Apocalypse D&D

The Purple Worm Graveyard

This is playtest adventure for Apocalypse D&D by
Tony Dowler. The rules can be found here:
http://apocalypseworld.com/forums/index.php?topic=96.0
Deep under the Grey Mountains of the East lies the
legendary Purple Worm Graveyard, the great cavern
where ancient Purple Worms go to die. And in that
cave must lie a fortune in valuable purple ivory.

This Document
Moves are written this way:
Move Name (STAT)
To use the move, roll 2d6 plus the named stats
attribute bonus.

Dungeon Moves
This dungeon is the proper realm of the Worm God,
a deity of decay, chaos, gross out contests, and
compost. Under certain circumstances, a PC may
open their mind to the worm god while in the
dungeon. This can occur using the inscriptions in
room 10, the altar at 15, or by using any kind of
scrying magic. The DM may also use this move to
expose a PCs mind to the worm god as a result of a
magic mishap or in any other situation the DM
deems appropriate.

1
Disbelieve (WIS)
Use this move when you attempt to banish an
illusion by the strength of your disbelief.
Stand fast, disbelieving the illusion and roll +WIS
Roll 7-9

Roll 10+

You can see through the

illusion, but nobody else
can. If appropriate, the
DM will expose you to
harm or danger.

The strength of your will

overcomes the illusion
and it fades.

Wandering Monsters
With any long passage of time (such as a long rest or
nights sleep), wandering monsters appear 1 in 6.
They may also appear, if appropriate, as the result of
a failed move.
1.
2.
3.
4.

1d3 zombies (full of maggots, of course)

1d6 maggot nagas
Grey ooze, possibly from room 6
Level 1 adventurer NPC, lost in the dungeon

Open your Mind to the Worm God (CON)

Roll 7-9

Roll 10+

You receive a vision

thats relevant to youre
a topic of your choice.
Also, roll on the Worm
Madness table.

You mind contacts the

Worm god and it shows
you what you want then
offers you a bargain or a
gift.

On a miss, you get Worm Madness and nothing else.

Worm Madness
Roll 1d4
1.
2.
3.

4.

Fall on your hands and knees and start eating

dirt voraciously for 1-4 rounds
Projectile vomiting for several minutes
You realize that somewhere, somehow, there's
a worm in your body. You can feel it, but you
can't tell where it is.
The Worm god has a command for you, and he's
watching to make sure you carry it out!

Indexed Encounters
1. The Magic Mouth
Rough-hewn arched stone halls with flagstone floors
A rather straightforward and gruff magic mouth here
warns intruders away from the dangers beyond.
2. Sliding Statues
Tiled floor, four really ugly worm god statues
Once any door to this room has been opened, and
characters have entered, a magical gust of wind
blows out all torches. Then four massive stone
statues slide in grooves on the floor to block the
sturdy wooden doors.

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Then a secret door in the northwest wall opens and
5 Fire Beetles tumble into the room.
To dart out before the doors are blocked, Make your
Move, but on a 7-9 suffer 1d6 crushing damage, on a
miss, 2d6!
The fire beetle nest is a short tube sloping upwards
that acts as a reset lever for the trap. If the tube is
filled with 400 lbs. or more of material (like, say all
the fire beetle corpses), it tilts level and the trap
resets.
There are 28gp in a beetle nest in the tube.
3. Empty Room
Stone room, brick walls, remains of a camp fire and
ration wrappings
Its just empty.
4. Carnivore Room
Well-appointed banquet room complete with set
table, linen tablecloth, steaming roast, red wine, etc.
The feast is an illusion created by a 28HP Feast
Mimic. If anyone doubts its veracity, they may make
the Disbelieve move.
If anyone interacts with the food, the mimic attacks.
If they are foolish enough to sit first, they are also
held.
The 6 candlesticks are real and worth 4 gp each.
5. Sacristy
Worm god sacristy, abandoned and musty,
moldering vestments laid out and forgotten
Gold inlaid ceremonial carapace, worth 1000gp,
provides 2 armor, but loses half its value the first
time its hit in combat.
Goblets, ceremonial daggers, tiny shovels, a silver
worm god holy symbol, and box of compost-smelling
incense worth 200 gp
6. Servants Dorm
Smashed beds, standing water, mildew and trash,
frescoes showing happy servants serving worms and
worm-like humanoids with captions like happiness
through servitude and faithfulness and fulfillment
One of the puddles is a Lesser Gray Ooze.
If the refuse is moved, Beebarts Dagger may be
found under a moldy mattress.
7. Window on the Woods
Dusty, cobwebbed wizards sitting room with rocking
chair, side table, and ever-burning fireplace

