Have you ever had a certain setup, a situation, a massive fictional powder keg you want to plant a party on, light the fuse, and see what happens?  Most GMs probably get that occasionally.  I have been sitting on one such idea for about two years now because I didn't know what system to run it with.  When I read Monsterhearts, it occurred to me that running this setup with it would be a lot of fun.  But I'm still uncertain as to whether Monsterhearts is the right system to run this with.

While Monsterhearts leads to almost exactly the creation of the kinds of characters I'd like to see in the game (specifically, characters who have lots of teenaged angst, whose monstrousness is more than just a bunch of superpowers and a funny hat, and who have interpersonal relationships that are complicated and often strained), it also revolves around games whose plots are both short and very heavily focused on high school pettiness.  The first one is unambiguously a problem, in that the setting I've created is a large city with five different supernatural factions trying to control it, and that takes a lot of time to set up and then resolve unless you are extremely optimistic about how fast a group of dysfunctional teenagers with horror powers can end a shadow war.

I'm not sure if the second one is a problem or not.  On the one hand, growing out of the kind of pettiness that dominates both high school and vampire politics is an extremely fitting theme for the setup I've got.  On the other hand, you'd think it'd be hard to care about what Tricia said about Dess when the same basic thing is happening in supernatural politics except that executions are on the table.  You'd think a major theme of the first arc of the game would be a loss of innocence, a sudden realization that high school means jack shit and the world is full of much more important (and terrifying) conflicts, with much higher stakes, and Monsterhearts doesn't seem equipped to handle that realization at all.  I haven't actually played the game yet, so I can't say for certain, but I am worried I may end up with a major theme of my setting running in the exact opposite direction of a major theme of the system.

The end result of this being 1) do you think Monsterhearts would work for a game in which characters are to some extent involved in supernatural politics as well as being in high school and 2) if so do you think maybe you'd like to play in it?  I don't know if it would be a live thing or a play-by-post thing if we did actually run a game, but I'll worry more about that once I've gotten a good idea whether or not I have a runnable campaign at all.  I still don't know what I'm going to do about season length.  Would delaying advancements a lot kill the pacing?

I have a hodgepodge of new stuff for DW, some of which is good and some other of which might be less good.  Most of it hasn't even been tested in a game yet, so take it with a grain of salt.

New Adversaries

Dungeon World missed a few of my favorite adversaries.  First off, Hobgoblins and Bubgears are missing from the lineup of standard monster races.  Secondly, I've always been a fan of the lower planes, but the Dungeon World bestiary misses a few of my favorite fiendish opponents.  Probably this is because of copyright reasons (for example, I know Balors are D&D-unique even if they're an obvious Balrog knock-off and I don't think the OGL extends to using them in products completely unrelated to 3.5), but I don't need to worry about those, so I've written them up.

Hobgoblins

Hobgoblin, Group, Organized, Intelligent, Cautious
Longsword (d8 damage), 6 HP, 3 Armor
Close

Instinct: Follow orders

Hobgoblins are brutal conquistadors, preying on weak nations nearby for fresh supplies of slave labor and natural resources.  The fact that they form organized, self-sustaining nations means you can establish surprisingly cordial trade relations, sure, but have you considered the drawbacks of combining a goblin's cruelty with a human's capability for strategy and logistics, not to mention their taste for imperialism?

-Volley with longbows from a safe distance
-Form a defensive formation with allies and advance into unconquered territory
-Make a tactical retreat, and return with reinforcements

---

Hobgoblin Champion, Solitary, Organized, Intelligent, Messy
Axe or Longsword (2d10+2*b damage, 2 piercing), 16 HP, 2 Armor
Close

Instinct: Seek glory in battle

Skilled warriors trained with an almost fanatical desire to win glory in battle, but no less capable of working within the strictly organized Hobgoblin warbands, these champions are fearsome opponents on the battlefield, an elite class that often come to receive more respect from their underlings than the officers who actually lead the armies.

