Forging Bonds: Weaving Connections into Identity

What does "messy people growing into a found family" mean? When Helena and I started designing Dungeon World 2, we wanted to make a game that provides Moves, tools, and structures that foster this "genre" of narrative roleplay. So what kind of tools emulate the development of relationships and a "group identity"?

Trying Out a Group Playbook

In the Blue and Red Alphas, we started with a Group Playbook—a big one rather than multiple types. As you gained "Group XP" you could unlock new Group Moves that affected how the whole party worked together and related to the rest of the world. By choosing which Moves you take and when, you're establishing your group's shared identity and empowering greater feats of teamwork and cooperation.

It worked on paper, but despite our best efforts to make the Group Playbook bloom, the mechanic never felt quite right, like there was something about it that didn't quite fit our vision. After some rumination after Alpha Red, I came to believe that a "group sheet" itself is too unifying for how messy we want players to be, especially at the start of play. Its very presence implicitly asks players to "think as a group" and portray their character similarly. We don't want the PCs to think like a team as the initial default; we want them to learn how to do that by experiencing shared hardships, bloody victories, prideful mistakes, and agonizing decisions. Through their adventures, we want the PCs to grow into the heroic team we believe they can be.

The Group Playbook was kind of starting at the finish line, so we made the hard call, removed it for the Final Alpha, and tried something new—and we haven't looked back.

Enter Bonds

What does a "group identity" consist of? It may be centered around a shared activity, location, goal, or similar, but what about when its shared center is less clear or doesn't really exist? In those cases, I believe a group's identity is woven together from the individual relationships between its members. That's what Bonds seek to emulate.

We start with Relationships, which each PC has with every other PC. These are very similar to Dungeon World's Bonds, statements you believe regarding that PC. Relationships are meant to change fairly often in reaction to session events, and can provide bonuses to Moves like Comfort & Support. Each Relationship has Depth, between 0 and 3, which can be gained and lost during play and reflects how intense your Relationship with the other PC feels. 

Relationships and Depth are both one-way. Slick the Rogue might have a 2 Depth Relationship with Emem the Fighter (they're close as family, for better or worse), but Emem's Relationship in return might have 0 Depth (he owes me his life).

When both PCs have 3 Depth with each other, they trigger Forge a Bond, which I like to think of as "leveling up" a Relationship. 

Forge a Bond

When two PCs have 3 Depth with each other, clear all Depth on both Relationships, then choose one:
 
- Establish a new Bond. Choose a Bond; write it on both character sheets. If you shared another Bond, erase it; both of you mark 1 XP for each Bond Advanced Move it had unlocked.

- Reinforce an existing Bond. Unlock a new Bond Advanced Move from it.

- “How are you really feeling?” Ask each other at least one question about your character’s thoughts, feelings, or motivations. If both answer truthfully, each marks 1 XP or clears 1 locked Condition.

Here's what a Bond itself looks like:

Student & Teacher
One advises and guides the other through life and its dangers

I am the ⬜ Student  ⬜ Teacher

Words of Wisdom. Once per session, when the Teacher gives advice or guidance to the Student, the Teacher says what the Student should do. If the Student accepts, their first roll in pursuit of it has adv. If the Student rejects it, the Teacher marks a Condition but the Student clears one. Either way, if the Student achieves it later, the Student marks 1 XP and the Teacher clears a Condition.

⬜ Heroic Sacrifice. When the Student Faces Death, the Teacher may take their place, clearing a Condition (and joining the scene if they were absent). When the Teacher dies, they can give the Student a final word of guidance, either here and now or based on their last conversation. From now on, until they see the Teacher again (if ever), when the Student Ends the Session having followed that guidance, they mark 1 XP.

⬜ Just Like We Practiced. Once per session each, the Teacher and the Student can Aid one another without any cost or risk.

⬜ The Sincerest Form of Flattery. When the Teacher Senses Motive, they may always ask the Student one additional question, even if they're Sensing another. When the Student imitates a mannerism or ability from the Teacher, the Student may mark a Condition to gain access to one of the Teacher’s Moves for the rest of the scene (Student's call).

In addition to Student & Teacher, the Beta v3 has the following Bonds: Champions, Comrades in Arms, Enthusiasts, Rivals, Romantic Partners, and Siblings. There's also a new Bond previewed at the end of this post. If none of the Bonds or their Advanced Moves feel right between two PCs, that's what the last option on the Move above is for.