2
A large window in this room looks out on a pretty
spring meadow. In fact, you can climb through,
finding yourself in a distant kingdom, but the trip is
one-way.
Healing Draught in the side table drawer.
8. The Statues
Vaulted ceiling, two statues facing across the room:
a pitted iron statue of a cowled mysterious figure
and a brass horseman missing a leg
If the leg is found (room 12) and replaced, the
horseman animates and fights for the person who
replaces it as long as they stay in the dungeon.
Brass Horseman: 20 HP, fights as level 2 hireling,
cant turn around in narrow hallways or pass
through normal-sized doorways.
9. Burial Chamber
Musty, low-ceilinged burial chamber, poorly
mummified bodies, recent corpse on a stone table,
battered coffins, scattered refuse
Four Maggot Nagas chewing on the recent corpse. If
they hear the PCs coming, they will hide and use
voice mimicry to try and scare the PCs off.
A full search will uncover 1d4*8 gps in miscellaneous
coins, a 40gp gem, and an illusionist scroll with 1
random level 2 spell.
10. Inscriptions
Round, smooth cavern with ancient writings on the
wall, echoing and cold; graffiti of bloated human
faces and zombie satyrs
Inscriptions in several languages, including human
and goblinoid tongues accompany weird, glyphshaped worm trails. The trails are wormsign, the
language of the worm god, and the other
inscriptions make this a sort of Rosetta Stone.
With several hours study, an attempt may be made
to learn the wormsign. There is a 50% chance of a
wandering monster showing up while your study.

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Learn Wormsign (+INT)
Roll 7-9

Roll 10+

You learn Wormsign.

You can communicate
with wormkind (at a
level appropriate to their
intelligence) using sign
language or written
glyphs.

Your mastery of
Wormsign is perfect. You
can communicate with
wormkind (at a level
appropriate to their
intelligence) using sign
language or written
glyphs. You may also
henceforth open your
mind to the Worm god
at any time by studying
worms and reading its
will in their motions.

You also open your mind

to the Worm god, right
now.

11. Myconic Garden

Mushroom forest, twisted shrooms, technicolor
blooms, gossamer fungal hair hanging in curtains,
damp air, dripping cieling, spicy odor
3 Shriekers hidden in the undergrowth will attract a
wandering monster if not somehow spotted and
neutralized.
Successful Spout Lore might indicate that purple
worms are highly fond of mushrooms, especially
shriekers
Hobarts Helm is buried under a stone in a corner,
but may only be found as part of a thorough search.
12. Bronze Pool
Smaller mushrooms in all colors and patterns, golden
phosphorescence, clear cave pool fed by trickling
water, sulphurous smell
The pool is somewhat acidic and stings the palette,
but is otherwise harmless. Bathing restores 1d4 HP
once per day. The missing leg of the horse statue
(room 8) is in the bottom, but cant be found
without a search.
13. Purple Worm Graveyard
Massive cavern lit by shaft of light from a high
opening, sandy floor, moldering hulks of purple
worm bodies, shining altar in the distance
A fortune in purple ivory lies ready for the taking!
The ivory is bulky and heavy and difficult to gather
(takes maybe 20 minutes). A normal one-person load
is worth 100 gp. Once gathering starts, the party has
enough time to gather 1d4+1 loads each before a
Purple Worm shows up. Let the PCs get creative
figuring out how to transport all that loot.

3
If a worm shows up, make it clear the PCs just how
dangerous it is before they try to take it on. If they
kill it, theyre welcome to as much worm loot as they
can carry out.
14. The Gem
Fantastic gem hidden behind excellent illusionary
wall
May only be found by a PC who is specifically
examining the walls or searching for secret doors
Gem of Spell Storage, containing a 6d6 Wall of Fire
spell.
15. Altar of the Worm God
12 high altar made of golden light, but climbable;
small bell and large gong on top
Anyone who prays here will Open their Mind to the
Worm god at +2 to the roll.
The small bell screams like a shrieker and summons
2d12 Giant Rats which leap down from a cave
entrance in the roof (they typically come to devour
recently-dead worms)
The big bell summons a Purple Worm.

