The Adventurer

“He is a prince of the other world on his travels through this one... The sun, which shines behind him, knows whence he came, whither he is going, and how he will return by another path after many days. He is the spirit in search of experience.”

– The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, A. E. Waite

There are four social classes in the City. The nobles field knights and have the wealth to supply

them with the finest arms and armor. The nobles are the landowners; they make war when it is necessary to defend or expand the City.

The clergy provide for the spiritual needs of the populace and tally the offerings to the many faces of the Monad. The clergy are the learned class; they perform the tasks of chronicling and remembering the histories of the City.

The tradesmen power the economy of the City. This class of skilled workers is not given the privileges or powers of the nobility but they make enough money to avoid the life of the peasants.

The peasants are indentured servants who work for the right to live on the lands of the nobility. They believe strange things.

Adventurers, who delve into the Underworld for treasures and glory, break this system. Despite the half-century since the Underworld's appearance, the City still isn't used to this uncomfortably new fifth class.

In many ways, adventurers are lower than peasants, for they do not have legal rights in the City. However, many become richer than even the nobility, for the Underworld boasts fabulous wealth. At once, adventurers are both respected and despised.

An RPG is simply an exchange of questions and answers between the players and the GM. These questions and answers can have nuance and texture. When playing His Majesty the Worm, this manifesto will help you frame your conversations with your GM.

Be careful, be fierce

You don’t start out a hero. The only thing between you and a salivating dragon’s jaws are a few conditions unchecked on your adventurer sheet. You should never expect the world around you to be fair. You’re not in a tutorial level; your adventurer is journeying through a mythic Underworld that wants them to stay forever and ever. Keeping them alive requires caution and thoughtfulness.

Encountering a dragon is different when your adventurer is inexperienced versus when they’re experienced. At first, the focus might be stealth—how much gold can you get away with before the dragon notices you? After you’ve built up your strength, you might feel confident enough to engage in combat with the dragon. But don’t fight fair. Make sure you choose the battleground. Ambush the dragon. Drop a rock on its head.

And when the going gets tough, don’t be afraid to cut your losses and run away.

Solve problems orthogonally

You should be trying to make your GM say: “I didn’t even think of that.”

In an RPG, you can do anything. That’s the appeal! When you’re playing a computer game, you can only do the things the game designer programmed in. They anticipated you moving left, right, and down. Going up is out of the question. Not so in a tabletop game.

Most problems aren’t solved by fighting them. People can be reasoned with. Monsters can be placated. Traps can be avoided. Monsters can be led into traps. People can be sold the monster’s guts.

Don’t expect to “use” your talents and motifs to solve a problem. The abilities and items you have listed are just tools—and they’re only one of the many tools in your arsenal. Think outside of your adventurer sheet.

Engage the world

You don’t have to talk in a silly voice or wear a costume*. You do, however, have to interact with the fiction of the world in a logical way.

The essential way you have to interact with the fictional world is to ask questions. By engaging your GM in a give-and-take, you make the game real. The game world is layered. By asking questions, you begin to understand its bounds.

There are no abilities on your adventurer sheet that give you the sort of insight that asking questions will provide. If you’re looking for a trap, pour water on the ground and see if you can find any trap doors. If you’re looking for a secret door, tap on the walls and listen for something hollow.

The game is about you using your real-life thinking brain to solve problems, overcome obstacles, and figure things out. There are no stats or powers that are going to help you solve the essential issues.

* You can though. We won’t stop you.

Engage each other

The most essential stats on your adventurer sheet aren't your talents or motifs. The most essential stats are your Bonds with your guild-mates.

The economy of charging Bonds during the Crawl and spending them during the Camp Phase is essential to the flow of His Majesty the Worm. As such, make sure you're thinking of ways to engage other players.

• Play to lift other adventurers up. When you see an opportunity for another adventurer to shine, take a step back. Share each other's burdens. Revel in each other's successes.

• Be respectful and considerate. If you want to explore a particular story, engage with your fellow players to make sure they're comfortable with the themes that you're exploring. Don't be “that guy.” Read the goddamn room.

• Let your relationships grow and change. Every session or two, touch base with another player. Discuss how your adventurers feel about each other in light of your most recent experiences. Have rivals become allies? Have allies become best friends? Have best friends become lovers?

• Be funny in character. Be serious in character. Think in character. Stay in character.

Embrace the chaos

Part of the game is skill. Part of the game is chance. Sometimes, you can’t be careful or fierce enough to avoid a test of fate. And when fate isn’t on your side, you have to embrace it. Having something bad happen doesn’t mean that you’ve made a mistake. It’s just part of the game.

It is easy to create a new adventurer. This is on purpose. If your adventurer dies, throw yourself into the next one. If your adventurer completes their quest, be excited to retire them.

Games without consequences have no teeth. How boring would it be if you knew you would never fail and never die? The essential gimmick of question/answer with the GM would be boring: “How will your adventurer succeed today?” Thus, love the chaos.

“An incalculable amount of human effort is directed to combating and restricting the nuisance or danger represented by chance.”

