I’m unsure how to handle something mechanically, the PC’s are in a dungeon and I want the goblins to harass them, but I can’t see how to do this fairly in dungeon world. in other systems I would roll to hit a random pc but here I need to force a pc move to get a counter move. so how do you all handle things like this where monsters are taking the initiative?
I’m unsure how to handle something mechanically, the PC’s are in a dungeon and I want the goblins to harass them,…
I’m unsure how to handle something mechanically, the PC’s are in a dungeon and I want the goblins to harass them,…
Defy danger?
“the goblins taunt you and throw stones at you from unseen nooks. You feel a light tugging on your belt. Your coin purse has disappeared! What do you do?”
Any response is probably a Defy Danger.
Does this seems a little awkwar when the pcs don’t know there is a danger. alse feels a bit arbitrary on the 7-9 result. should this be a hit for the goblins and an oportunity to counter attack. or is dealling dhmage too hard a move?
You set up a threat by broadcasting it. You can broadcast it discretely (“you hear irregular shuffling noises in the darkness”) or overtly (“an arrow whizzes out of the darkness!”) as appropriate to the already established fiction. You are allowed to set things up whenever you talk — these are soft moves.
If the characters do nothing about it (“i ignore it and keep exploring,” “an arrow? whatever. i take it like a boss”), follow through with a hard move (“you stumble dumbly into an ambush,” “you take 8 damage and you fall to one knee when it takes out the other”). This is a golden opportunity.
If a character does something and fails (“I search for danger fails a roll oh no,” “I deflect that arrow! fails roll oh noooo”), then proceed with whatever hard move is appropriate. This is what you do on a miss.
A 7-9 should set up another move — is like a soft move. It should, typically, make things more complicated. Damage is an acceptable move on a 7-9, but usually it should be chosen by the character as one of several options, or a cost to succeed.
A goblin pops out from behind a rock and hurls a javelin at your head, Felix. What do you do?
You see a pack of goblins throwing stones. Augustine, one of the rocks bounces off your helmet and you see stars. Samwise, a rock hits you in the shoulder and your arm goes numb and tingly. Perkin, what are you doing?
Who needs to deal damage?
New to Dungeon World, read most of the book. I am GM’ing a Fate Core game right now where I have used on occasion (not making a habit out of it by any means) attacks that cannot be defended because the NPC’s have no way of anticipating. One such example was a sniper shot from blocks and blocks away with a silenced weapon. It’s a post-apoc game like Mad Max meets Blade Runner. Sometimes it’s just a GM’s discretion I think as long as it’s useful for everyone ya know. Hope that’s helpful.
Remember that you make a move whenever the players look to you to see what happens not just when they fail a move.
So you may use show signs of an approaching threat: “you hear a strange chattering and scurrying in the darkness, like dozens of small creatures running about in the dark, plotting mischief and trouble. What do you do?”
Why don’t you just handle it like the fiction dictates?
Doesn’t the “Show signs of an approaching threat” move cover this? You can have goblins harass them as part of that move.
As Adrian Thoen said.
Magi max
How did I miss that? Oh well great minds, etc…