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Dungeon World PDF Review

This Dungeon World PDF review is part of my “Best Tabletop RPGs of All Time” article. If you want to check out more TTRPGs and see how other top-tier tabletop RPGs are ranked, visit that page.

My Review – 61 / 100

The Dungeon World PDF comes in at number 13 on my list of best TTRPGs of all time. Is it a great game? Yes, definitely. Is the best of the best? No, definitely not.

That being said, some people LOVE the style of game that Dungeon World offers. Full disclosure though, it’s not my favorite. I do appreciate, however, what the game aims to “do,” which I think is quite unique.

Dungeon World doesn’t get a lower score from me just because I’m not a huge fan of the game’s style. Instead, what the game aims to be “about” could, I believe, have been executed/ presented better.

Finally, this review is specifically for the Dungeon World PDF as that’s the game copy I have at the time of writing. There may be some differences between the Dungeon World PDF and a printed copy when it comes to overall presentation and artwork, but the game’s mechanics are obviously the same.

Dungeon World physical copy at a gaming store

Dungeon World Uniqueness: (9/10)

Dungeon World is all about keeping the story moving. Of all aspects of this game, this is probably the best. I always enjoying playing tabletop games where the focus is kept on the story and off of the game’s rules.

Whenever there’s a skill check in Dungeon World, you roll a dice. If you get a 10+, it’s a full success. On a 7-9, it’s a partial success. On a 6 or lower, it’s a failure.

When characters fail, the DM gets to “make a move” – aka make things more dangerous in a way that advances the story. Mechanics aren’t as important in Dungeon World as deciding what kind of “situation” the players are in, and what skill check(s) should apply. There’s no definite way to do things, instead allowing players to have a freeform sort of storytelling.

When it comes to world building, the dungeon master creates the basis for an area, then asks three questions to the players about the area. As the players respond with their own creative input, ideas, and wishes, it gives the dungeon master a way to enhance the gaming world’s story by making use of other player’s world building thoughts. Honestly, this is such a great idea. It’s a built-in way for players to help contribute to the game world, which certainly makes the game experience better for everyone.

Ease of Learning Dungeon World: (8/10)

Dungeon World combines something that looks a lot like Dungeons and Dragons from a character-building/ math standpoint, with an almost totally freeform storytelling component. To me, it’s sort of an odd combination.

DnD, for example, has such in-depth character-building and math components to the game because much of the game is more heavily systematized than freeform Dungeon World. In DnD, you absolutely need to have specific info on your character in a multitude of ways. In Dungeon World, however, you sort of don’t. So, why closely copy Dungeons and Dragons?

The storytelling rules are very simple to learn for players, and reasonably simple for dungeon masters. Dungeon world is a game that hinges on the dungeon master’s individual skill since there aren’t many set mechanics in the game. If the dungeon master really does their homework and thinks through their storytelling, things go smoothly. If not, problems occur for everyone at the table.

Overall, I’d say Dungeon World is not the game a new group to tabletop gaming should play. Instead, it should be the game you play after you’ve already got a solid grip on how TTRPGs are played, when you want some variety in your gaming system.

Dungeon World Presentation: (5/10)

The presentation of the Dungeon World PDF is not that great, to be honest. Font choices, colors, etc. are ok. The chapters are clear as to when they start. But major parts of the rulebook aren’t clearly differentiated from each other.

I would say the overall presentation is of a medium-high quality. Not what you’d expect from a top-tier tabletop RPG, for sure. The lack of clear presentation in the Dungeon World PDF may cause you to use up a little more time than normal when searching for specific rules or sections, which just seems unnecessary.

Lore: (4/10)

Lore in Dungeon World is built according to your campaign. What I mean is that the game itself doesn’t provide lore, but rather a framework for building lore which players can use.

I actually don’t mind at all when games don’t provide much lore, as it allows for player creativity. In these open spaces, players can decide for themselves all kinds of custom ideas for their RPG campaign and campaign world.

