The Dungeon World Tavern: Fronts – Page 13 – Dungeon World Tavern G+ Archives

I just wrapped up a Front now that my first game of Dungeon World has been played.

Last we left our protagonists, they were fleeing into the Spirit Wood on druid-elkback to escape the Kobold/Lizard-folk legion that had taken Fort Ironwood on the Orc/Halfling border.

Front

The Scouring of the Spirit Wood

Cast

>Tanner, Thistle, Rose, Bardor, et al. – Halfling militia who fled the Fort, seeking refuge in the Spirit Wood, abandoning the PCs

>Felix, and five others – Halfling militia who stayed behind and were evacuated into the Wood by the PCs

>Grudge Cinderskin, Kobold holy warrior

>Stitchwing, Kobold blood wizard

>Siskis the Hooded, Lizard-folk lieutenant

>Lord High Lord of the Animals

>Various spirits & animals

Stakes

>What is the one Great Forest animal that forbids the Druid from sharing in its power?

>Who will control the Spirit Tree when all is said and done?

>Will the Lord High Lord of the animals be punished for its treasonous acts? How?

>What will happen to the Halfling clan-counsel?

Danger

The Kobold Legion (Barbarians)

Impulse: To grow strong, drive their enemies before them

Grim Portents…

>Kobolds & Lizard-folk discover Halflings hiding in the Spirit Wood and take them prisoner at their camp

>Siskis the Hooded interrogates his Halfling prisoners to learn the details of the Grove of the Spirit Tree

>Siskis and his clutch-brothers enter the Grove at night to raze the Tree and steal away with its seeds

Impending Doom

Pestilence

Danger

Lord High Lord of the Animals (Thieves Guild)

Impulse: To take by subterfuge

Grim Portents…

>The Lord’s animal servants lead the Kobolds to the secret Halfling trails that criss-cross the Wood.

>The Lord convinces the Halfling clan-council to seek refuge outside the capitol while the Kobolds are attacking

>Outside the capitol, the clan-council is ambushed; meanwhile, the Lord High Lord enters the Grove of the Spirit Tree to claim the woods as his own.

Impending Doom

Usurpation

Custom Moves

When you stand beneath the branches of the Spirit Tree, you may commune directly with the spirits. A successful Parley check with leverage or gifts allows one to Contact Spirits like the Level 1 Wizard’s spell but only for animals and plants of the Halflings’ home.

When you look into water gathered around the roots of the Spirit Tree, you may parley with leverage or gifts to be granted Visions Through Time like the Level 3 Wizard’s spell.

I should probably save this for my blog, but I want to dump the idea out before I forget it.

I should probably save this for my blog, but I want to dump the idea out before I forget it. Maybe this will be my first draft.

I had an idea for a Dungeon Front for those having trouble with Adventure Fronts. It’s one level lower than an Adventure Front and breaks down a danger into the front format for play.

Just recently I was describing a small dungeon I created as a first session for a Hangouts group. The dungeon was a Goblin Lair. There was a false lair with a hidden door to a chasm with the bridge on the wrong side. Then was the real lair with a bunch of goblins.

Describing it as a front I’d come up with my Dangers. For example: The Chasm. The players have to cross it against a small force of hostiles defending it. There’s a bottom but it’s “protected” by the Otyugh sleeping in the goblin’s trash heap.

Another Danger would be the Goblins, who want to protect their king and their lair.

Stakes would be: How will the party cross the chasm? What happens if the Goblin King surrenders? What item of value brought the party to the lair?

Grim Portents would be how the dungeon reacts to being threatened.

Chasm Guards alerted

Word sent to Goblin King of intruders

I thought of this because I have trouble coming up with adventure fronts. My ideas are always very local and very immediate. However, when I design dungeon’s I’m always thinking: Why is that here? How do they defend themselves. What happens when they are attacked, etc. I thought I would leverage that into a Dungeon Front.

I just put up a campaign starter for #DungeonWorld :…

I just put up a campaign starter for #DungeonWorld : http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/109992/Twin-Spirit-Isle—A-Dungeon-World-Campaign-Starter It’s about cults trying to awaken sleeping spirits and destroy an island.

