Before we get into the Dungeon World ruleset, I need to know a few things about your character. Don't think strictly mechanically, but understand that like some older RPGs, not all races can be every class. And not all classes within Dungeon World work exactly like what you might be used to, concerning recent fantasy roleplaying games.
Characters in Dungeon World are class driven.

We'll get more into exactly what each class entails later, but right now pitch me a character that might be interested in the following:


If it helps, I'll give you a basic rundown of the available classes, and their associated racial options.

• Bard (elf, human)
• Cleric (dwarf, human)
• Druid (elf, halfling, human)
• Fighter (dwarf, elf, halfling, human)
• Paladin (human)
• Ranger (elf, human)
• Thief (halfling, human)
• Wizard (elf, human)

I choose human bard.

My thinking is that, while he may or may not be an orphan himself, (I haven't decided) and while he may be "able-bodied" or "brave," his main motivation for answering the poster will be to people-watch. An ad like that is going to bring out lots of interesting characters to study. And no doubt those "vast distances" will demand some music to fill in the boring bits.

I think my character is going to be young. Even he doesn't know what his exact motivation in life is. His main drive right now is a zest for adventure and novelty. That could mature into a more evil vein -- a drive for power and control; or it could grow into a cautious respect for others and their individual choices.

(I'm assuming since this is a kingdom building game, he's going to be making choices for a large organization; so I'm thinking in those terms.)

Awesome! It just occurred to me, you should also check out the Game Info page for additional information. Link back to this game
Does that change your selection?

Assuming it doesn't, what is your Bard's name? Also, what are his/her Looks? Suggested options are:

• Eyes: Knowing, Fiery, Joyous
• Hair: Fancy, Wild, Stylist Cap
• Clothes: Finery, Traveling Clothes, Poor Clothes
• Body: Fit, Well-fed, Thin

Feel free to add your own descriptors.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:02, Fri 01 Nov 2019.

I haven't thought of a name yet. In the interest of not holding things up, I can go with: Knowing eyes, stylish cap, poor clothes, and thin body.

And yeah, even after reading the game intro, I choose bard.

Excellent!
As a Bard, you'll now need to choose an area of expertise. Choose one:

• Spells and Magicks
• The Dead and Undead
• Grand Histories of the Known World
• A Bestiary of Creatures Unusual
• The Planar Spheres
• Legends of Heroes Past
• Gods and Their Servants

You'll also need to choose an alignment. It can change as the story progresses, but only you can change it--not the GM. It's not something to be used to trap players, but creature open and interesting roleplaying scenes. Your options and aims are:

• Good - Perform your art to aid someone else.
• Neutral - Avoid a conflict or defuse a tense situation.
• Chaotic - Spur others to significant and unplanned decisive action.

Also, the NPCs are up!
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:38, Sun 03 Nov 2019.

Grand histories of the known world.
Chaotic.

For names, I'm rolling some stuff off my tongue:
Leol, Leode

Gotta find something that fits just right. I want something with a bit of a northern european feel, but not full viking.
Also accidentally typed "Lethric," which sounds cool but a bit too much like an evil count for the character I have in mind.

I'm lovin' the choices! This is shaping up to be a really interesting game.

All you need to do now is set your starting ability scores. One thing to note concerning Ability scores—and it's the biggest difference from other d20 RPGs—is that the Ability scores do not scale the same as D&D or Pathfinder. They're close, but not the same, as you will see below. Everyone starts with the same array, but can assign them to their Abilities as they want. Oh, and you can't have a score higher than 18 (+3).
Further, I do also want to point out that your Hit Points will remain the same. You do not increase in hp when you level up, except if you increase your CON score. Every class has a different base, which is then augmented by their assigned CON score (not the modifier).

Once you have your Abilities assigned, we'll go over gear. Gear and equipment is more simplified than other RPGs. We'll go over that after we solidify your character.

Ability Score Array: 16 (+2), 15 (+1), 13 (+1), 12 (0), 9 (0), 8 (-1)
Assign these scores to your Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. As a Bard, except for one, all of your class moves will use CHA. The other uses CON.

Your hp = 6+CON
Your Base Damage is d6

Note: I will produce for you a character sheet after we discuss gear.

I'm hoping Dex isn't as much of a god stat as it is in 3.5/pathfinder. If so I might not want to make it my dump stat (purely for metagame reasons).

