My usual RPG group got together yesterday.

My usual RPG group got together yesterday.

My usual RPG group got together yesterday. Down a few guys, we couldn’t run our typical game (an ongoing 4E campaign), so I offered/pushed really hard to run DW. I ran Morningstar’s Slave Pit of Drazhu with it geared toward characters possibly continuing on: standard level progression and the characters may recover their starting gear if they make it out.

Our group has had some expanded RPG experiences in the past year (ShadowRun, Spirit of the Century, Dread, Don’t Rest Your Head), so the flexibility and narrative focus of DW wasn’t totally foreign. I ended up with 3 players (elf druid, human paladin, and dwarf cleric) and they all felt out their characters pretty well and the game had several great moments.

— The Paladin had a knack for taking down the baddies (one hit kills on the Orc whipmaster and on Drazhu)

— The Paladin also had a knack for getting into trouble (got super low on HP twice, was ensnared in spiderweb and failed two Defy Dangers vs Str to get free, etc)

— The Druid contemplated the corpse of the cave spider and eventually used that form to re-enforce and make less sticky the spider silk bridge over the chasm.

— The druid rolled a 3 when attempting to transform into a ram when attacked by the zombies. “Did you say ‘lamb’?” I said. “I heard you say lamb, you turn into a fluffy lamb and your move is ‘Bleat helplessly'”.

— The cleric scored some good hits at range with some iron spikes as well as some up close hits with a goblin spear.

— The cleric also was able to “Turn Undead” the zombies that dropped from the ceiling, securing enough time for the druid and paladin to reverse the stone falls that blocked the exit.

They came very close to death, but no one had to draw their last breath. The party in general didn’t take too much damage until the zombies at the very end, although the cleric did wind up with two debilities as a result of the spider’s venom.

It was a hit and I think DW may move up into regular rotation with my group.

9 thoughts on “My usual RPG group got together yesterday.”

  2. Oh! I forgot to mention the time the Paladin threw a lantern filled with fire beetle oil at the assassin vines to set them on fire, failed, and set himself on fire instead.

    Then he stop, dropped and rolled, damaging the assassin vine, but failing to put himself out.

    The Paladin was the only character ready to level up before the end of session XP was doled out.

  3. I played the Paladin and it was a fantastic experience. I was doubtful about DW at first, when Brandon pitched it to me. It was a hard sell because I thought we could tell the same stories using any of the D&D variants already available. However, once I was at the table I saw how this really worked.

    First, getting rid of initiative really helped improve the flow of the game. It helped to keep battles from becoming an interruption to the story and changed them so that they are part of the narrative instead. That was a welcome change. If that’s all that DW did I would have been happy. But it also made character creation a snap and does a good job of creating urgency and a sense of danger. I am impressed.

    The bonds system works. It seems like there is potential to get immersive with those or to just keep it superficial. On our first mission we chose to keep it more superficial and comical. 

    After all of this it’s tempting to start using DW going forward (or ongoing, if you must), but some in our group do like the steady improvement that regular D&D (of whatever stripe) can provide.

    Great work Brandon!

    For the curious, my character:

    Duffy Holyspoon – Lawful Human Paladin

    Anointed of Murderthon the Gentle

    Cha 16, Str 15, Wis 13, Con 12, Dex 9, Int 8

    Favorite move:

    Hack and Slash

    Second Favorite move:

    I Am the Law!

  5. Our Druid’s feedback reminded me of another great moment.

    In lamb form, he (barely) offered up an assist to our Paladin by head butting a zombie, providing the one point the Paladin needed to avoid the miss.

  8. Did the druid’s lamb stuff come before or after their spider stuff?  Cause it’s funny in either order but it’s a different kind of funny.

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