I keep seeing references to b[] for damage. … What is that?

I keep seeing references to b[] for damage. … What is that?

I keep seeing references to b[] for damage. … What is that?

Also, some monsters are listed with damage. Does this overwrite regular Hack and Slash?

Finally, in a game where many creatures have ranged attacks, would treating Volley like Hack and Slash be sensible?

27 thoughts on “I keep seeing references to b[] for damage. … What is that?”

  1. Neither. The monsters do their damage when it’s appropriate, like on a 7-9 for a player’s Hack & Slash. They never roll moves, they can’t trigger them. The listed damage is what they roll when they do damage, however that happens.

  2. Well the [B] means best of 2 dice rolled and [W] worst of two dice rolled. The monster damage is simply how much damage that monster will do to the plAyer during hack and slash there is nothing to overwrite, you may need to reread the book again.

  3. “b(dice notation)” means you roll the dice in the brackets, but only keep the best die result. That’s what the “b” is for. If you see “w(dice notation)”, you keep the worst die result.

    Overwrite Hack and Slash? I’m not understanding. The damage listed with a monster is how much damage that monster does when it attacks.

    Again, I’m not sure what you mean with “treating Volley like Hack and Slash”. What do you mean?

  5. What I meant by ‘overwrite’ is ‘use this damage instead of what Hack and Slash says you take’, which seems to be ‘yes.’

    Ah, best. I was thinking maybe ‘burst’ which doesn’t make sense since it’s contingent on player moves.

    As for Volley… On a 7-9, you do 1d6 less damage. If Volley were more like Hack and Slash, on 7-9 or failure you take damage from their return shots.

  6. For ranged attacks versus ranged attacks, I’d go with the fiction. Maybe both of you fire at the same time and hit each other (Deal Damage), maybe you are both ducking and weaving looking for advantage (that’s the GMs danger for the 7-9) or maybe you are keeping out of sight until you get a good shot (Defy Danger before firing).

  7. I’m pretty sure Hack & Slash doesn’t indicate how much damage a player character takes. Which means you look at the damage rating of whatever it is they’re fighting.

    As far as ranged attckers vs. ranged attackers, I second what Monte Lin says.

  10. Christopher Stone-Bush I… don’t think that IS what it means?  The monster making an attack could mean, for example, attempting to throw a net over you, right?  In which case you’re not going to take damage but now you’ve got to deal with being netted.

  13. Yeah, so… ANYhoo… it seems consistent with a setting with more ranged combat that ‘take ranged damage’ is a viable Volley bad result.

    (Which should be especially relevant in ship combat, something Adventures on Dungeon Planet references but doesn’t really … explain or give examples of)

  14. Christopher Stone-Bush Cool, gotcha.  🙂  Coming to Dungeon World from Apocalypse World I was already used to the idea that I never roll anything.  In fact, while I haven’t run Dungeon World, if/when I do I’d be inclined to have the players roll the damage they receive just like they roll for the Harm move themselves in AW.

  19. it has been a while since I ran a game and based solely on memory I think b[]  means take the best of the roll. For instance b[2d6] means roll 2d6 (results are 2 and 4)  and take the best result (in this case, 4)

  20. Brian Peters DW players are also supposed to roll for the damage they receive. The comments saying “*You* take the best result” just mean “*The person rolling the dice* takes the best result”.

  21. Adrian Brooks Oh, they are?  That’s cool.  It’s been awhile since I’ve read through the book. That’s good to know.  I think it makes it more impactful for for the players to roll those kinds of things themselves.

  22. “Players roll their own damage” is easily my least favorite rule in the book.  It takes like 1/3 as long for me (the GM) to do it and it maintains my position as author of adversity.

    William Timmins if I was making a “everyone’s got blasters” hack of DW, I’d scrap both Volley & Hack & Slash and go to a general “fight” move.  I’d also drop Ammo and make “you need to reload” a possible hard move or a 7-9 choice.

    Of course, you start going down that road (hacking the Basic Moves) and leaving DW pretty far behind. You’ll be rewriting all the playbooks next.

  23. Jeremy Strandberg , well, this is a scifi game set on colonies in the Oort cloud, so… it’s a bit reworked. 😉 I am going to have to rewrite a few of the basic moves a little, but I’m hoping to leave it still pretty compatible.

    So if you want magic-slinging elves and space marines in a game…

    I have a lot to work on with ship stuff, though, since even Adventures on Dungeon Planet doesn’t really explain what to do with ships.

  24. Jeremy Strandberg I’m not an “Author of Adversity”, though. I’m merely involved in a collaborative process of interactive storytelling.

    No, that’s not quite right. “Think Dangerous”. But when they roll the dice, it’s the monster or the world doing the damage, not me, and that’s a meaningful distinction.

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