Moves
Moves are the fundamental way that players (and thus characters) interact with the world. Player Actions trigger the GM to call for a Move, not the other way around. If you want to trigger a certain move, describe your character doing things that would cause the GM to call for the desired Move.
You Defy Danger when you do something in the face of impending peril...
You Spout Lore any time you want to search your memory for knowledge...
Then, choose one party member to Scout Ahead, and one to Navigate, resolving those moves in that order.
If you’re bedding down in dangerous lands, decide on a watch order. Then, the GM chooses one person on watch during the night to roll +nothing. ✴On a 10+ The night passes without incident. ✴On a 7-9 GM chooses 1 from the list below. ✴On a 6- Everyone marks XP, and a Danger manifests. You’d better Stay Sharp!
When a follower does something chancy that falls beyond the scope of their tags or moves, or does anything on their own, the GM will tell you what happens.
When a follower helps you Hack and Slash or Volley, roll their damage die alongside your own, use the highest one, and add any damage bonuses you get on top of that.
When a follower helps you Defend, you can spend 1 hold to redirect an attack to them instead of yourself.
Basic Moves
Basic moves are the bread and butter of the adventurer’s life. They cover situations likely to come up in fights, tense negotiations, and dangerous areas.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. Hack and Slash is for attacking a prepared enemy plain and simple...Hack and slash is for attacking a prepared enemy plain and simple. If the enemy isn’t prepared for your attack—if they don’t know you’re there or they’re restrained and helpless—then that’s not hack and slash. You just deal your damage or murder them outright, depending on the situation. Nasty stuff.
The enemy’s counterattack can be any GM move made directly with that creature. A goblin might just attack you back, or they might jam a poisoned needle into your veins. Life’s tough, isn’t it?
Note that an “attack” is some action that a player undertakes that has a chance of causing physical harm to someone else. Attacking a dragon with inch-thick metal scales full of magical energy using a typical sword is like swinging a meat cleaver at a tank: it just isn’t going to cause any harm, so hack and slash doesn’t apply. Note that circumstances can change that: if you’re in a position to stab the dragon on its soft underbelly (good luck with getting there) it could hurt, so it’s an attack.
If the action that triggers the move could reasonably hurt multiple targets roll once and apply damage to each target (they each get their armor).
Some attacks may have additional effects depending on the triggering action, the circumstances, or the weapons involved. An attack could also knock someone down, restrain them, or leave a big bloody splatter.
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, deal your damage but choose one:- 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 fire multiple shots - lose a LOAD worth of Ammo
Volley covers the entire act of drawing, aiming, and firing a ranged weapon or throwing a thrown weapon. The advantage to using a ranged weapon over melee is that the attacker is less likely to be attacked back. Of course they do have to worry about ammunition and getting a clear shot though.
On a 7–9, read “danger” broadly. It can be bad footing or ending in the path of a sword or maybe just giving up your sweet sniper nest to your enemies. Whatever it is, it’s impending and it’s always something that causes the GM to say “What do you do?” Quite often, the danger will be something that will then require you to dedicate yourself to avoiding it or force you to defy danger.
If you’re throwing something that doesn’t have ammo (maybe you’ve got a move that makes your shield throwable) you can’t choose to mark off ammo. Choose from the other two options instead.
Defy Danger
When you act despite an imminent threat or suffer a calamity, say how you deal with it and roll. If you do it...- by powering through, +STR
- by getting out of the way or acting fast, +DEX
- by enduring, +CON
- with quick thinking, +INT
- through mental fortitude, +WIS
- using charm and social grace, +CHA
You Defy Danger when you do something in the face of impending peril...
You Defy Danger when you do something in the face of impending peril. This may seem like a catch-all. It is! Defy Danger is for those times when it seems like you clearly should be rolling but no other move applies.
Defy Danger also applies when you make another move despite danger not covered by that move. For example, Hack and Slash assumes that’s you’re trading blows in battle—you don’t need to defy danger because of the monster you’re fighting unless there’s some specific danger that wouldn’t be part of your normal attack. On the other hand, if you’re trying to Hack and Slash while spikes shoot from hidden traps in the walls, those spikes are a whole different danger.
