In Dungeon World Guide it says: “In Dungeon World, the PCs’ actions should be based in the game fiction”. What about levelling up? Especially multiclassing. How could The Fighter suddenly learn how to speak with animals or how to cast spells? Do the players have to try learning it fictionally before the mechanical level up? e.g. Einhardt tried to talk to a black bear once, it ended violently. But a few days later Einhardt finally learned how to communicate with wild animals. (And if Einhardt’s player didn’t try to talk to the bear he probably couldn’t gain this move.)
In Dungeon World Guide it says: “In Dungeon World, the PCs’ actions should be based in the game fiction”.
In Dungeon World Guide it says: “In Dungeon World, the PCs’ actions should be based in the game fiction”.
While there’s no particular limit on multiclassing like that, tables are free to call weak sauce on something that doesn’t make a lot of sense.
I always ask players how they would learn a thing. They don’t need to connect it in session, but it has to make sense.
Example: when the bard multi classed to get wizard spells, he explained it as an extension of his arcane art, using his fiddle to cast spells.
personally, if I had a player that wanted to learn Wild Empathy, I’d probably give it to them if they previously consumed some mushrooms while trying to avoid spending a ration.
I think the best multiclass in the fiction i ever had was the ranger who we found out was the last wizards brother went into the medical lake and on that session chose to be a Cleric.
So maybe this is where bonds and the fiction come in handy. I definitely would try and make sure the fiction fits the multiclass.
A lot of times you can explain it as something that has been building up but until now wasn’t of note. So if a player wanted to multiclass Wild Empathy I would ask them, “So when did you first start noticing that barks and chirps started making sense to you? Has it been getting slowly stronger, or have you just been resisting it until now, hoping it will go away? How does you character make sense of this strange new ability, like, where does it come from?” Basically just retcon it if you can.