Dungeon World - Strom's Six (Inactive)

Game Master Infernal Zero

Question. I've thought on one of the things I brought up when discussing magic with the Herald.

In the instance that I notice a roll using modifiers that I don't quite consider correct in the circumstance, I've a tendency not to mention it if it wouldn't change the result of the roll.

Let's use a Defy Danger as the example for the hypothetical here, since this is likely where it would come up most.
In this instance, you're trying to avoid being affected by an illusion. You describe the way your perceptive eye looks over it, and picks apart every inconsistency with what the reality might be.
You've rolled +WIS, on account of a keen eye picking out details and generally being perceptive. My thought at the time is that +INT works better, since you're using logic and deduction to reason the illusion's falsehood and thus eliminate its effect on your mind.
Your INT and WIS mod are the same, however. Changing the modifier between them would not significantly impact the roll.

Would you prefer I say anyway in such instances, so that you might gain a better understanding of my thought processes for when you attempt future rolls, and/or a chance to discuss things like this? Or would you prefer I continue as I have and not say, leaving out posts that are technically unnecessary and generally not panicking people with a "well, actually..." that might not even warrant a discussion?

As a rule of thumb I'd try to stick to, any issues relating to your rolls that might have an impact (for example a roll changing between a 6- and a 7-9 depending on the modifier, or putting you in aid range) would go to gameplay first. If I didn't deem it so important, the intention is that it would go straight to discussion.

Is there a preference, or am I just over-thinking things?

That, as a rule, sounds good. I follow your logic, and support the feedback loop that makes tabletop gaming possible.

I think explaining why you're asking for +INT instead of +WIS on a roll (for example) is always a good idea. As long as it's short, I have no problem putting it in Gameplay. But perhaps any debate about it should go in Discussion?

Good thoughts, Loopy!

BTW, sorry, not dead, just busy!

Feel free to take Terestria as a Bear-Hireling for a little while if you're waiting on me :)

Fizzy, I just noticed - where did that Bag of Books come from? It's just labelled "Books" in your inventory, but from comparing to the gear selections you should have either the Leather Armour or the Bag of Books and 3 more potions than you currently have. Not a Bag of Books and the Leather Armour.

If I've forgotten something that's fine, but otherwise could you amend your inventory? Either you have the Leather Armour, or the Bag of Books and 3 extra potions. One of the two. If you decide to lose the armour, I'm not going to make you take the extra damage you would have, but that's no armour going forward.

Possible I boned it...so lets go with I do not have the books that you get to use. Instead it is just a bunch of story books and the like that Fizzy likes to read and "reference" on how to adventure?

Just fluff.

Will that work?

Fine by me. Sounds like the sort of thing Fizzwiddle might have brought with him. Make sure to mark off the uses, maybe change how it's labelled so you don't get confused later. Set the weight down to 1 as well, unless you really have a LOT of those story books.

will do. there will be no mechanical advantage. just things like

"so and so tricked the dragon by using a fishing line and toy monkey...so where can we get a toy monkey?" that kind of crap

I just gotta say, the Herald's misunderstanding of MWG's role brought a smile to my face - thanks!

Just a quick post to say I'm here, and eager to get this rolling again!

Starting a game here for those interested.

Definitely dropping in there. Updates first, though.

MWG, why did you roll 1d8+1 for damage? If you were adding your STR, than I think I should note that you don't add your strength mod to your damage in Dungeon World.

The nunchucks are listed as +1 damage...

Ah, right. I was just confused since you had the +1 in your statline.

Just make sure it gets changed if your nunchucks get lost/broken.

So, I'm pretty sure we lost Elena. It's been like that for a while, I'm sure, but it's just not something I drew attention to.

What do you want to do? Do we find someone else at some point, or do I need to change the campaign name?

That depends, do you think you can find a sixth player in Recruitment? Or, what I mean is, do you think you want to go through the effort of recruiting one person?

Apart from not being sure if I should create a new recruitment thread or just call for another player in the current one, I'm not concerned about the effort involved. It's all fine with me.
How do you usually go about it in this situation?

Anyway, I'm more concerned about whether the rest of you have any problems with me getting someone new in. If you prefer the group as is, it'll stay that way. If not, we'll get someone else. Whatever the consensus is.

i would just invite someone i had played with before, or make it a thing. Strom's Six, but we are always off searching for the 6th

My thoughts exactly. Inviting someone would be more ethical than making a new recruitment thread looking for 1 player.