STR 09  0
DEX 08 -1
CON 15 +1
INT 12  0
WIS 13 +1
CHA 16 +2

Sweet!
Dex is primarily used to make the ranged attack move, Volley. Or if you describe a Defy Danger move that, narratively, relies heavily on your character's dexterity. It also augments many of the Ranger and Thief starting and class moves. We'll get more into the Moves later.

Let's talk gear… As a Bard, you begin with a Max Load of 18 (9+STR). You also start with:
Dungeon Rations (5 uses, 1 weight)
Choose one instrument, all are 0 weight for you:

• Your father's mandolin, repaired
• A fine lute, a gift from a noble
• The pipes in which you courted your first love
• A stolen horn
• A fiddle, never before played
• A songbook in a forgotten tongue

Choose your clothing (you may choose both, as your Max Load allows):

• Leather armor (1 armor, 1 weight)
• Ostentatious clothes (0 weight)

Choose your armament (you may choose both, as your Max Load allows):

• Dueling Rapier (close, precise, 2 weight)
• Worn Bow (near, 2 weight), bundle of arrows (3 uses, 1 weight), and short sword (close, 1 weight)

And finally, choose one:

• Adventuring gear (1 weight)
• Bandages (0 weight)
• Halfling pipeleaf (0 weight)
• 3 coins

As you probably have already figured out, you can carry up to 18 weight.
Further, you'll notice weapons have tags (close, precise, near, etc). These should tell you something about the weapon, and how it can be used. Weapons do not have damage dice listed. Damage is determined by the character using the weapon. In your case, every weapon you use will have a base d6 die. This can be enhanced through your STR modifier, magic, and situational modifiers, to name a few.
The tags above are:
Close: It's useful for attacking something at arm's reach plus a foot or two.
Near: It's useful for attacking if you can see the whites of their eyes.
Precise: It rewards careful strikes. You use DEX to Hack & Slash with this weapon, not STR.

Also, many items (specifically general equipment) will have Uses. That is almost exactly like it sounds, but there are exceptions. For example, you have 5 uses of dungeon rations, but you can use a bundle of arrows many times before exhausting a use. I will tell you when a use has been exhausted.

And lastly, coins. Although precious metals such as gold, silver, and copper exist within the game world, they are used primarily as descriptors. All currency is measured simply as "coins."

Is there any reason to not take both weapons?

I'll take this:

• A songbook in a forgotten tongue
• Leather armor (1 armor, 1 weight)
• Dueling Rapier (close, precise, 2 weight)
• Worn Bow (near, 2 weight), bundle of arrows (3 uses, 1 weight), and short sword (close, 1 weight)
• Halfling pipeleaf (0 weight)

I'm thinking the songbook is like the Voynich manuscript.

As far as clothes, I do think he would have a set of clothes besides the armor, but we've already established his clothes look "poor." Now, I do like the idea of clothes that are ostentatious but also really ratty. But I defer to you.

Your dharacter sheet is up! Also, I built a reference thread too. When I play DW tabletop, I usually have a sheet out in the middle of the table with the Basic Moves for everyone to reference if they need help.

Please review your character sheet and let me know if you have any questions. I know it's quite large, but it has all the necessary information you need to know (I'll update the 6-10 Advanced Moves in a day or two).

Sorry, did not realize we were waiting on me.

Everything looks good to me.

I have decided my character will be named Liam.

Deranged millionaire John Hodgman once told me, "exposition is the key to narrative." The more descriptive you are, the more opportunities you have to trigger a Basic Move, even if you are trying for a Class Move.
Also, combat and other intense action encounters don't work or flow like in other RPGs. Think of this as a tutorial.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

As we come to the end of our first full week of gaming again, what do you think?

Maybe it's minor but I'm not digging the past tense. I keep wanting to write "does" instead of "did."

I like the Dungeon World system, I think it's very conscious about what it's trying to be, as well as about its roots in D&D.

When do we get to kingdom build?! :P

To be honest, I thought I'd write in past tense to try and give a voice to the narrator, but I agree with you—I don't like it, and I spend a lot of time re-reading my posts and editing it to keep the tense. I think we should change it to present tense, and never speak of it again.

You'll start kingdom building once you get to the outpost, which shouldn't be too long. Should be before the end of next week, depending on how frequently we can post throughout the week.

I trust you as a DM and I always enjoy playing in your games.

One thing I'm wondering about is how the more narrative-driven style of dungeon world is going to mesh with the traditional view of domain management, which is heavily numbers-driven. Or is your plan to avoid crunchy "spreadsheet"-type domain management and make the whole game narrative style?

