16 thoughts on “Quick question: spell/magic using monsters.”

  1. Mechanics are guideposts for the fiction. If the fiction calls for the PCs to just drop, that’s how the spell works. If it calls for the spell to take a while and be interruptable, /thats/ how the spell works. The story defines the monster. Not the other way around.

  2. Make spells up as you go but follow the rules of DW. Setup (soft move) -> die roll -> on a miss or partial success, hard move.

    For instace: “The wizard points his staff at you, screaming a word of power. You see flames gathering at its tip. What do you do?” ” I duck behind the altar!” He rolls 7. “The fireball hits the altar wirh a concussive blast. You take no damage but you are blinded and deafened for a few moments!”

  3. Hard move could be that they just drop and are captured when they awake. Soft move could be getting drowsy and fighting sleep.

    It could be fun to adapt the death move to be a sleep move where you get drowsy or fall asleep, dream, and awake at a pivotal point or just sleep deeply, depending on your roll. Especially in a game where you are passing out and having visions frequently.

  4. For a sleep spell, I’d describe a feeling of dizziness (soft move). If the players tells me they try to fight it, I’d tell them to Defy danger with Wisdom.

    Moves are triggered by the fiction, so anything goes really.

  6. I’d shy away from “one defense” answers, like “Defy Danger with Wisdom” — let the player (character) decide what they want to do, as GM you get to decide what actual move occurs.

    So “I roar out loud and jump up, waving my arms around” might Defy Danger against a Sleep spell with CON — or it might just look ridiculous and the character may fall to the ground. But the player’s focus should be what the character does, not what the move is, even if we all tend to tailor our descriptions to reflect a move.

    “I jump in front of our Wizard to take the brunt of the spell for him” might be Defend, or it might even be Aid if they have the potential to use Counterspell, likewise “I throw my axe (shoot my bow) at the vile sorcerer” might not be in time if said vile sorcerer really has a “hard move” drop on the group, or it might be Volley (or perhaps even Aid if the “distraction” gives your Wizard a better chance to counter the spell).

  7. The man problem with fighting off a spell effect is that it takes your concentration away from other things. Like the giant two headed scorpionsnake the Mage summons earlier and also the acid pits.

    If it is only the spell the t here is not that much danger there… If you are fighting for your life anyway…m

    Another nice example someone had was a shaman chanting magical words (and maybe the body glowing) while the fighter runs him through with her sword (nö move) and rolls damage. The GM describs the shamans wound closing and the same wound opening on the fighter, making her damage herself.

    Then: what do you do.

  8. My enemy spellcaster was the big fail of my first run with Dungeon World. He was supposed make their lives flash before their eyes, but I didn’t use enough hard moves, or enough moves at all—the delvers got some scratches, but he just crumpled like paper. I recognize my mistakes, but it’s helpful to hear other people’s examples.

    Which is to say, “sub”.

  9. One thing I’d like to add is that sometimes it’s easier to imagine the soft and hard moves for a cinematic physical combat than for magic. Do a monster’s spells take months of preparation and have epic effects, or do they have the same snap-shot spells available to dungeoneer wizards? Does a monster have to stand there cursing and gesticulating wildly to hex a someone, or can they do it with an idle glance?

    DW magic doesn’t cover these considerations with explicit mechanics for every possible effect, so the GM needs to get a vivid picture of what this caster is like and how this spell will work in the fiction. One wizard’s sleep spell might instantly knock out every sentient creature for miles, no save, and another’s might subdue enemies slowly with drowsiness that the seasoned dungeoneers can fight off with moves.

    In my first session, it would have helped me to picture the mage in action more vividly, before play, and jot down some possible tactics. One doesn’t always have that luxury in Dungeon World, but at least one can learn from failure. 😉 

  10. Getting NPC spellcasters right was the most difficult thing to learn as a GM for me. As somebody said, the key is cinematics.

    In Pathfinder it is all about mechanics. The spell is completely pre determined in terms of numbers and saving rolls. You do the mechanics and the add on the fiction.

    In Dungeon World it is about cinematics. When your wizard attacks, picture him in your mind. What does he do and say as he casts his spell?  Describe it as it happens in your imagination. Then stop just before the full effect of the spell hits, and ask “What do you do?”.  Let the player describe his response cinematically, decide what move it triggers. If he fails, follow through and let the spell take effect. Again the cinematics are more important than the actual mechanics.

    “The rot spell takes effect and you take 1d6 damage”

    VS

    “You skin starts burning. Large blue blisters appear on every exposed body part. You feel things. You feel things crawling in your flesh. The blisters become pustules. You stare in horror at your forearm as one bursts open and a purple worm bursts forth, its scolex red with your blood. Then another. And another from your neck. You fall to the ground. O, and roll 1d6 for damage…” 

  12. I agree with Wynand Louw, but sometimes the soft moves come earlier: “You’re in the tower of a crazy old coot with a dangerous reputation.”  “You find residue of the last group who came here.” “You see a bunch of arcane machinery in his laboratory.” “You find his journal, in which he describes his diabolical experiments.” “You hear someone open the front door downstairs.” In other words, point to a looming threat.

    Letting a powerful wizard get a spell off might always provoke a hard move, not a soft one. Think dangerous!

  15. Defy Danger seems like an appropriate response. But also Counterspell. But I wouldn’t just drop the characters without any chance to fight back. If they miss a roll on the other hand…

Comments are closed.