Dungeon World Zeitgeist

Game Master Sbodd

Your boss told you this could be interesting, and from the look of things, he wasn't wrong. Blood has pooled at the base of the embassy's wrought iron fence. A window shattered on the upper floor, and the shards gleam in the garden below. The body of the young woman who was impaled on it is being taken in the embassy's doors by a pair of workers, while the security head is speaking with a district sergeant. Behind you, a crowd of witnesses is starting to disperse. What do you do?

I'd like to run a Dungeon World campaign inspired by the Zeitgeist AP from ENworld.

The short pitch: the PCs are a squad of the High Constabulary (think Scotland Yard/Homeland Security) of a fantasy nation in the throes of an industrial revolution. The setting is steampunk - early trains, firearms, steamships, along with magic and fantasy races.
The initial hook will be urban/mystery, but where it goes from there is "play to find out what happens". (For those familiar with the AP, I'm planning to use the opening of the second part, The Dying Skyseer.)

Want to play? I'm looking for 3-4 players. Available playbooks include the core classes (no Immolator or Arcane duelist), Grim World (no Slayer, Templar, or Necromancer), and Inverse World (no Captain). if you have something else, I'll take a look, but those are the ones I have access to.

I'm looking for players to make about one "content" post most days, and will generally try to post at least one substantial post per day myself (with maybe a couple of lighter posts to answer questions, etc.) Recruitment will be open through April 2nd.

I'd wildly guess that the initial setup will take 3-6 months to resolve, but since this is my first time GMing PbP in a very long while, and my first time GMing DW, that could be wildly off.

If you're interested, post which playbook you'd like, any major decisions (race, alignment, and e.g. cleric diety), and a couple of sentences about who your character is. Also tell me a little about how you came to work for the High Constabulary. Why are you trusted with the defense of the nation?

If you're interested but don't have a clue what Dungeon World is: it's a lightweight ruleset based on Apocalypse World. Most of what you need to know is on This Page, and that page also has links to the core classes.

There's a lot of detail in the published campaign setting, but I'm going to establish just a few bits as fact from the start; anything else is open to be defined during play.

Setting Summary
The PCs are currently residents of Risur, and members of its High Constabulary. Risur is a tropical nation with strong Druidic traditions, and a major global power. The recent introduction of several technologies (gunpowder, steam power, steel) has started an industrial revolution that's provoking significant societal conflict.

Flint, the city where we open, is a port city that's a major hub of development.

The embassy in the hook is that of Danor, which Risur just got out of a shooting war with.

The overall setting is fairly high magic; the working class can't afford much in the way of magic, but minor enchantments are available to even the modestly well off.

If you're interested, I look forward to seeing your character! And thanks!

Dungeon World is such a cool system. And the Zeitgeist setting is cool, too. Dotting in.

Is gunslinger ok?

Slyness - I look forward to seeing your character!

Castle Blades - got a link? The idea is fine, but the first hit I get on Google is a fairly bad draft of a playbook.

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/gunslinger/

I'm running Dungeon World, not Pathfinder. It's an entirely separate game; a link to the core rules is in the OP if you're still interested.

Sorry

Are you planning on doing anything with the Zeitgeist character themes/mini-classes?

And I think I'll try Druid.

I hadn't initially planned on adding the Zeitgeist themes explicitly - both to reduce the amount of text in the OP, and to avoid locking in all the details that go along with them. If there's a particular one you like, we can come up with a background move or a compendium class for it.

Quick bump for the weekday crowd - anyone interested?

Are you familiar with the Lords and Lore sourcebook?

The "Dark and Urban" setting just seems to fit so well with a Vampire. =) The old Elizabethan noble is always a-wonder and a-gasp at how the New World has changed.

(I promise not to play him cheesy. More Louie and less Lestat. But maybe a teeny bit Tom Cruise. Because why not? =)

Haven't looked at it, but it appears to be PWYW, so I'll give it a quick read tonight. I'm a little skeptical of the concept - my default preference is more heroic-fantasy, not all that grimdark :p hence the Grim World playbooks I ruled out.

How are you picturing this vampire earning/holding a position of trust? Would the rest of the party know? Your boss?

