I’m a little new to making magical items and would really appreciate some insight as to how this sounds mechanically.
The Shoes of the Leaping Man
These shoes are embedded with the silhouette of a man in mid jump holding some sort of mysterious orb. These shoes allow the wearer to jump up to 100 vertical feet. When attempting to do so, roll+DEX. *On a 10+ you jump to your target with sure footing. *On a 7-9 choose one: your jump is too high, land with a thud and take 1d4 damage OR your jump is a little short, it’s up to you to find a handhold.
Thanks!
Two notes:
– Specifying “100 vertical feet” is a little specific in a game where nothing else really is. Use some flourid prose that let’s the players interpret specifics.
– The move itself is a little weak. In fact, I’d much rather do a Defy Danger there as it gives the GM more leeway to make interesting consequences. If you do that, you don’t even need to specify mechanics – “these boots let you jump good” and done. If jumping is dangerous, then you roll Defy Danger. If jumping at an orc with a dagger, you roll Hack and Slash, etc
Building on what Aaron Griffin said, Defy Danger is such a powerful Basic Move it should be used when you don’t have results that are heavily based on the fiction of the move/item.
The Shoes of the Leaping Man sounds really specific, like something tales would be told about. The description of a man in mid jump holding a mysterious orb (although how you could determine it’s mysterious if it’s just a silhouette is a different discussion) also sounds specific or legend-worthy. Jumping high or falling short is rather mundane for an item of such note.
Maybe the shoes have to find you worthy so you need to roll + WIS to get a good jump. If he shoes don’t find you worthy you are unable to jump as the shoes keep you rooted to the ground. Decide the “myth” of the shoes, and then make the moves based on that myth, rather than the jump.
Thanks, those are both really good ideas! I had in mind if they rolled 7-9 to have them proceed to do a defy danger check if they chose the latter of the two options, but skipping that step and going right into the defy danger roll is way better.
John Hendren In my opinion you should never “chain” rolls because really you can’t “chain” moves (in Dungeon World a roll is called only if it is triggered by a move) so, yes, going directly to defy danger is a better option.
Shoes of the Bokeer
When you manipulate the orange ball on the tongue of this strange pair of footwear you feel them filling with a small amount of air, roll +STR.
On a 10+, nothing happens. On a 7-9, nothing happens. On a 6-, nothing happens.