-Charge heedlessly into battle
-Cleave through multiple opponents at once

---

Hobgoblin officer, Solitary, Organized, Intelligent, Cautious
Longsword (d10 damage), 12 HP, 3 Armor

Instinct: To conquer

Someone's got to be on top of the hierarchy.

-Direct minions
-Sack vulnerable steadings

---

Bubgear, Group, Intelligent, Large, Forceful, Messy
Mace (d8+3 damage, 1 Piercing), 10 HP, 1 Armor
Close, Reach

Instinct: To bully weaker creatures

Rarely less than 8-feet tall, these creatures are what happens when you crossbreed goblins with ogres.  Though not quite as tall as their ogrish ancestors, they are more than willing to demonstrate that they are nonetheless quite capable of caving in the skull of anyone who should irritate them.

-Hurl boulders
-Accept tribute from lackeys

Demons and Devils

Succubus, Solitary, Stealthy, Devious, Intelligent, Planar
Barbed wings (d6 damage), 12 HP
Close

Special Qualities: Wings

If you don't know the gist of this one, you're probably too young anyway.  Steals your soul with a kiss, never seems to be wearing more than about a yard of fabric, etc. etc.

Instinct: To steal the souls of mortals

-Seduce a mortal
-Steal life and energy with a kiss
-Turn friends and allies against one another

---

Marilith, Solitary, Large, Messy, Intelligent, Cautious, Planar
Scimitars (2d10*b+3 damage, 2 Piercing), 16 HP, 2 Armor
Close, Reach

Special Qualities: Six-armed

Instinct: To slaughter the enemies of Hell

One of the most fearsome fiends the lower planes have yet produced, bottom half of a snake, top half of a woman, nearly ten feet tall all told, and with six arms, each wielding a hell-forged scimitar of steel that carves through armor like it were made of paper.  And worse, they're rarely caught without a posse of fiendish followers or cultists mad enough to summon the thing...

-Attack with multiple weapons
-Conjure Hellfire
-Direct fiendish minions

---

Balor, Solitary, Huge, Magical, Forceful, Intelligent, Planar, Terrifying
Sword of flame (2d10*b+7 damage, ignores armor), 20 HP, 4 Armor
Reach

Special Qualities: Wings, wreathed in flame

Instinct: To bring torment and despair to mortals

Demonic generals wreathed in fire and fueled by nothing but hate and the consumed souls of the innocent, the Balors are the most terrifying creatures ever to emerge from the pits of Hell.  Even to draw near to them is to risk your skin being melted off by the searing heat and raw evil that radiates from them at all times.

-Consume those nearby with overwhelming aura of evil and terror
-Direct the armies of Hell
-Conjure Hellfire
-Manipulate mortals into summoning itself or its minions into the Material Plane

---

Bearded Devil, Group, Large, Intelligent, Planar, Messy, Organized
Vicious spear (2d8*b+3 damage, 2 piercing), 10 HP, 2 Armor
Close, Reach

Instinct: To destroy the enemies of the lower planes

The feared shock troopers of the lower planes, powerful demons and devils are often accompanied by a squad of these creatures as bodyguards.

-Charge the enemy with spears leveled
-Intimidate mortals into offering tribute or summoning allies

---

Erinyes, Solitary, Intelligent, Planar, Messy
Burning longsword (2d10*b+2 damage, 3 Piercing), 12 HP, 5 Armor
Close

Special Qualities: Wings

Instinct: To conquer the enemies of Hell

These angels of Hell are some of the highest ranking officers in the hierarchies of the lower planes.  Though typically encountered alone (or at least, not with others of their own kind), demonic generals like Balors will often have two or three on hand as bodyguards and advisors.

