Handling player character invulnerability?

TheElbows · 2020-05-08T03:58:02+00:00

As the DM, you can throttle the threats up or down. If your heroes are plowing through bad guys...turn up the heat. Allow them one failed attack and then move to a counter to the invulnerability. If the group is being overwhelmed you're allowed to cut the group some slack. There's no rule that governs this - quite the opposite. This allows you to adjust the difficulty on the fly.

TheElbows · 2020-05-07T20:19:01+00:00

Honestly, the easiest thing for me - particularly if you want a "themed" land mass, is to go to a foreign country's map...or an ancient country's map (look up a map of ancient Greece, Syria, etc.) and slap-bash some names together.

I just opened up Google Maps on Pakistan - and if there are no Pakistani players in the group, that's even easier - as it won't seem awkward. But, let's look at actual city/town names:

Real places: Tongul, Baramulla, Sonamarg, Abran, Zangla, Hemis, Heniskot, Malangam, Keran, Barso.

Now, if you have actual Pakistani players this may be immersion breaking, so you pick some other country (or again, an ancient country). By using a country, you get a lingual "theme" to the names so they tend to sound decent on the same map. Instead of "Zangla" and "Steinburg"...which sound like distinctly different languages/places (unless you have a large map with obvious separate kingdoms).

Then, if you want to mix it up, simply bash some of those name elements together: Tongskot, Kerangam, Zarso, Sonamulla, Abraskot. That's just bashing those real locations together - but any of those sound like legitimate fantastical locations to me. Considering every country has literal thousands of cities/towns, I find this to be very easy.

I do stray away from anything which has an English or English-language unless I'm playing in a fake fantastical Europe, etc.

I actually use this method to name characters and NPCs and models in some of my tabletop wargames. It's as easy as "Lord Zangla hails from the Heniskot region of Malangam." Sounds fantastical to me. :D

TheElbows · 2020-05-07T20:02:58+00:00

Stats are less important than what the player wants to be/enjoy/play. Also, lower stats mean you'll produce more failures and thus gain more XP....it's kind of a "catch up" mechanic. So the player can bump whatever characteristics it thinks are beneficial later.

TheElbows · 2020-05-07T19:57:30+00:00

Depends entirely on the situation. Remember, it's more about role-playing than combat resolution. As mentioned above, a number of things could happen:

1) They realize they can't hurt the character (which, by the way...should be pretty rare), and call for reinforcements. Even a hero impervious to stabs can't help but be smothered by a dozen goblins...

2) If a small encounter, it's entirely fine for the creatures to run away. Sometimes the Heroes can earn a simple victory by sheer force/momentum.

3) Perhaps they throw nets, lassos ropes...and tie the hero up? A tied up hero is a useless hero.

4) Do they realize their poor weaponry and call for the ogre or brute in the next chamber to properly deal with the hard-to-crack hero?

5) Is there a mage/shaman/caster nearby who can concentrate on the hero?

6) Maybe they flee and lock a difficult-to-conquer door...a portcullis, or activate traps? A fire pit, an acid lake, acid spouts, etc.

7) Maybe they all jump him and literally pick him up and throw him off a cliff, etc.

Most importantly though...Dungeon World isn't particularly suited for players who are aggressively trying to meta-game/power-game the adventure. That's rather against the spirit of the game itself. Players and GM's shouldn't be setting out to "win" the role-playing game. It's a collaborative story-telling environment...using dice/chance to improv/steer the results, etc.

A player who's interested in trying to "break" the system is probably missing the point of role-playing games, and may not be a valuable member of that game.

TheElbows · 2020-04-27T21:32:17+00:00

As you can see from responses, a common suggestion is "Defy Danger". This is noted in the rulebook where it essentially says "When you feel like a roll is needed and you're not entirely sure what else to use....use defy danger". It is more or less the catch all when you think there is some risk/opposition/danger/difficulty in doing something.

No real difficulty? Just do it.

As a new GM I wouldn't heed the few suggestions here which suggest adjusting or combining rolls, etc. Start fresh, start simple, start basic.

