This might get long, please bear with it! I just had this idea a moment ago while I was out running and have no where else better to put it. It goes a little something like this:
You and your friends decide to start a new Dungeon World campaign/one-shot and think it’d be fun if it was a bit more lethal. Nothing too out there, just an extra degree or so of damage being taken per fight.
Now, dying more often means players are out of the game for a while, sometimes for up to half an hour, right?
What if… When you die during combat, the DM gives you control of a monster for the remainder of the battle. You have access to only the Basic Moves and this monster’s list of Monster Moves.
When you commit to a Monster Move, roll+THREAT.
On a 10+, you do it.
On a 7-9, you can do it, at cost or with consequences.
On a 6-, you mess up, foul fiend! Huzzah!
Threat is the only stat a player controlled monster has (used for all moves), and is made up on the spot/from a basic list. A goblin is -1 Threat. An orc is 0 Threat. A troll is 1 Threat. A giant is 2 Threat. A dragon is 3 Threat.
The player who’s character is dead now role-plays as a monster, out to harm the other players and further a Front. Like a mini GM really. The monster they’re controlling is likely to die soon too; in fact, they should be a target of the party since they’re more dangerous than an ordinary monster, however I think it could be a fun diversion.
Once the party reach town/a moment of peace, that player gets to roll up a new character as usual. I really think with the right people it could be awesome.
Penny for your thoughts, tavernites?
if this got out of hand, you could have a party of monsters on your hand fairly quickly… but sounds like it could be something interesting to try.
Chris S Yeah, I was just thinking that right after my post. The bigger the party the less of a threat it is, but even with only say, 3 players, it might be worth it just for the stories it would make. Players can get up to some crazy stuff at the best of times.
I actually tried this in my hack #nocountryforoldkobolds, because dying is a core mechanic I needed something to keep people engaged during combat after their kobold died. It worked ok, but wasn’t as engaging as I had hoped. What I ended up doing instead was awarding death tokens when a player kobold dies. They can use the tokens to put someone else over on a roll (bump it to the next tier) counter a gm hard move or convert it to 1:1 to xp once the combat is over. I have found it keeps people a bit more engaged since they can have a seriously tangible effect on the combat in favor of the other players.
ive actually got in my note book
when someone dies, they linger as a ghost until the fight ends
and can still make aid rolls, because they pick a player and shout something that they hear as a wisper
duck!
behind you!
now!
sheild up!
if the player desribes them responding to the action they get a +1
Thats great Andrew Murphy. I think I’ll use it!
I might still use this idea in a one shot game, but only if the party is large enough.
ive just got to be careful one of my players is a tad forceful want it to be advice from beyond, not an order, making a player lose control of his character