Two questions for the tavern today…
Is there a set damage for fire, and the being set on thereof? I was thinking something in the realm of 1d6, but ongoing damage is difficult to know how to do (at least for me) when there isn’t a turn order.
Secondly, is there a system for climbing, swimming, holding your breath, etc? Is it all done with Defy Danger via STR/CON/DEX?
For your second question, if there’s a danger involved, it can be handled with Defy Danger (though I know some tavernites would disagree with me). But you can also handle it with the fiction or with GM moves.
How does the fiction affect the situation?
Here’s my 2 cents.
Cent 1) Is the character wearing something that burns? Are they carrying anything flammable? Roll a Defy Danger (+Dex/Con/etc depending on how they phrase it) to extinguish the fire safely. On a 10+, they succeed. On a 7-9, they choose to either take damage extinguishing it, or they lose the item. On a 6-, the fire spreads! (Edit: to clarify, the damage die # is not interesting. The threat of losing a resource or spreading the fire is the REAL danger. A heroic adventurer won’t just stand there and burn to death, so make it dramatic!)
Cent 2) why is the character climbing/swimming/holding their breath? Are they just doing something mundane? If so, then they succeed. If they are in a dangerous situation, think about what threats they face. Are there any branches that could splinter and break, or any kelp that could entangle them? If the player describes moving quickly to avoid the trap, it’s DD+Dex. If they describe powering through it, it’s DD+Str. If they use their wits to make a snorkel out of a reed, or breathe air from some empty bottles they have in their pack, it’s DD+Int.
Whatever the players do, say “awesome!” and try to see how it matches with the fiction (and use their rolls to introduce complications.)
Hope that helps!
You know, if you can plan ahead of time for the fire, there’s no reason you couldn’t stat it out like a creature. Give it a damage rating, an instinct, a few moves, maybe even a few hitpoints.
Of course, player characters are notorious for setting fires, so you can’t really plan for when it might happen.
Heh, to Chris’ comment: in THAT case, it makes sense to always have fire as a statted entity since things will be lit on fire! 🙂
Depends on how big the fire is. D4 to D12 and everything inbetween should do it. You start with the fiction and name the appropriate die according to the fiction.
For the other stuff: only roll if the pc is under fire or if the stakes are high.
The book lists damage for non-creature harm. I don’t know the page number, but it is in there.
And seriously, best advice I can give is: throw everything you know about “checks” for climbing and swimming and running and jumping and underwater basket weaving out the window right now. In DW, you only ever roll when a move’s trigger, its “if/then” statement, is fulfilled. Climbing isn’t interesting enough, swimming isn’t cool enough — they don’t matter in terms of implementing basic moves unless you’re climbing a rain-slick precipice, or out-swimming a deadly whirlpool.
The rest of the time it is the GM’s job to honestly adjudicate uncertain situations, while treating the characters as badasses. “Hm, can you climb the wall? Its rain slick, been raining for hours, and it’s an old old wall… Oh, you’re the Thief right?? Shit, yes, sorry, you can totally scale it, nimble as can be.”
You should also remember that, even though the Pcs are badasses, it’s still the GM’s job to be honest about the situation, even if its not in the player’s favor. “Hmm, can you swim free of the whirlpool? Well, let’s see, you’re the Fighter and you’ve got killer Strength? That makes sense to me — oh wait! Dude, you totally got thrown overboard in FULL ARMOR, remember? No, sorry, no way, don’t care how strong you are, you’re getting drowned buddy… Unless you’re Defying Danger to get free of the plate mail?”
Found it for ya.
Other sources of damage—like being struck by a chunk of a collapsing tower, or falling into a pit—are left to the GM based on these options:
– It threatens bruises and scrapes at worst: d4 damage
– It’s likely to spill some blood, but nothing horrendous: d6 damage
– It might break some bones: d8 damage
– It could kill a common person: d10 damage
Here’s my go-to custom move for doing crap underwater:
When you take a deep breath and plunge under the waves, hold breath equal to 2 +CON. While you remain underwater, spend 1 breath each time you make a move. If you make a move while out of breath, mark a debility. If you’ve marked all the debilities, take your last breath instead.
It’s a bit meta, but it puts everyone on the same page.
(It’s come up because at least 3 times our artificer’s levitation belt has propelled him face-first in the drink.)
Awesome, thank you all, you were a huge help.
