One on One Dungeon World
- Thread starter ThirdWizard
- Start date
ThirdWizard
First Post
Yeah, I was debating that for the first session but didn't go with it. I really wish we had done it, so going forward, we'll definately be doing bonds with NPCs!
ThirdWizard
First Post
Nohnee and Malrock were greeted as a hero in the elven village.
The goblins had offered no resistance at their leaving, a long file of hogtied cultists in tow behind them. Perhaps they were no real friend to the cultists or perhaps the sight of their allies being led away to face punishment frightened them into keeping their distance. Whatever the reason, the trip back to the village was a short and uneventful one. And, the cultists themselves put up no struggle. They were cowards, as had been proven in the battle atop the crumbling tower in the ruins of Dalv. They knew they were being marched to their death, but there was nothing in them to fight it. Perhaps they were small minded people with so little in their brains and hearts that they were easily manipulated into the cult. But, whatever the excuse, their crimes were real. They would hang.
In the meantime, the village celebrated. Their holy man was returned, and their people would be blessed once again. Their lives were saved. They gave their saviors all that they could. A bed to sleep in for the night. Bandages to cover their wounds. A meal for a cold belly. And, the group was on its way again to the city, several days’ of uneventful travel.
Once they arrived, the prisoners were handed over to the authorities and Nohnee received payment for a job well done. With that, a celebration was in order! She and Malrock took to the local tavern, drinks for everyone! Such a night had not been seen in recent memory with merriment spilling out into the streets and into nearby taverns, as the group traveled from place to place, collecting more and more people, more and more drinks, and giving the best night of business many of the taverns had seen that year! At one point the captain of the guard was called in when a fight broke out. However, enough beer and mead was offered to him that he decided to join in the festivities. Even Nohnee’s patron made an appearance, and she figured he wasn’t such a stuck up rich guy after all. Things died down a bit as the sun came up, and people started filing away to go to work or sleep.
In the aftermath of the ruckus, as people were going home, Nohnee had a chat with a middle aged man she had met the night before. It turned out that he was a merchant with a caravan headed toward another city. She had impressed him with tales of her exploits, and knowledge of the cultists she had brought back was at this point both extremely well known and a verified event. He offered her a job guarding his cargo on the way. He also noted that there was rumored to be activity of the same cult in that part of the kingdom as well, and it might be worth looking into.
[sblock]So, Nohnee performed the Carouse Move and paid +100 gold pieces. This is a great move to do in order to learn about things, get people to hear about you, and just have a big old party! And, she rolled well, at a modified 11, which is an unqualified success. That meant she could choose from three options. She chose "You befriend a Useful NPC," "You hear rumors of an opportunity," and "You are not entangled, ensorcelled, or tricked."
For the first, a useful NPC, I had the captain of the guard come to break the party up, but instead the two became friends and he joined in the festivities.
For the second, an opportunity, I had her meet the merchant who would hire her. He also dropped a hint about further cultist activity.
For the third, nothing bad happened. It was a good party.
I like the Carouse Move. It was fun for her to list out what she wanted from it and come up with a story about what happened during the revelries based on her decisions. It was also a good improvisation exercise, as I had to figure out how to work within the framework. For example, who was the useful NPC? What opportunity did she find? I had to think on my toes.
And so our session came to a close. At this point, we assigned Experience Points. XP isn’t gained by killing monsters in Dungeon World, at least not like in D&D. In this game, your reward for killing things is that you didn’t die. Instead you get XP for interacting with the world around you, specifically for a list of activities (below) and as a consolation prize whenever you fail a die roll (roll 6-).
Did you resolve any bonds?
Normally you get XP if you resolve a bond with another PC. That is, everyone has open ended connections to each other, and finding a conclusion to those connections results in experience points being awarded and new bonds forming. There were no other PCs, so no bonds, so we skipped that step. Thinking about it, in the next session, I might allow bonds to form between the PC and Malrock even though he’s an NPC. Now that they’ve got an adventure together under their belt together, that’s something to think about. Of course, being an NPC, his life expectancy isn’t that wonderful.
Did you free someone from literal or figurative bonds?
