The Hart’s Tine
A single prong of what appears to be well worn deer antler. Long as a dagger and thick as your two fingers, the horn fits easily and comfortably in your fist.
When you drive the Hart’s Tine into the eye of an enemy, they are irrevocably slain. Then roll +nothing. On a 10+, choose one, and on a 7-9, choose two.
– You also die, your soul utterly destroyed;
– Your foe’s death begins the End of Days;
– The Hart’s Tine is irrevocably shattered, it’s magic forever lost.
On a miss, all three.
AKA “Just how badly do you want to kill the Big Bad?”
Damn that’s vicious. And maybe too vicious. Cool as HELL, but I don’t think I’d let my players in insta-kill my campaign-finale-boss.
Yup. Pretty much Mark Weis. 😉
Well, the character still has to get the horn into their target’s eye Brian Holland. Which, depending on the creature, is much easier said than done. 😉
Chris Stone-Bush, that’s true BUT (and I’m not arguing your point, I’m just throwing out some discussion), the final battle is going to be hard fought anyway. The fiction of any final battle can fill pages of text, I just think this item (which IS Hella Awesome) forces the fiction in one direction… stab him in the eye. Also, it’s kind of rewarding success with pain (although fictionally I understand it’s a sacrifice). Just my two cents…
No worries Brian Holland. I’m always up for civil discussion. 🙂
It is a “how bad do you want to win?” item, but that’s entirely by design. It was inspired by Norse mythology: Freyr fights Sutr during Ragnarök, but knows he’ll lose as he doesn’t have his magic sword. He still jams a deer horn in the fire giant’s eye, killing him, but dying in the process. Sutr’s fires still destroy the world, cause hey, it’s Ragnarök and everything is destined to die.
This is what happens when I listen to Amon Amarth at work. 😉
I love Norse Mythology, and in a campaign set in that type of world I can totally see that being an item the players could possess!
On my drive to work I had other thoughts. In a non-Norse world, I still wouldn’t let my players possess this item, but I can see it being the centerpiece of a campaign. It’s the One Ring. Forces of evil are looking for it to destroy the world while your PC’s are trying to destroy it before that happens. Or you’re running an evil campaign and your PC’s are trying to find it to destroy the world, while the enemies are the forces of good trying to prevent that.
I like it.
“Hey [No name peasant], you want to make a name for yourself? Here, take this and get close to the big baddy. Like real close. Be his friend if you have to. Oh, and remember to jam it into his eye…Yes his eye…..sure you can, i believe in you. We ALL believe in you. Now hurry on your way.”
I like it, except the first option. It’s a good end-of-campaign item, though.
Well, it’s not like anyone’s meant to survive Ragnarök Aaron Griffin. 😉
It could totally be a McGuffin Brian Holland. But I tend to think those don’t actually needs rules. The story is nearly always about getting or stopping someone else from getting the McGuffin. Not using it.
You could hand it off to a nobody Robert Doe. That wouldn’t prevent its effects though.
Chris Stone-Bush, that’s true, A McGuffin doesn’t really need rules. And the Lord of the Rings WAS about destroying the ring rather than letting it fall into Sauron’s hands… BUT Frodo DID put the ring on in the end. If I were to run it I would still give it it’s rules, and then try to find ways to corrupt a character into using it himself rather than destroying it (or vice-versa if running an evil campaign). I have a couple really good players who absolutely get that it’s all about the fiction, and wouldn’t hesitate to let their characters get corrupted in such a way if it made a more interesting story. Thanks for posting this, I’m getting some interesting ideas just from the discussion!!
I’d personally change the first result to make the player have to roll last breath, because the opportunity to have deals with death is much more interesting than player death.
I like this item!
The more I think about this item, the more I like it. It shows off what makes Dungeon World different from most fantasy role playing games. It speaks directly to the fiction and hard choices rather than the “game” and the notion that this is just another “module” to level up that character.
Thanks Logan Howard. I try very hard to make sure the few bits and bobs I create are both fiction based and fictionally interesting. The idea of getting gear/skills/abilities just to be mechanically better is not my idea of fun.