*chuckle* I've always had an unconventional view of vampires/necromancers. Sure, they usually are evil, but by no means do they -have- to be.

The sausage-making part of it would be as you thought best, but we can go many ways with it.

To make it easier on you, sure they know. Retzack has a good reputation, by day, as a happy fellow, always quick with a joke or to help a friend out of a jam. But he's a vampire. He says he'll never drink from an unwilling friend, as as yet he's kept his word.
By night he feeds mostly on a group of groupies that relish the rush that The Kiss brings, and the blood loss from just a nourishing sip is healed after a good night's rest, so no harm done.

He also is allowed to drink fully from condemned criminals, thus saving the cost of bullets for a firing squad, and saving others from the inevitable trauma that comes from being an executioner. He relishes the rush from a full belly, and it's a dirty job, so everyone is glad that they don't have to do it, thus it's a Win-Win.

The recent murder is, simply, bad for business. Retzack thinks that it -might- be a "traditional" vampire who lost his battle for his Humanity (and then went broke buying d10s). Retzack is anxious to put down this "rabid dog" since it might upset the careful balance that he's created in forging a good life for himself.

How's that? =)

For the Zeitgeist race Eladrin, would you allow a custom Racial Move for the druid? It corresponds to their Fey Step ability. If you want, it can be limited uses per day like the original, or some other limiting factor.

Eladrin: You can teleport to a space you can see within 30 feet.

As for themes, the Skyseer definitely interests me.

Atlas2112 - alright, I think I could work with that.

Slyness -

For Fey Step: per-day uses seem a little off in DW to me, but some limit seems appropriate. My immediate thought would be roughly:

Roll +(stat). 10+ you're there. 7-9, choose 1:
You were a little too slow
You left something behind
Something else came with you
your connection to the Dreaming fades, can't Fey Step again until you make camp (in the wild?)

I'm open to tweaks or alternate suggestions, if you have them, as well as your thoughts on what stat would be appropriate.

For the Skyseer background, what about something like the base Oracle move from Class Warfare - either as an available advance, or replacing (say) Spirit Tongue?

Truth and Consequences
When you examine the strands of possible futures, describe an event that is yet to occur and roll+WIS. On a 10+, name three
people, groups, or social institutions. On a 7-9, only two. On a miss, name one anyway, in addition to whatever else the GM tells
you. For each subject you name, the GM will tell you what sort of consequences this future event will have for them. You may only
examine each event once.

I agree with the limited uses per day not quite fitting. And I think you came up with an awesome alternative. Since it's fey-based, perhaps Charisma?

Re: Skyseer, sounds cool to me.

I'm excited, so join up, people. =) Dungeon World is very fun and collaborative!

Interested! I'm a big fan of DW, but have only ever played IRL. I'm very curious how it would translate to PbP, since there aren't turns per se.

I'm also not familiar with the Zeitgeist setting at all.

I'm thinking of maybe playing a bruiser-type cop; probably a fighter, or possibly a paladin.

In my last DW game, we came to the conclusion that the standard Fighter playbook was kind of uninteresting compared to many of the other playbooks. We started using the Improved Fighter playbook instead.

The big change is the inclusion of a new Fighter basic move "Battle Instincts," which lets the fighter know about her opponent's strengths and weaknesses, or allow a tactical advantage. (On a success, gain hold to choose from a list of effects.)

Let me know what you think of that playbook!

Here is the player's guide. None of the crunchy stuff will apply, but you can obtain a sense of the steampunk-y setting.

Welcome, Haladir!

The playbook looks OK. Str seems like an odd stat for Battle Instincts (feels like Int to me). The "negate a move" option sounds like it could cause some problems, especially in a PbP context where retcons can mess with the pace. Do you have any examples for how that option got used in your game?

As far as DW in PbP, I've been a fan from the player perspective. The lack of turns eliminates one of the biggest pacing killers from Pathfinder/d&d PbP.

Slyness - thanks for linking that. I'd also add that (aside from the items mentioned in the OP) the details in that are all malleable; I'll probably draw from the setting heavily when I'm posting, but anything that hasn't been stated in thread is open for changing or discarding.

