Reading Dungeon World changed everything.

It was my first “powered by the Apocalypse” (PbtA) game, a game engine that originated in the game Apocalypse World.

When I first read the rulebook, I was a little perplexed. I didn’t quite understand how this sort of game could work. Sure, it had elements of D&D I was familiar with—hit points, character classes, and the like. But the idea of having the players create the story—improvising and creating as they played—was alien to me.

So I started reading in greater depth about PbtA games, and picked up a few more. I watched live plays, and I started to get it. I still wasn’t sure how Dungeon World would work at our table, or if my players, who were so used to crunchy D&D-style roleplaying games, would adapt to a game in which they were just as much in charge of the story as I was.

And, admittedly, I was a little hesitant to give up so much creative control.

I told my players were going to try something very different. After we created our characters, I said, “And now we’re going to create the world.” I had picked up The Perilous Wilds (a DW supplement) and we used the incredibly fun procedure for mapping out the campaign world.

It worked so well, I can’t imagine ever not co-creating the game world with my players. It felt revolutionary and liberating and, most importantly, really fucking fun.

The world my players and I created using the rules from The Perilous Wilds.

Some of my players grokked the PbtA system right away. A few seemed perplexed. But by the end of our first session, I realized I would never go back to rules-heavy, simulationist roleplaying games again. Everyone was having a blast. The creativity was awe-inspiring, and I discovered I relished letting my players co-create the scenarios, monsters, and outcomes, rather than me doing everything. I would no longer have to plan and plot out intricate details of a fantasy world—we could all do it together.

My mind was blown.

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