The Conjuror, focusing on creating items and creatures from nothing but your magic and imagination.
This is my very first DW class, so please help refine it.
The Conjuror, focusing on creating items and creatures from nothing but your magic and imagination.
The Conjuror, focusing on creating items and creatures from nothing but your magic and imagination.
Sub. Instinctively I say the creations are too powerful. Almost like a normal character, also with ALL the moves at +CHA (and obviously a Conjuror at the 3rd level will get +3 CHA…). Compare that with the evocated creatures of the Wizard.
Very interesting idea, but there’s a few problems.
1.) Leader seems like the obviously best Specialization… I’d recommend it give you control over 2 Conjurations, not 5. 5 is a HUGE difference.
2.) EVERYTHING using +CHA is disgusting. Also, I’m not sure what the flavor is that makes conjuring CHA, and spellcasting INT – aren’t they two different applications of the same magical power? Perhaps Conjuring and Spellcasting require INT, but actually ordering your Conjuration around requires CHA.
3.) When you’re playing with magic, you’re always going to want a ‘safety valve’ – and the best valve is a GM move. ‘Elemental Mastery’ is a great reference for magical moves (thanks, Tony Scinta, for pointing that out to me)! Notice that Elemental Mastery will always have a drawback of some sort… this is because you can literally ask of it ANYTHING. So the consequences will have to scale to that request, and if the GM cannot have a say in those consequences, then there’s no possibility of scaling easily.
The same problem applies to Conjuration. Notice, you can just try to summon a Godzilla made out of fire to take out your foes. Sure, it’ll only have 10-15 HP or whatever, but it’s still Godzilla sized and made of fire!! That’s why you always need a ‘safety valve’ – when someone makes an exorbitant Conjuration, the GM will have to balance that out.
TL;DR: “On a 10+, choose one. On a 7-9, choose two.”
4.) This one’s just a suggestion, not an actual criticism, but I recommend you have the miss be dire, just like Elemental Mastery’s is. One, it’ll help balance the power level of conjurations, but two, it also makes for more fun stories.
5.) Two of your downside options are REALLY mechanical, which just kinda takes the fun out of it. I recommend generalizing them to be more fictive – instead of specifying what ‘imperfect’ means, leave that open! Instead of saying what ‘drawing the magic from yourself’ is, allow the GM or player to interpret that. Much more fun, and opens up a lot more possibilities.
6.) Conjurations should probably only have one skill. Being able to summon a hireling who doesn’t grumble at any time is already strong, no need to buff it up further.
7.) Keeping around a conjuration for 3 days seems like a lot – you’re not gonna be rolling to make conjurations that often. I recommend they stick around for a day or so.
8.) See, you got the ‘safety valve’ right on Spell Casting! This one’s a VERY minor nitpick – it’s “then choose one”, not “the choose one”. (:
9.) Your Enchanter is awesome! – but it’s also really different from the normal enchanter, so I recommend you change up the name a bit to indicate that. Also, I really wish you had a version of ‘Enchanter’s Soul’ here – where the conjuration gets an amplified effect the first time it uses that enchantment. That’d be even awesomer!
10.) “Multiclass Act” is hilarious. Gotta use that from now on.
11.) “Spellweaving” and “Perfectly Made” both share the same problem – they remove even MORE ‘safety valves’. Characters succeeding with ease isn’t actually very fun – it’s only the complications and tribulations that characters overcome that make a game fun. “It’s more fun to slay the dragon than to be the dragon”, you know?
12.) “Take Me Instead” could have a simpler wording – just say “When you are about to take lethal damage”.
13.) I was okay with “Dual Specialization”, because it opens you up a little bit. But “Master Conjuror” just completely undermines the point of the choice at the beginning. I think it’s best if the class doesn’t have access to the same things every single time, because that encourages more unique archetypes of Conjuror, and helps with ‘replayability’, you know? It also just feels weird that what seems like an important choice ends up irrelevant.
14.) Eldritch Ward is very narrow, but in the correct situation, it’s very strong. I think this is gonna be unfun, because it just vetos a GM move, which are so important to escalation of the scene and keeping the action going. Preventing the GM from acting basically causes a scene to stagnate.
15.) “Master of Conjuration” and “Master Conjuror” are way too similar in name. 😛
15.) “Restore” seems a little OP.
Trevor Cashmore Great words here. Thank you! The advanced moves were really hard for me. I never honestly wanted to put in that much attention to the scope of this class. That’s why they are kinda… ad hoc.
I like the idea of making it more open (the safety valves). Coming from D&D I sometimes find it hard to leave things open. I kept trying to find a way to make spell casting even more painful to use, like forcing a stun or debility upon use.
Trevor Cashmore Oh also, the +CHA for conjuring: I’ve always thought commanding the presence of a creature required CHA over INT, personally. Even summoning the thing, though honestly INT could work also. I originally had INT there.
As I’m going for the goal of tiniest nitpick here: Bonds should be worded as if the character was saying it e.g. “I” not “you” 😛
Updated the playbook to v1.1 with lots of updates and corrections.
I’m having a DW night right now where one player is this.
He has taken the Elsaport move.
He has taken the body parts of dead bodies as per “If you have a part of them.” and is teleporting dead bodies on top of their friends.
He then teleported with intent to ride the dead body down to the ground. Accidentally switching places with it.
I just felt you should know the fuckery that comes with the class you invented.
Thanks.
Rob Cain I think you have the wrong class 😀 Don’t know what you’re talking about.
I know what I’m talking about. He summoned Moltres and burned a city.
I don’t even know anymore.
Conjure a creature is a little OP.
Rob Cain If he’s doing things he shouldn’t be doing then you need to reign him in. The power isn’t meant to summon huge terrible monsters, and it’s written down as such.
Make his head exploded if he summons something he shouldn’t. You’re the DM
It doesn’t specify too much. And the way he’s done it makes sense.
It’s not a 100% serious game but still!
Rob Cain Then I would love to hear more about what he’s doing and how he’s doing it. I thought I went over all the loopholes internally, but he’s not supposed to be able to destroy an entire city, unless you allow him.
He set a big fire with all his holds, the fire spread.
My group has problems with fire.
Rob Cain This class doesn’t give you any hold. If he’s doing something you don’t like, talk to him about it. It’s a dual system: everyone has to have fun.