Dungeon World Thread (Messy, Forceful, Stunning)

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > Dungeon World Thread (Messy, Forceful, Stunning)

ElegantFugue: Jun 5, 2012

gnome7 posted:

INVERSE WORLD

Okay, I've been kinda tracking this so far because it sounds really cool, but now all this talk about Survivors and ~~Calamities~~Cataclysms has me thinking of Bastion in a *World system and frankly that's just too awesome to not call out as awesome. :colbert:

Also, since we have this fancy new thread, I might as well use this chance to post this description here since I am pretty sure I never put it up on SA before, just on G+.

quote:

The Marksman
An introduction? Feh! As if your talents require an introduction? There's no need for you to wear out your tongue singing your own praises--about the towering beasts you've reduced to whimpering pincushions, about the countless contests you've effortlessly sweeped, about the fair hearts you've won with your dashing good looks and undeniable charm. Why introduce a hero whose reputation precedes them?

Sure, maybe the Rogue managed to walk away from your last adventure with his pockets a little heavier than everyone else. So the Fighter took home an extra trophy skull or two. Who cares if the Paladin gained favor with his god, or the Bard was inspired to write a new verse? You've won the greatest reward of all--and you earned it, too. Because when you walk through the cheering crowds of that village after a long battle, holding your head high and grinning ear to ear, you don't need to tell people what you're so proud of. No. They can see it for themselves.

You're the greatest Marksman who ever lived, that's why, and any hapless chump who wants to claim otherwise can meet you on the archery range.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7LpRmY3Gig5MFRLWGFGSWpLT1E/edit?hl=en&forcehl=1
(Character Sheet Template by JJ Lanza, invaluable design assistance provided by the Dungeon World G+ and Something Awful communities)

Also, for the record, The Marksman doesn't have any multiclass moves NOT because he/she shouldn't, but because multiclassing as-implemented in DW is a boring and anti-fun mess and as far as I'm concerned should be houseruled by your table into something less restrictive anyway. Go with whatever MC rules you want for 'em.
Also because I ran out of space for moves.

# ¿ Mar 28, 2013 04:47

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# ¿ May 21, 2024 16:25

ElegantFugue: Jun 5, 2012

Blasphemeral posted:

None of us have played *World games before.

--- Part 1: "Corn: The final solution."

Ladies and gentlemen: DUNGEON WORLD :black101:

# ¿ Apr 9, 2013 12:30

ElegantFugue: Jun 5, 2012

gnome7 posted:

Finally time for this week's Inverse World preview! This week in Inverse World Technology, we're sharing The Walker with you. Spoilers: It is the best class yet. Parkour and ninja wall walking is the name of the game.

I want to play this class so bad.

# ¿ Apr 18, 2013 12:24

ElegantFugue: Jun 5, 2012

sentrygun posted:

Isn't there a finished version of the Sharpshooter that took that out in exchange for +1/-1 to Volley rolls?

Are you thinking of The Marksman? It's a different class, although we did exchange some ideas as we were making them.

# ¿ Apr 22, 2013 12:30

ElegantFugue: Jun 5, 2012

Why is April 29th so many days away? :saddowns:

I think I may make another revision to the Marksman, primarily to switch over to the Inverse World-style Drive/Background options instead of Race/Alignment options. It just looks like it would work so much better with DW's playstyle, and I already have the Drive list pretty much complete in the flavor item selections.

# ¿ Apr 23, 2013 04:41

ElegantFugue: Jun 5, 2012

MadRhetoric posted:

I should release the Marksman and you should use it since you have guns and it has guns.

Do you mean the Sharpshooter again? Because I'm okay with the Marksman class I wrote sharing the name but I do think it might get kinda confusing.

# ¿ Apr 29, 2013 02:03

ElegantFugue: Jun 5, 2012

MadRhetoric posted:

I don't even know anymore. I should really just call it the Hitman or the Cleaner or something.

Hey, that's a great idea! That way there won't be any danger of confusion until I actually post what I've gotten so far for The Secret Agent class I have been working on lately!
This is actually freaking me out a little at this point.
On an even-more-related note, The Secret Agent will get a set of three Gadgets per mission, which he can spend to gain the use of one move from any other class not in use for a bit. Just how long he can use it (and how much attention he'll draw in the process) depends on what sort of flaws you choose the gadget to suffer from.

Anyway, in honor of Inverse World's Kickstarter, I've updated The Marksman to use Inverse World-style Drive and Background instead of Alignment and Race. I also tightened up the wording on Draw a Bead on 'em to have more of a fiction hook, dropped the Bullseye-style Assortment of Hidden Throwables for a newfangled Dwarven pistol, added a new move called Stand and Deliver, and dropped In My Sights (which no longer actually did anything with Draw a Bead and Curve the Arrow combined) for Hawkeye, which lets you shoot the balls off a fly at twenty paces if you're so inclined. The classic Marksman is still available at the same spot as before, but I'd strongly recommend using the new IW-style Marksman if you can.

