In preparation for the next age in the Wyrm Dawn campaign, I made monster group cards for the primordial wyrm, each wyrmling, and living statues. I also made a cosmetic change to the Kobolds card and added new actions, used by the new monsters.
Wyrm Dawn uses Tony Dowler’s How to Host a Dungeon to create back story for an upcoming B/X campaign. How to Host a Dungeon is a solo procedural dungeon building game, available on DriveThruRPG. See Dowler’s latest projects and support the creator on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/tonydowler/.
New Actions
Guard A guarded treasure or epic treasure cannot be stolen or otherwise removed from its place.
Wake Roll 1d6. On a 6, the active group explores. Otherwise, it stays asleep and prepares.
Touch Handle touch as steal. In addition, no matter the results of the conflict, the target group (in our case, the Dragon) adds the following instructions to the bottom of its card.
Wyrm-touched: The Dragon has the same bonus to dice rolls as the Wyrmling who touched it. A wyrm-touched Dragon cannot be so touched again.1
New and Modified Monster Groups
Symbols:
Population: ●
Treasure: ❍
Epic treasure: ⛭
Special bonus: ★
Kobolds (modification)
Remove the draconic tag from the Kobolds card.2
Living Statue
In addition to the three initial monster group cards, the Living Statue card begins the Age of Monsters in play. By default, its type is Magma, but you may decide otherwise or roll for it. Place its counters with 1 ⛭ in the Hall of Living Statues.
The Living Statue guards an enormous stone tablet. This epic treasure is called “The Stone of Living Statues.” Made by the Throrgrmir dwarves in their renaissance, the tablet describes how to create a living statue. It is immovable and, so, cannot be stolen or otherwise removed from the Hall.
If the Wizard or the Blue Wizard finds the tablet unguarded, add the following action to the wizard’s card:
❏ Build Living Statue (req cyrstal, iron, or magma).3
On its turn, the builder—and only the builder—may deactivate a Living Statue. Deactivation is not a separate action. When deactivated, the Living Statue card is removed from play. Given the required materials, a wizard may build multiple Living Statues, but only one at a time may be in play.
Living Statue
Crystal ●●●
Iron ●●●●
Magma ●●●●●
Treasure variesConstruct, Mindless, Magical
Constructed by the Throrgrmir dwarves or a powerful wizard, a living statue is a formidable guard.
LIFECYCLE
Always Guard.
IF it has not interacted with any monster group in the last turn, the Living Statue prepares and takes no additional actions.A Living Statue’s type is determined by the resource of which it is made. It takes its turn immediately after the wizard who created it.
Primordial Wyrm
The Primordial Wyrm begins the Age of Monsters in her lair, which is the ancient city of Throrgardr, now in ruins. Place 6 ●, 6 ❍, and 2 ⛭ in Throrgardr.4
The epic treasures in the hoard are Lyngheid’s Prize and the Seventh. When yielding treasure, whether through theft or otherwise, the Primordial Wyrm gives up normal treasures first. Only when she has no treasures remaining does she sacrifice Lyngheid’s Prize. The Seventh, being her last unhatched egg, cannot be removed from the hoard while the Primordial Wyrm is in play.5
Primordial Wyrm
●●●●●●❍❍❍❍❍❍⛭⛭
Unique, Primordial, Aquatic, Draconic, Hoarder
The primordial wyrm sleeps in her lair unless disturbed…
LIFECYCLE
Always Fight any group that has made me the target of any action.
IF I have not interacted with any group in the last turn, prepare and take no additional actions.Healing: If the Primordial Wyrm has fewer than 6 ●, roll 1d6 when she prepares. On a 1, add 1 ● to the Primordial Wyrm.
Apathetic: No matter how many ● or ❍ she gains, the Primordial Wyrm never rises to villainy.
Die for the Seventh: The Seventh, being her last unhatched egg, cannot be removed from the hoard while the Primordial Wyrm is in play.
Wyrmlings
There are six unique Wyrmling cards. Wyrmlings are named by order of birth. Fighting over treasure during the Age of Civilization, they now abide by an established hierarchy. Stronger Wyrmling cards, higher in the order, have a bonus to all dice rolls.
Wyrmling, Name
Unique, Aquatic, Draconic, Wandering
A wyrmling seeks treasure. She does not know nor care that her touch effects dragons. She just wants the treasure.
LIFECYCLE
IF I am asleep, wake.
IF I am near a Dragon and it has treasure, touch it.
Otherwise, always explore.❏ Steal.
Hoard bound: When she acquires a treasure, a Wrymling returns immediately to the lair, adds the treasure to the primordial wyrm’s hoard, and sleeps.
Wounded: A sleeping Wyrmling with fewer than 2 ● cannot wake. Instead she prepares, adding 1 ● instead of a ★.
Protected: In the lair, a Wyrmling cannot be the target of any action while the Primordial Wyrm is in play.
Wyrmling Hierarchy:
Wyrmling Name Bonus to Dice Rolls Delta +2 Epsilon +2 Zeta +1 Alpha +1 Gamma +1 Beta +0
Notes
1 The touch action and the Touched instructions might also be used in a demon-centered campaign—renamed as taint and Tainted.
2 Wyrmwyrd, the follow-on campaign, uses the B/X “rules as written.” Though compelling, the kobold association with dragons was introduced in a later edition.
3 Crystal may be exploited from the Crystal Caverns, iron from the dwarven Smelter, Foundry, or Power Plant (considered as biomes), and magma (also a biome) from the magma chamber.
4 During the Age of Civilization, the primordial wyrm acquired (through her treasure-seeking offspring) nine dwarven treasures. Using the average treasure type values, I converted nine dwarven treasures to four dragon treasures. These are in addition to the two treasures the primordial wyrm previously possessed.
5 I don’t see in the rules that the (optional) epic treasures can be stolen at all. I’m making up the “yield normal treasures first” rule.