– Introduction to the I Ching, Carl Jung

Sometimes, RPG players are expected to create their characters by themselves and show up on game night expecting to meet everyone else at an inn. This can sometimes lead to problems at the game table. We recommend that the players and the GM get together for a session before play starts to create adventurers and talk about everybody's expectations. This is called “session 0,” and it can go a long way towards making sure everybody is having fun.

Collaborative game creation

During session 0, the GM should set expectations about what sort of game they will be running. The general assumption with His Majesty the Worm is that it will be a megadungeon-based exploration game where the adventurers pursue their own quests. Deviations from this formula should be discussed by the table.

Have a discussion about what everybody enjoys in games:

• Do you have fun with combat? Do you like learning and using the mechanics of the game?

• Do you enjoy intra-party conflict? Does it stress you out?

• Do you enjoy intra-party romance? Does it stress you out?

• Do you enjoy getting deep into your own character's role-playing?

• Do you enjoy spending an evening with your friends?

• Do you enjoy the emerging story told by an RPG?

Lots of players will have opinions about these sources of fun. Some sources will be more interesting to you than others.

Session 0 is also an important opportunity to make sure that sensitive subjects are treated with the respect that they deserve. If the GM plans on including difficult themes in their game, they should make this apparent up front. For example, if you’re intending to deal with themes of slavery in the City, just say so. Role-playing games can be opportunities to confront important real-world issues. They can also be an opportunity to escape these and not think about them at all.

GMs, be respectful when listening to player’s reactions to sensitive subjects. Don’t put players on the spot (e.g., “Are there any triggering subjects that we should avoid?”). Rather, ask open-ended questions that allow for honest feedback. Work together to find out what subjects are and are not appropriate for your friends.

Collaborative adventurer creation

During session 0, the players go through all steps of the Call to Adventure together. They discuss the sort of characters they want to play. If there are overlaps, players discuss how they feel about them. Maybe the overlaps are interesting (maybe the two dwarf adventurers are related), or maybe one player would prefer to play something that differentiates them.

If a player has questions about a rule’s interpretation, the GM can answer it and the entire table benefits from learning the clarification. If a player wants to ask the GM for a rules change or special permission for something, the GM can run the potential change past the entire table to see if everybody is okay with it. Everybody is kept on the same page.

As the GM hears interesting details about an adventurer’s background, early ages, apprenticeship years, etc., they can jot down plot ideas. Maybe that long lost brother can come back. Maybe they can make that failed marriage important.

The GM can also use this time to smooth over potential difficulties. One of the players wants to play a cannibal. Is that appropriate for this game and this party?

As part of the Call to Adventure, the players announce their adventurers’ initial quests. The GM can veto these quests or suggest changes to make them more interesting.

Collaborative guild creation

Restrictions foster creativity

It’s said that necessity is the mother of invention. If that’s true, we would add our own truism: restrictions are the mother of creativity.

It can be hard for (even experienced) players to choose a compelling character or guild concept ex nihilo. A GM who provides some structure to session 0 can plant seeds of creativity for the players.

For example, perhaps the GM runs an underfolk-only game. Or, perhaps they run a game where the guild is the Secret Pope’s Secret Strike Force.

At first blush, these restrictions might be surprising for players. They might wonder how they can distinguish themselves from each other if everybody is of the same kith or path (or both). However, we’ve found that true distinction comes when the players don’t simply play their “race and class.” The more similar characters are on the surface, the less similar they are in truth.

The adventurers begin the game as members of the same guild. During session 0, over the course of the Call to Adventure, the players fill out the guild roster sheet collaboratively.

As everyone talks about their adventurers, the GM can try and encourage a guild theme. Are the players all pirates? All dedicated templars? All noble ladies? All named Greg?

Collectively decide:

• What is the name of your guild?

• Why are you adventuring together?

• How did you meet?

• Is there a guild leader?

• What are the looting rights?

Role-playing games have been compared to sex. You usually do it with friends. Sometimes you pay someone to be your dungeon master. Sometimes safe words help. Sometimes you don’t need them. Ultimately, it’s important that everybody involved enthusiastically consents to the stuff that’s going on and everybody is having fun.

“Dark hallways. Windowless rooms. Stairs. Then a new voice: ‘I’m lost. Out of food. Low on water. No sense of direction. Oh God...’...‘There’s something here. It’s following me. No, it’s stalking me. I’ve been stalked by it for days but for some reason it’s not attacking. It’s waiting, waiting for something. I don’t know what. Holloway Roberts. Menomonie, Wisconsin. I’m not alone here. I’m not alone.’”

– House of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski

Creating an adventurer means heeding the call to adventure. When you create an adventurer, you answer questions and make a series of decisions. This will result in a character with a background, a history, equipment, and connections to other adventurers.

Track the choices of the Call to Adventure and subsequent play on your adventurer sheet. A full version of the adventurer sheet can be found at hismajestytheworm.games.

1. Origin

Your home, your hearth, and your heart are your adventurer’s biggest influences.

• Choose a kith and kin from chapter 4. Write down your kin talent.

• Your kin talent begins as mastered. A mastered talent can be used without spending XP. See Talents for details about talents.

• Choose a path from chapter 5. Put a 4 in the corresponding attribute.

