About DungeonWorld
Classes
What is Dungeon World?
Dungeon World is a world of fantastic adventure. A world of magic, gods and demons, of good and evil, law and chaos. Brave heroes venture into the most dangerous corners of the land in search of gold and glory.
AI Dungeon tried its best to create a character that fits the description (or world info) that you provided it, but it's not going to be perfect. Let's take a look at result number 1, by clicking on the + next to the name. Dungeon World is another game where the rules as written emphatically are not crap. 13th Age is a third. It is entirely possible to design rules that, as written, are ACTUALLY GOOD. That are actually WORTH using, so that you break them only when you know you need to. To play Dungeon World, you’ll need to gather yourself and 2–5 friends. A group of 4 to 6, including you. Dungeon World Character Creator - motormultifiles It’s a good time to get into Dungeons & Dragons, the role-playing game featured in Stranger Things and the podcast The Adventure Zone. The game has lost its nerdy stigma and is trendy among artsy parents and their kids. Put a 16 in the stat for that move. Look over the list again and pick out the next most important move to your character, maybe something that supports your first choice. Put your 15 in the stat for that move. Repeat this process for your remaining scores: 13, 12, 9, 8.
Why Play Dungeon World?
First, to see the characters do amazing things. To see them explore the unexplored, slay the undying, and go from the deepest bowels of the world to the highest peaks of the heavens. To see them caught up in momentous events and grand tragedies.
Second, to see them struggle together. To gather as a party despite their differences and stand united against their foes, or to argue over treasure, debate battle plans, and join in righteous celebration over a victory hard-won.
Third, because the world still has so many places to explore. There are unlooted tombs and dragon hoards dotting the countryside just waiting for quick-fingered and strong-armed adventurers to discover them. That unexplored world has plans of its own. Play to see what they are and how they’ll change the lives of our characters.
How to Use This Site
This site is going to teach you how to play Dungeon World. If you’re going to be the GM, you’re going to need to read the whole thing, though you can skim through the monster stats for now and save Advanced Delving for later. Try printing the play aids too, they’ll help you see what’s most important. If you’re a player, you might not need to read more than Playing the Game—a lot of the rules in Dungeon World will be contained in the character sheets you use during the game itself. You’ll come back to the text a few times throughout your game to refer to certain rules, but it should be a rare occasion.
Setting Up
To play Dungeon World, you’ll need to gather yourself and 2–5 friends. A group of 4 to 6, including you, is best. Choose one person to be the Game Master (GM). Everyone else will be players, taking the role of the characters in the game (we call these the player characters or PCs). As you play, the players say what their characters say, think, and do. The GM describes everything else in the world.
You can play a single session or string together multiple sessions into a campaign. Plan accordingly if you plan on playing a campaign, maybe setting aside a night of the week to play. Each session will usually be a few hours and you’ll be able to start playing right away within the first session.
You’ll need to print some materials. Before you start a new game, find or print off at least:
- A few copies of the basic and special moves
- One copy of each class sheet
- One copy each of the cleric and wizard spell sheets
- One copy of the adventure sheet and GM moves
- Miscellanea such as: pens and pencils, scrap paper for maps and notes, maybe some index cards
Everyone at the table will need something to write with and some six-sided dice. Two dice is the minimum but two dice per player is a good idea.
You’ll also need some specialized dice: four-sided, eight-sided, ten-sided and twelve-sided. One of each is enough but more is better: you won’t have to pass them around so much.
What’s Dungeon World Like to Play?
Playing Dungeon World is all about finding out what happens when your characters encounter dangerous and exciting monsters, strange ruins, and unusual people on their quest for gold and glory. It’s a conversation between the players and the GM—the GM tells the players what they see and hear in the world around them and the players say what their characters are thinking, feeling, and doing. Sometimes those descriptions will trigger a move—something that’ll cause everyone to stop and say “time to roll the dice to see what happens.” For a moment everyone hangs on the edges of their seats as the dice clatter to a stop. Tension and excitement are always the result, no matter how the dice land.
As you play your characters they’ll change from their adventures and gain experience while learning about the world, overcoming monsters, and gathering riches. You’ll discover how they feel about each other and where their moral compass points them. When they accrue enough experience they’ll gain levels, becoming more powerful and having more options to explore.
You can play Dungeon World with the same group, session to session, over a long series of adventures, watching your characters change and grow together. You can play it as a self-contained game in a single-session, too. Whether a long campaign or a one-shot, Dungeon World’s rules are here to guide you and help you create a world of fantasy adventure. Time to get out there and explore it!