I'm comfortable either way; I just want to calibrate my expectations.

Great question. I'm trying to convert the Pathfinder kingdom building rules (from the Kingmaker AP) into Dungeon World terms. I'm not completely done, but here's a sneak peak of what I'm working on:



The way I'm seeing this play out is, you'll have a kingdom sheet what you can use to track your kingdom and its cities and other resources, along with your character sheet. Adventuring will remain a significant part of this game—only using the Dungeon World ruleset, we'll be able to play through the adventures much quicker than D&D/Pathfinder, which will allow us ample time to world/kingdom-build.
More to come, but first, Liam and Company need to secure the outpost of danger...

WHAT does "WHAT" mean in this context? Is it a typo?

Yeah, it's a typo. I was going to explain there that PhosCo is the largest mining, shipping, and manufacturing concern on the continent.

Re: dice -- are you saying always roll 1d10 and not 2d6?

Yes. I forgot to clarify Dungeon World is a d10 system. You'll always roll a d10, except for your damage (which is d6 for bards). Moves can augment or add dice, but you base is always d10.

I don't understand how spellcasting works. I know I can "weave a basic performance into a spell" but what does that mean? Is there a spell list somewhere?

Edit: Going back to the dice, everywhere I look for Dungeon World says roll 2d6. 1d10 doesn't make as much sense because I will never be able to 'succeed' on things where I have a negative modifier like DEX.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:19, Tue 26 Nov 2019.

Nope, not for bards. They're not "casters" as we've come to understand them. In Dungeon World, you simply narrate it. Describe what Liam is doing, and how he is "weaving" his performance into his "spell." Basically, you make up the spell in the fly, using your bardic art. The spell's effects are determined by how you roll and what you choose.

That sounds really cool.

Are there limits to what bardic magic (or magic in general) can achieve? Can it directly damage creatures? Can it heal? Can it communicate over a distance? I know these questions are rooted in a D&D sensibility but I'd like to know what the limits are, in terms of both what can be done and how powerfully it can be done.

You're absolutely right--it is 2d6! I've been playing wrong for years... My friend Micky introduced me to DW, and we played with d10s, and I never thought to look it up even when I bought the book. That's totally my bad. Continue rolling 2d6+. Sorry about that! :)

RE: Magic-
Clerics and Wizards have spell lists that they have to stick to, but bards don't. They chose an effect, and an ally on whom the effect will apply, then make their roll. They're limited by the effects they can choose from: healing, adding to damage, breaking enchantments, or boosting aid bonuses. Advanced Moves allow for augmentation and other effects. For example, Vicious Cacophony increases an ally's damage from +1d4 to +2d4, while It Goes To Eleven can cause an enemy to attack their own. Further, Multiclass Dabbler allows you to take a Move from another class, such as the Wizard or Cleric, which can add to your magical arsenal.

Thanks. I wasn't putting it together that the bullet points under "Arcane Art" were more or less my effects list.

Sorry! I didn't realize it was my turn. Working on a post now.

Looks like you set up some real crunchy kingdom-builder stuff. Looking forward to solving the linear equations to maximize total productivity. :P

Is that what you're looking for? The kingdom management will be a numbers game, but the adventuring will be a bit more free form than what we're used to. Adventures should be quicker, and allow for you to solve problems in creative ways.

I'm still kind of setting a few things up, and will continue in the Outpost thread shortly. Until then, any questions on the kingdom sheet or phases?

No questions now. I usually don't get confused until I actually try to do it.

Actually I do have one question: your rules referecence "edict levels" but I don't see any edict levels posted in this game.

Are the edict levels just the same as the official Pathfinder ones?

That's a great question! I forgot to include the Kingdom Edicts table. I've updated the post to include it now. Your level options are listed on the left, and the center and right columns detail your benefits and penalties.

Happy Holidays

Happy new year.

Everything going okay?

I believe I owe you an explanation of what happened last week. Things in the office got busy and I neglected to post, thinking I would have time at home. Things at home are busy too, and I still didn't think to pop-in and let you know. I'm very sorry for leaving you in the dark. I really hope you are enjoying the game, but I'm afraid my start-stop style these past months have done some damage.
Here's what I'm going to do to prevent these lulls from happening in the future: I will post something every day, even if I can't post something in-game, I will at least post something in the OOC thread, so you know I haven't abandoned you again.

If you'd like to see something different, or if you have some ideas as to how you'd like to see in-game, please let me know.