However, when it comes to Dungeon World, I think this concept of not providing lore, but rather open space, doesn’t quite work. The reason is that Dungeon World doesn’t provide enough framework in the game’s core mechanics to help players create memorable campaigns. Since each segment of play in Dungeon World is already so freeform, it almost creates a game, like Savage Worlds, where the dungeon master and players have to create everything. Every single thing in the gaming world. For some players, that sense of freedom is perfect. But for most, I’d say, it’s a bit overwhelming.

Combat in Dungeon World: (6/10)

In Dungeon World, unlike most TTRPGs, there is no separate system for combat. No “rolling initiative.” Nothing different occurs in battles than what happens with other skill checks. In many ways, this overall concept is great.

When it comes to combat (or skill checks of any kind) the dungeon master does not roll dice. Instead, the dungeon master says what happens, players respond, then players make any necessary dice rolls, and an outcome is established.

Since there is no initiative in combat, when outcomes are established, every relevant piece of the combat scene concludes simultaneously. For example, if a player is fighting a dragon, both attack each other at the same time. This is another aspect of combat in Dungeon Worlds that I really like as it seems very realistic to me.

If a player gets a success on their skill check against an enemy they’re fighting (let’s say a dragon, for example), they dodge the dragon’s attack and might deal damage to them. On a partial success, both might deal damage to each other. And on a failure, the player takes damage.

When damage is dealt in combat, it isn’t just a number. Instead, the dungeon master explains damage in a way that conveys a story. Then, the player again responds to that story, saying what they want to do next. Which leads to another skill check, and so on.

Skill checks and combat in Dungeon World are very dynamic as a story-telling device. I love that it’s not just two characters standing in the same place whacking each other with swords until one dies. What I don’t like is that for people who aren’t very creative and need a little more structure, the game doesn’t provide any help. Combat is another situation in this game where the freeform aspects of play may not provide enough material for players to work with.

I’ve also found that games like Dungeon World tend to lack the exact level of intensity in combat and dramatic scenarios that they strive for though storytelling, alone. The first couple battles in a gaming session may be intense, but the game lacks that feeling of “oh shit, my character might die.” The reason is that everything is so abstract with pure theater-of-the-mind that it’s easy to lose a sense of real danger.

Since players have so much control over what their character does in combat, and there’s so little structure, it’s possible for a player to completely remove their wounded character from a dangerous situation – thereby also lowering the intensity and drama of the fight.

Game “Flow”: (5/10)

As with other tabletop RPGs on my top TTRPGs of all time list, Dungeon World is heavily dependent upon a solid dungeon master. With a strong dungeon master, the game’s storytelling rocks, everything flows well, makes sense, is unique, and a great and satisfying tale is told.

However, since the system depends so heavily on the dungeon master, problems easily arise. What if the dungeon master’s off one day? Or what if they just aren’t very good at creating tension and an enjoyable game flow? What if – and this is a big one – the DM is new to their role and hasn’t yet quite figured it out?

Dungeon World is either a great game that’s very engaging, or a terrible game that lacks structure. Of course, with any tabletop game, the people playing the game make it great or terrible, and player skill level always counts. But games that rely too much on player skill and creativity tend to sometimes tank, especially with new players.

Artwork: (2/10)

The cover art for the Dungeon World PDF is very cool. But depending on your version of the game (print, PDF, supplemental, etc.) the art is not high-quality, throughout. In some versions, there are art sketches that are cool, but they are mostly simple black and white ones.

You should not buy the Dungeon World PDF for the artwork within. I’d say it’s no big deal since tabletop games are really about the game, not the artwork. However, there are so many great tabletop games on the market today – so many that are better than Dungeon Worlds – that also have phenomenal artwork, that it really is a big deal.

When it comes to tabletop RPGs, artwork strengthens players’ ability to “see” themselves and their characters in the game world. So, having lots of great art in the game’s core rulebook is a major plus.

