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| Current version |
If you aren't familiar with this project:
- It's a revised version of Dungeon World that's pared down for one-shots and short-run (2-4 session) games.
- It features a lot of changes that would I'd include in a 2nd edition of Dungeon World were I the one in charge of it: advantage/disadvantage (instead of +1/-2 etc), tweaks or straight-up rewrites to many of the basic moves and classes, backgrounds & drives instead of racial moves & alignment, and some significant changes to gear. The document itself has a more comprehensive list.
New (Final?) Gear & Inventory System
The original gear & inventory system was okay, but a little unintuitive. It had a lot of hidden features, and didn't actually generate as much scarcity as I wanted it to.
So I replaced it with this version. Some feedback on Reddit and conversations on the DW Discord server confirmed some fears I had with that system. Mainly: the v1.4 system was trying to combine both an encumbrance system with the "producing gear" system and when characters started dropping things or moving items between them, it got weird. You could mark up to (e.g.) 4 diamonds, but it wasn't clear what happened if you marked an item to produce a thing and then dropped it.
Here's what the new version looks like:
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| from the Thief |
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| from the Cleric |
At the start of play, you can assign a number of diamonds to specific items or to "Undefined."
During play, you can Have What You Need:
So as the Cleric, I might chose to start with a cudgel and Supplies (two diamonds), and mark 3 diamonds in Undefined.
During play, when a fight breaks out, I might declare that I'm wearing a chain shirt (and move a diamond from Undefined to the "Leather cuirass or chain shirt" item).
Later, I decide to produce a lantern, so I clear an Undefined diamond, mark one under Other items, and write in "Lantern." I could then spend a use of Supplies to produce a tinderbox (a small item).
After a few hours of exploring, the lantern's oil burns low and I replenish it with a use of Supplies (to produce lamp oil, which I don't bother writing down because whatever).
I've got one Undefined diamond and one use of Supplies remaining.
Every class also has a Max Load (the same as the max number of diamonds you can start with). This should be fairly obvious, but to be clear:
- If you pick up a new item in play (by looting it, buying it, another character giving it to you, etc.) then it gets added to your inventory. Unless it's small, it counts against your Max Load.
- If you drop an item during play, or use it up, or it's destroyed, then you erase it--it no longer counts against your Max Load.
- If you give something to another player (even an Undefined diamond), erase it from your inventory and add it to theirs--it no longer counts against your Max Load, but does count against theirs.
- Undefined diamonds count against your Max Load.
Doesn't this encourage players to put everything in Undefined and then have exactly what they need in play? Yup! That's largely the point. In practice, it seems that players assign enough gear to get a clear picture of their character, and leave the rest undefined.
So what changed?
The biggest differences between this version of the gear system and version 1.4 are:
- There's no more choice between "Light" vs. "Normal" vs. "Heavy" Load. Each class has a set number of diamonds they can mark at character creation or during play.
- There's a specific place to track "Undefined" diamonds, distinct from the total number of diamonds you can carry (Max Load).
- As a result, there's no need for the Loot or Manage Inventory moves, or any other detailed explanation of how specified gear interacts with quantum, undefined gear.
In my initial playtesting, this system has worked very well. Players grocked the "Undefined" thing immediately. The only real confusion stemmed from players Having What They Need, and whether they needed to assign an Undefined diamond or expend supplies. I found they were more likely to burn up their diamonds, even on things I thought was pretty obviously small.
I also added a couple class moves that played in this design space. A few classes have moves that increase their Max Load and starting diamonds. The Fighter (Veteran of the Wars) gets +1 diamond (7 total) and an extra use from Supplies. The Barbarian has a Max Load of 3 by default, but Musclebound increases it to 5. And the Ranger has a Max Load of 3 by default but an advance that can give them +2 diamonds.
Other changes
The other big change is in the wording of Defy Danger:
My hope is that this wording makes it clearer when to trigger the move (high stakes + danger + action) and that the 7-9 result provides GMs with more useful guidance. It's still fundamentally the same move, though.
There are also some minor tweaks here and there:
- The Bard >> Wandering Folk: previously, it basically gave three times the Bard could take advantage on a roll, with the relatively simple requirement of making it relevant to their People's traits. Now, they can do that once, and then their heritage needs to cause trouble before they can use it again.
