STEALTH MOVES
I set out to create a stealth move for Dungeon World as a challenge and to gain some experience in making up custom moves. Frankly, I think that Defy Danger is well-suited to handling stealth, but it seems that a lot of people were interested in something more dedicated.
Others have made some decent Stealth moves but I found that most fell into one of two camps: “Hide In Shadows”, or “Sneak”. I wanted to create a single move that would work for both situations; hiding in one place, or moving undetected.
—
Hide & Sneak
When you attempt to remain undetected by an obstacle, roll+DEX. On a 10+ the obstacle remains unaware of your presence. On a 7-9, you’re still hidden, but choose one:
– You’re still hindered by the obstacle
– You fail to cover your tracks
– You lose something valuable
—
The obstacle could be a patrolling guard you’re attempting to sneak past… or hide from. Either way, if you’re still hindered by the guard (as per a 7-9 result), they’re either still in your way as you try to sneak around, or they stop and have a smoke break right in front of your hiding spot!
I’ll post more about my thoughts on using Defy Danger later this week.
#ThiefWeek
I REALLY like this move. I’m yoinking it!
I think it is a bit too much context specific for a basic stealth move. You need an obstacle. What if you want to rather use shadows or a crowd to hide yourself?
I would go for something close to Adrien Thoen ‘s version
When you use stealth to get closer to your objective, roll+Dex. *On a 10+, both. *On a 7-9, choose one:
* You get closer to your objective
* You remain undiscovered
I agree with you. I think a basic stealth and a flee/pursue move are missing from the game. You can always try to capture this with yet another Defy danger roll but I think you end up making to many of those
Julien, I thought that 7-9 is supposed to be fundamentally a success.
If your goal is to sneak up on something, then choosing between:
1) walk up and get seen
2) don’t walk up
…seems like fundamentally a failure.
If the goal is sneaking up on something, then any roll of 7+ should get you that, with 7-9 adding some other complication that doesn’t interfere with the basic act of getting close without being seen.
The way I see it. 7-9 is a partial success. So yes you get where you want to be (the essence of the move) but lose the element of cover but not necessarily the element of surprise ( i.e. you dash out of your hiding spot) or you stay put and hope you get to roll higher next time.
Julien Dumas when you’re trying not to be seen (or heard) there’s always an obstacle: the thing/person that could find you!
My move was specifically designed to work as hide in shadows or in a crowd because it doesn’t assume how you are trying to remain undetected.
Furthermore; Adrien’s is a Sneak move: it won’t work for “hiding from a passing guard” because it requires me to have an objective I am trying to reach.
Aaron Schwarz sneak moves tend to assume you’re on the move and word the results accordingly.
In Adrien’s move the player has two goals: getting somewhere and remaining unseen, so it works that a partial success only gives you one of these. It’s a good move and actually informed mine quite a bit.
But I tried to boil down “stealth” to just “remain unseen” and not to assume what else you are trying to achieve (or how).
Could we come up with a move that works for both (stealth and sneak) with clever wording?
In the spirit of Bend Bars, Lift Gates the move simply HAS to be called Hide In Shadows, Move Silently.
Pete French if we had written a stealth move, that’s definitely what it would be called.
I called my move for a hack, which is very similar to this (I’ll post it when I’m on my computer, later) Evade Attention, since that’s what you’re doing in both cases.
Hmmm, I think my steal thing would look like this:
Roll + Int or Dex
10+ ask two questions of the GM:
– what obstacle must I face to achieve my goals?
– what is the bad guy planning?
– what do I avoid while skulking about?
– what do I learn about my fellow adventurers?
7-9 Ask one question and chose one:
– lose something valuable
– draw unwanted attention
– take damage from a set trap
All right. A new iteration in my quest to come with a combined stealth/sneak basic move that is not context dependant. Please feel free to post your own because my players love to infiltrate places and I desperately need such a move.
When you Hide in Shadows or Move Silently, roll+Dex. *On a 10+, All three. *On a 7-9, choose one:
* You remain undiscovered
* You get closer to your objective
* You maintain awareness of your objective/threat
As promised. This is a basic move from my Dungeon World/AW/Monsterhearts hack.
Evade Attention
When you have a distraction or appropriate cover and attempt to keep from being noticed, roll+MOXY. *On a 10+, you are out of sight and/or out of mind for whomever you were avoiding. Choose 2. *On a 7-9, choose 1 instead.
-You can get something done while out of notice – such as moving about or picking pockets.
-You can remain hidden for an extended duration.
-Nothing unexpected happens.
The stats are different, but the principles are the same. The goal is a move the represents both the need for a thief to sneak about, and a non-combat-oriented character to run away, escape, or hide in the shadows/a corner when a situation turns sticky.
“Nothing unexpected happens” isn’t my favorite wording, but I get so bored of “Put yourself in a spot”