Hey Gauntleteers!
You’ve become my primary Dungeon World source, so here’s a DW question I’ve been pondering…
How do you decide what Death takes from players at the Black Gate on a 7-9? I’ve heard plenty of Rangers pet stories, but I’m trying to piece together how much is just MC discretion vs taking away a specific advance.
I guess I don’t think of the 7-9 result in terms of “taking” something from the character, but rather a chance to spin the story in an interesting direction. I’ve offered characters to come back as vampires; asked them to switch allegiances with someone in the established fiction; asked them to abandon their god for a new god; etc..
I guess I don’t think of the 7-9 result in terms of “taking” something from the character, but rather a chance to spin the story in an interesting direction. I’ve offered characters to come back as vampires; asked them to switch allegiances with someone in the established fiction; asked them to abandon their god for a new god; etc..
I’ve given the choice to someone to take a compendium class where they are a revenant, I remember a time when death didn’t want a particular dark creature in his domain and required a player to take it back with them. I’ve seen people required to do a quest for the god that freed them from the black gate
I’ve given the choice to someone to take a compendium class where they are a revenant, I remember a time when death didn’t want a particular dark creature in his domain and required a player to take it back with them. I’ve seen people required to do a quest for the god that freed them from the black gate
I like it being personal to the character. The lawful paladin had to kill the good-aligned king of the land. He then had to work out squaring it away morally and with his code of not fighting in an underhanded way.
Sadly the player left before we hit that point on the season but when we did SCUP set in that world, my group had to deal with the prophecy of a paladin coming to kill their king.
Recently a non-lethal bounty hunter was told to murder the young friend of another player character. He outsourced the kill and now Death is looking for proper recompense.
Some tasks could be to deface something, to serve a deity of death, maybe even something which seems tiny but will have grander repercussions the player character is barely aware of.
I like it being personal to the character. The lawful paladin had to kill the good-aligned king of the land. He then had to work out squaring it away morally and with his code of not fighting in an underhanded way.
Sadly the player left before we hit that point on the season but when we did SCUP set in that world, my group had to deal with the prophecy of a paladin coming to kill their king.
Recently a non-lethal bounty hunter was told to murder the young friend of another player character. He outsourced the kill and now Death is looking for proper recompense.
Some tasks could be to deface something, to serve a deity of death, maybe even something which seems tiny but will have grander repercussions the player character is barely aware of.
One player had to kill a Lich that was turning thousands into undead, robbing death of all those souls. Another had to bring Death a book that was in the possession of a being known as the Broker. The druid was asked for a seed from the World Tree. A few times gods or angels have stepped in to offer something to death in return for the players return to life. That Lich I mentioned before caught the party in a trap and caused a TPK! Afterwards when everyone was at the black gates the king of the angels made a deal for their lives with death because the party had saved his daughter earlier. My group has even witnessed a passing of the torch, where Death killed a demon lord, but was injured enough to have to be restored to the celestial realm, so he was replaced by another angel they had helped before. Luckily anybody who had a deal going didn’t have to follow through with the new death 🙂
One player had to kill a Lich that was turning thousands into undead, robbing death of all those souls. Another had to bring Death a book that was in the possession of a being known as the Broker. The druid was asked for a seed from the World Tree. A few times gods or angels have stepped in to offer something to death in return for the players return to life. That Lich I mentioned before caught the party in a trap and caused a TPK! Afterwards when everyone was at the black gates the king of the angels made a deal for their lives with death because the party had saved his daughter earlier. My group has even witnessed a passing of the torch, where Death killed a demon lord, but was injured enough to have to be restored to the celestial realm, so he was replaced by another angel they had helped before. Luckily anybody who had a deal going didn’t have to follow through with the new death 🙂
All of this is amazing! Thank you! Eyes opened on how that Move adds to drama. I was finding it a little lacking with how I’d understood it. This, however, is awesome.
All of this is amazing! Thank you! Eyes opened on how that Move adds to drama. I was finding it a little lacking with how I’d understood it. This, however, is awesome.
Jason had it exactly right on today’s Discern Reality on how I was interpreting things! It seemed really punitive with less story than I was feeling in that moment. Just wasn’t really jiving with how I want to run that move. All of these story building ideas are amazing. I’m now just ridiculously looking forward to getting a Black Gate moment in! Thank you all so much!
(Also pretty thrilled to be Gauntleteer Brandon!)
Jason had it exactly right on today’s Discern Reality on how I was interpreting things! It seemed really punitive with less story than I was feeling in that moment. Just wasn’t really jiving with how I want to run that move. All of these story building ideas are amazing. I’m now just ridiculously looking forward to getting a Black Gate moment in! Thank you all so much!
(Also pretty thrilled to be Gauntleteer Brandon!)