Working on an in-game post now.

I certainly don't expect/demand that level of engagement from you, but if you're up to it I guess I can't complain.

I'm here, working on an update now.

I'm nearly ready to post an update to the in-game thread, but I also wanted to let you know that because you chose Ileosa's course this month, I need to reveal to you the game map. However, I need to get it loaded, which will probably not get done until this weekend.

I've gained the confused condition in real life as well. Is there a word missing from this, or a typo somewhere? Between the abrupt scene change and the strange wording it just seems to me like maybe part of your post got cut off or accidentally mistyped.

Also, unrelated question, am I supposed to be doing my first government turn soon? I know you said the specific timing is up to me each in-game month. I'm asking whether the characters are even capable of issuing government edicts at this point or if they need to do some more quests before that mechanic opens up.

Yeah, it's a typo. As I build my posts, I usually re-type them several times as I work out what I ultimately want to showcase. It is what remains of two or three different versions of the scene change, and I wanted to make sure you knew you were still on the mountainside, near the river. However, I wasn't sure how much flavor text or fluff you would be interested in reading from me. Besides, at the Dungeon World tabletop, a lot of descriptions (what you see on the journey, where/how you stop to rest, etc) should be left to you, the player. However, we haven't yet hammered out how that works in PbP. The beauty of DW is that you get as much narrative control as I do.
I wanted you to make your course selection, then hard-cut to the mini adventure.

Regarding the kingdom building phases, yes, you can kick those off whenever, but it would—in this case—end your scouting mini adventure under the assumption that you failed and deny you whatever reward you might have earned. Looking back, I should have included a fourth course option to simply wait out the month and begin the kingdom building phases. I will include that option in the future.
And yes, your character can issue edicts, but think of them on a smaller scale for the time being. My intent is to have you build up the outpost to a village, then a town, then a city as you expand and build additional villages and towns, which in turn support your kingdom at large. The mechanic will always be there. It's just that you're only in charge of a mining operation at the moment. The decisions you make, and the mini adventures you have will either help or hinder your outpost's growth.
As of right now, I plan on offering you 1-2 course options per month, maybe more depending on what's going on in the wider-world, and how you perform in your mini adventures. Time, in DW is a resource.

I hope my ramblings make sense.

Yes it does, thanks.

I don't know if you've seen Carnival Row (show on Amazon Prime) but there is a scene where the human and the elf/faerie girl are talking about human novels and it goes the exact opposite of how the scene went down in Clockwork Kingdom. He's like "here's a cool story I like" and she shows him it's just cribbed from an elf manuscript that was ancient when his great-great-grandparents were discovering how to hit two rocks together.

I like your way better tbh.

Thanks! I haven't seen it. But I'll check it out. :)

Am I right in understanding the result of the volley roll: a low roll still results in damage, there is just an additional consequence (in this case, a reduction in ammo) ?

Also let me say, I do not intend to solve every conflict with violence, nor am I stuck in a D&D/pathfinder mindset of "Oh, monsters, I'll roll initiative." But in this specific scenario, armed conflict does seem like what characters in this position would do. I did debate just hiding, but it seemed like the goblins would find the camp, spread out, and catch Liam alone in the dark.

Unfortunately low results don't usually deal damage. That's up to the GM. Here's an excerpt from the SRD that explains it better than I can:

The reference guide thread, under volley, says to always mark damage.

Edit: I'm not trying to argue with the DM. Just let me know what the rules are for your game.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:22, Fri 17 Jan 2020.

No worries. Don't ever hesitate to ask.
I think you're reading that from the 7-9 part. You would still deal damage on a 7-9, but also choose a cost. You rolled a 5, which means your move completely failed. You immediately are awarded XP (I updated your sheet), and I have to advance the story with you in a worse spot.
Does that make sense?

I've been toying with an idea to make the reference guide a table to clean things up; but I'm not sure if it would only over complicate things. What are your thoughts?

OK, that's on me. 5 is not 7-9. *facepalm*

I like the reference the way it is; I don't think there's a need to add more.

Which way does the river flow? Am I being carried back toward the mine or away into the unknown?

In reply to Liam (msg # 51):

Away from where you've been, further into the unknown.

Not erotic roleplaying, I swear.

Going for the mythical four-post.

I love multiple posts!

It seems like my best choice would be to build a house.

A park would increase loyalty, but a house allows other buildings, whereas a park is kind of a dead-end in terms of the building tree.

