War on the Skaven in Dungeon World (Inactive)

Game Master DM Mooshybooshy, "the Foolish"

Hello, everyone. My name is Mooshybooshy. You can call me Moosh.

I would like to start a homebrew campaign using Dungeon World rules.

All the rules for specific situations are on an easy-to-navigate SRD Wiki found here.

As for my campaign, like I said, it is homebrew. The world will be known as Gaia; I don't believe in improving on what is easiest for everyone to remember when it isn't that important of a detail.

In Dungeon World, there are 11 classes that are available to everyone:
Arcane Duelist (3pp)
Barbarian
Bard
Cleric
Druid
Fighter
Immolator
Paladin
Ranger
Thief
Wizard

Meanwhile, there is a big list of alternative, third-party classes that fit Dungeon World rules. I'll allow use of any of them, if you can make the PDF of the class you purchased available to me for reference. Otherwise, stick to the 11 that are publicly available.

FAQs:

What races/alignments/terrains are available?

Races: Any and all you can find on the SRD I linked above can be found somewhere in Gaia, though they may be more or less common. Humans are no longer the dominant or populous species on Gaia; that spot has been usurped by the dwarves.

If there's a different race that you would like to try to use, I'm pretty flexible, and custom racial moves can be designed if one has a creative and balanced idea.

Alignments: Any, but I'm not allowing PvP. I might change my stance on this if I grow to know the players in the party well enough, but at first I'll be enforcing this rule pretty strictly.

Terrain: Gaia has all environments represented in its diverse biosphere. The planet contains a single supercontinent that dominates one hemisphere and is surrounded with endless ocean. There are islands and one island archipelago nation, but they hold little importance to those who are landlocked.

What level of technology is the planet at?

Repeating crossbows and long rifles exist, but have not crowded out melee combat at all. Because good suits of armor are often treated with spells that help to resist bullets, bayonets of anti-magic steel are commonplace where rifles are used. Astronomy and mathematics are known to the learned, but only around the level of Leonardo da Vinci and Copernicus - this world's equivalents are dwarven, not human.

What motivates one to a life of adventure in your world?

The three biggest problems facing the civilized world at the moment are, in no order:

1) A bright red comet in the night sky that has heralded doomsayers to pop up in every city and hellgates to randomly appear in the wild, only to close and reopen again elsewhere; these hellgates have either lured in mortals that are never seen again, or has spat out hellspawn to torment all good folk in the surrounding area.

2) The ever-increasing population and volatility of the Skaven race from the deep places under the earth has been of great concern to ruling kings and presidents around the planet. (please don't sue, Sega);

3) A vicious, virulent plague is sweeping across the south continental shelf. The speed and efficacy of its spread has led many to suspect it is being done intentionally.

Players who would like to join my campaign can select which of the three problems they'd enjoy tackling. The other two problems will interfere and advance as they're dealing with the one that the party all agrees to pursue. This will also affect your starting location and your starting circumstances.

I also wanted to mention that WORLDBUILDING in Dungeon World is very much collaborative. You as a player will be expected to answer questions about the world from time to time that will help to shape the environment we're all playing in.

Im going to check this out when i find some time, sounds interesting.

Thanks for stopping by the thread, Archae.

By the way, everyone, when you're reading about Racial moves for your class, don't feel restricted by those. I'll allow any race/class combination and new racial class-specific moves can be easily devised between the player and myself.

While I still need to find some time to review your first post, I still wanted to pop in really quickly to lend my support to how cool of a system Dungeon World is. The system is really built to create an environment where both the DM and the players help shape the world from beginning to end.

Moosh I would be totally new to DW and I would have to use the SRD to play as I don't own the book, but I'd be happy to jump in as a human fighter. I think fighting against Skaven incursions would be pretty cool. How often would you like us to post?

Hey Lefty, you confused me for a second, I thought Hirtz double-posted...haha.

I'm trying to find a happy balance for post frequency, and I think 1 post minimum, 3 posts maximum per day is a good amount. I added a maximum because sometimes people (including me) can get a little over-excited and accidentally hog the spotlight, even when they don't mean to.

I hear you. 3 posts max is good, and a word count max would be even better. In my opinion, logging into a game thread to see that Robert Jordan Jr., playing the elven rogue, has blessed us with 1400 words describing their walk through the market the day before the campaign even starts, is a serious turn-off.

Haha, I think a word count max is a bit of an overreach of my DM authority. As long as I remind people not to go overboard with their posts, I imagine most people would be fine. Your point is well taken, though.

You used a rogue example - I find rogues and wizards to be guilty of this the most by far...fighters by contrast are often pretty terse. ;)

While I still need to find some time to review your first post, I still wanted to pop in really quickly to lend my support to how cool of a system Dungeon World is.

Just wanted to mention also that I appreciate the support, Mr. Hirtz. I hope you can join me.

I'd very much be interested! Saw your post on Reddit, been waiting a while for an opportunity like this. I GM games for some buddies, so it'd be a blast to actually PLAY a character as a change of pace.

Excellent, Glamgoat. Have a preference of plot from the three initial choices? What about class/race?