Or, as Mini aptly put it, make it a running gag kind of thing.

I'm afraid I won't be of much help in deciding - either way is fine with me. :)

The running gag might be a more appealing option if there was any grounding for it in fiction, but as we only have the title...not so much. It'd want setting up at least.

As for invitations...I'm ashamed to admit I didn't consider inviting someone from the other table before now. It only seems appropriate that they have first consideration. As far as I'm aware, Ramonde's player has had recent activity, and Gorn is being used in another campaign, but their player is also about. I don't know if either of them are able to join, but I believe they're still on the forums. I'm unsure whether the other players that went to that table are about.

If you have any particular preference between those two, or your own suggestions of who to invite, please make them known.

When you say preferences, do you mean like personality-wise, or practical situation-wise? Either way, I don't think it's cool to compare people like that. Just pick one (at random, alphabetically, follow your gut, whatever) and invite them. Then if they decline, invite the other one.

And don't stress it, okay.

I've sent out an invite. I'll give it a bit, and see if I get a response.

First invite didn't end up working out. I forgot about someone else, and I'm sending them an invite now.

I used to program for something called a MUD (multi user dungeon) mostly writing descriptions. The number one thing I learned was that, in a text-based adventure, players are always entertained by more fluff, but they'll still need to be able to scan for the points of interaction in the scene in order to play effectively.

Good to know. I'll try and make sure they're apparent going forward.
Feel free to let me know when I don't deliver on that.

To ALL INT rolls? dang. I was thinking it was to Casting Spells like the other spell-y moves. *shrug* Good thing I built INT/CON...

Personal amusement with the reaction aside, it does say -1 ongoing to INT. A penalty specific to Cast a Spell would be far less effective, since as long as you're casting within the right parameters you can't go below a +1.

Gotta be careful what you assume.

Yeah, I looked at it when you pointed it out. *shrugs apologetically* It's still the course of action I'd like to take, and my expectations of the outcome aren't significantly effected, nor is my enjoyment of the game.

Spent most of my time on landing those sweet comedic anachronisms ala Aladin's Genie.

And gosh, this whole situation has become a big mess. A farce. And the GM posts are becoming longer and longer. To be honest, I think I would prefer the scenes a bit more coherent. Everyone sticking together, dealing with the same dangers. What do you think, Loopy?

My posts have been getting longer? Whoops. Sorry about that. I've got a bad habit of getting rambly, and that aside, I'm still trying to figure out how to narrate everything and such. Glad you pointed that out.

A more coherent scene would be great, but I need to know how to write that. Mind explaining to me what to do to help clean this up? And the same with the whole 'sticking together' thing? Or do I need to figure that out myself?
This is a tricky thing to learn...though I'm sure at least some of you already know that.

Personally, I have no problems with the long posts, there's a *lot* going on here! And in any combat situation, members of the party will often split up to take on individual members of the opposing forces. Granted, sometimes it's groups of 2 or 3 party members acting together, but this group got split up by the events, so...no harm, no foul AFAIC.

I mean it's probably not a thing that you're doing wrong per se, and I don't even know how feasible changing it would be. That said...

If I look back at the gameplay from Page 1 and 2, I see that we were working more as a team there. We had dangers and we overcame them with some degree of everyone contributing.

Now, with everyone on their separate places, with their own separate dangers, this feels kind of like there's five separate games going on. And for a while that's not a bad thing, and in fact some kind of separation can be refreshing to keep things interesting. But it's been like this since the library-domino scene (as a result of my ingenious move). When everyone's acting on their own, challenging their own dangers, there's little-to-no opportunities for another player to step in and help.

To look at this from a concrete example: The Herald is sliding away from the others, so interacting with her would be difficult. I am 1-on-1 with a golem, as is Terestria. Fizzy is busy being strangled or something, but on a separate floor. Maybe I could jump there and help him out, but then there'd be an extra golem for someone else to deal with (possibly MWG or Terestria).

If this were a F2F game (it's not, it's PbP, and a different thing, but bear with me here:) you couldn't turn to one of us and say: "Hey X, Y looks like he could use your help. What do you do now?" The reason you can't ask that is because, well, because we're not encouraged into helping one other. Every man for himself.

