Category: The Dungeon World Tavern: Base Classes

Building a berserker playbook to replace the barbarian at our table. Have yet to find a satisfactory way to implement the idea of being in a blind rage, where you have to attack anybody around you including allies. I like the idea, conceptually, and it’d make for fun roleplay, but within the confines of DW I just can’t think of a good way to mechanically do it.

Here’s the starting moveset so far (mostly this class will be similar to the Barbarian with appetites stricken and some new moves to tie into the rage).

 RAGE

When you suffer injury, frustration, loss, disappointment, or hurt, hold 1 Rage, up to a maximum of 3, and let your anger build. When you hold 3 Rage and would be made to hold 4, go Berserk.

You may choose not to Berserk if you wish. If you do, ignore this slight and take a Debility (the GM will tell you which) until you have had time to calm down.

Rage will dissipate over time: for every hour spent in rest or meditation, reduce your held Rage by one.

 BERSERK

When you fly into a Berserk rage, roll+CON and lose control. Spend the Rage you have accrued to:

 Add forceful, messy, or stunning to an attack

 Add +1d6 damage to a successful attack

 Terrify an enemy, causing them to flee, panic, beg, or fight—their choice

 Halve the damage or effect of an incoming attack

 Ignore the effects of any debilities for a short time

 Perform a nigh-impossible feat of strength

On a 10+, your frenzy has no drawbacks. On a 7-9, choose one drawback. On a 6-, choose one, and the GM chooses another:

• When your rage ends, take a debility (you decide which)

• You cannot Berserk again until you’ve had significant time to rest or meditate

• You’ll break or hurt something important during your rage—the GM will tell you what

When you take action requiring a cool head, thought, discussion, subtlety, or finesse while Berserking, lose one of your held Rage. Your frenzy cannot be willed to end early: it ends only when you run out of Rage.

Any advice? Is it worth it to even try? Maybe if I more clearly define actions taking subtlety/finesse as to include differentiating friend from foe? The biggest trouble I’m seeing is that this caveat relies very heavily on fictional positioning, and I worry it’d require too much time spent haggling over who’s standing closest to the berserker.