Monster Descriptions
Some monsters have custom moves. Unless the
move description says otherwise, the DM may use
this as her move when she gets to make a move, or
when its appropriate given the cirumstances.
Fire Beetles
Stupid, with poor eyesight, but excellent smell and
always voraciously hungry
1+2 HD, 2d4 mandibles
Run up your legs and start chewing on your face
Attacking a beetle on your own head is defying
danger
Flee into small spaces that are hard to get to
Feast Mimic
Uses illusion and crude shape change to look like a
table and chairs with feast set out. Brutal and
sadistic
4 HD, smash/smash/bite 1d4/1d4/2d4
Grab and Hold
Go aggro to escape or suffer 1d4 crushing damage
each round

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Giant Rats
Swarms of feral rats, each the size of a dog
1-4 HP, d6 bite

4
Shriekers
Annoying screaming mushrooms, purple worms love
to eat these
1d4 HP

Disease
1 day after being bitten, roll +CON
Roll 7-9

Roll 10+

You sicken. Temporarily

lose 1 CON. You may roll
again the next day.

You recover fully,

regaining any lost stats
over 1d4 hours

On a miss, result is as a 7-9, but the disease is

accompanied by rat-like growth of front teeth and
patchy fur growth on the face, for a loss of 1 CHA.
Disease may be fully healed by a Cure Disease spell,
or the treatment of a cleric in town.
Lesser Gray Ooze
Slow, inexorable meat-seeking acid puddle; invisible
when in water
2+2 HD, 1 armor, 1d6 damage

Shriek
When approached, emit a loud piercing shriek
Zombies
Inimical animated corpses
2HD, 2d4 damage, always attack last
Implacable Advance
If killed on a hit thats not a 10+, 2 rounds later the
mangled corpse attempts to rise and continue
attacking with 1 HP.

Magic Items
Beebarts Dagger
Has an ivory bee on the pommel; provides +1 to
Make your Move, but you must choose precision
strike as one of your success options.

Acid Skin
Hits have a chance to damage metal weapons and
armor
Mindless
Characters cannot go aggro on this monster
Maggot Nagas
Loathsome half-maggot creatures with human
female upper torsos, dark humor and evil tendencies,
middling intelligence, love feasting on corpses
1 HD, 1 armor, 1d4 damage (javelins and knives)
Corpse Voice
Ability to perfectly mimic the voices of those they
have feasted upon
Nasty Ambush
Love setting nasty traps and ambuscades
Purple Worm
Gigantic alpha worm, fearsome alpha predator
15HD, bite 2d12, sting 2d4 plus poison (rear attack
only), 1 armor
Swallow Whole
On any failed attack move, the worm may swallow
you. Swallowed characters die in 6 rounds and may
only fight with short, sharp weapons.

Gem of Fabulous Storage

This fabulous 100gp gem contains a magic spell.
Crushing the gem casts the spell. An empty version
of this gem can be used to catch a spell cast at the
owner or at the gem itself.
Hobarts Helm
An ostentatious brass helm with four horns and an
enormous amethyst above each eye hole; provides
+1 armor against missile attacks.
Healing Draught
This potion heals 1d8+1 HP. It may be given as a gift.
If accepted and used, the user may not act violently
against the giver unless they first Defy Danger

End Notes
This dungeon was inspired by a mention of the
Purple Worm Graveyard in The Dungeon Alphabet by
Michael Curtis. Most of the rooms in the dungeon
take their inspiration from that book too.
Thanks to everyone who played this at Go Play NW,
Ben Wray, Eric Boyd, Kynnin Scott, Lee Short, Sage
LaTorra, and Wilhelm Fitzpatrick
This is a playtest adventure for Apocalypse D&D by
Tony Dowler. For more about Apocalypse D&D, go
here:
http://apocalypseworld.com/forums/index.php?board=19.0

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Playtest Questionnaire
Hey, it would be super cool of you if you would tell me how your game went. Everyone who sends me feedback at
tony.dowler@gmail.com will get a small gift. Include your postal address when you contact me! Below are some
sample questions, or you can just tell me about the game in your own words.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Did you use the basic spellcasting rules, or the options ones here: http://apocalypseworld.com/forums/index.php?topic=137.0? How did they work out for you?
Did the players use a variety of moves or the same move over-and-over? Why? How did they fell about it?
What was fun about the game?
What was not fun about the game?
Was there a time when you werent sure how to use the rules to do the thing you wanted? What did you end
up doing?
Do you have any advice to improve this playtest adventure?