I used two clocks in my DW game last night that ended up being very effective. I have linked the rules document I sent to the players. I thought some of you would be interested.
This is like the 25th game in the campaign and I am not going to try to fill in too many of the details here, but just to give you some context as to the setup and the rationale for the clocks…
Fancourt is a village that the heroes left to go fight a witch on a mountain. While investigating the witch’s lair they discover that the witch — and others in the village — are aligned with an elder race, the Carcosians, aka the Chimera (interplanetary masses of worms that are into illusion and body horror). The party realizes the town is in danger and try to rush back to save it.
At this point, I handed out some VERY abbreviated stats for their followers and a few key NPCs and handed those over to the PCs. Then I described the twisted Un-Men — pieces of sewn together flesh of men, fish, and local beasts boiling up out of the sewers and attacking the town.
So, I really wanted the PCs to be invested in the town a bit more, so I used the clocks to determine the situation the party would find when they arrive. (I also did not want the NPCs to solve their problem.)
I hope that is enough and not too much info. Hope you find it useful.
How’d it work out for you?
How’d it work out for you?
Jeremy Strandberg it was great. Ended with one tick left on the Un-men clock when the hero clock filled up. Very tense! Five NPCs died, two of the followers were severely wounded, but a couple made some great narrative plays. We even uncovered a dark secret of one of the followers after the player rolled a big miss.
Jeremy Strandberg it was great. Ended with one tick left on the Un-men clock when the hero clock filled up. Very tense! Five NPCs died, two of the followers were severely wounded, but a couple made some great narrative plays. We even uncovered a dark secret of one of the followers after the player rolled a big miss.
Fun!
Just so I’m clear in my head: the whole session played out from the POV of the villagers (and not the normal PCs)?
And you said you statted the villagers up (minamally) as followers…. like, Perilous Wilds style followers? Would you mind talking about sort of stats you gave them and how they worked into play? Like, just a Quality and some tags to say what they were good at?
Fun!
Just so I’m clear in my head: the whole session played out from the POV of the villagers (and not the normal PCs)?
And you said you statted the villagers up (minamally) as followers…. like, Perilous Wilds style followers? Would you mind talking about sort of stats you gave them and how they worked into play? Like, just a Quality and some tags to say what they were good at?
Yes, the session was PoV of the villagers and the party’s followers.The players did not play their characters until the hero clock filled up.
I just listed various traits, negative and positive of the NPCS – no numbers. It was kind of a mismash of PW and a DW monster writeup. When the player suggested an action that the NPC should be good at, I gave them a +1 or (rarely) a +2
Here is an example:
Stovin, Town Marshal, Lawful
In his youth Stovin was the best hunter (poacher) in the vale and grew to be the game warden of Lord Wyndebank. He was also handy on the battlefield and was appointed as the marshal of the noble Wyndebanks. He was sad to see them fall, but politics is dirtier than tannery and never washes off! So with the fall of the lord and the rise of mayor Laycocke, he merely grit his teeth and continued to train the lads and roust the lawbreakers.
Damage Shortsword 1d8 (close) or longbow 1d8+2 (near, far) | HP 12 | Armor 3
Special Qualities Ranger
Traits graybeard, gimpy, cunning
Human When you take damage from or are harmed by someone you are hunting, take +1 forward.
Instinct To be pragmatic at all times
– Move like the old wolf he is
– Pinion the tits on a fly (trick shot)
– Spot the dissembler
Gear Shortsword, longbow, quiver, chainmail, shield, 3 rations, lantern, 12 coins.
Yes, the session was PoV of the villagers and the party’s followers.The players did not play their characters until the hero clock filled up.
I just listed various traits, negative and positive of the NPCS – no numbers. It was kind of a mismash of PW and a DW monster writeup. When the player suggested an action that the NPC should be good at, I gave them a +1 or (rarely) a +2
Here is an example:
Stovin, Town Marshal, Lawful
In his youth Stovin was the best hunter (poacher) in the vale and grew to be the game warden of Lord Wyndebank. He was also handy on the battlefield and was appointed as the marshal of the noble Wyndebanks. He was sad to see them fall, but politics is dirtier than tannery and never washes off! So with the fall of the lord and the rise of mayor Laycocke, he merely grit his teeth and continued to train the lads and roust the lawbreakers.
Damage Shortsword 1d8 (close) or longbow 1d8+2 (near, far) | HP 12 | Armor 3
Special Qualities Ranger
Traits graybeard, gimpy, cunning
Human When you take damage from or are harmed by someone you are hunting, take +1 forward.
Instinct To be pragmatic at all times
– Move like the old wolf he is
– Pinion the tits on a fly (trick shot)
– Spot the dissembler
Gear Shortsword, longbow, quiver, chainmail, shield, 3 rations, lantern, 12 coins.
Sweet! That sounds like a lot of fun. How many different characters were the players juggling?
Sweet! That sounds like a lot of fun. How many different characters were the players juggling?
Just one; I had some others lined up if theirs was killed too early.
Just one; I had some others lined up if theirs was killed too early.
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