Tag: Peter J

If you were running a one-shot for a group that had never played DW before–or never played any RPG at all–what things would you do differently? I’m especially interested in things that would reduce the front-loaded burden of having to learn rules, and for things that are one-shot specific. I’ve read the “Tight DW one-shots” manual and know those tricks.

A question for anyone who’s seen the Berserker playbook I’ve written: 

The berserker rage ability gives you a certain number of rage powers, which may be gained or lost over the course of a fight. Would this work better as a system of hold? You get a certain amount of hold when you go berserk, and can spend a hold for a use of a rage power.

City of Judas has a very interesting mechanic called the momentum die which replaces the “take +1 forward” of several moves. What do folks think about this?

At the beginning to the session, set aside a D6 and set it to one. This is the momentum die. When you roll for a move, you may exchange one of the dice in your roll with the momentum die. If you do, set the momentum die back to one.

When a move or effect tells you to take +X forward, increase the momentum die by X instead. (For example, the Paladin’s Charge! move tells you to take +1 forward when you lead the charge into combat. Instead, increase the momentum die by one.) The value of the momentum die cannot be reduced below one, nor can it exceed the maximum value of the die.

This also opens up the possibility of advanced moves that hack the momentum die (making the die a D8 instead of D6, starting at higher than one, etc.)

If you’re a PC in Dungeon World—or just about any RPG—you’re not a normal person. Normal people don’t fight dragons. Normal people don’t sleep out in the middle of dangerous wilderness, miles away from the nearest town. Normal people don’t wade through dank, smelly caverns to face a horde of goblins while wearing wet underwear.

Adventuring sucks.

Who in their right mind puts up with all of that? What sane person risks losing a limb or having their guts ripped out by monsters, and makes a career out of it? Who could rationalize all of that so much that it becomes routine?

No one. No one sane.

We’re all mad here. I’m mad, you’re mad.

So, here’s the question I like to ask people as they take pencil to character sheet: What is SO FUCKING IMPORTANT to you that a normal life is simply not an option? Why are you diving headfirst into mortal danger instead of going home where it’s safe and warm? 

Boom. Interesting character backstory and personality in one step. You can ask as many follow-up questions as you like, but this one defining trait—the madness that drives people to become Adventurers—will give you all the foundation you need. Don’t have a home to go back to? What happened to it? Why not make a new home somewhere else?

You’re entirely bonkers. But I’ll tell you a secret. All the best people are. 

If you want to get your players to do something, dangle a carrot in front of them. “Do this, and you get XP.” Even if that something is risky or unpleasant. Dungeon World offers rewards for risky behaviors (XP on a miss), resolving your bonds, and the end of the session questions. Straightforward and unambiguous, be an adventurer and XP is your reward… Plus the loot too.

In my games, I like to emphasize the goals and motivations of the characters. Being an adventurer is dangerous, often absurdly so. Who would give up a life of safety with their loving friends and family to sleep in the mud beside the road and have goblins shoot at them? What is so important that it is worth killing or being killed for? Every character should be able to say, “I want X, because Y, and I’ll accomplish this by Z.” For me, that is what I would make as part of the End of Session move. 

– Did we, as a group, make tangible progress towards our group’s goal?

– Did I, personally, make tangible progress towards my own personal goal?

– Did we learn something new and important about the world?

How have you changed the End of Session questions? What things do you consider worthy of baiting with an XP carrot?

Has anyone ever tried a DW game that is more exploration-based and relatively light on combat? As much as I enjoy PbtA, I think that the exploration part of DW is somewhat lacking. Are there any investigation subsystems from other PbtA games that could be hacked in?