Ease of Purchase: (5/10)

Surprisingly, it’s not that easy to purchase the Dungeon World PDF or printed copy as the Burning Wheel website is pretty out-of-date. Thankfully though, the game can be purchased on Amazon.

Price & How Many Books Do You Need to Play: (10/10)

The Dungeon World PDF is $10, and all you need to play is just one book. Tabletop gaming price literally doesn’t get better than that.

Fame & Availability of Supplemental Material: (7/10)

Dungeon World won some big awards in 2012, when the game first launched.

Indie RPG 2012 winner.
ENnie Award Winner 2013: Best Rules – Gold Winner.

Dungeon World is a very popular game – or at least was when it first came out. For continued play though, there is no supplemental material, and no one really continues promoting the game or building the community, nowadays.

If you wanted to start an ongoing campaign with Dungeon World, you could almost certainly find a gaming group for it. I would suggest, however, that you and your players all first get a firm grasp on how the game is played, before beginning. The reason is that the expectations of how a game like Dungeon World is played are far different from other popular tabletop RPGs, and by making sure everyone’s on the same page, you increase your chances of having a successful campaign, from the start.

Dungeon World PDF is Produced By:

Burning Wheel

Jacob Tegtman

Dear reader, I hope you enjoyed my article. Tabletop gaming has been a passion of mine since I was 6 years old. I've played just about every game from Dungeons and Dragons to video games like Final Fantasy. These games have inspired me, made me laugh, made me cry, and brought me endless hours of enjoyment.

I started Eternity TTRPG - and the indie tabletop game that goes along with it (Eternity Shop) - to share my love of gaming with others. I believe that in our technology-driven age, tabletop games help bring a sense of magic and community back into our world.

If you love the site, please share it with others! I have lots of gaming-related material for you to peruse and use in your own gaming sessions. If you have any questions about the site or want to contribute, just send me a message using the "Contact" page, which you can find in the site's footer.