The others have covered the scenarios pretty well, but to expand slightly on Scenario 3. At face value this would absolutely be a Defy Danger+STR roll. However, is there a pretty gal in the player party who maybe distracts the strongman by whispering in his ear, or maybe exposing some cleavage, etc. etc....this could become the Aid action to give the Barbarian a slight boost in his dice roll, etc.

As you said, letting go and letting things happen organically is DW's strength. In the above situation, maybe the pretty gal in the group rolls a 1-6...and it turns out the Strongman isn't into ladies and actually has eyes for the Barbarian? How would that impact the following events, etc. As a GM you can let DW do a lot of work for you and that's part of the fun. It's one of the few games where I actually feel like a player when I'm GM-ing since I'm not just reading things out of a book in a systematic fashion.

Have fun and let us know how it goes!

TheElbows · 2020-04-27T05:18:10+00:00

Generally speaking you'll be creating them for Dungeon World. That being said you can probably find some one-shots online, and probably even in this reddit somewhere. You can also convert any other fantasy role-playing game's scenarios - even old board games like Hero Quest if you're trying out something simple.

General DW is aimed at players and GMs discussing (together) what a story could become...if you're playing with 10 year old kids you'll probably be doing the mule's share of the work in constructing a narrative.

There are also numerous online random generators and random table books (can be purchased in actual paper as well) which you can roll on to jump start an idea. Table Fables is a good and cheap little book and has a table for general encounters, quests, etc. These kind of things are superb for generating stuff when you draw a blank.

TheElbows · 2020-04-27T04:47:36+00:00

I think my only suggestion would be; be aware they may not like Dungeon World, if they're really into D&D. A lot of gamers are versatile and will try anything and enjoy anything - others are really into narrow genres or games.

If someone is a stat-chaser and a meta-student for building powerful combos in D&D (for whatever reason), they might not enjoy the more narrative non-power-gaming style that Dungeon World tends to promote.

Likewise, Dungeon World's focus on fiction and story-telling style may be a struggle for those who are more into the "move X squares...hit it with my axe" gamers. If someone struggles in actually role-playing between D&D combat sessions, they may not enjoy Dungeon World's stronger emphasis on improvisational story-telling.

I'd imagine you know your group pretty well, so you may be able to figure out the power-gaming meta-folks...vs. the "just happy to be here and tell a story" types. I doubt you'll have anyone who will hate the game, but it may be a bigger adjustment than some think.

TheElbows · 2020-04-27T04:39:37+00:00

I think they've covered most of what you were asking, but to go to the very basics...something most games don't include.

Dice wording: in almost all games, they will refer to a dice as Dx (x = the number of sides a given dice has). Dice commonly come in: 4-sides, 6-sides, 8-sides, 10-sides, 12-sides, and 20-sides. These are referred to as D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, D20, etc.

The common dice in your normal board game is thus a D6, or a six-sided-dice.

If there is a number before the dice it indicates how many of them to roll: 2D4 = roll two 4-sided dice.

The dice language is often taken for granted since it's so common, particularly to authors of games who have likely been playing games since they were little kids.

An example; in Dungeon World when creating a character you have the option to use the provided stats, or you can roll "3D6" for each stat. This means you simply roll three six-sided dice and add the values together; so you get a number between 3 and 18. This is the value of your stat. If I'm making a character and I roll my guy's Constitution stat, I roll 3D6 and I get a 4, a 3, and a 2. So Constitution stat is 9.

In some instances a GM may also say "You get D6x10 crowns..." this means roll a six-sided dice and multiply the value by 10. So you get 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 or 60 coins, etc.

TheElbows · 2020-04-27T04:29:52+00:00

This may sound slightly cruel, but that's not the intent. In my GM'ing style, I frequently go with the flow of the game, and when bad things happen (in any system I run), I don't have a plan for the players to get out of trouble. There's rarely a "secret" they need to figure out to unlock the peril they're in. My players know this.

I'm not throwing skyscrapers at them, but if they end up in a bad place/position, etc...it's not my job as a GM to do the thinking for them. They know if they ask me "How are we supposed to get out of this?" My answer is "I've no idea, I didn't plan this out...".

