Dungeon World Companion

Character Change

Dungeon World is ever-changing. The characters change, too. As their adventures progress, player characters gain experience (XP), which lets them level up. This prepares them for greater danger, bigger adventures, and mightier deeds.

Advancement, like everything else in Dungeon World, is both prescriptive and descriptive. Prescriptive means that when a player changes their character sheet the character changes in the fiction. Descriptive means that when the character changes in the fiction the player should change the character sheet to match.

This isn’t a benefit or detriment to the players or the GM; it’s not an excuse to gain more powers or take them away. It’s just a reflection of life in Dungeon World.

Avon, despite being a wizard, has risen to the notice of Lenoral, the deity of arcane knowledge. After being blessed by an avatar of Lenoral and saying his vows in the church, Avon is under the deity’s watch. He can fulfill Petitions and gain boons like a cleric.

Gregor offers his signature weapon, an axe whose green steel is tempered in orc blood, as a desperate bargain to save King Authen from eternal damnation. Without his axe he gets none of the benefits of his signature weapon. Should he recover it he’ll have access to its benefits again.

Descriptive changes only happen when the character has clearly gained access to an ability. It’s not up to any one player to decide this—if you think a character qualifies for a new ability, discuss it as a group.

Level Up

As you play Dungeon World, you’ll be doing three things most of all: exploring, fighting dangerous foes, and gathering treasure. For each of these things you’ll be rewarded XP at the end of the session. Acting according to your alignment and fulfilling the conditions of your alignment moves will grant you XP at the end of each session as well. If you resolve a bond and create a new one, you’ll gain XP, too. Any time you roll a 6- you get XP right away. The GM may have special conditions that you can fulfill to earn XP or might change the core ones to reflect the world. They’ll let you know before you play.

When your characters have safety and a chance to rest, they’ll be able to make the Level Up move to level up and gain new moves.

Multiclass Moves

The multiclass moves allow you to gain moves from another class. You get to choose any move of your level or lower. For the purpose of multiclassing, any starting class moves that depend on each other count as one move—the wizard's cast a spell, spellbook, and prepare spells for example. If a move from another class refers to your level, count your levels from the level where you first gained a move from that class.

Requires and Replaces

Some moves that you gain at higher levels depend on other moves. If another move is listed along with the word Requires or Replaces you can only gain the new move if you have the listed move.

A move that requires another move can only be taken if you have the move it requires already. You then have both moves and they both apply.

A move that replaces another move can only be taken if you have the move it replaces already. You lose access to the replaced move and just have the new one. The new move will usually include all the benefits of the replaced one: maybe you replace a move that gives you 1 armor with one that gives you 2 armor instead.

Beyond 10th Level

Once you’ve reached 10th level things change a little. When you have enough XP to go to 11th level instead you choose one of these:

If you retire you create a new character to play instead and work with the GM to establish your place in the world. If you take on an apprentice you play a new character (the apprentice) alongside your current character, who stops gaining XP. Changing classes means keeping your ability scores, race, HP, and whatever moves you and the GM agree are core to who your character is. You lose all other class moves, replacing them with the starting moves of your new class.