Exploring Hot Springs Island with Dungeon World

Having acquired both the Field Guide and the Dark of Hot Springs island during a black friday fueled book purchasing spree, I found myself the proud owner of some gorgeous books and nothing to do with them. My in person group was already in the middle of alternating between Band of Blades and Vampire the Masquerade, and my online group was still attempting to escape from the Dead Planet with Mothership (we've since moved on to exploring the Anomalous Subsurface Environment using Electric Bastionland).

Luckily a friend of mine was convinced to buy a copy of the Field Guide and was on board for playing a one on one game exploring the island.

After throwing around a handful of ideas for what system to use (Scarlet Heroes was the other main option in contention) we decided to use Dungeon World to run the game. I recognize this is likely a blasphemous decision for any OSR readers.

We arrived at Dungeon World after a lengthy "Session Negative One" conversation, and it came down to the following points

• The main purpose of the game is exploring and experiencing the weird shit on the island
• We are less interested in player challenge, and more interested in the character's journey
• We want danger and the threat of death to be present, but not omnipresent
• We want the character to start out as being reasonably competent in the area of expertise
• The player has developed something of an allergy to d20s

We decided to add the Legacy Weapon supplement to give the character a slightly broader set of skills (and to provide continuity to the game if the first character dies) and worked out a Ranger/Alchemist combo playbook to give the player a good set of tools and motivations to explore the island.

I then broke down my goals as the GM into a list (my principles as it were). Some of these cleave closer to story games, and some closer to Old School thinking.

Game Goals

• Explore Hot Springs Island
• Let the setting and characters shine
• Leverage HSI’s systems to provide a living, dynamic and exciting world
• Project consequences
• Reward creativity with approaches to problems and interactions
• The player’s actions can influence the setting and factions  (the "Sandbox of Black Powder")
• The world exists independent of the player, and does not revolve around them
• The world is dangerous
• “Encounters” are not balanced (and should not be thought of as encounters)
• Focus is on the Character rather than the Player
• Leverage game mechanics to push the story forward
• Danger is present, but the character is tough and competent
• Risk of death is real, but not omnipresent

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To support these goals here are the custom moves and modifications we're using for the game.

Travel and Exploration Moves

I'm using the exploration and time tracking rules from HSI, but using modified travel moves (some mixture of RAW and Perilous Wilds probably).

These moves count as Undertaking a Perilous Journey for the purposes of other moves (mainly Ranger moves).

When you travel to a neighboring point of interest that you have discovered, you make it there after one watch.

When you navigate to an undiscovered neighboring point of interest, roll+INT:
On a hit, you make it to your destination after one watch.
On a 7-9, pick one:

• It takes you an additional watch to reach your destination.
• You arrive at your destination tired or out of sorts, take -1 forward until you take a few minutes to catch your breath.
• You veer off course (the GM rolls a d6 to determine where you end up). You don’t end up where you wanted to go, but you manage to keep your bearings.

On a 6-, you become lost in addition to whatever else the GM says (the GM rolls a d6 to determine where you end up).

When you travel through dangerous territory, roll +WIS:
On a 10+, you get the drop on whatever awaits.
On a 7-9, you are not taken by surprise.

When you Make Camp in a dangerous area, there is a 3 in 6 chance of experiencing an encounter. Additional preparation (secluded camping area, camouflage, no fire) can reduce this chance. Deliberately calling attention to yourself can increase this chance.

Debt

Debt is a 6 tick clock (adjust for campaign length) that when filled will cause the brand to fade. Ticking the clock represents repaying the debt you owe to the Martel Company.

Whenever you go a week without checking in with a Martel quartermaster, the brand burns.

When the brand burns, check an unchecked box below.

• You become Weak, it cannot be cured until this box is unchecked.
• You become Shaky, it cannot be cured until this box is unchecked.
• You become Sick, it cannot be cured until this box is unchecked.
• You become Stunned, it cannot be cured until this box is unchecked.
• You become Confused, it cannot be cured until this box is unchecked.
• You become Scarred, it cannot be cured until this box is unchecked.
• Take your Last Breath as the brand consumes your flesh.

When you check in with a Martel Company quartermaster, Roll + one for each of the following you have returned with:

• Maps of a new location of interest to the Martel Company
• A significant amount of gold or riches
• A valuable or powerful artifact from the Elves or Ancients
• Valuable information or news about the factions on Hot Springs Island
• A filled bounty or completed job
• A specimen of unknown, or rare, flora of fauna. Gain an additional +1 if it is still living.

On a hit, clear all check boxes from The Martel Brand Burns.
On a 10+, you clear enough of your debt that the brand fades slightly (tick the Debt clock).
On a 6-, your offering is insufficient. You may remove a tick from the Debt clock to clear all check boxes.

Then, gain Martel Scrip for each 100 coins worth of treasure brought back. Scrip may be spent on basic supplies from the Martel quartermaster based on availability. Sometimes artifacts, weapons and treasures returned by other adventurers that the Martel Company has no use for will be available.

Bonds, Companions and Factions

The normal Bond limit is removed, and I'm encouraging the player to write bonds with any and all NPCs he encounters that have some sort of impact.

We're using the Perilous Wilds follower rules (primarily for the animal companion) and I'm so far just running other travel companions with GM moves.

I'm stealing the faction system from the Root RPG, but it hasn't come up much so far and I'm honestly considering yeeting it and just running things on a case by case basis.

Monsters

I started making stats for all the monsters, creatures, plants, and NPCs but then realized I was mostly just plugging answers into the online Monster Maker and using whatever popped out, and so I've switched to making stats on the fly as needed rather than making them all ahead of time.

Experience

Here are the end of session questions we're using to reflect the goals of the game, as they differ somewhat from those of a standard DW campaign:

At the end of a session, answer the following questions:

• Have I explored a new point of interest on Hot Springs Island?
• Have I learned hidden or useful information about Hot Springs Island or its denizens?
• Have I recovered a piece of valuable and interesting treasure?
• Have I made progress towards freeing myself from my debt slavery?

Gain 1 experience for each.

Then, reflect on your bonds. If any have been resolved or changed significantly, rewrite them. Gain 1 experience for each bond changed this way, up to two.

Then, gain an experience if you have completed your Drive trigger.

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We're so far about 6 sessions in (although each session tends to be on the shorter side) and it's been a blast so far. At some point when I have more free time, I'll likely try to write up some session recaps if people are interested.