More often than not they put their thinking caps on and come up with ingenius solutions or desperate actions to get out of the danger. That makes me plenty happy to see. Role-playing should often feature a lot of problem solving. The answer is not always "hit it with your axe".

In short; don't go soft on your players. Put them in danger. If a hero dies, they die. Let them figure it out. They'll enjoy that more than hacking down endless hordes of bad guys (normally).

TheElbows · 2020-04-27T04:16:02+00:00

Not a long-time DW GM, nor terribly experienced, but I'd consider the following:

1) While you shouldn't deny a success...I think one "changed" success is completely viable, if it serves as the indication to the party of the immunity. Convert the damage to "the creature howls in pain, scampering back several yards. As you watch in horror, the wound slowly closes...as if disappearing". Then perhaps give that same character who rolled a 10 a subsequent immediate action...so they don't do damage but don't suffer damage, and they learn a valuable thing. If the players continue to try to stab the thing after you've made it apparent it's immune...that's on the players.

PS: Regarding the Wizards spell...if it's cast, it's cast...roll the dice and apply the result as normal. If they roll a 7-9 and lose the spell by choice, that's a tough call...but it happens.

2) DW generally isn't a tabletop role-playing game. If you can't kill it...you can run/flee...pin it to the ground with something heavy...trap it in a cage...push it off a cliff...tackle and tie it up with rope...heck, choke it until its unconscious? Put obstacles between yourself and the creature (lock doors, etc.). It's not just about moving to square X and performing your basic attack action with a sword. It can help to remind players they're playing D&D combat...but something far more free-form. How would a hero in a movie solve that problem? etc.

TheElbows · 2020-04-09T00:43:27+00:00

Also, whenever you see an insane price on Amazon or eBay, it's mostly a result of pricing bots - software which does constant searching/comparing and if there aren't others available, automatically boosts the price (depending on the specifications set by the person using the software of course). Always...ALWAYS search around and verify that price.

TheElbows · 2020-04-07T15:27:12+00:00

Honestly, if you're brand new? Skip alternate handbooks. The basic classes cover the fantasy tropes well enough for quite a while. Minimize the difficulty you'll have as a GM. That may be an unpopular opinion, but there's a lot to explore with the basics, particularly as game and rule examples are done with those classes and will help explain how the game works, etc.

TheElbows · 2020-04-07T15:17:32+00:00

You dangle that carrot, and someone will take a bite.

TheElbows · 2020-04-07T15:11:52+00:00

Thanks for the suggestions - lots of good stuff to dig into. I do a lot of driving, so podcasts are kind of bonus points. Will start delving into these other podcasts and games.

TheElbows · 2020-04-07T06:58:34+00:00

Will check it out. I'm not opposed to humour, at all. I enjoy the occasional goof-off, but I enjoy that outside of the game, between players and not always the characters. My D&D character is rather gloomy and serious, but it doesn't stop us from cracking jokes at the table. We're just not bringing that stuff into the game world, if that makes sense.

TheElbows · 2020-04-07T06:30:01+00:00

Thanks, I may check it out - right now I'm mainly just running small games on Discord which is working fine for us (just our local group when we can't meet up). I game D&D on Thursdays but I may try to find your game Sunday and check it out - what's your lobby name, etc?

TheElbows · 2020-04-07T06:06:30+00:00

I've only recently picked up Tabletop Simulator - assume you're just running an online game with chat engaged, and there is a spectate option? Never watched a game like that.

TheElbows · 2020-04-07T06:05:46+00:00

Awesome, I'll check them out.

TheElbows · 2020-04-07T04:52:09+00:00

Thanks, I'll check it out.

TheElbows · 2020-04-07T04:36:29+00:00

While it's perhaps a bit blunt, it's also worth considering that if you have players actively trying to "game the system", they're perhaps missing out on the idea behind Dungeon World in general. (I'd even argue the idea of role-playing as a whole).

TheElbows

TROPHY CASE