• Write down all of your path’s talents.

• Choose one of your path talents to be mastered.

• The rest of your path talents are in-training.

• Choose a name from the list on your kith’s page or make one up.

• All adventurers have a maximum of 4 Resolve. Note that you start with a full 4 Resolve.

2. Fitting in

Puberty is a hard time. There are so many weird changes, and you have to make decisions about your future career way earlier than you want to.

• Tell a story to the table about something your adventurer struggled with while young. Based on the story, put a 1 in one attribute.

• Choose a motif based on your origin story. This might be related to your parents’ professions or an apprenticeship. See Motifs for details about motifs.

3. Failed career

You had a shot at a normal life and you blew it. What was your previous job?

• Tell a story to the table about your failed career. Based on your story, put a 2 in one attribute.

• Choose a motif related to your failed career.

4. Querent

Adventure calls to you.

• Tell a story to the table about why you’re willing to brave the Underworld. What is your quest? Note it down.

• If it’s important to your group, choose two languages.

5. Full-blown weirdo

You set out to become that dreadful, ugly, and unwelcome thing: an adventurer. Your first foray into the Underworld was…what?

• Tell a story about your first adventure into the Underworld. Based on your story, put a 3 in the last attribute.

• Choose a motif based on this adventure. This is your last motif, so think carefully.

• What does your adventurer look like? Briefly describe them to the rest of the guild.

6. Guild bonding

Who is in your guild and why are you traveling together?

• Each player declares a Bond with every other player at the table (Bonds). Bonds are very important for the meta-economy of the game.

• Get out the guild roster. Note down the members of the guild.

• Collectively give your guild a name and have someone draw the guild’s sigil.

• Collectively determine your looting rights in the terms section of the roster.

• Each player chooses their marching order (first, second, third, etc.) and guild role.

More information about guilds, marching order, and so on, is covered in chapter 3.

7. Treats from Ma

Look at the Omphalic Market.

• Choose 1 luxurious item, 5 common items, and as many impoverished items as you want. Keep choosing items until your belt and your backpack are full.

• If any of your talents require specific items (an archwood wand, a bow, heavy armor, poultices, hermetic bottles, etc.), these items count as impoverished items for you during the Call to Adventure. You can have as many as you want.

Putting it all together

In summation, your adventurer has:

• Attributes set at 4, 3, 2, and 1

• A path

• 1 mastered path talent, 1 mastered kin talent, and 6 path talents in training

• A quest

• 3 motifs

• 4 Resolve

• A full backpack and belt containing 1 luxurious item, 5 common items, and as many impoverished items and items used by your talents as you want

• Bonds with the rest of the guild

• An appearance

• A name

You’re now ready to heed the call to adventure and delve into the Underworld.

The adventurer sheet

Each section of the adventurer sheet is described in detail on the following pages!

“Tell me a story. Make it a story of great distances, and starlight. The name of the story will be Time, But you must not pronounce its name. Tell me a story of deep delight.”

– “Tell Me a Story,” Robert Penn Warren

Knaves, rogues, and scoundrels

Playing murder hobos gets so old so fast. Whee, you killed the barkeep because he looked at you wrong. Whee, you set the tavern on fire.

His Majesty the Worm is a game for heroes. You can be dirty, rotten thieves—but at least you have a heart of gold.

Adventurers have a kith and a kin. An adventurer’s kith is their “race”—whether they are human or fay or underfolk or otherwise. In game terms, kith is the broad cultural context that separates them from the rest of the world.

Kin defines an adventurer’s clan, realm, or kingdom, and differentiates that adventurer from others of their kith. Two adventurers with the same kin are from the same sub-group—or maybe even related by blood.

Chapter 4 details the various kith and kin that you can choose from during the Call to Adventure, and provides some sample names.

• You automatically begin with a mastered talent determined by your kin.

• Your kith determines your arête triggers. When all three triggers are checked, you automatically learn your kin’s arête talent.

The kiths and kin are:

Humans

• Divided into myriad houses

Fay

• High elves
• Wood elves
• Dark elves
• Gnomes

Underfolk

• Dwarves
• Halflings
• Trolls

Orcs

• Earthblooded
• Fireblooded
• Seablooded
• Stormblooded

Attributes as class

You might think of each attribute as a rating in one of four jobs: warrior, rogue, scholar, and sorcerer. When a particular task would fall within the purview of one of these jobs, you test fate with that particular attribute.

An adventurer’s abilities are measured by four attributes. The attributes are:

Swords

Swords is the attribute of warriors. Swords encompasses strength and endurance. It represents bravery, fortitude, directness, forcefulness, and all facets of combat.

Cups

Cups is the attribute of scholars. Cups encompasses wisdom and learning. It represents cleverness, carefulness, patience, and everything related to the use of tools.

Pentacles

Pentacles is the attribute of rogues. Pentacles encompasses swiftness and slyness. It represents quickness, quietness, manipulation, and everything related to stealth.

Wands

Wands is the attribute of sorcerers. Wands encompasses your willpower and mysticism. It represents persuasiveness, showmanship, spirit, passion, and everything related to the occult.

