Dungeon World Compendium Class: The Bloodbound Magus

This is another compendium class for the Dungeon World game I am running.

Bloodbound Magus

The Bloodbound Magus has researched Alien Beings of the Otherworld, and dabbled in the magics only whispered of in the dungeons beneath the great schools of magic. When you complete a magic ritual that binds you to an otherworldly being create a bond with the otherworldly entity. The next time you level up, take the following move:

DARK PAST: You have dabbled in the worst sorts of mystical arts and tied yourself to an otherworldly being or cosmic horror of immense scope and notable inability to relate to the morals of man. When you trawl through your memories or reach out on your connection to a greater being for something relevant to the situation at hand roll + Int or Wis. On a 10+ ask the DM two questions from the list below. On a 7-9 ask one question. On a miss, you can ask one question anyways, but that means you were personally complicit in creating the situation you are dealing with now. The questions are:

  • When I dealt with this creature (or one of its kind) what did I learn?
  • What black magic do I know that could help here?
  • Do I know anyone who might be behind this?
  • Who do I know who can help us right now?

If you took DARK PAST, count the following moves as class moves for you; you can choose them when you level up.

BLOOD MAGIC – When you cast a spell you can choose to fuel the magic with your own blood. You can spend Hit Points one for one to a maximum of a +3 bonus to the roll. You must make this decision before your roll.

DESTINY’S PLAYTHING – At the beginning of each session, roll + Bonds with your otherworldly entity to see what is revealed about your immediate future. On at 10+ the GM will reveal a useful detail about an upcoming adventure. On a 7-9 you get a vague hint about it. On a miss, something bad is going to happen to you.

SPEAK WITH BLOOD – When you have time to complete a short ritual, and a sample of someone’s blood, you can summon forth the secrets trapped within. Roll + Int or Wis, on a 10+ hold 3; on a 7-9 hold 1. While you are speaking with the blood, spend your hold one for one to ask the GM or relevant player the following questions:

  • What was your character’s lowest moment?
  • For what does your character crave forgiveness? and of whom?
  • What are your character’s secret pains?
  • In what ways are your character’s mind and soul vulnerable?

On a miss, you alert the owner of the blood sample of your location and the nature of the ritual you were attempting to perform.

Rolled by on May 11, 2013 under Dungeon World 0 Comments Tagged: , , ,

Dungeon World Compendium Class: The Karnarath Penitentiary Tracker

One of the coolest concepts from Dungeon World is the idea of the Compendium Class.  Conceptually it is an idea similar to Dungeons and Dragon 3.x Prestige Classes, or D&D 4e Paragon Paths / Epic Destinies. What I like about the implementation if it is that they require specific fictional conditions before you can use them, but they are short and simple enough to create that if there is a specific request from a player or need for your campaign, it doesn’t take too long to grab and re-skin some moves from other classes, or other Apocalypse World based games and come up with something thematic and very relevant to the game you are playing in.

I’ve built a few Compendium Classes for my current Dungeon World game that I plan to share on this blog.  The first one, Karnarath Penitentiary Tracker, can be found below.

Karnarath Penitentiary Tracker

When you sell your soul to the devils of Karnarath Penitentiary, you take whatever job they give you. For you, they have decided that you will hunt down the blackguards and monsters that haunt the world for the rest of eternity. The next time you level up take the following move:

IMMORTAL SERVANT – You are immortal, and will never die from old age. In addition when you use the LAST BREATH move, instead of bargaining with Death, you will bargain with the current owner of your soul.

If you took IMMORTAL SERVANT, count the following moves as class moves for you; you can choose them when you level up.

HOT PURSUIT (Roll + Wis) – When you follow a trail of clues left behind by passing creatures, roll+WIS.

On a 7+, you follow the creature’s trail until there’s a significant change in its direction or mode of travel.

On a 10+, you also choose 1:

  • Gain a useful bit of information about your quarry, the GM will tell you what
  • Determine what caused the trail to end

SOULGAZE (Roll + Wis) – When you want to figure out what someone is thinking or feeling, roll+WIS.

On a 10+ hold 3; on a 7-9 hold 1.

While you’re interacting with them, spend your hold to ask questions about the character, 1 hold per question:

  • Are they telling the truth?
  • What are they really feeling?
  • What do they intend to do?
  • What do they wish I would do?
  • How could I get them to _____?
BRING THEM IN ALIVE – Take +1 forward when performing actions to incapacitate or secure your quarry so they can arrive at Karnarath Penitentiary alive.
Rolled by on April 27, 2013 under Dungeon World 0 Comments Tagged: , , ,