I am not sure I understand what should I do with the bulleted list of abiliies or aspects within the monster descriptions. Do you have any examples to show?
I am not sure I understand what should I do with the bulleted list of abiliies or aspects within the monster…
I am not sure I understand what should I do with the bulleted list of abiliies or aspects within the monster…
I usually check those when I need ideas for a DM move when a PC gets 6- in a Roll.
When the players roll a 6-, or look to the DM to speak, the DM has the option to paraphrase one of those bulleted Moves and be as mean as they like to the characters.
When the players roll a 7-9, or or look to the DM to speak, the DM has the option to paraphrase one of those bulleted Moves and threaten the characters with something that is happening right now and they’d better respond!
They are moves to be used as Sergio Maximo Jr. says. They may also be used in the event of 7-9 in Hack and Slash, as the attack made against the character.
The bullet list is just moves.
So, you know how GM moves work, right?
When the players look to you to say something, or else they give you an opportunity, you make a move.
Usually this will be “soft”, which is a threat, incoming or approaching thing, etc… whereas if they give you a golden opportunity (missing a roll, ignoring a threat), you do a “hard” move, which will be like an attack or something serious.
So, when you make a move, you can use any GM move, or a dungeon move. But, if a monster is involved, you can also use a monster move.
When you make a monster move, you say what’s happening (well, you do that always), so just saw what the monster does that is that move.
As a concrete example, you have a bulette. This is a burrowing monster with the move “burst from the earth”. So, the players are walking across some plains and you know a bulette lives there.
You tell the player, let’s say his character is “Sir Soandso”, you tell him “Around midday, Sir Soandso, you hear a rumbling coming from below the ground. What do you do?”. This is a soft GM move – “Show signs of an approaching threat.”.
Now, he could do any number of things, like study the sound (probably “discern realities”), see if they know about the sound or the area (maybe “spout lore”?), or so on. But, if they ignore it or if they fail a roll, then you make a hard move.
So, you say to them… “A massive silver-gray, armored beast explodes out of the path you’re walking. Sir Soandso, you’re the closest, and it knocks you to your feet.”.
What you did here, you did the monster move – “burst from the earth”, you made it a solid move (by having the monster come up right under a player, instead of away somewhere), and you followed through with the natural consequences.
Now, you turn to a player, and ask “What do you do?”.
As another example, let’s say later the bulette has managed to get closer to Sir Soandso, and he hasn’t got up yet, you could make a soft move like – “The creature’s mouth is bigger than you, and it’s standing right above you drooling… it looks hungry! What do you do?”. This is “put someone in a spot”.
And then, if he does nothing (unlikely), or misses a roll, you say “Before you know it, he’s grabbed you up in his mouth and started swallowing you whole! Only your lower leg is still outside his mouth, and the smell from his stomach is overpowering… what do you do?”.
Hope this helped some!
Thank you very much, it’s clear now.
Should I use these for failed rolls of every kind (even spout lore) in presence of the monster?
The aspects (I assume you mean the tags) are just narrative touchstones. The bullete has burrowing, the derro has telepathy. All they tell you is, “factor this thing into your narration of the monster”.
Oh, by the way, here is the entry for the bullete (http://book.dwgazetteer.com/monsters_experiments.html)
And a picture (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/MM35_gallery/MM35_PG30.jpg)
Thank you very much, I used a bulette just a week ago (during a FATE game).
Besides, what about those terms like Solitary, Large, Planar, Intelligent, Terrifying, Devious?
Michele Toscan , not necessarily. You pick an appropriate move from the combined list of GM + dungeon + monster and apply it.
So, if a roll is failed, it might be best to use a monster move, but sometimes you will just use a normal GM move.
So an example is in order… let’s say the players are fighting an orc bloodwarrior! Sir Soandso says “I did study orc-slaying in knight academy. I am going to try to figure out what the easiest way to dispatch him is!”.