Adventurers have a spread of attributes ranked 4, 3, 2, and 1. Your highest attribute (4) will be the same as the path you belong to (Chapter 5: The Four Paths).

Every adventurer has a reason to go down into the Underworld. This is called your quest.

Your quest is your adventurer’s motivating objective. It is discrete and achievable.

So, “Find the Grail of Mythrys” is a good quest, but “Get rich” is a bad quest. Yes, the Grail of Mythrys will make you rich, but riches is not what you're questing for.

Example quests

• Capture a cockatrice and haul it back to the City alive so that the Order of Alchemists can save your petrified brother.

• Kill the vampire who turned you into a thrall so that you can be restored to humanity.

• Find the Well of Lethe so that you can forget the terrible things you’ve done and have a chance at a happy life.

• Get a trophy from a dragon so that you can impress the pirate crew that mutinied against you.

• Pluck a nega-rose from the Grave of the First Dead so that the Witchmother accepts your proposal of marriage to her daughter.

Players and the GM should talk over their quests during session 0. The GM should set expectations for what’s reasonable to quest for. The players should talk about adventures that would be interesting to them.

It’s the GM’s job to place each player’s quest objectives into the Underworld and hedge them with interesting, open-ended challenges. They should pepper hints, rumors, and associated characters into the game world so that players have things to explore and paths towards victory. See Create a path to success for more information about how the GM does this.

Like rumors that you hear in the City, what you hear about your quest may or may not be correct. There might be twists. There might be competition. There might be trouble.

You play an adventurer—a homeless mercenary who voluntarily delves into the depths of a mythical dungeon in hopes of treasure and glory and gods only know what else. But every adventurer in the Underworld has lived another life. Your motifs speak to the life that you lived before you became an adventurer.

A motif is a short phrase that defines a moment in your adventurer’s history. Motifs have two primary uses:

• When your adventurer has a motif that would prepare them or make them particularly qualified for a test of fate, you have favor on that test (+3 to the total).

• You can bid lore to ask the GM questions about a subject if you have a motif that is appropriate to the question you’re asking; see Lore.

A motif is made up of two parts: a descriptor and the name of a profession. To create a motif, combine two words from the lists on the following page, or create your own. An adventurer only ever has three motifs.

You should never feel locked into the choices you make about your adventurer. You may change a motif during the City Phase if you and the GM feel it’s appropriate.

“We’ve met before.” “Right! When I was a pirate’s ship-boy.” “And I was a wizard’s apprentice.”

– Ill Met in Lankhmar, Fritz Leiber

Sample motif descriptors and professions

Example motifs

• Gentleman thief • Heretical evangelist • Veteran witch-hunter • Constantly giggling rat-catcher • Drunken knight • Fallen templar • Penitent grave robber • Twisted inventor • Morbid jester

Real-world inspiration

In Britain’s first census in 1801, citizens were asked to state their “rank, profession, or occupation.” The following are true responses to this census. If this doesn’t inspire you for motifs, nothing will: • Turnip shepherd • Knight of the Thimble • Drowner • Fatuous pauper • Emasculator • Sampler of drugs • Examiner of underclothing • Gymnast to house painter • Colourist of artificial fish

The relationships you have with all the other members of your guild are called Bonds. Bonds are reflected on your adventurer sheet in terms of simple sentences: “I am Petyr’s mentor,” or “Grendel is my ally.” Your Bonds become charged when you play them to the hilt or when they put you in danger.

If you play a Bond to the hilt, you exemplify the relationship represented by the Bond. Basic suggestions for this role-play are given in the descriptions of the example Bonds below; however, the GM can call for the Bond to be charged by other examples of excellent role-playing, too.

• Players, just ask the GM when you think you’ve done a great job. GMs, be generous and honest.

If your Bond puts you in danger, you make a choice that puts your adventurer at a disadvantage or takes a big risk for the sake of exemplifying their Bond.

• Players, ask your GM if you think your choice really jeopardizes you. GMs, be generous and honest.

Charges may be burned during the Camp Phase to heal Wounds and recover Resolve. For each charge you burn, you heal 1 Wound or regain 1 Resolve. See Recovery for full details.

By way of example, the Bonds below are illustrated using characters from Firefly and The Lord of the Rings. We figured this was geek lingua franca.

Ally

Your allies are guild-mates that you are professional and amiable with. This is the default Bond.

Examples: Wash and Kaylee, Aragorn and Gandalf

• Charge this Bond when you make your ally laugh both in and out of character.

Adversary

If you have a significant problem with a guild-mate, you’re probably their adversary. This isn’t an excuse to be an ass to another player, but it’s an opportunity for interesting and fair conflict.

Examples: Mal and Jayne, Boromir and Aragorn

• Charge this Bond when you witness your adversary fail a test of fate.

Big/Little

There's a special relationship between a diminutive halfling and her huge troll “brother.” If one adventurer is bigger than the other and you use this to your advantage, this is the Bond for you.

Example: Éowyn and Merry

• You both charge this Bond when your big/little aids you in a test of fate with your weakest attribute.

Best Friend

You wouldn't let your best friend go on an adventure without you. You're there for each other, thick or thin.

