Hi. I’m new both to Dungeon World and Tabletop RPG. However Dungeon World seems rules lite enough for me to run and close enough to D&D which I’m somewhat familiar (because I’m a fan of Baldur’s Gate) so I’m thinking to give it a try. However as I lack the experience in being a DM I’m worried that I might mess up. Any tips?
P.S. I can’t learn from joining another Dungeon World session as a player either. It’s pretty much unknown in where I live.
Biggest tip is to read the book and not stress about messing up. You’ll totally mess up; we all do. And when that happens, or you’re unsure, just come back here and ask your questions and the community will help you out. 🙂 We’re all really chill.
Beyond that, if you want to learn as a player, you could always join an online game or two. Play some one-shots or a short campaign and see what the game looks like from that perspective. There is a really active Dungeon World player base on things like Roll20, and Google Hangouts tends to see lots of roleplaying.
Alfred Rudzki is exactly right. Get together with friends and tell a story about exciting adventures. Remember to play to find out. Get the rules wrong!
And, yeah, if you can find a session online. That’ll take the edge off.
Pro tip: We all started with no experience in being a DM at one point! You are playing with your friends have fun and enjoy it! When in doubt have them roll some dice and tell them what happens next!
There’s also actual play podcasts and video series that can help you get a feel of how other people play the game. Friends at the Table played Dungeon World in their first series and they’ve just started back into it.
I agree with everyone else here; read the book, grab some friends, and start playing! You will make mistakes, but that’s how we learn, right?
Thanks everyone. I’ve read the rulebook and am reading “Read and Understand Dungeon World”. Hope it’ll make me more prepared. Gary’s tip about video series sounds interesting. I’ll definitely look into it.
I still make mistakes after 30+ years as a GM. But you know what? It’s ok, it’s just a game.
Hey, I’m new to GMing this game as well. I just ran my first real DW session, after only running once or twice in the past, two weeks ago and definitely made some mistakes. My second game was way better/smoother but in both games my group and I had a lot of fun. You’ll only get better at it! The book, DW Guide, listening to podcasts like Friends at The Table and Godsfall, watching video series like those of Matthew Colville, and being active here will help a lot but playing the game will help the most 🙂
RollPlay R&D had a great DW series too that I recommend. Steven Lumpkin was a great GM and at the end of the series – which lasted eight sessions – they did their “Reunion Show” and he discussed some of the things he did wrong. That was invaluable to me as a GM, because it felt like I was learning from one of the greats.
Also, something I recommend is knowing what the characters can do. I made a spreadsheet with all of their moves and scores so I could “be a fan of the characters” and give them things they could shine at. On the same note, make sure the players know what their characters can do. It’s always frustrating to me when I have to tell a player “don’t forget you can do this” (yeah, maybe I shouldn’t do that, but even if the player forgets, the character would remember what he’s best at).
I want to plug my Intrigues of Parsantium, which is an actual play report. That is nothing particularly brilliant. But what I think might help new GMs is that in the italicized sections, I talk about what I’m thinking and what the players are saying before, during and after the game, how the dice are impacting the decisions made at the table.
Also, about midway through, we switch out the PCs for new ones and eventually get a brand new player, who sends the game in new and exciting directions.
forum.rpg.net – Intrigues of Parsantium- Dungeon World
Also, it’s Dungeon World; if you don’t know the answer to a question players ask you, it’s totally OK to have them answer for you.
If ( $experience == “fun” ) { $game_state = “success” ; }
Brian Holland that annoys me to no end! I hate when I put an obstacle in the way specifically so someone can use one of their moves and I’m sitting there waiting for them to realize it. Then someone else will make a suggestion of a workaround and you are like, “well you could do that, or….” and give that long “you have something for this” look at the person you intended to give the spotlight lol
Scott Selvidge YES, exactly! When I put an obstacle in the way that just screams “Bend Bars, Lift Gates” and after lengthy (LLEENNGGTTHHYY) discussion they decided to blast it with a Fireball (which I allowed of course, because that’s cool as hell) I looked at my Fighter and said “you could have used Bend Bars”. He just looked at me and said “Oh, yeah, I didn’t think of that”.
Still fun though. My Wizard rolled an 8 and drew unwelcome attention.
There’s a really good community dedicated to getting new GMs started on reddit at http://www.reddit.com/r/dungeonworld. Come and check it out! Look at the sidebar there first and go through all the recommended material.
reddit.com – Dungeon World • /r/DungeonWorld