I absolutely love the Planarch Codex. I'm not using it in my current campaign, but I decided to write up some jobs to go on the Adventurers' Guild noticeboard. They're on a Google Drive folder here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1II1r3O2c5Ox_pO1Paa7gRE0qnd8q_f0Vm_VrjI8k_nU/edit

Let me know what you think!

Ok, I'm SURE I recall reading about someone creating a playable Dragon class in Dungeon World. But I can't for the life of me find it; so I wrote my own. Here we go. Fairly rough first draft. See below the second line for my comments and questions.

The idea is to portray a young, fairly small dragon. It doesn't yet have the vast magical power, vast reserves of arcane secrets, or enormous golden horde of an ancient dragon; which in part explains why it's hanging around with a bunch of grubby adventurers.

Please comment on this. Balance comments are welcome, as are remarks on whether or not this feels suitably like playing a dragon,

---

The Dragon

Damage d10
Max HP: Constitution +10

Look:
Burning eyes, alien eyes, or strangely kind eyes.
Brightly shining scales, battered armour-like scales, or well-camouflaged scales.
Massively muscular body, sinuous body, or lean and hungry body.
Aura of imperious glory, aura of vast magical power, or aura of monstrous menace.

Alignment:

Good: Endanger yourself to protect a mere mortal.
Evil: Terrify or torment lesser creatures just for the fun of it.
Lawful: Pass judgement over lesser creatures in a just and fair manner.
Chaotic: Defy or shatter the petty laws of mortals.

Race:

You are a dragon. Pick a natural environment:

• The cruel mountain peaks. Your breath weapon is a bone-chilling blizzard of ice and snow.
• The shifting desert sands. Your breath weapon is a surge of crackling lightning that fuses sand into glass.
• Deep beneath the earth. Your breath weapon is a volcanic gout of molten rock.
• The dank, dismal swamps. Your breath weapon is a spray of noxious acid.
• The vast ocean. Your breath weapon is a sonic shockwave that can sunder the hull of a galleon.
• Or choose somewhere else. Your breath weapon is a wave of searing flame.

Starting moves:

Dragon's scales:
Your scales are as tough as chainmail. You have 2 armour. You cannot increase this by wearing armour or carrying a shield.

Dragonflight:
You can fly, although not particularly gracefully.
When you attempt a difficult aerial maneuver, roll +CON.
*On a 10+, you succeed. *On a 7-9, choose one:

• You don't quite pull it off as you'd intended.
• You succeed, but you're going to be forced to land.
• You succeed, but you get hurt in the process.

Dragon breath:
When you unleash your breath weapon at Near range, roll +CON.
*On a 10+, choose one. *On a 7-9, choose 2. *Either way, deal your damage, ignoring armour.

• It's less impressive than you'd hoped. Deal d4 less damage.
• Your aim is off, and you only hit one of the targets you were aiming at.
• You exhaust yourself, and can't use your breath weapon again until you rest for a bit.
• You miscalculated - either you hit something you weren't aiming at or you leave yourself vulnerable.

Draconic majesty:
When you terrify lesser creatures with your awe-inspiring presence, roll +CHA. *On a 7+, they choose one:

• Grovel before you
• Flee in abject terror
• Swallow their fear and attack you

*On a 10+, you also take +1 forward against them. *On a miss, they do as they please and you take -1 forward against them.

Ravenous hunger:
Whenever you consume rations, consume one extra ration.

Gear
Your Load is 12+STR, although you can only fly with a load of 4+STR or less. You start with a harness that lets you carry things easily, a flame-grilled sheep (ration, 6 uses, 4 weight) and 100 coins worth of miscellaneous valuables. It's not a horde but it's a start.

Advanced moves:

Devastating breath:
When you unleash your breath weapon, deal +d4 damage.

Iron scales:
Your armour increases to 3.

Mighty Pinions:
Your wings increase in strength. You can carry one creature up to Medium size when you fly.

A Dragon's Lair:
You have established a lair. It benefits from a permanent version of the Wizard's Alarm spell. While you are within your lair, you take +1 Ongoing.

A Dragon's Horde:
Requires "A Dragon's Lair"
You have resolved to accumulate a mighty horde. Whenever you obtain a significant treasure and add it to your horde rather than spending it, mark XP.

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch:
Your claws and teeth gain the Messy tag and Piercing 1.

