So I have a barbarian in the party and I’m struggling to find questions to ask her that will add to the world as it is, because the barbarians thing is that they don’t really belong in that world, that they come from somewhere else.
Also her appetites are Mortal Pleasures, and Pure Destruction. What kind of things would allow her to roll the dice in pursuit of these because pure destruction is interesting, I’ve ruled that I don’t think killing people is exactly that so I didn’t have her roll it for that but I could be wrong.
Ask the barbarian what here is different from back home — then you get details about here, and about back home.
Ask questions that reflect her interpretation of the local social order. “You see people doing thing x, how was it done at home and what do you think about the difference.”
Social institutions can totally be the objects of pure destruction. Think of the old tasmanian devil cartoons. If she takes the direct path from here to there, and to hell with the consequences for anything in between, that can be pure destruction. Mortal pleasures, I’d let her claim those goals, let her tell you what pleasures she is pursuing that. (Like most of DW, you can’t go too wrong by shoving the work off on the player)
Then play up the fish out of water aspect of it.
What have you heard of these strange customs? What is different about how they treat their animals? What pleasures have you heard of in this city?
A lot of hooks can be found in cultural misunderstandings.
I would say that killing people for no apparent reason would qualify as pure destruction. Would also have serious consequences, but that’s what makes the game fun!
Ask them why X is true in their culture. Like why do they eat their dead and fear old women.
Michael Phillips I think it started as a joke but now seems to be part of her character but Mortal pleasures seem to be exactly what you think of…hot women and men.
I would generally allow killing someone to count as pure destruction, if done viciously and enjoyably. Especially if the player wants to play it that way. Since I’m a fan of the characters, I’d generally let the player dictate when they’re pursuing their appetites.
I think you need to sit with the player and come to an agreement about the destruction thing. Barbarians have other moves that allow them to take +s and xp for sheerly killing someone, plus the leveling move already takes into account fighting a notable enemy. I’ve noticed the Barbarian in my party will just be a mountain of +s for every melee, and rack up major XP compared to other players. I’m thinking about how to avoid melee to counteract this.
As for questions… we’ve had success with “Why have you never travelled to X place before?”, “How did you get your weapon?”, “What is a family structure like in your country?” Let your other players ask their burning questions too.
Ok so had a chat to the player we are both unsure of the pre destruction thing. She has an idea of what her charaxter is…likes fighting but wants it to be fair but unsure of which appetite to go with.
I think Pure Destruction should be fine. If she goes out of her way to fight to the death, then she’s seeking Pure Destruction. The slight bump in rolling power (an average of +1 per roll) is balanced by the extra hazard of rolling smaller on the d8 than on the d6, as well as the purely fiction-driven issues inherent in killing as many people as possible.