Looking for a Wizardry contest type move – I got an initial something, but I would like to compare. Mine is clearly based on the Navigate Labyrinth one. As a side question how are you handling longer wits contest in a DW game.
Anyway here is what I got. Please be gentle, first move and all.
When you engage in a contest of wizardry against another spellcaster, roll + int, this is where all these years of training pay off. Describe what your spells do to impress the onlookers.
10+: Hold 2
7-9: Hold 1 and choose one of the list below
5-6: lose 1 hold and choose two of the list below
4-: lose all hold and you get hit by all the effect at once.
– Your concentration is strained- take -1 forward
– Your mind is stretched to its limit, take 1d4 damage
– You are stunned- everything becomes fuzzy
If you manage to get 3 holds you win the contest, the opposing spellcaster defeated, the GM will tell you how she takes the defeat.
At any time, you can spend 1 hold to make a flashy effect, getting the crowd behind you (get +1 forward)
You can concede at anytime. How you react to it, is up to you.
That’s interesting. Using the hold to win is a kind of neat idea.
If I’m The Wizard and I’m doing a wizardry battle against an NPC, does the NPC also roll?
The structure of 4-, 5-6, 7-9, 10+ is not standard. Maybe consider doing:
6-, 7-9, 10-11, 12+ — that’s a much more conventional ways of doing it.
I’m personally not a fan of having multiple roles to accomplish an objective — in this case, winning the spellcasting contest.
In that vein, I might do: Roll +int
On 10+, you win!
on a 7-9, you are evenly matched. To win, you’ll need to fight dirty, anger your opponent, or fall unconscious afterwards.
On a 6-, either you are defeat, or you fight dirty, anger your opponent, AND fall unconscious afterwards.
Maybe even a 12+ line: You overcome your opponents greatest spells, and make it look easy.
I liked the Underdark themed Acquisitions Incorporated episode where the Wizard player has a Mage-Hand-arm-wrestling-competition with another Wizard NPC.
I like your mechanics for the move – Hold can stretch out the drama and let other players Interfere. It would be good if it could be themed around something other than the climactic battle in the film Scanners, or Harry Potter’s wand-off with Voldemort. Those fights just seem like one person is trying to out-constipate the other.
Stretching out the drama is one of my intentions here. I like the 12+, it makes the Mage look badass.
I will think at creating more fiction around the move results, from your comments this is what I think I was missing. Thanks guys
(Edit) NPCs do not roll, all player driven. The NPC does not accumulate hold, therefore the players stays in until they win or had enough