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Wormskin #2
Wormskin #2
Wormskin explores the mythic forest called Dolmenwood, a weird folklore setting for use with B/X or similar tabletop adventure games. Each issue uncovers various elements of this eldritch realm situated on the leafy verges of Fairy, where austere Drunes rub elbows with weird elf-lords and talking beasts, where witches wander skyclad and armed with sinister magicks to bind the spirits of hapless adventurers. Be wary.
An introduction to the High Wold, the south-westerly corner of Dolmenwood.
Descriptions of the seven hexes clustered around the village of Lankshorn.
Details of the most signifcant people and places in Lankshorn, including: the Hornstoat's Rest inn, the fairy-blooded bladesmith, the Man of Gold Apothecary, the Church of St Pastery.
Tavern fare generator.
Psychedelic compounds generator, including details on buying, selling, and manufacturing.
Seven new monsters: addercorn thralls, barrowbogeys, bog zombies, longhorn goatmen, shorthorn goatmen, nightworms, witch-owls.
An introduction to the High Wold, the south-westerly corner of Dolmenwood.
Descriptions of the seven hexes clustered around the village of Lankshorn.
Details of the most signifcant people and places in Lankshorn, including: the Hornstoat's Rest inn, the fairy-blooded bladesmith, the Man of Gold Apothecary, the Church of St Pastery.
Tavern fare generator.
Psychedelic compounds generator, including details on buying, selling, and manufacturing.
Seven new monsters: addercorn thralls, barrowbogeys, bog zombies, longhorn goatmen, shorthorn goatmen, nightworms, witch-owls.
46 pages, ebook
Published March 19, 2016
13 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 14, 2020
3.5 - 4 stars
Issue 2 of Wormskin continues with more useful GM info for the enchanted glades of Dolmenwood. First come several more d30 tables, one for common tavern fare an adventurer may come across in the various homely houses of Dolmenwood and its environs, the other a list of noted psychedelic compounds and their effects that may be found in the magic woods. Both tables can again be used with a straight ‘roll to see what you find’ option, or to mix-and-match characteristics to create something new.
Several more map hexes are detailed, this time those in the area known as the High Wold in which a race of Goatmen have interbred with humans. These Goatmen, led by their leader, Lord Malbleat, are a fickle and frightening race, often known to use human thralls for sport and recreation. The village of Lankshorn and its environs receive special attention, with various NPCs who may be of use to adventurers detailed with stats and backstories, and locales and rumours of specific interest detailed to provide adventure hooks.
Finally, we have a veritable cornucopia of new monsters: In addition to the requisite Goatmen (of both the Longhorn and Shorthorn varieties) who prey upon the unwary humans of the district we have the Barrowbogey - a strange pot-headed fae of impish character; the Bog Zombie - a self-explanatory monster comprised of the body of drowned victims re-animated by marsh-fire spirits; the Nightworm – slimy, regenerating vermin that hunt the unwary at night; and, most intriguing of all, the Witch-Owl – an eldritch being from the Otherworld that hunts the very souls of men, ultimately able to turn their victims into wraith-like thralls.
This was a good issue that gave plenty of fodder for adventures in the area of Dolmenwood known as the High Wold. Story hooks galore and details on the politics and culture of the area really helped to flesh out the setting and add an aura of menace to the precarious co-habitation between humans and goatmen. One less than stellar aspect of the issue was the art, some of which looked amateurish and messy.
Issue 2 of Wormskin continues with more useful GM info for the enchanted glades of Dolmenwood. First come several more d30 tables, one for common tavern fare an adventurer may come across in the various homely houses of Dolmenwood and its environs, the other a list of noted psychedelic compounds and their effects that may be found in the magic woods. Both tables can again be used with a straight ‘roll to see what you find’ option, or to mix-and-match characteristics to create something new.
Several more map hexes are detailed, this time those in the area known as the High Wold in which a race of Goatmen have interbred with humans. These Goatmen, led by their leader, Lord Malbleat, are a fickle and frightening race, often known to use human thralls for sport and recreation. The village of Lankshorn and its environs receive special attention, with various NPCs who may be of use to adventurers detailed with stats and backstories, and locales and rumours of specific interest detailed to provide adventure hooks.
Finally, we have a veritable cornucopia of new monsters: In addition to the requisite Goatmen (of both the Longhorn and Shorthorn varieties) who prey upon the unwary humans of the district we have the Barrowbogey - a strange pot-headed fae of impish character; the Bog Zombie - a self-explanatory monster comprised of the body of drowned victims re-animated by marsh-fire spirits; the Nightworm – slimy, regenerating vermin that hunt the unwary at night; and, most intriguing of all, the Witch-Owl – an eldritch being from the Otherworld that hunts the very souls of men, ultimately able to turn their victims into wraith-like thralls.
This was a good issue that gave plenty of fodder for adventures in the area of Dolmenwood known as the High Wold. Story hooks galore and details on the politics and culture of the area really helped to flesh out the setting and add an aura of menace to the precarious co-habitation between humans and goatmen. One less than stellar aspect of the issue was the art, some of which looked amateurish and messy.
