Adventure moves that give XP?

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Adventure moves that give XP?
« on: March 29, 2012, 03:15:58 AM »
Hi everybody! New guy here from Italy. I was going to present myself telling you my story with DW, but I'll save it for later.

So, here's the point: how about having adventures with tied in moves that give XPs? Just to have another mechanical reward beside money for living the adventure, making the players feel more satisfied about exploring a dangerous place filled with flesh-eating monsters instead of just going ravage the duke's mansion (wich could be another adventure itself, but you get my point).

I'm thinking like the new Marvel Heroic Roleplaying event milestones (wich in turn are based on solar system's Keys and Key Elements).

Examples:
• when you kill the boss, mark xp
• when you save the lady, mark xp
• when you disrupt the arcane ritual wich would doom us all, mark xp
• when you find the only sword able to harm the fiendish overlord, mark xp

and so on. Maybe at the start of the session the players themselves could set what would be their "quest moves" for that session.

Or maybe, they could be directly linked with the standard prep for the game; for example: when the players get to answer a question in the stakes, they all mark xp.

What do you think? It's too much of a drift of what DW should be? No one tried something like this before?
Oh, the things we tell ourselves to feel better about the long, dark nights.

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P2

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Re: Adventure moves that give XP?
« Reply #1 on: March 29, 2012, 07:51:39 AM »
Nice Idea Adam, I liked it.

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noofy

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Re: Adventure moves that give XP?
« Reply #2 on: March 29, 2012, 08:28:04 AM »
G'day Adam,
Yeah, folks have had a play with the xp system before :)
You are on to a good thing though. Its not a drift of the rules, just a more specified 'custom' move using the end of session move as the basis. You are simply focusing the reward to the fiction.

I would use the principles and address the characters too. Mention a Grim Portent that may come to fruition and in the broadest sense you could give an opportunity that fits a specific class' abilities, or offer an opportunity, (for xp) with the cost being the adventure to prevent the Impending doom from coming to pass.

Re: Adventure moves that give XP?
« Reply #3 on: March 29, 2012, 09:57:13 AM »
When it comes to custom moves, there are 2 ways to present them.  One, useful for traps, is to spring the move on them.  "As you start down the corridor, your foot depresses a stone in the floor.  Here, this custom move cover's the trap's effects." (You're announcing future badness and using a prepped custom move to convey the danger.)  The other is to just put the custom move in front of them right off the bat at the beginning of the game/session, for example: When you are wet and you touch the ice, Defy Danger using Dex to avoid sticking to the ice.  These custom moves that you lay out for them are flags to the players, serving as invitations and warning signs - tempting them to try specific things or hinting at potential dangers.  

You know when you're playing a video RPG and you walk into town and see a villager with a an icon over their head?  You know to go talk to them, right?  A custom move like, for example: When you grill a street urchin about the pickpockets, mark XP and gain a useful piece of information; would have the same effect.  They'd see little carrots drawing them toward something you prepped.  For the whole session, they'd keep their eyes peeled for street urchins (if not go looking for them).  It's not quite as heavy handed as railroading, perhaps more like a compel...  

[edit: This could totally be used for good or for evil.  I think there are some clever ways to implement this to make certain details really salient in your game; for example, if you want them to notice all the children in the city then the urchin move above would make them very interested in any child because they might or might not be an urchin they could grill.  Alternately, a move like: "When you identify a new type of plant, mark XP and name it," could infuse a heavy botanical theme into a game.  On the other hand, I think you could do some real harm to the game if misused or overused.]
« Last Edit: March 29, 2012, 11:41:35 AM by mease19 »

Re: Adventure moves that give XP?
« Reply #4 on: March 29, 2012, 11:05:49 AM »
well thanks everyone for the replies. I have to think a bit more about how I would like to implement something like this (more over, I have to play very much more). I really, really like the "offer an opportunity" thing to lend out xps, and I will absolutely try it next time I play.

However, I also would like to avoid the "question mark over the villager". I would like more player-decided things. Maybe something like this:

character creation step #14
Write down the goals of you're epic quest. Try to stay focused on short-term goals; if you have in mind a long-term quest, just divide it in smaller, consecutive goals to be achieved one at time.

End of Session
When you reach the end of a session, […]. You can also change the goals of you're quest.

Quest
When you achieve a goal of you're quest, mark xp.

then, the GM simply builds adventures based upon the quests decided by the players, trying to figure out how to make a challenge of every goal. Yeah, I played too much of burning wheel.
« Last Edit: March 29, 2012, 11:12:51 AM by adam »
Oh, the things we tell ourselves to feel better about the long, dark nights.