24 thoughts on “Here be I yet again.”

  2. DW angles for specific play for XP – hitting your alignment and resolving bonds.

    I find for some types of groups, resolving bonds does not work very well, so I have actually switched to only award their alignment triggers and actually doing it in play when it’s awesome it makes things complicated.

  3. I’ll use it as a compel, especially with a mind control effect. “Ranger, you feel this… calling, calling, calling to step across the threshold. I’ll give you an XP if you do it.”

  4. If a player thinks out of the box or does anything that shows they have been paying attention and are really thinking about the problems going on, I give them EXP (also as a way to encourage others to do the same.)

    Or just really cool roleplay, like characters making decision that aren’t in the players interest, but make sense for the character to make.

  5. I ONLY award XP when the book says to: fails, end of session, bonds, alignment, etc. No other time. I am adamantly opposed to XP for “good role-playing” in any system, with the possible exception of fan mail mechanics where everyone is involved. Good role-playing is its own reward, and you risk “petting” your favorites or just rewarding people for being more extroverted/hogging the spotlight.

  8. I would say this … and I think it’s what I hear some other people saying in and out of this thread … if the prescribed channels aren’t coming up (e.g. bonds) it’s okay to invent new ones (e.g. flags).

  10. Ray Otus I’m totally on board with this (regarding impromptu XP awards):

    you risk “petting” your favorites or just rewarding people for being more extroverted/hogging the spotlight

    But I think it’s shortsighted to say “I ONLY award XP when the book says to.” That precludes any sort of custom move that involves giving XP, or even some uses of the GM move “give them an opportunity with a cost.”

  13. Wait Jeremy Strandberg, we don’t agree on that. 🙂 I said “invent new channels” which means thinking it through and defining when you will hand out XP. That’s not “impromptu.” Impromptu XP is thing I am against. And I don’t think it’s shortsighted to follow the rules. It’s just that if the rules aren’t working (and you have honestly tried them as written) then it’s time to thoughtfully modify them. That’s my 2 cents anyway. If what you do works – keep doin’ it! 🙂

  14. Ray Otus I was responding without having read your second post (which I agree with).

    Mostly, you tripped my “absolute language is inherently suspicious and should be challenged” trigger.

  15. Haha. Yes. I did sound a bit didactic there. ONLY is a big word. It could be that you might trip me up on that if you policed me at the table. I think I get a bit loose in the end of adventure XP awards, for instance, when going over the questions about defeating a significant threat and such.

  16. I use the rules as written for XP. the gain feels like a good pace to me. That said, if you want to drift from the core experience, write yourself a new move that when triggered, awards XP. Many GMs end up being game designers of a sort at some stage.

    Alignment in DW sorta works as the “reward for roleplaying” carrot in DW. you can hack this to be a Drive and let your players write Drives for their characters.

    You could also add a Foible, some character flaw or complication the player can play into for an XP reward at the end of session. The other method you could use for Foibles is that when a player activates their characters foible and rolls a move, they roll 3d6 instead of 2, and drop the highest die. This makes failure XP more likely without breaking the math, and maintains the reward at a cost ethos of the game.

  18. Bryan Alexander, page 75 has the “base” starting questions to ask during the End of Session move, pages 350-351 talk about changing these questions to fit your story. Here’s an excerpt from page 353:

    “There are some parts of the game that are exceptionally easy to

    change. The amount of XP to level reflects our view, but you can

    easily make leveling more or less rare. As well, the kinds of things

    players are awarded XP for can be easily changed—if your game isn’t

    about exploring, fighting monsters and finding treasure, change the

    End of Session move to reflect that difference. Make sure to share it

    with your players before you start the game.”

    I hope this helps.

    Aaron Griffin, I have had a rough time resolving bonds myself, but just this week I had a thought. If your alignment informs how YOU will act, maybe your bond with another character should inform how THEY will act with regards to you.

    BARD: This is not my first adventure with [Cleric].

    How the hell does the Bard resolve that? I think it should be resolved when the Cleric tells us what happened in a previous adventure.

    CLERIC: [Fighter] has insulted my deity; I do not trust him.

    Again, I feel this should be up to the fighter to resolve, by showing the Cleric he has faith in the deity.

    I’m going to look at it as a way to help that person who wrote the bond with you gain experience by taking the bit of fiction the’ve given you and expanding upon it.

    Right or wrong, I’m going to talk this over with my group tonight and see what they think.

  20. Reading bonds at the start of a session can refresh everyone’s memory too. As the GM, bonds can be things you actively involve. Ask questions of both parties listed in the bond. Explicitly give the players space to explore the bonds.

    “Fighter, did you mean to insult Clerics deity, or was it an honest accident?”

    “Cleric, it sounds like you’re pretty steamed. What sort of things could the fighter have done that would have caused such an insult?”

    “Cleric, the camp’s all set up, most of the party is sleeping, but its Fighters watch. That insult must be burning you up inside right? Are you going to talk to them about their insult or do anything?”

    “Bard, you’re all gathered around the pitiful campfire in the miserable rain, sore and tired from that fight with the ogre. A tale or a song might lift the party’s spirits. What happened on your first adventure with Cleric?”

    “Cleric, did it really happen like that? Or is Bard embellishing again?”

    “Bard, you’re in a pretty tight spot right now. Does the situation remind you of anything similar in your previous adventure with Cleric? How did the two of you get out of it last time?”

  22. While it may be fun to give XP for good roleplaying and some other creativity, The thing that I keep in mind is that the life of a character in the DW system is a bit short. 10 levels (Yes, I know that you can advance beyond that) is what we are looking at. Also, it is found that many times the more powerful a character gets the less you get the 6 or less result, thus, less drama. So, you can give more xp. The game has in it the +1 forward mechanic or even +1 ongoing that can be used for creativity and good roleplaying and good planning. DW characters do not have the long life that old AD&D characters did or even a Pathfinder character. Now, I don’t like Pathfinder but there are a number of other systems. I like DW and PbtA games but often wish for a less “class” structure and a character that has more increments or diversity in advancement. But it is good for a quick game with a 10-15 session or so max. Good fun.

  23. Matrix Forby, I love the idea of “less class structure” because one of my top 3 favorite CRPG’s of all time is Skyrim, which has no classes. You are what you play, gaining levels in a particular skill by using it (so you’d gain XP in a “Skill” on a success, rather than a failure).

    While this is an idea that interests me (I have put more than a little thought into creating a Skyrim hack for DW), I’m having so much fun with DW that it’ll likely be a long time before I seriously sit down to develop the idea.

    But if “less class structure” is something that you really want to attain, looking towards Skyrim for inspiration would be a good place to start!

  24. I haven’t really played Skyrim.  I am not one for computer “rpgs”.  I don’t like MMOs.  To me they are not roleplaying but sort of like an advanced “Choose your own adventure” in video game form.  I have heard of the world.  Sounds interesting but I do have my own world that I want to get going. 

    I like a lot of the concepts of DW but like many others need a bit more of a structure.  I am a fan of the old White Wolf Games, in that they are essentially “classless” but that can be argued with the options you choose: Clan, Tribe, Tradition, Auspice, ect.  But with in each type, the list of skills and the like that everyone has access to is interesting.  But I have come to realize that the “class” in one sense is necessary.  After all it is called “Role” playing.  You play a role.  That could be a Soldier, Ninja, Magic User, Super Hero, ect.  That role is where you derive your abilities from.  Working on my own world and my own game system, want to go a bit beyond what DW can do but also want to keep the type of fun that DW brings that other systems don’t.

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