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Judgement calls vs "railroading"
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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 7091335" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>A sequel to the post above: I've been reading the Dungeon World rulebook (I've played a bit of it, but never read the book closely). I really liked this bit (pp 49-54):</p><p></p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Making Dungeon World characters is quick and easy. You should all create your first characters together at the beginning of your first session. Character creation is, just like play, a kind of conversation—everyone should be there for it. . . .</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">[12 steps of PC creation]</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><u>13. Get Ready to Play</u></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Take a little break: grab a drink, stretch your legs and let the GM brainstorm for a little bit about what they’ve learned about your characters. Once you’re all ready, grab your dice and your sheet and get ready to take on the dungeon.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Once you’re ready the GM will get things started as described in the First Session chapter.</p><p></p><p>I love the idea that the GM "writes the scenario" while the players stretch their legs and get a drink! (That's how I started my BW campaign.)</p><p></p><p>The First Session chapter has a little bit more advice (pp 177, 180, 183):</p><p></p><p style="margin-left: 20px">The first session of a game of Dungeon World begins with character creation. Character creation is also world creation, the details on the character sheets and the questions that you ask establish what Dungeon World is like—who lives in it and what’s going on. . . .</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">For the players, the first session is just like every other. They just have to play their characters like real people and explore Dungeon World. You [the GM] have to do a little more in the first session. You establish the world and the threats the players will face. . . .</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Think about fantastic worlds, strange magic, and foul beasts. Remember the games you played and the stories you told. Watch some movies, read some comics; get heroic fantasy into your brain.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">What you bring to the first session, ideas-wise, is up to you. At the very least bring your head full of ideas. That’s the bare minimum.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">If you like you can plan a little more. Maybe think of an evil plot and who’s behind it, or some monsters you’d like to use.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">If you’ve got some spare time on your hands you can even draw some maps (but remember, from your principles: leave blanks) and imagine specific locations.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">The one thing you absolutely can’t bring to the table is a planned storyline or plot. You don’t know the heroes or the world before you sit down to play so planning anything concrete is just going to frustrate you. It also conflicts with your agenda: play to find out what happens. . . .</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">The first adventure is really about discovering the direction that future sessions will take. Throughout the first adventure keep your eye out for unresolved threats; note dangerous things that are mentioned but not dealt with. These will be fuel for sessions to come.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Start the session with a group of player characters (maybe all of them) in a tense situation. Use anything that demands action: outside the entrance to a dungeon, ambushed in a fetid swamp, peeking through the crack in a door at the orc guards, or being sentenced before King Levus. Ask questions right away—“who is leading the ambush against you?” </p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">or “what did you do to make King Levus so mad?” If the situation stems directly from the characters and your questions, all the better.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Here’s where the game starts. The players will start saying and doing things, which means they’ll start making moves. . . .</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Once you’ve had some time to relax and think over the first session it’s time to prepare for the next session. Preparing for the second session takes a few minutes, maybe an hour if this is your first time. You’ll create fronts, maybe make some monsters or custom moves, and generally get an idea of what is going on in the world.</p><p></p><p>This is very different from the advice in Moldvay Basic, Gygax's DMG, or any later D&D book I'm familiar with. It's not wildly different from the advice in the BW Adventue Burner. Those differences and resemblances are neither arbitrary nor coincidental.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 7091335, member: 42582"] A sequel to the post above: I've been reading the Dungeon World rulebook (I've played a bit of it, but never read the book closely). I really liked this bit (pp 49-54): [indent]Making Dungeon World characters is quick and easy. You should all create your first characters together at the beginning of your first session. Character creation is, just like play, a kind of conversation—everyone should be there for it. . . . [12 steps of PC creation] [U]13. Get Ready to Play[/U] Take a little break: grab a drink, stretch your legs and let the GM brainstorm for a little bit about what they’ve learned about your characters. Once you’re all ready, grab your dice and your sheet and get ready to take on the dungeon. Once you’re ready the GM will get things started as described in the First Session chapter.[/indent] I love the idea that the GM "writes the scenario" while the players stretch their legs and get a drink! (That's how I started my BW campaign.) The First Session chapter has a little bit more advice (pp 177, 180, 183): [indent]The first session of a game of Dungeon World begins with character creation. Character creation is also world creation, the details on the character sheets and the questions that you ask establish what Dungeon World is like—who lives in it and what’s going on. . . . For the players, the first session is just like every other. They just have to play their characters like real people and explore Dungeon World. You [the GM] have to do a little more in the first session. You establish the world and the threats the players will face. . . . Think about fantastic worlds, strange magic, and foul beasts. Remember the games you played and the stories you told. Watch some movies, read some comics; get heroic fantasy into your brain. What you bring to the first session, ideas-wise, is up to you. At the very least bring your head full of ideas. That’s the bare minimum. If you like you can plan a little more. Maybe think of an evil plot and who’s behind it, or some monsters you’d like to use. If you’ve got some spare time on your hands you can even draw some maps (but remember, from your principles: leave blanks) and imagine specific locations. The one thing you absolutely can’t bring to the table is a planned storyline or plot. You don’t know the heroes or the world before you sit down to play so planning anything concrete is just going to frustrate you. It also conflicts with your agenda: play to find out what happens. . . . The first adventure is really about discovering the direction that future sessions will take. Throughout the first adventure keep your eye out for unresolved threats; note dangerous things that are mentioned but not dealt with. These will be fuel for sessions to come. Start the session with a group of player characters (maybe all of them) in a tense situation. Use anything that demands action: outside the entrance to a dungeon, ambushed in a fetid swamp, peeking through the crack in a door at the orc guards, or being sentenced before King Levus. Ask questions right away—“who is leading the ambush against you?” or “what did you do to make King Levus so mad?” If the situation stems directly from the characters and your questions, all the better. Here’s where the game starts. The players will start saying and doing things, which means they’ll start making moves. . . . Once you’ve had some time to relax and think over the first session it’s time to prepare for the next session. Preparing for the second session takes a few minutes, maybe an hour if this is your first time. You’ll create fronts, maybe make some monsters or custom moves, and generally get an idea of what is going on in the world.[/indent] This is very different from the advice in Moldvay Basic, Gygax's DMG, or any later D&D book I'm familiar with. It's not wildly different from the advice in the BW Adventue Burner. Those differences and resemblances are neither arbitrary nor coincidental. [/QUOTE]
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