I'm interested, but I'm incredibly familiar with Dungeon World, and have written several of my own classes and am working on multiple hacks, so I'd rather give new faces a shot with it to spread the magic around. But, if there's an open slot afterwards, I'd love to be considered.

PS: I highly suggest that no one play the Immolator.

How forgiving is the dungeon world rule set to new players? I'm really keen to get into some fantasy pbp, at the moment I'm participating in an Atomic Highway game (hey Yorick :)) but this looks pretty interesting. After a brief read through I like the sound of the barbarian, and taking the fight to the skaven sounds like my kind of adventure.

Hi Yorick, thank you for the kind words. I personally have GMed live Dungeon World campaigns with a party of 8+ people, and I'm only counting children participating as half a person. It's a bit more cumbersome in PbP, but my point is that I'm not afraid of having a large party of players.

The skaven will always outnumber you, anyway. *evil grin*

Also, you just reminded me - here is a PDF of alternative versions of existing playbooks for Dungeon World. I'd strongly suggest that if you're considering playing a Wizard, that you use this PDF and be a Mage instead. Ditto Cleric -> Priest, Paladin -> Templar, and there's also the Artificer class thrown in there for gadgetheads.

Bantamweight: If you've played Pathfinder with any competency, you've already mastered a system that is way, WAY more crunchy and complicated than Dungeon World. I welcome new players to try it out and see how fun it is. You'll learn that for the most part, it's about trying to make the collaborative storytelling as fun as possible. Any slightly more complicated rules (like fighting off a mob of rat assassins all attacking you at once...) will be handled by the DM, me.

I'm leaning toward Elf Bard, but would be happy playing just about anything.

As far as the three hooks go, the comet and the Skaven situation are the two that immediately grab me.

Glad to hear some support for the comet idea too! Skavens were enjoying some justifiable popularity so far. Looking like the campaign will be focusing in that direction if things continue as they do.

Love having a bard in my parties. Really opens your options up while in town and on the road.

Sounds like a plan! Looking forward to the campaign!

Alright. Please see my character page for details. Let me know if you need anything else.

Not having ever played and just going through the list of classes, one kind of struck my fancy, voidtouched are they allowed/a decent class from how they describe the class it will be a bit like a dread?

No idea, as I haven't checked out that particular class! I'd be willing to look into it if that's the direction you wanted to go, though, as long as the PDF was made available.

Grigor: Character sheet looks good! When devising your backstory, feel free to exercise your creative liberties. I reserve veto power as DM, of course, but you can create your own background in Gaia, like what city you came from, what nation of people you belong to, if any, why you're adventuring, etc. etc.

I've done the preliminaries on my bard, and I'll write up a little backstory shortly (no later than after my shift this evening).

Getting very excited for this!

Locrian (glamgoat)

Hi Mooshy, it's bms42 from the /r/Dungeonworld thread. Just created an account to check in here. Are you open to any of the Grimworld playbooks? I own a copy, and could probably share the relevant class info with you as "fair use".

I am completely fine with Grim World, I've even played a game as a Necromancer from that collection of playbooks. So much fun to stitch my allies back together when they get dismembered...keeping undead dog bodies shrunk down in hexed canopic jars, to be unleashed at my command...good times.

Looks good Locrian! Get hype! I'm going to start prepping for the campaign to begin in the Skaven direction.

Please let me know when you get the IC and OOC threads started. Unless you want backgrounds posted here?

Nope! Discussion Thread
Gameplay Thread

So I think I'm settled on a Channeler with the Earth element. Moosh you should let me know if you're OK with that element, or if you'd prefer that it be slightly more specific, in which case I would probably select Stone. One way or the other, when I unleash my element I envision a stream of tiny rocks, i.e. sand, flowing forth to do my bidding.

Earth is a perfectly fine element to use for Channeling purposes; Stone would prevent you from causing mudslides or opening pits of quicksand, and what fun would that restriction be?

Great, as long as you're cool with it then EARTH it is. My profile now contains my basic charsheet.

Please meet Dhice Bierson! I'll start up a post on the background/bonds thread a bit later.

Earth is a perfectly fine element to use for Channeling purposes; Stone would prevent you from causing mudslides or opening pits of quicksand, and what fun would that restriction be?

We have, so far:

An Earthbender Channeler
A Fighter
A Bard

As solid picks:

Potentials are Archae, Yorick, and Bloodred.

For anyone reading this page and then going to the Discussion or Gameplay thread, you won't see any more "Beemser" posts: instead I'm posting under my character's name, "Dhice Bierson" the Earth Channeler.

I'm tempted by this. I've been wanting to try Dungeon World out for awhile. Not going to be able to think much about a character until this weekend though.

I'm also curious about how long you expect the campaign to run. As an experiment with a new system for me, I don't want to either make an indefinite commitment or run out and leave the game in the lurch if it's not to my tastes. Less of a problem if reasonable exit points can be arranged, but something to think about.

Hi there, just joined so I could post.

I saw your reddit post and I would love to try DW out before I buy and GM it. I'm pretty new to roleplaying as a player and GM, I have done a handful of DnD5th sessions as Gm and played in a few games of a friends homebrew RPG.

