New GM here, and I’m getting a bit overwhelmed.
The problem, I think, is twofold: First, I’ve been GMing for ~30 years. I started with AD&D and played or ran dozens of different systems in the decades since, but most of them were the prep heavy, mechanics-based systems (even the lighter modern games like Savage Worlds.) Second, I’ve never had the chance to actually play Dungeon World. I’d really have like to sit and play in two or three sessions so as to get the concept down before trying to run it, but I’ve got the GM curse (I’m the only one in my group who runs games.)
So right now I’m trying to simultaneously:
~Hold on to the core premise of the system, which I understand intellectually, but don’t grasp instinctively yet. The idea of being unable to act except through moves, for instance, or of having to worry about ‘cheating’ as the GM. I’ve read it, I get it, but 30 years of experience gives me the feeling that I’m simultaneously hamstrung and exposed, even when it’s designed to work within that.
~Remember the actual rules of the system and how to interpret and use them.
~Overcome the sense that I’m going into this completely unprepared, as I’m used to having every eventuality laid out in front of me before I ever sit down. I’m a heavy prepper!
~Get the campaign concept itself figured out
~Remember the triggers and uses of 8 basic moves, 13 special moves, a dozen class moves, 12 GM moves, 7 dungeon moves, all filtered through 3 Agenda points and 12 Principles.
~And keeping all of the above in mind while improvising content.
My brain hurts, and I only have one more day before the game. Ugh.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.
But since it is moderns times and already plenty of people have played DW online I strongly recommend you browse the internet and watch a game of it. You can use our Guantlet channel or any other. YouTube even have records of Adam Koebel GMing it, however not all of his sessions are good representation of the game (the three he made at GenCon live were very crazy, but they do show that you can come to the game unprepared, run it and have plenty of fun).
I’d also assume that you are going to try and play the game with your regular group which may be very used to your prep heavy style where they give little creative input to the story, this might be another challenge, but if you are your players understand that it is you and them telling story together rather than they re-playing what you have already planned in your prep you will all be on the best way to have fun with the game š
In order to achieve that jump forward with questions and let the players creative answers drive the story.
Questions like “what is like?” “where have your bard learned about that field of expertise?” “how did you acquire your signature weapon, does it go from father to son or have you pulled it out from a weird stone in the forest?”
As for move triggers don’t be afraid to ask “is there a move you are triggering here?”.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.
But since it is moderns times and already plenty of people have played DW online I strongly recommend you browse the internet and watch a game of it. You can use our Guantlet channel or any other. YouTube even have records of Adam Koebel GMing it, however not all of his sessions are good representation of the game (the three he made at GenCon live were very crazy, but they do show that you can come to the game unprepared, run it and have plenty of fun).
I’d also assume that you are going to try and play the game with your regular group which may be very used to your prep heavy style where they give little creative input to the story, this might be another challenge, but if you are your players understand that it is you and them telling story together rather than they re-playing what you have already planned in your prep you will all be on the best way to have fun with the game š
In order to achieve that jump forward with questions and let the players creative answers drive the story.
Questions like “what is like?” “where have your bard learned about that field of expertise?” “how did you acquire your signature weapon, does it go from father to son or have you pulled it out from a weird stone in the forest?”
As for move triggers don’t be afraid to ask “is there a move you are triggering here?”.
I recommend the Discern Realities podcast episodes Dungeon World Basics episodes 1 through 5. They are short, concise and packed with helpful information.
I recommend the Discern Realities podcast episodes Dungeon World Basics episodes 1 through 5. They are short, concise and packed with helpful information.
Definitely been there Duane Budd . Black Box Traveller and White Box DnD in the late 70’s was no prep for this brave new world and nor were decades of being everyone’s favourite Ruleful-Evil GM through RQ, CoC etc. However, once I realised the mechanics were getting in the way of the stories and that good players actually enjoyed being allowed to run free then PbtA and Fate become gifts. Like you it took me a couple of games with good GMs who were also experimenting with these new ways to ‘do it’. If you haven’t had that opportunity then I thoroughly recommend searching through the Gauntlet videos for examples.