Jacob Tegtman

5 Things Players Do That Drive Every D&D Dungeon Master Crazy!

November 2, 2026

Transcribed content from our recent YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLpxQkh_SVI Transcription DM Pet Peeves === [00:00:00] Welcome back to the Eternity TT RPG YouTube channel, where I go over different things in the tabletop role playing universe from the game my husband and I created to D&D to different tabletops in between. So this go around, I'm gonna talk about something that I think happens in almost every tabletop role playing game. Um, of course, D&D is the biggest in the tabletop role playing genre, so they're gonna be mentioned a bit, right? Um, with any tabletop role playing game, you always have a game master, dungeon master, GM, DM, whichever, you know, you wanna call it and use it, right? And the dungeon master takes so much time creating this beautiful story. This beautiful story with all these encounters, all these puzzles, the strategy, the bosses, and all these backstories, all these NPCs. It's just... It's like you're writing a book without writing a book, right? [00:01:00] So what can get kind of frustrating when you're a DM is that your party starts making decisions that you never expect, y- and you have to think on the fly. So here's some things that your parties do that you just, you kind of look at them and you go like, "Please don't make that decision," or, "Can we get through this?" Right? So one of the things that comes up immediately in my mind is that you spend 20 minutes, 30 minutes, a hour going over, is this an ordinary door or is this a trap? And you're, you're just sitting there like, "Just turn the doorknob. Please turn the doorknob." But you can't say that because, you know, you're trying to create this cool environment for [00:02:00] your players, right? So if you are a player, keep in mind your dungeon masters are not always doing something devious. They're just, you know, they just needed to put a door there 'cause it's going into a building. Please just grab the doorknob. Go in. Okay? Um, other thing that we end up seeing is that every NPC can get treated like a final boss, right? So one thing that's really fun with being a dungeon master is that you do a lot of foreshadowing, right? So this random person that you met in session one could end up coming back in, like, session 10, session 20, and end up being your final boss of the whole campaign. You don't know. So if you don't know as a player, of course, you're gonna be like, "Well, we'll see you again, I bet." Um, so there's a lot of suspicion around every person you encounter when they could just be a normal shopkeep, [00:03:00] right? So the thing about having a high suspicion is that your players, of course, could be really smart, and that's a really good survival strategy. But it's also just another, like, "Hey, guys, come on, it's literally just a shopkeeper that wants to give you this. Like, don't l- don't look too far into it. Please just let me keep going." Eternity TTRPG has released a card game battler which emulates combat from the tabletop role-playing genre. Sparks of Eternity: Emanation is fast-paced, easy to learn, and features six classes from your favorite TTRPGs. Each class deck comes with its own set of unique abilities, which everyone plays at the same time, so there's never any downtime at your table. Each turn, everyone's characters levels up, giving players access to even more options. If you're interested in taking a look, we have our sales page live now, packed with details. Um Other thing I'm gonna wrap back around for a [00:04:00] minute to, you know, is the door cursed or is it a normal door? When you encounter things like that, or even when you encounter an actual fight, the your players can spend, like, an hour planning how to attack this thing, planning how to attack this, like, goblin foe or whatever, and then it lasts barely two minutes because they spend all that time planning, and then they get to actually, like, encountering and you're just like, "Oh yeah, he's here to lead you here. He's helpful." Like, ugh, it shouldn't take you, as a player, hours to come up with a way to get through something, right? When it is just going to end up being two minutes of the game. Right? So one thing that I tend to talk about a lot, um, in my personal life is how we as a [00:05:00] society, like, we have gone to shorter entertainment. Like, movies are shorter, books are shorter, music is shorter. Like, I remember four or five minute songs, and now we're down to, like, two and a half minutes, right? So that's where I think, like, role playing games are headed a little bit, okay? 'Cause you can spend an hour planning it, your DM can create this masterful campaign, but sometimes we just wanna skip the boring parts. Is that so hard to ask? So moving on, now that I'm off my little soapbox. Um, another thing that we tend to do as players, and I am definitely guilty of this one, is we adopt creatures that the dungeon master isn't expecting, right? You just see this random thing in the woods and decide, "Oh, it's mine," and now the DM has to, like, weave it into the story because you decided to have it, right? So now you just, you just gotta deal with it and roll with [00:06:00] it, and dungeon masters, I'm actually supportive of, of this one, so think on your feet for it. Um, last thing that I wanna cover is that when you're dungeon master, you are thinking of, like, everything from A, B, to Z, right? Going over all the possible outcomes and you think you have them all. You think you have every idea that your players can come up with. And then you don't. Um, perfect example of this, my husband and I were doing a session of, uh, the game that he created, right? And he was DM'ing for me, and this, like, NPC went and kidnapped another NPC using her Nether Night magic, and I was trying to think, "Well, how can I track them down? What can I do?" Because we're in a paved city, obviously no tracks, like, what's gonna work? And one of the abilities that I had, [00:07:00] I inquired if it could detect any magical essence, because I knew that this NPC Nether Night was using magic to disguise themselves and get away faster. And my husband looked at me, and he was like, "That might be the smartest thing you've ever done." And I'm just like, "Okay, cool. I'm glad I figured something out." Um, but that's just a perfect example of how, um, people and your players can figure out something that, like, just works differently, right? Um, so with all of that being said, you know, DMs don't take it to heart, players don't take it to heart, but, you know, somehow we gotta keep meeting in the middle, and that's what makes a good, uh, gaming group. So let me know, as a DM, what's your pet peeve? What's the thing that has just bugged you to no end? Players, what do you think a DM should change, right? And then just [00:08:00] drop any, you know, stories, questions, anything in the comments. Like, comment, subscribe. Let us know how we're doing, and we'll catch y'all next time.

