Tag: Jeremy Strandberg

Reaction Check

When you approach a wary or hostile NPC and try to communicate, roll +CHA: on a 10+, they’ll hear you out and choose 2; on a 7-9, they’ll hear you out and choose 1.

• They are impressed, intrigued, or amused by you, as the GM sees fit (otherwise, they remain wary or hostile)

• You’ve got their complete attention, for now at least (otherwise, they remain alert)

• You glean a valuable insight; ask a question from the Discern Realities list at take +1 forward to act on the answer

Finally had cause to use this Scout Ahead move in play last night, and it worked wonderfully… though we only saw two 10+ results in play.

I was particularly happy with the way it framed the conversation around the scouting action. The PC who triggered it (both times) has often taken up huge amounts of spotlight time sneaking forward and escalating the situation.

By establishing the hit result as “you return safely” and giving the player an option of “you get away clean,” it totally avoided all the players usual curiosity-killed-the-cat instincts that cause him to keep taking risks until the dice betray him and things go south.

Five stars. Will use again.

Has anyone else used this in play? If so, how’s it worked out for you?

Originally shared by Jeremy Strandberg

You know what sucks, in pretty much every game system? When the sneaky/stealthy/social character sneaks off ahead of the party into some dangerous situation, and you follow that character’s actions and play that out while everyone else sits and twiddles their thumbs.

It can be particularly bad in Dungeon World because of the 7-9 results’ tendency to escalate situations, and because of how you GM: describe the situation, make moves, ask “what do you do?”

One of the best experiences I can recall having with this was playing D&D, where the party’s rogue was an NPC with very little personal initiative. He’d scout ahead if we asked him to, and he’d disappear for a bit and then the GM would tell us whether he returned and what he found.

That got me thinking… is there a way to frame “scouting ahead” in such a way that the scouting happens off-camera, and the details come out as what happened? (Rather than playing them out as they happen.) And that led me to this:

SCOUT AHEAD

When you go off on your own to explore a dangerous area, tell us how you do it and add…

…+DEX if you rely on stealth and agility

…+CON if you rely on patience and endurance

…+CHA if you rely on blending in with the locals

On a 7+, you make it back safely and the GM will describe what you encountered. Then, on a 10+ pick 3; on a 7-9 pick 1:

* Ask a question from Discern Realities about what you encountered (you can choose this more than once)

* You were able to sneak something out of there; ask the GM what

* You made some preparation or created some advantage to exploit upon your return; work out the details with the GM

* You got away clean: leaving no trace, rousing no suspicion, etc.

On a 6-, mark XP and choose 1:

* You make it back to the others but with trouble hot on your heels! Ask the GM what follows you.

* You’ve been captured, trapped, pinned down, or otherwise stuck out there. We won’t know how or where until the others come looking for you.

* You’re missing in action; the details will be revealed later

(Edited that last bullet based on discussion in comments.)

Killed the Cat, That Did

an advanced move for a knowledge-based class, like a wizard or bard or something

When you Spout Lore and the GM tells you something interesting or useful, you can ask them “And how could I learn more?” Take +1 forward to act on the answer.