GM-less Dungeon World

Mike Olson and I both want to play a midnight game of Dungeon World at Hyphen-con in San Diego using 3d6 in order for stats.

Sweet, eh? Yeah, except we both want to play, and I don't know if any other DW GMs are going to be in attendance. So, crazy idea that just occurred to me: GM-less Dungeon World.

Use Discern and Spout to create things in the world, player to your left makes GM moves against you, random dungeon generator, card draw for monsters?

Sound plausible? Has anyone done it? Any cool ideas?

Well hey whoa, I don't mind running normally. It's just that for the Hyph this year I'm trying (very hard) to stick to a no-running policy, because I'm trying not to give myself more stuff to do. For once, I want to experience the Hyph from the perspective of the regular, everyday working stiffs who make up our player base. Y'know. The little people.

(And don't tell me to just go in there unprepared and run a game, because there's no way I'll be able to force myself to do that.)

Regardless, I'm not really into the GM-less thing. As much as I love DW, the prospect of a GM-less game would give me pause.

And as much as you love writing GM-less games ;)

And as much as you love writing GM-less games ;)

I know. It's bizarre. All those little contest games I write? I think I'd be pretty shitty at all of them. But that doesn't mean they don't work.

My group still has fond memories of the Action City! game we played: Choke Hold.

Just tossing some ideas around here:

I think it might help if GM moves (which would have to be renamed, obviously) were forced onto you a bit more. Or at least there has to be firm guides to when to use what move.

That kind of boils down to the agenda and principles which don't change per se, but need to become very visible to everyone. Not sure how I'd do that.

But mostly I just want to say that this seems awesome and I'd love to see it, but I'm not very good at GM-less design.

I think it would work best if everyone had GMed DW before, but a strong facilitating hand could probably overcome that.

Fortunately, Mike is a Game Chef award winning GM-less game designer!


At any rate, it sounds like Mike's not keen, so it may not happen at the Hyph, but it's in my brain now, so it'll have to come out sometime...

Fortunately, Mike is a Game Chef award winning GM-less game designer!

Award worthy, maybe, but otherwise like the bridesmaid in that saying "Always the bridesmaid, never the bride," except instead of "bride" it's "Game Chef," and instead of "bridesmaid" it's "Game Chef Finalist," and also it's about game design instead of dying alone.

At any rate, it sounds like Mike's not keen, so it may not happen at the Hyph, but it's in my brain now, so it'll have to come out sometime...

Had I the time, the academic exercise of how to remove the GM from DW would interest me enough to do it, if for nothing else than, as the kids say, the lulz. But I have not the time.

Random GM move chart?

Now that's how you drag Mike in ;)

I don't think you'd need such a table to be honest. Most of the time, the move arises naturally from the fiction, so if everyone just describes the fiction, things should flow naturally. The GM moves are simply a shorthand for talking about the tropes of the fiction and to provide inspiration if you're stuck, IMO. I think they'd work the same way in a GM-less game.

I'd want random tables for rooms and monsters, like those in the back of the 1e DMG, or those dice Mike has with dungeon rooms on them.

But it might be fun to consult the table every time it's the GM's move.