Danger, here, is anything that requires resilience, concentration, or poise. This move will usually be called for by the GM. They'll tell you what the danger is as you make the move. Something like “You’ll have to Defy Danger first. The danger is the steep and icy floor you’re running across. If you can keep your footing, you can make it to the door before the necromancer’s magic gets you.”
Which stat applies depends on what action you take and your action has to trigger the move. That means you can’t Defy Danger from a steep and icy floor with a charming smile just so you can use CHA, since charmingly smiling at the icy floor does nothing to it. On the other hand, making a huge leap over the ice would be STR, placing your feet carefully would be DEX, and so on. Make the move to get the results.
Defend
When you stand in defense of a person, item, or location under attack, roll +CON. ✴On a 10+, hold-3. ✴On a 7–9, hold-1. As long as you stand in defense, when you or the thing you defend is attacked you may spend hold, 1 for 1, to choose an option:- Redirect an attack from the thing you defend to yourself
- Halve the attack’s effect or damage
- Open up the attacker to an ally giving that ally Advantage against the attacker
- Deal damage to the attacker equal to your level
Defending something means standing nearby and focusing on preventing attacks against that thing or stopping anyone from getting near it. When you’re no longer nearby or you stop devoting your attention to incoming attacks then you lose any hold you might have had.
You can only spend hold when someone makes an attack on you or the thing you’re defending. The choices you can make depend on the attacker and the type of attack. In particular, you can’t deal damage to an attacker who you can’t reach with your weapon.
An attack is any action you can interfere with that has harmful effects. Swords and arrows are attacks, of course, but so are spells, grabs, and charges.
If the attack doesn’t deal damage then halving it means the attacker gets some of what they want but not all of it. It’s up to you and the GM to work out what that means depending on the circumstances. If you’re defending the Gem Eye of Oro-Uht and an orc tries to grab it from its pedestal then half effect might mean that the gem gets knocked to the floor but the orc doesn’t get his hands on it, yet. Or maybe the orc gets a hold of it but so do you—now you’re both fighting over it, tooth and nail. If you and the GM can’t agree on a halved effect you can’t choose that option.
Defending yourself is certainly an option. It amounts to giving up on making attacks and just trying to keep yourself safe.
Spout Lore
When you consult your accumulated knowledge about something, roll +INT. ✴On a 10+, the GM will tell you something interesting and useful about the subject relevant to your situation. ✴On a 7–9, the GM will only tell you something interesting—it’s on you to make it useful. The GM might ask you “How do you know this?” Tell them the truth, now.You Spout Lore any time you want to search your memory for knowledge...
You spout lore any time you want to search your memory for knowledge or facts about something. You take a moment to ponder the things you know about the Orcish Tribes or the Tower of Ul’dammar and then reveal that knowledge.
The knowledge you get is like consulting a bestiary, travel guide, or library. You get facts about the subject matter. On a 10+ the GM will show you how those facts can be immediately useful, on a 7–9 they’re just facts.
On a miss the GM’s move will often involve the time you take thinking. Maybe you miss that goblin moving around behind you, or the tripwire across the hallway. It’s also a great chance to reveal an unwelcome truth.
Just in case it isn’t clear: the answers are always true, even if the GM had to make them up on the spot. Always say what honesty demands.
Discern Realities
When you closely study a situation or person, roll +WIS. ✴On a 10+, ask the GM 3 questions from the list below. ✴On a 7–9, ask 1. Either way, take Advantage when acting on the answers.- What happened here recently?
- What is about to happen?
- What should I be on the lookout for?
- What here is useful or valuable to me?
- Who’s really in control here?
- What here is not what it appears to be?
To Discern Realities you must closely observe your target. That usually means interacting with it or watching someone else do the same. You can’t just stick your head in the doorway and discern realities about a room. You’re not merely scanning for clues—you have to look under and around things, tap the walls, and check for weird dust patterns on the bookshelves. That sort of thing.
