As the Kickstarter campaign for Fantasy World progresses towards higher and higher peaks, many supporters have expressed hopes and wishes for what could become a new Class playbook. While all entries are interesting and exciting in their own right, I can’t help but have the feeling that at least some of them could already be played through the current standard mechanics. Let’s see if my intuition is correct...

1)
In this article I’m not going to consider the requests for a tinkerer / engineer / tech-focused Class. There are already a few Moves that could help emulate such an archetype, but they are scattered across several different Classes; I feel that this character idea would require a bunch of hacking to be brought to light in a satisfactory way. This, added to the sheer amount of requests for this particular type of Protagonist, makes me feel quite confident that... we might have found our first new core Class ;-)

2)
I'm thinking of a person whose heart and soul got stolen by a demon. They now have a literal hole in their body with a little black hole at its center. They're not necessarily evil, but they*re trying to compensate for what they've lost and risk getting overwhelmed by their hunger for emotions.
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This could probably be realised as just a TAG applied to the Protagonist, but making it the character’s Kin would make it much more central. Named “Hollow” or maybe “Heartless” or something similar, it represents a person (of any Blood) that has undergone this demonic procedure and is now somehow “hungry for emotions”. The Players and World could discuss a bit about what that means, or just improvise moment to moment what being soul/heart -less means, if it brings some advantages or disadvantages, how the world at large reacts to such a person, etc. Then, World Reactions could bring the “hunger” into play in interesting and problematic ways.

3)
The " New ", a Playbook about a naive new thing like an elemental, a construct or a young leaving his home, knowing nothing of the world. (Sam Gangee from LotR may be an inspiration, but it's a common tropé) and with some moves about learning the world or giving a fresh PoV about problema? (Yes there are a lot of this Playbook-like in some Ptba but I found it a lot in fantasy media too :D)
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How about something like the Farmboy (only gender neutral)? You know, the Diamond in the Rough, the Humble Peasant, the Hero In The Making?
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The Foreign
You come from far away. You know almost nothing about this land, as well as the locals about the one you come from. Why have you left your home behind? What did you bring with you? Is it a mysterious power? Is it ancient knowledge? Is it an unknown threat?
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Mechanically implementing these concepts to the fullest would probably require a whole new Class, or at the very least some custom Moves. Still, I feel that much could be achieved with just a Kin named something like “fresh out of my village” or maybe “new to these lands”. It would express and encourage the description of how everything looks and feels to someone not used to the world of adventurers, plus offer a hook to explore whatever new/small life the PC has left behind. Not a 100% satisfying solution, and so far the first request that I feel would actually benefit from new/custom moves. An idea to keep in mind if we get to the 30k stretch goal ;-)

4)

 I'd totally love to see some magic-gunslinger
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I’d like a sort of magical gunslinger, love the “arcanero” seen in the first italian edition of DW. 
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I can see many paths to this goal!

Aa a Warrior, the move This is my Weapon can easily define a magical gun. The Players and World could agree on some new options for step 5), and the World might ask a few questions about the gun’s workings: is the gun magical, or are the magical skills of the user just “channeled” through it? Does it use finite physical bullets or infinite magical ones? Etc. From there it is easy to recolor the other Class moves with a touch of magic rather than just martial proficiency. 

Another option would be an Occultist. The gun, specially crafted with rare materials and inscribed with runes, could be a permanent fetish (Material component). Special and precious bullets could work as consumable extra materials, for that Supply-to-Advantage effect every once in a while.

Base damage would be relatively low, as Lesser Magic can only inflict Nasty harm, but then again the PC would gain a lot in versatility: freezing shots, heat shots, love bullets, truth shells, fog bombs, phantom shots...
And through many of the empowering techniques available as Growth Moves the gun could then also gain more oomph.

Both options could also be rounded off with the Raptor Shot move from the Wayfarer.

5)

A mage whose focus is the blood of monstrous creatures. The stronger the creature, the stronger the blood, the stronger the effect of the magic. Same magic cast with a stronger blood would result in increased effects.
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Simple Occultist with “blood” as their magic source.

At the beginning they can only empower their magic in a limited way: common bloods might be simple Material components, rare bloods would offer the extra Supply-to-Advantage effect. Narratively they could use a selection of different blood vials because each creature’s blood is specific to a different kind of magical effect.

Then, with Growth Moves such as Sacrifice they would get more power in exchange for their own blood. With Metamagic they could get more power out of a variety of different bloods. With Earth’s Veins they could find ways to literally draw magical blood from places of power!