- The Cleric: fixed a mistake in their inventory. Replaced the wizard's spell book (ha!) with a Sacred Text ([][] uses, slow, cast a spell that's not prepared).
- Some minor tweaking of the I Know a Guy optional move and the Thief >> Operative's background move, so that the Thief move is definitely better.
- Also some tweaking to the Run Away optional move; I didn't quite like the results or modifiers, and I had to rethink it anyway to deal with the new gear system.
Gonna play our first game tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes! The new inventory system looks nice.
ReplyDeleteHey there Jeremy! We had our first game of Homebrew World yesterday.
ReplyDeleteThe party of human grim and darklands barbarian, fae touched wizard elf and street urchin halfling thief started in medias res: the barbarian has just slaughtered a merchant's goat, its brain matter still stuck to his bloody club. People from the city are fleeing in terror as the city guards give chase, recognizing the wizard as a wanted felon.
I whip out some face down cards to have some sort of abstract progress mechanic, with two glass beads to represent the pursuers and the party. This happened to be useless as we will see soon enough.
The barbarian picks up the mangled goat corpse as the wizard charms the merchant to have him buy some time against the guards... this proves futile as the guards circumnavigate the agitated yet strangely friendly merchant.
The wizard guides the group through the winding streets, using his knowledge of the area to efficiently buy time. They reach an intersection.
The party decides to split up in order to let the thief be the most obvious remaining target. They tell each other that they will meet at the bridge. The guards focus on him, he turns a corner and hides in a rain barrel thanks to his street rat ability.
He waits a few beats as the guards trot by, chainmail clinking in the distance.
The party regroups. The halfling receives a folded paper from a street kid. Time to meet their lieutenant from the thieve's guild.
During prep, we had already established that we wantes to raid the Duchess's excentric cousin, Lord Jean de Lachenille. He is a collector of exotic creatures and artwork. Lieutenant ArmTwister, a half orc, warns he group about the weight and cumbersome nature of tapestries (they will have to carry 5 or 6 weight units). This proves to be a catalysing event that requires oyr wizard to attempt to craft a temporary bag of holding. I tell him that he will need more time than the 3 days they have for the heist, and their choice of blurry "magical essence" or a blood sacrifice as the requiremebts to craft this item.
Luckily, the wizard has his grimoire, so time is not an issue. Spouting lore, the wizard recalls that an imp would be a suitable creature from which to extract essence.
The party goes down towards the beach, where they go away from the rest of the populace in order to summon an imp where earth meets water and the thickness between worlds is thinner at the auspicious time when the sun sets. Dramatic enough for me, the wizard does what he does best and an imp appears. The imp starts casting something with its eldritch claws, weaving golden patterns in the air. The fae touched elf recognizes his for the illusion magic that it is... as the barbarian almost kills the thing in a single blow.
ReplyDeleteThe party realizes that it may "come back to whence it came" if they slay it outright, so the wizard would have to touch the imp as it dies, or would have to fetch the essence through its maw and into its skull if he wants to obtain the essence while the imp is still alive...
Trashing as its magic failed, the imp is being held against a rock wall by the barbarian's club. The rogue equips his bow. The wizard attempts to reach in and touch the imp... but it's trashing and flailing wildly, dealing 6 damage. Eldritch embers are still visible on the side of the forearm wounds that the wizard just earned. For his second attempt, I give him a choice: take 2 damage and auto suceed at pinning the thing, or roll as you did before but risk taking the d6. He risked the d6. He fails again, suffering another d6 (4) as the rogue lets the arrow fly. The wizard extracts the essence as the summoned imp leaves this earthly realm... and places it in his appropriate jars that he had obviously brought with him, marking off supplies. Resting for a while and catching his breath (healing 5hp) the wizard stated that he would like to rest, fully, before he begins crafting the bag of holding. The party agrees, they head back to the city and rest.
The barbarian and thief gain advantage on their next check. The wizard heals back up to full.
ReplyDeleteThey perform the ritual and craft the bag within an hour rather than within a week. For 1 weight they can now carry 5. The barbarian with mighty thews carries the bag, along with his hide armor, club, supplies and some other unspecified gear.
Reaching the rich and walled quarter, the party notices the relatively tall walls with broken glass and metal spikes on top. The players discuss of rope and invisibility in order to bypass... then they ask about who could help from he thieve's guild. Of course, in exchange of a purse of coins, your friendly smuggler would be willing to get you in and out of there, no hassle! They get in and reach Lord de Lachenille's mansion.