Discerning Realities isn’t just about noticing a detail, it’s about figuring out the bigger picture. The GM always describes what the player characters experience honestly, so during a fight the GM will say that the kobold mage stays at the other end of the hall. Discerning Realities could reveal the reason behind that: the kobold’s motions reveal that he’s actually pulling energy from the room behind him, he can’t come any closer.
Just like Spout Lore, the answers you get are always honest ones. Even if the GM has to figure it out on the spot. Once they answer, it’s set in stone. You’ll want to discern realities to find the truth behind illusions—magical or otherwise.
Unless a move says otherwise players can only ask questions from the list. If a player asks a question not on the list the GM can tell them to try again or answer a question from the list that seems equivalent.
Of course, some questions might have a negative answer, that’s fine. If there really, honestly is nothing useful or valuable here, the GM will answer that question with “Nothing, sorry.”
Parley
When you have leverage on an NPC and manipulate them, roll +CHA. Leverage is something they need or want. ✴On a 10+, they do what you ask if you first promise what they ask of you. ✴On a 7–9, they will do what you ask, but need some concrete assurance of your promise, right now. Parley covers a lot of ground like intimidation and diplomacy...Parley covers a lot of ground including old standbys like intimidation and diplomacy. You know you’re using parley when you’re trying to get someone to do something for you by holding a promise or threat over them. Your leverage can be nasty or nice, the tone doesn’t matter.
Merely asking someone politely isn’t parleying. That’s just talking. You say, “Can I have that magic sword?” and Sir Telric says, “Hell no, this is my blade, my father forged it and my mother enchanted it” and that’s that. To parley, you have to have leverage. Leverage is anything that could lure the target of your parley to do something for you. Maybe it’s something they want or something they don’t want you to do. Like a sack of gold. Or punching them in the face. What counts as leverage depends on the people involved and the request being made. Threaten a lone goblin with death and you have leverage. Threaten a goblin backed up by his gang with death and he might think he’s better off in a fight.
On a 7+ they ask you for something related to whatever leverage you have. If your leverage is that you’re standing before them sharpening your knife and insinuating about how much you’d like to shank them with it they might ask you to let them go. If your leverage is your position in court above them they might ask for a favor.
Whatever they ask for, on a 10+, you just have to promise it clearly and unambiguously. On a 7–9, that’s not enough: you also have to give them some assurance, right now, before they do what you want. If you promise that you’ll ensure their safety from the wolves if they do what you want and you roll a 7–9 they won’t do their part until you bring a fresh wolf pelt to prove you can do it, for example. It’s worth noting that you don’t actually have to keep your promise. Whether you’ll follow up or not, well, that’s up to you. Of course breaking promises leads to problems. People don’t take kindly to oath-breakers and aren’t likely to deal with them in the future.
In some cases when you state what you want you may include a possible promise for the creature to make, as in “flee and I’ll let you live.” It’s up to the target of the parley if that’s the promise they want or if they have something else in mind. They can say “yes, let me live and I’ll go” (with assurances, if you rolled a 7–9) or “promise me you won’t follow me.”
Aid or Interfere
When you help or hinder someone, roll...- +STR if you use your brawn
- +DEX if you use your speed and quickness
- +CON if you use your endurance
- +INT if you use your quick thinking or magic
- +WIS if you use your mental fortitude
- +CHA if you use your charm and social grace
Any time you feel like two players should be rolling against each other, the defender should be interfering with the attacker. This doesn’t always mean sabotaging them. It can mean anything from arguing against a parley to just being a shifty person who’s hard to discern. It’s about getting in the way of another players’ success.
Always ask the person aiding or interfering how they are doing it. As long as they can answer that, they trigger the move. Sometimes, as the GM, you’ll have to ask if interference is happening. Your players might not always notice they’re interfering with each other.
Aid is a little more obvious. If a player can explain how they’re helping with a move and it makes sense, let them roll to aid.