-Conjure Hellfire
-Cleave through multiple enemies in one fell sweep of her sword
-Direct fiendish minions

Armor

Dungeon World's super-abbreviated armor section is probably for the best.  The game doesn't really need to hardcode the difference between a chain shirt and a full hauberk, particularly since aesthetics are important to identity and the more mechanics you add to armors, the more you force people to conform to a certain, specific appearance for the sake of mechanical advantage.  But dammit, it's fun to upgrade armor.  So here's some expanded armor rules for when you want to use them.

Yes, it's weird that wearing light armors somehow makes you more agile than no armor at all.  If you like, you can have the Light tag apply to completely unarmored characters as well.

Ornate: +1 ongoing to Parley and Defy Danger using CHA
Light: +1 ongoing to Defy Danger using DEX
Thick: Enemies roll damage twice and take the worst of the two results
Fortified: Ignore one point of Piercing from incoming attacks
Defensive: You can use the Defend move against attackers targeting you, but have a maximum of 1 hold
Resistant: Armor value is doubled against magical damage, +2 ongoing to all attempts to Defy Danger against a magical threat
Aquatic: +1 ongoing to Defy Danger and Hack and Slash as long as you're underwater

Leather Armor (1 Armor, 1 Weight, 10 coins), Light
Hide Armor (1 Armor, 1 Weight, 10 coins), +1 hold when using the Shapeshifter move
Studded Leather (1 Armor, 1 Weight, 20 coins), Thick
Chain Shirt (1 Armor, 1 Weight, 25 coins), Defensive
Brigandine (1 Armor, 1 Weight, 30 coins), Fortified
Chainmail (1 Armor, 2 Weight, 40 coins), Fortified, Defensive
Breastplate (1 Armor, 2 Weight, 40 coins), Light, Thick

Scale Mail (2 Armor, 3 Weight, 50 coins), Fortified, Clumsy
Hoplite Armor (2 Armor, 3 Weight, 100 coins), Light, Clumsy
Lobster Mail (2 Armor, 3 Weight, 150 coins), Aquatic, Clumsy
Chitin Carapace (2 Armor, 3 Weight, 150 coins), Clumsy, you can scale any surface

Banded Armor (3 Armor, 4 Weight, 275 coins), Light, Clumsy
Half Plate (3 Armor, 4 Weight, 300 coins), Defensive, Clumsy
Full Plate (3 Armor, 4 Weight, 350 coins), Thick, Clumsy
Great Armor (4 Armor, 6 Weight, 500 coins), Fortified, Clumsy

Buckler (+0 Armor, 1 Weight, 5 coins), Thick
Shield (+1 Armor, 2 Weight, 15 coins)
Tower Shield (+2 Armor, 4 Weight, 50 coins), +1 ongoing to Defend, Clumsy

Chain shirts and chainmail can be made of mithril, increasing Armor by 1 and decreasing Weight by 1, or dragonscale, increasing Armor by 1 and automatically granting the Thick tag.

Breastplates, half plate, and full plate can be adamantine, increasing both weight and armor by 2 and automatically granting the Fortified tag, or orichalcum, incresaing Armor by 1 and automatically granting the Resistant tag.

While we're on the subject, any weapon can be made of mithril gains the Precise tag and has its weight reduced by 1, weapons made from adamantine increases weight and damage by 1, and weapons made from orichalcum ignore all Armor granted by magic.

Any weapon or armor made from a magical material should have its cost multiplied by at least ten, and perhaps as much as twenty.

Orcs

I'm guessing I'm not the first one to add Orcs as a playable race to Dungeon World, but here's my version, at least.

Cleric: You gain Magic Weapon as a rote, but it only works on one specific type of weapon (i.e. longsword, morningstar, halberd, etc. etc.).  Blood for the Blood God!

Fighter: You can enter a berserker rage that increases your Damage die to d12 until you choose to end the rage or there are no opponents left to fight.  While raging, every time you roll 7-9 on a Hack and Slash roll, you take damage in addition to something else bad happening (becoming disarmed, cut off from the rest of the party, leg is broken, defy danger to avoid even more damage, or whatever else the GM comes up with).

