So, questions for the Tavern.
Do people allow wizards to learn spells outside of those gained from level advancement? Why or why not?
Currently we’re looking at allowing it through general RP or just a ritual where he throws out the requirements (taking the GM munchies or some such)?
Any thoughts on the matter. Thanks!
Only wizards have access to a benefit derived from out-of-game behavior?
That was more a wacky example of a requirement. I’m talking about the actual Ritual move where the GM can set requirements for you to do something.
Yeah, I played a Wizard in a game, where we had a sort of gentleman’s agreement that if I did a ritual (as long as I had the material/place of power/we were really loose about this part) I could write down my intended effect and what the GM determined costs were.
If I decided to do that same ritual later, I could.
usually I’d allow it with a ritual that had the “expensive” requirement: 100 coin on expensive inks and such to get the spell into your book.
You could also learn from studying other people’s spellbooks etc. I figure
One of the treasure table results is “everything needed to learn a new spell.” First time that comes up in your game, it’s going to set fictional precedence for (at least one way) how spells can be learned. Is the treasure a series of runes inscribed into an ancient wonder? That implies that the wizard (or whoever) can reverse engineer spells from those runes. And once they do it once, there’s a good chance they’ll start seeking out such runes to add to their collection.
The Fighter with Blacksmith can go hunting for magical weapons to nom on, so sure, why not? Player-created goals are a good thing, especially if you can hide those goals behind interesting obstacles.
I let my wizards do whatever they want if they prepare but i make sure that if they are not using a spell from the playbook that they are risking horrible awful soul crushing calamity by rolling some terrifying charts.
you have to roll a bunch of times and it can take a minuet but it is worth it.These charts are scary, many results permanently mame, kill or disfigure characters. there is a decent chance nothing will happen but the fear players develop over the unknown lets you as a GM allow your wizards lots of freedom. they feel like they can do anything… because they can but if they risk a roll on these charts they could be spelling their own doom. it is always fun to watch a wizard try to choose between playing by the rules or risking it all. in effect wizards in my games think more about what they could do, then actually do it. so we all have the freedom of DW and get to eat it too.
http://www.lastgaspgrimoire.com/do-not-take-me-for-some-turner-of-cheap-tricks/
if the wizard uses his magic willy nilly. like by enchanting things without thinking or attempting a ritual away from a place of power then he rolls on this chart. if he messes with magic he knows nothing about? rolls on this chart. if he beaks a magic item with his magic? rolls on this chart. invents or combines or alters an existing spell. he rolls on this chart. if he decides to memorize and use a spell from his playbook above his lvl.. i let him do it and then he rolls on this chart.
But he never rolls on that chart if he used a spell from his playbook as written. ever. sometimes i will say that rolling on these charts is the cost for a ritual but mostly i run rituals as written in the book.
The charts are for giving weight to magic without making it a dense part of playing the game. i really like this freaky and mind altering way of seeing magic. thematically it is really strong and suits the “play to find out what happens” aspect of DW.
this is my soulution to your problem
Zachary Groombridge I don’t really like that idea, personally. Fiddly rules aside, it lets magic users take the spotlight more often by (for want of a better term) breaking the rules on their character sheet–and the “downside” is that they get all these extra rules that apply only to them, which is just more spotlight time. Bad consequences are part of the spotlight too.
I feel like you’re trying to balance power, but power isn’t really important in DW. Spotlight time is.
James Etheridge it comes down to personal taste, how you DM and the themes that are present in your Dungeon World.
thing is this seres of charts see play with all classes. when the theif messes with strange magic stuff in the witches hut or when the cleric exercises a demon or when the fighter gets blasted by a chaos warlock. or when the ranger finds a strange potion and drinks it.
the “extra rules” that i give wizards can be summarized as – if you want to use magic in a way not listed in your playbook then you may but it will be dangerous.
the players dont have this chart, i do, if they do something with magic that there are no rules for then i roll 3d6 and see what kinda freaky stuff happens. simple.
as for spotlight it dosnt change things much. i think in my current campaign of 3 months the wizard has rolled on this chart once and the theif has three times. i had a session of adventure come out of the table as the party when on a quest to cure the curse that had been placed on the wizard.
So… the wizard only rolled once and got the entire next campaign arc to center on them as a result? 😛
Sorry, I know that sounds combative, which isn’t really my intent. If it’s something that’s available for all the players that really does make it a lot better. I just feel like the wizard probably has more control over when and how it happens, which means they have more capacity to engage with the fiction than the other players do, even if this player in particular didn’t do that.
If it works for your table, great. I personally wouldn’t use it, though.
Zachary Groombridge thank you for that, that is bad to the bone. Swipe! 😉
Thanks for the answers everybody! Got so many spells to get and so few levels to get them. This way I can bring ideas to the game.
Jeremy Strandberg
I’m the GM in question. I’m inclined to provide for a way, but i’m leery about house-ruling; there are specific references to learning new spells, specifically tied to leveling. I was hoping to find any other mention of a new way, and you’ve pointed me at the exact place i should have looked!
We ended our last session with the Wizard in question resting in the camp of slaughtered foes, including an arcanist of some sort, and having just enough XP to level. I’d already mentioned to him that when he chooses his spell, he can rummage through the arcanist’s stuff to “discover” his new power, just to provide for it fictionally.
I like the idea of incorporating discovery of new spells in the game, and am happy to see it accounted for in treasure rolls! Didn’t want to ignorantly give Wizard too much of an edge over other playbooks, who presumably cannot “discover” a move that normally requires leveling.
thanks much.
Michael Kennedy
Bad news – The Wizard has mud-butt:
Book-learning causes Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Maybe it’s tied to all the gluton in your spell book.
When you venture more than a hundred feet from the lavatory, you take -1 forward to cast spells.
Actually they can. Advancement is descriptive and descriptive. If you go to the ancient sword-master and train for a month and a day you could simply get a move from that.
Same for getting divine spell casting from saving a deity.
Tim Franzke
Good point. I was viewing compendium class-type stuff as something to take at leveling. But awarding them fictionally is reasonable as well.
i love the wide-open spaces of DW; still learning to take off the blinders i’ve worn through my RPG history.
Zachary Groombridge I am picturing your cleric making the demon run laps and doing jumping jacks until it begs for mercy! 😉