No matter how many people aid or interfere with a given roll, the target only gets the Advantage or Disadvantage once. Even if a whole party of adventurers aid in attacking an ogre, the one who makes the final attack only gets Advantage.
Travel and Exploration Moves
These moves replace all travel-related moves in the original rules. The Scout, Trailbazer, and Quartermaster roles from the original “Undertake a Perilous Journey” move have been changed, renamed, and broken out into their own moves. “Make Camp” has been significantly altered, and “Take Watch” is replaced here with “Stay Sharp,” which has application beyond the campsite.Journey
When you travel by a safe route, through safe or dangerous lands, indicate your destination on the map. The GM will tell you how long the trip takes, and what—if anything—happens along the way. When you reach your destination, choose someone to Manage Provisions to determine how many rations were consumed over the course of the trip.Undertake a Perilous Journey
When you travel through dangerous lands, and not on a safe route, indicate the course you want to take on the map and ask the GM how far you should be able to get before needing to Make Camp. If you’re exploring with no set destination, indicate which way you go.Then, choose one party member to Scout Ahead, and one to Navigate, resolving those moves in that order.
Forage
When you spend a day seeking food in the wild, and your surroundings are not Barren, roll +WIS. ✴On a 10+ You gain 1d4 rations, +1d4 rations if you have the knowledge and gear needed to trap or hunt. ✴On a 7-9 As above, but first face a Discovery or Danger of the GM’s choice. ✴On a 6- Mark XP, and GM makes a move.Make Camp
When you settle in to rest, choose one member of the party to Manage Provisions. Then, if you eat and drink, and have enough XP, you may level up.If you’re bedding down in dangerous lands, decide on a watch order. Then, the GM chooses one person on watch during the night to roll +nothing. ✴On a 10+ The night passes without incident. ✴On a 7-9 GM chooses 1 from the list below. ✴On a 6- Everyone marks XP, and a Danger manifests. You’d better Stay Sharp!
- The person on watch notices a nearby Discovery
- One party member of the GM’s choice suffers a restless night
- One or more followers causes trouble
- A Danger approaches—it’s not immediately hostile, but whoever’s on watch had better Stay Sharp anyway
Stay Sharp
When you are on watch and something approaches, roll +WIS. ✴On a 10+ You notice in time to alert everyone and prepare a response; all party members take Advantage. ✴On a 7-9 You manage to sound the alarm, but no one has time to prepare. ✴On a 6- Mark-XP, and whatever approaches has the drop on you.Scout Ahead
When you take point and look for anything out of the ordinary, roll +WIS. ✴On a 10+ Choose 2 from the list below. ✴On a 7-9 Choose 1 from the list below. ✴On a 6- Mark-XP, and GM makes a move.- You get the drop on whatever lies ahead
- You discern a beneficial aspect of the terrain—shortcut, shelter, or tactical advantage (describe it)
- You make a Discovery (ask the GM)
- You notice sign of a nearby Danger — ask the GM what it is, and what it might signify
Suggested GM Moves
Soft Moves- The weather worsens
- Scout attracts unwanted attention
- Scout becomes lost
- Scount encounters a Danger
- Scout is ambushed
- The rest of the party is ambushed
- Scout is captured or trapped
- Scout suffers an injury
Navigate
When you plot the best course through dangerous or unfamiliar lands, roll +INT. ✴On a 10+, you avoid dangers and distractions and make good time, reaching a point of the GM's choosing before you need to Make Camp. ✴On a 7-9, the GM chooses 1 from the list below. ✴On a 6-, Mark-XP and the GM makes a move.- You happen upon a Discovery missed by the Scout
- The going is slow, or you wander off course. The GM says which, and where you end up on the map
- You encounter a Danger; whether or not you're surprised depends on whether the Scout has the drop on it
Suggested GM Moves
Soft Moves- The weather worsens
- They're being followed
- They must backtrack, losing valuable time
- Scout encounters a Danger
- Someone slips and is injured
- They stumble into a Danger
- They get lost
Manage Provisions