Ranger: You're a master of the forced march.  Whenever you undertake a perilous journey, the amount of rations consumed by the party is reduced by 1.  This stacks with the reduction granted when the quartermaster rolls 10+.  Also, any Ranger may take the Half-Orc advanced move when leveling up, which is just the Half-Elf move but with the Human and Orc moves instead.  Yes, this means you can have all three racial moves.

Thief: You're more of an assassin than a burglar.  You deal +2 damage when you backstab.

Additionally, Orcs can eat Dwarf rations, and parties that travel with an Orc may have to roll against Outstanding Warrants when they enter a town they've never particularly made trouble in, or even one they've never even been to before.

Wilderness

The basic thrust of this system is that you can claim pieces of the wilderness for civilization/your side/world domination, gradually making journeys less and less dangerous until finally passing through doesn't count as perilous at all, and you can just do it.  I have never used this system in an actual game of Dungeon World and I have no idea how it'll work with the Fronts and what-not.  I don't see any immediate reason why they'll conflict with each other, but I've made house rules that bit me in ways I didn't expect before.

The map is divided up into a number of regions.  Each region is big enough to accommodate about 3 or 4 quests (which will usually also be Dangers in one Front or another, but might just be a dungeon that's up for the looting) and requires a perilous journey to cross, unless it has been cleared of perils.  Exactly how compact or spread out that makes a region is up to you.  Whenever you travel, make a separate perilous journey for each region you pass through, including the one you start in.  If you are traveling from one part of a region to another (i.e. from a steading out to a dungeon on the other side of the region), that'd be just one perilous journey.  If you are traveling across multiple regions, you'll probably end up rolling a lot of dice, so be sure to have some sort of encounter along the way to reinforce that you are making an epic journey across multiple lands and not just repeating the same action several times over.  As a general rule, try to structure your individual quests so that they resolve either in the same region as they are given, or else a neighboring region.  Going from the Shire to Mordor is at least a Front to itself, not just the first adventure.

You should figure out how many rations a region costs to cross and write it down.  Additionally, a region has a tag associated with it that describes how dangerous it is.  The description for these tags assumes you're playing heroes and that your opponents are clearly evil, but the same basic principles works for more grey or bizarro games of Dungeon World.  Just replace "forces of evil" with "the antagonists."  The region tags and their effects are:

Safe: The region is completely safe.  Roads are well-maintained, roadside inns are frequent, and even the woods are patrolled.  This doesn't mean that nothing evil lives here, but whatever evil there is lives in fear of the light, hiding itself away and, if it is a very bold sort of evil, waiting for a chance to strike and reclaim the area.  Regardless, the party automatically succeeds on all checks as though they got a 10+ when making a "perilous" journey through the area, so really you can just mark off the rations for however long it takes to walk through (-1 for your auto-success on the Quartermastering) and be done with it.

Restless: The region is not entirely safe, but things are mostly under control.  The forces of evil are put to rout and lurk in the shadows, preying on weak targets and fleeing with tails between their legs when the authorities arrive.  One out of the three roles for a perilous journey auto-succeed as in safe lands, but the other two must be rolled just like normal.  Which role auto-succeeds should always be the same for that region.  If the region began as Restless or became Restless because the players failed, the GM should decide which role auto-succeeds (for example, if it's a heavily militarized staging area for the forces of good, the scout might auto-succeed because of all the extra forces around to help weed enemies out, but that doesn't really help the quartermaster or the trailblazer).  However if the region used to be more dangerous and became Restless because of player actions, they should be able to pick which role auto-succeeds and why.

Border: This region is a sort of no-man's land between the forces of good and evil.  It might be a literal border between two nations, or it might be the frontier where civilization begins to melt into the wilderness.  This makes it perilous in the usual sense, so use the standard perilous journey rules as written in the book.

