Appendixes

Appendix 1: Teaching the Game

Pitch It

• Explain the game before playing — don't spring it on people. The pitch is why you
  want to play and why they'll like it.
• Put it in your own words — share your honest excitement; no script.
• First-time roleplayers: focus on what roleplaying means here — they portray a
  character, you portray the world around them. Mention the conceit (adventurers and
  adventure) and that the rules exist to drive the action forward in interesting ways.
• Experienced roleplayers: focus on what's different — ease of play, rules that
  step in at the right times, fast pace.
• Pitch the game you're going to run, not just Dungeon World: sewers? cult? Say so
  up front. The pitch should honestly portray the game you intend to run.

Present the Classes

• Present the character sheets with a short description of each — what it does and its
  place in the world (the class descriptions themselves work well read aloud).
• Answer rule questions, but describe classes in plain terms: "the fighter has a
  one-of-a-kind signature weapon," not how the move mechanically works.

Create Characters

• Go through creation step by step — it's a natural introduction to stats, moves, HP,
  and damage in an order that makes sense. Don't frontload rules explanations; there
  are no wrong choices.
• Each player encounters their own class's rules (weapon ranges, piercing) — explain
  as asked; if they don't ask, they're choosing from the fiction, which is what the
  stats reflect anyway.
• Worried about "right" characters? Offer to change them later. Don't cover the basic
  moves in detail — leave them for players to read; they'll come up as needed.
• During introductions and bonds, switch from answering to asking: why they chose
  what they did, what it means. Note anything you can make moves with (an estranged
  teacher, a simmering war).

Start Play

• Open by describing the world concretely — brief, evocative, detailed — and end
  with something that demands action, then "What do you do?" Don't presume new
  players know what they want; give them something to react to immediately.
• Throw them into something they have the tools for: a fight, or a tense negotiation
  (easily becoming one). Keep it simple; let complexity build.
• Use simple monsters first — things that bleed, low armor, no piercing. Let them
  get used to armor and dealing damage before exceptions. If the fiction dictates
  otherwise, fine — just don't lead with those.
• Use Show Signs of an Approaching Threat liberally for new players — assumptions
  about lethality differ. Less warning once they've learned what's dangerous.
• First-time GMs: focus on three moves — Show Signs of an Approaching Threat, Deal
  Damage, Put Someone in a Spot. Check your moves sheet only when none of those
  apply; familiarity comes with time.

Continuing Play

• Players have it down after an hour or two; first-time GMs may need a session or two.
  Roll with it.
• Struggling first session? Treat it as a pilot — start over or retroactively
  change things; let a player switch classes; scrap a failed first adventure.
• One-shots work great, but the longer cycles (levels, bonds) take a few sessions. If
  the first one or two go well, schedule 5–10 more — knowing the runway gives you
  space to plan and resolve fronts.

Appendix 2: Adventure Conversion

Overview

• For no-prep games, conventions, or running a favorite old module under Dungeon World
  rules.
• Read the adventure and the Dungeon World rules (especially Fronts and GM
  principles). Note four topics as you flip through: maps, monsters, magic items,
  NPCs and organizations. Don't memorize — statistic-heavy areas will be ignored;
  leave blanks to discover in play.
• You'll come away knowing the power groups, the cool monsters, the threats, and what
  the PCs might care about. Then set the module aside — the work happens in Fronts.

Fronts

• Gameplay flows outward from fronts: dooms → player reaction → play to find out.
  From the module's NPCs, places, special monsters, and organizations, create a front
  per major group (example conversion: a cult-menaced town → The Cultists and
  The Troglodyte Clan fronts; a naga or the Reptile God could be a campaign front,
  but stay focused for a short run).
• Build them normally: dangers, impending dooms, grim portents; one or two stakes
  questions with lots of room to tie in the characters.
• Treat fronts as themes and dangers as elements from the module's pages. Read
  between the lines: what's the worst that could happen if the fronts ran rampant?
  That's ammunition for your hard moves. Stat-block NPCs become dangers or front cast.
• Convert traps, curses, and effects to custom moves now — an old "saving throw"
  is often just a defy danger. Capture the adventure's intent and spirit, not perfect
  mechanical translation.