Adventurers
Adventurers take many shapes in Dungeon World. The races of elves, men, dwarves, and halflings all have their heroes. Some are near-invincible beasts of battle encased in iron armor. Others are more mysterious, conjuring up and wielding the mighty forces of magic. Treasure and glory are sought by a holy cleric, a tricky thief, a mighty paladin, and more.
It isn’t all easy heroics and noble bravery, though. Every time the ranger guides his friends through the ancient woods there are a hundred things waiting to bite his head off. Slavering hordes of goblin troops, maybe. Or is this the Cursed Wood, where dwells the Gray Witch? Or the throngs of hateful dead, looking to drag a meaty corpse back to their lair? Scary, sure, but there’s treasure, too. More gold and jewels and magic lost to man have fallen between the cracks in the world than you can imagine. Who better to retrieve it than a band of stalwart heroes?
You and your friends are those heroes. You go where others can’t or won’t. There are monstrous things lurking in the world. Are you ready to face them?
The Bard
The poems say an adventurer’s life is all open roads and the glory of coin and combat. The tales told in every farmhand-filled inn have to have some ring of truth to them, don’t they? The songs to inspire peasantry and royals alike—to soothe the savage beast or drive men to a frenzy—have to come from somewhere.
Enter the bard. You, with your smooth tongue and quick wit. You teller-of-tales and singer-of-songs. A mere minstrel can retell a thing, but it takes a true bard to live it. Strap on your boots, noble orator. Sharpen that hidden dagger and take up the call. Someone’s got to be there, fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with the goons and the thugs and the soon-to-be-heroes. Who better than you to write the tale of your own heroism?
Nobody. Get going.
– Create a bard.
The Cleric
The lands of Dungeon World are a gods-forsaken mess. They’re lousy with the walking dead, beasts of all sorts, and the vast unnatural spaces between safe and temple-blessed civilizations. It is a godless world out there. That’s why it needs you.
Bringing the glory of your god to the heathens isn’t just in your nature—it’s your calling. It falls to you to proselytize with sword and mace and spell, to cleave deep into the witless heart of the wilds and plant the seed of divinity there. Some say that it’s best to keep the gods close to your heart. You know that’s rubbish. God lives at the edge of a blade.
Show the world who is lord.
– Create a cleric.
The Druid
Cast your eyes around the fire. What has brought you to these people, stinking of the dust and sweat of the city? Perhaps it is a kindness—do you protect them as the mother bear watches over her cubs? Are they your pack, now? Strange brothers and sisters you have. Whatever your inspiration, they would certainly fail without your sharp senses and sharper claws.
You are of the sacred spaces; you are born of soil and wear the marks of her spirits on your skin. You may have had a life before, maybe you were a city dweller like them, but not now. You’ve given up that static shape. Listen to your allies pray to their carved stone gods and polish their silver shells. They speak of the glory they’ll find back in that festering town you left behind.
Their gods are children, their steel is false protection. You walk the old ways, you wear the pelts of the earth itself. You’ll take your share of the treasure, but will you ever walk as one of them? Only time will tell.
– Create a druid.
The Fighter
It’s a thankless job—living day to day by your armor and the skill of your arm, diving heedlessly into danger. They won’t be playing golden horns for the time you took that knife to the ribs for them in the bar in Bucksberg. No flock of angels will sing of the time you dragged them, still screaming, from the edge of the Pits of Madness, no.
Forget them.
You do this for the guts and the glory, for the scream of battle and the hot, hot blood of it. You are a beast of iron. Your friends may carry blades of forged steel but, fighter, you are steel. While your traveling companions might moan about their wounds around a campfire in the wilderness, you bear your scars with pride.
You are the wall—let every danger smash itself to dust on you. In the end, you’ll be the last one standing.
– Create a fighter.
The Paladin
Hell awaits. An eternity of torment in fire or ice or whatever best suits the sins of the damned throngs of Dungeon World. All that stands between the pits of that grim torture and salvation is you. Holy man, armored war machine, templar of the Good and the Light, right? The cleric may say his prayers at night to the gods, dwelling in their heavens. The fighter may wield his sharp sword in the name of “good” but you know. Only you.
Eyes, hands, and sweet killing blow of the gods, you are. Yours is the gift of righteousness and virtue—of justice, of Vision, too. A purity of intent that your companions do not have.
So guide these fools, paladin. Take up your holy cause and bring salvation to the wastrel world.
Vae victis, right?
– Create a paladin.
The Ranger
These city-born folk you travel with. Have they heard the call of the wolf? Felt the winds howl in the bleak deserts of the East? Have they hunted their prey with the bow and the knife like you? Hell no. That’s why they need you.
