Dungeon World: can a Druid multi-class through Ranger to Wizard?

Question

Can my Druid in Dungeon World, through use of the Hunters Brother move and Stalkers Sister move, take the following two Ranger moves: Animal Companion and Special Trick. We are accepting as a given that I can take Animal Companion. The real question is: can I use the Ranger's Special Trick move to gain access to the Wizard's Cast a Spell move?

Druid move: Hunter's Brother "choose one move from the Ranger class list"

Druid move: Stalker's Sister "choose one move from the Ranger class list"

Ranger move: Animal Companion <grants Animal Companion>

Ranger move: Special Trick "choose a move from another class. So long as you are working with your animal companion you have access to that move"

I'm inclined to say yes, because other moves that allow multi-class moves specifically exclude further multi-classing. For example:

Barbarian move Appetite for Destruction says "Take a move from the Fighter, Bard, or Thief class list. You may not take multiclass moves from those classes."

In other words, they considered that further multi-classing is possible, and they specifically forbade it for the Barbarian using his multi-class move. They specifically did NOT forbid it for the Druid using his multi-class rule.

Therefore I think it is allowed (if they didn't want it, they would have expressly said so, as they did with Barbarian). I'm not sure WHY they would draw that distinction between the two different multi-class moves, but the game designers DID draw that distinction.

My GM and I are working together to see what is overall best for our table, but we are seeking clarification (especially any "official" clarification), and also looking to avoid potential pitfalls or troubles. Any helpful input is appreciated.

P.S. - I believe it is already established that gaining a starting move from another class also grants you any other starting class moves from that class which are necessary to make the move useful, such as Prepare Spells and Spellbook.

Answer 1

Yes

Your logic seems sound. There are some caveats and gotchas to this.

• You can take the animal companion earlier, but the Special Trick has to be taken at level 6 or higher
• Your Wizard level counts from the point you take the move (see page 29, where Wizard's spellcasting is literally the multiclassing example). This means taking it as early as possible (level 6) lets you then cast as a level 1 wizard, which is likely to be a bit underwhelming. It will cap out at level 5 wizard equivalent if you hit level 10
• If you don't have your animal companion for some reason (including the DM's move Separate Them), you lose the ability.
• This is 2 class moves out of 9 that you get, assuming you go all the way to 10, so it's a huge investment
• If you are just looking for some spell casting, you could get nearly full Cleric casting by using Hunter's Brother at level 2 to pick up God Amidst the Wastes (though this may not match the feel you're going for)

Over all, this sounds pretty cool. Have fun!

Answer 2

This is going to work, but maybe not as well as you think it will.

So, first off, these choices in this order to do these things are perfectly fine. There is no rule preventing you from making these selections. But let's take a look at what's actually going to be happening as a result.

Hunter's Brother: You can use this move to select Animal Companion, but if you do, the animal companion will exist mostly as a thing in the story and its stats won't matter too much. To actually make use of your animal companion's stats, you'll need to choose Command. It's a starting move that depends on Animal Companion, so you get Animal Companion, but you'll also get the situational stat bonuses from Command.

Stalker's Sister: Likewise, you can use this move to grab Special Trick for Cast a Spell, and will also get access to Prepare Spells and Spellbook; these moves count as one move, but that also means you need to work with your animal companion to make use of all of them. There's a further caveat:

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.

Dungeon World, "Playing the Game"

So you begin with the spell selection of a 1st-level Wizard, and since Stalker's Sister is a 6-10th level move, you can only get up to being a 5th-level Wizard. Still some pretty good stuff in there though.

Additional Practical Considerations

You have to work with the animal companion. As a Druid, you can climb like a monkey, soar like a hawk, swim like a salmon, and dig like a mole. Most animal companions aren't going to be able to follow you while you do most of these, though an animal companion that can fly will at least be able to track you through most of it.

Is Int a good stat for you? It's primarily useful for Spout Lore, in comparison to biting (Str for Hack and Slash), dodging (Dex for Defy Danger), surviving (Con for hit points), and talking to animals (Cha for Parley). If you've decided to lean more loremaster, or if perhaps you're using Formcrafter to make your shapeshift +1 Int smarter than the average bear (and -1 Cha because you're insufferably smug about it) it'll all still work out well.

How awesome will it be when you're a giant northern ram with frosted horns and a hawk on your head that can shoot magic missiles out of its eyes, or a spider monkey with a vine hand riding a dog that can bark fireballs? Ultimately that's up to you, but it looks pretty sweet from here.