Author: Scott Selvidge

My mini-campaign of Dungeon World started last night and went fantastic!

Party Members

Sapphira: the human Fighter

Gryff (I can’t remember his full name): the human Bard

Luna: the human(?) Channeler

Arlinth: the elf Witch Hunter

I was super excited for one of my players to be play testing my Witch Hunter class for this. The players determined that there was an overarching evil in the world, taking the form of a human sorcerer named Ogadei. He is a public face, traveling around civilization and making himself appear to be a decent individual. However he controls the Cabal from the shadows. The Cabal is a collection of races both normal and monstrous which cause havoc wherever they roam. The Cabal has a “leader” that is actually just a decoy so no one suspects Ogadei is truly behind it.

As for the characters’ backstories: Arlinth once encountered Ogadei before he became what he is today. As per the Witch Hunter class, he has a mark that shows his former dealings with spell casters, in this case a lightning shaped scar that runs up his arm. Ogadei gave it to him the day he sapped him of all his elven magic and left him for dead. He became a Witch Hunter in his pursuit of Ogadei. Along the way he rescued Gryff from certain death, gained Sapphira when she wanted to learn how he fights spell casters (her thing was that she travels to study different fighting styles) and cleared Luna’s name when she was accused of causing trouble, only to find a beast from the Maelstrom was the cause.

The Maelstrom, we determined, is a plane of constant darkness and lightning, which Luna get her powers from (She chose shadow and shock as her Channeler options). Ogadei also exhibits powers that suggest he gets at least some of his power from there as well.

So after the world building, they began engaged in a battle with Cabal members in a lord’s keep. They were trying to intimidate the lord into joining them and running the city for them in secret. They dispatched all but the main bad guy and the two spell casters in the group, who retreated without harming the lord after the Witch Hunter parleyed with the spell casters using a special move he gets.

Afterwards they promised to help the town, but Luna found a strange black crystal while searching the bodies when everyone else had left the room. The crystal showed her the Maelstrom and the voice of Ogadei spoke to her through it. He found out she was traveling with Arlinth and told her to finish him. As that was happening, Gryff came to check on her and saw the shadows creeping up to engulf her head, so he played a song to shake her free of it. She told them of the message, which Arlinth replied to by whispering into the crystal “I will kill you” before he crushed it in his hand.

The session ended with everyone asleep in the lord’s keep. Sapphira woke to check on Luna, only to find her missing. Arlinth awoke to Luna, red eyed and engulfed in shadows which restrained him against his own bed, with two sharp tendrils poised to strike from above.

We went to credits at the cliffhanger 🙂

Overall I had a great time GMing the game and can’t wait until the next session. Arlinth’s player really liked my class, so that was a plus as well!

I’m struggling on coming up with a term for a magical item for binding something to someone. It needs to be a general term so people can describe their item how they want. Like, it can be a staff, crystal, quill, etc. Does anyone know a general term like that? I keep thinking of words like totem or fetish but I don’t like either of those. I figured I would ask the community and see what others may come up with.

I wanted to get some input from the community on some magic items and custom moves I am working on. They are for a front involving a witch and a tower. You may pick up on what it is based on from a couple of the following:

Magic Items

Braid of the Lost Sacrifice

Within the tower, in a neat coil under the lone window, rests the long, golden hair of the girl who escaped the tower. Other than retaining its shine and softness, the coil of hair is enchanted by the magic spell that aged the girl to which it belonged. It will not break, no matter how heavy something suspended by it may be. It can be used as a rope, however, the hair can still be cut as easily by a sharp edge as your own.

Coveting Mirror

A hand held mirror made of ornate gold. When you hold the mirror up and look at something reflected in it, if that reflection contains the object of your desires, it will produce a glow within the reflection. The object of your desires is whatever you want the most and the mirror will show a glow even if that object is hidden within a container or behind something solid.

Custom Moves

Tower Dive

When you fall from the tower, roll+CON. On a 10+ you land in the tangle of vines, taking minor scrapes and scratches. You take 1d4 damage and gain the Scarred condition if you try to move out of the vines on your own. On a 7-9, you land in the vines, but they refuse to let you go. Take 1d8 damage and if you try to move out of the vines on your own, they will take something from you (your weapon, your sight, an ear, etc). The GM will tell you what.