Examples: Mal and Zoe, Merry and Pippin

• You both charge this Bond when you reveal a secret to your best friend.

Love

If both players are cool with it, use this Bond to represent someone you are in a romantic relationship with. If the relationship is one-sided, use the Unrequited Love Bond.

Examples: Zoe and Wash, Faramir and Éowyn

• Charge this Bond when you do something gushy and romantic for your partner, whether it’s writing an in-character love sonnet or risking your neck to pick a bunch of flowers for them.

Master/Henchman

Players can be hirelings. When you have a managerial vs. subservient relationship with another guild-mate, this is your Bond.

Examples: Mal and Wash, Frodo and Sam

• Masters charge this Bond when they give their henchman an agreed-upon payment or compensation.

• Henchmen charge this Bond when they use one of their Camp Actions to benefit their master but not themselves.

Mentor/Mentee

Whether a parent, parent-figure, or merely the guild leader, a mentor guides and shapes the life of a mentee.

Examples: Shepherd Book and River, Gandalf and Frodo

• Mentees charge this Bond when they ask the mentor for advice and it is given.

• Mentors charge this Bond when a mentee follows their advice.

Rival

You are in competition with your rival. You might want the same woman, the most kills, or something weirder.

Example: Legolas and Gimli

• Charge this Bond when you witness your rival succeed on a test of fate.

Sibling

Your first adventures were raiding your mother's cookie jar together. Now, you're guild-mates.

Examples: Simon and River, Boromir and Faramir

• Charge this Bond when you provide aid to your sibling in a test of fate.

Unrequited Love

He’s just not that into you. If both players are cool with it, use this Bond to represent how you feel about a would-be suitor or ex-lover.

Examples: Simon and Kaylee, Aragorn and Éowyn

• Charge this Bond when you do something kind for your love and they rebuff you or turn you down.

Ward

You have a guild-mate that you look out for. It’s important they survive.

Example: Frodo, River

• When your Ward survives an entire Challenge without taking a Wound, charge this Bond.

Negative bonds and “That Guy”

OK, let’s talk real quick about the connotation of some of these negative Bonds and problem players.

Some of these Bonds (Unrequited Love, Adversary, Rival) seem like they’d incite a bad time with “that guy.” We hope this isn’t true for you. Whenever somebody is being “that guy,” there’s one real solution: talk to them. Maybe you got off track. Maybe there was a miscommunication. Maybe this player has had different experiences and expectations with gaming than the rest of the table. These things can often be worked through.

Moreover, the session 0 rules we’ve included are designed to help mitigate having these experiences in the first place. But, if and when they arise, a frank, adult discussion can serve you well.

The fact of the matter is that some Bonds are, in fact, representative of “negative” relationships and derived from adversarial relationships in the inspirational fiction. We think these can be fun—but only if done with the consent of all parties involved. Table consensus is a prime tool for everybody having a fun time. If the idea of Unrequited Love appeals to you, talk to the table. See who would be interested in that Bond, and make sure the GM is interested in that sort of story.

GMs, talk to your players when they bring these things up. Facilitate communication. Are the players interested in ever moving the Unrequited Love towards Love?

At the end of the day, it’s important that everybody is having fun with the Bonds. If they’re not, just swap them to “Ally.” It’s the default one.

Each adventurer has the capacity to exemplify the platonic ideal of their kin, which is called their arête.

Arête (AIR-uh-tay) is a word of Greek origin meaning virtue, gnosis, excellence, and evolution.

Each kin has an arête talent. Unlike talents associated with an adventurer’s path, arête talents cannot be trained with experience points.

You gain arête when you perform certain accomplishments dependent on your kith. The first time you accomplish each particular deed, put a check mark beside it. When you have checked off all three of your arête triggers, you gain your arête talent. See chapter 4 for a list of your kith’s arête triggers and arête talent.

There are five languages spoken commonly in the City, and a hundred uncommon ones. At a minimum, each adventurer is at least bilingual—choose two languages from the lists below. If you want to learn more languages later, train the Loremaster talent until you’re a skilled linguist.

Alternatively, if tracking languages in your game doesn’t feel fun, don’t do it.

Vulgaris

Vulgaris, the common tongue, is a creole language, developed from a pidgin mash of Ancient Mannish, Vetus, and Tylwyth. Despite a few decades of official censure by the Cult of Mythrys and the City’s rulership as a “base” tongue, Vulgaris is by far the most common language spoken throughout the Wide World by humans, underfolk, and orcs. Most inhabitants of the City speak it decently well.

Cant

Cant is the language of the lowborn. It is especially famous as the language of thieves, scoundrels, rogues, and ne’er-do-wells. The language is lilting and filled with rhyming couplets, so that it is quite musical when spoken. It is also filled with seeming banalities, so those who speak the Cant seem to be speaking about nothing at all. For example, two thieves might be discussing a planned heist, but seemingly referring to famous actors, the weather, and breeds of puppies.

Cant is derived from Vulgaris and shares much of its grammar and vocabulary. However, those without proficiency in this language can absolutely not understand a single sentence of it.