Monsters

• Catch the unique monsters. Many already have Dungeon World stats — just note the
  page; otherwise create with the monster rules.
• Don't balance. Don't fret over HP or armor matching expectations — think about
  the monster's purpose: scare the PCs? bar the way? pose a riddle? Translating the
  spirit gives better, more engaging results.
• Write custom moves for cool powers and neat tricks — custom moves make each group's
  game feel unique.

Direct Conversion

For a monster you can't convert by feel:

• Damage: single die with bonus up to +10 → keep as-is. Multiple same-size dice →
  roll them, take the highest. Different sizes → roll only the largest, take highest.
• HP: listed as Hit Dice → max of first HD +1 per additional HD. Plain number →
  divide by 4.
• Armor: average AC → 1; low → 0; high → 2 (3 for defense-focused beasts); nearly
  invulnerable → 4. +1 if defenses are magical.
• Moves and instinct: its special abilities/attacks form the basis of its moves.

Maps

• Dungeon World maps are the opposite of square-by-square precision — blank space and
  one-or-two-word notes ("blades," "scary").
• Ideally re-draw the map entirely, freehand — don't copy inch-by-inch. Wipe out
  inhabitants of rooms that don't interest you; draw a new tunnel. If the whole map is
  nailed down, there's nowhere left to be surprised.
• No time? Note what might go where and leave the rest blank — when players enter room
  "4f," don't look it up; guess from your notes and what's been happening.

Magic & Treasure

• Less central here (the reward cycle is about doing, not having) but still fun.
• Items called out by the adventure's text (the sword that wounds the golem, the
  prince's pendant) matter most. Judge magic items by what they're for, not their
  bonuses — Dungeon World doesn't balance treasure against level.
• Leave exploratory room: "The wizard has a magic staff — what does it do?" Find out
  in play; ask the players; let spout lore work ("What rumors have you heard of
  the staff's origins?").

Introductory Moves (optional)

• For con games where a full first session isn't possible: write per-class (or bundled)
  custom hook moves made after character creation, before play — they tie characters
  to the situation and open question-and-answer play.
• Example: "Fighter, someone who loves you gave you a gift before you left. Roll+Cha —
  10+ pick two heirlooms, 7–9 one, miss: good intentions count for something. A vial
  of antivenom; a shield glowing with silver light; a rusted key shaped like a lizard."
• Let them flow from the fronts: what they endanger, the riches they protect, their
  impact on the world.

Appendix 3: Instant NPCs

• When someone becomes important in the moment: all you need is an instinct (what
  they want) and a knack (a way to pursue it — a skill, a title, a debt owed).
  Combine the two and you're ready to go.
• The appendix provides a list of 79 instincts (e.g. to prove worth, to discover
  the truth, to get just one more haul, to live a quiet life, to reclaim what was
  taken, to die gloriously, to live forever, to find the six-fingered man), a list of
  100 knacks (e.g. muscle, hedge wizardry, noble blood, political leverage, baking,
  a silver tongue, a trained wolf, a true name, luck, a majestic beard, power
  overwhelming), and a name list (~100 names: Baldric, Dunwick, Freya, Gregor,
  Mab, Thistle, Ozruk, Xotoq, Hawke…).

Tag Reference

• The appendix closes with a complete tag reference covering every tag by category
  — equipment (n Ammo, Applied, n Armor, +n Armor, Awkward, n Wealth, +n Damage,
  Dangerous, Forceful, Ignores Armor, Messy, n Piercing, Precise, Ration, Reach, Close,
  Hand, Near, Far, Reload, Requires, Slow, Stun, Thrown, Touch, Two-handed, n Weight,
  Worn, n Uses, Clumsy), monster (Amorphous, Cautious, Construct, Devious, Hoarder,
  Horde, Huge, Intelligent, Large, Magical, Organized, Planar, Small, Solitary,
  Stealthy, Terrifying, Tiny, Group), and steading (Arcane, Battalion, Blight, Booming,
  Craft, Dirt, Divine, Dwarven, Elven, Enmity, Exodus, Exotic, Garrison, Guild, Guard,
  History, Lawless, Legion, Market, Militia, Moderate, Need, None, Oath, Personage,
  Poor, Power, Religion, Resource, Rich, Safe, Shrinking, Steady, Trade, Watch, Wealthy,
  Growing) — with definitions matching the Equipment, Monsters, and The World chapters.