A question about the Paladin/Cleric/Other classes with healing abilities; how do I handle people who – in a “safe” situation like at the camp – want to repeatedly use their healing abilities to cure the party back to full health? This is my first time GMing DW, so it might not be a problem, but I’m of the impression that there shouldn’t be a roll unless there is some form of danger involved.
I suppose that one way to allow for this is to just make the situation “unsafe” by applying moves on their failures. Thoughts from more experienced GMs?
You are correct, make them roll. The trigger for the move is “when you cast a spell”. No consideration for danger is needed. If/when they blow the roll, then you introduce the danger. Every time they pick up the dice something interesting should happen.
Thanks, makes sense!
Magic is never a safe thing. If they want to be safe so badly, use bandages. How does the Cleric’s god feel about being treated like an on-demand box of band-aids?
Misses on healing spells have led to so many interesting complications in my games (including an invasion of Angels of Law threatening to cleanse the area of all life). After a while your players will think twice before they cast anything 🙂
Peter Johansen And how do that god’s rivals feel about their enemy having such a manifest presence on the material plane? Not great, I’d imagine.
Michael Kailus Oh. My. Goodness. You just blew my mind wide open. I’ve always had a hard time thinking of ways to make failed die rolls interesting when the players are just, say, healing up at camp, and that is fantastic. Thank you.
Kristopher Miller, another way to look at it is to ask, “is there a reason I shouldn’t just let them be healed to full?” ie, what are we risking, here? If their wounds are ordinary, by the rule they recover fully in two regular nights’ sleep anyway. But often just asking that question makes it clear why just hanging around here for a couple of days is a bad idea, and so there you are: that’s what happens when they fail and give you the Golden Opportunity.
(The other answer that comes immediately to mind is that using magic instead of just letting things heal naturally is meddling with powers beyond your ken, and so a failed roll risks Bad Mojo. You can hand out magical debilities, or Quests from the deity, or direct damage to the caster, or just ask the player what they think they’re risking when they go to the well of magic too often. (If necessary, scowl at them until they come up with something not lame.)