Hey all,
I’ve been kicking around the idea of redesign for Worlds in Peril that streamlines and clarifies all the bits and pieces in there. I’ve built up a list over time of the issues/questions I’ve been asked about the game over time and also like the idea of moving into something more uniquely its own rather than the Dungeon World base it was built on. To that end, here’s my list, but I’d love to hear what people thought of the game and what they think worked and needed work.
The big thing I’d be interested in hearing about from people is my last point on largely adapting the pbta mechanic to Fate dice (the last point) but am, of course, interested in any and all useful feedback.
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The Powers Summary (where you write in all the powers your character is capable of), and the Powers Profile (where you write in specific things your character has done and can replicate in several categories - Simple/Difficult/Borderline/Impossible) was easily the thing I got the most questions about. I plan on simplifying this by clarifying them, taking out the Impossible category, and making the powers somewhat analogous to 4E where things in the Simple column can be done “at-will”, Difficult things can be done once per encounter, and Borderline things can be done once per session. Some powers might have tags attached to them (replacing limitations). There’d still be a Push analog move to add new tricks and moves to the Powers Profile (or whatever name it becomes) organically in play.
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Redesign Take Down and also remove Conditions and the Minor/Moderate/Critical economy. Antagonists will have something more like Stress Tracks or clocks and then tags to jot down any flavour that needs to be remembered, things that trigger as they’re advanced along the track (they get stronger/run away/trigger a stage of their plan, etc.).
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With Conditions gone, I’m thinking of a Harm move of some kind with choices that get worse the more times it’s rolled in an encounter for protagonists.
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Redesign Advancement so there are no points. There’ll be a list of things with check boxes; at the end of each session you check a box off in whatever you’d like/are working toward (improve a stat, relationship, change up your powers, take a Trait [see next point] and so on).
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Streamline Drive Books to work more like Traits in more traditional games. Still need to be unlocked, still offer a benefit, but hopefully easier to grok that you can be working on and unlocking any Drive at any time and they help define what kind of person your character is and provides a flag for your MC.
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Rework Bonds so that, instead of being a currency in the game, they are predetermined downtime clocks that have to be dealt with and prompt downtime scenes (I don’t Know Who I Am Underneath This Mask; Failing Algebra; Government is Trying to Deport My Parents, and so on).
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Rework pbta style moves and the 2d6 mechanic to work with Fate Dice somewhat like my recent work on Operators. Obviously, this will be the biggest shift, but it’ll force me to redesign everything from the ground up. The mechanic will work very similar to the traditional 2d6 pbta mechanic but players will be rolling five Fate dice instead of 2d6.
This means stats will either have a 2, 3, or 4 beside them, and that number determines how many pluses are needed to have things work out the way they wanted them to. 1 plus under what they needed is a 7-9 equivalent. Minuses are used to either advance clocks in a scene (whether they be based on things going on in the environment, advancing a villain’s plan, or whatever else is going on), or add new ones.
While I think that this is simply an easier analog, especially for newcomers to the game, it also gives me a bit more of a framework to play with for when I rework the Basic and other moves, mechanically (rather than sum totals only meaning something, certain types of Traits could change blanks to pluses in your favour, or negate a minus under certain circumstances, for example). Opposition worked into the rolls with minuses and already-established clocks that mark things in the fiction helps with prep and require scenes, especially fights, to be more dynamic and interesting, which was another often-asked MC question.
Of course, redesigning moves is going to be something that happens regardless, but I can’t really start the core redesign without knowing if Fate Dice are going to be a dealbreaker for some. I’ve seen it work really well in Operators and I think it’ll allow for some fun shaking up variations in moves while still keeping things clear and intuitive for vets and newcomers, but what do you all think?
May it rest in peace.