Follower

Summary

A Follower is a special category of NPC within The Perilous Wilds supplement for Dungeon World. Unlike traditional animal companions in the base game, Followers operate under a distinct mechanical framework with specific stats and rules. The system includes loyalty (measuring willingness to follow commands), quality (measuring competence at their designated role), damage, hit points, armor, load, and various tags and moves.

Players must use specific moves to direct Followers to perform actions, rather than having direct control over them as they would their own character. When a Follower helps a player character make a move that calls for a roll, the player receives a +1 bonus to that roll, but the Follower becomes exposed to any potential consequences that result from the move's outcome. In the campaign, animal companions like Monster are treated as Followers under The Perilous Wilds rules rather than using the standard Dungeon World animal companion mechanics.

Details

The Follower system distinguishes itself from the base Dungeon World animal companion rules through its stat framework. As Shawn explained, "Because with the perilous wild rules, instead of just being like the ranger's animal companion, like, monster is actually a Special kind of NPC called a follower that you get access to."

The two primary stats that govern a Follower's behavior are loyalty and quality. Brad clarified the distinction: "Loyalty is like will. Will Monster listen to you? And quality is how good monster is at doing what monster does." Loyalty determines whether a Follower will obey commands or take direction from the player, while quality measures the Follower's competence and effectiveness when performing tasks appropriate to their role.

Beyond these core stats, Followers maintain standard Dungeon World mechanical elements including damage output, hit points for tracking harm, armor ratings, and load capacity. They also possess tags that define their capabilities and characteristics, plus moves that represent their special abilities or actions they can perform.

The system requires players to engage with specific moves when commanding their Followers. As Shawn noted, "there's a couple moves to get monster to do stuff that are a little different." This mechanical layer creates a distinction between a player character's actions and a Follower's actions, reinforcing that Followers are independent entities rather than extensions of the player character.

When a Follower helps a player character make a move that requires a roll, the player adds +1 to their roll result. This bonus can improve the chances of achieving a strong hit (10+) or partial success (7-9) result. As Shawn explained the rule: "When a follower helps you make a move that calls for roll, take plus one on that roll, but know that they will be exposed to any potential consequences." This means that on a miss (6 or lower), the Follower faces the same or similar negative outcomes as the player character would, creating meaningful decisions for players about when the benefit of a +1 is worth risking a companion's safety.

History

Session 4

The Follower system was explained as the mechanical framework being used for Monster's character sheet. Shawn distinguished Followers from standard animal companions, noting that Monster would operate as "a Special kind of NPC called a follower" under The Perilous Wilds rules. Brad received clarification on the system's two primary stats—loyalty and quality—which would govern how Monster responds to commands and performs tasks.

Session 6

The follower mechanic saw practical demonstration when Cat attempted to escape from a mass of animated sweaters. Cat called upon Monster to assist with the escape attempt. Following the follower rules, Cat received a +1 bonus to the roll.

Despite the bonus, Cat rolled a total of 5—a miss. As Cat noted: "I got five. Which exposes is monster to any potential consequences." The consequence of this failed roll affected both Cat and Monster. Monster attempted to help by getting inside the sweaters and cutting some of the tighter ones, but instead became trapped inside alongside Cat. This instance illustrated both the mechanical benefit of the follower rule (+1 to the roll) and its risk (exposure to consequences on a failure).