Looking hrough the wrought iron gate, they see a two story ma sion with a balcony and french gsrden, with the gardener currently tending the plants. Suspiciously, there is no guards so to speak.
They decide to ride around the smuggler's cart until we're at night, which costs them a food ration.
Getting back to the mansion at night, the mansion's garden is lit by gaslamps, creating obvious pockets of shadows on the other side of the lit shrubs. The wizard makes he thief invisible. I whip out the Prowling About move and explain the cloak currency, putting 3 glass beads on the table. The thief unlocks the front gate, but it makes a loud noise. One cloak gone. As the party enter, they hear the clicking of nail on the brocked pathways, and hide in ambush to see what's coming. They expect a dog... it's actually a worg! The barbarian decides that it's clobberin' time. Dealing 10 damage, the worg is exploded into giblets. They drag the remaining corpse into the bush, leaving a bloody splatter on the ground with obvious drag trails towards the bush.
Scouting ahead, the thief informs thr group about a backyard swimming pool with a second, currently sleeping worg, as well as a motionless fully plated knight on one side and what seems to be a door leading to a pantry on the other.
The group unlocks the pantry and gets in the mansion.
Inside, the thief scouts ahead while invisible. I go smagainst the named move, instead listing out what rooms he finds and what tapestries he sees. One handmaiden is doing a late night cleaning shift while he butler is polishing silverwear. Some footsteps are heard from the second floor. Hiding in the almost unlit kitchen, the wizard and barbarian wait. The local butler is headed nonchalantly towards the kitchen, carrying his polished silverware. He spots the barbarian with his raised club, he lets out a cry, and he silverwear drops from his hands into the invisible theif's hands... then the club goes into the old man's ribs, sending him backwards into the hallway furniture. One less cloak.
ReplyDeleteThe butler is barely alive, mumbling and fumbling about. He slides towards the kitchen as the thief drags him in, still invisible. With a grunt, the barbarian places his thick body next to the door frame, ready for reinforcements. The players and I joke that they could take on ALL THE THINGS with this tactic.
The wizard attempts to mimic the butler as the handmaiden reaches the source of he commotion. She lets out a high pitched yelp as she spots the bloody club of the barbarian and notices the splatter on the furniture. This is thr combined consequence of Drawing Attention after a failed casting roll and the poor stealthing of the barbarian. Banging her head against a solid surface, the barbarian knocks her out cold.
The rogue drags the helpless woman towards the pantry and the wizard prepares to take on her appearance, as the doors to the staff chambers open and the second floor footsteps agitatingly head towards the stairs.
We end the first session at this point.
Ahhh! Thanks for the time and effort to write all these notes up. I really appreciate it.
DeleteSounds like you got a lot of good use out of the background moves and the gear/inventory system, Recover, and the wizard's more wide-open version of Ritual.
Any feedback re: things that didn't work well? Anything feel jarring or confusing? Any questions I can answer for you?
Technically speaking, I'm sad that I couldn't edit these cell phone typos once the comment was posted.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the gear system so much that the carry capacity was actually part of what pushed the players to make the bag of holding themselves. I wasn't planning on having them fight an imp AT ALL and I just made that up on the spot when trying to find an alternative to a blood sacrifice (I gave the wizard an extra xp in order to reward not going for the easy route of slaying an innocent bystander to get the blood sacrifice).
I was wondering if it would be appropriate to roll anything for a ritual, or if (like I did) just saying that it works because you've met the requirements is enough. Knowing that a wizard can ALWAYS skip a requirement through the use of the grimoire, I will have to pay attention some more in the future.
I want to let you know that I've had to go "outside" in order to get a proper stealth mechanic, because the ever-dwindling resource of cloak seems to work better. I've read your articles on defy danger, and I don't want to resolve stealth (especially party stealth) as defy danger. There's no danger yet, the danger is the consequence of not being stealthy.
Last but not least, a question on make camp. Can you "make camp" when you are not in a dangerous situation? For instance, if they come back to their lair, would it be okay to let them choose one of the options (recover hp/remove debilities/gain advantage on next roll) without spending the supply because they are in a context of AVAILABILITY? If yes, should they also check the XP triggers? If not, what would you suggest instead?
