Help!

Help!

Help! I just discovered that in 14 hours time I’m going to be running a DW one shot for two friends of mine. I’ve never even played a PBTA game before and haven’t even read the book yet (though I have read MOTW)! Do you have any advice or links to resources for me? Are there any play books that do or do not work well in a one shot? And in particular are there any dungeons out there that I could use? Another post in another forum recommend Purple Worm but the delivery of the PDF takes more than 24 hours! Sorry to bother you!

8 thoughts on “Help!”

  3. First of all, did you agree to run this game? Because by your post makes it seems like no one asked you beforehand and just stuck you with this duty. If that is the case, that is a really unfair thing to do, especially as you are completely unfamiliar with Dungeon Word and PbtA games in general.

    I’m not saying don’t run DW, but running something you’re familiar with would definitely be less stressful.

  4. Every advice I would give you are already given in the aforementionned posts (DW Guide and How to run a tight 4 hour… are both really insightful), but I feel the need to underline some things

    1. Don’t plan.

    2. Ask questions to establish the world, adress those to the best suited characters (never to the players).

    eg ask the Druid what is so special in this forest, the Prest why his God is opposed to their current quest, the Thief what he recently stole – and why he really never should haven, the Warrior which unbeatable hero lives in this area

    3. Ask for a 5 or 10 minutes break, so you’ll be able to

    4. Start in media res with the danger your character have just told you about.

    5. Don’t plan

    6. Let the players show you what they want this adventure be about.

    7. Don’t plan.

  5. 1. Read the Agendas.

    2. Keep the Principles in your sight at all times.

    3. Be a fan of the characters.

    For playbooks, I’d ask them to stick to core stuff as it’s your first time. It’s only fair. Feel free to ask them plenty of questions about their characters.

    If all else fails, give them a treasure map that leads inside an active and inhabited volcano, tell them how the entrance just collapsed and ask one of them why they came here.

    Relax! You’ll be great.

  6. Dang, I would have probably said no to running an unfamiliar game with that little time to prepare. DW is one of the Harder PbtA games to run, at least for someone like me that has a background of playing and GMing D&D–because it’s easy to fall back on habits or styles of GMing that violate the Agenda and Principles of the game.

    I’d read and re-read the how to play, basic moves, GM, and First session chapters and then maybe watch one of the Actual Play videos that co-creator Adam Koebel made. Your goal is to understand the principles and the flow of player & GM moves.

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