Getting ready for first DW game and have decent understanding of rules and flow of play from watching and listening to pod cast. One thing I’m having issues with is a monster/villain that has spells, I come from D&D and there is no spell list. Do they cast whatever I want and just do whatever the damage is? Can I hold person? Make grease? Etc etc.
Getting ready for first DW game and have decent understanding of rules and flow of play from watching and listening…
Getting ready for first DW game and have decent understanding of rules and flow of play from watching and listening…
Yep!☺
Spellcasters typically have Moves which read like, “Cast a spell that devastates” or something. Use it!
No more memorizing everything a spell can do.
You’ve got a few choices. The simplest is, like Yochai Gal said, to just write monster move or two to represent their spells.
Personally, I like to go with something somewhat specific and flavorful. “Unleash a spell of fiery doom” gives you a little more to work with than just “cast a spell of destruction.” “Ensnare their will with a mesmerizing stare and honeyed words” is easier to use in play than “cast a mind control spell.”
For each such move, I’d recommend thinking about what it might look like in play, both as a softer move and as a harder move.
A more detailed approach would be to actually write out the names of maybe 2-5 specific spells, maybe with a sentence about what they do (if it’s not obvious). An advantage here is that you’re “seeding” treasure… after they see the pyromancer cast Seven Tongues of Radiant Fire a couple times, the Wizard’s gonna be jonesing to find this guy’s spell book.
Farthest down that road, you end up writing actual custom moves for some of their magic. This might be best for things that are tricky or just uncomfortable to handle through the standard GM move framework. Mind control and petrification jump to mind as the kind of magic it’s worth doing this for.
Ok thanks for the advice
One fun option is to turn to your Wizard and say “The magus is moving his hands in a characteristic pattern and you totally recognize the spell he’s about to cast. You know it’s really bad. What does it do?” After he answers: “Okay, he’s casting this; what do you want to do about it?”
I like my NPC spell casters to have a quick theme. Last night the players encountered a priest with spell casting. She worships a god of pilgrimage, so
1. She has access to an egg shaped protection spell, which is a silver/white color, but is fragile.
2. She can hand out blessings and gifts from her god which reward travelers with healing while traveling, and bonuses for completing actions favorable to her diety.
There are no stats, and no spells, but if there’s something she can do within those fictional limits, she likely can do them.
But if it’s a damage spell it just dies whatever the NPC damage is right?
Usually, yeah. With whatever tags and fictional effects are appropriate for the spell.
E.g. a lich’s damage entry is “magical force d10+3 damage, ignores armor”. If the lich casts “a perfected spell of death or destruction,” then I’d happily add on messy descriptions like…
“Fighter, you’re wracked with searing pain, like nothing you’ve ever felt before… like being dipped in lava… you actually see the skin on your arms start to blister and char! Take 1d10+3 damage that ignores armor. You still up? Okay, cool, Cleric, you see the Fighter convulse and get hit with a sickly sweet whiff of cooking meat, and the lich is turning it’s pinprick glowing eyes on you, it raises a hand starts making a gesture, what do you do?”
I love it, good stuff