Unfortunately, Sir Soandso is not very intelligent and fails his roll. You could use an orc bloodwarrior move – “fight with abandon” or “revel in destruction”, but you think it’s more interesting – and dangerous – if Sir Soandso loses his sword (he hasn’t learned to fight unarmed).
So, you say “While you ponder the half-remembered intricacies of orcish society, the warrior smashes your sword hand with his club. He doesn’t do too much damage, but it’s enough to send your sword flying! What do you do?”…
This is the GM move “use up their resources”.
Those are the monsters “moves”. You use them to add adventure to the characters lives any time they player rolls poorly, or they look at you to see what happens next
Example: Lizardman (has the moves “Ambush the unsuspecting” and “Launch an amphibious assault.”)
The characters are wading through a swamp to get to Temple Trythis. they stop to rest (the cleric has used up most her healing spells). The Ranger says he’d like to keep an eye out (Take Watch, rolls an 8).
“Ranger, you can almost see the beauty in this place: the warmth, the stillness, Even those logs drifting towards the shore…until you see that some of those logs have eyes!
Three figures pop out of the water, each has a spear and launches it at the camp(Launch an amphibious assault). Everybody in camp is awake but none of you are prepared for this.
What do you do, and how has this surprise attack left you vulnerable?
Some terms are keywords, so you can look in the monster section for them, so I think “Large” is just that it is about the size of a cart.
For others though, it is just a literal description.
So, solitary means it usually lives and hunts alone, planar means it comes from another plane of existence, intelligent means it’s at least as smart as a human, terrifying means something about it looks very scary, devious means means it is tricky and devious.
Just read them as straight forward language for the most part.
If you walk through the monster creation steps, it shows pretty well what each one relates to.
Thank you very much, I suppose the tags reach, close etc on the weapons are similar. I read the monster creation rules a couple of times but I was always extremely tired and my mind wasn’t really able to absorb the right info 🙂
Yeah, you use reach as a guide to who can affect who.
Someone with a hand weapon will not be able to effectively attack someone with a reach weapon until they get close (for a PC, this is probably defy danger but maybe not; for a monster, this will be a move).
Michele Toscan asked: Should I use these for failed rolls of every kind (even spout lore) in presence of the monster?
My answer is: GM’s Moves are not necessarily related to failed rolls.
They can be it, if you wish so to give narration a better flow.
Ex. of consequential Move.
PC rolls for Hack&Slash, total 6-, GM: “the beast anticipates your attack and its horns disarm you: your sword flies across the room. What do you do?”
Ex. of non-consequential Move.
PC rolls for Hack&Slash, total 6-, GM: “the beast anticipates your attack, and you two are engaged in combat. Neither of you is able to land more than scratches on each other. Meanwhile, you hear a rumbling noise in the distance…”
Let’s say you and your best buddy Avon are Fighting a Blink Dog, right? You’re tough and you’re protecting Avon while he’s trying to work a Ritual to open the Amber Gate to Elfland, so you can rescue Prince Dunwald from the Faerie Queen. Anyway, you’ve got it under control, you’re all set to Hack and Slash this dumb dog, and then you throw a 4. Like a champ.
I’m the GM, so I go “oh, good, I get to mess with you.” and I think to myself that I could just make my Deal Damage move and bite your face, but that’s no fun, so I look at the Blink Dog and see “Give the appearance of being somewhere they’re not” and I say;
“You miss! Your sword sinks into the muck at your feet because wait, where’d the dog go? He was right here but OH SHIT HE’S ON AVON AND HE’S BARKING AND HE’S GONNA BITE AVON’S FACE OFF WHAT DO YOU DO?!”
Monster moves are GM moves you get to make when you have a monster in play, that’s all!
You can also use them whenever you’d normally make a move, like when the PCs look to you to find out what happens.
GM: “You see a pack of greyish dogs, about fifty yards away, coming towards you quickly. What do you do?”
Player: “Oh, they’re a ways off – I keep trying to pick the lock.”
GM: “They’re on you, out of nowhere, like a thunderbolt from hell! How are these dogs so fast?! What do you do?” (making the “Move with amazing speed” move)