Definitely been there Duane Budd . Black Box Traveller and White Box DnD in the late 70’s was no prep for this brave new world and nor were decades of being everyone’s favourite Ruleful-Evil GM through RQ, CoC etc. However, once I realised the mechanics were getting in the way of the stories and that good players actually enjoyed being allowed to run free then PbtA and Fate become gifts. Like you it took me a couple of games with good GMs who were also experimenting with these new ways to ‘do it’. If you haven’t had that opportunity then I thoroughly recommend searching through the Gauntlet videos for examples.
… and for what it”s worth the dozen or so people I’ve played with at the Gauntlet are so relaxed that they’ll not mind if you look to them for help. This is a very friendly abd collaborative place.
… and for what it”s worth the dozen or so people I’ve played with at the Gauntlet are so relaxed that they’ll not mind if you look to them for help. This is a very friendly abd collaborative place.
Yeah, I’ve been really happy with this community. I’ve already listened to the Basics series twice. Thanks for the input. I really feel like I just need a couple of sessions under my belt.
One of the hardest parts of the transition, for me, has been that I’m a prep-heavy GM in other systems. There isn’t much in the books that give a good feel for how much prep is really needed. I know it is somewhere between what I’m used to and ‘none’, but finding that line with no actual experience has been tough.
That and trying to figure out how to toss in an encounter when balancing isn’t a thing. One kobold or 30?
Yeah, I’ve been really happy with this community. I’ve already listened to the Basics series twice. Thanks for the input. I really feel like I just need a couple of sessions under my belt.
One of the hardest parts of the transition, for me, has been that I’m a prep-heavy GM in other systems. There isn’t much in the books that give a good feel for how much prep is really needed. I know it is somewhere between what I’m used to and ‘none’, but finding that line with no actual experience has been tough.
That and trying to figure out how to toss in an encounter when balancing isn’t a thing. One kobold or 30?
I’d print and have handy a sheet of the basic moves, a sheet with the GM moves, Principles and Agendas bullet-pointed, and stick a couple of bookmarks in for the rest. And feel free to take notes as you play. Ask lots of questions, and write down what the players tell you about the world.
You’ve got this.
I’d print and have handy a sheet of the basic moves, a sheet with the GM moves, Principles and Agendas bullet-pointed, and stick a couple of bookmarks in for the rest. And feel free to take notes as you play. Ask lots of questions, and write down what the players tell you about the world.
You’ve got this.
Duane Budd I had similar issues. But truly any time I over prepped or didn’t play to find out what happens, it was flat and unsatisfying. That’s not to say you can’t start at the entrance to the dungeon and say we’re doing this thing today, why are you here?
Duane Budd I had similar issues. But truly any time I over prepped or didn’t play to find out what happens, it was flat and unsatisfying. That’s not to say you can’t start at the entrance to the dungeon and say we’re doing this thing today, why are you here?
I agree with what’s been said before, especially highlighting that DW is a bit more of a story players and the GM are telling together. One thing that I found very different from D&D is your players may come up with something clever that simply takes out a plot point baddie quickly. That’s a good thing and part of what the game wants, but it can be a little jarring. Keep in mind that combat in DW isn’t meant to be a slog. Push for strong descriptions then go to a move that reflects what was described. That should keep play flowing, and produce a more cinematic feel. I bet you’re going to be great!
I agree with what’s been said before, especially highlighting that DW is a bit more of a story players and the GM are telling together. One thing that I found very different from D&D is your players may come up with something clever that simply takes out a plot point baddie quickly. That’s a good thing and part of what the game wants, but it can be a little jarring. Keep in mind that combat in DW isn’t meant to be a slog. Push for strong descriptions then go to a move that reflects what was described. That should keep play flowing, and produce a more cinematic feel. I bet you’re going to be great!
Hey Duane Budd! I’ve got a few thoughts for you.
Internalizing the Core Premise of the System: Like others have suggested, there are plenty of actual play videos to watch or listen to that do a great job demonstrating the core of the system.
