Crapshoot Monday: This Free Thing I Found on Itch.io…The Worms Must Die

​A one-page dungeon by Jason Thomas, level 1
Written system agnostic (boooo)
  First things first, I like the term “predator worms”.
  Mr. Thomas has delivered us a very pretty one-page-dungeon, built primarily around the isometric map of an oddball little complex beneath an old dry well. It’s a bit of a strange setting when examined closely but it is well-crafted little environment, not keyed in a traditional sequence but with little signposts indicating what’s going on in each area. Couple that with a short and sweet backstory plus handout and a trio of statblocks for the monsters, this “system agnostic” adventure more complete than a lot of “for X system” dungeons out there. The only main criticism is that there’s no random encounter chart or order of battle for a dynamic delve.
  The basic plot is standard-issue alchemist-makes-accidental-monster-which-eats-homeless-people-with-predator-worm-tenticles. Now the mayor’s son is missing, go kill the worms. The setting is a little confusing, elements like metal grates, ratfolk, and the impetus for exploring being the kidnapped mayor’s son make it almost a city/urban adventure, but the grassy well entrance, pool, and crystals/stalagmites growing from the floor make for a more naturalistic environment. Charitably, it’s a gonzo discordance, uncharitably either the author doesn’t understand how caves work or expects us not to? Meh, it’s okay.
  So, while I have ranted against isometrics in the past, what I liked here was the map, it’ll actually translate pretty reasonably to graph paper and the verticality is decent. There’s some okay interactivity with the friendly ratfolk, a hiding rogue, the hunted kid is hesitant and scared, all fun enough. I like that the alchemist’s journal dumps the story of the monster-thing, fun. The treasure is okay, a few cute ideas like the locked chest having a hidden key OR can be broken open but some of the stuff in there is breakable.
  Biggest part of what can be improved is coherence, I think. Although there’s plenty of individually good things happening here, once I start thinking about putting this in an ongoing campaign it starts to fall apart a little bit. It’s not just the setting…if I’m playing something in an urban environment I have so many sewers, so many wererats, and so many secretive alchemists…it starts to feel a little more awkward. The “stickiness” is a hard thing to improve, but I think attempting to add realism would go a long way to making this memorable, elevating the whole into at least closer to the sum of their parts.
  Still the best use case in this one is as a gonzo one-shot. Only have two hours on your DCC con slot? This thing fits the bill. I wish I could say it’s an adventure site to weave into your city, but it’s a little bit of a hard fit.
  Final Rating? **/***** because it’s something you could have fun playing, but sadly it won’t be something you tell stories about weeks after.

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