Talk at Them and Grapple

Talk at Them and Grapple

Talk at Them and Grapple

My players seem to love to do these, and it’s always awkward there’s not a canon move for either. Custom move time!

When you tell a hostile creature you just want to talk, roll +CHA. On a 10+, they’re listening. Speak your piece, and take +1 forward to parley if it turns out you’ve got leverage over them. On a 7-9, they’ll hear you out, but only if you disarm or otherwise put yourself at their mercy. On 6-, at least you can say you tried! Mark XP, and the GM makes a move.

When you grab or tackle an opponent, roll +STR. On a 10+, choose 3. On 7-9, choose 1, and they get an attack on you while you wrestle:

* You hold them in place; they’re not going anywhere until they get free of you

* You restrain the limbs they use for attacking

* Hold 1 per the defend move, usable for or against them

* Take +1 forward against them

Note that applicability sanity checks apply. If you don’t share a language, you don’t get to talk at them. If your opponent’s six times your size, you don’t roll grapple.

Starting a new campaign this weekend, so of course it’s time for another Dungeon Starter!

Starting a new campaign this weekend, so of course it’s time for another Dungeon Starter!

Starting a new campaign this weekend, so of course it’s time for another Dungeon Starter! This one’s a bleak apocalyptic setting, akin to Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn: The Final Empire. Pregame kibitzing has it a toss-up whether we’ll use this or Planarch Codex.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5JodNrQ2KpGWUt1SEFTLU03OU0/view?usp=sharing

A mini (just 1 page) Dungeon Starter, inspired by The Banner Saga with a sprinkling of Battlestar Galactica and…

A mini (just 1 page) Dungeon Starter, inspired by The Banner Saga with a sprinkling of Battlestar Galactica and…

A mini (just 1 page) Dungeon Starter, inspired by The Banner Saga with a sprinkling of Battlestar Galactica and Mistborn: The Final Empire.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5JodNrQ2KpGNTcxUC1IRDZFeXc/view?usp=sharing

Began a Dark Heart of the Dreamer game last night, using the “Ill-Met in Ditchwater” kickoff setup.

Began a Dark Heart of the Dreamer game last night, using the “Ill-Met in Ditchwater” kickoff setup.

Began a Dark Heart of the Dreamer game last night, using the “Ill-Met in Ditchwater” kickoff setup. It was a good time! Now I’m looking ahead to the next session, and curious: others who’ve run Planarch Codex games, do you still use vanilla DW GM tools like Fronts and Steadings? Or do you let jobs and parishes replace them?

Compendium Class: Faetouched

Compendium Class: Faetouched

Compendium Class: Faetouched

When you eat of goblin fruits and return to the mortal world, you may take this move when you level up:

Trickster’s Bargain: When you exchange promises with someone, you may sweeten the deal with hold, up to a maximum of the number of Bonds you have with each other + 1. They may spend one hold to reroll a throw of the dice. You gain one hold on them for each hold they spend in this way. You may spend one hold to make the person fail a move outright without rolling. If this leads to them suffering injury or embarrassment, you mark XP. If either of you fail to uphold your promise to the other, that bargainer loses all hold and cannot gain more for some time: the GM will tell you how long.

Once you’ve taken Trickster’s Bargain, the following moves count as class moves for you. You may also choose from this list whenever you level up:

Haggler of Heart’s Price: Your Trickster’s Bargain move improves as follows:

– You always gain a minimum of 3 hold, even if you share fewer than two Bonds.

– The recipient of the hold gains the additional option of spending a hold for +1 forward.

– You gain the additional option to spend one hold to force the person to make a basic or class move in a manner of your choosing. You mark XP according to the same criteria as forcing a fail.

Friend of the Court: You take +1 ongoing against fae creatures, so long as you and your allies raise no violence against them.

Glamourweaver: Once per day, you may enchant a mundane object, handful of trash, etc. to appear to all senses as gold or other valuables worth 50 coins. The illusion melts away at sunrise.

Salve of Second Sight

Salve of Second Sight

Salve of Second Sight

5 uses, 0 weight

When you smear this iridescent oil upon your eyelids, for as long as it remains affixed (typically a few hours or until you go to sleep), you can see into the world of spirits, where specters and pixies hide. You gain the effects of detect magic, and when you Discern Realities, you have the additional option: 

• What has crossed between worlds here, and how?

A Compendium Class for lovers of mystic black cats, shoulder-dragons, and wily companion ferrets.

A Compendium Class for lovers of mystic black cats, shoulder-dragons, and wily companion ferrets.

A Compendium Class for lovers of mystic black cats, shoulder-dragons, and wily companion ferrets.

Originally shared by Sabe Jones

Created for a player in my Dungeon World game tonight:

Compendium Class: Greymalkin

When you befriend and name a small animal during your adventures, you may take this move when you level up:

Bonded Familiar: You may write Bonds with your animal friend. Create one immediately upon taking this move. While you maintain at least one Bond with an animal, you can converse with it: you speak plainly and it understands you, and its meows or chirps or grumbles are mystically translated into language in your mind. If the animal undertakes a task for you that triggers a move requiring an attribute roll, it rolls +the number of Bonds you have with it in place of the modifier normally used.

Once you’ve taken Bonded Familiar, the following moves count as class moves for you. You may also choose from this list whenever you level up:

Witching Whelp: If your familiar rests with you while you Commune or Prepare Spells, it may memorize one spell of its own from your list, of a level up to your level – 2.

The Critter Who Walks Through Walls: Your familiar is transformed into a creature of spirit and shadow. It can become insubstantial for a few minutes at a time, and if killed, it melts away into ethereal energy only to return to health by your side the next time you Make Camp or Recover.

Opinionated Pet: Anyone who can hear the familiar’s vocalizations understands it as speech, not just you.

My DW campaign started shortly after the “Dungeon Starters” collection was released to Kickstarter backers.

My DW campaign started shortly after the “Dungeon Starters” collection was released to Kickstarter backers.

My DW campaign started shortly after the “Dungeon Starters” collection was released to Kickstarter backers. I ended up creating a Starter inspired by Shadow of the Colossus and Beast Hunters. I just created a version with copyright-legit images, so here for your enjoyment and use: “Valley of the Titans!”

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/48134184/Valley_of_the_Titans_v2.pdf

Just read the Dark Heart backer supplement. Thoughts:

Just read the Dark Heart backer supplement. Thoughts:

Just read the Dark Heart backer supplement. Thoughts:

The Planescape love is on full display here, and it feels great! I’d been knocking around the idea of running a Planescape-inspired DW game before I ever heard of this, and now I’m not sure whether I’d use the original Planescape boxed sets or this.

“Populating the City: Rules for the intermingling of species” gives me a curious sort of warm fuzzy. Great way to acknowledge sexuality and introduce it to a DW game that (a) is notably different from the AW/Monsterhearts sex moves, and (b) feels perfect for the setting being described.

I’m not as sold on the mechanical stuff as I am on the setting. The author appears to have abandoned several DW move principles for no discernible benefit. You’ll find moves where the GM rolls (not just table lookups, of which there are many), and moves that explicitly ask you to retroactively fit the fictional situation to the dice roll, both of which feel very DW-backward. I’m curious what the design impetus is behind these things.