Dungeon World Meets Blades in the Dark

[Fenris-77]

@Manbearcat - a rules set you may want to have a gander at is Vagabonds of Dyfed. It's an OSR-adjacent fantasy rules set that uses a lot of PbtA and FitD bits to make it run. It's somewhat the opposite of your idea in that it's more PbtA with some Blades stuff mixed in, but the fusion might still be useful, as might the approach to the fantasy elements there. which is a little more S&S than DW is and grants the game a very different feel. It's also interesting in that it's classless and runs on abilities chosen from a master list, so there might be some stuff you can punk and adapt for the playbooks you want to design.

 

[Ovinomancer]

I never gave it a name but I very much agree with this approach and have used it throughout my DMing life.

Even the case where a clock comes into play is very similar to what I call my calendar. I don't tend to measure things down to the minute very often but I do have things happening on a schedule in the world barring some action by the group to change it.

You're, um, way off on concepts, here. Clocks have nothing to do with timing, or, rather, timing is a second order effect of clocks -- any timing that occurs is a by-product of their use, not their purpose. Fronts also don't serve the purpose you're describing here.

I'm not entirely sure why you're posting, here, in a thread about how to mix two game systems you have no experience with and in a play approach you expressly discount. What interest do you have in achieving a good marriage between two games you don't know and have said you'd not like?

 

[Fenris-77]

Can we maybe not turn this into a who knows how to play what kind of deal? I don't want to speak for MBC, but I think it would be more fun without the usual rooster fights. Everyone here is happy to answer questions of there's a mechanic or idea in question, I'm sure.

 

[hawkeyefan]

@Manbearcat
I've read through most of this, but can't currently comment. I'll offer some feedback once I have some time to properly devote to it.

 

[darkbard]

When it comes to initial setting creation it seems like you're aiming for generated over extant, which I think is a strong choice. So if the characters have come for reasons, those reasons can be reflected in the setting design. Perhaps each playbook also comes with a bespoke selection of possible factions, and the setting's factions are then generated partially from a general list and partially from the bespoke character lists. That might serve to further cement the character-setting connection, plus it's built in framing support for, well, everything.

Haven't read the beta in full yet, but the playtest of Stonetop (DW iron-age hearth fantasy hack) goes this route.

 

[Fenris-77]

Haven't read the beta in full yet, but the playtest of Stonetop (DW iron-age hearth fantasy hack) goes this route.

It seems like it, yeah. There are also some die drop systems that might prove fruitful as well, depending on how big the settlement is supposed to be. Die drop works better for smaller settlements.

The above said, yet another thought (I have a lot of thoughts) is to establish from the get-go that the settlement in question is some kind of boom town (think Deadwood). With that kind of framing there's room for the settlement itself to grow and change over the course of play, which could be very cool.

 

[Manbearcat]

VICE

As I've thought on this more, I'm going to leave this mostly intact save for a few changes: Obsession for Luxury and Knowledge for Weird and minor change to Faith. So it would look like this:

Faith: You’re dedicated to an unseen power, forgotten god, an ancestor or ancestral creed, etc.

Gambling: You crave games of chance, betting on sporting events, etc.

Knowledge: You experiment with strange essences, bind supernatural entities to uncover what they've seen, collect and read unfathomable tomes, etc.

Obligation: You’re devoted to a family, a cause, an organization, a charity, etc.

Obsession: Hearing a particular bardic song/tale, collecting art, free-climbing dangerous ascents, etc

Pleasure: Gratification from lovers, food, drink, drugs, art, theater, etc.

Stupor: You seek oblivion in the abuse of drugs, drinking to excess, getting beaten to a pulp in the fighting pits, etc.


Yeah. I think these 7 capture the gamut of D&D tropes as far as "commitments that get you into trouble."

 

[Manbearcat]

INCENTIVE STRUCTURES (PAYOFF AND END OF SESSION)

This one is a tricky pickle and will possibly require iteration to get the balance right. General thoughts:

* The Journey mechanics making going out into the wild more punitive in terms of Danger, Coin investment, increased Loadout requirements. Simply put, the incentive structures to "risk the Wild" need to be sufficient to encourage Delve, Escort, Range, Slay (anything in the wild) Adventures.

* How do we incentivize them? 3 ways:

1) Exclusive (or nearly so) xp triggers. I'm thinking of 3 that will overwhelmingly/exclusively interact with "the Wild":

* Did we explore a new place on the map? Self-explanatory. Overwhelmingly, the new places on the map will be outside of a Town (though sometimes that may mean finding a new Town in one session and then having an Adventure with it the next).