The alignment question for Rangers of Chaotic alignment is about freeing prisoners. This is a yes. They freed the elf from the stone slab where he was literally manacled.
Did we learn something new and important about the world?
I’d say she learned a lot! There was a lot to learn about the cult, first of all. They control the undead. They form alliances with local monstrous humanoids. They use sacrifices in their rituals. She also met an elven village, and made allies with them.
We also talked a bit about what it meant to worship the Gates of Hell. She decided that they are trying to slowly open the gates with their rituals. As the gates open more and more, then they can control more powerful undead. And, there are cultists everywhere doing this. There may also be ways to attempt to shut the gates, which would undo some of the damage they do.
Did we overcome a notable monster or enemy?
Take your pick between the ogre and the cultists/skeletons. The ogre was big and bad, and the skeletons were quick and bad. Both could have taken somebody out quite easily. So, we answered yes to this question.
Did we loot a memorable treasure?
We answered no on this one. There wasn’t any treasure to loot.
So, that’s 3 XP from story awards. Throughout the game, she rolled a total of five 6- failures on rolls. That added up to be 8, just enough to level up to level 2!
With that the first session drew to a close. Next time, a (hopefully) somewhat atypical caravan escort adventure![/sblock]
The goblins had offered no resistance at their leaving, a long file of hogtied cultists in tow behind them. Perhaps they were no real friend to the cultists or perhaps the sight of their allies being led away to face punishment frightened them into keeping their distance. Whatever the reason, the trip back to the village was a short and uneventful one. And, the cultists themselves put up no struggle. They were cowards, as had been proven in the battle atop the crumbling tower in the ruins of Dalv. They knew they were being marched to their death, but there was nothing in them to fight it. Perhaps they were small minded people with so little in their brains and hearts that they were easily manipulated into the cult. But, whatever the excuse, their crimes were real. They would hang.
In the meantime, the village celebrated. Their holy man was returned, and their people would be blessed once again. Their lives were saved. They gave their saviors all that they could. A bed to sleep in for the night. Bandages to cover their wounds. A meal for a cold belly. And, the group was on its way again to the city, several days’ of uneventful travel.
Once they arrived, the prisoners were handed over to the authorities and Nohnee received payment for a job well done. With that, a celebration was in order! She and Malrock took to the local tavern, drinks for everyone! Such a night had not been seen in recent memory with merriment spilling out into the streets and into nearby taverns, as the group traveled from place to place, collecting more and more people, more and more drinks, and giving the best night of business many of the taverns had seen that year! At one point the captain of the guard was called in when a fight broke out. However, enough beer and mead was offered to him that he decided to join in the festivities. Even Nohnee’s patron made an appearance, and she figured he wasn’t such a stuck up rich guy after all. Things died down a bit as the sun came up, and people started filing away to go to work or sleep.
In the aftermath of the ruckus, as people were going home, Nohnee had a chat with a middle aged man she had met the night before. It turned out that he was a merchant with a caravan headed toward another city. She had impressed him with tales of her exploits, and knowledge of the cultists she had brought back was at this point both extremely well known and a verified event. He offered her a job guarding his cargo on the way. He also noted that there was rumored to be activity of the same cult in that part of the kingdom as well, and it might be worth looking into.
[sblock]So, Nohnee performed the Carouse Move and paid +100 gold pieces. This is a great move to do in order to learn about things, get people to hear about you, and just have a big old party! And, she rolled well, at a modified 11, which is an unqualified success. That meant she could choose from three options. She chose "You befriend a Useful NPC," "You hear rumors of an opportunity," and "You are not entangled, ensorcelled, or tricked."
For the first, a useful NPC, I had the captain of the guard come to break the party up, but instead the two became friends and he joined in the festivities.
For the second, an opportunity, I had her meet the merchant who would hire her. He also dropped a hint about further cultist activity.
For the third, nothing bad happened. It was a good party.
I like the Carouse Move. It was fun for her to list out what she wanted from it and come up with a story about what happened during the revelries based on her decisions. It was also a good improvisation exercise, as I had to figure out how to work within the framework. For example, who was the useful NPC? What opportunity did she find? I had to think on my toes.
