Dungeon World Meets Blades in the Dark

[doctorbadwolf]

As mentioned above, Harper has great videos on youtube for Blades and Koebel for Dungeon World.

If you'd like to join the conversation and you have any questions for me, I'll certainly answer them!

I couldn’t stand Koebel even before he showed his proverbial ass, but I’ll check out the Blades videos. I think what I played may have been a simplified version of the game lol

 

[Manbearcat]

I couldn’t stand Koebel even before he showed his proverbial ass, but I’ll check out the Blades videos. I think what I played may have been a simplified version of the game lol

My guess is there are a lot of functional DW videos out there. Harper probably has one would be my guess?

Blades is similar to D&D 4e. Its a rules-heavy game but the rules themselves are actually considerably less in terms of cognitive overhead than they might appear. They become very inferable/easy to deploy (without the requirement to reference/source this rule and that interaction etc). So in practice, it doesn't feel as rules-heavy as it actually appears to be.

But anyway, if you have any questions broadly or any questions about any of my entries into this thread, let me know!

 

[Emerikol]

I may watch some of these videos sometime for fun to see it in action as you say.

So yeah I'm replying to myself as an update. I listened to about 45 minutes of the first episode.

I found the people to be a fun group. The game flowed about how I thought it would flow. It wasn't really a surprise.

I do think what they did at the start though might make a great session 0. The DM and players discussion their characters, their relationships, their one good friend etc.... This would help build that background that you all talk about. Since it's a pregame activity it wouldn't affect our character viewpoint focus once the game began.

When I went to a session on Dungeon World a long while ago (Gen Con was face to face) so it was at least two years but probably longer, one thing I liked about it was the actions. I don't want to limit character action by any means but as a prompt they are handy guidelines.

 

[Fenris-77]

When I went to a session on Dungeon World a long while ago (Gen Con was face to face) so it was at least two years but probably longer, one thing I liked about it was the actions. I don't want to limit character action by any means but as a prompt they are handy guidelines.

I like that declared actions on the part of PCs aren't shoehorned into just one move, so the player has some agency in terms of approach and declaration to attempt action X with their best strengths. I like how that without prompting get players to consider their characters strengths and weaknesses and how would that character approach a given challenge.

 

[Fenris-77]

Apropos of nothing in particular, if anyone wants some clear visuals about what a Blades game looks like, check out Shadow and Bone on Netflix. Both visuals and actually a lot of the feel. Anyway, as you were gentlemen.

 

[Manbearcat]

As it turns out, the player who typically plays F/Ms and wasn't going to play is going to be playing. So I'm putting together the Arcane Duelist/Bladesinger (which will replace the Bard in the group).

---

THE ARCANE DUELIST

Starting Actions: Swashbuckle * 2, Attune * 1


Dangerous Friends/Allies:

Wyn - Retired warrior-monk turned renowned bladesmith
Remy "Mightypen" - Arms dealer, fight promoter, warrior biographer
Shiao Taom - Phantom fortune teller...murdered by a duelist for an unfavorable reading
"Sixnote Severen" - Elven Bladesinger, military deserter, blade for hire
"Steelwind" - Air Genasi duelist who left her floating city in search for an answer to a question
Faila Firstsword - Githyanki Gish, former lover, brigade commander


Starting Abilities:

Arcane Bladework: When you engage a foe in melee and have Great Effect, weave a basic spell into swordplay for one of the following (this effect occurs regardless of the outcome of your action):

• Telekinetic Hand: A nearby enemy takes 1 Harm (Forceful)
• Warding: Gain +1d on Resistance Roll against a physical complication.
• Flowing: If your attack kills your target, a burst of magical speed propels you across the battlefield to engage another nearby enemy.
• Galvanic: Lightning courses through your blade. For the rest of the combat, if a nearby enemy attacks you it arcs to them for 1 Harm.

Throw Down the Gauntlet: When you challenge someone to a duel, you get +1d to your roll. If you succeed, they either accept and you have increased Effect against them or they refuse and you gain +1d to Command their peers or underlings.

The Riddle of Steel: When you cross blades with a humanoid opponent, initiate a 0 Stress Flashback to a moment before and gain +1d to Discern them. When you Push when acting on the answers it only costs 1 Stress and you have improved Position.


