I haven't run a DW adventure since 2009 (where does the time go!). It was The Darkness Before Dawn. Result was TPK at the very end, as the players tried to defeat Queen Fhionn in straight combat.
I've played plenty of GURPS since then (as a player), but I'd love to get back to DW as a GM...
Cobwebbed Dragon wrote:
How did they get that far?
In the first adventure alone, there are an insane number of critters the small group of 1st rank PCs might have to fight: harpies, a witch, black riders, thorn demons, killer bees, swamp folk, a gargoyle, air elemental, elves, a bestial forester, spectre, venomous snake, a mummy, tarantula, hydra, ghouls, death's head, wolves, and a hobgoblin. And that's without factoring in random encounters. And whilst the PCs probably won't encounter all of them (they'll be dead long before they get to the end of that list...), they don't even have the luxury of resting to recover HP/MP due to the time constraints around Clothilda's transformation. I've never been brave enough to inflict the Elven Crystals on anyone, but if I was, I'd probably wait for the characters to achieve 6th rank before starting it...
As much as I regard EC as the Ringo of the DW Beatles, and haven't played it since 1986, it has one advantage for new players; you start out puny and really feel the level boosts as you work your way through the game. That is one of the most enjoyable things about RPGs, and I think one of the mechanical aspects that hooked us all as young gamers.
I also think it's fairly perfect for 14 year-old boys because they don't give two hoots about moral dilemmas and the complexities of mediaeval society, but do love the kind of cheesy, hypercolour action that Napoleon Dynamite would regard as cool.
Cheers,
-Kyle