As always, you can]download it for free too: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzBGv7T2YMphT1ZpcVVxNVVMV2s/edit . It’s got some campaign ideas and two new compendium classes that, uh, bend the elements to their will that are totally not like anything you might have seen in a cartoon series.

You could use it for any fantasy RPG really, it has some custom moves and compendium classes and a Front but the setting stuff would fit in just fine with any kind of D&D or other fantasy game.

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/109992/Twin-Spirit-Isle—A-Dungeon-World-Campaign-Starter

My second #dungeonworld adventure front is up on RPGNow.

My second #dungeonworld adventure front is up on RPGNow. This one is an homage to the classic TSR module I3 – Pharaoh. I’m asking $.50 once again and 100% proceeds go towards convincing me to keep producing more. http://www.rpgnow.com/product/109416/DW-I3-The-Pharaoh%27s-Curse

If you would prefer to pay nothing, it can also be downloaded from a link on RPGG.

Next up is UK1 – Beyond the Crystal Cave which should come out in February.

http://www.rpgnow.com/product/109416/DW-I3-The-Pharaoh%27s-Curse

My first Dungeon World adventure front based on a classic AD&D adventure is now available on RPGNow.

My first Dungeon World adventure front based on a classic AD&D adventure is now available on RPGNow. DW-U1: The Haunting of Highcliffe is based on the Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh. I’ve put a price of $.50 on the RPGNow version (to keep One Bookshelf happy plus give people a chance to help support the development of more of these), but if you’d like a free version, there’s a link on the product page on RPG Geek.

http://www.rpgnow.com/product/109379/DW-U1-The-Haunting-of-Highcliffe

So, here’s a front I’m messing around with. Parts are lifted shamelessly from the sample in the book, but I had to…

So, here’s a front I’m messing around with. Parts are lifted shamelessly from the sample in the book, but I had to start somewhere. It follows after “The Slave Pit of Drazhu”.

The Extinction Exchange

Before his death, Drazhu captured the last five unicorns in existence and brought them to the Killing Field, a high mountain park that has been warped by its proximity to the Shadowland. There, he planned to make a sacrifice of these immortal creatures to the demon Grufaz, in exchange for immortality. Upon Drazhu’s death, his enemies are descending on his work, attempting to stand on his shoulders in their own quests for power and immortality.

Marcus “Redcloack” Bann (Power-mad Wizard)

An agent of the Redcloack contacts the PCs

Bann sends an expedition to the Killing Field

Bann begins experimenting on the Unicorns

Bann makes his own bargain with Grufaz

Impending Doom: Usurpation

Torfaz (Lord of the Undead)

An agent of Torfaz begins stalking the PCs

Torfaz assaults a cabal in order to discover how to kill the Unicorns

Torfaz descends upon the Killing Field with his dread honor guard

Torfaz achieves lichdom and spawns his army

Impending Doom: Tyrrany

The Killing Field (Dark Portal)

The Killing Field is discovered, and makes its touch known

The first unicorn dies

The bargain is complete–Grufaz is unleashed

Impending Doom: Utter Chaos

So, I just made an adventure front as a byproduct of answering a question about story deadlocks on rpg.stackexchange.

So, I just made an adventure front as a byproduct of answering a question about story deadlocks on rpg.stackexchange.com

If you are interested, have a look!

http://partialsuccess.wordpress.com/2012/12/22/prepare-for-the-onslaught/

The updated version of my Dungeon World adaptation of the classic AD&D module “The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh” has…

The updated version of my Dungeon World adaptation of the classic AD&D module “The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh” has now been uploaded.

You can get it free at the link below or on RPGNow soon (the file hasn’t gone live yet). It’s called ‘The Haunting of Highcliffe’. #dungeonworld

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

A question for DW GMs:

How do you, in your group, handle advancing fronts?

I’m working on an old idea for a campaign – I know that something I want to address (one of the great world mysteries for my players) revolves around artifacts that are at the core of kingdoms in the world. I also want to emphasize that, while the players are heroic, they can’t be everywhere at once; when they have the option of pursuing several possible actions, the ones they don’t pick will get worse, which in turn will affect my campaign front – the one that I plan on being a slow reveal.

So. What are your rules of thumb? How do you reveal front advancement to your players? What do you do to both incorporate what your players do and make the world seem alive?