At least with 5 BP I don't have to deal with analysis paralysis.

Also, is there any kind of geographic or positional component to this? I remember seeing that Pathfinder had a grid where the players build out the town. Or is your system more narrative and less positional?

I typed up a big IC response at work, and for some reason I kept getting a 404 error on RPoL. I saved my post to a text doc so I will try to post tomorrow at work.

Short version is I'm making Sketch Royal Enforcer, Bryn General, Ileosa Marshal; building a house; and setting edicts at certain levels (don't remember exactly which.)

Sorry, was actually doing work IRL.

I'm in the same boat. I'll update later tonight.

You're on a boat?! (Trying to channel Sawyer since I miss his presence)

Man, I wish I were on a boat. Ridin' on a dolphin, doin' flips'n shit, goin' splashin', get e'erbody all wet....

I'm trying to figure out a way to present a map without presenting the whole thing. Then splitting it up in a grid for ease of exploration, while also keeping it editable enough for you to develop hexes...

Also, yes, there is a city grid in the Pathfinder system; but I'm not sure I want to make you play entirely within that box yet. If you want that added challenge, that is something we can add. What are your thoughts?

Totally fine without it.


When I had to do something like this for play-by-post, I would usually just make an image in GIMP (or Photoshop if available.) I'd add a layer for hex grid (which the program can generate) and another layer for fog of war/exploration. Then I'd just keep the link the same and update the source image as needed.

Got it! I got created a map I like, added a grid (and some other stuff), and got it uploaded. I believe I should be able to easily update this map as the game progresses. Thank you so much for your patience!

Edit: Check it out in the Game Map tab and let me know what you think. You've currently explored the blue hex. If you'd like a different color to represent the hex(es) under your control, please let me know. As of right now, I plan on coloring hexes you've explored but haven't yet gotten under your control a light red, and hexes you've made safe for assimilation light green.

2nd Edit: Also, which stat do you want to use as Ruler, CHA? And to which kingdom stat do you want it to apply, Economy, Loyalty, or Stability?

3rd Edit: Which position are you thinking as the analogue to Royal Enforcer, Royal Assassin or Spy Master? Please continue referring to the position as Royal Enforcer--I love it. In fact, feel free to change the names to any of the leadership positions as you see fit. Just remember to make sure I know which one it aligns with for the proper bonus.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:57, Mon 03 Feb 2020.

Map looks good. I couldn't have done better myself. I like the color scheme too.


I assume I should use the highest stat (CHA). I think for now I'd like it to apply to stability.


To be honest I was looking at the Pathfinder rules, where there is an actual position called "Royal Enforcer." It seems like this is closely parallel to the "Royal Assassin" position on your sheet.

If I'm understanding everything right, the Royal Assassin decreases unrest every upkeep phase, but having a vacancy in the Spymaster increases unrest every phase. So if I assign either one, unrest will stay still. But Spymaster has worse vacancy penalties.

tl;dr I will make Sketch the Spymaster, and we can just call him that too to avoid confusion with the rules for the Enforcer.

I know you know more about spreadsheets than me, but I have a suggestion:

If you have a spreadsheet to compute all the kingdom stuff, you could set it to export/display with tab stops. Then you could just copy/paste to the kingdom tracker thread and not have to manually compute/update numbers.

Of course, you could also just set the sheet to output RuBB code for RPoL tables, but that is a whole deeper level of geekery.

We had a two-second power outage at work and it seems like maybe it erased all of my landline's saved numbers and ability to access voicemail. Should be an interesting rest of the week.

You would think that would be on some kind of flash memory.

RE Royal Enforcer
I see. I had to google the position and found it on d20PFsrd. I've been using the kingmaker AP I bought from Paizo as my guide. It looks like the online srd is more up-to-date though. From what I can tell, the Royal Enforcer equates directly with Royal Assassin within the bounds of Pathfinder's kingdom building rules, but outside of the Kingmaker Adventure Path.
That said, you indicated above that Sketch will be the Spymaster so I'll update that momentarily.

Also, great suggestion with the tables. I'll see what I can put together.

That's crazy about the outage. Everything okay?

Yeah, we cool.

OK turns out we may not be cool. Do you know anything about getting Avaya-brand phone systems to ring? When people call here they just get turned away by a canned recording and I don't know how to turn it off.

I have programmed the phones before but usually it's stuff like "ring 4 times instead of 2" or "don't go to voicemail during business hours."