* Did we defeat a legendary foe? The legendary foes are overwhelmingly (though not solely) going to be outside of Towns; mythical monsters, otherplanar entities, powerful humanoid warlords.

* Did we loot a notable treasure? Treasure is going to be in dangerous places in the Wild mostly.

2) Higher Payoff on a per Adventure basis.

3) Access to otherwise unavailable magics/magical items.

---

So lets start with (1) above, what are the End of Session xp triggers going to be for the game:

PC ADVANCEMENT

* When you make a Desperate action roll. Mark 1 xp in the attribute for the action you rolled.

* At End of Session, mark 1 xp if it happened at all during the session or 2 xp if it happened multiple times:

- Did you resolve a bond. If so, create a new one.

- Did you fulfill your alignment?

- Did you struggle with issues from your Vice or Toll?

- Did we explore a new place on the map?

- Did we defeat a legendary foe?

- Did we loot a notable treasure?

COMPANY ADVANCEMENT

* At the end of the session, review the crew xp triggers and mark 1 crew xp for each item that occurred during the session. If an item occurred multiple times or in a major way, mark 2 crew xp for it:

- Your Company-specific xp trigger.

- Did we make a notable ally or enemy or discover something new and interesting about an existing one?

- Contend with challenges above your current station?

- Bolster your crew's Folktale (this is Reputation) or create a new one?

- Express the goals, drives, inner conflict, or essential nature of the crew.

---

PAYOFF

1) This will scale exactly as Blades.

2) An Adventure in the Wild will never be below "a standard score" and will scale in proportion with the distance from the Town and the Danger.

3) Crime Boss will be subbed for Taxes and Tithes. The Town or a Church or a Charity will often need their share. Subtract Coin = to Tier +1 or start a Clock with them. Every time it fills up, lose 1 Faction if its a Town/Church or 1 Folktale if its a Charity.

 

[Manbearcat]

COMPANY TYPES

I mentioned this a bit upthread, but I'm presently thinking about these 4:

Avengers - Mete out justice for the downtrodden, take up arms for the meek, root out corruption.

Criminals - You are the corruption.

Explorers - The path less known is the only path worth trodding.

Mercenaries - The coin is the thing.

Servants - The Faith, the Charities of the world need those who give more than they get.

Wardens - Protect the people from the wild and the wild from the people.

 

[Manbearcat]

ON POST-ADVENTURE LEGEND (HEAT) AND QUEST (INCARCERATION)

Alright, what works?

* Proportionate exposure = proportionate Legend increase (orthodox Blades). So the standard model is good here.

* Add +1 Legend for a powerful or well-connected target.

* Add +1 Legend if the situation happened beyond the walls of the Town.

* Add + 1 Legend if you're at war with another Faction.

What doesn't work?

* Body count cannot increase Legend. Monsters/bad guys are going to be slain. We don't want that to be a complicating or disincentivizing factor on play. What do we want? This is what I'm thinking:

* Add + 2 Legend if you took something from a powerful entity: Mysteries, Precious (domain or loot), Status.

---

Incarceration just does not work. How can the Company decrease its Impending Doom Level (if it even wants to)?

* QUEST for a powerful Faction or a high Magnitude Entity (Monster or Planar Power) that it has Negative Faction or an otherwise complication Relationship with.

A Quest will take either a PC or a Cohort or a group/mix of the two out of the game for a number of Adventures in proportion to Impending Doom Level and the Company reduces Impending Doom Level by 1 and clears Legend.

IMPENDING DOOM 1 = 1 Adventure (1 PC or 2 Cohorts)

IMPENDING DOOM 2 = 2 Adventures (1 PC or 3 Cohorts)

IMPENDING DOOM 3 = 3 Adventures (1 PC or 5 Cohorts or 1 PC+2 Cohorts)

IMPENDING DOOM 4 = 4 Adventures (1 PC or 6 Cohorts or 1 PC +3 Cohorts)


QUEST ROLL (Company Tier)

Critical: You make a name for yourself inside. You gain +3 Folktale for your Company, 1 claim and +1 Faction with the faction that you Quested for.

6: You complete the Quest with valor. Your Company gains 1 claim and +1 Faction with the faction that you Quested for.

4/5: You complete the Quest and are happy enough to make it out with life and limb intact.

1-3: The horror of the trail and the enemy are beyond words. Life and limb are intact, but a PC suffers a level of Trauma from the experience if they went. If Cohorts went instead, 2 of them abruptly retire after the experience.