Dungeon World takes Vincent Baker’s Apocalypse World system and applies it to ’74 D&D and the Moldvay Basic Rules (are you detecting a pattern yet?). [Note: the taxonomy of OSR is new to me and also not something I am super interested in getting bogged down in. Dungeon World is not technically an OSR game because of the squishiness of the rules, which I am about to get into; it is more “OSR-influenced,” but I am including it here, well, basically because I want to. So there.]
The game uses the basic scaffolding of familiar D&D elements, but resolves conflict using the Moves from Apocalypse World. There are sets of Moves shared by all characters, then special Moves open to specific classes. Each Move has a set of preconditions that allow its use, and consequences that result – and they can be used to resolve pretty much anything, from fights to chatting with NPCs. To use a Move, you roll two six-sided dice and add your ability modifier – if the total is 10 or above you succeed, 6 or below you fail, and 7-9 gets a mixed result. Simple, right? Maybe.
Apocalypse World works great for storytelling games. I’ve not fiddled with the original rules, but Moves work great in games like The Warren and Worldwide Wrestling because the consequences are largely narrative. Dungeon World, tied as it is to D&D, is using a narrative system to handle simulation. I don’t think it works. I find the rules confusing. Things that I want to be complex are aggravatingly simple, and vice versa.
I am cool with games not being for me, but I am not sure I know who Dungeon World is for. Maybe it is for you! If it is, please explain what I am missing.
All this aside: the cover is super sweet.