"I was wondering if it would be appropriate to roll anything for a ritual, or if (like I did) just saying that it works because you've met the requirements is enough"
DeleteIf you make "you/your allies will risk danger from __", your probably setting things so that performing the Ritual will trigger Defy Danger (for the caster and/or their allies).
I've also had cases where the magic they wanted to weave involved them casting a more potent version of a prepared spell. So the ritual set up the enhancement (using the blood of the Chosen One and the aid of the pact-Wizard's patron to turn their magic missile into a devastating area-effect), but then still had to roll Cast a Spell.
And if they're stuck on the "how you plan to do it" part, or you give them a requirement like "first you must figure out the principle of sympathetic conjuction," or vague "you'll need help from a scholar of astral magic," then they might Spout Lore to figure it out.
But otherwise, yeah... Ritual is not meant to require a roll by default.
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For Make Camp: I'd say yes, sure. Though I'd still say that they expended a use of Supplies, unless the fiction clearly indicated that there was no scarcity. Like, if we're talking about hard-scrabble adventurers in the city, it's not a guarantee that have food back in their lair, y'know?
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Re: stealth, that's fine by me! The optional moves aren't meant to be the only possible optional moves you can use. They're just the ones that I most frequently find myself wanting to have a standard procedure for.
The approach you're taking sounds more like countdown clock, which is great if you find it helpful. The big problem I've found with countdown clocks is that it's too easy for them to be purely mechanical and divorced from the fiction. Like, what does losing "1 Cloak" look like, in the fiction? Can the PCs do anything about it?
The other problem is: if you don't have the numbers just right, it either becomes superfluous (there are too many "points" before any actual repercussions) or unavoidable (there's no way you're *not* running out of hold/filling up the clock). The Hold Your Breath optional move tries to avoid that by having a relatively small amount of "free" hold followed increasingly painful consequences (debilities).
For something more zoomed out, like escaping notice, I'd be inclined to set it up more like a short set of grim portents/dooms, with a couple "free" steps followed by some increasingly problematic fictional occurrences.
Did the second game.
ReplyDeleteThe footsteps that were coming downstairs were the Lord's. He was clothed in evening clothes and had donned a padded and leather duelist's armor on top.
He came down and started an exchange with the barbarian. As the fight went on, the door to the first floor opened and closed, heavy metallic footsteps approaching steadily. The barbarian manages to suceed at grappling the Lord, as the animated armor reaches the kitchen. The Lord surrenders and tells the armor to stand down... the barb decides to snap the Lord's neck.
ith its master's head snapped back like a celeri, the armor raises its claymore and enters the kitchen, swiping the barbarian across the chest. The party didnt have all of the details that this wasn't someone encased in armor, so the wizard tried charming it. The rogue's arrow bounced off. With a few more attacks and two magic missiles, the armor got destroyed as it discombobulated in multiple pieces, but not before it could fatally wound the barbarian right in the gut.
We see that his culture's gates of death is actually Valhalla, with blue sky and golden gates. The valkyrie approaches and proposes that our hero still has a chance to show his prowess before earning his place in the hall of warriors. Slay Felwyrm, the Black Dragon who stalks the Malefic Woods, and ye shall be granted a return to the earthly realms.
We later noticed that the barb could have proposed a deal rather than the other way around.
The party takes a moment to breathe before grabbing all of the tapestries. The wizard makes great use of the ability to recognize illusions, allowing them to avoid a mimic in the staircase.
Fast forwarding to their exit from the rich quarter thanks to the smuggler they hired, the group returns to the hideout to gain their pay. They each get 322 coin, and begin gearing up for a trip to the Dark Woods.
With a donkey cart full of lembas bread, some healing potions and other bric à brac in tow, the wizard visits a library in order to learn more about the dragon. We got its location, habitat, and best defensive capabilities (super thick armor).
The party journeyed forth, spending some rations. I allowed them to carry rations on the side with the cart, because this was going to be a multi week trip back and forth. Within a few hours, the mule stubbornly refused to press on. The party smacks the ass's ass and the barbarian is the one who ends up pulling the cart.
