Rule Suggestion : "level up !"

[Cyril]

Hey everyone,

as I was reading the rules, it crossed my mind the concept of level could be quite easily introduced in DW, still complying with the base philosophy.

The idea is pretty simple : since every hero uses a given number of dices to launch his attacks (say five), when entering the dungeon at Level 1, he would roll 5D6 as stated in the rules. By fighting and exploring the dungeon, a hero could gain a level and "switch up" his dices, using 5D8 when launching an attack from now on. At level 3 he would then use 5D10 (which could be the max).
Thus, this would give a slight boost to the hero strength without altering the balance too much nor slowing down the game.

Note this concept could also have some interesting outcomes :
- when having to test for/against something, the hero could use his "level dice" against a threshold
- when having to roll for random monster spawning, the threat could be in/decreased de facto by using each hero's level dice against a unique table.
For instance, a 5 heroes party with three lvl 2 and two lvl 1 would roll : 3D8 + 2D6. With a wisely designed table, this could avoid three lvl1 heroes to meet a great dragon and a five lvl3 party to meet 3 gobelins...
- monsters could also be given levels. For instance, a level 2 orc leading a bunch of 5 level 1 gobelins could be interesting. (the orc could even buff the gobelins while it is still alive...)
- a malediction could force a hero to "switch down" his dices...

What do you think of it ?  Is it understandable ?

[nikharwood]

I understand 

This is a core mechanism in a few games I think - I'm most familiar with the Ambush Alley 'stable' of games where die-type is used to differentiate between troop-types [eg Regulars v Insurgents or SWAT v Zombies etc] - in my experience it's an easy way of differentiating ability without bogging the game down. I think you should try it a few times & let us know how you get on.

Oh - and don't forget to take pics & write it all up as a Batrep! 

[Cyril]

I confess, AA inspired me as I love this rule system. The reaction mechanism really rocks btw.
As for the barep, it will be done as soon as I'm finished with the painting.

[nikharwood]

Coolio - looking forward to it Cyril 

[sixsideddice]

Character level ups is another thing you can, of course, do with DW. Different (more powerful) dice could be one way to go about achieving this. I do something similar with morale dice in my Imagi-Nation rules "The Wolf Who Would Eat the Lion".

Character level up is taken into account in DW by the use of power ups, random finds (if you`re lucky), quest goals, and most importantly, by bringing loot out of the dungeon(s) which allows you to BUY more powerful spells, skills, and so.

I wanted to break away from the traditional level 1 to 20 thing, which was a trend started way back in the infancy of the hobby and which still exists in most rpg systems today. The reason I wanted to avoid this as entirely as possible is simply that (a) character level ups means, like in the PC game the World of Warcraft for example, player parties tend to be funnelled exclusively into certain areas where their experience level makes for a balanced fight. Quite boring to have a level 20 character go into a level 1 dungeon and face level 1 monsters. However, in DW, even a powerful character with several power ups and some purchased skills will have to watch out for complacency when facing monsters normally considered below his ability to fight. If cornered without support, even a high level character will find himself is deep trouble and wearing brown trousers.

(b) the second you start imposing levels on characters and monsters, you have to start tampering with game balance, which by definition this means some lower/higher classes will always end up being excluded from certain areas of play.... this was something I wanted to avoid, and has been a bone of contention with me for years with other games such as D&D; where by necessity, players are excluded from some scenarios, forcing the DM to browse the shelves for game aids suitable for the players` combined level. How many times have players seen a great adventure, but been unable to use it because it’s set for the wrong level suitable for the players?

But, DW is a loose system, and if adding levels is your thing, I`m sure there are others out there who would completely agree with you. I made DW to be very adaptable and easily customizable; and I completely encourage gamers to make the game their own. Wonderful to see ten DM`s all playing their own completely different versions of the same game.

Six :-)

[Cyril]

I like your vision and agree. Maybe I'll occasionally use this concept with an "elite guard" or a final boss...

The defense rests your honor.