Guide. Hunter. Creature of the wilds. You are these things and more. Your time in the wilderness may have been solitary until now, but the call of some greater thing—call it fate if you like—has cast your lot with these folk. Brave, they may be. Powerful and strong, too. But only you know the secrets of the spaces between.
Without you, they’d be lost. Blaze a trail through the blood and dark, strider.
– Create a ranger.
The Thief
You’ve heard them, sitting around the campfire. Bragging about this battle or that, or about how their gods are smiling on your merry band. You count your coins and smile to yourself—this is the thrill above all. You alone know the secret of Dungeon World: filthy, filthy lucre.
Sure, they give you lip for all the times you’ve snuck off alone, but without you, every one of them would have been dissected by a flying guillotine or poisoned straight to death by some ancient needle trap. So let them complain. When you’re done with all this delving you’ll toast their heroes’ graves.
From your castle. Full of gold. You rogue.
– Create a thief.
The Wizard
Dungeon World has rules. Not the laws of men or the rule of some petty tyrant. Bigger, better rules. You drop something—it falls. You can’t make something out of nothing. The dead stay dead, right?
Oh, the things we tell ourselves to feel better about the long, dark nights.
You’ve spent so very long poring over those tomes of yours. Conducting experiments that nearly drove you mad and casting summonings that endangered your very soul. For what? For power. What else is there? Not just the power of King or Country but the power to boil a man’s blood in his veins. To call on the thunder of the sky and the churn of the roiling earth. To shrug off the rules the world holds so dear.
Let them cast their sidelong glances. Let them call you “warlock” or “diabolist.” Who among them can hurl fireballs from their eyes?
Yeah. Didn’t think so.
– Create a wizard.
Making Dungeon World characters is quick and easy. You should all create your first characters together at the beginning of your first session. Character creation is, just like play, a kind of conversation—everyone should be there for it. It's somewhat likely your character may die along the way. if they do, no worries, the character creation process helps you make a new character that fits into the group in just a few minutes.
If you're the GM, your role during character creation is to help everyone, ask questions, and take notes. When a player makes a choice—particularly for their Bonds—ask them about it. Get more detail. Think about what these details mean.
The GM should also set expectations: the players are to play their characters as people. Skilled adventurers delving into dangerous places, but real people. The GM's role is to play the rest of the world as a dynamic, changing place.
Some questions commonly come up during character creation:
Are the characters friends? No, not necessarily, but they do work together as a team for common goals. Their reasons for pursuing those goals may be different, but they generally manage to work together.
Are there other Wizards? Not really. There are other workers of arcane magic, and the common folk may call them wizards, but they're not like you. They don't have the same abilities, though they may be similar. Same goes for any class: there's only one Cleric, though there are many with similar powers of divine servitude. There's only one Thief, but there are others that fight from the shadows and steal things.
What's coin? Coin's the currency of the realm. It's good pretty much everywhere. It'll buy you mundane stuff, like steel swords and wooden staves, but the special stuff, like magic weapons, isn't for sale.
Is the GM trying to kill us? Nope. The GM represents the world. It's a dangerous place, and yeah, you might die. But she's not trying to kill you.
Most everything you need to create a character you'll find on the character sheets. These steps will walk you through filling out a character sheet.
1. Choose a Class
Look over the character classes and choose one that interests you. Everyone chooses a different class; there aren't two Wizards. If two people want the same class, talk it over like adults and compromise.
I sit down with Paul and Shannon to play a game run by John. I've got some cool ideas for a Wizard, so I mention that would be my first choice. No one else was thinking of playing one, so I take the playbook.
2. Choose a Race
Every class has a few race options. Choose one. Your race gives you a special move.
I like the idea of summoning up Things From Beyond, so I choose Human, since that gives me a bonus to Summoning spells. I thought about being an Elf, but Shannon's playing the Cleric so I don't think we'll need more Cleric spells.
3. Choose a Name
Choose your character's name from the list.
Avon sounds good.
4. Choose Look
Your look is your physical appearance. Choose one item from each list.
Haunted eyes sound good, since I've seen Things From Beyond. No good Wizard has time for hair styling, wild hair it is. My robes are strange, and I mention to everyone that I think maybe they came from Beyond as part of one of my summonings. No time to eat with all that magic: thin body.
5. Choose Stats
Look over the basic moves and the starting moves for your class. Pick out the move that interests you the most: something you'll be doing a lot, or something that you excel at. Put your 17 in the stat for that move. Look over the list again and pick out the next most important move to your character, maybe something that supports your first choice. Put your 15 in the stat for that move. Repeat this process for your remaining scores: 13, 11, 9, 8.