Jeremy, I love the hold breath mechanic, especially since you are LITERALLY holding something. Just had one question about it. I assume by “each time you make a move” is meant by actually having to roll the dice, not your character physically moving? Or is it intentional that a character could only swim an indeterminent distance twice before coming up for air, or taking a debility? Either sounds good, just wanting to make sure I understand the custom move completely.
I mean it as “each time you make a player-facing move.” So normally that’d be the same as rolling 2d6 for a move, but it wouldn’t be when you roll damage and it might trigger on a move that doesn’t involve dice (e.g. the paladin’s detect evil).
Ah ok, very cool thanks. Totally going to use that!
Jeremy Strandberg I was going to dig until I found your move. I remember when you posted that before and it stuck with me.
Josh Coupe my rule is that after being lit on fire, just spending some time putting yourself out negates ongoing damage. Doing anything else (including standing there, thumbs atwiddling) does 1d4 damage, ignores armor. They should always be DOING something in a situation where saving yourself from becoming BBQ is not the immediate priority. Of course, putting out the fire while under attack / racing out of the collapsing tunnel / whatever would require a Defy Danger roll. Stopping, dropping and rolling wouldn’t.
I like Mr Pong’s take on it too though – players are often more invested in their stuff than their character’s flesh. You could hybrid it so that a 1 on damage destroys something instead.
When a hero does something within their abilities then they just do it. No roll. When they do something they can’t do they don’t do it. No roll. When they do something with risk or possible expense, break out the Defy Danger. Swimming across the river? No check. Maybe consequences for getting all wet if it’s cold or they’re carrying papers or soluble materials. Swimming across with hands tied behind their backs? A defy danger check, the type of which would be decided by their description (breaking the bonds, slipping out of them once they’re wet, floating on their back and kicking, etc)
But if you see it coming from far enough away and feel froggy slap in a custom move for it instead! They’re fun!
Looking back at this fire thing, I have to be perfectly frank: being on fire doing HP damage is patently ridiculous. You’re on fire. I mean best case scenario is you try to put it out, in which case you ought to knock off HP from rolling around, expending energy, and your luck running low. If things go worse, and the fire actually gets to your skin and you’re actively cooking? Hp damage is the least of your worries, and you ought to be doling ought scorched flesh, melted sinew, limbs that can’t be used, going into shock, smoke inhalation and many other moves beyond dealing damage.
Sean Fager I dunno… “stop drop and roll” is like the poster child of Defy Danger to me.
Alfred Rudzki I disagree. You could say the same sort of thing about any sort of harm. A sahuagin chomps your arm open? Yeah, the hp damage is the least of your worries. But the hp damage is a big part of it.
I think it’s safe to assume that most GMs use the die result on a damage roll as a cue for the fictional description. Roll a 1 or 2 and I’m describing singed flesh. Roll a 7 or 8 and I’m gonna describe some pretty nasty stuff. But the role gives me a guideline (and permission) above and beyond mere tags.
My general approach for “ongoing” harm is:
– you’re defying danger pretty much no matter what you do
– if you make a move that doesn’t directly address the “ongoing” harm, you take damage(and are risk of escalating badness)
– if you act to address the ongoing harm, HP damage is a likely part of any 7-9 result you get.
Jeremy Strandberg but I wouldnt say that about any kind of harm. The book itself has a definition of Hp that isn’t “you’re getting fucked up.” Fire is above and beyond that.
The only definition-like spots I can find for HP and damage in the core text are these, and they don’t seem to be saying that:
Chapter 1 > Playing the Game > Harm and Healing > Hit Points:
A character’s HP is a measure of their stamina, endurance, and health. More HP means the character can fight longer and endure more trauma before facing Death’s cold stare.
and Chapter 1 > Playing the Game > Harm and Healing > Damage (last paragraph):
HP loss is often only part of the effect. If the harm is generalized, like falling into a pit, losing the HP is probably all there is to it. When the harm is specific, like an orc pulling your arm from its socket, HP should be part of the effect but not the entirety of it. The bigger issue is dealing with the newly busted arm: how do you swing a sword or cast a spell? Likewise having your head chopped off is not HP damage, it’s just you being dead.
“You’re on fire” is pretty generalized damaged, much closer to falling in a pit than “the ogre tears your arm off.”
Damage and HP (and occasionally debilities) is what the game gives us to determine just how bad an injury is without having to delve into the details. The nature of the attack informs the fiction, but so does the amount.
You’re free to disagree with me, and that’s solid! But as far as I’m concerned, just like being decapitated isn’t HP damage (its “you die”), being set on fire is above and beyond dealing HP harm.