[Closed] At the Edge of the World - PbtA

This game is based off of a mashup of Dungeon World, Perilous Wilds, and about five other adjacent systems. It's been reworked to put an emphasis on exploration over combat in a sort of old-school way, but because of how controversial DW is to begin with, this info is up here to save you reading further if you don't like it. That being said, you are...


Your story begins not with a bang, but with the last inevitable whimper of a mighty empire...


Themes/Safety: I'm not planning to have any adult themes come up. If romance ensues between players or NPCs, it'll be off-camera here if it would be off-camera in a PG movie. Don't have a problem with it, but it's not the point of the game. Violence may happen, even if the focus is on exploration and discovery. It'll be described, sometimes in detail, but I won't be going GoT on anyone. There may be high-level descriptions of other possibly controversial themes, but I don't tend to think of those sort of things, so I probably won't be using them. If something does disturb you, please simply tell me in a private note or PM and I will address it. You won't be judged - we all have our own limits.

Characters: At the beginning of the game, you'll be a human villager in Immenost. You'll have a job which will inform your starting items, and that's pretty much who you'll be. Advancement will open up organically as we go, so you won't see that part of the system until it becomes possible for you to use it. Discovery of your character's advancement is as much a part of this as discovery of the world.

Posting: I expect to be able to post 3 times a week, usually on MWF, though I am on call 24/7 so sometimes this may change, I generally don't post on weekends as I spend the time with my family away from screens.

Start Date: This is still TBD. I'm waiting on at least one game to wrap up, but that should happen within the month. When it does I will update this post and add a post below.

Players: I would like four players who love to roleplay with each other, not just react to my posts. When you discover a new area, talking about it should be just as important as getting through it.

If all this sounds good to you, please give me a brief application below that should include your character's name, age (24, young adult, etc.), their role in the village (butcher, farmer, blacksmith, etc.), and the way the slow decline of the village has made them ready to risk it all on exploring what's out there. I won't be rating your writing ability too much, beyond basics, but I will be using what you give me to decide; it won't necessarily just be first four in.

This looks so good but I'm in plenty of games despite the start date being in the future. Good luck with it. If you're short players when it comes time to start, I'll pitch a character.

I'd like to know a bit more about the setting. Is it assumed to be human-centric, or mishmash fantasy with elves, goblins and such all commonplace in any village?

It's very much humancentric. It's very low magic too, in case that wasn't as evident as I tried to make it. Those things exist out there, magic and monsters, but they're not normal, at least... Not your normal.

I'd be interested in playing this, as it sounds fun. Like the idea of villagers going out into the bigger world, and the focus on investigation/exploration/losing innocence. If it helps I have played in a number of GP games in a mix of genre's; Savage Worlds, Call of Cthulhu, D&D. Not sure of the mechanics of this system, but I am good at picking them up.

@Drakis2 - PbtA mechanics are pretty simple to pick up. It brands itself as fiction first (something I try to do in my games anyway). Instead of broad 'this is a skill check' type things, you have Moves that are triggered when you describe your character doing something specific, such as "push on despite powerful opposition from the elements," or, "take shelter to wait out the elements." When you do a thing, the move is triggered, and then you usually have three possible outcomes full success, partial success, or failure.

@Drakis2 @testlum - go ahead and give me an idea of who you'd want to play (as detailed in the intro post) so I can make sure I have you down if you're interested.

Oh, that rings a bell. I just checked and I have been in two previous games that used PbtA mechanics since 2021. In both cases the GM never finished them, but I got a good introduction to the mechanics. Very different than the other systems I have used, so I am interested in trying it out.

Name: Tatianna Andrevna
Age: 24
Role: Apprentice Healer
Reason: The last herbs and tinctures from grandmother’s supply are gone. There will be no more willow bark for aches and pains, no more echinacea for colds, no more chamomile to settle colic. Taitianna ventures forth to find more herbs and maybe learn a bit of magic, if it even exists.

The idea I'm currently floating would be Brother Irwin, a scribe who just completed his apprenticeship at the local monastery. When he witnesses the abbot pawning off some of their holy books to make ends meet, Irwin grows disillusioned with his life and leaves the village in search of meaning elsewhere.

My character outline would be Jorgen, a young man who works in the local tavern. Although it is less of a tavern and more of a general supplies store. He has listened to the tales told by the traders and caravaneers of the outlands since he was a young lad and was always captivated by them. But now there seem to be less traders coming thru, and the quality of Madame Tally's goods are not what they once where. Customers are grumbling, but then they are also fewer and visit with fewer coin. Jorgen's worlds seems to be shrinking and he wonders; "Maybe it is time I left. Time I saw these Outland tales in person?"

I could be Johnsan, 24, a bow hunter and trapper from the village who provides meat to the local butcher and skins to the local tanner. I'm old enough to have seen the decline of the lands surrounding the town, and the animals I hunt and trap no longer travel near the village with the same frequency. I find myself roaming further and further to bring back diminishingly small hauls, so I am ready to travel in search of better game. I am seeking plentiful game to hunt and warm stews and soups to eat.

These are all pretty good. I'm prepping for the game atm, and it will start when another game wraps up, should be fairly soon. I'll update this when I have a more specific date. I won't be posting here a lot otherwise, but rest assured, it's not because the game won't be happening.

Looks interesting!

This does look very interesting.

Applications are still open. I'm thinking probably another week or so before I'm ready for it.

Nice, I was thinking about the smithy's daughter.

Natalya Goranova ... (maybe)
Early 20's
Apprentice Smithy

Despite numerous attempts to have a son to pass on his Smithy too, Goran (also maybe) eventually resigned himself to the fact that his eldest dotter was to follow in his footsteps his last apprentice having left the village several years back.

While she's mostly involved in the recycling of materials from the village Anika knows how to swing a hammer and craft things as well.

I think since we got five, I'll go ahead and grab all five of you, and that way, if there's a bit of shrinkage because of unexpected events, we'll still have a good number.