I've just read on rpg.net, one player's opinion that DW does dungeon delves amazingly well, but it struggles with wilderness type adventures.
What's your opinon on this, can it do wilderness/city/town type adventures?
G'day Max, and Welcome!
Yup, Adam has given you all the best answers, but I'd just like to pipe in and say that I've been using all sorts of locations for my adventures. If I need a custom move for any given setting, I love making them up! This is my favourite kind of prep, bar none. Custom moves make the game YOURS.
If you don't want to go to all that trouble, well the game is all about the narrative, the mechanics simply give you prompts, so...... If it feels like (in the fiction) that a character needs to make a move (to do it - do it) and none of the exisiting moves seem to fit, Defy Danger is a go-to move using any applicable stat. Works a treat every time.
For Instance, say your intrepid adventurers have emerged on the far side of the saw tooth mountains through a crumbling dwarven chamber, having escaped the ravening hordes of night-goblins under the mountain. After a bit of discerning realities by the Thief determining there is a nearby human settlement of ner'do'wells living in the ruins of an ancient city and subsequent spouting lore by the Wizard about the ruling cabal of wizards that hold sway over said town.... The Fighter goes with the resultant established fiction as they wander the mean streets and says they want to find their old merc comrade in the town to give them some succour. (the player plays a lot of Burning Wheel, and is rather keen on the Circles mechanic.)
Well well! This is gold! Say YES! (of course), the resultant NPC could be the source of all sorts of trouble and adventures! OK, so what do you do? Ask some questions of the fighter and determine what they are about. They say they saunter into the fighter's guild and look for their friend. This sounds like the ideal narrative space for a move to you, but really, which one exists? Discern Realities? Carouse? Parley? Sort of.
But if you suggest Defy Danger, the danger being that the fighter doesn't get what they want (getting succor from their friend - they should DEFINITELY
find this NPC), using say CHA as the operating stat, gives you as GM LOTS of narrative options, especially on a 7-9....
So the player rolls +CHA and gets a 6.... Oops, but the thief aids successfully using their knowledge of the clandestine nature of the town. 7 it is. You ponder, an
ugly choice making all sorts of sense to you. The fighter finds their old comrade, penniless, drunk and beset on all sides in a darkened alley by vicious loan sharks. They turn and leer snaggle-toothed. 'Fook Off, if you know what's good for you!'... Sure you can hook up with your old mate, but first you may have to deal with these bad fellas first.
All from Defy Danger on CHA. Awesome. Have fun with the game and let us know how it goes!