Precision shot:
You can use your breath weapon to Volley at long range. If you expend ammo, treat it as "you can't use your breath weapon again until you rest for a bit".

Under your wing:
When you Defend by using a part of your body to shield someone, in addition to any other advantages of the Defend move, they benefit from your armour as well as their own.

Studying the ways of mortals:
Pick a move from any class.

Advanced moves for levels 6+:

Ruinous breath:
Replaces "Devastating breath"
When you unleash your breath weapon, deal +d8 damage.

Adamantine scales:
Replaces "Iron Scales"
Your armour increases to 4.

Growing fast:
Only take this move when you have significant time between adventures.
Your size increases to Large. Your claws and teeth gain Reach. You gain +4 HP.

Devour:
Requires Growing Fast.
Once per combat, when you roll a 10+ on Hack and Slash against a Small creature, you may ignore their armour and hitpoints and simply swallow them whole.

Hideous rending:
Replaces "The jaws that bite, the claws that catch"
Your claws and teeth gain the Messy tag and Piercing 3.

Following the ways of mortals:
Pick another move from the same class used for "Studying the ways of mortals"

Mastering the ways of mortals:
Pick another move from the same class used for "Studying the ways of mortals"

---

I'm a little concerned the above-listed version of Dragon Breath is too powerful considering it's d10 damage ignoring armour. Here's an alternative version of dragon breath. This one is weaker since you only get one shot per fight.
Once per fight, when you unleash your breath weapon at Near range, roll +CON.
On a 10+, you deal your damage, ignoring armour. On a 7-9, you still deal your damage, but choose one:

• It's less impressive than you'd hoped. Deal d4 less damage.
• Your aim is off, and you only hit one of the targets you were aiming at.
• You miscalculated - either you hit something you weren't aiming at or you leave yourself vulnerable.

And, of course, this one allows for advanced moves letting you use Dragon Breath more than once per fight.


I want to give the dragon some innate magical potential - maybe the ability to detect magic by smell, or something - but I can't work out how to best represent this. It'll be an Advanced move or two, I know that.

I don't currently have Bonds worked out, because honestly I don't even know where to start. I have absolutely no idea whether 100 coin is a sane amount to start with - on the one hand, that isn't actually enough to buy most characters' starting equipment when you look at the prices for armour and weapons. On the other hand, the Dragon doesn't need armour or weapons.

I know +CON moves are pretty rare, but Dragon Breath really does seem to work best keyed off Constitution, and I wanted to base Dragon Flight on the same thing to avoid making the Dragon too dependent on multiple attributes.

Draconic Majesty really is just the Paladin's "I am the Law!" with a slight modification.

I really am not sure whether Dragon's Lair and Dragon's Horde are at all useful. I think they're an important bit of flavour; but maybe I don't need mechanics to encourage a dragon to make a lair and a horde.

Why three multiclass moves? Because I want "dragon wizard" and "dragon cleric" to be more viable at higher levels.

Hi guys,

One of the players in the game I'm planning to run has expressed an interest in playing a werewolf, werebear, or similar. I'm trying to work out a good way to handle this. Currently, the best idea I have is to let them pick class and race as normal and represent Lycanthropy with a Move, which the character would take instead of their first advanced move at level 2. I was thinking of something based on the Druid's Shapeshifter move; like this:

Lycanthropic transformation
When you allow your lycanthropic nature to assert itself, roll+Wis.
* On a 10+ hold 3.
* On a 7–9 hold 2.
* On a 6- hold 1 in addition to whatever the GM says.
You may take on the physical form of a great and terrible wolf, or a monstrous hybrid of wolf and your normal form. Only your body changes - clothes are shredded, weapons and possessions cast aside. You have any innate abilities and weaknesses of the form. You still use your normal stats but some moves may be harder or easier to trigger. When you purchase this move, spend some time with the GM working out a list of moves appropriate to the form. Spend 1 hold to make that move. You remain transformed when you run out of Hold, but may gain more points of Hold by making this Move again (although there is no further transformation).


Transforming back doesn't require a roll, unless of course doing so requires you to Defy Danger. Changing into wolf-form is usually the result of triggering the Lycanthropic Transformation move, but it could also be a consequence from missing a roll on something else.

So... Does this look sensible? Are there any glaring problems with it? Would you handle it differently?