I'm wondering if you've noticed this?

I think the length of the GM posts is just a natural result of events escalating to the "five separate events" thing.

As I said, this is hard. Come to think of it, I think part of this is a side-effect of everyone coming down separately.
If I have the timeline correct, MWG was the first to fall, though he ended up being dragged away from the enemy here.

When Fizzwiddle got away from his first instance of separation, with the fire, he was the next to fall trying to grab his potion and got a golem focusing on him as a result. He IS on the same floor as you, Bikke - he went down before you did, even. I'm not sure what I said to make you think otherwise after he fell in, but I'm going to have to be more careful.
Or maybe you just missed him falling in when he went for his potion? I don't know. I would have said that he was back up in the library when I said you had the chance to help him - same for MWG. Is that why you went for the grapple with the crossbow golem? You thought Fizzy was on another floor?

You and Terestria fell in next, due to you collapsing the floor. Terestria was in combat with a golem before the fall, and after her landing it started trying to hack off her arm. You fell and got shot, but other than that you were free to provide assistance.
I think MWG arrived back with everyone else around this point in time.

The Herald was the last to enter, on her sled. And now she appears to be trying to lead an elemental to Lincoln and Terestria.

I think part of the issue is the drop in active party members. With the vanishing of Elena and Terestria being unable to post due to circumstances of their own, there's generally been only four of you doing things at once.
The other part is just the way I've done things, I guess. Perhaps being heavy with the pressure, or making some dodgy calls when making moves. I'm going to have to make a few adjustments.

Got some news, though - the second invite worked out. Hopefully, having another player will help alleviate some of the issues until I can refine what I'm doing more.
Yizid should hopefully show up soon. I'm hoping he'll slot into the group without too much difficulty. I'll get to work on writing him into the campaign once he makes himself known here.

Fizzwiddle IS on the same floor as you, Bikke - he went down before you did, even. I'm not sure what I said to make you think otherwise after he fell in, but I'm going to have to be more careful.

Hm, must have been this:

Fizzy's currently being held by the throat by one of the three on the lower level.

I must have thought that you meant that as a relative to my position, as in: "on a level lower than yours".

I think part of the issue is the drop in active party members. With the vanishing of Elena and Terestria being unable to post due to circumstances of their own, there's generally been only four of you doing things at once.

That's possible, and on top of that there's the resulting decrease in posting frequency. When things are moving at a reasonable pace us players can have an easier time staying on the track. For example that thing with me misunderstanding the party members' positions. When the game bogs down, that's when the vision of the fiction can become muddier.

Ah. I'm all for prose exposition, but if you could please end it with "take a free hit" or "roll your damage", that would make your intentions clearer, thanks! :)

I'm not trying to tell you what you can do - just point out the circumstances and any opportunities so you can make those decisions yourself. You could have just as easily tried to pry its head off and throw it at another golem, for example. You'd have needed to roll, but due to the surrounding fiction it would be safer for you than normal if you didn't get a 10+.

Also:

MWG targets one of its legs with his whirling nunchucks, figuring that if it can't walk, and we stay away from it, it can't harm us.

NOW you're thinking with tags!

As I said, this is hard. Come to think of it, I think part of this is a side-effect of everyone coming down separately.

Hey, GM'ing any game is hard, and I completely agree with you that the long posts are due to everyone getting separated. And even that's not all your fault, AFAICT it's mostly the logical outcome of the *players'* decisions about what to do.

..you couldn't turn to one of us and say: "Hey X, Y looks like he could use your help. What do you do now?" The reason you can't ask that is because, well, because we're not encouraged into helping one other. Every man for himself.

DM Loopy did just *exactly* that with me in his previous post : "...but you could just as easily get the drop on the golem attacking the gnome or the one pointing a crossbow at the dwarf. What do you do?"

I think DM Loopy is doing a fine job, considering the complicated circumstances.

Hi, I'm going to be joining the campaign with this character.

For reference on the character's story, Yizid poses as a retired priest, though he is actually a thief by profession. He tries to exploit his supposed history for his own gain.

He somehow made it to the floating island with a magical ladder, and he's planning on joining the attempt to assassinate Lincoln when the opportunity arises.