5 Halloween D&D One-Shot Ideas for Last-Minute DMs

October 30, 2026

Transcribed content from our recent YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TicIZUlQV08 Transcription IMG_7957 === [00:00:00] Welcome back to Eternity TTRPG YouTube channel, where I go over different happenings in the tabletop role-playing universe, from D&D to the game my husband and I are creating. Um, as we all know, it is going on Halloween weekend, which is usually when we all get together with our tabletop role-playing groups and try to do a one-shot adventure. So for all of the last-minute DMs trying to throw something together for their friends, I've got a couple of ideas for you that I am just gonna rapid fire, okay? So first one, you have a haunted house that does not want you to leave. So your party is invited to investigate an abandoned mansion manor where a family mysteriously disappeared. Um, the twist in this is that the house itself changes its layout depending on the party's actions. So the rooms move, doors disappear, and the house seems to, [00:01:00] like, know the party's secrets somehow, right? Um, different encounter ideas in here is gonna be, like, animated f- um, furniture, possessed portraits, um, secret locations, and the, like, finale can be the house itself is a monster, so you have to, you know, figure out how the monster stays alive and how you can get out. Um, second one, we have the village that celebrates Halloween every night. So your, uh, tabletop role-playing party arrives at a village where everyone is celebrating a strange festival. However, nobody remembers the previous night, and the festival repeats it every single night. So you get Halloween every night. So you have different, like, strange villagers going on. You can start incorporating other, um, you know, Halloween things like scarecrows and werewolves and, [00:02:00] um, jack-o-lan-lanterns. Um, so then also finale with this one, your party discovers that the village is trapped in a curse, and you have to break the ritual before midnight of any given night that you're there. Cool. Um, third one, something is hunting in the woods. This is where we get our werewolves, our spiders, you know, all of our creepies. So travelers have gone missing near a forest, and the party's hired to investigate. So something can be following your party into there, but they never get a clear look at what is following them. So you start dealing with, like, false tracks and abandoned campsites, strange noises, and different things like that. You can even throw in environmental hazards in there, like a river, a bog, um, quicksand, that corn-- sort of stuff. Um, finale of this, a terrifying creature corners the party, and you have to choose how [00:03:00] to get past it. Um, moving on, the Last Night at the Graveyard. So local graveyard keeper hires the party to protect the cemetery during a night when the dead are supposed to rise. Um, twist with this, the undead aren't attacking randomly. They're all trying to, like, reach a certain spot, so you're trying to figure out how do you get to that spot, right? Um, you can have your skeletons, restless spirits, zombies, different kind of puzzles around the crypts and around the grave sites. Um, finale with this, the party uncovers the secret about the person buried there and why the dead are so desperate to get to them. Final one that I'm gonna try and finish this rapid fire off with is a Carnival of Curses. So a mysterious traveling carnival arrives outside of the town that you're at, and the visitors enter smiling, but nobody leaves quite the same. So the twist with this is, like, every [00:04:00] attraction is a magical challenge, and the carnival owner is collecting something from every visitor, so it could be, like, collecting their soul, their spirit, um, or you could go a bit more morbid with it and collecting, like, different parts maybe. Um, so encounter ideas with this is gonna be, like, cursed mirror maze, a rigged fortune teller, enchanted games, creepy performers like Cirque du Soleil style. Um, finale with this, the party has to defeat the carnival owner or escape the carnival itself. So that was super quick. There was five ideas for you to try and make a one-shot, hopefully before your, uh, one-shot this weekend. If not, you can always revisit this and do it anytime. I mean, why not have a fun one-shot to, like, break up what you're doing with your D&D group? So as always, like, comment, subscribe, drop different ideas down below, and we will catch y'all next time. See ya.

Woman in blue shirt speaking in a room with shelves of books, figurines, and a plush toy behind her.