Something that really helped me was writing “not-actual” play reports. Make up 2-3 characters. Make up a situation. Imagine those 2-3 characters being played by your friends (or just by you, that’s cool too). Write out the dialogue to yourself, with notes about what moves you’re making, what move their making, and your thought process. I do this all the time to help myself work through hacks and tweaks, and I feel like it’s really made grock the system and the conversation better.
Remembering the actual moves of the system and how to interpret them First: delegate. Ask your players to keep the move triggers in mind and call the out as they see them. When you have someone Defy Danger, say stuff like “That sounds like you’re Defying Danger to me, unless you’ve got a more applicable move in mind.”
But also: relax a little. PbtA games have a sort of “concentric design” that fails gracefully. If you forget a specific move and just fall back to Defy Danger, you’re probably going to get a pretty similar result.
Also… it gets better with time. Like, if you played 2e, I pretty much guarantee that you didn’t memorize and absorb every rule right when you started. You learned them over time and eventually internalized them. (If it was 3e, maybe you made a spreadsheet. I know I did.)
12 GM moves, 7 dungeon moves, all filtered through 3 agendas and 12 principles…
First of all: the principles and agenda are very rarely things that you actively apply in play. Ideally, you internalize them and they inform every decision you make, largely unconsciously. Realistically: you try your best and you get better each time, but it’s never perfect. GMing this way is a practice, like doing yoga or a martial art. You never master a particular pose or kata, you just practice it over and over, internalizing it, but also continuing to learn new things.
As for the 12 GM moves and 7 dungeon moves… it might help if you boil it down to:
1) Show a threat
2) Show an opportunity
3) Show a cost/loss
4) Provide texture or context
5) Change things up significantly
Cuz that’s pretty much what all the GM and dungeon moves boil down to.
Regarding prep, improvising, and feeling unprepared:
There’s nothing wrong with doing prep for DW. And there’s more prep to be done than what’s described in the book (which is, basically, fronts). The trick is to prep only the stuff that’s actually beneficial and helpful to you, during play.
Like, for me, if the party is going to be exploring a dungeon or some other specific, dangerous point of interest, I want a map. Not a keyed map, just a good, evocative representation of the place. I usually steal something from Dyson Logos.
If it’s a place that we’ve referenced earlier in the game, that we know stuff about, then I like to have more details thought out. What was this place originally? Who built it? What caused it’s ruin? Who’s been living there since? That gives me interesting things to say, a sense of realness to the place, and more ability to improvise.
Similarly, for a political or social situation, I want some sort of relationship map: key figures and how they relate to/interact with each other. I like to know what my NPCs want, and what their instincts are. I like a list of names (cuz I suck at names on the fly).
What will get you in trouble, though, is if you plan out specific chains of events, things that must happen, the specific places where they’ll encounter NPC X (unless there’s a really good reason, like them being bound to a painting or something). If your prep is too rigid, the game will fight you and/or you’ll have to break that rigidity when someone blows a roll outside of immediate danger and you need to grab an idea from the probability cloud.
Point being: prep is good, just maybe retool _what_you prep.
Hey Duane Budd! I’ve got a few thoughts for you.
Internalizing the Core Premise of the System: Like others have suggested, there are plenty of actual play videos to watch or listen to that do a great job demonstrating the core of the system.
Something that really helped me was writing “not-actual” play reports. Make up 2-3 characters. Make up a situation. Imagine those 2-3 characters being played by your friends (or just by you, that’s cool too). Write out the dialogue to yourself, with notes about what moves you’re making, what move their making, and your thought process. I do this all the time to help myself work through hacks and tweaks, and I feel like it’s really made grock the system and the conversation better.
Remembering the actual moves of the system and how to interpret them First: delegate. Ask your players to keep the move triggers in mind and call the out as they see them. When you have someone Defy Danger, say stuff like “That sounds like you’re Defying Danger to me, unless you’ve got a more applicable move in mind.”
But also: relax a little. PbtA games have a sort of “concentric design” that fails gracefully. If you forget a specific move and just fall back to Defy Danger, you’re probably going to get a pretty similar result.