March 5, 2026
Wormskin #2 ~ Norman & Gorgonmilk (2016)
In the south of Dolmenwood lies a region known as the High Wold, where aristocratic goat-lords and their thralls live near to human settlements. The human population of the region respects the land and titles of the goatman aristocracy, and marriage between aristocratic goatmen and humans is a respectable tradition still practiced there, though the folk of the village of Lankshorn regard the goat-nobility with fear and respect. Generations of intermarriage have led to genetic mutations among some of the human inhabitants, such as a hoof in place of a hand or foot, a goatee beard (even sometimes found on old women), a tail or goat eyes. Lord Malbleat, who lives in a manse to the north of Lankshorn is described as sadistic, delighting in the debasement of humans. He is renowned “for his love of poetry, his elegance in the ballroom, and his love of taking human brides.” These do not necessarily seem to have been willing, but are under some sort of enchantment and imprisonment.
The principle towns are Lankshorn and, further south, High Hankle, whose baron is noted for his debauchery and lax attitude to law, which has been an encouragement to bandits and highwaymen in the region. The availability of psychedelic substances of questionable morality (described in detail) brought to market by pedlars and charlatans adds to the darkness and danger of exploration in the area. The names of these substances (as do all the rich details of the Dolmenwood campaign) reveal the workings of a highly creative and bookish imagination. There are notes on the identification, manufacture, consumption, purchase, or sale of the psychedelic substances that may be found in this region. All of them have bad side effects. I shall use the tables in the book to create a new substance, and choose a name. I obtain the following:
Name: Croak Spice
Substance: Toadskin,
Procedure for use: smeared and coated onto fine needles which are jabbed into the skin,
Primary effect: Cannot distinguish good from evil. All acts take on a ravenous intensity.
Value per dose: 3 gp
Side-effect: 1 in 6 chance of permanent addiction.
Interesting characters are described in and around Lankshorn. There are good people here too, like Jorye the Bladesmith, whose high art is even capable of forging exquisitely crafted magical blades, or Margerie Stallowmade, the proprietress of the Hornstoat’s Rest Inn, and there is a random meal generator to produce a variety of common tavern fare for the cost of six silver pieces. I look at today’s sign and see that for 6 sp I have a choice of (1) sugared squirrel heart with whipped cream, (2) boiled sparrow brain with buttery mash, or (3) baked turkey giblets with fried leek. Wow, they all sound so great, but I decide to play it safe and stick with number three.
Over my meal Margerie tells me that “the sludge-rimmed pool along the western road contains the remnants of the accursed town of Lankston.” I’m intrigued. What secrets may the pond conceal?
The book also contains descriptions of some of the monsters endemic to this region: bog-zombies, nightworms, barrowbogeys, and which owls.
Wormskin continues to deliver.
For more information on the Dolmenwood campaign, Old School Essentials, and the Wormskin Zines,…
Find my review of Wormskin #1 here
In the south of Dolmenwood lies a region known as the High Wold, where aristocratic goat-lords and their thralls live near to human settlements. The human population of the region respects the land and titles of the goatman aristocracy, and marriage between aristocratic goatmen and humans is a respectable tradition still practiced there, though the folk of the village of Lankshorn regard the goat-nobility with fear and respect. Generations of intermarriage have led to genetic mutations among some of the human inhabitants, such as a hoof in place of a hand or foot, a goatee beard (even sometimes found on old women), a tail or goat eyes. Lord Malbleat, who lives in a manse to the north of Lankshorn is described as sadistic, delighting in the debasement of humans. He is renowned “for his love of poetry, his elegance in the ballroom, and his love of taking human brides.” These do not necessarily seem to have been willing, but are under some sort of enchantment and imprisonment.
The principle towns are Lankshorn and, further south, High Hankle, whose baron is noted for his debauchery and lax attitude to law, which has been an encouragement to bandits and highwaymen in the region. The availability of psychedelic substances of questionable morality (described in detail) brought to market by pedlars and charlatans adds to the darkness and danger of exploration in the area. The names of these substances (as do all the rich details of the Dolmenwood campaign) reveal the workings of a highly creative and bookish imagination. There are notes on the identification, manufacture, consumption, purchase, or sale of the psychedelic substances that may be found in this region. All of them have bad side effects. I shall use the tables in the book to create a new substance, and choose a name. I obtain the following:
Name: Croak Spice
Substance: Toadskin,
Procedure for use: smeared and coated onto fine needles which are jabbed into the skin,
Primary effect: Cannot distinguish good from evil. All acts take on a ravenous intensity.
Value per dose: 3 gp
Side-effect: 1 in 6 chance of permanent addiction.
Interesting characters are described in and around Lankshorn. There are good people here too, like Jorye the Bladesmith, whose high art is even capable of forging exquisitely crafted magical blades, or Margerie Stallowmade, the proprietress of the Hornstoat’s Rest Inn, and there is a random meal generator to produce a variety of common tavern fare for the cost of six silver pieces. I look at today’s sign and see that for 6 sp I have a choice of (1) sugared squirrel heart with whipped cream, (2) boiled sparrow brain with buttery mash, or (3) baked turkey giblets with fried leek. Wow, they all sound so great, but I decide to play it safe and stick with number three.
Over my meal Margerie tells me that “the sludge-rimmed pool along the western road contains the remnants of the accursed town of Lankston.” I’m intrigued. What secrets may the pond conceal?
The book also contains descriptions of some of the monsters endemic to this region: bog-zombies, nightworms, barrowbogeys, and which owls.
Wormskin continues to deliver.
For more information on the Dolmenwood campaign, Old School Essentials, and the Wormskin Zines,…
Find my review of Wormskin #1 here
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews