Hi, guys.
I’m a first time GM about to run a Dungeon World campaign, and I’d like to get some feedback on my custom moves. In the fiction, hundreds of strange devices were constructed using powerful cursed blood. This leads them to be magical artifacts of great power at great cost. Hopefully I’ve got the risk/reward mechanics down to reinforce that idea. Obviously, these artifacts will have to be suitably powerful to offset the negatives.
Cursed Artifact:
If the player interacts with or stares at a cursed artifact, roll +Wis
On a 10+, you resist being cursed and discern the Artifact’s purpose
On a 7-9, choose one;
You resist being cursed
You discern the Artifact’s purpose
On a -6, you are cursed
Here are some example curses;
Night Terrors
Your natural sleep is pervaded by horrors, roll +Con
On a 10+, you resist the terrors and sleep soundly
On a 7-9, choose one;
You sleep soundly at a cost
Your sleep is half as effective (heal 25% of max hp instead of 50%)
On a -6, you don’t sleep at all
Sadist
One per day, you feel the need to inflict pain, roll +Wis
On a 10+, you resist the urge
On a 7-9, choose one;
You resist at a cost
You hurt yourself.
On a -6, you hurt the closest person, friend or foe
Here is an example artifact;
Sharpened Collar Bone
Hold your palm flat and whisper…
Once per day, you can ask the bone a question and it will point you in the direction of one existing answer.
Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Liam Hayes I don’t think you need any feedback, your players are going to have a great time.
Love “Night Terrors.” May steal that as a Location Move or something.
Awesome. Cheers guys. 🙂
I imagine some of the costs for Night Terrors would be alcohol or getting somebody to knock you out.
Has me thinking about an “exhaustion” mechanic for DW.. something that could get worse with multiple bad nights… Start with something gentle like “-1 forward,” and let them work toward debilities in WIS, INT, DEX, CON… hee hee! 😉
Great curses!
Michael Greene, what you want is probably a countdown clock like Apocalypse World.
As a side note, I’m looking for a move that will allow players to loot and scavenge a place for food, medicine or misc items. Anything like that?
When you take time to search a location, roll+Wis. On a 10+, you find a valuable clue, piece of non-obvious useful information, or item of value. On a 7–9, the GM will offer reward at a price, such as expenditure of adventuring gear, 1d4 or 1d6 damage in cuts and scrapes, or future disadvantage. (The player and GM should narrate how this cost occurs during the search.) On failure, the GM’s options for the hard move include triggering a trap or other environmental hazard.
That’s great. Thanks.
colin roald Gonna steal that!