I’ve been working on a collection of tips for players, based on the Agenda and Principles DW sets out for GMs. It draws heavily from the GM equivalents, from Grant Howitt’s 11 Ways to be a Better Roleplayer, and Painlord’s Advice on Roleplaying from the Paizo boards.
I’ve gotten it to a point where I need some outside perspective and direction. If any of you are willing to look it over, I’d greatly appreciate any advice on expressing things in a more understandable way, or any principles you think ought to be considered when playing DW that I have overlooked.
Finally, feel free to utilize it, pick it apart, or whatever may benefit you and your own gaming group.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B06CFO5QUZSrOUkycTBnZVROM1k/view?usp=sharing
Addition: I should have mentioned that behaviors rewarded through mechanics were intentionally omitted. I believe that if the game explicitly rewards it mechanically, then it would be redundant to stress it here. That’s why there’s no specific mention of utilizing bonds, alignment choices, etc.
I like this a lot and I feel like player Agenda and Principles are a great tool that should be used more. Dilemma by Manuela Soriani Mattia Bulgarelli and Marco Andreetto maybe did it first.
A lot to like in this article.
Nicely done.
It’s actually a neat idea, and something to keep handy, especially when teaching players new to the hobby, or new to the expanded collaboration you get with the DW/Apocalypse systems. I like it.
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This is some super handy stuff. Thanks for putting it together.
Will check this out in a bit.
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Kevin Tompos Thanks for asking our opinion. So often I wear blasts of opinion that could have been much briefer and simpler if they had followed your example.
I’ll differ with you on one thing here: I think the aspects of game behaviour covered by mechanics can twist in unexpected ways for different people, depending on their reasons for playing.
Rewards and penalties produce a complex power dynamic that changes the relationships within a group.
Kevin Tompos I understand however your desire to keep the document brief. I’ll re read and follow up soon.
Kevin Tompos, I love your advice, here and elsewhere, to “be a fan of…” I think this sums up the respect and love that has gone into DW over so long.
I like it so much that I suggest this be brought forward to the beginning of the Player Agenda. Having everyone a fan of the GM’s worldbuilding, of the other players, of their PCs and the Fantasy genre generally — can only build a more cohesive play experience.
The other points you make are really details and pointers towards this broad goal: make your fellow players (and your GM) feel like stars!
love this 😀 will be sharing with my players 😀
I’m glad people are finding this useful. And I really appreciate the feedback Michael Barry , especially your advice on making “Be a fan of…” part of the agenda rather than a principle.
I’m hesitant to add much to agenda, as I want really broad strokes that the principles can all be considered subsets of. Likewise, the equivalent for GMs has also emphasized this priority as a principle rather than a broad agenda. But it hasn’t felt right to me either.
Being a fan of the other players doesn’t seem to fit under the agenda as stated, while all the other principles can be allotted to one or two agendas quite easily. So you’ve got me thinking!
I’ll work on that aspect a bit and then raise it up here again to see how it flies.
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I’ve updated the document to reflect some things that Michael Barry got me thinking about. I was really hesitant to add an item to agenda, but think that it’s more all encompassing now. I’ve slightly modified the last principle as well.
I really love the phrase “To be inactive is to effectively cease existing in the story” under Be Awesome and Flawed. The caveats to this are covered in the section about spotlight, which is great!