What is the difference between a resource and a building? Is it just a flavor thing, or does one go away after awhile, or what?

Edit: is it that resources are special and tied to the hex, while buildings can be built anywhere?
This message was last edited by the player at 19:00, Thu 06 Feb 2020.

If the Grand Diplomat, Priest, and Warden each have a vacancy penalty of -2 Stability, shouldn't I be at -6 for stability vacancies and not -5?

Both are enhancements to hexes on which they appear and benefit your whole kingdom once you control the hex. Buildings obviously can be built, Resources cannot. Further, Buildings can be destroyed and/or changed in a hex containing a city, whereas Resources generally cannot. That said, even though Resources do not expire or deplete (rules as written) they don't possess impenetrable plot armor.

I feel like my Economy stat needs to be higher or I'll enter an unending spiral of rising unrest and failed upkeep checks.

Pretty accurate model for a fledgling kingdom, actually.

Happy Valentine's Day. Good luck on those rolls to seduce.

Thanks! I appreciate that. I needed the luck, but it didn't work out this year. Maybe next year. I hope yours went better than mine.

I'll post here in a bit. Forging a post now.

Sorry, mistook 2 RPoL emails for the same one and didn't realize you had updated.

The great thing about this current conflict is that I as a player have no idea if these guys are on the level, or if they're imposters. It's easy to RP because there's no disconnect between player suspicion and character suspicion.

Soapy feels so much like a mix of a few different Terry Pratchett characters. Mostly Nobby and the one card player from Masquerade.

No post detected. Begin minigame protocol.

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I'm sorry! I'm here and have been working on a new post, but am having some trouble. My issue should be resolved shortly.

No problem.

None of my business, but is this related to your horrible Valentine's Day?

Nah, it's work. I got promoted to a role I didn't want or apply for. I'm working on getting to a new role that I am qualified for.

Also, sorry about the lack of formatting. I'll fix it later.

That sounds like a lot of extra work you'd rather not be doing. I feel for you.

Edit: two mechanics questions.

1) Can I actually make farmland at this point? My understanding is that I would need a nearby hex cleared. (Which accurately mirror's Liam's in-game complaints about farmland.)

2) Do I have to actively declare the end of each month or will the time come when you as GM just say 'okay it's time for the kingdom stuff to happen.'?
This message was last edited by the player at 17:11, Fri 06 Mar 2020.

RE: Farmland—You cannot make farmland right now, per se. You'll have to dedicate the rest of the month exploring another hex, and clearing it of all threats, assuming there are any. Once that has been done, you can create a farm on the hex, after claiming it during Step 2 of the Improvement phase and establishing farmland during Step 5.

RE: End of the Month—Both. You can always declare the end of the month, which will then begin the Upkeep, Improvement, and Income phases. However, if you don't, I will determine when we reach the end of the month, story-wise. If you do declare EOM, you will miss potential side quests and other events that can impact your kingdom.

I hope you're doing okay. Nothing to do with posting, just regarding the corona/COVID-19 virus. Stay safe and healthy, my friend.

Cheers,
-Jim

Thanks for the sentiment. I don't think either the virus or the craziness has reached where I live yet. We are seeing minor things like schools closing and supermarkets running out of TP, but nothing major yet.

Still in the pipeline, I guess.

That's good to hear. Iowa's seen less than 50 infected so far, but no one has died. Schools, restaurants, gyms, and other social gatherings are canceled. I'm working remote for the foreseeable future.

I genuinely hate these centaurs. Good DMing.

You might want to throw up a mature flag for this game. Not that it actually does anything, but still.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:17, Fri 20 Mar 2020.

I hadn't planned on it getting any more graphic than it is now, but it's a good call. I've marked the game as Mature.

I've updated the Game Map as well. You're currently in the gray hex. At this time I'm not sure I'll keep the colors as they are...
I think what I'll do is have you choose a color to represent your kingdom's realm of influence. Right now it is blue, but I will change it to any color you like.
Once I know which color you want to represent your kingdom, I will set some other colors to represent available, contested, and unexplored areas. I will also add a key/legend to show locations.

Which color would you like to represent your kingdom's realm of influence?

In reply to GM (msg # 91):

Green please!

I've updated the main game map, having changed your kingdom's realm of influence color to green. Red will indicate areas that are contested, or otherwise contain threats that prevent your kingdom from expanding there.

You like pirates (the abstract concept). Did you ever get into Black Sails? It's finally free on Prime and I was excited to watch the first episode - until I wasn't. It was like low-budget porn mixed with low-budget RPG movie.