Chivalric

Chivalric is the language of the nobility. All legal and courtly proceedings are conducted in this tongue. If a poor commoner is caught in the justice system without knowledge of this language, the case continues with or without their comprehension.

Chivalric shares much of its grammar and vocabulary with Vulgaris, but is couched in romantic, philosophical, and pseudo-religious argot so that it is absolutely impenetrable by those unlearned in its application.

Tylwyth

Tylwyth is the ancestral language of the fay and other spirits. Since the fay have dwelt within the bounds of the Wide World for much longer than Mankind, many of the spirits and minor divinities that live there speak Tylwyth almost exclusively.

The fay, as a whole, are known for their love of languages and Tylwyth enjoys a certain fame among scholars and linguists as being a logical, subtle, and beautiful tongue. Careful cultivation by immortal linguists has developed Tylwyth into a purposeful and useful language, like a carefully pruned tree.

Vetus

Vetus has enjoyed over five-hundred years of consistent use and is the official language of the Cult of Mythrys. As the Cult is the center of academia, almost every written text or scholarly book is written in this language. Scholars would be wise to master it.

Mythrys made the language sacred by declaring that, in order to more deeply understand the Mysteries that he revealed, all adherents of the faith must learn Vetus, and so avoid the pitfalls and stumbling blocks that come with clumsy translation. Those adherents who do not speak it merely go through the motions during religious festivals.

Vetus is written in a flowing cursive script from right to left. It is usually written in an abjad form. The Vetus script is the only language written in the City. Sometimes its script system is (crudely) borrowed for other languages, but books, scrolls, documents, proclamations, and other important texts are only rendered in Vetus.

Ancient tongues

History has many ancient modes of speech. These are mostly historical footnotes; few texts remain written in these scripts and there are almost no native speakers. However, some scholars study ancient languages to have a deeper connection with their own race, because their obscure branch of study necessitates it, or because of their love of philology.

The adventurer sheet helps you track your adventurer’s status. Journeying in the Underworld is fraught with peril. It is even rumored that it contains powerful magics that bind your soul to your body. As you journey, you mark conditions to represent the slow degradation of your physical and mental health.

Wounds accumulated during Challenges cause you to mark conditions to represent damage. See Wounds for the grisly details of taking Wounds.

Stressed

Stressed represents being physically or mentally exhausted.

• Becoming Stressed is usually the result of environmental effects, such as being covered in sewage, being buried alive in a grave, or wading through an icy river.

• Wounds do not cause you to be Stressed.

• You cannot heal any other condition until you are no longer Stressed.

• Learn more about being Stressed.

Staggered

Staggered represents being off balance and out of breath.

• This condition has no immediate negative effects.

• Staggered is healed automatically during the Camp Phase as long as you’re not Stressed.

• It is usually the first condition players choose when Wounded. It’s kind of a “free hit.”

Wounded

Your talents can be Wounded. You may have up to two talents Wounded at a time.

• Wounded talents cannot be used until they are healed.

• If you already have two talents Wounded, you must choose another condition to mark.

Injured

Injured represents being severely hurt.

• If you are Injured, the next Wound must give you the Death’s Door condition.

• During the Camp Phase, you must heal the Injured condition before healing Wounded talents.

• Because being Injured puts you in danger of death, most players only take this condition if they have no other choice.

Death’s Door

Death’s Door represents being (almost) dead. You are unconscious and helpless.

• Because of the nature of the Underworld, if nobody moves to heal you within a watch, you will become undead. See Death’s Door for more details about the nature of Death’s Door.

You need grit to survive. This is represented with a resource called Resolve. Resolve represents an adventurer’s fortitude as they pursue their quests—fortitude that dwindles as you go deeper and deeper into the Underworld.

You have 4 points of Resolve.

You may use Resolve in the following ways:

• When the GM calls for a test of fate, you may spend a Resolve to gain favor on the test. This can only be done before the test is actually made. Favor allows you to add +3 to the total result of the draw.

• You may spend a Resolve to gain favor on a Challenge Action, adding +3 to the total value.

• Certain talents require the expenditure of Resolve.

You burn charged Bonds to restore your Resolve during the Camp Phase.

Your adventurer’s motifs define what they are knowledgeable about. You may ask the GM a question related to these motifs and expect an honest answer. We call this bidding lore. When you bid lore, you’re essentially asking “Would my adventurer know this?”

Lore represents things that your adventurer knows that you, as the player, might not. This might include the vulnerability of a particular monster, the taboos or habits of a foreign people, or the special properties of a particular plant variety.

You may bid lore 4 times between Camp Phases. Your lore bid uses are reset when you Camp.

When you bid lore, the GM has three potential responses:

• “Yes, you know about this.” The GM then gives a detailed answer. Check off one of your lore bid uses.

• “No, you wouldn’t know about this with that motif.” You don’t check off a lore bid use if you don’t receive an answer.

• “That question doesn’t seem fair game.” The GM then explains why the lore bid question was too broad or vague. You may rephrase or reframe the question.

“They are wrought of ithildin that mirrors only starlight and moonlight, and sleeps until it is touched by one who speaks words now long forgotten in Middleearth. It is long since I heard them, and I thought deeply before I could recall them to my mind.”

