Question for people who are interested in buying DW adventures!

Question for people who are interested in buying DW adventures!

Question for people who are interested in buying DW adventures!

What’s a good fluff/rules ratio for you? Super-condensed, like The Indigo Galleon? Or pretty verbose, like The Last Days of Anglekite? or somewhere else on the spectrum?

Why? What do you get from fluff? Or, what do you like but never read?

20 thoughts on “Question for people who are interested in buying DW adventures!”

  1. That’s a tough question. My answer might not be all that helpful, but for me atleast, it really depends on what the product is.

    For something that I expect to use as a one shot or as a no-prep adventure starter, something super-condensed like The Indigo Galleon is great. But for something that is a campaign setting ot toolbox like Last Days of Anglekite, then, well, Last Days of Anglekite is a great example of what I expect.

    Sorry to not be more help. 😛

  3. Indigo Galleon has been the best scenario I’ve ever run. We got 7 sessions out of it. We did a bit of world building beforehand and I worked IG into that.

  4. Sounds like Indigo gave you everything you needed, Scott. Was that your first DW campaign? Would a larger book like Anglekite appeal to you at all, do you think? (And why?)

  5. I prefer less fluff, more rules. I have plenty of imagination and am thoroughly steeped in fantasy lit. I am a professional freelance artist and have 2 other artists at my table. Each piece of art I’ve ever done has a backstory. Fluff is not an issue. My games tend to be quite specific, so swiping a Front from a product is problematic and not easy to make fit. Just easier to make my own.

    But cool new ways to use NPCs, cool new magic spells, new monsters, even new magic items can be easily ported to my game.

    HOwever, I think Dungeon World has the opportunity to hide the fluff inside of Moves, Fronts, Steadings, NPCS…. you can hint at the world, without delineating it. I also really like sidebars that have a quote or adventure seed in them. Wise words from a Mage or Bard, speaking on a subject.

    If I had any call for action, it would be this; I would want fluff that can grab the players and get them involved in the day to day lives of the world’s inhabitants. Conflicts that are not solved or even about violence. Violence is easy to introduce. Conflicts that are exciting, but not necessarily about destroying with sword and spell, are not so easy to craft.

    That was probably WAAAY more than you wanted.

  6. Given the nature of a narrative game such as this, I would prefer more Content.  Game mechanics, new moves are ok but this game demands story.  So an outline, some what ifs answered, and some NPCs and some short chapters on the background of the adventure and a non-linear approach.  Honestly, if you have some of the origional Shadowrun adventures that they published, those are very well written, from Silver Angel to Bottled Demon.  Bottled Demon was my favorite adventure to run from the old Shadowrun.

  7. I like fluff that is revealed THROUGH the moves. Custom moves that use mechanics to open up the setting and allow for narrative control by the players.

  8. I am usually looking for some mix of solid background and some white space for fiction/development of the world. For example now I am creating my own adventure to be started in our modern world (decently described and well known) and then leading to some hidden secrets and possible other worlds.

  9. Indigo is by far the best in my opinion, and by its review from the community, id dare say its the best overall. Dungeon world, in my groups, tends to branch off from campaigns due to its strong input from the players. A solid starter like Indigo gives the table somewhere to start on day one and allows you to move away from what has been written and into your own creation.

    Other Table Top games, like D&D, are more GM centric and long detailed campaigns are generally more excepted and enjoyed.

  10. Joe Banner​​ I’ve not read Angelkite, only the product blurb. For me, it would come down to quality of material. But generally I prefer small adventure scenarios to work into my own campaign fronts, which are typically drafted during world & character building stages.

  12. I’ve only run homebrew stuff but have really appreciated all your stuff so far. Like Storn Cook and Nathan Roberts, I like my materials to be evocative but allowing modules or moves be useful in a variety of settings. However, for campaign settings I love a lot of fluff with little crunch.

  13. Joe Banner​ oh and yes, IG was our first DW/PbtA game. Suffice to say, something clicked with our group and we all had great fun. The implied details (Captain-Senator Balbus… what’s a captain-senator? Better ask the players..) sparked imaginations around the table. Like Lady Blackbird does also.

  14. Thank you to everyone for your comments! It sounds like finding a balance, or presenting fluff through the rules, is the way to go.

    Your responses also highlighted the difference between something for a campaign and something that’s an adventure toolkit. I’d not seriously considered the difference before, but I can see how the latter is far more useful, on average, for Dungeon World.

    Eric Lochstampfor – true, neither have I… but when I’m writing, I’d rather focus on what’s most useful at the table. (That’s not to say the less-useful stuff will never see the light of day!)

  16. Anyone tried Red Tide? I’ve read very positive reviews, how it’s a light campaign setting augmented by a sandbox toolkit. If I was starting a new DW campaign, I’d consider something like that too.

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