When you prepare and distribute food for the party, roll +WIS. ✴On a 10+ Choose 1 from the list below. ✴On a 7-9 The party consumes the expected amount of rations (1 per person if Making Camp, 1 per person per day if making a Journey). ✴On a 6- Mark-XP, and GM makes a move.- Careful management reduces the amount of rations consumed (ask the GM by how much)
- The party consumes the expected amount and the food you prepare is excellent—describe it, and everyone who licks their lips takes Advantage
Suggested GM Moves
Soft Moves- They bicker over ration shares
- Local animal life is attracted by food
- Someone takes a STR Debility until they eat 1 additional ration
- The water is discovered to be tainted or poisonous
- 1d4 rations are lost due to spoilage or over-consumption
- Someone gets food poisoning and takes a level of CON and DEX Debilities
- Nearby Danger is attracted by food
Follower Moves
Only the penniless and foolhardy undertake an expedition without proper support in the form of porters, hunters, guides, and guards, not to mention specialists who can bring their skills to bear in any number of ways. Followers are those individuals (people, beasts, or monsters) who offer such assistance, accompanying the party on their exploits about the world. See Followers for more information. Followers can make the Make Camp, and Recover moves, and can make the Last Breath move at the GM’s discretion. Unless otherwise noted, they don’t make any of the basic moves. Instead, use the following moves.Recruit
When you go looking to hire help, tell the GM what you're offering and whom you're looking for, phrased in one of the following ways:- A group of __________ (porters, guards, minstrels, angry farmers, etc.)
- A skilled __________ (guide, sage, burglar, bodyguard, etc.)
- They demand greater compensation, in COIN or some other form
- No one here fits the bill, but you hear of someone elsewhere who does
- They have a need that must be met first (permission from someone else, a favor, etc.)
- You can tell at a glance they are less than ideal (ask the GM how)
Pay Up
When you pay a follower’s cost, increase their Loyalty by 1 (to a maximum of +3). You can’t trigger this move again until both you and your follower have Made Camp.Watch Them Go
When a follower has -3 Loyalty, they betray or abandon you at the next opportunity.Order Follower
When you order or expect a follower to do something dangerous, degrading, or contrary to their Instinct, roll +Loyalty. ✴On a 10+ They do it, now. ✴On a 7-9 They do it, but GM picks one from the list below. ✴On a 6- Mark-XP, and the GM makes a move.- Decrease the follower's Loyalty by 1
- They complain loudly, now or later, and demand something in return
- Caution, laziness, or fear makes them take a long time to get it done
Do Their Thing
When a follower does something chancy within the scope of their tags or moves, roll +Quality. ✴On a 10+ They do it, as well as one could reasonably hope. ✴On a 7-9 They do it, but there’s an unforeseen cost, consequence, or limitation (ask the GM what). ✴On a 6- Mark-XP, and the GM makes a move.When a follower does something chancy that falls beyond the scope of their tags or moves, or does anything on their own, the GM will tell you what happens.
Call for Assistance
When a follower helps you make a move that calls for a roll, take Advantage to that roll but know that they will be exposed to any potential consequences.When a follower helps you Hack and Slash or Volley, roll their damage die alongside your own, use the highest one, and add any damage bonuses you get on top of that.
When a follower helps you Defend, you can spend 1 hold to redirect an attack to them instead of yourself.
Special Moves
Special moves are moves that come up less often or in more specific situations. They’re still the basis of what characters do in Dungeon World —particularly what they do between dungeon crawls and high-flying adventures.Carouse
When you return triumphant and throw a big party, spend 100-COIN and roll with Advantage for every extra 100-COIN spent. ✴On a 10+, choose 3. ✴On a 7–9, choose 1. ✴On a 6-, you still choose one, but things get really out of hand (the GM will say how).- You befriend a useful NPC
- You hear rumors of an opportunity
- You gain useful information
- You are not entangled, ensorcelled, or tricked
You can only carouse when you return triumphant. That’s what draws the crowd of revelers to surround adventurers as they celebrate their latest haul. If you don’t proclaim your success or your failure, then who would want to party with you anyway?
