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?