Also, if any of you see a character theme in there that you like, we can come up with an appropriate move.

Are you full up yet?

Nope, definitely still have room! I look forward to seeing your character!

Slyness linked a doc about the setting, though that's strictly optional reading - I'll pull from the setting for some things, but anything that hasn't come up in thread is fair game to change.

What about a dual wielding gun toting paladin? I'm thinking sort of like Christian Bale from equilibrium. Believes in Druid traditions (source of magic) and worships the Law as if a religion unto its own.

Haven't seen the movie, but the idea sounds fine. As a warning, it's likely that "druid traditions" and "the Law" will come into conflict, so you may end up with some hard choices to make there. Definitely not saying you shouldn't go with that if that sounds appealing, though!

Hi there! =)

(Character submission from Atlas2112!)

I, ah, I believe MCKhaos may have a passing knowledge of this character. ;)
(Also, Gun-Fu rules!)

One of the things I most like about DW is how "off the rails" it can go sometimes. To take full advantage of that, might I be allowed a minor racial move?

And since I'm going with "human" it seems that something odd and entertaining and possibly not useful at all might be called for.

I've compiled a few suggestions, in no particular order. Just tell me the one you like the best and I'll just go with it. =)

It is one of my favorite terrible movies.

Maybe "Law" isn't the right concept. More "the Status Quo." Fights to keep things the way they have always been, without much consideration to the way things should be.

This goof.

I did see that movie! It was pretty terrible :p

And that rework should be fine, MCKhaos.

Retzack - my gut is to go with long-lived on that one. ("We don't understand" feels a little off, since you fit in well enough to have earned a position of trust. Don't worry, I'll still be asking you plenty about that foreign country, The Past!)

This is Burke. Righteous defender of the old ways. Or, at least what those in power claim are the old ways.

Still, the High Constabulary has found use for a man blessed with fanatical loyalty, a misplaced sense of self-worth, a dash of superiority complex, and a generous helping of confirmation bias.

Here is Adir, my first draft of the druid. Let me know if you have any questions, thoughts, etcetera.

Burke - looks good. Got an alignment in mind?

I didn't have particular rules for firearms picked out - do you just want to have
Dual Pistols (near, loud, reload, 1 piercing)
for your weapons? Are there any particular rules you've used/want to try out?

Slyness/Adir - looks good.

Haladir - are you still interested?

Could I sell you on Reload 2? So, can fire both pistols before having to reload them?

Should I advertise?

Ive done a couple of Dungeon World Pbps before, and while they didnt last, I had some good fun playing them, so definitely interested.

Both of my previous plays were as a Pirate (One time as an actual pirate, the other using the class for a dwarven gunner) so ill probably have to try something new this time (Though the class as a whole appeals so much to me I just might go for a third.)

Im also contemplating playing a "group leader" type, possibly a cleric, something akin to an Inquisitor in Warhammer 40k. Just, you know, without the absolute power to order the others around of course.

Bastian Kray, Hjalmar! Good to see you.

I'm MCKhaos, Morley, and Lyntel.

DM, could you open the gameplay thread so we can dot it for updates?

Also, I'm thinking Good alignment.

Bastian Kray, Hjalmar! Good to see you.

I'm MCKhaos, Morley, and Lyntel.

How about that, small world huh? Holla back at ya!

Hey there, Sbodd! Laguna here. Or to MCKhaos, Greas.

Now judging from the allowed classes, what's already taken, and the quick summary I have available to me, I am convinced the most appropriate choice of class to pitch is Rainlord.
I'm sure this raises many questions. Which is good! I'll do my best to answer them as soon as I can figure out what they actually are.

Hopefully this sounds alright to you, because I'm finding myself quite interested in being a weird liquid person.

Greas! How's your campaign going?

Doing good! Had a couple of players that I needed people to take the places of, and I have improvements to make on my end, but when your crew managed to set a magical library on fire and later collectively create a place in which time and space are twisted up which I just cannot wait to use to mess with them, I'd say it's all going well.

Also, I have the alias and sheet stuff for the Rainlord done already. All things considered, I found myself quite amused by the fact I could get a "badge of rank" from my gear list considering the circumstances of the campaign here.
Yeah, I grabbed that rather quickly.

