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Post by Probie Tim on Feb 23, 2015 7:03:31 GMT -8
Perhaps I'm releasing the dragon, here, but I need to know before I make a purchase decision: why Dungeon World? What about it spawns rabid levels of enthusiasm? RPG.net has "sell me" threads, so consider this a "sell me on Dungeon World" thread.
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Post by The Northman on Feb 23, 2015 20:57:30 GMT -8
I prefer the base games and some of the other hacks to DW, but...
The whole Apocalypse-powered family lets you easily tell stories about more firmly established characters with rich history and connection to the rest of the party. Characters who are ready to be protagonists in dramatic stories on the level which you usually read about or watch, not in the prologue portion of their lives. It also enables characters of disparate power levels (re: combat ability in most systems) to exist within the party and contribute equally in their own spheres.
That's not to say those things can't be done in any system, but these ones seem to do it a bit easier out of the box.
As to DW specifically, it's the easiest way to bridge a group raised on more traditional fantasy games into this family of systems, and indie games in-general.
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tomes
Supporter
Hello madness
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Currently Running: Dungeon World, hippie games, Fallout Shelter RPG hack
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Post by tomes on Feb 23, 2015 22:06:37 GMT -8
The Northman said it pretty well. For me: - Book reads super easy, and gives MANY suggestions on rules, including shows situations where the GM and players self-correct.
- Great super-easy system for noobs, but has all the flavor of narrative driven old-school fantasy
- I really like the character class progression system... many classes have "upgrades" (advanced moves) that allow you to cross-select other class abilities. Although this sounds like it could be a bit of a shitfest, what it really allows is the ability to make virtually any combination of builds and powers and concepts (or stick with something fairly simple and "class" specific, if you like)... but as northman said, still gives everyone fairly even footing.
- There are lots of contributed "playbooks" (aka different character class / character sheets) out there so once you've gone through one or two games with the basic classes, you could always grab something else.
- Some systems allow you to easily wing it during sessions. Many don't, requiring tables, rules, book lookups, NPC stats, etc. This is the former.
- I love the monster manual section, cause it gives all the information I need for a monster: the 3 or so basic stats you'll need during play (damage, hp, armor), a list of 2 or 3 bullet points on their general motivations, and, well, that's pretty much it.
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HyveMynd
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Dirty hippie, PbtA, Fate, & Cortex Prime <3er
Posts: 2,273
Preferred Game Systems: PbtA, Cortex Plus, Fate, Ubiquity
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Post by HyveMynd on Feb 23, 2015 22:34:45 GMT -8
Howdy Probie Tim. I'm itching to answer, but I'll have to wait until I get home from work to do so. Edit: Of course tomes and The Northman are making good points, so there might not be any need for me to chime in.
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Post by lowkeyoh on Feb 23, 2015 22:52:17 GMT -8
I played a Powered by the Apocalypse Hack at Gamicon (Urban Shadows) and have become quite infatuated with the system. Keep in mind that aside from reading the rules of DW and Urban Shadows, I've only actually played one game and have never actually run a game myself. So the first thing I enjoy is the easy resolution mechanic. That's why Savage Worlds and Traveller are up there near the top of my favorite systems list. Apocalypse games have an easy dice mechanic. 2d6+stat. 1-6 bad. 7-9 good. 10+ great. I'm going to speak from my Urban Shadows game specifically, so if this information doesn't jive with how DW is, someone please correct me. One thing that intrigued me is how reactive the GM has to be. The players are really responsible for driving scenes, and even have mechanical ways to impact the narrative in clear and definite ways. Our veteran rolled that he was an old war buddy with a major NPC which changed a lot of things narratively. Things like Volley in Dungeon World have narrative options for partial success. A character action can force the GM to create narrative. So, here's the list of basic moves in Urban Shadows: imgur.com/GjXpwjbWhen playing the game, I felt like more of a participant in a story than I ever have before. I felt like my character had real impact on the narrative, not just as a person in the world, but as a member telling a story. We seemed to be playing a game on the character level, but also on the narrative level. There's no D&D roll for, yeah you got away, but you have to leave something important behind, or You successfully carouse, and here's a definite, concrete advantage in the narrative. Here's a useful NPC who is now your friend, and is relevant to the story. Other games that COULD happen, but in Dungeon World that DOES happen, or at least does if they choose for that to happen. It seems daunting to run as a GM, but as a player, it was one of the best gaming experiences of my life.
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wellmoustachioed
Initiate Douchebag
Posts: 23
Preferred Game Systems: Trail of Cthulhu, FATE, Dungeon World
Currently Playing: Diaspora in Fate Core
Currently Running: Trail of Cthulhu
Favorite Species of Monkey: Proboscis
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Post by wellmoustachioed on Feb 24, 2015 4:23:43 GMT -8
lowkeyoh: Your experience of Urban Shadows lines up with all of the *World games that I've played and run. I played a game of The Sword, the Crown, and the Unspeakable Power at Gamicon. It was an extremely powerful session that will stick with me for a long time... super intense. Probie Tim: Running Dungeon World is some of the best, freshest and most invigorating GMing I have ever done. Coming from other dungeon fantasy games (D&D, Pathfinder) into DW is an easy transition. I find the mechanics evocative of the genre, and more than that- they reinforce it in way that barely intrudes. The DM moves (ask about moves if you're unfamiliar - it's a thing) help you guide and craft a story that fits you and your players with almost no prep. You will also find yourself accomplishing way more in your sessions becaus engaging the mechanic causes story to move forward. As long as you have read the book and get the basic concepts, the time to table is extremely short. A 20 minute chargen session is about as I can see it taking, but the characters are just as defined as your standard dungeon fantasy PCs. Also, the pdf is 10 bucks. It's literally all you need. There are a lot of add-ons that people have made, but the base game doesn't feel lacking without them. It's not just HyveMynd. The Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) games are revelatory. My only warning is that they make it hard to go back to more traditional games- but if you do go back, you will be a better player/GM for having tried it.