Also… it gets better with time. Like, if you played 2e, I pretty much guarantee that you didn’t memorize and absorb every rule right when you started. You learned them over time and eventually internalized them. (If it was 3e, maybe you made a spreadsheet. I know I did.)
12 GM moves, 7 dungeon moves, all filtered through 3 agendas and 12 principles…
First of all: the principles and agenda are very rarely things that you actively apply in play. Ideally, you internalize them and they inform every decision you make, largely unconsciously. Realistically: you try your best and you get better each time, but it’s never perfect. GMing this way is a practice, like doing yoga or a martial art. You never master a particular pose or kata, you just practice it over and over, internalizing it, but also continuing to learn new things.
As for the 12 GM moves and 7 dungeon moves… it might help if you boil it down to:
1) Show a threat
2) Show an opportunity
3) Show a cost/loss
4) Provide texture or context
5) Change things up significantly
Cuz that’s pretty much what all the GM and dungeon moves boil down to.
Regarding prep, improvising, and feeling unprepared:
There’s nothing wrong with doing prep for DW. And there’s more prep to be done than what’s described in the book (which is, basically, fronts). The trick is to prep only the stuff that’s actually beneficial and helpful to you, during play.
Like, for me, if the party is going to be exploring a dungeon or some other specific, dangerous point of interest, I want a map. Not a keyed map, just a good, evocative representation of the place. I usually steal something from Dyson Logos.
If it’s a place that we’ve referenced earlier in the game, that we know stuff about, then I like to have more details thought out. What was this place originally? Who built it? What caused it’s ruin? Who’s been living there since? That gives me interesting things to say, a sense of realness to the place, and more ability to improvise.
Similarly, for a political or social situation, I want some sort of relationship map: key figures and how they relate to/interact with each other. I like to know what my NPCs want, and what their instincts are. I like a list of names (cuz I suck at names on the fly).
What will get you in trouble, though, is if you plan out specific chains of events, things that must happen, the specific places where they’ll encounter NPC X (unless there’s a really good reason, like them being bound to a painting or something). If your prep is too rigid, the game will fight you and/or you’ll have to break that rigidity when someone blows a roll outside of immediate danger and you need to grab an idea from the probability cloud.
Point being: prep is good, just maybe retool _what_you prep.
Oh, crap… I just reread your post and realized: you’re about to play the game, first session, starting tomorrow?
If so, specific concrete advice:
1) Go find a map of a dungeon, something with a catchy name. One of my faves is linked below.
2) Before everyone makes characters, tell them they’re going to be exploring NAME OF MAP.
3) Have them make characters. Don’t let anyone do bonds yet, but suggest that they skim them if they get done early.
4) Have them make introductions by name, look, class, and race. (Still no bonds!)
5) Ask the following questions, addressing each to a specific character (trust your gut on who, but also, sometimes go with the unobvious character).
__, who or what are you hoping to find, here in the NAME OF MAP?
__, how far away is the nearest settlement, and what sort of terrain did you traverse to get here?
__, what’s the greatest danger, traveling through these parts?
__, what sort of dangers are you expecting to encounter here, in NAME OF MAP?
__, who or what is also seeking __ (from first question), and why is it so important you find __ first?
__, who else did you bring with you on this adventure? Why did it seem like a good idea at the time?
Ask follow questions, encourage each other riff off each other, etc. Take notes.
These questions will establish: a goal, a motive a sense of place, a couple possible dangers, and a sense of urgency, and an NPC for them to interact with. Combine their answers with the physical structure of the map, and you have at least enough material to improvise 2-3 encounters/situations… and that’ll take you through the first session, easy.
Next, do bonds. All the context that they’ve set up above will really help breath life into the bonds. Ask questions, and try to reincorporate what they’ve already said. “Oh, Ovid owes you his life, whether he admits it or not… did you maybe save him on the trip through the Darkswamp? What happened?”
Set the scene at the entrance to the dungeon. Make a softball move(like showing signs of a looming threat) and ask what they do.