Dangerous: This region is overrun by the forces of darkness.  Remnant good forces remain, perhaps as a few uncorrupt knights in a land whose king is seduced by evil, or a band of merry men hiding in a forest, or a single bastion of goodness that fights a losing battle against the evils of the land.  Either way, this place is incredibly dangerous for anyone who isn't pulling for Team Monster.  Pick two of the following five traits to apply to a Dangerous land.  If the land used to be Hostile (see below) but was made more safe by the party's actions, the players should decide which options no longer apply.

*You recover 1/4 of your HP less when you rest
*You recover 1/4 of your HP less when you rest (this is not a typo; if you take this twice, it means the party recovers zero HP when resting in this region)
*The land itself, or at least the parts you're forced to travel in, is toxic.  The quartermaster must roll twice and take the lower of the two rolls.
*The terrain is rough, either because there are no roads or because they're too dangerous to take.  The trailblazer must roll twice and take the lower of the two rolls.
*The land swarms with monsters.  The scout must roll twice and take the lower of the two rolls.

Hostile: The land is utterly overrun by the enemy.  If you are operating in the open, you are the only ones who do so.  This is the best choice for the sorts of places which no one ever comes back from, the lands directly ruled by your greatest villains.  Pick four of the options listed above.

As you can see, the Dangerous and Hostile regions can be exceptionally nasty to any traveling party (or, at least, any traveling party not accompanied by a Ranger with the Elf racial and Strider moves).  Even if they don't have much reason to be traveling there themselves, most Dangerous and Hostile regions are also terrible places to live, lands filled with wrongs that must be righted.  Completing quests will drive down the hostility of the area, swapping out nastier tags for friendlier ones.

Think of each region as having four slots for perils.  For each slot that is filled, the tag gets one step nastier (so if one slot is filled, it's Restless, and if three slots are filled, it's Dangerous).  A single Danger might cause more than one peril.  For example, a necromancer might have undead hordes that plague multiple nearby lands, filling in one slot for each of them, and thus all those lands will be at least Restless no matter how much good you do in them until you travel to the necromancer's region to deal with him.  Similarly, a single Danger might be responsible for multiple perils in one region, so that the necromancer's horde alone fills up two or more slots in his home region, leaving it perpetually Border (or worse) until the necromancer is defeated.  As a general rule I find it more interesting if regions which are Border or worse are plagued by multiple ills (which usually have to do with each other in the sense that, for example, the king raises taxes to fight the Orc Horde, which leads to a rise in banditry, thus adding a second peril onto the first even though they're not working together at all), and prefer to reserve Dangers that cause multiple perils for only the most terrifying of opponents.

Thus, by completing the same sort of quests that normally come up in a game, the players whittle down danger until finally the region is completely Safe.  Completing quests shouldn't just affect the countryside, however.  Steadings should also be affected by the completion of quests.  This is something that already seemed to be implied to me by the existence of the steading rules in the first place, but it's worth noting that if a steading has a need, it should be possible to satisfy that need by solving a quest.  If your players show an interest in a certain town, quests that allow you to increase its population, prosperity, or defenses should be available, and the miscellaneous tags are likely to get shuffled around as well.  Hypothetically, you should be able to build up a village nearing ghost town status into a thriving metropolis over the course of your adventures, and quests like securing trade routes and bringing back fortunes to jumpstart the economy can be great ways to fill in spare peril slots in regions when you don't want to add any more Dangers to your Fronts (which is not to say that solving a Danger can't result in making trade routes safer or getting a big pile of gold).

I'd like to staple some sort of realm management system to this, but I'm still not quite certain as to how to go about it.  Also, I understand that something to that effect is coming out officially at some point in the near future, so I should probably wait for that.  I'd be terribly embarrassed if I spent twenty hours working out a realm management/mass combat system only to have a better one come out a month later.