Character Creation and Additional Game Rules

[Caystodd]

Game Description: Welcome to the Sea of Grass. This game is a Jumanji/D&D cartoon-style of story, in that teens from our world have been pulled into a mostly abandoned, post-apocalyptic-feeling fantasy world as their favorite fantasy characters. The PCs will be older teens (16-18), and the remaining NPCs in the group (~4) may be younger. Since this is PbP, the scenario will be a pretty short, linear adventure (lasting for 4-6 months of real time) of trying to do the thing to get home. Characters will level quickly. The game will begin when the characters all wake up in the fantasy world as their favorite fantasy character. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind:

1. You still kinda look like your normal self. You may be a super-fit warrior or have elf ears or be a half-orc or short like a gnome, but the other teens still recognize you as you.

2. You all come from the same high school, so even if you don't know each other, you recognize each other: "Hey, your a kid who goes to my school!"

 

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Posting Expectations: I will check the game forum and our Discord DM chat almost every day to respond to requests and comments. And I plan to update about every other day, early in the morning before leaving for work. I am going on a family vacation for five days in about a month, and even if I can't post then, I can update via discord. Players should expect to post about every other day as well.

Unless otherwise noted below, we will be playing standard DungeonWorld, using the SRD here: https://www.dungeonworldsrd.com/.

 

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Moves Adjustments:

When you roll Discern Realities, you can also ask any of the following questions:

• Where’s my best escape route / way in / way past?
• Which enemy is most vulnerable to me?
• Which enemy is the biggest threat?

 

When you Read a Person in a charged interaction, roll+Wis. On a 10+, hold 3. On a 7–9, hold 1. While you’re interacting with them, spend your hold to ask their player or GM questions, 1 for 1:

• Is your character telling the truth?
• What’s your character really feeling?
• What does your character intend to do?
• What does your character wish I’d do?
• How could I get your character to __?

On a miss, ask 1 anyway, but be prepared for the worst.

 

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Character Creation and Application Rules:

1. Pick the playbook you want to play most (I'm open to considering non-core playbooks so long as the playbook is publicly available for free and keeps the classic RPG character feel). But give some thought to the playbook you would play if you don't have your first pick. If more than one player has the same playbook as their first choice, we'll figure something out. Complete the basic choices on your playbook, but leave your Bonds blank for now. We will fill those in during our first scene.

2. Write a short description of your character, both before and after your transportation to the Sea of Grass. Feel free to include a picture, but nothing excessively cartoonish.

3. Write up your character sheet and post that application in this forum. Include your character name and playbook in the title of your thread.

 

I'll leave this open for a week (until t5/9) to see who is interested. If you posted in the game interest thread and still want to play, you can have first dibs on the game. If you have questions, you can ask them right here in this thread.

Edited May 2 by Caystodd (see edit history)

[Morphling]

I'm interested. Do we post our characters here in the game forum? Also, I'm thinking of applying with a ranger. I'll probably take a cat or a rat as my companion, but I might want it to be a horse. Could I do that? Horse is not a listed companion.

[LaChupa]

That is the way I understood it—we post in this forum.

 

@Caystodd, if you want me to move her, let me know. Decided to go with a fighter instead of a cleric. I'll try to get my description done tonight after work. ¡No puedo esperar!

[Caystodd]

Welcome!

Posting your characters right here in this forum will be fine. I like everything in one place.

4 hours ago, Morphling said:

I'll probably take a cat or a rat as my companion, but I might want it to be a horse.

Nah, stick to the standard playbook animals. You'll be much happier with an animal companion that can do indoor and outdoor adventuring anyway.

[matt_s]

First pick for me is Thief, second pick Bard maybe?

[Morphling]

First pick is Ranger, obviously, but if someone else wants to play it I could go Wizard.

[Caystodd]

Great. Thanks, y'all. I think everyone is going to get to play whatever they want without any conflict.

@LaChupa, what is your second choice? Just in case.

Also @Morphling are you on Discord? If you want to join the group DM I'm going to create to help keep the game moving, message me on Discord (caystodd is my Discord name) and I'll add you.

[Morphling]

Yes I am on Discord! I cannot message you however because I tried to add you as a friend and you are not accepting friend requests.

