Our Dis is eating some planes with interesting technology. Time to expose Dungeon World to some Gamma radiation!
When you examine an extraplanar artifact, roll +some ability that the GM picks. On a 7-9, choose 1. On a 10+, choose 3.
* You learn the artifact’s purpose and how to use it
* The artifact is still usable
* No one is harmed
* You may take +1 to your next roll to understand a similar artifact
* You may ask the GM one question about the artifact’s last owner
I don’t know if the last two are really awesome or not.
I feel like this is mostly covered by Spout Lore and Discern Realities, but a custom move could be cool too. I think the +1 could be useful if it’s ongoing, something the player tracks for future use.
I went with a custom move here because I want people to be directly handling artifacts, not standing back and talking / looking at them.
Sure. I think sometimes people are rightly scared of an ongoing +1, but if you tightly constrain the scope of it (like to examining a particular type of artifacts, “Hyborean firearms”) it could be really cool.
I like it, though I feel you might want to make the 7-9 result choose two. Having to avoid both “the artifact is still usable” and “no one is harmed” is tough.
Or, alternately:
* You work out what the artifact is supposed to do
* You activate the artifact
* The artifact isn’t harmed
* You may take +1 to your next roll to understand a similar artifact
* You may ask the GM one question about the artifact’s last owner
Activating artifacts without knowing what they do–fun!
Would anyone choose “You activate the artifact” when “You work out what the artifact is supposed to do” is right there?
I was assuming that working out what it is supposed to do doesn’t mean you know how to activate it.
Jonathan Walton yeah, I was thinking of an ongoing +1 but shied away from it a little bit. An ongoing +1 would certainly satisfy the “be a fan of the PCs” agenda.
You might choose activate if time was of the essence. “Do something!”
I think it’s got that problem where the first three results are all MUST HAVE on a 10+. There’s a bit of choice on a 7-9, but not really on a 10+. The last two options are sort of red herrings.
Although, that’s assuming that the PCs are examining useful and functional artifacts to begin with, but if the PCs don’t KNOW they’re examining extra planar kitchenware, they probably won’t risk harming it in order to better understand other (more useful) artifacts.
The first and third result sort of implies that the artifact is useful, particularly if unharmed…
The more I think about it, the better I think the move is… Provided you’re playing a game about archaeology.
If the assumption isn’t “You’re a bunch of warrior/hero/thieves who have uncovered an artifact of power!” but “You’re a bunch of explorers/scholars/treasure hunters trying to learn the secrets of the mysterious inhabitants of an ancient land” then all the options are much more balanced.
How about
10+ all three and 7-9 choose two
– You know what it was supposed to do
– It activates when you expect it to
– You get +1 forward on this move with similar artifacts
That should produce some fireworks and experimentation…