I think I'm going to have to pass at this time... I've got some RL stuff I have to deal with.

Geez, I stop checking for a few hours and the thread gets busy! :p

Burke - reload 2? Makes perfect sense. Sold.
And I wasn't going to open the gameplay thread yet - going to leave recruitment open through Sunday; once I've picked PCs (might have to down-select at this point, I really don't want to go over 4 players) I'll post questions in the discussion thread and open the gameplay thread for dotting, expect that Monday morning.

Deliverance - Howdy! Let me know.

Infernal Zero - between Black Kappa and Retzack the Vampire, the RHC may turn out to be somewhat weirder than I'd been imagining. :p

Haladir - thanks for the interest, and good luck with the RL stuff!

I'm relatively new to DW, but I like it, and I like this setting. I also like the "post every day" attitude!

How about a Channeler from the Grim World playbook?

ZenFox - welcome! A channeler sounds fine!

Now that I've looked it over more completely, I have a question about summoning elementals : how long do they stick around after my Control goes to 0? Is there any way I can "dispel" it?

Would a background be enough to decide selection, or do I need to come up with a completed PC by tomorrow?

Background :
Tethys Araquinal was an ordinary child until she hit puberty, at which point her powers became manifest. Her family had to move out of the village she grew up in, when she lost control a couple of times and nearly destroyed the village. So she and her family moved around a *lot*.

When she became of age, she set out to see the world. Traveling a lot, doing odd jobs here and there, she started taking on jobs that others wouldn't, knowing she could use her powers to get out of scrapes.

Finally, she started doing un-lawful things, more for the thrill of it than anything else. Being over-confident, she eventually got caught, but after just a month in jail, someone from the High Constabulary approached her, offering her freedom in exchange for being part of a special team of misfits that was being assembled, to go on special high-risk missions.

How could she refuse?

As I read it, how long they stick around isn't defined. The Channeler has advanced moves to dispel it, but they require you to still have at least 1 Control. So the exact answer we'll figure out, but it's probably "long enough for me to use them in a hard move if I feel like it" at a minimum :p

And that background is good for now. What are you picturing as your primary element?

I haven't decided yet - still trying to figure out the dis/advantages of each element type. I'm half-tempted to do fire/eyes ala Cyclops, but that feels a bit cheesy...

Also, I'm wondering (based on some discussion posts) whether the Channeler's Techniques only require the CON-based roll to activate *and* take effect, or if a second roll would be required. Like, does a 2 Piercing Projectile automatically hit on a 10+, or would I also need to roll a Volley to hit?

In the game I'm playing a channeler, it's channel-only. The second roll would feel pretty strange to me; the Wizard doesn't have to Volley for Magic Missile, after all!

That's what I thought too - the discussion post was regarding a Channeler PC who was "too powerful", and a second roll was suggested in order to tone him down.

I've been thinking about my element, considering things like Wood or Stone, but I think I've finally settled on Ice.

So far:

ZenFox42: Channeler (concept)
Infernal Zero: Black Kappa:
MCKhaos: Burke
Deliverance: Bastian Kray
Atlas2112: Retzack, the Black

That's 5. Oh come on, DM Sbodd! You can take us all! =D

Pretty sure Bastian Kray's not his pitch for this campaign. He could be used here, but I don't think a version of him has been pitched for this one yet.

And you forgot Slyness! Or as I know them, Shyness! Hey, it's Sora!

So, the list looks more like this:

ZenFox42: Channeler (concept)
Infernal Zero: Black Kappa
MCKhaos: Burke Hoffa
Slyness: Adir Bloodmoon
Deliverance: ???
Atlas2112: Retzack, the Black

Which assuming all the characters crop up, is 6. Still in feasible range if I was judging, though I wouldn't go for any more. In the end, it's Sbodd's call though.
It'd be great if we all made it though - I know just about everyone here!

ZenFox - I can see where that might be a concern, but it'll depend heavily on how things get defined in the fiction. If it becomes an issue, we can figure something out when it comes up.

Black Kappa - that's the list I have, as well.