+1 Forward from DW

I considered running Dungeon World before I started the OD&D campaign. It is a neat game, and I’m sure the PbtA engine is fantastic. It does have a lot of moving parts however and I originally wanted something simple for a return to RPGs. I stole the bonds idea from DW for my OD&D campaign but the lethality of old school D&D made it a pain to keep up with and we eventually discarded it. I also was quite smitten with the character class descriptions. The descriptions assumed a lot of setting that was not part of Lasers & Loincloths however, so rather than just steal them I re-wrote them. I wrote these over a year ago and forgot about them. Here they are for the three true character classes (the holy trinity if you will) and a fourth for that troublesome class from Supplement I.

Balash the Cleric. RIP 

The Cleric

The world is a strange place, and it is with good reason that most people live in fear of the unknown. Not you Cleric, you understand the warp and weft of reality. While corrupt wizards might bend existence to their will, you know the nature of truth and you know how to channel the very strangeness of the world into fantastic powers. This understanding includes the knowledge that your own body is a tool, so you sheath it in armor, gird it with steel and set it forth to face those who do not understand what you do. Armed with the certainty of truth, protected by the light of existence itself, nothing can stop you, Cleric, so long as you stay true to your path.

Belkuul the Magic User. RIP

The Magic User

Existence is an illusion, a veil before the magnificent chaos that is truth.  Most people are subject to mundane reality, but you make reality kneel before your will. They say you are vile, corrupt, following a path that leads to insanity. They don’t understand. Once you feel magic flow through you and shape it as you desire, how can anything seem normal again?  The trappings of your path are scholarly, books, parchments, potions… but these are just the means. In truth, your path leads to perfect understanding, perfect will, and a soul merged with universal chaos. Let them mumble, let them fear you. You are a Magic User, wielder of the very forces that move the stars, you are above human judgment.

Ibungar the Fighting Man. RIP

The Fighting Man

You have seen a Wizard throw lightning from her fingertips and a Cleric raise the dead. And yet, you do not pursue the path of magic. Placing trust in your own body rather than the supernatural, you have honed yourself into a killing edge. You might make allies of those who use magic, you might benefit from their spells but when the dice fall they are looking to you for leadership. Why? Because if you fail they all do. Wizards rely on books and mummery. Clerics must please capricious gods. You just have yourself. Let the world test itself against your might Fighter. Either you win or you die.

Jenthar the Thief. RIP

The Thief

Look at them, working together to face their foes. It’s like they really care about each other, like being a hero means something at the end of the day. Fools. Hero’s die miserable deaths in forgotten dungeons. What good is being a hero if you are a corpse? Hell, what good is being a hero at all? The only thing that matters in this brief existence is pleasing the senses. And the easiest way to pleasure is through gold. Not that honest labor is required. Not for you, you just take what you want. After all, if you have the skill to do what you will, why not do it? What’s to stop you? If they stand in the way of what is yours, strike them down from the darkness. This is the way of the world. This is your way, Thief.