DM Brand new to DungeonWorld

#1

Hi All, I am just firing up a new Dungeonworld game. Some of my players are new to it and I one is a fan of DW with some basic experience. I have been a DM for 35 years and have mixed experience from D20 games through White Wolf, Amber throne war, Dragonlance 5th age diceless and a just about everything in between.

I think I am used to leading a game with dialogue, narrative and descriptive action, however after some viewing and reading I would still appreciate any tips here from people that have moved to DW from other system. Would be interested in any tips about encouraging players that are not used to describing what they are doing (I hit with my sword).

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#2

Here, have a whole bunch of stuff!

Sometimes, would-be GMs get overwhelmed by all the talk of principles and agendas and hard moves vs soft moves. Here’s my advice to them.

If you haven’t already read it, the Dungeon World Guide is great. Strongly recommended.

In regards to encouraging players who are not used to describing what they are doing, here’s something I wrote a few years back on G+.

The DW Basics series on the Discern Realities podcast is quite good.

The Dungeon World Syllabus is a wealth of resources. Particularly the “Essential for the GM” section.

Here’s my “players guide” for Homebrew World, my drift of Dungeon World. Should all apply equally to DW.

Happy to answer any questions you’ve got, and welcome to the party!

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#3

I pretty much just follow Jeremy’s advice on this from his blog so…yeah, follow that.
The only other thing I would add is if they are used to D&D / trad games, give them this example.

Ask them how in D&D they would do something like turn into an animal as a Druid. It doesn’t matter how they answer. Your response is, "in Dungeon World as a Druid, you transform. It’s done because you said it. Then, you trigger the move to see how long you can stay as that animal. That’s how things usually work in Dungeon World. If you want to do something that doesn’t trigger a move and fits within the fiction, you do it. If it triggers a move, you follow that. Think about what you want to do first. Then, we will decide if it triggers a move. Not the other way around like in D&D.

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#4

Thanks for the tips. Wow that link has so many great resources. Lots to read and a catch up with.

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#5

I think, too, that if your group is initially bristling against some things — like the disappearance of initiative and a turn order, for instance — add it in with your GM fiat. For initiative as an example, add in a custom move that’s roll+DEX. There can be a little comfort in that while everyone gets used to the switch and then you can phase it out as the table gets comfortable.

#6

I like to explain things like this. “When we hit one of the if/then statements that moves represent, we roll dice: on a 10+, you get to tell me what happens (within context). On a 6-, I tell you what happens. And on a 7-9, we compromise.” Alternately, for players familiar with D&D: “In D&D, rolls are about difficulty. In DW, rolls are about consequences.” That helps a lot of folks recontextualize these parts, which I often find is what really trips people up.

And keep in mind, just like every other game you’ve learned: at first, you may not be doing everything “”“right”"", but if everyone’s having fun and you’re working through it, then that’s what matters most!

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#7

Dragonlance 5th age was my system for the first campaign I ran.

I still remember how great it was not to be rolling dice myself, being able to focus on the players - my friends, who I thought were just awesome.

Apocalypse world has those elements. I can’t remember if there was some kind of turn order imposed on dragonlance 5th age but I tended to ignore it and just keep an eye out for someone forgotten and ask “what do you do?” To even it back out.

Apocalypse World’s 7-9 result is way better than the cards that let you add more cards for blowout success.

#8

Oooh, I never heard it framed that way. Wow, that really shifts stuff.

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#9

Yes it reads really well and feels more crunchy with the range of of fail-partial-success on the 2d6. I have always been an advocate of 2D6 rolling and used it in two wargames I have published for the same reason of have a bell curve on the result.

Dragonlance 5th age is a distant memory for me but I do remember having challenges getting players to be creative with their actions and half the party were die-hard AD&D types and were not amused by the requirement for dialogue and creativity. This was a long time ago… I still have the books and the 5th bestiary is a excellent, really worth having in the collection for a set of classical creatures from myth/Dnd, with great hooks and descriptions + nice art and in a small format.