I see Relationships and Bonds like "melody and harmony" or "electric and bass guitars". The Relationship portrays more immediate, surface-level feelings, and the Bond focuses on stable, long-term growth familiarity. This lets players give additional complexity to the dynamic between PCs by having Relationships complement (or conflict with) Bonds as they decide. You can have the Siblings Bond with a fellow PC and still have the Relationship "they stole something important; I'll make them return it", and both act as two sides of the same PC-to-PC coin.

I should note that Forge a Bond is in the Campaign Moves, meant not for one-shots but for longer adventures (3 or more sessions). It often takes that long to get both PCs to 3 Depth anyways.

So how do you make new Bonds?

Designing a Bond

1. Write down the idea. What is the long-term character dynamic you want the Bond to portray between two PCs? Maybe it's "sworn to protect" or "master and servant" or "enemy of my enemy".
2. Interrogate the idea to draw out more details. Here are some questions to ask yourself below. If your idea can't address most of them, it might belong as an advanced move or two within a larger Bond (it's happened to me several times).
   1. How do the PCs "take on the world" together? This (and all of these points) can be symmetrical (they fight back to back) or asymmetrical (one gives the other advice). This usually informs the Bond's Starting Move, but not always.
   2. How do the PCs relate to each other? Are there certain conversations or scenes they might have with each other? Ways they might influence each other's choices or feelings?
   3. What big moments or memorable actions might result from this dynamic? For a "one-sided crush" Bond, maybe one such idea would be a big dramatic confession.
   4. How might they cooperate even better? For example, the Enthusiasts Bond starts with benefits for the two PCs making discoveries together, but eventually also helps them work on a group projects and answer Spout Lore questions instead of the GM.
3. Create the Starting Move. This should embody the core of the Bond itself - the interactions between the two PCs. Like all of these Moves, it should affect both members in some way. Move Design in general is far too big of a topic to touch on here, but it's something we want to talk about at a later date.
4. Create three Advanced Moves. These should reflect the various moments, actions, and ways of growth that can happen in the fiction that inspires the Bond. 

General Tips

• Give both PCs reasons to want this Bond. If the Bond is asymmetrical, maybe give them different types of benefits. One PC might gain new things to do while the other one might get another interesting benefit.
• Leave some room for player expression within a Bond. How harsh does the Mentor treat their student? How many of their lessons does the Mentor follow themselves?
• Don't shy away from increasing numbers if it fits. We want teamwork to be a significant source of power for PCs in DW2. Since these Moves only trigger between two specific PCs, they tend to already be narrow enough to stop such benefits from growing so high as to break the game.
• Think outside the box. Feel free to break or overwrite the Moves of DW2 if it would fit a Bond. Maybe when you Unearth Secrets with a "Psychic Connection" Bond, you ask your Bondmate instead of the GM if there's a secret nearby. Maybe a Bond of "Fated Foes" means that, when you Trade Blows, you both always deal MAX DMG to each other no matter the roll. Maybe a "Body Swapped" Bond has you both literally switch character sheets! Bonds are opt-in by two people, so if something doesn't fit a pair then they don't have to choose it.

Here is one of several new Bonds that we're designing for the next version of DW2. It's extremely asymmetrical by definition, so we're interested to hear what you think. As usual for these previews, this is a first draft, not the final text.

Unrequited Love
Can you honestly call it “love” if it’s one-sided?

I am the ⬜ Love Interest ⬜ Lover

Asymmetrical Relationship. When the Lover Aids the Love Interest, they must mark a Condition as an additional cost if the Love Interest doesn’t go far and above to acknowledge their contribution. When the Love Interest Aids the Lover, the Lover can mark a Condition so the Love Interest doesn’t have to pay any cost. 

⬜ Lovelorn & Aloof. When the Love Interest Comforts or Supports the Lover, they get an extra choice. When the Lover Comforts or Supports the Love Interest, they get one less choice but mark 1 XP.  

⬜ You Don’t Love Me. When the Love Interest reveals to the Lover that their feelings are unrequited, if the Lover accepts it, they both mark 1 XP and this Bond is dissolved. If they don’t, the Lover marks Conditions until they Reach Their Limit; the Love Interest marks the same amount of XP. 

⬜ You Must Know by Now. When the Lover confesses their love to the Love Interest, the Love Interest marks a Condition and the Lover clears a Condition.

And that's it for this week! We'll return to working on the game and preparing for the Kickstarter in January.

Thanks for reading

Spencer