Recover
When you do nothing but rest in comfort and safety, after a day of rest you recover all your HP. After three days of rest, remove one level of Debility from the attribute of your choice. If you're under the care of a healer (magical or otherwise), you heal a Debility level every two days of rest instead.Outstanding Warrants
When you return to a civilized place in which you’ve caused trouble before, roll +CHA. ✴On a 10+, word has spread of your deeds and everyone recognizes you. ✴On a 7–9, as above, and the GM chooses a complication:- The local constabulary has a warrant out for your arrest.
- Someone has put a price on your head.
- Someone important to you has been put in a bad spot as a result of your actions.
This move is only for places where you’ve caused trouble, not every patch of civilization you enter. Being publicly caught up in someone else’s trouble still triggers this move.
Civilization generally means the villages, towns and cities of humans, elves, dwarves, and halflings but it can also apply to any relatively lawful establishment of monstrous species, such as orcs or goblins. If the PCs have stayed in a place as part of the community, it counts as civilization.
Bolster
When you spend your leisure time in study, meditation, or hard practice, you gain preparation. If you prepare for a week or more, take 1 preparation. If you prepare for a month or longer, take 3 instead. When your preparation pays off spend 1 preparation for Advantage to any roll. You can only spend one preparation per roll.Last Breath
When you’re dying you catch a glimpse of what lies beyond the Black Gates of Death’s Kingdom (the GM will describe it). Then roll (just roll, +nothing—yeah, Death doesn’t care how tough or cool you are). ✴On a 10+, you’ve cheated Death—you’re in a bad spot but you’re still alive. ✴On a 7–9, Death himself will offer you a bargain. Take it and stabilize or refuse and pass beyond the Black Gates into whatever fate awaits you. ✴On 6-, your fate is sealed. You’re marked as Death’s own and you’ll cross the threshold soon. The GM will tell you when. The Last Breath is that moment standing between life and death...The Last Breath is that moment standing between life and death. Time stands still as Death appears to claim the living for his own. Even those who do not pass beyond the Black Gates catch a glimpse of the other side and what might await them—friends and enemies past, rewards or punishment for acts in life or other, stranger vistas. All are changed in some way by this moment—even those who escape.
There are three outcomes to this move. On a 10+, the Character has cheated Death in some meaningful way. He’s escaped with something that, by rights, isn’t his anymore. Death is powerless to stop this, but he remembers this slight. On a 7–9, the GM should offer a real choice with significant consequence. Think about the behaviors of the character and the things you’ve learned about him in play. Death knows and sees all and tailors his bargains accordingly. This is a trade, remember. Offer something that will be a challenge to play out but will lead the game in fun new direction. On a miss, death is inevitable. The most obvious approach is to say “Death takes you across the threshold, into his bleak kingdom.” and move on. However, sometimes Death comes slowly. You might say “you have a week to live” or “you can feel the cold hand of Death on you ” and leave it at that, for now. The player may want to give in and accept death at this point—that’s okay. Let them create a new character as normal. The key thing to remember is that a brush with death, succeed or fail, is a significant moment that should always lead to change.
End of Session
When you reach the end of a game session, look at your Drive. If you fulfilled your Drive at least once during the session, Mark-XP. If you feel like your Drive no longer applies, you may cross it out and pick another Drive. Then, answer these three questions as a group:- Did we discover something new and noteworthy?
- Did we overcome a notable monster or enemy?
- Did we loot a memorable treasure?
- Did we explore a previously unexplored hex of the map?
- Did we name a newly discovered region or feature of the landscape?
Level Up
When you have downtime (hours or days) and XP equal to (or greater than) your current level +10, you can reflect on your experiences and hone your skills. Perform the following actions when you Level Up- Subtract XP equal to your current level +10
- Increase your level by 1
- Choose a new advanced move from your class or increase one of your attributes by +1 (max of +3)
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