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HyveMynd
Supporter
Dirty hippie, PbtA, Fate, & Cortex Prime <3er
Posts: 2,273
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Post by HyveMynd on Feb 24, 2015 5:54:40 GMT -8
OK. I'm finally at home where I can type this out in peace, instead of in a stealth browser window while at work. Why Dungeon World Probie Tim? Basically I feel it's the most easily accessible Powered by the Apocalypse game out there. Pretty much everyone knows at least some of the tropes and elements of traditional fantasy settings, and that makes it easy for new players to jump in, as well as making it easy for GMs to learn the system. (I tried learning PbtA games with Apocalypse World first, and that was hard. It wasn't until I picked up Monsterhearts that I really got it.) But why a Powered by the Apocalypse game? Other people have done a great job of answering that question already, but I will try to add to it. In the latest con episode (I think it was season 14 episode 10) stork mentioned how he felt Fate's mechanics never got out of the way. Part of that was, I think, having to learn new game jargon, like with any system. I feel PbtA games minimize that by having something called moves. Moves are little mechanical rule packets that trigger off of fictional events. Basically, to trigger a move you have to narrate your character doing some sort of specific action. If you don't do that, you don't get the effects of a move. The Happy Jacks hosts often talk about drawing players into s game by getting them to narrate their character's actions, and that is baked right into the mechanics of a PbtA game. It also makes the game very easy for new players to pick up, as there is very little game jargon to learn. Mechanics are triggered by the players simply describing what their character does, in fairly "non-gamey" terms. As jazzisblues is fond of saying, a good GM will take the burden of the rules off of new players. They'll ask the player to describe in "real world terms" what their character is doing, and then make it happen. Again, I feel PbtA games have that hard coded into their mechanics. As other people have said, I feel the PbtA games really make the player's choices matter. Most moves follow the structure of "Roll 2d6+stat. On a 10+, you get what you want. On a 7-9, you have to make a choice. On a 6-, something not good happens." Many moves have a list of two or three options players have to choose from on those 7-9 results. What ever the player chooses happens, whether the GM planned for it or not. A good example is the Volley move from Dungeon World: If the player rolls an 8 and chooses to put themselves danger, the GM has to present them with a danger even if there wasn't one there before. I think this gets to the heart of what lowkeyoh is saying about players having an impact on the narrative.
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Post by Probie Tim on Feb 24, 2015 12:22:24 GMT -8
All right. You guys have talked me into it. I just purchased it from DriveThru and am downloading it right now.
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Post by lowkeyoh on Feb 24, 2015 12:23:49 GMT -8
All right. You guys have talked me into it. I just purchased it from DriveThru and am downloading it right now. One of us! One of us!
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Post by joecrak on Feb 24, 2015 14:49:21 GMT -8
I have nothing else to add to this conversation, but support everything stated.
The system is great, even if I no longer care as much about Dungeon World (my favorites being: MonsterHearts, World Wide Wrestling, and Samurai World).
I love closet dramas, and wrestling.
Still the book is great and easy to read.
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HyveMynd
Supporter
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Post by HyveMynd on Feb 24, 2015 15:30:28 GMT -8
Aww yeah. Welcome to the fold, Brother Probie Tim. We start collecting tithes after you hit level one, and you'll need to have an audit so we can read your engrams first.
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Post by ericfromnj on Feb 24, 2015 15:57:05 GMT -8
I need to run a game of Dungeon World but Hyve if you could run a few more games first...
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HyveMynd
Supporter
Dirty hippie, PbtA, Fate, & Cortex Prime <3er
Posts: 2,273
Preferred Game Systems: PbtA, Cortex Plus, Fate, Ubiquity
Currently Playing: Monsterhearts 2
Currently Running: The Sprawl
Favorite Species of Monkey: None
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Post by HyveMynd on Feb 24, 2015 17:31:22 GMT -8
I need to run a game of Dungeon World but Hyve if you could run a few more games first... I've got a wedding to plan (happens June 6th), with family coming over from the States. Time's at a premium right now, especially if it looks like I'm just sitting at the computer doing nothing. Hopefully I can run some G+ games after that though.
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Post by joecrak on Feb 25, 2015 3:58:54 GMT -8
I might try and run a Samurai World one shot if there is interest
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Post by Probie Tim on Feb 25, 2015 7:33:21 GMT -8
you'll need to have an audit so we can read your engrams first. That's not funny. I'm a practicing Scientologist.
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