No, I never heard of it. I might have to check it out. You didn't like it?

I didn't like it. But you might. To me it seemed like the kind of show that would have been really popular if it had come out a few decades ago. But you can get better blood, guts, and adventure on any number of streaming shows these days.

Sounds like a timing issue. Equal parts ahead and behind the times. Too bad.
The trailers I'm seeing online remind me of History Channel's Vikings. For a network broadcaster, it's a deep and high production value show; but when viewed against average shows on HBO, Netflix, etc, it doesn't appear to be anything special. Is that about right?

Anyway, how are you enjoying the game? I'm always open to criticism, constructive or otherwise. I'm interested in anything you'd like to offer.

Yup, you've got the right idea.


Your strength is in creating strange, fantastical scenarios. I'm reminded of Fantastic Familiarity in its best days.

I also like how you've integrated the adventuring segments with the kingdom management. Something that happens in one will affect the other, and they aren't just two tangential game modes.

My only complaint is that Liam's moveset and capabilities don't seem to get used a lot. It could be because I'm new to Dungeon World, and also didn't pick especially relevant abilities. As I learn the system more I'll probably do things that trigger moves. I could be using my human bard talent right now in game to get free hospitality, so it could just be learning when to invoke them.

All in all I'm having lots of fun. I like that we're in a sort of pocket dimension, it makes it plausible that a few people could seize power and develop a settlement. That wouldn't exactly happen next door to Waterdeep.

Thanks for the feedback. It gave me a few ideas already.

I'm going to play the rest of this tavern scene as if the NPCs are PCs, as far as posting and whatnot.

I don't understand what Allessia is saying to Liam.

A bardic performance. You had mentioned poetry or a story. She's saying that she'd be interested in listening to whatever you got in mind. Everyone else seems to be minding their own business or playing darts.

This is turning into the tavern scene from Tangled.

I've updated your character sheet.

Quick enough turn-around for you? :)

I'm loving  it! Now that I'm working from home these days, I'm also more available then before. I can keep this up all day.

I'm not sure if you are having Liam mix it up intentionally. You were hired by Godfrey, and found Mahlon mad in the mine. Was this player error, or is Liam obscuring the truth?

Player error, sorry. I know it hurts a GM when NPCs get mixed up.

No worries. I just wasn't sure if you were meaning to mislead Cetus or not. Thanks for the clarification. :)

After realizing Stan's game world is just the Falklands, I'm kind of curious which island Carceres' outline is stolen from.
This message was undeleted by the player at 17:43, Wed 29 Apr 2020.

Good eye! Carceres's outline are the north half of the US Virgin Islands.

How much does Liam know about the merfolk and their lore? Would he be able, in good faith, to make a pact like the leader is seeking? Or does Liam just not know enough to even be able to uphold his end of such a deal?

I'll leave that entirely up to you. According to your sheet, your Bardic Lore is Grand Histories of the Known World. However, I did write in the first message of the third session thread that you encountered your first merfolk. That doesn't necessarily mean you don't know about them or their histories.
I trust you. If you feel Liam would know, then he knows. If you feel he wouldn't know, then that's cool too; we'll learn about them together.

That's Dungeon World, baby. We build this game together.

Liam probably doesn't care that much about Nibs' race at the moment. He's seen so much weird stuff lately, and he's focused on other stuff. Maybe later he'll rummage his lore for the answer.

My life be like:

https://gatherer.wizards.com/H...389503&type=card

Looks like you've discovered my secret! I was hoping you'd pick up on my clues--I just hope they weren't too heavy-handed. I've been in love with the idea of playing a game within the MtG multiverse since our Mutants and Masterminds game.

It's a hard balance between too subtle and too obvious, but I think you nailed it. What better moment to realize the weird implications than when Liam was getting lectured by some Mer-monks?

Edit: I hope you know that when I reveal your sources, it's because I respect your ability to crib from other places, not because I'm trying to out you as "unoriginal" or anything like that.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:26, Tue 19 May 2020.

So sorry for the radio silence! I had to get a new PC two weeks ago, and I'm on "stay-cation" with my family this week. I hope to get my shit together and update again by the end of this week.

No worries. I had to move furniture out of the office (our lease expired) so it was good timing.

Liam's trying hard not to sound like Will Smith in the MIB shooting range scene. "He's not snarling, he's sneezing."

I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. Not every creature is out to kill and maim. Sometimes, the real monster is man.