And so our session came to a close. At this point, we assigned Experience Points. XP isn’t gained by killing monsters in Dungeon World, at least not like in D&D. In this game, your reward for killing things is that you didn’t die. Instead you get XP for interacting with the world around you, specifically for a list of activities (below) and as a consolation prize whenever you fail a die roll (roll 6-).
Did you resolve any bonds?
Normally you get XP if you resolve a bond with another PC. That is, everyone has open ended connections to each other, and finding a conclusion to those connections results in experience points being awarded and new bonds forming. There were no other PCs, so no bonds, so we skipped that step. Thinking about it, in the next session, I might allow bonds to form between the PC and Malrock even though he’s an NPC. Now that they’ve got an adventure together under their belt together, that’s something to think about. Of course, being an NPC, his life expectancy isn’t that wonderful.
Did you free someone from literal or figurative bonds?
The alignment question for Rangers of Chaotic alignment is about freeing prisoners. This is a yes. They freed the elf from the stone slab where he was literally manacled.
Did we learn something new and important about the world?
I’d say she learned a lot! There was a lot to learn about the cult, first of all. They control the undead. They form alliances with local monstrous humanoids. They use sacrifices in their rituals. She also met an elven village, and made allies with them.
We also talked a bit about what it meant to worship the Gates of Hell. She decided that they are trying to slowly open the gates with their rituals. As the gates open more and more, then they can control more powerful undead. And, there are cultists everywhere doing this. There may also be ways to attempt to shut the gates, which would undo some of the damage they do.
Did we overcome a notable monster or enemy?
Take your pick between the ogre and the cultists/skeletons. The ogre was big and bad, and the skeletons were quick and bad. Both could have taken somebody out quite easily. So, we answered yes to this question.
Did we loot a memorable treasure?
We answered no on this one. There wasn’t any treasure to loot.
So, that’s 3 XP from story awards. Throughout the game, she rolled a total of five 6- failures on rolls. That added up to be 8, just enough to level up to level 2!
With that the first session drew to a close. Next time, a (hopefully) somewhat atypical caravan escort adventure![/sblock]
This was a fantastic read!
I'm hoping to get a chance to run some Dungeon World and it's looking like my best shot will be to run a 1 pc game so seeing this thread has been great for pointing out ways that DW can work well in such a situation.
I do hope more session write-ups are coming.
I'm hoping to get a chance to run some Dungeon World and it's looking like my best shot will be to run a 1 pc game so seeing this thread has been great for pointing out ways that DW can work well in such a situation.
I do hope more session write-ups are coming.
ThirdWizard
First Post
Thanks! Wow, it's been almost 5 years since I wrote this. Dungeon World is perhaps still my favorite system to run. Good luck!
Aldarc
Legend
Any other new and exciting adventures sense then? I have begun looking into DW myself.
ThirdWizard
First Post
I've run Dungeon World about a dozen times since, plus a play by post game that ran for about a year or so.
It is always a blast. I ran, I think, 5 games at Dragon Con several years ago and they all went over extremely well. That includes character creation, and I went in with (much) less prep than this game above. Every game was completely different, from "rescuing" dragon eggs from their worshippers to retrieving a holy book that could commune with the gods, to saving a town from a Cthulian monstrocity. I wish I had taken more detailed notes or I would have written up a story hour for some of those as well. There is always lots of player involvement and Dungeon World is just so easy to get into and just play.
It is always a blast. I ran, I think, 5 games at Dragon Con several years ago and they all went over extremely well. That includes character creation, and I went in with (much) less prep than this game above. Every game was completely different, from "rescuing" dragon eggs from their worshippers to retrieving a holy book that could commune with the gods, to saving a town from a Cthulian monstrocity. I wish I had taken more detailed notes or I would have written up a story hour for some of those as well. There is always lots of player involvement and Dungeon World is just so easy to get into and just play.
Similar Threads
AD6_gamerati_skyscraper
Recent & Upcoming Releases
-
April 16 2024 -
May 31 2024 -
June 3 2024 -
June 4 2024 -
June 18 2024 -
July 16 2024 -
September 17 2024 -
October 1 2024 -
November 12 2024 -
February 18 2025
