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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ThirdWizard" data-source="post: 6226070" data-attributes="member: 12037">In the first scene, I started the group out crossing a deep stream. The water came up to Nohnee's waist, and Malrock followed behind with his backpack hoisted over his head. The wolf Pup paced on the bank behind them, not wanting to get into the water due to his stubborn nature. As they traversed the water, and Nohnee tried to coax Pup to follow them, it was about to step in when a large splash by Malrock surprised them all! A crocodile, easily fifteen feet across, leaped onto Malrock, landing on him, and pushing him down into the water! Nohnee lept into action with her bow, letting loose a shot at the beast, but it was a glancing blow and the crocodile continued to focus its attention on Malrock, going into a death roll with the poor guide clenched in its jaws. Pulling out her short sword, and giving a call to Pup, Nohnee deftly moved through the water and stabbed at the crocodile's exposed belly, cutting deep and drawing blood. Pup landed on its back as it rose away from Malrock, but was thrown off. The beast turned on Nohnee immediately. With all the blood in the water it was difficult to distinguish whose was whose, and Malrock limped in the water, stumbling away from the battle with a possible injury.The crocodile now moved in to attack once more, trapped between the three adventurers. It's jaws flashed, and while Nohnee tried to hold it off with her sword, its jaws got hold of one of her legs, pulling her underwater with it. Submerged, it was only a matter of time before she was drowned by the reptile. Desperately, she clenched her sword tightly in order not to lose her grip and stabbed at the creature, striking home under the head and driving home through its brain. The creature dead, the jaws released, and she pulled herself up out of the water to take a breath.Malrock suggested that there might be more, and they should move quickly. On shore, they bandaged up their wounds. Malrock's pride was hurt more than his body, and he was able to continue on without trouble. A bit of searching on the opposite bank revealed the cultists' trail that they had been following. With the thick underbrush it was fairly easy to find and follow them. However, as they continued onward, several completely different trails crisscrossed with the cultists'. It appeared to be some kind of game trail - and a humanoid one at that considering the tracks found on its paths. With their injuries and needing some rest, Nohnee decided to check it out, despite the possible dangers. The cultists were moving slowly and only a couple of days ahead of them. They'd need some recuperation if they were to fight. Hopefully whatever people they found would be friendly.[sblock]The combat went fairly smoothly, although we didn't apply all the rules correctly and it was our first actual Dungeon World combat. The way Dungeon World combat works is that the GM states something that is happening and then asks "What do you do?" The player responds, moves might be triggered, and rolls are made. Then the process starts all over again. Each action and reaction is based on how previous and current events are narrated by the participants. So for example, this is a paraphrasing of how some of this combat proceeded when we played. GM: You're wading, waist deep, in the water to cross the stream. Suddenly, a large crocodile, at least fifteen feet long burses out of the water with a splash near Malrock! The poor guide is caught unaware with his sword and backpack held aloft at an awkward angle, and the creature lands on top of him, dragging him into the water beneath it. What do you do? Player: I pull out my bow as quickly as possible and fire an arrow at it! GM: Okay, that's a <a href="http://book.dwgazetteer.com/moves_discussion.html" target="_blank">Volley</a> Move. Read it off on your character sheet and follow the instructions. Player: It says I roll 2d6+Dex... that's +2. Okay its a 9. I have to choose one of these options. I had to make several shots, so I mark off one ammo. GM: Okay, then roll your damage. Player: I rolled... 1. GM: The arrow glances off of the crocodile, barely scratching it (Crocs have armor 2 so it did no damage). The croc ignores you, focusing on trying to kill Malrock. It starts spinning. You see a hand come up, grasping at nothing, then go back down. Pup is now on his way into the water, but he looks worried and unsure of himself. Malrock surely can't last long like this. What do you do? Player: Forget the bow. I'm going in with the short sword and stabbing at it. GM: As it rolls, Malrock in tow, its underbelly is exposed. You move into position and strike down at its exposed flesh. No need to roll for a move here. Just do your damage, and you'll ignore armor. Player: I deal 8 damage! GM: The crocodile squirms as you stab into its soft belly, letting go of your guide. Rising up and seeing you standing over it, the crocodile snaps at you with its jaws. There is blood in the water, but Malrock looks like he's injured but still able to move. He stumbles, fumbling in the water for his weapon, but clutching at his leg. The croc's jaw flies toward you now. What do you do?It wasn't long until we were humming along quickly, describing actions and basing Moves off of the descriptions. It was sometimes hard for her to decide between going defensive and going offensive. The monsters in Dungeon World are always active, they're always trying to do something. So, you can either act offensively and risk taking damage or act defensively and have less chance of being injured. But, you have to be offensive sometimes, or else you'll never defeat your foes. This is a bit more difficult with a single player, so I'm glad we went with the ranger. The wolf companion with the guard command was useful for holding off enemies while she fired her bow at them. The hireling was useful as well. I mostly used him in the game to distract opponents when there were multiples, Pup staying more with the PC.In this particular combat, I emphasized Pup's stubborn nature as well as the fact that he wasn't trained to fight non-humanoids. He tried to help, halfheartedly, but overall did not do much. Malrock's injury early on and the fact that he lost his sword in the water, meant that he didn't participate either. It was up to our intrepid PC to dispatch the first enemy of the session. The croc had tags and custom moves made it quite a challenge.CrocodilianBite (d8+3 damage)10 HP2 ArmorClose, ReachSpecial Qualities: Amphibious, CamouflageInstinct: To eat<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Attack an unsuspecting victim</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Hold something tight in its jaws</li> </ul>It has the amphibious and camouflage qualities, so I decided it got the drop on the party with no problem. I lessened the blow here by making it go after the hireling instead of the PC. It also has the "Hold something tight in its jaws" quality so I had it actually drag people down into the water. Because it has reach, I also got to put the group into a defensive position, where they had to avoid its jaws before they could get in close with melee. Poor Malrock would have died if Nohnee hadn't gotten in close and decided to draw its attention onto herself. It would have been a very short lived hireling, that's for sure. But, Dungeon World combat looks to be pretty deadly.[/sblock]</blockquote>

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