Hi all. Am new to the group. Done a little RPG-ing in the past. Not much GM-ing. Have tried a few systems recently (Savage Worlds, Ubiquity, Mouseguard). None have been that great. Too many stats / maths. Mouseguard has been the best as it focuses on narrative but the theme is not the best for me and it feels a bit restricted. I’ve been looking for something dungeon crawly but more focused on narrative than tabletop skirmishing. Also I’m looking to pitch it to a group of boardgamers and not looking for anything too complex. DW seems a good fit at face value but, being an inexperienced GM, I am wondering if anyone has advice.
Also what’s a playbook?
A Playbook is the character sheet and Moves that a class in Dungeon World has access to. It’s like in D&D with unique abilities that classes have in that system, except in Dungeon World you can learn from other Playbooks at the table.
Dungeon World is a lot of fun and might be a little difficult to learn as a first time system, but I could be completely wrong. I say that because the core book has some of the best GM advice I’ve seen put into print and it works for any other systems you move on to. The system itself is not that complex and lends more to storytelling and less on what the characters have on their sheets or over powering feats.
I think it’s absolutely worth your time to try out.
A playbook is a description of a character class abilities and advancement options and character sheet all in one.
http://www.dungeon-world.com/downloads/ — The Dungeon World Guide is widely considered to be a good starting point for general advice.
Playbook is what Apocalypse World (the game Dungeon World draws most heavily from for its system) usually calls a Class.
I have heard great things about introducing new people to Role Playing through DW. Bring your Imagination. Now, I have also heard it recommended that you do not give them the Moves Sheet for the first session to establish expectations for the positive. I don’t know about this advice. But if you do, that means that you will be deciding what move they are making when they tell you what their character is doing. If you do give them the Moves sheet, then let them know that the move that is rolled on is primarily based on WHAT they tell you they are doing and what is going on in the fiction. A person with a Mace is not going to be able to swing it and hit anything on an Air Elemental, by the same token, a Giant isn’t going to be threatened by most of the group unless they get creative and take a little time. Despite the fact that it has hit points. They just can’t get near the Giant under normal circumstances. So even though it says that they have a “Move” that lets them do it, the fiction trumps. Was Smaug worried about an Archer? No, not even the Black Arrows worried him. BUT a Black Arrow, Decern Realities AND a Volley after that the Smaug could be hurt. So, in the end, it took an Expert Marksman, the Proper Equipment, and THEN spotting out the proper location to hit before we even get into the Volley to hit the Dragon. Sound like a Lot? Well, consider that the Dragon had only 16 hit points, but hurting it is the difficult part. Considering that a ton of Molten Gold, did nothing but slow it down a bit. That was also after some maneuvering to get the Dragon in the right place, then using a preexisting set up. Sorry, Rambled there. But, all of that can happen in about two questions of “What do you do?” so about two abstract rounds. Just to be able to hurt it. But then again, it was an epic battle. So, just keep these things in mind: 1. Can, according to the fiction they hurt it? 2. A creature isn’t always going to go for hit points. 3. Keep the descriptions and the action flowing.
Hope it turns out well
The guide is excellent. You already have a Best Practices guide for GMs in Dungeon World, but the guide adds a lot of explanation and examples. You picked a good place to start.
In my experience, DW is, hands-down, the best intro to RPGs. I usually help players make characters, describe the starting situation, and then go. They just say what they’re doing, and I explain the moves as they are triggered. The basic dice mechanic is dead simple and can either be explained up front or on the fly.
It can be a bit hard to wrap your head around at first because of the ways in which it diverges from more traditional RPGs, but this community is great at helping new players acclimate.
It’s a great game for new players, and it’s a great game for newer/inexperienced GMs, too. The amount of crap you don’t have to worry about as the GM in Dungeon World is liberating.
I have had some trouble with hardcore boardgamers, not so much in that they didn’t understand or get the game, but more in that it didn’t hit their buttons the same way something like Pathfinder or 4e D&D might. But still worth trying!
Christoffer Skuthälla asked a bunch of great “new to GMing DW” questions in the tavern in the past couple months, generated a lot of discussion. They’re worth reading.
Great advice. Thanks everyone. I note there is a discrepancy between the guide and the rules though. The rules say when groups of monsters are attacking you take the highest damage roll of the group and +1 for each other monster involved. However the guide says you roll the total number of damage dice and take the highest. Any advice on this. I think the +1 damage option sounds better but if there’re enough enemies they may take out a hero (although from the advice here I can see ways around that i.e. the enemies don’t do damage but have another effect).
DW puts a lot of cognitive load on the MC. Interpreting 7-9 results will be the bulk of what you do. Unfortunately, the Basic Moves are structured to trope play very strongly toward a particular “OSR” style. I humbly suggest John Harper’s excellent World of Dungeons as a starting point instead, especially for a table not acclimated to D&D idioms.
WoD has a lot going for it, but a 3-page RPG is a little… thin for a new group.
I had a look. I can see the attraction in WoD in how light it is but I wonder that I as a GM would benefit from a bit more structure. Also the boardgamers I play with are experienced in some RPGs themselves and are well acquainted with dungeon crawls and fantasy tropes. I think they would want some more flesh on them bones in that regard