Hey everybody!

Hey everybody!

Hey everybody! I’ve just recently started playing Dungeon World, and I have a pretty basic question about monsters (that I’m sure has been answered before). So at the end of the monster making process, I’ve got something that has 14 HP, 3 armor, and appears in small groups.

My question is: is this a group of 2 -5 creatures that each have 14 HP, or are they treated as a single entity with 14 HP total (like storm troopers in Fantasy Flight’s Star Wars games)?

This isn’t a pressing issue or anything, but I’d like to know going forward. Thanks!

18 thoughts on “Hey everybody!”

  2. Yup, 14 hp & 3 armor each.

    Lessee… a group (6hp) of large (+4hp) monsters with uncanny endurance (+4hp) and covered in bony plates (3 armor)? So, like, a family of ankylosaurs?

    Or perhaps medium-sized zombies (uncanny endurance, kept alive by more that mere biology) in plate (3 armor)? Or maybe scale mail & a shield? OOOH! I bet it’s a bunch of these guys!

    https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/fMihA8aI4Yr6yvl5etke7KibIFJe4j84sAVjSVUWIVzNv1rVJ0vrWTRn3cqFQVP0Qs0IIyEc2TPSSwmNqKsPvy-HqqgYt2QI1ag=s0

  4. Chris Stone-Bush yeah, they aren’t supposed to be a swarm. haha, maybe they’re a bit too dangerous for my group’s first dungeon…? anyway, thanks for the answer! i really appreciate it.

  5. Jeremy Strandberg my idea was a bunch of ancient magically animated suits of armor, so pretty close! maybe i should just stick with goblins or something for now, haha

  7. Yeah, they’re pretty tough, but there’s no promise of “balanced” or “fair” encounters in DW. If animated suites of armor make sense for your dungeon, you should use them.

    Just make sure your players don’t have the expectation that they can or should beat everything by fighting it.

  9. The lack of mechanical balance is why I like DW. Fiction first and all that. So if it makes sense for whatever monster/trap/dangerous thing to be present, then don’t hesitate to put it there.

    I definitely feel that you should still take the fact this is a game intended for enjoyment into consideration though. You’re not out to squash the player characters like bugs, especially if this is their first time playing. 😛

  10. Chris Stone-Bush I have 4 players. A Druid, a thief, a ranger, and a paladin. And I’m not out to crush them, haha. Part of why I asked this question is because I wanted to make sure these guys weren’t too deadly. I think I may just use 2 or 3, and fill the rest of the dungeon with natural hazards and traps and stuff. I definitely inted to talk to my players about how dangerous I want dungeons to be, but having everyone die in the second session would be super boring so

  12. Chris Stone-Bush the dungeon is a hidden temple to a God that our paladins deity isn’t fond of. It’s entrance is hidden under an ancient stone monument deep in the forest. As for why the armor is there… I don’t know yet 😀 we haven’t gotten to establish too much about the setting yet. All I know is that they’re older than any of the mortal races. Soldiers used by the gods in an ancient conflict perhaps? I’m trying not to overthink anything. It is my truest weakness as a GM

  14. I mean, you could totally have a significant group of these suits. But depending on how old they are, maybe the magic is faded/fading. Perhaps the place is full of dead or dying suits, and the party can also happen upon still living ones which would be a full 14hp 3 armor encounter.

  16. A few notes: First and foremost you have the fiction. So, you say Ancient Suits of Armor, Animated by Magic?

    Ok. You have good cause to have them have the Armor 3. I would not have them have 14 hp. Here is the thing, Going with the fiction- What can hurt them? Surely a sword bashing away at them can’t do damage, so no Hack&Slash move. More like a Defy Danger when they get close. They get close and wail on it with their weapons and then the SoA (Suit of Armor) swipes at them as their weapons have no effect. If they have a magic weapon then sure they can damage it as if it was a person. But DW is about thinking with the fiction first. So, according to the fiction, what happens when you take a dagger, sword, spear, or even arrow to a suit of armor: Nothing. You said it is plate armor which implies it is made of metal plates. REMEMBER: You can’t trigger a H&S move unless you can hurt it and it can hurt you. If it can’t hurt you then you just do damage or kill it.

    This is DW not D&D. You don’t need to whack at it for long periods of time until it’s dead. By the same token you don’t need to come up with every little detail, some are provided by the players and they contribute to the fun.

    So, back to your quandry: I believe that your creatures are too strong and this is kinda a crypt situation, not a dungeon. Think on it’s purpose. I think that it would be best to have the first combat with bandits or something, getting TO the crypt. Set them up with some common bandits from the book. Have say a dozen of them. That way they can start thinking outside of the box and think with the fiction. Once that is done, sure, hit them with your “older than People” Animated Suit of Plate Armor. I would suggest one or two on the sentry at the opening of the crypt. Think on what tactics or things will hurt it, in the fiction.

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