I live in Australia and was wondering if this would create issues with playing by post?

If not I would humbly ask if I could join.

Nah mate, you're welcome to join! The majority of forum activity might be at a time in which you're sleeping, but as long as you get caught up every day, that won't be a problem at all.

Alrighty that sounds great! I would love to try my hand at this.

I am currently looking through the play books to get a feel for the characters, I just have a few questions about how we play by post.

How do we go about character creation? (Do I create it, then submit it to you?)

When were we starting?

How do we work out rolling? (do we use an online randomizer? do you roll for us?)

I am currently leaning towards Barbarian or Druid right now as they are what I have always wanted to play/have played before.

Type [.dice=Hack and Slash!]2d6+2[/dice] without the period to roll dice. It'll look like this: Hack and Slash!: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (4, 5) + 2 = 11 You can substitute Hack and Slash! for the name of any roll you'd like to make, and 2d6+2 can be substituted for any die and modifier combo.

For character creation, I've set very loose parameters, so just create your character and introduce him/her in the Discussion thread.

I love druids! Barbarians are amazing too, and fun with how you can get extra penalties and extra bonuses to your successes and failures, but Druids in Dungeon World are particularly powerful with how Shapeshifting works.

And we're starting once we get one or three more characters. I think starting with a party of 4, 5 or 6 is a good spot for now.

Sorry, forgot to answer your question, Jeff:

It's going to run by chapters for as long as the story remains interesting. In the past, I've run campaigns that have lasted a very, very long time, because though I love spinning new threads, I'm not the best at conclusions. Ultimately though, Dungeon World is meant to be a collaborative story for all of us working together, so how long the campaign lasts is partially up to the players.

I will not hesitate to kill any and all of you if you screw up royally or make a long series of bad rolls, but if a character dies you can start a rerolled character at a 2 level penalty. If you die before level 2, you'll start a level 1 character.

Hi Moosh,

Thank you for answering my question, DW FTW!: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (1, 3) + 3 = 7

I'm just at work at the moment so I will think about my character and get back to you. I just like the idea of the Barbarian not fitting into how the the general area works. I just read the Paladin playsheet and found that rather intriguing also.

Never played Dungeon World, but I have watched a group play (Via live stream. It was pretty dang funny, though I think that's more the group than the system.)

I had an idea, but I need to check and see if it steps on anyone's toes.

Well, phooie. I wanted to try a landschneckt type character, but I don't think I can make a big enough differentiation to make it worthwhile to pick. Oh well, guess better luck next time.

Crazylegs it sounds like you can't really go wrong,but for what it's worth the Paladin is awesome to rp. The "I am the law" move just drips with rp opportunities, and paladin is no slouch in a fight either.

Hi Moosh,

Thank you for answering my question, [dice=DW FTW!]2d6+3

I'm just at work at the moment so I will think about my character and get back to you. I just like the idea of the Barbarian not fitting into how the the general area works. I just read the Paladin playsheet and found that rather intriguing also.

Cheers Dhice,

I'm about to finish work and then have dinner with my parents but I should have my character all done up in the next day or two. The only worry I have with Paladin is do not think I have enough RP experience to get in the right mindset.

I have been building on my idea of the Barbarian, possibly a disgraced ex chieftain who has been travelling far and wide to find the ancient relic that was stolen from their tribe to redeem himself and rebuild his clan.

Crazylegs it sounds like you can't really go wrong,but for what it's worth the Paladin is awesome to rp. The "I am the law" move just drips with rp opportunities, and paladin is no slouch in a fight either.

Crazylegs_Jackson wrote:

Hi Moosh,

Thank you for answering my question, [dice=DW FTW!]2d6+3

I'm just at work at the moment so I will think about my character and get back to you. I just like the idea of the Barbarian not fitting into how the the general area works. I just read the Paladin playsheet and found that rather intriguing also.

Well, phooie. I wanted to try a landschneckt type character, but I don't think I can make a big enough differentiation to make it worthwhile to pick. Oh well, guess better luck next time.

What specifically about the landschneckt did you want to emulate in their class? Their mercenary nature? Their halberds?

Crazy legs you should play what you want, but any class is what you make of it. A good, easy way to play a paladin is a reserved, faithful seeker of evil. You,can respect other people and their beliefs as long as they don't commit blatant evil right in front of you, saving your fervor for true threats to goodly folk. Every paladin doesn't have to be a frothing at the mouth maniac zealot.

I still exist. I'm trying to decide between the Arcane Duelist, Ranger, and Shifter.

I can make the PDF available through Skype or email if you would like.

Yorick: Tough call. I'm a shapeshifter fanatic so I'm always drawn to druids/Shifters, but being an Arcane Duelist would give the party a Face, and a Ranger would be extremely helpful at navigating the wild places that Skaven breed in.

Bloodred: Looks like an interesting class! I like how your patron is all about deceiving other people into thinking you're a holy man. Would your "aberrations" take on a fair appearance in order to help the deception? Send the PDF to me at the email address I just PM'd you.