6)
An acrobat that can jump over enemies and dodge most attacks. He can do a circus like move where he flings another player up in the air to overcome a big obstacle
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A Warrior could easily achieve this with just a small narrative recoloring, shifting the focus of some moves from strength and brawn on to agility and speed. Already the Starting Move Not to be Trifled With would accomplish the jumping and dodging part by describing it as a feat of acrobatical agility. And This is my Weapon could be a lithe but resilient staff, perfect for high-jumping and to support other acrobatic feats, or a more exotic tool. Brute could turn into something like Swan, defining the PC as [graceful] or [elegant] when they perform an act of agility and finesse. And of course Fighting Styles opens the door to any kind of uniquely acrobatic fighting description!

Flinging others it then just a matter of describing the common Intervene move in a fitting way.

7)
A memetic warrior, otherwise called agitator, skilled in raising people against rulers and promoting riots and revolutions. He can work for himself, for an ideal or hired by an enemy.
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This is a Minstrel with a political penchant!

In Arcane Art their craft could be poetry or rhetoric, with the item being a written artifact (an inflammatory pamphlet, the notes to a speech, or newspaper articles); or maybe drawing and sketching, to produce satirical flyers and savage caricatures. The Well Travelled move makes them connected to many places and people of relevance. Charming and Open and Devious are moves that are central to the activity of any social manipulator.

Another option is the Scoundrel, leaning more on the spying and rebel underground side of things rather than the social manipulation angle. Legwork and Friends in Low Places and Underground Network establish the PC as the center of a web of informants and outlaws that can get things done, spread (mis)information and gather intel, while A Thousand Faces and Hogwash help with the nitty gritty of practical spying and infiltration.

Both the Scoundrel and Minstrel options could benefit from sharing some Growth Moves, obviously.

8)
Otherwise a magical hacker that “hacks” other people’s magic
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A simple Occultist will do!
The PC will just work some Lesser Magic to alter, modify and prod someone else’s magical effect or artefact. They can use the Tinkerer move, as long as your Players and World agrees that a magical effect counts as a “mysterious itam”, which I find very reasonable, to obtain precious info that might give the PC the right fictional positioning and leverage to pry open what would otherwise be beyond their power if tackled bluntly and head on. Being a Talismonger can help in crafting useful hacking tools too! For everything else, a good old Ritual will do. 

9)
A researcher: biologist, anthropologist or journalist. I am thinking of people like Charles Darwin, Jean L. Briggs or Erika Fatland.
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While not a perfect match, the Wildcaller could easily be recolored to be less magical and more para-science-y, a scholar that studies the biology and culture of creatures, their metaphorical spirit rather than their literal animistic spirit.

Born of the Soil really just describes them as experts in a certain homeland biome, and by describing their various “spiritual calls” as maybe something more fanta-scientific that riffs on genetics and evolution and adaptation as technobabble, the effect should be achieved. It’s maybe more a Dr Moreau vibe without the horrifying “victimize others” undertones, but still kind of close to the requested concept.

10)
An explorer, someone able to organize and lead an expedition. Ernest Shackleton would be my inspiration for this kind of character.
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As FW has no real interest in the nitty gritty logistics of travelling, pretty much anyone could be a good explorer when it comes to the “organize and lead” part of a journey. That said... you are pretty much looking at a Wayfarer with the Survivalist move which helps with both the Restock, Long Rest and Journey common moves, all essential part of any voyage and exploration. Gods of the Wilds also bestows the PC with a unique knowledge and understanding of the territory.

And then the aforementioned science-y Wildcaller would be a very good explorer thanks to the Child of the Land move, which unlocks incredible opportunities that might otherwise be unavailable without a guide or a map during a Journey move. And since it is a Growth Move with no specific requirements, anyone could obtain it.

11)
Assuming that there's a version of the Immolator in the core, would it be possible to have a version for the other 3 core elements of Air, Water and Earth mages?
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A Librarian/bureaucrat class that uses the magical power of orderliness to defend either allies or an item or place of importance.
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An adrenaline junkie caster: more risk, more power, more to fuck up.
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All of these are just a simple Occultist with an elementally inspired answer to their power’s origin. Just say “fire!” and you are an Immolator. Or say “water!” and you are a... liquidator? Anyway, you get the gist. Same for the librarian: weaving order into the world, one strand of cosmic energy at a time.