Advancement Abilities:

Torrent of Swords: When you use Arcane Bladework, you have the Scale of a small gang in close combat.

Blinding Riposte: Gain +1d on a Resistance Roll against a melee attack. If you get a 6, the enemy takes 1 Harm.

Bladesong: You have 2 Special Armor. You may expend your special armor to resist a movement based consequence or to push yourself to perform a feat of supernatural speed to gain +1 Effect on a melee exchange, close distance, or increase distance with an enemy.

Wraithform: When you use Arcane Bladework add the following as an option:

* Incorporeal: When an enemy targets you with an attack, make a 1d6 Fortune Roll. On a 1-3, the attack hits you. On a 4/5, the attack passes right through you with no effect. On a 6, the attack passes right through you and you can immediately use Riddle of Steel on them, even if you've already used it. Regardless, the spell ends.

From One Thing...Know Everything: Gain +1d when you Setup a teammate in melee combat against a foe you have battled before or studied. Describe your history with this foe or how you prepared for this.

It Isn't What They Say About You...It's What They Whisper: When you first encounter someone new, you may say one terrifying thing they've heard about you. The GM may then say one thing they've heard as well.

Legacy of the Blade: When you Acquire an Asset to for a herald (Expert Rook) or a man-at-arms (Expert Tough), they have +1 Quality.

Astral Dance: When you use Flowing, you teleport to the enemy and you have improved Position on your next Action Roll against them.

Bladespell Burst: If you have Desperate Position when you use Arcane Bladework, you can roll Attune for a second basic spell. If you get a Crit on your Action Roll, you can use a third basic spell.

Leather and Steel : Your armor and duelist weapon count as 1 less weight and are considered Fine.


Unique Equipment:

Rapier or Saber (Close) - 1 Load
Glaive (Reach) - 2 Load
One Thousand Duels...One Thousand Corpses; Fine Scrolls (when used to resist an illuminate or discern martial/war complication, take +1d to resistance rolls) - 1 Load
Duelist's Leather Armor - 1 Load
Longbow (Far) and Ammo - 2 Load - * * (Ammo)
Bandolier of Throwing/Parrying Blades (Hand, Near) - 1 Load - * * * (Ammo)
Fine Duelist's headband, mask, or veil - 0 Load
Book of the Vanquished - 0 Load
(1 Coin) Urn of the Vanquished - 1 Load (cremates and keeps the ashes of a worthy foe)
(1 Coin) Adventuring Gear (crowbar, ropes/pitons/chalk/harness/clips, torches, winter cloak) - 2 Load * * (Uses)
(1 Coin) Camp Supplies - 2 Load * * * (Uses)

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

SCORES

Not outlined in the lead post, but I wanted to touch on my thoughts on this right quick. Obviously (as mentioned prior), Adventure will replace Score. Types as below:


Assault - Attack a hideout or enemy force head on. Detail: The point of attack.

Delve - Spelunk or explore a mysterious site. Detail: The legend (physical map to locale and its story).

Escort - A caravan of merchants from major trade hubs or a vulnerable family out of danger. Detail: The route & means.

Range - Set out into the wild to map its uncharted depths. Detail: Cartographer's call.

Ritual - Adjure or bind a demon, engage a celestial power, connect or disconnect worlds. Detail: The supernatural method.

Slay - A legendary monster. Detail: The lair.

Social - Negotiate, bargain, persuade, or threaten. Detail: The social connection.

Solve - Find a safe passage from here to there, track down a lost site, resolve a mystery. Detail: What needs finding.

Stealth - Trespass unseen. Detail: The point of infiltration.

The first four seemed more 'fundamental' than the rest, which seem more like means rather than ends. Although 'social' is pretty nebulous...

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

I'm not married to any of Folklore, Legend, or Doom.

In the iteration being imagined above, the loop would be like this (for this instance, let's sub Legend for Folklore - so Rep - and sub Doom for Legend - so Heat).

1) The Company has undergone the play loop enough such that they are now at 7 Legend and 5 Doom.

2) They're "stuck." They can't gain more Legend because of the Legend - Doom "traffic jam."

3) The only way they can increase Legend, and therefore Tier up, is to remove the Doom.

