Hello fellow Dungeon World lovers!
So I’ve been running a game for my new RP’er friends for the past year and a half. They are getting to the end of this story arc, and I could use some of your expertise!
I’ll set the stage:
They have been chasing a Lich and trying to put an end to him. They’ve tracked him down to a powerful place called the Hall of Truth. A cavern where Kings and Heroes would go to be judged for their worth and honor. The Lich has had 2 weeks to prepare for their arrival. Using a handful of rituals and runic carvings he has corrupted the Hall.
When the heroes come in they speak the incantation to start the trial (required). The mirrors in a crescent around the Hall release shades that will reveal a dark truth about the heroes past. Something they must face up to and defeat in order to move through the Temple doors.
However, due to the Liches tampering, they won’t be shades. They will be fully realized, independent, and corrupted duplicates of the heroes. His desire is for the duplicates, who are evil and have succumbed to whatever potentially evil powers they could attain (such as the Paladin falling and becoming a Blackguard, or the Hunter succumbing to her evil magical item and turning into a cold-blooded slayer) to replace the characters as his new Lieutenants and Guard. They have all the items, skills, and knowledge (though twisted) of the characters.
My question and request, is to help make this fight difficult and deadly. They have successfully defeated most challenges without really being pushed. Nor have they had a need to really use their powerful magic items up to this point.
Which is potentially my fault (working on it). But any ideas would be greatly appreciated! 😀
-x (whatever seems fair) ongoing to the players actions with respect to the doppelgangers would be a start if these shades would know enough about the players moves to predict them, and thus make them less likely to go off. Perhaps any bonuses they’d normally have are halved.
If you don’t like the power level of -x ongoing, either because it’s too strong, or too weak, on your round update, you can Reveal an unwelcome truth for a penalty that’s forward instead of ongoing. Or if that’s too weak, combine them.
Maybe since they are the “good version” of these twisted characters, their spirits are linked, and outright physical combat will result in them taking half damage that their moves would deal (literally Turn their move back on them)
Make each encounter single combat by using Separate them to force either walls or force fields to arise, cordoning them off.
Maybe power up the Doppelganger? if the doppelganger literally has their equipment, that’s showing a downside to it.
Maybe the dopplegangers do exactly the same thing the pc do and they have to find a way to defeat them without combat?
It would be more a witty challenge than just pure combat.
Some ideas for combat solution. When your heroes almost killed one of this twins, the enemy may jump into the mirror and then return unharmed. They can even drag one or more of the party inside the mirrors, to show some horrible planar dimension. The key to defeat this reflections is to destroy mirrors, after that they become much weaker.
Yaraslau Sauchanka Oh that’s fantastic! I had considered just that last note, about destroying the mirrors. But was uncertain on that or if the mirrors should be protected by some shield. Granted nobody has ever had a need to destroy the mirrors.
Good ideas! Thank you 😀
I hadn’t seen there were other comments xD
Thanks Josh C that’s positively wicked as well! I’m going to have to consider all of these and whatever anyone else postulates. Luckily I have another week or so.
Maybe remove the ability to use modifiers against their shades until a custom moves triggers. How would they be able to power through, dodge, or outwit themselves right? Maybe the custom move has a trigger like: When you reconcile with the weakness inside yourself and call out your shade on their succumbing to it, roll + nothing. 10+ describe how it crushes your shades resolve and begin using your modifiers again. 7-9 Describe how it shakes your shades resolve begin using your modifiers for a short time or select one you can use again for good. I think you could get some pretty cool “internal” PC conversations going.
Andrew Alwood Nice! I had just started thinking of using a custom move for things like that. Previously I had considered dropped their rolls down by a level… So 12+ Would be 10+, and 10+ would be 7-9. Or some modification to the rolls in that fashion.
But I like that a lot better. I’m unsure on how many of these ideas put together would be too difficult for the battle.
So far they’ve all been good! 😀
And this is Exactly why I posted!
Team up. The evil dopplegangers do not fight fair. They don’t fight their exact opposite. Two of them will double team up against one of the heroes. Their plan is to quickly whittle down a couple of the heroes. Then mop up the survivors.
But I love the idea of the mirrors and the dopplegangers keep returning to them to regenerate and come back to the fray. The ramifications of destroying the mirrors is awesome, because the heroes in desperation will be destroying tradition as well.
I like the mirror idea too. maybe combine the ideas: Give the mirrors a good amount of “HP” if they choose to directly attack them (they are magical so may require several strikes) AND have the custom move with the added flavor text: 10+ the mirror for your associated PC shatters along with your shades resolve, use your modifiers, 7-9 the mirror cracks along with your shades resolve (maybe give that PC associated mirror some HP loss). Separately from a fictional perspective instead of having the shades run back to their mirrors, i think it would be cool for them to just disappear and then the PC catches his or her reflection in the mirror again and the shades steps through again showing no signs of damage or sweat from battle. i’m totally stealing this for one of my games btw. 🙂
Andrew Alwood That’s an awesome idea for the fiction of the game! 😀
Thanks again! You guys have been fantastic. And that’s only after a day!
Also feel free to steal it. I love providing ideas for games. I’ve been gaming since I was 12 (27 now), so I’m now relatively good at coming up with random on the spot fiction/ideas.
So feel free to hit me up