# ¿ Apr 30, 2013 06:02

ElegantFugue: Jun 5, 2012

Mikan posted:

I know I'm a bit biased here, but the Walker is legitimately my favorite playbook right now. There are so few RPG classes built around mobility that actually deliver.

As a 3rd party, I want to confirm that, yes, the Walker looks amazing and I want to try it so bad right now.

# ¿ May 1, 2013 05:07

ElegantFugue: Jun 5, 2012

Syka posted:

I don't know how to Dungeon World, help?

I'm starting up my first Dungeon World campaign soon, and one of my players just messaged me with this:

The setting, by the way, is the Infinite Dungeon where the entire world is a dungeon that people try to carve civilization out of.

I'm not sure what to do for him. Any advice? Fighter doesn't seem like a good fit, but he specifically denied Ranger because of the Animal Companion. Is there a good way to remove/replace the animal companion from Ranger or to add hunting abilities to something else? Or an awesome third-party class I've missed? I'm not entirely confident in doing this myself.

I do have The Marksman (also available in classic version), that might work for half of what he wants? I want to say that someone made a Compendium Class about cooking or eating what you killed, but I can't remember much more than that. Shoving the two of them together, or maybe swapping out the Ranger's Animal Companion for the CC's starting move, should give you a nice hunter-gatherer class.

# ¿ May 7, 2013 12:23

ElegantFugue: Jun 5, 2012

aldantefax posted:

"Shovel", +1

- This shovel was once used to bury a great figure (who?).
- It was used in an unconventional manner (what?).
- You think as a weapon, this would be pretty [messy/vicious/brutal]...
- [Monster type] is afraid of this shovel (why?).
- You feel [emotion] when holding this shovel here (where?).
- You traded [something ephemeral] for this shovel, and you [do/don't] regret it (which?).
- This shovel holds a [secret] [power/thing/purpose]...

Is this a Shovel Knight reference? Because now I want to play Shovel Knight.

# ¿ May 29, 2013 12:25

ElegantFugue: Jun 5, 2012

Posting this because it got in my head and I need it out so I can work on the May Design Contest instead. New compendium class that lets you play a werewolf, Venom, a Psion who looked too deeply into the abyss, etc.

quote:

The Symbiont:
While you share a single body with an alien mind, you can choose any of these moves at level up instead of one of your classes' normal advance moves.

Unnatural Power:
Choose a move from a playbook not in use. If using that move requires a die roll, you may choose a different stat to use as a modifier. Attempt to describe what unnatural and bizarre process you use to accomplish this.
Whenever you roll a 6- on this move, in addition to any other effects, you take d4 irreducible damage as your other side's powers manifest in a horrifying and supernatural manner.

You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry:
When your symbiote begins to emerge, your body changes to more closely resemble it. Describe your new hybrid form, and choose two tags from the list. In your hybrid form, all attacks you make will always have those tags.

Forceful

Messy

Horrifying

Getting Crowded in Here:
When you resist a foreign power attempting to influence you, roll +Bonds with your Symbiont. On a 6-, the foreign power slips past your defences. On a 7-9, you resist the power, but it took great effort- one of your minds will be too exhausted to think clearly for a few moments (the GM chooses which mind). On a 10+, you resist the effect. Choose one:

The foreign power does not realize you are not under its control.

The foreign power is staggered for a few moments by a mental backlash.

I Can't Control It:
When you would roll your Last Breath, your body instantly revives at full health and strength instead, under the complete and total control of your symbiote. Your original mind cannot regain control until it has recovered awareness, and the symbiote either allows it or is overcome. You cannot use this move again until your original mind has wrested back control of your body.

# ¿ May 30, 2013 02:51

ElegantFugue: Jun 5, 2012

If I may, I'd like to ask for some feedback from anyone who has used, seen someone else use, or DM'd a game where a player used the Marksman's Maybe You've Heard of Me? move.

Maybe You�ve Heard of Me? posted:

When you draw on your reputation in a crowd, roll +CHA. On a hit, several people have heard a story about you that casts you in a favorable light, which you can use for leverage. On a 10+, also take +1 forward to Parley. On a 7-9, they�ve all heard the story, but the version they heard includes two caveats from the list below � the GM will tell you which.
� The story inaccurately attributes a major achievement by another to your own actions.
� The story suffers from a significant exaggeration of fact.
� The storyteller missed an important and relevant detail.
� Somebody in the crowd pipes up with an awkward or embarrassing question about the story.

I've only had a chance to run a Marksman in a game once so far, and although I did use MYHoM? to help convince a crowd of dragon-worshipers that, yes, they did just see us stab a dragon and chase it off, and we're totally going to do the same to you if you don't run away right now, I managed to easily score a hit. I still don't know how the 7-9 effect would play out in a game very well. Any experiences would be helpful, thank you!

# ¿ Jun 3, 2013 03:32

ElegantFugue: Jun 5, 2012

Glazius posted:

The Slinger: ElegantFugue's Marksman. Because Green Arrow and Hawkeye didn't really have animal companions.

Mind if I make a couple suggestions as far as The Slinger goes?

