I've recently got my hands on the rulebook for Dungeon World, and I have to say, I'm quite impressed. It seems like a very well thought-out game whose purpose is to foster fast-paced, cinematic play focused on action, rather than numbers and simulation. There are certainly games I'd like to play that Dungeon World doesn't work for, but it doesn't really pretend to cover styles other than its core goals. The thing I don't like about DW is that it holds on a bit too hard to old-school D&D trappings. But it's easy enough to overlook.
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Dungeon World?
- Thread starter Morty
- Start date
Ratskinner
Adventurer
I got to run DW for several sessions for my OSR group a while back. Its pretty good, but I do agree that it suffers a bit when it tries to drag in Old School mechanics here and there. OTH, I'm not sure how I'd fix some of those issues, either.
Manbearcat
Legend
I don't know. The main points of pressure that I suspect you're referring to are:
1) Rations.
2) Ammo.
3) Hit Points.
4) Debilities.
Functional play in Dungeon World should abstract each of these elements out to fairly broad descriptor units of "narrative sludge" to keep the action cinematic and the pacing high octane while retaining the element of strategic play inherent to old school play. The ability to Recover, Supply, and Make Camp/Take Watch are always going to be fiction first components of play and are going to be subject to the basic resolution procedure. Turtling, pixel-bitching/game-bogging exploration, and the 15 minute work day are never a threat to the kind of high-fantasy, action-adventure excitement that DW aspires to because of those things. Well, those things and the facts that:
(a) the unified resolution mechanics are so clean and intuitive (low table handling time and minimal mental overhead required to facilitate play),
(b) failure is one of the primary means to progress (story and characters),
and
(c) the GMing principles push play toward filling the PCs' lives with adventure and the kinds of conflict that they care about (which is transparently conveyed in the PC build dynamics).
I've GMed the system quite a bit in the last 18 months and I can't say I've witnessed that problem (but I have seen others express it...I'm not sure if its first-hand experience or theorycraft).
Manbearcat
Legend
Ah, I gotcha. Well, I think if you look through the alignments on page (I want to say 30 or 31?), you'll find very robust ethos statements. You don't have to start with the alignments provided as defaults for each class. You can certainly use those. I'm a huge fan of the alignment system in DW as it, and Bonds, actually drives play both mechanically and from a thematic conflict perspective. The simple, overt, and transparent cues provide the GM with precise information on what sorts of conflicts to frame the PCs into (in the same way 4e's Quest system and Themes/PPs/EDs do). Simultaneously, like any good feedback should do, their clarity, focus, and mild constraints incentivize players to play to archetype.
You should feel free to open up the game as you see fit. Latorra expressly speaks to it later in the book. What's more, the system's resolution mechanics are so elegant that the system is robust to changes or homemade material. Creating a Dwarven or Tiefling Druid is as simple as coming up with a singular, theme-driven racial mechanic that marries the race and the class together with the resolution mechanics. For instance:
Druid
Dwarf
Stoneblood is a mundane term of endearment amongst your people. For you, its an actual blessing from the primal spirits. In addition to any other attunements, the Towering Mountains is always considered your land.
Tiefling
Hellfire is your spirit's home and your heart is a furnace because of it. When you take damage while shapeshifted you may choose to revert to your natural form to deal 1d4 environmental damage to your enemy from fire.
Finally, with the multiclassing inherent to several classes, you can make all kinds of combos off the basic chassis available. However, if that isn't enough, there are lots of great compendium classes out there (from Warlock to Fighter/Mage Duelist etc). If you're planning on running something for your players and they're looking for PC build material that isn't drawn up explicitly in the book, just post it here or PM me. I can easily whip something up for you guys that is fun, balanced, and plays to archetype/theme.
Ratskinner
Adventurer
I experienced a little of it first hand. Its certainly not terrible, for the very reasons you mention. However, HP aren't exactly a "fiction first" mechanic and I saw a bit of friction there with some player moves that allowed them to specify fiction that seemed to circumvent the mechanics.
Which reminded me. I think the game could use a little more structure or advice from the DM side of it. The moves for players are fairly clear, but as the constant stream of "new DM questions" threads on the DW google+ community indicate, its unclear what's permitted, expected, or allowed for the new GM. However, that's not an unusual thing for an "indie" game.
ThirdWizard
First Post
I ran a bunch of games of Dungeon World at Dragon Con this year, and every game went over very well. People were really drawn into the collaborative world building and more cinematic combat decisions and actions that went on at the table. Every game was very exciting, and had at least one real edge of your seat encounter. It was also a very easy game for everyone to pick up, and there wasn't ever any real confusion about rules or what was going on.
I ran every game completely improvisational, with no pre-created scenario or really any kind of notions on what the games would turn out to be.
One game involved the group going to find a magical stone held by a group of cultists, which turned out to be a dragon egg that the cult was trying to hatch through a sacrificial ritual. And the dragon was not pleased with their interference.
Another game involved exploration into a long forgotten dwarven crypt where we learned that when dwarves die, their bodies meld into the stone and become earth elementals.
Another game saw the reclamation of an ancient artifact created by a long-killed god which had power over the other gods, and it completed the story of a paladin's order as they completed a job that one of her long lost brethren had started a century earlier.
And, these were all created on the fly by asking players questions and filling in the blanks with my own ideas, modified by their rolls in things like Discern Realities and Spout Lore.
Overall, it is probably one of the best games out there for one shots. And if you don't have any prep time, I'd say it is absolutely the best.
I ran every game completely improvisational, with no pre-created scenario or really any kind of notions on what the games would turn out to be.
One game involved the group going to find a magical stone held by a group of cultists, which turned out to be a dragon egg that the cult was trying to hatch through a sacrificial ritual. And the dragon was not pleased with their interference.
Another game involved exploration into a long forgotten dwarven crypt where we learned that when dwarves die, their bodies meld into the stone and become earth elementals.
Another game saw the reclamation of an ancient artifact created by a long-killed god which had power over the other gods, and it completed the story of a paladin's order as they completed a job that one of her long lost brethren had started a century earlier.
And, these were all created on the fly by asking players questions and filling in the blanks with my own ideas, modified by their rolls in things like Discern Realities and Spout Lore.
Overall, it is probably one of the best games out there for one shots. And if you don't have any prep time, I'd say it is absolutely the best.
Quite, alignment in DW isn't as inane and pointlessly restrictive as in D&D. Some homebrew classes replace it with 'drive', because that's what it is. It defines what aspect of the character's chosen profession is the most important one to them.
It is quite easy to come up with non-standard combinations, which is why I tread the old-school trappings as a minor inconvenience rather than a problem. I'm thinking about replacing the fighter's armoured and bar-bending moves with something else, myself, to create a variant of sorts.
I'm certainly not a fan of hit points in general, so it wouldn't surprise me. Still, at least they don't hideously bloat like in D&D.
There's a very handy guide to running Dungeon World that explains it all. I think I might have some trouble if I hadn't read it.
Ratskinner
Adventurer
That guide is very good, it helped me quite a bit. I still never really felt like I managed to make DW sing like a lot of folks seem to, but I liked it overall. I think that if I had a group willing to play it longer term that I could adjust a few classes/moves here and there and run with it.
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