Dungeon World moves in ICRPG

#1

Some random thoughts on how DW moves could be used in ICRPG or 5e. DM moves in DW are major or minor plot twists/actions triggered by certain situations. A partial successes triggers a soft move ( minor twist ) and a failure triggers a hard move ( major twist ). Usually they involve giving a player a choice of two bad options. It seems to me that a timer could trigger a hard move for the DM and the DM could play a soft move during the DM’S turn. I’m interested in hearing what other Dungeon World and ICRPG fans think of this.

#2

I like the idea. Personally, I would have to have a few plot twists, minor and major, in my notes so that I could present them at the table seamlessly. There is lots of buzz around Dungeon World lately. I may have to break down and pick up the rules.

#3

Honestly know very little about Dungeon World aside from their 2d6 dice system.

Not familiar with soft/hard/minor twists your speaking about.

#4

DM moves in DW basically just describe what you do as a DM anyway (or at least should be doing). There really isn’t much new to it, except they wrote down what so many RPG books forget to tell you about DM’ing.
So yeah, it absolutely has a place in ICRPG, or any game for that matter. :+1:

#5

That’s why it’s good for new DM’S to run a campaign in DW. It forces the DM to be descriptive and plan story arcs. No falling back on the mechanics and just wargamming.

#6

I’ve also seen DM’S try to run Dungeon World like D&D with 2d6. Awful! Totally missing the point of DW. The moves and fronts are essential. Imaginative description is key to any good tabletop RPG.

#7

While I’ve not incorporated DW moves, I have been using trouble, success with consequence, and success outcomes to rolls in my 5e game. 1-10 trouble, 11-15 success with consequence, and 16+ success.

The players have stated it’s faster, more dynamic, and just more exciting. And that just using trinity outcomes. I think ICRPG is better suited for a Move based economy over 5e so I’d like to hear if folks have put some thought into this.

#8

I keep 2D6 in the coin tray of my car just so I can run an RPG game on the fly, anywhere I go, using Dungeon World’s simple success, partial success, and failure trichotomy. The mechanics are just that simple, and I can teach them to anyone at any time.

That being said, hard moves and soft moves are just what you do all of the time anyway as a DM. The Orc closes in to slash at you with its grubby sword. That’s a common soft move.

The Orc closes in to slash at you with its sword; what will you do? The Orc boxes you into the alley and cuts off your escape (another soft move, but slightly harder because now escape is blocked). The Orc lunges and slashes across your chest; take five damage (hard move). Rocks come raining down from above. If there’s a chance to save, it’s a soft move, as we’re waiting on the outcome. If you instantly take damage, that’s a hard move.

The only true difference is that DW is all saving throws all the time, and for that reason, I find it somewhat taxing, like breathing through your mouth when you have a cold. The evil wizard casts a spell at you, make a save. That’s basically DW in a nutshell. Just narrate what the NPC was attempting and then you wait on a player’s roll to give you the results. That’s how DW works all of the time. And while making characters make saves is my favorite trick pony to trot out in an encounter, it’s not what I like to do every single encounter.

And to the OP’s point: yes, a timer going down to zero could be either a hard or soft move. More bad guys show up (soft move). The lava rises (soft move). The room collapses and you die (hard move). But we do those things all the time when we narrate events as DMs, so I’m not certain DW is ground-breaking in this regard. But. I think it’s worth a read for any serious RPG hobbyist. It burned in my brain like a virus for a solid month. And as I said, I keep those D6s in my car, just in case I have to indoctrinate the uninitiated. Lol.

#9

I use them (hard oves) when my players roll a nat 1 or when they (soft move) fail a check during an encounter. It adds to the tension. But an interesting detail about moves that I like is more of the negotiation aspect of it:

GM - Okay, you failed the check but you may still succeed if you let go of your packback…
Player - Imma drop that packback… even if I may need those healing potions later!
GM - Evil GM grin.