However, this time, it's just a pissed-off monster looking to kill and maim.

I don't know if your absence is at all related to what's going on in the game right now, or if it's just external stuff.

I know sometimes tracking monsters and NPCs in combat can be overwhelming and lead to DM burnout. If that is the case, I'm fine with less combat and more focus on monthly kingdom building plus downtime for social interaction; whatever keeps you motivated.

As I said, your absence could be due to something totally external, in which case this post probably seems silly.

Sorry! I was as Scout camp with my son and forgot to tell you. A new post from me is incoming.

Ah, a survival LARP.

I'm working on an update

I've had weird ups and downs with a job application this week.

I saw an ad in our statewide magazine that a firm was hiring. It seemed perfect for me so I applied. A partner at the firm called me personally the next day to chat me up, and scheduled a phone interview.

He started out gushing how my resume was great, it was so hard to find good help, etc. etc. he really wanted me to be the one.

During the interview he went on an on about how he can't find good help. He wants someone to work 72 hours a week, put the job before family and friends, come in early, stay late, etc.

Also the candidate is supposed to grow the business and act like a partner, without partner's claim to equity.

Also his "ideal salary" would be 48,000 with absolutely no benefits or healthcare.

He's sick of millenials who say "dude" and love their mothers, who leave the firm after 6 months to work at Starbucks.

He told me to take a couple days and think about it.

---

This morning I e-mailed him that it sounds like a good opportunity, but I thought the salary was too low. It basically worked out to being $13 an hour which is insane considering he's looking for attorneys from top schools who have passed the bar exam (not mandatory here in our state).

I outlined what I thought a good salary package might be and why, leaving room open for negotiation. He just e-mails me back "Thanks for your response, good luck with future endeavors." That was his whole e-mail.

This guy is just an asshole, right?

Normally I would ask if I did something wrong, but in this case I feel like it's such a clear-cut case of the other person being irrational.

But I wanted your opinion (based on my obviously biased story) just to confirm that I am not in fact the crazy one in this situation.

I can't speak to your industry or how things are in the area where you live/work; but I can say with 99.9% certainty that that guy was, in fact, an asshole. Or, at the very least, completely off base with reality. Expecting someone—anyone regardless of education/experience/etc—to work 72+ hours a week and grow someone else's business without a claim to equity, without benefits or healthcare is unreasonable, regardless of the salary. Sure, there was a time (you knew me during this time) where I would have done a lot for $48k/year. But not with all the above. Perhaps that's precisely why every Millennial he knows gets sniped by Starbucks.

This guy sounds unreal. As I was reading what you wrote, I kept saying to myself, "don't take that job… tell me you didn't take it!" A part of me was also thinking it was some kind of joke, like after you emailed him, Ashton Kutcher would pop out of your laundry basket and tell you that you've been Corona Punk'd.

I still think that your experience here is crazy.

As I recall, I believe your chosen industry is law, correct? I have a close friend that I met while he was an intern at the insurance company I work at. He was in our claims litigation department helping prep different documents for opinions and such. He had everything planned out for once he finished his education and would quickly make partner at a nearby firm, or get hired on in our claims lit department and make $100k+/year and he'd get a condo downtown and date beautiful women three at a time, so on and so forth.

You get the picture, right? He bought into the story they were selling him. Now, he works in our bonds department and is on a path towards upper level management. He got out and never completed his law degree. At some point, someone in the industry sat down with him and told him how things are in central Iowa. How difficult and demanding the career he wanted actually is. About the sacrifice he'd have to make, and for years if he wanted to achieve the dream as they were selling it. Things I think you also know.

I don't think he quit his dreams of having a successful and fulfilling career—and he just recently bought a condo (in one of the suburbs). But I think he reevaluated what he wanted, and what he was willing to do to get it. Maybe this is that for you. Maybe it's nothing and just a weird experience.

But dude, you're a cool guy. You're smart and hardworking, and most of all you're worth a lot more than what that Boomer/Gen X is offering. And he's finding that most are astutely aware of this, hence his frustrations.

TL;DR: I think you dodged a bullet there. I agree, that dude sounded like he's gotten his head stuck in his ass.

Thanks, man, that means a lot. I think you've mentioned that friend of yours (the one with big dreams) before.


Yup, I've been a lawyer for about five years now.

No worries. And hey, you might get to post twice today.

Happy Thanksgiving.

And merry Christmas. I hope you're alive out in this crazy world.