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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JeffB" data-source="post: 7904886" data-attributes="member: 518">LONG POST- read at your own PerilWhen DW clicks- I've never had more fun playing a RPG- For old timers, it's a re-programming of the brain. New/Casual players hook on to DW immediately, but it's tough for established folk.You really have to stop thinking in the context of most RPGS- there are no limitations on what you are doing like in D&D or any traditional RPG. It's not a simulation of combat- there's no wargamey aspects.  It is not modern D&D in rules-lite format This is a narrative/story telling roleplaying game inspired by the fictional world elements of OSR/TSR D&D. Rule-wise it's ANTI D&D.There are no actions per round- so don't think in those terms and you are not restricted/limited  by those games that utilize such a thing: That's a big one to unlearn. Because we tend to as DM's come back with deal damageThe Hell Hound moves up to you and bites you for 1d6 points of piercing damage and 1d3 points of fire damage. DW- It bites your arm, clamping down with the massive strength of it's jaws-  you take 5 points of damage (no armor to help) the saliva dripping from it's mouth searing your skin-- The Hound exhales and  your sleeve ignites and fire spreads up your arm.  it's clamped onto you shaking it's head violently and flames are starting to lick at your face- What do you do?Certainly you can, and there are DM's who do, go all in with the fictional elements in D&D combat, but it's inevitable that you will break immersion by seeing if such fiction is possible in terms of the game rules- Did the hellhound take too many actions? Can it move, bite, grab, exhale, and ignite stuff on it's turn? Is the exhale a bonus action?  Does your Fighter get a reaction against that?  Can he make a save? Is my stuff flammable?  I don't play D&D like that, but a helluva lot of people do play D&D just like that. In DW you ignore it, and don't even think in those terms.Hack & Slash is not just one exchange of blowsMovement is not limited in D&D terms.. There are no "move" moves.If you have to think in terms of D&DWhen dealing with rounds- think of the entire move as a entire round in T/OSR D&D- one minute, not 6 seconds like today. Think of all the things that could be done in one minute. The movement/dodging, the number of blows and blocks, the interaction with terrain,  etc.For results of rolls in combat-  think in terms  of  "conditions" instead of  just (or in addition to-depending on the roll) damage...They are grabbed/grappledstunnedweakeneddazedpoisonedpersistent fire/cold/acidparalyzedprone..blah blah blahThe 4E monster manuals are a fantastic resource for DW combat- just get the gist of a monsters powers, and write them down in a few sentences/keywords. Oh boy- Marilith definitely gets the Messy tag. I actually used that Messy Tag as the fiction to hint what was coming up for the players-  Evil NPC group they were racing to the lost city to stop a sacrifice- when the PC's arrived after the NPC group and found them in the overgrown with vegetation white marble streets on the shore of an underground sea....6 swords and lots of bodies/parts messy. Freaked them out. They got messy too <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /> Go back and re-watch the Indiana Jones movies- all of them are fantastic fodder for a DW DM. Especially the fight scenes, Or the extended cut of the Moria fight in FotR.  As said before -if you work against the system by having so much created beforehand  like detailed maps, and plot, the system rebels.  Let them waylay your plans. How many times in D&D do players do the exact thing you wish they wouldn't have and ignore what you thought what they would do? DW eliminates this by encouraging them to do that, and encouraging the DM to roll with it (npi). The more you try to run a typical scenario with typical steps and progression and fights and conclusion, the more DW does not work as intended.My fave scenario was running a loose version of Tom Moldvay's B3 edit-  I went through B3 and just picked out what I felt what were the most classic bits of the module.  I didn't even use the maps- I just wrote down things like "Animated sword fight" " Decapus", "Arik's Acolytes" "Travis the mad" "Gardens" "Rowena the Bard" "Duchess and Candella" , "The Protectors" "Red Glow" and note things in the room, terrain, smells, sounds,  etc. just  a sentence or two to get the fiction started. I had the characters prisoners of Arik's Acolytes because they had been searching for the fabled massive ruby (the Eye of Arik) and got caught. They escaped, then hit some of the "classic" encounters/areas including be-friending the two female thieves.  Due to their actions and me prompting them to answer questions- we ended up in the Gardens for along time- they thought they had escaped, but by the imrpov nature of the game  I ended up going with this Garden as massive Illusion as they tried to escape the Werewolf and other minions of Arik over a few days (The PCs thought they were in the woods heading back to town). It TOTALLY WENT OFF THE RAILS from the actual adventure. And it was incredibly fun. And eventually they figured things out with The Protectors giving guidance , found their way out and took on Catharandamus and found The EYE and figured out how to destroy it.   I didn't just feel like I was orchestrating the game for them, I felt like a player  as well. This is what I love about DW.  Going in with little  prep, a lot of improv and letting the players have some narrative control is so much fun and exactly how the game is supposed to work. Its much tougher, but worth it when all cylinders are firing.I also ran The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh in a similar vein- even though it by nature of playing to find out what happens pretty much went right along with the module as written, that was also the most fun I ever had running that module because some of the encounters and areas that are often glossed over/hurried through playing it in D&D became the centerpieces of the sessions.Personally, I would have a heart to heart with your players and tell them - look, the concept is new to me I've done some research, I haven't been doing things exactly the way I am supposed to- how should I approach the rest of the game? Let them know that anything in the future will likely be much more dangerous and challenging and then see what they say.</blockquote>

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