Greetings, Yizid! Good to have you here. Debating whether to slot you in now or the next update.

Since you've been employed by Strom, I'm going to start you off with the same set of questions everyone else needed to answer at the start.

• How were you convinced to do Strom's dirty work? Were you bribed? Blackmailed? Deceived? Several of these factors? Different ones entirely?
• How familiar are you with Strom? Have you done any work for them before?
• Where were you when you were recruited, and who were you recruited by?
• Is this the first time you've been hired to kill?

One more thing - it was decided earlier that everyone gets a signet ring to signify their employment. It's silver, with a central symbol representative of the wearer that's surrounded by a ring of amethyst. The unique portion of Terestria's ring, for example, is a red thistle.
Since you're employed by Strom currently, I'd imagine you'd have one. So, what's the symbol for your ring?

Bikke the Pirate wrote:

..you couldn't turn to one of us and say: "Hey X, Y looks like he could use your help. What do you do now?" The reason you can't ask that is because, well, because we're not encouraged into helping one other. Every man for himself.

DM Loopy did just *exactly* that with me in his previous post : "...but you could just as easily get the drop on the golem attacking the gnome or the one pointing a crossbow at the dwarf. What do you do?"

Huh, that's really neat. Consider my point moot.

At no point did I intend to imply that Loopy was doing a bad job. I just wanted to voice my concern and criticism.

Welcome, Yizid! Just to let you know, I am (OOC) convinced that we are the bad guys of this campaign. The fact that we are literally assassinating Lincoln is not helping. This campaign is awesome, you'll love it.

You guys...I feel great right now, it's amazing.

How were you convinced to do Strom's dirty work? Were you bribed? Blackmailed? Deceived? Several of these factors? Different ones entirely?

Due to his desire for honor, Yizid is always open to opportunities for lording it over others. Lord Strom gave him an opportunity to travel for just such a purpose. It may be different from Lord Strom's purpose, but Yizid is not one to pass up an opportunity. However, Lord Strom misled Yizid to some extent regarding the Winter. Had he known what kind of effects the Winter might bring in its wake, he might have looked elsewhere for different opportunities.

How familiar are you with Strom? Have you done any work for them before?

Lord Strom knows Yizid better than Yizid knows Lord Strom, and Yizid knows that. He just doesn't have any qualms with dealing with shadowy people. Lord Strom only just contacted him a few months ago to see if he was fit for the task, perhaps surveying him beforehand, and Yizid has been procrastinating ever since then.

Where were you when you were recruited, and who were you recruited by?

Having received a message from Lord Strom by courier, Yizid replied in kind with interest. With Lord Strom's second message, Yizid was asked to speak with the courier, one of Lord Strom's lackeys. The conversation went well, and Yizid was exposed to Lord Strom's plans.

Is this the first time you've been hired to kill?

Yes. Yizid usually prefers living victims to dead ones.

Looking forward to see how Fizzy handles Elena being gone and Yizid being here...

Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6 (Messy - meh, could've been worse...)

It seems you're not impressed with your damage, but 6 is actually a fair amount of damage, let alone when it's Messy damage, which proves rather destructive.

Armour aside, you can one-hit a lot of things with six damage, and two-hit several more. If you managed to get out 8 damage consistently, I don't know of anything in mind that could take 3 hits of that without its armour.

You'd be surprised how much damage you deal.

I keep forgetting how low monsters' HP are in Dungeon World. Thanks!

I guess my biggest issue is that with PC's doing only a single die of damage, you can often roll less than your opponent's armor, thus getting no damage out of a solid H&S "hit".

Often? 3 armour is on the high end, actually. 4 is positively supernatural, and 5 means you're probably fighting a dragon. Which is bad news for you.

Armour might make your damage less impressive, but most armour you encounter won't null your damage the majority of the time. I'd only worry about it if you're rolling d4. Even at d6, it takes significant armour for dealing damage to be 50/50. And that's without damage bonuses or piercing!

The plan is to wait for backup and disavow any involvement in the creation of the creature. I mean, dungeons always have bosses at the bottom, right? They're just something that happens naturally in large structures, and it's not like I've been personally involved in creating all of them.

Sorry. I honestly thought I'd put up another post sooner than I had.

I'll try and get something up before too long. By the end of tomorrow at least, hopefully.

Ready for EOS.

yup lets di it!