You only need to free-form it through the firs session. Then, between sessions, give it a little bit of thought and flesh things out. Write fronts, key out the rest of the dungeon a little, make up some new monsters, make/find cool treasure. And then pick up where they left off.
https://dysonlogos.blog/2011/06/22/map-secret-crypts/
Oh, crap… I just reread your post and realized: you’re about to play the game, first session, starting tomorrow?
If so, specific concrete advice:
1) Go find a map of a dungeon, something with a catchy name. One of my faves is linked below.
2) Before everyone makes characters, tell them they’re going to be exploring NAME OF MAP.
3) Have them make characters. Don’t let anyone do bonds yet, but suggest that they skim them if they get done early.
4) Have them make introductions by name, look, class, and race. (Still no bonds!)
5) Ask the following questions, addressing each to a specific character (trust your gut on who, but also, sometimes go with the unobvious character).
__, who or what are you hoping to find, here in the NAME OF MAP?
__, how far away is the nearest settlement, and what sort of terrain did you traverse to get here?
__, what’s the greatest danger, traveling through these parts?
__, what sort of dangers are you expecting to encounter here, in NAME OF MAP?
__, who or what is also seeking __ (from first question), and why is it so important you find __ first?
__, who else did you bring with you on this adventure? Why did it seem like a good idea at the time?
Ask follow questions, encourage each other riff off each other, etc. Take notes.
These questions will establish: a goal, a motive a sense of place, a couple possible dangers, and a sense of urgency, and an NPC for them to interact with. Combine their answers with the physical structure of the map, and you have at least enough material to improvise 2-3 encounters/situations… and that’ll take you through the first session, easy.
Next, do bonds. All the context that they’ve set up above will really help breath life into the bonds. Ask questions, and try to reincorporate what they’ve already said. “Oh, Ovid owes you his life, whether he admits it or not… did you maybe save him on the trip through the Darkswamp? What happened?”
Set the scene at the entrance to the dungeon. Make a softball move(like showing signs of a looming threat) and ask what they do.
You only need to free-form it through the firs session. Then, between sessions, give it a little bit of thought and flesh things out. Write fronts, key out the rest of the dungeon a little, make up some new monsters, make/find cool treasure. And then pick up where they left off.
https://dysonlogos.blog/2011/06/22/map-secret-crypts/
Some really good advice here – very much appreciated as Iām about to jump into the deep end myself.
Keen to hear how game 1 goes.
Some really good advice here – very much appreciated as Iām about to jump into the deep end myself.
Keen to hear how game 1 goes.
OK, Holy Crap!! Jeremy just gave the absolute best advice for running DW in brief I have ever seen! Those 2 posts should be a Gauntlet Blog. Good Gracious Jeremy, that’s full on DW Yoda shit there!!!
OK, Holy Crap!! Jeremy just gave the absolute best advice for running DW in brief I have ever seen! Those 2 posts should be a Gauntlet Blog. Good Gracious Jeremy, that’s full on DW Yoda shit there!!!
Duane Budd you wrote about encounter with 1 or 30 kobolts. The thing in question is not how many enemies but what is the goal of the encounter? Get past the guards? Run away? Save someone?
Your party doesn’t have to kill all 30 kobolts to save someone, they can attack from ambush, grab the target and swing away on magical ropes, goal achieved š
When I played we’ve seen a village of ogres who had some human captives they were going to sacrifice, we attacked the village with 2 of us as diversion while others were saving the hostages, even though we fought some ogres and they far outnumbered us. In the end we killed none of the ogres, we incapacitated their crazy shaman and made the others stand down, we got some interesting loot from shaman’s hut, saved hostages and moved on.
Duane Budd you wrote about encounter with 1 or 30 kobolts. The thing in question is not how many enemies but what is the goal of the encounter? Get past the guards? Run away? Save someone?
Your party doesn’t have to kill all 30 kobolts to save someone, they can attack from ambush, grab the target and swing away on magical ropes, goal achieved š
When I played we’ve seen a village of ogres who had some human captives they were going to sacrifice, we attacked the village with 2 of us as diversion while others were saving the hostages, even though we fought some ogres and they far outnumbered us. In the end we killed none of the ogres, we incapacitated their crazy shaman and made the others stand down, we got some interesting loot from shaman’s hut, saved hostages and moved on.