A Ritual Fulfilled

When you sacrifice the innocent girl under the full moon’s light, roll+CHA. On a 10+ you drain away her youth, restoring you and any injuries, lost limbs or other impairments back to the state you were in when you came of age. On a 7-9 the same, but you become haunted by the spirit of the girl. The GM will decide when and how this haunting will effect you, though nightmares and catching glimpses of her image are common occurrences regardless.

Also, when you look at a front that someone else designed, would you rather they just list the description and the dangers, or do you like having the cast and stakes included? Would it be better if the cast is general, like “The town mayor, the historian, the abducted girl” or more specific, like “Alduin, the mayor of Haverbrook, Dwindle, the town historian, Alice, the abducted girl”?

So if I were to follow through on my latest thought of making supplements for Dungeon World involving a fantasy world based around fairy tales, how would you think the best way to present them would be? I was thinking of a zine type of format that just has a few sections that cover some fronts, NPCs, monsters and magic items according to the area of the world I was focusing on (like one would be something like The Enchanted Forest, another could be the Sea of Sand, the Kingdom Under the Sea, etc). Not sure how far I’ll get since any time I get on a project I have the attention span of a squirrel that drank a haste potion, but in the event I do get something made I would like it to be set up how people would want to have it. I also will hold off on deciding on a price tag until I see how much content I can put into it. Most likely nothing more than a few bucks. Especially if I don’t have a lot of art in it.

I tend to put monster races into my worlds quite often. As in they interact on a daily basis with elves, dwarves, etc. Not like orcs pillaging cities. The most common ones I have are Minotaurs, Gnolls, Orcs and Goblins. I also feel like I stereotype them every time. The minotaurs are usually mercenaries. The gnolls are hunters/trackers. Orcs are noble, misunderstood warriors. And goblins are frugal merchants or pirates. Does anyone else do the same thing with additional races? Do you ever put them into roles you haven’t before and how did your players like it? I’m on the fence when it comes to whether players have more fun knowing what to expect from fantasy races or if they would rather be surprised by something unexpected.

What do you guys think?

Saw the original on the Tavern and had to make this.

I would like to introduce my new level 1 human male to the community! Luke David Selvidge, I am your father!

I wanted to come up with my own monstrous humanoid “war machine” after hearing about the Triton War Basin on Discern Realities. I came up with this quick and dirty idea.

Gnoll War Kennel

The gnolls of the Blasted Plain have little in the way of magic, but they make up for it in cunning and ingenuity. The War Kennel is a giant, imposing sight. It is composed of wood, bone and scavenged metal held together by crude workmanship and the most powerful bonding agent known to man or monster, the saliva of the giant Canyon Wasp. It is propelled by six massive drakes, three crest-horns in front with only their heavily armored heads revealed and three stonehides in the back showing only their deadly tails that resemble large spiked clubs. The sides of the War Kennel are covered in spikes coated with Canyon Wasp venom and built up high like walls. These walls form a pit in which the gnolls keep their prized Hyenadons. When any warriors unfortunate enough to confront the War Kennel get too close, teams of gnolls deploy long grappling poles that snatch them off the ground only to drop them into the pit. The sheer size and mass of the War Kennel makes short work of any city gates it comes across. When it has penetrated a city’s defenses, the walls are dropped and the horde of ravenous Hyenadons and their gnoll masters ride out to pillage and slaughter.

Perhaps not as impressive as a War Basin, but gnolls have to make due with what they have 🙂 

I need some feedback on a move I am working on. I’m not sure how to make it more interesting. Let me know if you guys have any ideas.

Portal

You can attune yourself to an area within a friendly city or large settlement in order to create a portal used to travel back there. When you attempt to create a portal to travel back to an attuned location, spend 1 Mana per person you wish to pass through and roll+INT. On a 10+ you create a stable portal that will remain open long enough for you and a number of other creatures equal to the mana spent to pass through. On a 7-9, choose one:

• The portal opens in the settlement, but not in the location you wanted it to.

• The portal is resilient and will stay open longer than you want it to.

• The portal will take longer than you expected to open.

Location Based Move

Stone Guardians

When you pass through an area of the evil overlord’s keep, roll+3, minus the number of treasures you have looted from the keep so far (gold coins or other individual items count as one treasure). On a 10+ choose 2. On a 7-9 choose 1:

• The guardians turn to flesh, making them easier to harm.

• The guardians are slow, stupid or easy to predict.

• The guardians reveal their special ability to you before they attack, describe it.

EDITED