Think Dangerously: Fighting in Dungeon World 2

On Friday I talked about Sway, our move for convincing, intimidating, and tricking people to do what you want. Today let's finally talk about what fighting will look like in Dungeon World 2 (DW2), especially in a game without hit points but with a large focus on fighting.

As a reminder, everything here is in a pre-Alpha state and is very subject to change.

In Dungeon World (DW), the two primary moves used to fight are Hack and Slash and Volley.

Hack and Slash
When you attack an enemy in melee, roll+STR. 🟎On a 10+ you deal your damage to the enemy and avoid their attack. At your option, you may choose to do +1d6 Damage but expose yourself to the enemy’s attack. 🟎On a 7–9, you deal your damage to the enemy and the enemy makes an attack against you.

This move is good for a game that focuses on damage and immediate healing, and (in my opinion) has been further improved in games like Unlimited Dungeons. However, since we aren't currently using hit points in DW2, "inflict a condition" doesn't feel like enough of a change to properly convey the narrative of a fight. In a fight you might hurt someone, yes, but you also might wrest a weapon from their grasp or keep their attention away from an ally. In so many stories, fighting is about more than just killing them before they kill you. Violence is a versatile tool, after all.

So how versatile is DW1's other main fighting move?

Volley
When you take aim and shoot at an enemy at range, roll+DEX. On a 10+ you have a clear shot—deal your Damage. On a 7–9, choose one (whichever you choose you deal your damage):
• You have to move to get the shot placing you in danger of the GM’s choice
• You have to take what you can get: -1d6 damage
• You have to take several shots, reducing your ammo by one.

Volley is a move that introduces very few consequences. As long as you have ammo to spend (which you usually do, sometimes multiple bundles), then you're free from danger on a hit. Even without ammo, choosing “-1d6 damage” can potentially negate your success entirely, meaning nothing at all might happen as the result of making a move. This is something we never want to happen in DW2. For us, when you roll, something in the fiction should always change.

Which is also why we're merging melee and ranged fighting into one move.

Introducing "Fight"

Fight
When you attack a threat, up close or at a distance, roll+Forceful. 🟎On a 10+, choose two from the list below. 🟎On a 7-9, only one.
• You avoid their retaliation
• You exhaust, distract, or intimidate them; add 1 Kinship to the pool
• You take something from them (if it makes sense in the fiction)
• You hurt them; they mark a condition and then escalate
• If you've already hurt them, you inflict terrible harm; they mark another condition, but don't escalate again

We hope this move makes combat interesting and dynamic without causing choice paralysis. Those who want to hit an enemy and not get hit back can still do that on a 10+, but those who want to take risks or do something other than harm can now easily do so. 

Edit: It's been pointed out that this version of the move still let's someone avoid retaliation without dealing harm. This will be addressed in the next version.

But there's another addition in there—when you harm someone they "escalate." What does this mean? 

NPC Conditions and Escalations

Out of the many PbtA games and DW hacks we took inspiration from, Masks: A New Generation has a mechanic where, when a Villain takes a condition, they immediately take control of the scene and do something. However, when GMing Masks, I frequently struggled with or ignored this mechanic. Trying to pick from a list of five moves while interrupting the players and forcibly taking back narrative momentum was difficult, even more so if none of the conditions quite fit the fiction. This idea in Masks was appealing, but the implementation never clicked for me. With some tweaks made for DW2, however it feels smooth and exciting!

• By referring to escalations in the Fight move, we've made space for the GM to speak rather than asking them to interrupt the PCs. The players also know what to expect, so they're less likely to jump into the conversation with another move.
• We've made conditions tailored to each NPC, rather than share the same ones as PCs. With an example list of almost 70 emotional or situational conditions, they should always make sense for the NPC.
• Similarly, each condition is paired with its own specific escalation, a powerful action the NPC takes when hurt, which is also tailored to them.
• Conditions and escalations have a soft, flexible order to them as you go down the list (you can ignore the order if it makes sense). As a solo enemy gets more hurt they might take more desperate actions, but as a group's numbers dwindle their escalations might get weaker.

In my experience playtesting, conditions and escalations make fights much more active and dangerous. Here is an example of a full NPC block in action (including several categories that are optional). We can't dive deeply into NPCs in this post, but we hope that their components work together to bring them to life while, at the same time, being easy to create and prepare.

Giant Dragon
Through overwhelming force and brutal cunning, this creature's effects on the greater world have echoed for centuries.
Appearance: Glittering black scales, long powerful tail, fiery eyes, shadowy wings
Drive: destroy all who threaten their lair
Resources: enormous teeth and claws, razor tail spikes, incinerating fire
Resists: ordinary blows to its hide, persuasion by anyone not  properly deferential
Conditions & Escalations:
o Afraid — Escape to enact future vengeance
o Furious — Ignite everything in the scene
o Nervous — Conjure allies of living flame
o Proud — Take to the skies
o Annoyed — Tear something to pieces
Rumors: Their lair has far more than just treasure. Someone secretly serves them. They're magically compelled or cursed

This NPC could decimate any adventuring party! Speaking of: check back in on Friday when Helena will talk about defeat and death in Dungeon World 2.

We're almost ready for the Alpha playtest but don't have a date yet (we're aiming for something before the end of May), but in the meanwhile anyone who wants to sign up for the Alpha can do so here (just select Playtesting among the options).

Thanks for reading!