So, I’m kind of obsessed with mashing together Dungeon World and Fate (accelerated).

So, I’m kind of obsessed with mashing together Dungeon World and Fate (accelerated).

So, I’m kind of obsessed with mashing together Dungeon World and Fate (accelerated). But the best I’ve come up with so far is adding 2 or three aspects onto a regular DW character and having aspects add +1 or +2 to appropriate rolls. 1 aspect is a high concept (on top of the character’s class) and the other two replace bonds but are more generally applicable, ie: not just aid rolls. Though as an aside, making negative aspects ie: nearsighted and having them grant penalties is somewhat appealing, but what is the player motivation for expressing their negative aspects (auto xp even without failure? fate points?) and does that wreck Dungeon World’s general PC awesomeness? What about fate points and XP? or advancement? Would aspects and other trappings of Fate even improve DW or would it just be more stats (and thus more sources of mechanical bonuses)? I haven’t tested any of this in play and it’s somewhat clunky still, has anyone else experimented in this vein yet?

14 thoughts on “So, I’m kind of obsessed with mashing together Dungeon World and Fate (accelerated).”

  1. My thought has been using fate points as normal. Your aspects can apply to any relevant roll, probably after the fact like FATE does, with compels dropping you down a success level and invokes bumping you up a success level. Seems cleaner than numerical bonuses (though compels could probably use more teeth). When you spend to invoke, your points go into the GM’s pool, where they can be spent by the GM for hard moves at any time (design wise, to make up for the misses you’re avoiding). The GM doesn’t spend from their pool to compel you, so you can be compelled as much as the fiction demands, but you don’t have to agree to compels either.

    Edit: Scene aspects and boosts could probably be created by Defy Danger (or other relevant move, but it would probably be DD most of the time), as a parallel to Create Advantage. 12+ on any roll is like Spin, you get a free boost. [/edit]

    I suspect this would add clunkiness and make DW feel more game-y more than anything; I consider this an inevitable part of aspects, but I do love FATE and aspects are also good in their own ways.

    I haven’t done this in actual play either.

  2. James Etheridge​ I think you have presented some cool ideas. In my opinion, compelling should be a straight forward hard move.

    I’m very curious whether it is possible to get the best of both Apocalypse World and Fate systems. Ryan Macklin​ has occasionally being working on Adventure World, a Fate/Apocalypse World engine mashup. It will be great to see his future results and conclusions…

  3. I really don’t like the idea of Aspects adding to rolls. That’s a mechanics – first rule, when both DW and even Fate work best in a fiction – first format.

    I would consider replacing attributes with Aspects. You would need to spend a Fate point while triggering a Move to get the +2 bonus, and failure gives you the Fate point back. You could also accept a Compel to downgrade a 10+ roll to a 7-9 for a Fate point. Drop XP entirely, and let the characters level up every 2-3 sessions.

  4. Pedro Pablo Calvo Hard moves would work as well, to represent the “compel for effect” side of things, but I also like the success level “May I tempt you into failure with this fate point?” bargaining game. I think having them both would suit me fine. Personal preference and all that.

    Tim Jensen By “replacing attributes,” do you mean removing attributes from the character sheet entirely, or allowing that substitution as an option when you spend a fate point on it?

    Either way, I don’t think it’s a good way of doing things. If the attributes are removed, then it creates a situation where PCs are only competent at something when they spend a Fate point on it, and it’s ultimately just a flat numerical bonus anyway. If it’s an optional replacement, then it’s still a flat numerical bonus, it just happens to be one that you can only use for your shoddier attributes.

    I don’t see how either one is really fiction-first. They both just swap numbers around.

  5. James Etheridge​ What I mean is that when the DJ tempts you into failure with a Fate point, failure should be a 6-, not simply dropping down a success level.

  6. Pedro Pablo Calvo Ah, and thus I was enlightened. Yeah, that might work better. Although I suspect you would then generally only get compels when the player rolled a 7-9, as a 10+ would be giving too much up. I feel like it would need playtesting to see what works, though; strict mechanical analysis fails me beyond this point.

  8. G+ ate my previously long-typed comment. D’oh! But it looks like I’m not the only one who’s been thinking of this, these are some great ideas, thanks guys.

  9. I’m working on a cowboy game that uses XP in the way fate uses fate points. The economy is different though.

    When you play your high concept, pay 1 xp and add +1 to a roll after it is rolled.

    When the GM compels your Issue to change a +10 result into a 7-9 result, mark 1 xp, or pay 1 xp to avoid the worse outcome.

    It still needs some playtesting.

  10. James Etheridge​ I was thinking of removing attributes entirely, as Fate doesn’t use them. You would have to rewrite all the moves to compensate for the flat numerical bonus, as you say. Probably not worth the effort though.

    I suppose you could instead create custom attributes and basic moves at character creation based on the answers the players give you. That would give players a lot of say in what the game will be about, even more than aspects would.

  11. Tim Jensen Not sure what you’ve been playing, but every version of Fate I’ve had contact with has had attributes of some type, vis a vis skills, professions, approaches or whatever else.

    I like the idea of custom attributes, though at that point it’s turning into less of a Dungeon World hack and more of a Simple World hack. Not that that’s a bad thing by any stretch. That’s actually something I’d really dig.

    Spitballing a bit: a related idea I had after thinking about your proposal to remove attributes was to have related aspects replace some or all of them, but still have rankings.

    So for example, instead of having Strength 16 (+2), you could have Last Daughter of the Mountain Gods 16 (+2). It informs where your competence comes from, and can be invoked or compelled as an aspect (however that works), but you still roll the same bonus on +STR rolls.

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