Question on Spout Lore
So my last session of DW this came up; the players happen across a cavern of mushrooms. One of the players wanted to see if the mushrooms had an unique properties so I asked what in the characters past would be helpful in identifying the mushrooms and roll spout lore.
Another player thought I shouldn’t ask for a source of knowledge. Her reason is because the sentence that explains the gamemaster has a right to ask comes directly after the sentence explaining the result of s partial success. She therefore belives my right to ask is linked to a partial success only.
My reading is I have the right to ask at any time for any roll. This divided up the table with no clear cut answer. What say you?
Gawd, do you have one of those “but the GM can’t…” players?
Do whatever is coolest, following the rule of “be a fan of the PCs”.
In this case, asking the player to invent part of their PC’s story is awesome. Shutting it down? That’s a dick move.
You are correct, the player is mistaken.
It’s the GMs job to ask questions. In fact it is one of the GM principles.
Explain that it isn’t a challenge to the player, but an opportunity to expand the character’s background. Maybe she used to work on a dwarven mushroom farm as a kid, maybe she collected mushrooms with a crazy Aunt?
You have the right as DM to ask anyone anything anytime and use the answers. That’s a cool part of the game.
Alternatively, ask the complaining player “Does it matter?”
As far as I’m concerned the GM has the right to ask a player any question at any time in order to add to the story. Now, in regards to your question specifically, the statement about asking where the knowledge came from is separate from any information regarding roll outcomes. If it were part of the 7-9 result, it would be formatted as a bullet marked line underneath the 7-9 information. Notice also that it says the GM ~might~ ask from where the knowledge comes. That means the GM doesn’t always have to ask but may do so regardless of the result.
Yeah, I agree with all of the above. You should articulate to the player that this is an opportunity, not a punishment. She has the chance to create something new about her character and probably the world.
The wording in the actual Spout Lore move sounds antagonistic, maybe that’s why she sees it as punitive, but it’s really not.
(The GM might ask you “How do you know this?” Tell them the truth, now.) – the “now” seems very demanding… but it’s more about the imperative. Perhaps your player feels she is revealing something sensitive to the other players’ characters? It’s not stated that she’s revealing this information to the group, only to the players. Their characters don’t get to automatically know these potential secrets (if that’s the problem).
Thanks for the feedback. The only reason I second guessed myself was because I was the only one at the table that seemed certian of the rule. Oddly enough the player that suggested I misinterpreted the rules wasn’t the one spouting lore. Also odd was the fact I’ve always played spout lore this way and it was never an issue before. Just wanted to reassure myself I was playing it right. Thanks for the insight.