The level 5 wizard in my party is evil and tries to overcome a rival spell caster. How would you handle a magic duel? I´m thinking about a custom move, something where the wizard gets holds to spend on deflecting spells or creating an advantage. Some kind of hold economy that gives the fight a strategic element like in the duels of Saruman v Gandalf or Voldemort v Dumbledore.
Thanks in advance!
The Wizard already has the Spell Defense move, so they should be able to deflect incoming attacks already. Rather than make a custom move, I think I would handle this with Discern Realities and Defy Danger.
What Chris Stone-Bush says… Unless… There are traditional dueling wizards in the universe (ask the wizard player) in which you may probably make a custom move using defy danger as a guideline (in this case I would ask if the more intelligent wizard always has the upper hand or something else).
I’m thinking Vancian duels here just before HP ones.
Another possibility is to say that the duel is in a magical mindscape (or alternate reality plane) and handle it as a normal fight in fiction but switching Dex with Wis and Str with Int and allowing to change the reality by Defying danger. Or a custom move or two.
I would love to see a brief write-up example of a duel using Discern Realities and Defy Danger, Chris Stone-Bush. I can’t quite picture it.
Just have the druid sting the enemy spell caster while they are in the middle of casting a spell. Thats my group’s favorite way to deal with them. 🙂
In all seriousness I’ll assume you want a special move for this. Mine would look like this:
When you enter into a magical duel with another spell caster, roll+Spell-casting Stat. On a 10+, you handily defeat your opponent. On a 7-9, you defeat them, but the battle took its toll on you, choose one:
• You lose a spell that the GM chooses until the next time you prepare spells.
• You were injured in the duel. (Take the enemy’s damage)
• You are left weakened. (Take the debility of your spell-casting stat. If you have already taken this debility, you are rendered unconscious until it is removed)
Scott Selvidge Thanks, Scott, but that move would abstract the duel too much for my taste. I am looking for something that emulates the back and forth between spellcasters and provides the player with some element of strategy. I seem to recall an arm wrestling custom move where holds were used to a similar effect.
To be honest, I’d just play it out in the fiction and roll moves when apropriate, but here is something you could try:
When you engage in the epic dual between rivals Roll+Bond. 10+ Hold 3. 7-9 Hold 2 and the rival makes a move immediately.
Spend holds to
-> Cast an epic spell of terrifying power. Gain 1 Advatage
-> Deflect an incomeing spell.
-> Concentrate your powers to gain +1 forward to the Dual
When you have 3 Advatage, you have won the dual and can decide your rivals fate.
I really like the options posed by Scott Selvidge and Robert Doe. Here’s my take:
When you enter into a spellcasting duel and exchange magical energies with a single opponent, the GM will set the Stakes and you Roll +STAT. On a hit, arcane forces overwhelm your opponent; on a 7-9 gain 1 Hold; on a 10+ you may gain an additional 1 Hold if you choose one complication from the list below. On a miss, do not gain XP; you lose 1 Hold and the GM chooses one complication from the list below.
* your defenses crack, suffer 1d6 damage
* you are disrupted, suffer -1 forward
* you are weakened, suffer a debility
When you have gained Hold equal to the Stakes, you have won the duel and decide your opponents fate. When you have lost Hold equal to the Stakes, you have lost the duel; gain 1XP and the GM will describe the consequences.
Maybe something like this?
It might be a too complex and it might be too difficult to come up with cool spell interactions on the fly (also this move is pretty much categorically less powerful than the Wizard’s Counterspell advanced move. Oh well)
IMPROVISED COUNTER
When you stake one of your prepared spells to counter an enemy’s spell during an epic battle of wizardry, say what spell you stake and roll +INT:
✴On a 7+, you mitigate, turn back, or modify the effect of the enemy spell by way of the spell you stake: A fireball countered by a create water spell might be transmuted to a harmless splash of water. A plane shift spell countered by a visions through time spell might cause you to be shifted 1 minute into the past instead. The GM might tell you that you will only be able to perform a lesser or temporary version of the effect, though at a minimum you will always be able to at least counter the enemy spell so that it does not effect you.
✴On a 10+, choose one side-effect of your improvised spell usage. ✴On a 7-9, you choose one and the GM chooses one:
– The enemy is able to mitigate or modify one of your ongoing spell effects too.
– The strain causes you to take -1 ongoing to Improvised Counter until you prepare spells again.
– Spell interference causes an unexpected and dangerous side-effect, the GM will tell you what.
When you counter this way, you always forget the staked spell.
Great moves guys, I will ask the player if he wants a more narrative approach (a la The Raven) with just one roll and dramatic narration or a more gamey approach.