A Bag of Runes:
A bag with mystical runes engraved on pieces of bone on one side. The owner may cast the rune into the air three times a day and ask a yes or no question. The runes will answer yes by all returning to earth on the rune side and no by all returning to earth on the blank side.
From the Neil Gaiman film Stardust.
Why make it three times a day? What changes? DW doesn’t really work with the times/day format…
When making camp would be better you think? Or three casts per each game session? Just trying to put a reasonable, simple power limit.
Why not? Any more than that, and the results are mixed. We must have limits, and these sound fine.
Another way to go would be roll whenever casting the runes:
On a +10 the runes answer three questions
On a 7+ the runes answer three question and inflict 1d6 damage on the caster
On a 6 or less the runes inflict 1d6 damage and provide no answers
What about Gregor’s runecaster move from Sagas? Its pretty sweet.
Bonecaster: When you roll the runecarved bones to read the future, roll +WIS. On 10+ answer 3 questions about
it, on 7-9 answer 1, the MC answers the rest.:
• who does it concern or involve?
• how will it occur?
• what place does it involve?
• what will happen?
That item works too, I was just aiming for something a little less powerful.
Maybe something like this: when you take some time to prepare your rune set, roll +wis. On a 10+, hold 3. On a 7-9,hold 2.
At any time, you can throw your runes and Spend your hold, one on one, to ask one of the following questions about something:
(use the questions from the sagas move)
Or you can just as easily have the move use the hold only to ask yes/no questions.
Really cool man.
My take would be:
When you throw the runes into the air you may ask a simple yes or no question and receive an honest answer. When you do you anger the Norns, matriarchs of destiny, and take -1 forward.
The runes will answer yes by all returning to earth on the rune side and no by all returning to earth on the blank side.
Continued use of the runes will bring you ruin, but just how many times you can afford to use them is unknown.
Do we get the word ruin from rune by any chance?
The best movie.
When you kill someone of royal birth, his blood is blue ...
When a star gives you her heart, you stay forever young…
i think Wynand is also a Gaiman fan.
Tony Ferron Ruin is from Latin/French roots and Rune from Old English/Norse, with originally different meanings.
I do hear lots of Americans pronounce them the same, confusingly.
Thanks Matt Horam. I think I pronounce the word correctly, I just wondered if they had a base.
NP! Google presents etymology results as cards if you include etymology in your search terms. Very handy.