Apocalypes (Engine) Now!

Owen Kerr on the PbtA Facebook group is trying to think of what the Princess Bride fight might play out as in Dungeon World.  This is by no means definitive, just my thoughts, but it seems like it might go like this: The DM tells Wesley, that there is a giant cliff with a rope hanging down and that he'll need to climb it to catch up with Buttercup's kidnappers.  As he tries to climb, someone cuts the rope!  This is a Keeper Move Put Someone in a Spot:  Wesley is in danger of falling... Now, how will he deal with it (as per the description in the move)...he'll jump to the wall.  Defy Danger, Dex. Assuming he doesn't roll a 6 or lower here, he'll get to that wall.  On a 10+, he's at the wall no problem.  On a 7-9, he gets to the wall, but the forces above are still there to hamper him.  Let's assume he's in the 7-9 range here.  The DM makes a move: Show Signs of an Approaching Threat: Inigo Montoya who could easily drop rocks on Wesley.  H...

Uncharted Worlds has a combat system that isn't really designed for the kind of game I play.  That being said, I like Uncharted Worlds a lot.  So, I generally replace the combat system with the rules from Kult or Dungeon World.  That's one of the great things about these games.  If you want a "Keep It Together" roll in Dungeon World or Sprawl, it's not hard to implement (and might work best for things like Fear spells).   Here is the difference between Uncharted Worlds combat and that of, say, Dungeon Planet.  In Uncharted Worlds, you make one roll, and that decides how well you did in the combat.  It's useful for mass combats where the character is really one of many troopers.  I don't think it works well on the individual level where you want to know how well Character X is doing. N Sometimes, however, I'm uninterested in the little nuances of the moment.  I just want to know if army A beats army B, and in that case, its worthwhile to ...

 Okay, so the players in Dungeon World rolled really well on a Scout check, which means that they get the jump on an ambush if they want it.  There are five characters and the enemies are 12 goblin infanty, 5 goblin archers and 3 worg riders.  It's not meant to be horribly powerful, but something of a fight, sure.  The details are these:  the characters are walking along a mountain path along the side of a deep cataract looking for somewhere to cross.  The goblins intend to ambush the party at the chock point.  Most of the goblins are hiding amongst the rocks.  Some of them, like the archers, are hiding along the cliff face. Here's how it broke down: the scout basically revealed the ambush by yelling at the goblins, at which point, they chase after her.  So, that's the Keeper Move "Put her in a spot" with the basics of it being, you need to get out of there or you're going to be overrun.  She runs (Defy Danger Constitution to get ahead o...

When a character looks for the best geographical path to their goal, Roll+Wisdom.  On a 10+, the GM sets a good path to their character's goals that avoids unnecessary encounters (this should cut the number of encounters to half or third of an exhaustive search).  The Players may pick three encounter possibilities from the list below to be part of their Dungeon Crawl.  On a 7-9, the characters have a sense of where they are going and may choose one encounter possibility form the list below to be part of their Dungeon Crawl, so long as they don't deviate from that path, they will avoid most unecessary encounters.  On a 6 or less, the characters path is likely to get them lost (they may miss significant and important encounter possibilities, they may get double back on themselves, they may find themselves back at the entrance after fighting their way in a big circle). Encounter Possibilities: A treasure room/horde A strange encounter that is potentially helpful in a bi...

 Monster Hive: Humanoid Camp (impulse: to endanger civilization) Breeding Pit (impulse: to make more monsters) Lost City (impulse: to remain hidden) Lair (impulse: to keep intruders out) Tomb (impulse: to focus negative energy) Labyrinth (impulse: to turn people around GM Moves for Monster Hive Spawn monsters Grow in size Send out a raid Reveal a luring treasure Take captives Make region uninhabitable by civilized creatures Creature hazards Trigger traps Demand tribute or sacrifices

 Overreaching Authority: Inquisitor (impulse: to reveal those working against the norm) Rule Follower (impulse: to make sure everyone does things properly) Commander (impulse: to complete the mission) Prince (impulse: to manipulate others into accomplishing tasks)  Patrol (impulse: to keep others away from forbidden areas) Constable (impulse: to capture criminals) Tyrant (impulse: to limit freedom) GM moves for Overreaching Authority: Impede progress Exercise authority Demand explanation Promise rewards Capture foes Survey a foe Recruit from the masses Poison an alliance made by a foe