3 D&D Classic Monsters that you Always See

By Jacob Tegtman • October 27, 2026

Transcribed content from our recent YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTjh_PsRn3o Transcription Welcome back to Eternity TTRPG YouTube channel, where we talk about the world of Eternity as well as other tabletop role-playing games, D&D, and all the stuff in the genre that we can find. So this go around, ~I know it's been a little while since we posted, but ~I wanted to go ahead and just do something that I think everyone can get behind, which is talking about monsters that you find in tabletop role-playing games. ~Um, ~you're obviously gonna have your classic monsters that you see in D&D, and then we can just branch out from there, right? So reason this is coming up is that with the Sparks of Eternity Emanation, ~um, ~which is going really well, it's where you have your different classes, ~um, ~fighting each other to a duel to the end, right? ~And that's been great. It's been going great. ~We have a lot more classes in the works, but we were wondering, well, what could be next? And that's when you start looking at, like, armor, races, monsters, ~um, ~and, like, items and stuff, right? Because that's what makes a campaign happen is when you add all [00:01:00] of these things in. ~Um, ~so with that in mind, we started thinking monsters. ~Instead of having this PVP experience, we're talking, we're looking at more of a cooperative experience ~So now we're thinking classic monsters, and that has got to be the most classic of them are all is gonna be dragons, right? ' Cause you have anywhere from your dragon with the wings, fiery breath, always guarding something, guarding their pile of gold, or holding someone captive, or something like that. You're always gonna find that in any kind of mythology, lore, D&D campaign. Like, it's just... It's your classic thing. So how can we take this classic thing and switch it up a little bit? And this is where we started to wonder with our game design where to go, and we're still fleshing that out. ~Um, but I see great things in the works with it, right?~ Taking a classic thing and going a different direction. ~Um, ~other classic thing when you think of D&D monsters has got to be the mimic. ~Um, ~so that is, of course, [00:02:00] gonna be your shape-changing predator, right? You're going through a dungeon, you find a treasure chest, you think it's a normal chest, and turns out it's a mimic and it's trying to bite your face off. ~Total classic thing. Um, ~so how can we change this up? Is there a way to change up this D&D thing? ~Um, ~with that, my mind goes to what other inanimate objects can it become. Is it always gonna be your treasure chest, or could it be a table in the room? Or perhaps a weapon next to a, ~um, ~next to a skeleton, right? Because then you get this idea of, well, what if this, ~uh, ~sword just starts wielding on its own. ~Anyway, cool thought. But, you know, I just... ~It's fun to take things that you think are one way and just shift them completely, and I think that what... That is what makes the entire genre of tabletop role-playing so great is that we do take these different ideas, expand them, change them, and create something new. Eternity TTRPG has released a card game battler [00:03:00] which emulates combat from the tabletop role-playing genre. Sparks of Eternity Emanation is fast-paced, easy to learn, and features six classes from your favorite TTRPGs. Each class deck comes with its own set of unique abilities which everyone plays at the same time so there's never any downtime at your table. Each turn, everyone's characters levels up, giving players access to even more options. If you're interested in taking a look, we have our sales page live now, packed with details. ~Um, ~other D&D classic things has got to be the beholder. ~Um, you know, ~your floating eye with random tentacles coming off of it, right? That's what I think of when I think of a beholder. And I feel like that is used so much to depict what D&D is, and when I see that, all I think is D&D. I never go to anything else. So with those thoughts in mind, we have been trying to decide does [00:04:00] the world of Eternity, Sparks of Eternity, have a monster that just defines Eternity Or do we have, you know, an art style that defines it or, you know, ~just, ~just something that makes it different. And, you know, as always, I'm behind the scenes 'cause I get to be with the game maker and see all of his, ~uh, ~gears rotating, right? ~So I see things coming. I'm very excited to share those eventually. I do see that coming down the line. Um, ~but in the meantime, drop any ideas for monsters that you have below that you want to see, that you have seen, any ideas, just something. You know, use it as a giant brainstorming session. ~Um, ~as always, like, comment, subscribe. Let us know how we're doing. Give me any ideas you wanna see for upcoming news and we'll catch y'all next time.