I am working on some new spells and have a bit of a quandry. I am not sure the “correct” way to write them in DW.
For example here are two versions of a Bog spell
1. You create a large bog that slows the movement of man-sized or smaller creatures that enter it.
2. You create a bog that slows the movement of up to six man-sized or smaller creatures that enter it.
Both have virtues.
Number 1 is more fictional but potentially ambiguous ( how many man sized creatures can fit in the bog, how many small creatues equal one man sized creature?)
Number 2 is a bit less ambigous, but perhaps not fictional enough.
So what is the correct balance to strike?
First is fine. Change the second to “can slow down a handful of man-sized creatures” and it’s ok too. Ambiguity per se is not bad.
One possible way to think through it: how would a wizard in Dungeon World think of what this spell can do? How do they specify the area?
If it comes down to needing a unit of measure we tend to use “paces” since they give everybody an idea of the rough size possible (a few paces across) without getting into feet and inches (or meters, if Adam is writing it).
I find it hard to write DW Spells too. You have to hit the right level of vagueness while still being clear and precise enough.
I always try to think of what some wizened scholar of Dungeon World might write about it. “The bog spell, mostly cast by mages of the cerulean order, turns normal ground, be it stone, floor, or dirt, into a miasmic swamp. The principle use is to impare movement, of course. The affected area is always someplace the caster can see, a few paces wide at most.”
My description above was how I think through it, not what I write down. David Silverman’s #1 is what I’d write, more or less, for the actual spell.
Just so I’m sure, tags in DW are just reminders of fiction potential, right?
You could always opt for saying “you create a large bog that can slow down about half a dozen men.” There’s a number in there (6), but not really (about half a dozen).
Right, yeah, but they’re just reminders. The dragon could have no tags but he’s still a dragon and is going to do all the things I think a dragon would do. That’s what I wanted to make sure of, tags are just short hand notes of things to do in the fiction.