33 thoughts on “How do you use Arcane Art?”

  1. i wanted to ask the same question. our bard keeps spamming this move to heal everybody in the party. is there really no roll required?

  8. Josh, I believe Jordan is right.

    You choose an effect, you roll, 10+ the effect trigger, 7-9 it had consequences, 6- it doesn’t, like every move.

    This is the way I read it.

    My current doubt is specifically if you use it reflexively or not.

  9. If they rolled a 6 the gm makes a hard move. This could be something to split them up. This might stop your spammer from spamming. But, in any case remember the game begins and ends with the fiction. What exactly is the Bard doing? How does his spell work in the narrative? These things are your ammunition for when he eventually rolls that six.

  11. On a miss it doesn’t work however and you can always use “Show downside to their class, race, or equipment” on that miss. An ally is never you, it’s another person and if tteh bard rolls a 7-9  you can just attack with a monster. Or instead have the magic bolster an upcoming monster.  

  14. Ezio Melega you should ask the player! He’s the only one who truly knows how his arcane art actually works!

    However, more than once it’s been stated that spells like invisibility or cure light wounds can be used on the caster himself (at least, if you are your own ally), so I’m guessing that there’s nothing wrong with a bard healing himself with his own arcane art.

  15. My bard can’t buff himself like that. Maybe the damage. The damage buff is also something he can do really fast while the other “spells” need more time.

  17. Richard Robertson , it’s a normal English term. I mean: can they use their power on themselves?

    Alessandro Gianni , this is exactly what I do, always, for anything, in powered by the a Apocalypse games. I follow the fiction, I use this doubt to ask questions and to advance my knowledge of the Setting and the characters.

    I just was curious to know if there was some kind of consensus about it.

  22. Can I sneak an even more basic question in here: is the performance into one of the spells the bard themselves are casting? So it requires them to have taken a multiclass spellcasting move? Or they can strum their lyre while the wizard casts fireball?

    What is a “basic spell” vs any other spell?

  24. Longer: 

    You don’t need any other spellcasting move to trigger Arcane Art. Otherwise it wouldn’t be useable at level 1. The move implies that you have some kind of magical ability you use together with or through your music. 

    Ask your bard how he does it. Is he really doing spells together with music or just music that is somehow magical. 

    Yes they can ” strum their lyre while the wizard casts fireball” 

  25. Ohhh! The effect (e.g., heal, additional damage, etc) of the move is the spell itself? The way it’s written it wasn’t clear to me where the spell that the bard should frolick along to would come from.

  26. Your group is bypassing some serious questions. How does arcane art work? Is it magic like a spell or simply invigorating and inspiring? What toll does it take on the Bard when they use it? What attention does it draw?

  29. I find this thread very interesting, it seems like the bard is the class that requires a lot of answers from the player. It is up to all at the table to discover just what it means. Was this intentional as a designer? Interested to hear how arcane arts have been defined in others ap?

  32. If you feel like the Bard is spamming the ability, just make sure you have some great hard moves for when he eventually fails… like he breaks his instrument. Or maybe gets hit and his voice box gets crushed. And if he is spamming it, chances are he is hitting that 7-9 range, which means he is healing the enemy or giving them a boost to their damage as well (I had my Bard turn a flesh golem into a super charged flesh golem that nearly killed the party when he was spamming the ability), or just getting mobbed as he draws unwanted attention to himself.

  33. The Bard also has to play music to get their effect. Which is loud. Which draws attention. Sure, on a miss or soft hit that may be more immediate attention, but no matter what having a little sing-along in a dungeon is likely to get the attention of creatures nearby.

    Also, what Adam said.

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