Thanks for all the fantastic advice!
And yes, the game is tomorrow. Here’s the actual situation, to make a short story long:
We originally started about six weeks ago. I read everything and it’s cousin. I studied the books, guides, blogs, and posts, and was rearing to go. We sat down for our first session, made characters, and used the Perilous Wilds system to create a world map. We already have the characters, bonds, the world, the characters’ ties to the world, and core concept for the campaign from the players’ input (luckily, one of my players picked a paladin, and she provided us with a quest.) We ended before we actually got to start regular play. After I’m done I’ll lay out what I’ve got going into the campaign at the end of this post if anyone’s interested.
The thing that threw everything off was that we meet every two weeks. The next session ended up being cancelled because of an unexpected family emergency. The session after landed on a day with a prior commitment for a different player.
What it means is that all of the study I put in when I had days of free time to get ready was two months ago. And if you learn something complex and don’t use it, you forget it. This time I’ve been incredibly busy with moving two people (one of them into my house) and ended up with about three half-days to relearn everything, reread all the books, figure out where we left off, and figure out what to do next. Blech.
Here’s where we’re at in regards to the game. Feel free to ignore this if you want (although input would certainly be appreciated.) It’s all flexible of course, and none of it is stuff that WILL happen, just stuff that will happen without the players’ involvement. I like to write that way in other systems – write the events as if the players didn’t exist, get good motivations for the protagonists, then drop the players into in such a way as to accidentally interfere and see how they shake up the factions’ plans. I then write each session based on how the protagonists respond to the interference. Anything that hasn’t happened yet isn’t guaranteed to happen.
~The quick version, from the paladin’s quest: Stop the dragon that’s been attacking villages.
~The immediate plan, via player questions: to go into the never-discovered outpost of an ancient order who fought against the dragon god (at the cost of being wiped out) for a book said to reveal the weaknesses of known dragons. The outpost is hidden under a keep that’s been in ruins so long that only the foundations remain. That’s all the players know.
~The complications: A group of dragon worshipers have begun to seek the method to release the bound dragon god.
~A twist: The only survivors of the original order, unknown to history, passed down their knowledge and duty and have quietly waited and watched for just such an eventuality for 10,000 years. They are now moving to stop the cultists. That faction is the orcs. The players determined that the orcs are a powerful and intelligent (although primitive) culture in the world that engage in both diplomacy and trade. What the players don’t know is that their barbarous image is a front, and they’re actually far more civilized than they seem, and are the only race who really knows what is going on.
~The second complication: The dragon that’s kicked off the players’ involvement is involved with the cult seeking to awaken their old god. In fact, many of the world’s younger dragons are involved in the plot. They see it as an opportunity to regain their authority in the world. The older dragons, who were around 10,000 years ago, though, see it as a return to subservience to a domineering god. There are a very, very few good dragons in the world, but I thought it would be more interesting to set up what would amount to a dragon civil war with the players potentially siding with evil dragons against other evil dragons.
~The final twist: What none of them, players or factions, know is that, while bound, the dragon god wasted away. He reached the point of death, but because of his divinity, he could not die. He couldn’t act, couldn’t think, but couldn’t sleep or die, either. This flux state continued for 10,000 years. He became twisted and mad. Instead of a thinking, cruel god, he’s become a divine Apocalypse Dragon.
Of course, I have no idea how to translate that into fronts, dangers, portents, and so forth, but I should be able to put that off until after the first actual play session.
Thanks for all the fantastic advice!
And yes, the game is tomorrow. Here’s the actual situation, to make a short story long:
We originally started about six weeks ago. I read everything and it’s cousin. I studied the books, guides, blogs, and posts, and was rearing to go. We sat down for our first session, made characters, and used the Perilous Wilds system to create a world map. We already have the characters, bonds, the world, the characters’ ties to the world, and core concept for the campaign from the players’ input (luckily, one of my players picked a paladin, and she provided us with a quest.) We ended before we actually got to start regular play. After I’m done I’ll lay out what I’ve got going into the campaign at the end of this post if anyone’s interested.