[Caystodd]

Yikes! Not sure how that happened. Should be good now. I think. 🙃

[LaChupa]

11 hours ago, Caystodd said:

@LaChupa, what is your second choice? Just in case.

Probably Cleric, but I might also go Barbarian.

[luctius]

I would like to play a Goblin Bard, or alternatively a Goblin, provided the goblin playbook is accepted, otherwise I will have to rethink my character ;-).

Edited May 4 by luctius (see edit history)

[Caystodd]

2 hours ago, luctius said:

I would like to play a Goblin Bard, or alternatively a Goblin, provided the goblin playbook is accepted, otherwise I will have to rethink my character ;-).

I think Goblin Bard works fine. See my post in your character thread for some additional considerations.

[Caystodd]

FYI, I like the apps we have so far, so this game will definitely happen, and applications close on the 9th. I can take five players responsibly, so if we have more than that, I'll have to make a hard decision. :(

[ManicPixieFatGuy]

Hey, I’d be interested in trying this out but I am new to dungeon world. I find this game pitch rad as heck though so if you’re down for some rules hand holding I’d like to apply.

 

A few questions though? Mostly just help me pick a concept / let me know if these are all way too off base. lol.

 

I have a few options character wise

 

so brief pitches ( all are weird, 1 is the safe bet I think ) each character inspiration would be a fictionalized and original “fantasy character” from within the mundane characters world.

 

1.) A metal head kid who is really into comic books and has turned into… a fantasy version of ghost rider ( sans the ride ) he’d be an immolater and would be a leather clad flaming skeleton ( played as a salamander rules wise ). The rules line up well enough with his powers in the comics allowing for the vibe of not the reality of the character but I think it would be fun… but it’s a huge reach and he wouldn’t look like himself.
 

2.) A quiet nerdy kid, smart but distracted, he's obsessed with pokemon nuzlockes and progression fantasy. His fantasy character would be a fantasy version of Ash Ketchum using the summoner playbook.

 

3.) A stoner obsessed with a 70s era weird fantasy author. He’s a my nerdom is pure and rare and yours in banal and normie type of dude but very casually because he’s too elevated to really care what you think about his cool thing. If he could afford it he’d have a van with a fantasy scene air brushed on the side. The character he is into and transforms into would be based on Elric / the eternal champion series / Michael Moorcock using the barbarian playbook

 

4.) a gothy wallflower who’s obsessed with a fan fiction about a side character in a super popular actual play series. They smoke clove cigarettes and listen to sisters of mercy but also cool newer goth stuff like soft kill. Into music and style and a weird little loner whose fandom is kind of a secret. The character is a swamp witch who wears a cloak of spider silk and cob webs and a mantle of feathers and changes into swampy critters like bats, vultures, opossums, gators, snapping turtles, and frogs. Using the Druid playbook. - alternatively - could have the character here be a necromancer instead but have the same swampy vibe.

Edited May 7 by ManicPixieFatGuy (see edit history)

[Caystodd]

Welcome!

If you have played any Powered by the Apocalypse games, you'll pick up Dungeon World quickly. If you haven't, think of DW as the game that is birthed when someone fully immersed in modern game design principles, trends, and fads tries to distill old school D&D into its most essential elements by making rules only for those essential elements, and dispenses with everything else. Probably the most striking thing about DW for people who have never played PbtA games before is that something interesting always happens with every roll. You never just roll to hit the monster. You roll to see if you are hurt, the monster is hurt, or both are hurt by your attack. You never just "don't pick the lock" on a failed roll. The story always moves forward every time you pick up the dice (so do so cautiously).

But yes, we are happy to have someone new to the game join us. We'll walk you through it.

1. I like this fine, and I have no problem reskinning the salamander to something skeletal, but he has to look somewhat like himself most of the time. This is a game about high school kids trying to survive after all. But maybe when he uses his powers he looks like a flaming skeleton. That would work. Also, personality-wise, you wouldn't be Ghost Rider. You are a high school kid trapped in a fantasy world with cool powers.

2. Is there a legal, free copy of the Summoner playbook somewhere? My (very quick) google search didn't turn it up.

3. That all works. You can skin your character however you want, so long as he is somewhat recognizable to the others.

4. That works. There will be some swampy in the Sea of Grass.

 

Personally, I like 1 and 3 the best.