Hey people. A little Druid thing here.
I’d like to know If anyone in this community has ever come up with a shapeshifting algorithm, like the one we have to create monsters as a GM on the fly. Creating the druid forms during play as the player describes it sometimes ends up taking too much time (or results in a very weird set of moves). At any rate, thanks in advance for your time.
#subscribe
You mean moves? Give them what they want, give them something obvious, give them a twist. I’ll let someone else unpack that (probably Tim Franzke honestly, he knows what I mean) because its late here.
You shouldn’t need much more than that — the Druid uses all the other things from their sheet, as normal.
I can’t take credit it for it, but I think Kaspar(?) posted this advice(ish) before for quick and flavorful move generation:
1) let the player pick a trait they want and base a move on it,
2) you pick a move and
3) create a move with a twist.
I.E. Dog: Bloodhound scent to track and follow prey, Howl to call canines to the area and Disarming Loyalty (pant and look cute&innocent to get someone to pet you)
Also, it’s fine to crowdsource the animal form moves. Let everyone at the table suggest them.
You can often guess what the druid wants from a particular form, that’s a good first move. If I don’t know, I’ll ask. If I think I need more and nothing springs to mind, I second John’s suggestion: ask your table, they’re a great source of cool ideas.
The resulting moves are often weird taken as a whole. They’re a weird slice of the creature. I think it’s fine, and it’s not going to last that long (and you aren’t stuck with your decisions if they pick the same form in the future).
Clinton Pong i think Adam introduced that idea first
At our table the druid always works quite well.
The druid states he wants to be a specific animal. He becomes one. Then he says what he does (Wether that spends a hold or not) . If it is crazy and counter to the fiction the table vetoes him. If it is crazy but cool there are high fives all around.
Not everything in DW needs a mechanical limit or guide: The group’s feel for what is feasible in their specific fictional world is enough to keep the druid in line.
I believe the druid works fine as is: Let the druid say what he does, let the table veto it if it’s not good, and in a dispute the GM rules what happens.
Giving any more power to the Druid… Sound a like a great idea.
Druids can be a little tricky to manage, because a really creative player can bypass things that other characters are supposed to be good at.
Clinton Pong Adam or Sage introduced the idea, but those dog moves would be my handiwork 😉
If it would slow things down too much to hash out the actual moves on the spot, sometimes I’ll just say, “Okay, you’re a weasel, go,” and let the Druid do what she wants. Then, each time she does something weaselly that creates a clear advantage or changes the situation significantly, I’ll tell her to spend a hold. So the moves are not clearly defined at the outset, but everyone gets an idea of what kind of move might use up a hold.
Thank you all, I’ll try to take all this to the table and work it out 😀