– The Fellowship of the Ring, J. R. R. Tolkien

Lore bid questions are discrete

You cannot ask, “Have I ever seen anything like this?” The question is too broad.

You may ask, “Do I know what the monsters depicted on the bas-relief are?”

Lore bid answers are thorough

The GM cannot say, “You’re not sure, but you think they might be related to dragons.” If an answer is this vague, the player does not need to bid lore. GMs should simply tell them this hint.

The GM may say, “You know that these are dragons because you’ve seen their iconography before. As a dragon hunter, though, you recognize that these are fire drakes. These dragons are flightless and live in rivers of lava under the earth. They are famous for their uncontrolled rages and fiery breath.”

Lore bid questions aren’t a replacement for clever thinking

You cannot ask, “How do you defeat a dragon?” This question is too broad and too subjective.

You may ask, “Do I know if a drake has any special vulnerabilities?”

Talents are the special abilities that set you apart from the rest of the filthy peasants and help you survive delves into the Underworld. A talent can either be unknown, mastered, in training, or mentored.

Unknown talents

All talents from paths other than your own are unknown. You can, however, train these talents using the mentoring rules below.

Talents from other kith and kin are always unknown. They cannot be trained.

Mastered talents

You begin play with two mastered talents. When you create your adventurer, select one of your path’s talents to master. Your kin talent is also automatically mastered.

You may use mastered talents at any point as long as they’re not Wounded and you can pay costs associated with them (such as Resolve).

In-training path talents

All talents from your path that you have not mastered are automatically in training.

You may only use in-training path talents if you spend XP to power them. You must spend 1XP every time you wish to use one of these talents.

Once you have spent 7XP powering an in-training path talent, it becomes mastered.

Mentored talents from other paths

To train a talent from another path, you must find a willing trainer who has mastered that talent. Both the trainer and the adventurer must use the Train Camp Action or the Train City Action.

During this action, the adventurer in training invests XP into the mentored talent. The adventurer in training may then use the new talent a number of times equal to the XP invested.

Note that this differs from training talents from your own path. You choose to spend XP to power an unmastered path talent on a per-use basis, whereas you invest XP into a cross-path talent during training. You do not need an instructor to mentor talents from your path.

Once you have spent 7XP on training a talent with a mentor, it becomes mastered.

Experience points (XP) represent an adventurer’s skills improving as they adventure. You spend XP to use talents that you have not yet mastered.

During play, if nobody else is currently pursuing their quest, you may declare your quest to the rest of your guild.

• If everybody agrees to help you, every player (including you) gains 3XP.

• When the guild completes a quest, every player gains 3XP.

A guild can only pursue one quest at a time. Once one quest has been completed, someone else should speak up and share the reason they’re descending into the Underworld. If the group agrees to help them, the guild starts the next quest.

Pursuing and fulfilling quests is the main way to accumulate experience. There are two other ways to accumulate experience points:

• When your guild fulfills a contract for an employer, everybody in the guild gains 1XP. See Current Contracts for information on contracts.

• When you take the Carousing City Action, you spend your gold to gain experience points (but risk a splitting hangover). See City Actions for details on this City Action.

Wide, not deep, growth

It’s worth noting that adventurers in His Majesty the Worm grow “wide” not “deep.” That is, XP allows you to use and master more talents, broadening the options available to you. You do not gain bigger numbers, +1s, more hit points, etc.

In addition to XP, there are two other types of growth that adventurers benefit from. The first is arête, a feature of your kith. The second is “weirdness.” As you journey through the Underworld, you get weirder. You accumulate scars, mutations, magical items, pets, mutilations, phobias, etc. There are no rules governing the latter. Finding out how your adventurer gets weirder is essentially the whole game.

Adventurers sometimes take pets into the Underworld—hunting falcons, small but vicious dogs, trained dire moths, riding boars, and so on.

As a general rule, you may have as many animal companions travel with your guild as you can carry feed for. Animal companions need to eat each Camp Phase (just as you do). If they do not, they begin to starve. Starving animals might abandon you entirely in search of food.

Animal companions do not have slots for carrying items. You must carry your animal’s feed.

The Beast Master talent can train these animal companions so that they can serve at need during dungeon delves. Trained animals will perform one of their commands at your direction. Most normal animals can only learn three commands.

If necessary, commands might prompt a test of fate. If the animal is uniquely suited to the test (e.g., monkeys are great at climbing and grabbing stuff, horses are great at pulling), the test is made with favor. Otherwise, no bonuses are added to the test of fate.

If nobody in your guild has the Beast Master talent, you may pay animal trainers in the City to train your pets for you (see The Hippodrome of Amet).

Hirelings?

There are no rules for hirelings, henchmen, mercenaries, etc. because that is what you are playing. If you’re going into the Underworld, you’re an adventurer. You’re going down there for some reason, not just gold. Nobody can go into the Underworld unless they’re a member of a guild and nobody is special enough to join a guild unless they’re going to be played by a player.

War pigs

During Challenges, an animal companion does not act unless its owner uses the Command action to have it perform one of its known commands. The GM interprets the pet’s actions, as even well-trained animals will use their own logic and understanding in stressful situations. An animal companion shares its master’s Initiative.