ReplyDeleteFirst, they encountered a patrol of elves. Our elf wizard adroitly negotiated with them, stating that he was going to slay the dragon in exchange for passing through elven territory. Revealing their number and showing that they had the drop on the heroes, the 8 elves that surrounded the party escorted them through the territory and bid them farewell. Days later, I begin describing a bit more terrain. The rogue scouts ahead and comes back to the group: he noticed a party of 5 young centaurs who seemed to be tracking something, and found a way to ambush them if they pressed on the attack now, while also coming back without having being spotted. Spouting lore, the wizard understands that young centaurs are more open to outside races than the elder warriors (who tend to be more xenophobic) but they are also brash and want to showcase their strenght to their peers, rendering them rather chaotic and unpredictable.
The party decides to circle around the centaurs. Days later, they hear the sound of battle ahead. The already dark forest darkens as they feel the air pressure change, a gust of wind suddenly rattling the leaves. The barbarian noticed a leathery bat wing the size of a barn door up in the sky.
The wizard decides that it's time to perform the Acid Resistance ritual. I tell him that it takes a couple of minutes, some spiritual essence (spend xp) and some material focus that he of course brought with him in his supplies because he spent a day researching the dragon. The wizard will be relatively helpless as he performs the ritual, so the barbarian stands guard with his new shield. The rogue climbs up the tree and checks what's going on.
A goblin war party is not doing its usual taunts and yelps and screams of fun. It is... fighting for its life, dodging, weaving around, running in terror. Tentacles of water are grabbing some of them and smashing them against the ground, while firehose-level jets of water are pushing the weedy ones into dead branches, impaling them instantly. Some goblins attempt to throw javelins but they don't seem to do anything against the invisible assailant.
The rogue stays put and observes. As I continue to describe the scene, goblins begin fleeing towards the ritual's location (of course!) Some are leaving a trail of shit behind them as they scamper away (I am showcasing terror). The goblins decide to avoid the Tall, Readied and Impressive barbarian and just keep on fleeing, sprouting gibberish in a language that the barbarian doesnt understand.
The ritual reaches the end. Climbing down, the rogue comes by to touch the spiritually-infused gem that the wizard is offering to the group. For the rest of the day, the party will only suffer half of acid-based damage.
Since I was awake since 3h am we decide to cut there as the forest becomes eerily quiet. Too quiet.
Since I want this three game mini campaign to finish with a bang, I dont want the party to start the next game in a fight against the dragon. They did spot its wingspan and feel the leaves rustle from its flight, but I am deciding that it wasnt Felwyrm that the goblins were fighting against. The question I am asking myself... Could it be a naga? A swamp hag? A troll sorcerer? A lizardman shaman? A dryad?
I think the elemental force attacking the goblins is either:
DeleteA) some sort of ally or servant of the dragon, like a swamp elemental that the dragon has made a pact with. Or maybe it's bound by the dragon and serves because it has to, but would welcome the chance to get free.
or
B) some dangerous entity that has beef with the dragon, like a naga that the dragon stole from or a formerly bound elemental that wants payback.
Anyhow, thanks for writing these up!
Hey Jeremy how would you suggest reworking other playbooks into the structure of Homebrew world?
ReplyDeleteThat's a pretty big question, one I'll likely answer in a top-level post sometime soonish.
DeleteFor now, though... I've got a playbook template here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1RlQYJwaFC1IxMZrCQkTdk1GL-7f7g0Of
Easiest if you use InDesign and the .indd file, but there are .eps files if you don't have InDesign... should work with Scribus (?).
As for the actual game-design part... that's a bigger question than I have time to answer right now. But it's on the "to do" list.
Thanks for the reply, I'm mostly curious because I'd love to apply it to run one shots or short campaigns of ebberon and Sundered world
DeleteHi Jeremey, Revisiting this to use for a one shot on new year's eve. I so long basically everything. The only thing that I find off-putting is the fixed and utility nature of wizard and cleric spells. I'd personally love an option that's more in line with the randomly generated spell names from freebooters on the frontier--there' just more magical feeling than the rather mechanical lineage from DnD that makes wizards and clerics feel to me like samey tool boxes. Is that something you'd consider? Even as an alternate (like the mage?)
ReplyDeleteHey Seth, glad you're enjoying it!
DeleteI've definitely kicked around some ideas for more free-form spellcasters, as well as less-prescribed clerics. And you didn't ask, but I've got some thoughts on how to make the Fighter a little more interesting, too.
It'll probably be a while before I get on that, though. In the meantime, if you (or anyone) is interested in making your own Homebrew World classes, I've got an .INDD template available here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1RlQYJwaFC1IxMZrCQkTdk1GL-7f7g0Of