Sucks's Failed Portcullis Attempt

Summary

In Session 3, Sucks attempts to free the party from their trap in the caverns by using Tricks of the Trade to open the portcullis that has sealed them in with the approaching Sniff Lord. Despite Sucks's confidence and boastful narration, the attempt results in a catastrophic failure—rolling two ones with a -1 Dexterity modifier for a total result of 1, the worst possible roll in Dungeon World. This critical failure eliminates the most obvious escape route and forces Vasso, Katniss, and the rest of the party to find alternative solutions to their predicament.

Details

With the portcullis trapping the party in the caverns and the Sniff Lord approaching, Sucks declares his intention to save the group:

"I'm gonna get us out of this. Classic Sucks Benedict move. Gonna lock pick my way out of this or something. Portcullis. Let me look around. There's gotta be something going on here. Here we go. It's Sucks Benedict. Using his super eyes and his Trixie fingers. Sucks Benedict for life."

When Sucks rolls to use Tricks of the Trade, the dice come up spectacularly poorly. He announces: "Okay, I rolled a one... I rolled two ones. And I have. I have a negative one, Dex. So I have. I roll. I got a one." Shawn responds with astonishment: "Holy shit. It's not possible for you to get a worse roll. That's actually, that's almost impressive how poorly you did this."

The GM narrates the failed attempt:

"You, I think you are mostly like you're. You're grabbing onto the portcullis and just trying to muscle it open. And because you know you're touching the walls, nothing works. You're reaching through towards the buttons that Safia mentioned and just like pawing at them, like slapping them randomly and nothing, nothing will open this."

Following this complete failure, Sucks delivers the grim news to the party: "Guys, nothing we could do about this. Portcullis is a wall. Now."

Participants

• Sucks — Attempts to use Tricks of the Trade to open the portcullis; rolls a critical failure
• Shawn — Game Master who adjudicates the roll and narrates the consequences
• Vasso — Trapped behind the portcullis with Sucks
• Katniss — Trapped behind the portcullis with Sucks
• Safia — Previously mentioned the stone buttons on the wall
• Abdul — Present with the trapped party members

Consequences

• The portcullis remains closed and becomes impassable—Sucks declares it "a wall" now
• The party's most obvious escape route is eliminated
• The group must find alternative solutions to deal with the approaching Sniff Lord
• Sucks's attempt to use dexterity-based skills demonstrates his -1 Dexterity modifier's impact on such attempts
• The party's situation becomes more desperate with their primary exit blocked