I've had an idea for a dungeon world hack dinging around in my head.
In this hack, the only currency is xp. It costs xp to get a weapon, a magic weapon, lodging, food, dungeon gear, horses, spells, etc.
You start with access to just a DD move, and need to buy access to other moves through XP.
Is this too much just a funnel? Would anyone be interested in such a thing?
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I would start with more basic moves.
ReplyDeleteTim Franzke I'd probably rewrite DD to be even more general. That way, you want the specific moves so you can get better results.
ReplyDeleteDo something dangerous from World of Dungeons?
ReplyDeleteYeah, Tim Franzke , I'd thought about that. And part of the problem with this approach is differentiating it from World of Dungeons.
ReplyDeleteAnd maybe the move isn't "Do Something Dangerous" or even "Defy Danger", but instead "Do something dangerously stupid", and as you gain more moves you don't have to do something stupid anymore.
ReplyDeleteThat seems like making fun of the players and also difficult to hit in game.
ReplyDeletemy initial ideas are often problematic. Basically, I want the move to be "do something I have no training in", but naming that is going to be a linguistic feat. Any ideas?
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of XP as currency, having seen the Dark Souls franchise do it rather successfully, IMO. So count me interested! :)
ReplyDeleteSo perhaps they start with an "Untrained" Move. Spend XP to get a class-based move, like "Basic Fighting" or "First Circle Magic". More advanced Moves (like Gunlugger Moves in AW) become more specialised, and cost more XP. So characters must dabble to get the Basic Moves, and then specialise in a class or two.
ReplyDeleteJust some thoughts that leapt from my brain... :)
Brendan Quinlivan Right! So, what's the untrained move called? Is it just "roll untrained", or is it "roll idiotic" or whatever. That is, what do you call it in the fiction when you try to do something you've never had experience or learning on?
ReplyDeleteI would probably not play such a game (I don't enjoy resource management in my fantasy rpgs, I mostly tolerate it to get to the parts of the game I find fun), but there are probably other people who would like it.
ReplyDeleteThe main thing I'd say is, have a play for why you're building this kind of mechanic going into your design process. Don't build it because the mechanic sounds cool, use the mechanic to achieve some sort of design goal, like making the game setting feel grittier and more hopeless or keeping players on their toes in some other way.
Xp for everything... well basically thats a reinventing of the Build Points of Champions/Fantasy Hero where you have one pool that buys everything (Stats, Skills, Powers, Spells) and generally if you pick up a nifty sword off a fallen enemy you have to have or acquire XP points to be able to use it.
ReplyDeleteEva Schiffer Yeah, the looked upon theme is knowing that every scrap of character beyond the "What Do I do!?" move came from your experience, and are built upon your decisions. That's not necessarily gritty or hopeless, and could be quite the opposite. Through your wit and wiles, you went from being a farmer to the greatest magician in the land!
ReplyDeleteWilliam Nichols If that is what you have in mind, then build up that sense of player agency, growth, and well-earned accomplishment in other parts of the game design as well. Don't use this only to justify the core mechanic. (Seriously you don't need to justify anything. I'm saying this as design suggestion, not because you need to impress me with how this is a good idea.)
ReplyDeleteJoseph Teller Yep, it does seem like Heroes. Hopefully the math won't be ... well, won't be existent, basically. I don't want there to be much math, but I do want the anxiety of: Do i spend 1 XP right now to make sure I pass this roll, or do I collect 5 XP to give me a +1 to this roll forever in the future?
ReplyDeleteWilliam Nichols There is a pretty serious amount of math embedded in the question you just asked.*
ReplyDelete* At least that's what I see there... this may explain why I dislike resource management.
Eva Schiffer I totally agree - I keep stumbling on the 'why' every time I think about my attempts at a Dark Souls-inspired system of my own.
ReplyDeleteWilliam Nichols I reckon that "Untrained" or something similarly neutral is best, since "Idiotic" or the like seems snarky (unless that's a theme for your idea, in which case it fits).
Perhaps "commoner", since that's the theme i keep coming back to.
ReplyDeleteP: "I want to hit the monster in the throat with my pitchfork!"
GM: Awesome. Do you have any moves for that?
P: Nope, so I'll handle it like a commoner ...
GM: Great, roll 2d6 and let's find out!