Author: Reuben King

So I’ve decided to hack Dungeon World into something my niece can handle.

So I’ve decided to hack Dungeon World into something my niece can handle.

So I’ve decided to hack Dungeon World into something my niece can handle. She’s 3, going on 4 & apparently she can do some very basic math so I’m boiling everything down to a single d6 roll. 1-2=Fail, 3-4=Partial Success, 5-6+=Success.

I’ve seen other games out there like Hero Kids but I really want to have the open-ended options for non-violent combat that come with a narrative first game like Dungeon World.

I’ve reduced the number of stats (Strong, Nimble, Tough, Smart & Charm) & classes basically have 2 strengths & a weakness (+/-1 to the d6). Tough is essentially HP so I might even drop that & have Strong cover those rolls. Tough would basically be a passive stat that reflects HP.

I’m kinda having trouble with damage & HP though. Damage would be a d6 +/-2 for strength or weakness. I was thinking base 15HP, +/-3 depending on whether it’s a strength of weakness but I want to simplify it further, like to 6 blocks max. It could work more like Blades in the Dark, Shadowrun or other systems where players just take levels of harm.

I might put my character sheets up here after I’ve gone through a play test but does anyone have any advice? I’ve read the general advice like keep sessions short, offer options etc. but I’m looking for anything to really help with keeping these rules simple enough for a girl who’s still more than a year away from starting school. And of course, still fun for any adults who want to play along.

Here’s a Monk I made.

Here’s a Monk I made.

Here’s a Monk I made.

Lots of other Monk playbooks I’ve found seem to focus on a flow mechanic with a running tally of flow points & an emphasis on WIS. I like that idea but I thought I’d build something based on martial arts stances, a little more similar to the Arcane Duelist’s techniques. I’ve definitely taken some stuff from other Monk playbooks, all of which come up on a google search so consider that my plagiarism statement.

I don’t know if I expect anyone else to use this but maybe you’ll steal from it, the same way I stole from other people’s ideas. Here are a few notes anyway.

The Vow of Poverty is key to this class – no picking up sweet loot but rather power comes from within. Some of the the Advanced Moves are pretty powerful but they’re designed to balance the fact that you can’t wield any magic swords or armour etc.

I am aware that I’ve broken one of the basic principles of Dungeon World but I thought it was necessary. Normally you should never roll twice for a single action. I’ve put an INT roll in addition to the STR Hack & Slash roll for the Last Airbender move. I did this for a couple of reasons. First, this move is pretty powerful so there needed to have some risk similar to the way Wizards or Clerics can ‘forget’ spells but I still wanted to tie it to a physical Strength-based action. Secondly I thought it was important to force the character to spread their points a bit so they couldn’t just min/max with a couple of strong stats. STR & DEX are already obvious strengths for this class so it’s important to force the character to branch out to balance the power of this move, especially it’s level 8+ upgrade.

I stayed away from a WIS build for a couple of reasons too. Wisdom kind of represents magic in DW with the Wizard & Cleric already being classes that will have that strength. I want to differentiate inner strength & being in touch with the flow of the universe from magic. Intelligence feels like a very under-utilised stat so I thought it would be good to build a class that can bring that strength to the party with Spout Lore & quick thinking. Also, I had a character in mind & I really like the idea of a young character who thinks he is very wise but actually has a low Wisdom stat (you remember being a teenager & thinking you know everything, right?).

I’m about to playtest this sheet in an upcoming campaign, starting in a couple of days. I’ve GM’d a couple of campaigns now & one of my players is stepping up to the plate so that I can actually experience being a PC. I’ve worked with him to get the “OK” to play this sheet so hopefully I’ve got the balance right & I won’t mop the floor with his monsters or outshine the other PCs too much.

This is the version I’m going to play but I’d still appreciate any comments since it’s my first custom class. If you’re going to steal from me, let me know what you liked & didn’t or if you do play this sheet, let me know how it goes.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_nEHiZewWx_MmwyRUJUTFZfOG8/view?usp=sharing