Hi everyone!
Lately I’ve been putting together a framework for running modern fantasy games in Dungeon World. My goal was something that has the feel of Dungeon World and can be used with the Dungeon World rules without many adjustments.
It’s inspired by d20 Modern and a campaign I ran many years ago without ever actually learning the d20 Modern rules. And Urban Shadows and Monster of the Week, of course.
It’s still in rough shape — there’s so much ground to cover — but all the pieces are there, including six playbooks (character generation is a little different, more flexible) and a guide book.
Anyway, I’d love any feedback, advice, or suggestions.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1QOsM3iExEsvbkE1etMBmUNY9S4Ie_gnN
May I ask why a different version of Dungeon World rather than just running either another PBTA system in a modern setting or something like FATE?
Sure! Personal preference, mostly. It’s a system I like, am comfortable with, and can get my primarily D&D loving group to try! And I was curious to see how much adapting it would take to get to the kind of modern adventure I like to run. I enjoy fantasy, but I’m also kind of fickle. 😀
Why not just use another pbta system? Most modern-setting pbta games I’ve encountered seem to really take the “vivid color” to heart, and are intended to explore themes — and intimacy with other players — that I don’t always want in my monster butt-kicking, vampire courting, paranormal mystery solving adventures, you know? Monster of the Week is kind of close, but still has fairly explicit characterizations in the playbooks that just weren’t where I wanted to go with it.That’s a really long way, I guess, of repeating “personal preference”.
I should clarify, though, this is not really a different version of DW. It’s much closer to a guide book on how to handle modern game specific situations (and framing), combined with some flexible playbooks to facilitate that, using the core DW rules as is as much as possible.
It’s not revolutionary. I’m sure most GMs who can handle Dungeon World can handle “on the fly” adjudicating how guns work or cover works or how the game should interface with credit cards and home ownership and complex NPCs. But it’s been a fun process and I hope it’s of use to someone else!