Whenever the 
  child demonstrates their specialness, fulfills some 
  minor prophecy, or manifests strange powers, mark 
  a box. When all the boxes are full, their true destiny 
  manifests, in whole or in part. If you continue to 
  play afterwards, keep creating new countdowns 
  until the child’s destiny has fully come into being.  
  Maybe the child also ages 1 year every time they 
  complete a countdown? See if that makes sense in 
  your fiction, but they should slowly grow up. Or 
  consider occasionally skipping ahead a few years.
  I Won’t Allow That to Happen: Anyone—you, other 
  members of your crew, total strangers, enemies—
  can, at any time, no matter the situation, choose to 
  place themselves in protection of the child. In such 
  an instance, say what harm or circumstances you 
  
  31
  want to prevent the child from suffering, and the 
  GM will make a move against you or those around 
  you instead. Consequently, while the child may bring 
  misfortune and difficulties, it is rarely in any true 
  danger. Such simple suffering is not the fate that 
  destiny has in store for it.
  The Child is the Key: There are many forces after 
  the child that wish to use or manipulate it for their 
  own purposes. Heck, maybe you should be counted 
  among them. To determine the others, the GM can 
  just roll jobs as normal, but always have the child 
  be the target. Unlike normal jobs, the GM doesn’t 
  have to ask if you accept the forces arrayed against 
  you. You’ve essentially accepted a load of trouble 
  when you became involved with the child of destiny.  
  From now on, you don’t have to go looking for 
  trouble; trouble will find you. Good luck!
  Since this campaign concept involves babies or 
  young children, it’s possible that some NPCs or 
  factions—whether opposition or allies—will make 
  you feel squeamish or uncomfortable. If that’s the 
  case, the GM should just roll up some different  
  ones, since that’s very easy to do.
  
  3 2
  CREDITS & THANKS
  J. Walton (designer), Lillian Cohen-Moore (editing), 
  elan7t50/istockphoto.com (original cover photo), 
  Claudia Cangini, Italo Calvino, & William Weaver 
  (inspiration), Paolo Bosi, Fiona Staples, & Brian K. 
  Vaughan (additional inspiration), Sage LaTorra & 
  Adam Koebel (Dungeon World).
  [9]
  And that’s how we leave you and Havana23, at the 
  beginning of something new and exciting. What will 
  it turn out to be? No one knows. For now, it is fun 
  and invigorating and freeing and beautiful and that’s 
  all that really matters. The future will be what it will 
  be, and you’ll figure that out as it comes.
  The only way to find out what happens is to play it 
  out and experience it for yourselves.
  What do you do?
  Dedicated to William Weaver (1923–2013),  
  the great translator of modern Italian fiction, 
  who passed away while this was being written.
  
  The Calvino Cycle is an unconventional 
  adventure module for Dungeon World 
  and World of Dungeons, an homage to 
  the literary works of Italo Calvino. 
  It is meant to be played alongside 
  Dark Heart of the Dreamer, 
  the first excerpt from 
  the Planarch 
  Codex.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Powered by the Apocalypse/Dungeon World/Suplements/Planarch Codex/Wintry Plane/Planarch-WintryPlane_011715_singles.pdf