Alternatively, if everyone wants a little more randomness then you can roll stats. Roll 3d6 and assign the total to a stat—repeat this until you have all your stats.
If you want something really random you can roll for stats in order (Str, Dex, Con, Int, Wis, Cha). If you choose this method you get to roll before you choose your class.
It looks like I need Intelligence to cast spells, which are my thing, so my 17 goes there. The Defy Danger option for Dexterity looks like something I might be doing to dive out of the way of a spell, so that gets my 15. A 13 Wisdom will help me notice important details (and maybe keep my sanity, based on the Defy Danger move). Charisma might be useful is dealing with summoned creatures so I'll put my 11 there. Living is always nice, so I put my 9 in Constitution for some extra HP. Strength gets the 8.
6. Figure Out Modifiers
Next you need to figure out the modifiers for your stats. The modifiers are what you use when a move says +Dex or +Cha. You won't actually use the raw scores much.
| Score | Modifier |
|---|---|
| 1-3 | -3 |
| 4-5 | -2 |
| 6-8 | -1 |
| 9-11 | +0 |
| 12-15 | +1 |
| 16-17 | +2 |
| 18 | +3 |
7. Set Starting HP
Your starting HP is equal to your class's base HP+Constitution score.
Base 4 plus 9 con gives me a whopping 13 HP. I guess Summoning takes a toll on the body.
8. Choose Starting Moves
Some classes, like the Fighter, have choices to make as part of one of their moves. Make these choices now. The Wizard will need to choose spells for their spellbook. Both the Cleric and the Wizard will need to choose which spells they have prepared to start with.
A Summoning spell is an easy choice, so I take Contact Spirits. Magic Missile will allow me to deal more damage than my pitiful d4 damage dice, so that's in too. I choose Alarm for my last spell, since I can think of some interesting uses for it.
9. Choose Alignment
Your alignment is a few words that describe your character's moral outlook. These are general and tend to guide your character's outlook rather than dictate their actions. Usually alignment is a single term declaring the character's allegiance to the forces of good, the hordes of evil, or the path of neutrality between. The alignments are Good, Evil, and Neutral. Some classes may only be certain alignments. Choose your alignment—it gives you more ways to earn XP.
Avon is all about the magical mysteries, which makes the Neutral alignment stand out. I'll go with that one.
10. Choose Gear
Each class has choices to make for starting gear. Keep your Load in mind—it limits how much you can easily carry. Make sure to total up your armor and note it on your character sheet.
I'm worried about my HP, so I take armor over books. A dagger sounds about right for rituals, I choose that over a staff. It's a toss up between the healing potion and the antitoxin, but healing wins out. I also end up with some rations.
Dungeon World Character Creator
11. Introduce Your Character
Now that you know who your character is, it's time to introduce them to everyone else. Wait until everyone's finished choosing their name. Then go around the table; each player gets to share their look, class and anything else about their character. You can share your alignment now or keep it a secret if you prefer.
This is also the time for the GM to ask questions. The GM's questions should help establish the relationships between characters ('What do you think about that?') and draw the group into the adventure ('Does that mean you've met Grundloch before?'). The GM should listen to everything in the description and ask about anything that stands out. Establish where they're from, who they are, how they came together, or anything else that seems relevant or interesting.
'This is Avon, summoner of Things From Beyond! He's a human wizard with haunted eyes, wild hair, strange robes, and a thin body. Like I mentioned before his robes are strange because they're literally not of this world: they came through as part of a summoning ritual.'
12. Choose Bonds
Once everyone has described their characters you can choose your Bonds. You must fill in one bond but it's in your best interest to fill in more. For each blank fill in the name of one character. You can use the same character for more than one statement.
Dungeon World Character Creator 2
Once everyone's filled in their bonds read them out to the group. When a move has you roll+bonds you'll count the number of Bonds you have with the character in question and add that to the roll.
Dungeon World Character Builder
With everyone introduced I choose which character to list in each Bond, I have Paul's Fighter Gregor and Shannon's Cleric Brinton to choose from. The Bond about prophecy sounds fun, so I choose Gregor for it and end up with 'Gregor will play an important role in the events to come. I have foreseen it!' It seems like The Wizard who contacts Things From Beyond and the Cleric might not see eye to eye, so I add Shannon's character and get 'Brinton is woefully misinformed about the world; I will teach them all that I can.' I leave my last Bond blank, I'll deal with it later. Once everyone is done I read my Bonds aloud and we all discuss what this means about why we're together and where we're going.