4) However, the're only Tier 2. The odds that they could handle either a Magnitude 5 Event or a Tier 5 Faction/Front (Legend on the guage/meter = the Magnitude/Tier of the threat) is extraordinarily remote.

5) Therefore, they're going to elect to go on a Doom Adventure against a Magnitude/Tier 3 Threat and then a 2nd one after that (in the next play loop) against a Magnitude/Tier 2 Threat.

6) Doom Adventures would be against their selected opposition that they selected at the beginning of play (see the first page).

7) Payoff in Doom Adventures would sub Coin for subtracting Doom (everything else would stay the same in Payoff).


Make sense?

What if it was just consequences vs progess? I mean, you have XP, which eventually levels you up to a higher tier, but you also have 'Deeds' which add to your 'Legend' which is what makes people fear you/respect you. So, "these guys defeated the dragon, they're bad-ass!" is a good thing, keeps people off your back (yeah, doing it might have made you enemies, they're scared of you too!). OTOH simply being higher tier, that just gets you bigger foes (you end up dealing with the more ugly problems facing your town/faction/allies/whatever). So, you need to balance the two out. Legend perhaps can be enhanced based on PR moves and such to an extent, giving you a way to do some management, but the real meat of it is accomplishing Quests. The fallout side is Dooms come knocking when you are strong but not feared/respected (low legend for your tier).

I think you get more bang for less moving parts, and it can all still hook into the various other FitD 'slots' in the design (unless I'm missing a piece somewhere, quite possible).

EDIT: I see you did make some minor changes, and the terminology has changed a bit.

 

[Manbearcat]

The first four seemed more 'fundamental' than the rest, which seem more like means rather than ends. Although 'social' is pretty nebulous...

Here is basically how its organized in terms of "pulled directly from Blades" vs "a new Score/Adventure archetype":

FROM BLADES

Assault - Attack a hideout or enemy force head on. Detail: The point of attack.

Ritual (OCCULT IN BLADES) - Adjure or bind a demon, engage a celestial power, connect or disconnect worlds. Detail: The supernatural method.

Social - Negotiate, bargain, persuade, or threaten. Detail: The social connection.

Stealth - Trespass unseen. Detail: The point of infiltration.

Escort (TRANSPORT IN BLADES - BASICALLY "SMUGGLE" SO THIS HAS BEEN THEMATICALLY REMAPPED) - A caravan of merchants from major trade hubs or a vulnerable family out of danger. Detail: The route & means.

---

NEW

Delve - Spelunk or explore a mysterious site. Detail: The legend (physical map to locale and its story).

Range - Set out into the wild to map its uncharted depths. Detail: Cartographer's call.

Solve - Find a safe passage from here to there, track down a lost site, resolve a mystery. Detail: What needs finding.

Slay - A legendary monster. Detail: The lair.

---

Some examples of Social Scores in Blades would be:

* Actual games of chance/skill.

* Parleys.

* Negotiation of cease-fires or relationships.

* Bartering with a fence on goods that are particularly difficult to move.

* A Split-Score where the Social part is a setup for the 2nd Score (eg a big gala where your "shmoozing team" is distracting from your "stealth team" who is trying to steal a precious piece of art).


When it comes to Blades (and this hack), the Scores (Adventure in this game) are basically all means to get what you want and then "the detail" is how you're attacking the opening obstacle for the scene (so the Engagement Roll will frame you right into the action based on how this intersects with the action resolution result). So, for instance, if its a direct assault on a Tavern where a rival gang has taken over a Crew ally's establishment and the Engagement Roll only yields a 1-3 result (rather than a 4/5 or a 6), then the opening Position is going to be Desperate (in over your head...fighting for your life...hugely threatening) vs Risky or Controlled.

This game will work exactly the same. Overwhelmingly, this game will hew to Blades resolution mechanics. The primary difference will be Dungeon World thematics/PC build setup/Journeys and certain Torchbearer touchstones/structure while you're "in the wild."

I saw you have another post but I don't have time to respond to it unfortunately. I haven't edited the lead posts, but I've made some iterations already (my apologies for that). For instance, I've changed the Rep/Heat/Wanted Level analogue for this game entirely (I think this may be what your other quoted post was about?). That post is within the last few pages so you should be able to find it easily enough.

 

[hawkeyefan]

@Manbearcat So how did the play test go?