12)
I would love to see a harlequin/jester class! Based around infuriating enemies into making mistakes and goading them into attacks, as well as keeping up morale amongst their allies. I think there's historical precedent for that, too!
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Welcome to the world of Minstrels.
Just set your Arcane Art’s craft as... stand-up comedy? With your item as some iconic prop or mask? And you have a perfect harlequin/jester as requested.

13)
I'd also love to see some kind of magic user based around being really up close and personal - a bunch of explosive attacks that only work at really close range, stuff like that. Maybe a class based around the use of sword and magic at the same time? A classic mage-knight type. Or maybe a tattoo-based class, invoking spells that they've inked into their skin?
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These are all light variations on the basic Occultist, in my opinion.
Using magical effects to fight in a melee is risky, as the PC would first trigger the Arcana Unearthed move to work your magic and then the Brawl move to use it as a tool... but it’s doable.

According to Arcana Unearthed magic never fails to have effect, so it’s a reliable tool just as any sword or club would be. Then a weapon could, if properly crafted, be a permanent fetish to be used as a Material component. A big weapon could even count as a Somatic component, as you wield it two-handed and have to actually perform attack moves.

A tattoo could also work as a permanent fetish, but beware! It’s a very cool idea but any damage to the body could have the chance to ruin the pattern and make the tattoo inert and useless until somehow fixed!

Once the spell “attack” is cast, the Brawl move would kick in. Lesser Magic in and of itself can’t do more than Nasty Harm, which is already perfect for small personal explosions: they can knock the target back, or down, or unconscious. But then the options from the Brawl move can empower this further as the base effect is applied in more precise ways during the melee exchange.

Moreover, when using an actual weapon to deal damage and the magic as some kind of modifier (fiery blade? chilly blade? phantom blade? snake blade? candy blade?) it could significantly alter both the fictional positioning, setting a different level of Harm as the one delivered “as established” or allowing for maneuvers and options not normally available.

Or, very important, it could allow the PC to actually Brawl against an enemy that would otherwise be impervious to their normal sources of Harm: a stone golem would be impervious to pretty much any normal weapon, and direct Lesser Magic can do Nasty Harm at most... but adding a ”high-frequency vibration“ effect to one’s weapon might help!

Also, the idea of a Talismonger tattoo artist is exceedingly cool!

14)
I always enjoyed the gameplay style of the D&D 4e Warlord, the 13th Age Commander, and to a lesser degree the D&D 5e Battlemaster Fighter. A Class playbook that serves as a martial support role, while still being competent in combat would be a fun addition.
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This feels a lot like the Knight.
Voice of Authority and Ever Onward are great to command people around, both in battle and in other circumstances. Aegis of Valor is all about supporting and defending others, while Burning Faith sets the PC as a very powerful fighter. Many Warrior moves can also help in making the PC an even better combatant, but the Tactician move fits this archetype perfectly.

15)
What about an Akashic, who is able to access collective memory but is constantly risking losing themselves into it?
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Mmm... weird... could be an Occultist where the source of power is this collective memory-scape and then the Taint from magical use is not described as a rotting spiritual stain, but as contamination from alien/confused memory fragments.

16)
A Drug Dealer. Who can also use drugs to enhance some of his/her skills or to make he/she able to do something very unusual...at a cost, obviously. Everything has a price...
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This is pretty much a Stilla from the Ordo, a special kind of Kin from the SILIKA setting. There, the whole thing is handled through pure fiction: the text describes what is what, how it works in terms of activation times and subsequent backlash and side effects, etc. It then offers a shortlist of effects that apply to the mechanics of the game as fictional TAGs.

Another approach is that of the Scoundrel with the Poisoner growth move. Just have the Players and World to agree to add some new options to the list of possible effects in step 4) and you are all set. An effect such as “apply a [TAG] for minutes” would cover pretty much any effect you can imagine.
Or you could expand it more, creating a whole sub-list of possible effects, and maybe options for their costs and drawbacks.

Conclusion

I hope this little exercise was as fun for you to read as it was for me to write. It's not meant as a way to disregard the desire for new Moves and new Classes, but purely to showcase how much can already be done with the tools available, and with minimal effort. Designing new mechanics in not an easy task, but everyone can effortlessly come up with a few fictional details to recolor an existing Move, to establish an exotic Blood or a strange Kin, or just to apply a relevant TAG to a character or item or location.

That said, I would love to see in the future how Fantasy World players do hack the system to create their own unique houserules, homebrew moves, expanded settings... and whole new Classes.