Wounds and healing

Unlike adventurers, animal companions usually only have two conditions: Staggered and Injured. Animals do not have talents to Wound. Once an animal companion is Injured, the very next Wound it takes will kill it.

The exception to this rule is if the animal is a familiar: a familiar’s owner may spend a Resolve to reduce a killing blow (see Beast Master). These familiars are out of the action but not dead.

Animal companions lose the Staggered condition if fed during the Camp Phase.

A player may spend one of their charged Bonds to heal their animal’s Injured condition during step 4 of the Camp Phase. Animals can also benefit from the Heal effect.

Filthy lucre

Gold can be easy to get and easy to lose in the adventuring life. Money is used to resupply with essential gear during the City Phase.

There is only one denomination of money accepted in the City: gold coins marked with a pentacle. These coins are found in hidden troves in the Underworld.

Gold coins (abbreviated “g”) take up slots in your belt or your pack. You can stack 100g to a slot.

• A single coin is of small worth. You might toss it to a troubadour in a tavern or a beggar on the street.

• 25 gold is a worthy sum. It would make an attractive bribe to a low-level official.

• 100 gold is a significant amount of money. It is enough to purchase an item of exquisite craftsmanship or go on a truly epic bender.

• 1000 gold is an absolute treasure trove.

The contents of your pack are of central importance while adventuring. Do you have enough food to eat or are you starving and staring wild-eyed at your companions? Do you have enough rope to pull yourself out of the body-strewn pit trap? Do you have enough candles to hold back the encircling dark?

Tracking the bulk and size of items—represented by slots—is more important than tracking an item’s weight.

• Most items take up 1 slot.

• Can you hold the item in one hand? If so, it takes up 1 slot.

• Anything that you have to hold in two hands takes up 2 slots.

• Some things are so bulky that they are oversized. Oversized items take up 2 slots and can only be carried on your belt.

• Worn armor is like oversized items because it is carried in your belt slots. Heavier armor takes up more belt slots; see Armor for details.

• Some items can be stacked—the whole group of items takes up one slot.

• The amount of items in a stack varies; see the description of the item for full details. For example, arrows fit 12 to a slot.

Use your adventurer sheet to track where you’re carrying your items. You have four slots to carry items on your belt, twenty-one slots in your pack, and (of course) your two hands. If you put your shield on your back (represented by putting it on your belt) and pull your lantern out of your pack, update your adventurer sheet to reflect this.

During Challenges, it’s easier to get things off of your belt (see Pull Item from Belt) than out of your pack (see Pull Item from Pack).

One of the things you track in your supply resources is your light source—see pages 94‑95 for rules on light and flickers. Note which hand you’re carrying it in.

The adventurer sheet also contains circles so that you can track your gear’s durability. When an item’s durability is compromised, it suffers a Notch.

• Fragile items break after 1 Notch.

• Items intended for durability break after 2.

• Items made of tempered steel can suffer 3.

Notched items can be repaired with a tinker's kit or in the City.

A list of adventuring items is provided in An incomplete list of pretty things.

Your quest is the reason you are adventuring. The Underworld sucks. Normal, healthy-brained people don’t want to go there. When you complete your quest, there are two options: retire your adventurer or declare a new quest.

When you retire an adventurer, your next adventurer gains one of the following for each 10XP your retired adventurer had:

• 1 mastered talent from any path

• 1 arête check mark

Retired adventurers live in the City and are under the command of the GM.

Alternatively, it is possible to declare a new quest to avoid retiring your adventurer. Perhaps, while adventuring, you have found a new reason to journey to the Underworld.

If you declare a new quest, you gain 3XP for completing your last quest like everybody else in the guild. Your new quest should make sense in context and be related to the adventures you’ve had. However, you always have to have some reason to go back down into the Underworld. That place seriously sucks.

Note that adventurers who die and are lost in the Underworld do not transfer any XP to a new character without use of the Hold a Funeral City Action.

If you have retired your previous adventurer, or if you are a new player just joining the game, the checklist on the following page will help you integrate your new adventurer without the processes of a group-focused Call to Adventure or session 0.

• Have your adventurer sheet ready.

• Have your kin talent and all seven path talents written down.

• Determine which path talent you have mastered. The rest are in training.

• Choose items from the Omphalic Market – 1 luxurious item, 5 common items, and as many impoverished items as you want. Items needed for one of your talents are impoverished items for you.

• Know your own name.

• At the beginning of the session, select two players with whom you have Bonds.

• Say what your adventurer looks like.

• Ask questions. Ask about the game world. Ask about the rules. Ask for help about which actions to take. Ask for clarification about how things work.

• Give feedback. Let the GM know how it went. Let them know if there’s something you thought could have gone better. Let them know if there was something you liked.

• Based on your experiences in your first session, fill out a Bond for every member of the Guild.

• Based on your experiences in your second session, either join the current guild or elect to create a new adventurer that’s more appealing to you or who meshes with the group dynamic better.

• If you join the guild, sign the guild roster and state your role and marching order.

• If you join the guild, you’ll join their current quest and gain 3 XP.

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