The thing that threw everything off was that we meet every two weeks. The next session ended up being cancelled because of an unexpected family emergency. The session after landed on a day with a prior commitment for a different player.
What it means is that all of the study I put in when I had days of free time to get ready was two months ago. And if you learn something complex and don’t use it, you forget it. This time I’ve been incredibly busy with moving two people (one of them into my house) and ended up with about three half-days to relearn everything, reread all the books, figure out where we left off, and figure out what to do next. Blech.
Here’s where we’re at in regards to the game. Feel free to ignore this if you want (although input would certainly be appreciated.) It’s all flexible of course, and none of it is stuff that WILL happen, just stuff that will happen without the players’ involvement. I like to write that way in other systems – write the events as if the players didn’t exist, get good motivations for the protagonists, then drop the players into in such a way as to accidentally interfere and see how they shake up the factions’ plans. I then write each session based on how the protagonists respond to the interference. Anything that hasn’t happened yet isn’t guaranteed to happen.
~The quick version, from the paladin’s quest: Stop the dragon that’s been attacking villages.
~The immediate plan, via player questions: to go into the never-discovered outpost of an ancient order who fought against the dragon god (at the cost of being wiped out) for a book said to reveal the weaknesses of known dragons. The outpost is hidden under a keep that’s been in ruins so long that only the foundations remain. That’s all the players know.
~The complications: A group of dragon worshipers have begun to seek the method to release the bound dragon god.
~A twist: The only survivors of the original order, unknown to history, passed down their knowledge and duty and have quietly waited and watched for just such an eventuality for 10,000 years. They are now moving to stop the cultists. That faction is the orcs. The players determined that the orcs are a powerful and intelligent (although primitive) culture in the world that engage in both diplomacy and trade. What the players don’t know is that their barbarous image is a front, and they’re actually far more civilized than they seem, and are the only race who really knows what is going on.
~The second complication: The dragon that’s kicked off the players’ involvement is involved with the cult seeking to awaken their old god. In fact, many of the world’s younger dragons are involved in the plot. They see it as an opportunity to regain their authority in the world. The older dragons, who were around 10,000 years ago, though, see it as a return to subservience to a domineering god. There are a very, very few good dragons in the world, but I thought it would be more interesting to set up what would amount to a dragon civil war with the players potentially siding with evil dragons against other evil dragons.
~The final twist: What none of them, players or factions, know is that, while bound, the dragon god wasted away. He reached the point of death, but because of his divinity, he could not die. He couldn’t act, couldn’t think, but couldn’t sleep or die, either. This flux state continued for 10,000 years. He became twisted and mad. Instead of a thinking, cruel god, he’s become a divine Apocalypse Dragon.
Of course, I have no idea how to translate that into fronts, dangers, portents, and so forth, but I should be able to put that off until after the first actual play session.
The two very clear fonts are cultist operation to wake up the god, what are the steps off their operation? Second are the orcs, do they need to fight humans who don’t like orcs invading their land?
Third front could be the war of the dragons, what they will be doing and how humans will suffer?
The two very clear fonts are cultist operation to wake up the god, what are the steps off their operation? Second are the orcs, do they need to fight humans who don’t like orcs invading their land?
Third front could be the war of the dragons, what they will be doing and how humans will suffer?
Two bits of advice:
-Breathe
-Remember that if it doesn’t go so well, that’s OK. It is still a good learning experience, and you’ll do better next time.
Two bits of advice:
-Breathe
-Remember that if it doesn’t go so well, that’s OK. It is still a good learning experience, and you’ll do better next time.
If you can, read some of the great posts on running dungeon world that are out there. There are also some guides that take you through playing and running dungeon world step by step. It really helps to read how things can be handled.
If you can, read some of the great posts on running dungeon world that are out there. There are also some guides that take you through playing and running dungeon world step by step. It really helps to read how things can be handled.