Tag: Rebecca Her

Just GMed my first ever DW game. It was a hot mess, but you have to start somewhere, right?

Cheers, and Merry Christmas!

Very long, rambly musings about the Bard below.

I’m a bit confused about the Bard discussion in the latest Discern Realities podcast episode. Maybe I’m misunderstanding or reading a different copy of the character sheet? Or maybe I’m just a complete noob (have yet to play DW and am relatively inexperienced in tabletop RPGs)?

They talked a lot about not being fans of how the Bard uses Arcane Art in the middle of battle, as though she could just pick up her instrument, play some sick jams, and then enemies would fall down from how awesome her tunes are, or laser beams would shoot from the strings, or something else ridiculous and tone-jarring [this is not literally what they said, I’m just paraphrasing].

While I was listening, I was trying to think of ways to explain in the narrative how exactly the Bard’s music can hurt enemies, but then I went back and read the actual move.

From what I understand, there’s nothing about the Arcane Art move itself that is causes direct damage. It says specifically to choose an ALLY, and then choose buffs that can help the ally. You can give damage buffs to a player, should they choose to attack, but the music doesn’t actually hurt anyone.

Were they talking about how Bards work in other systems or in tabletop RPGs in general? Or is it common for Bard players to argue that the move DOES do damage? Has anyone played DW where laser beams shooting out of lutes is a normal, accepted thing?

It really seems to me that AA should primarily be used in the way that Jason described: outside of combat. And thus the Bard should actually be doing (at least some) H&S during a fight with a sword or a bow or some other physical weapon, not dancing around with a pan flute. EDIT Further discussion has convinced me that AA is definitely allowed during combat.

…And now I’m reading further and see that at level 2 you can pick the Metal Hurlant move and all of a sudden it’s just like “yeah, you totally melt the enemies’ faces off with a righteous solo”, (probably only as long as you can DD from enemy attacks). Is this what they meant when they were talking about how ridiculous the Bard can seem?

IDK. I feel like that mechanic could still be explained in the narrative. Maybe the instrument is enchanted/possessed? Maybe the Bard is (secretly) descended from, possessed by, or enchanted by a Siren or Banshee-type spirit/creature? Maybe the magic that the Bard knows is a particular ‘brand’ of magic, different from the magic a Wizard or Druid might know, one that hinges specifically on music, in the same way a Druid or Ranger’s magic would hinge on the connection to nature? I’m recalling now the series of Young Adult novels by Tamora Pierce called the Circle of Magic, about a group of teens whose magical abilities manifest in ‘abnormal’ ways (i.e.: through sewing, the weather, metal-working, and plants).

It’s likely my feelings on the Bard will change once I get to play as one or see one in action. These are just my thoughts as a very new DW enthusiast.

If you’ve read this far, thanks! You da real MVP.

Leaving for a camping trip with my family in about 6 hours, straight after work. Was supposed to have everything packed by now. Weather is looking not too great. Rain on and off through the weekend. Thinking about GM-ing my first DW game with first time players (siblings and friends), and playing while we’re stuck inside during the rain.

Pretty much zero prep. No ideas for places, events, encounters, or anything. I’d also have to go home and grab the book and some dice. None of my players have even touched the before, but I’ve been mentioning about wanting to play a tabletop RPG with my siblings for maybe a year. I have never played DW as a player either. However, I’ve been doing a lot of research and listening to the Discern Realities podcast.

Am I crazy? Is this ill-advised?

Alls I got is a half-baked idea and probably two-hours too-little sleep. Whoo!

As a GM, how do you “reign in the crazy”? Alternatively, how can you tell if a player is going to be compatible with the rest of the players and the type of game you want to run?

My little brother has played D&D before with his friends (they’re all high school students), and from his descriptions of their games, it sounds like there was a lot of PvP, infighting, and nonsensical shenanigans (he talked about being a space-time wizard and opening a portal to teleport Donald Trump to their dimension so he could build a wall and defend them from a horde of ogres).

I didn’t think he had ever played a tabletop RPG before, and now I’m worried that his style of play and expectations of the genre aren’t going to jive with me and the rest of my siblings.

I figure playing with him in the group is at least worth a shot, and explaining the rules of the system while creating characters will give both of us a better idea of whether or not it’s going to work, but it’d probably be useful to have techniques to redirect a story if you feel like a player is sending it in a weird direction.

(I’m probably going to get a lot of ‘use GM moves’ and ‘punish the character’ suggestions, but I’m still curious what everyone thinks.)

So I have yet to buy or play Dungeon World, but I already LOVE it. I’ve spent most of my waking hours researching, reading blog posts, watching APs, poring through the guide, and reveling in the epic adventures other groups have had playing this game. No joke, guys: this is pretty much exactly the game I was looking for when I first took an interest in tabletop RPGs like four years ago (and I may have gotten little teary-eyed when I realized this).

I really want to play this game with my siblings, for a bunch of reasons:

A) I’ve wanted to introduce them to tabletop for AGES.

B) This game is very newbie friendly (all of them are 100% greenhorns when it comes to tabletop).

C) We have a great dynamic as a group. Very energetic, creative, and we play off each other really well. Most other board games are a blast.

However, even though I’ve been interested in tabletop for a while, I only have three half-campaigns (edit: as a PC) under my belt. (edit: I’ve never DM-ed before.) My first group was perhaps too large, amorphous, and inexperienced to ever really finish a game.

I’m concerned that I’ll be jumping in over my head if I DM for the first time for a bunch of first-time RPGers.

What are your thoughts? Suggestions? Should I jump in feet first and see if I can swim? Should I maybe try and find someone at my FLGS to show me the ropes? Should I perhaps dip my toes in first and ask someone to play one-on-one (me DM, them PC)?

Thanks all. This is a great group.