This may have been intentional on your part, but my idea with Wait For It wasn't so much letting you avoid wasting Quiver as it was letting you remake that scene from The Avengers where Loki tries to grab Hawkeye's arrow out of the air. That is, letting you strike a target with an arrow, then have the arrow explode or catch on fire or start spewing smoke after a few moments of villainous gloating. Both are useful, but I think allowing the delay for activation makes it more enticing as a move.

I'd recommend also tossing in the Smoke Shot from the Domain moves on the list of available arrows. The Domain shots were each meant to serve as various types of distractions, and a smoke arrow seems like the most relevant of the set.

Finally, I'm not totally sure Maybe You've Heard of Me? really fits the archetype in this case. I'm not even sure it's that good of a move, and I've been wracking my brain trying to come up with some kind of replacement for the next version, to either swap it into Advanced moves or remove it all together. Perhaps the Slinger would be better served with something more observation-based? Maybe something like,
When you want to open up Negotiations with an uninterested party, roll +CHA. On a 7+, your keen observations detect a subtle insight; the GM will tell you a way you could gain Leverage over the other party. On a 10+, the other party won't realize you were prying.

All that said: :swoon:

I am honored and glad The Marksman was able to help! Your wording in several places is an improvement over the original and I'll likely poach some of it for the next version of the playbook, if you don't mind.

# ¿ Jun 29, 2013 04:31

ElegantFugue: Jun 5, 2012

Glazius posted:

I like Maybe You've Heard Of Me? because it offers a non-shooty thing for the Slinger to do. It's important to have variety in your basic moves.

Though replacing it like you'd suggested does take him out of the Showboat's baliwick and into his own observation-y thing.

I'm thinking, on a hit, you learn how you could gain leverage over the other party. On a 7-9, pick one: it's something you have on you right now, or they don't realize you were prying. On a 10+, both.

Oh, definitely! That's why I'm having so much trouble deciding what to do with it; I'm torn between an observation-based social move and a showboaty social move (which could step on the Dashing Hero's toes).

That looks like a good replacement for your game's purposes, although it might give the story a bit more wiggle room if you change the 7-9 to "it's something you have on you right now or can obtain quickly and easily, or they don't realize you were prying."

# ¿ Jun 29, 2013 17:06

ElegantFugue: Jun 5, 2012

MagnesiumB posted:

Has anyone created an Elementalist playbook yet? Specifically, we're gearing up for a campaign that's going to be starting in a couple weeks and one of the players has indicated he'd like to play a character with powers similar to the Earthbenders in Avatar: The Last Airbender. I think the Mage could probably work in a pinch, but I've already got one player who's been looking at the Mage and I don't want the players to feel like their characters are less unique because they're both playing the same class (which might be a silly concern).

Lantern from Inverse World, with the Light reflavored to a combination of The Spirits and an element of their choosing?

# ¿ Jun 29, 2013 21:03

ElegantFugue: Jun 5, 2012

Pollyanna posted:

A few friends want to try Dungeon World sometime, and I'm interested in learning to DM for it. I know the book has a guide to DMing in general, but is there an up-to-date best practices guide out there too? How does the DMing approach change as the game length changes (e.g. one-session one-shots vs. sprawling epics vs. everything in between)? I've never actually played DW before or DMed anything before, is it a bad idea to cut my teeth on both at the same time?

As far as I know, this guide linked in the OP's second post is still the best collection of advice.

# ¿ Apr 1, 2016 15:16

ElegantFugue: Jun 5, 2012

LogicNinja posted:

Also, how are people dealing with situations where a character uses Hack and Slash or Volley, and... does 1 damage? I've been thinking about making damage semi-static, e.g. d10 = 3+d4, d8 = 2+d4, d6 = 1+4. You don't want it to be totally static so that players can't know if they're going to kill something in one hit or not, but the fact that a roll of 12+ can have the least impact on the narrative because all you do is 1 damage seems very counterintuitive.

I've tended to apply huge non-damage bonuses when the player rolls high to hit but low on damage. Stuff like, "At the last second, the lizardman raises his shield to defend himself with a laugh- and then screeches in terror as your blade smashes his shield in half. He's mostly unharmed, but defenseless." Or, "Your arrow whizzes just past his head, and instead pierces through his robes. The force of the impact has pinned his cloak to the wall for a moment, just enough time for someone a bit closer to go for a strike too."

# ¿ Sep 26, 2017 12:35

ElegantFugue: Jun 5, 2012

Give everyone a free 1-5 move, and a free 1-10 move. Level up on 4 xp, or maybe give +1 tokens on a miss.

# ¿ Apr 3, 2018 13:53

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# ¿ May 21, 2024 16:25

ElegantFugue: Jun 5, 2012

PupsOfWar posted:

Does anyone here have any experience changing the damage mechanics? Tips?

In my own games, I've used the damage dice as a sort of sliding scale between "damage" and "narrative effects." If they hit but roll low damage, they do something like crack the enemy's shield or knock their weapon away or leave them off-balance and open to attacks. It's pretty loose, but giving some kind of boost when they roll under half or a third of their max seems reasonable.

# ¿ Apr 21, 2018 23:22

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > Dungeon World Thread (Messy, Forceful, Stunning)