Extra Move Types for Offworlders

#1

I would like to add a Discern Realities type of move to Offworlders. I can run WoDu and light systems without the full move selection from dungeon world, but I find that Discern Realities and Spout Lore are really useful since these moves have some structure, and are a way to add some authorship to the players. You can free form these moves with the basic rolling the dice move from WoDu/Offworlders, but I think the structure/constraint can help generate some creativity at the table.

I would like to crowd source three moves for Offworlders in this thread.

  1. A replacement for Discern Realities - some sort of examining the situation / getting read outs from scanners or similar.
  2. A replacement for Spout Lore - something that lets players check their accumulated knowledge of how space works and the specific planets and systems.
  3. A third type of move that recognizes that they are travelers, and probably know people or situations where they are going. something like Port in a Storm, success would give them a beneficial contact or information about the place they are going to, failure would mean that yeah they know someone or something about it, but right now in their current situation it becomes more of a burden than a benefit or a complication.

Be great to get different folks take on that in the thread below.

Shane let me know if this should go into RPG design instead of RPG chat.

Peace and keep on trucking’

Steve

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#2

I’d run something like this –

Would you like to know more?

When you try to know more, roll +INT. On 10+, the GM gives you something interesting and useful. On 7-9, the GM gives you something interesting.

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#3

That is a good one, but I am wondering if the questions would help frame what the PC’s are after. Potentially some of these are more likely a die of fate than porting over the moves from Dungeon World. Maybe the World of Dungeon derivative games benefit from not having the moves.

#4

For seeing if you know someone, I personally would riff on this move I designed for my game Escape from Dino Island:

Been Around the Block
When someone mentions a specific location on the island for the first time, roll+CLEVER
if you’ve been there.
On a 10+, you know exactly where it is. Mark it on the map and gain +1 to all rolls while
traveling there. On a 7–9, you remember where it is, and the reason it’s challenging to get
there. Say what it is.
On a miss, the DM will tell you the reason you swore you’d never go back.

Regardless of your roll, tell them about the last time you were there.

So maybe something like:

Interstellar Traveler
Whenever someone mentions a new location you’ve been to, roll.

On a 10+, choose 1:

  • You have a friendly contact.
  • You know about something helpful there, and how to get it.

On a 7-9, choose 1:

  • You remember something about the local situation. Something that makes things… complicated.
  • You know someone worth knowing, but there’s a catch — maybe you owe them or they’re in their own jam. Whatever it is, You’ll have to deal with it if you want their helpful.
  • You were thinking of some other place.

On a miss, tell the others why you swore you’d never go back there.

What I like about this structure is that it changes the question from “Do I know something about this place?” to “Is the thing I know about this place good or bad?” My feeling is, the characters are worldly spacers, so it’s always more fun for them to know something than to not know something, especially if they’re already signalling they want to know about a place.

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#5

Sam I really dig that move, and will probably use it. I like the idea that the move should move the game forward. It shouldn’t be if you know someone or don’t know someone but that is more postive than negative association.

I wonder if a Die of Fate would accomplish the same thing vs. a roll though as it is “random” in feeling with WoDu.

What about spout lore and discern reality? Any thoughts on those moves for offworlders?

#6

Glad you like it!

I think using the die of fate would work just as well—it’s just a matter of the probabilities and whether you want people to be better/worse at the move. Certainly the likelihood of Han vs. Luke knowing a place/person is not just a matter of luck, right?

I’ll think about the other two moves and report back. Slightly reflavored versions of the Dungeon World moves, would obviously work in a pinch but I’m convinced there’s a better option. When do you imagine characters using these moves and what do you imagine the results being?

#7

I imagine since it is an open ended space game with only one general move, having these extra moves is helpful to put some structure around establishing session details and scenes. So I don’t see it being used more than once or twice in a scene. However, for a non-combat character like a Geek type, I would see these moves giving some insight that would help the team out so to speak, like the Geek can spot the weak point of the alien robot, or similar. Or know that the alien species can’t tolerate salt so they better not pass the queso and chips to the alien ambassador. Stuff like that.

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#8

Looking at WoDu hacks like this, I like the fact that there’s just one move. In Offworlders in particular, the trigger is “if the GM decides that it is risky or uncertain enough to warrant a roll,” modified by “only roll when it’s interesting”. So it seems to me that it could cover a “Discern Realities” situation when there’s uncertainty, or the Die of Fate if the GM doesn’t even know the situation.

You’re reading the results of the asteroid scanner to see if it has any volatile / explosive areas? Roll+INT, possibly modified by an ability like Analytical.

You’re looking down the trail to see if the native furry creatures have placed any traps, like a tripwire? Hrm… let’s roll a Die of Fate. (Or Roll+INT, which covers “perception”.)

Of course you should do what’s fun for you and your group; that almost goes without saying. But for me, when I look at these games, I personally would rather add new abilities to help with those situations than modify the core rules.