Defend move help
Hey community, quick question about how you personally have used the Defend move: is it something that you allow players to take a second to activate and it be ‘Turned on’ while they still act normally?
Such as, a player asked me ‘Can I, like, have a defensive stance active and still have and slash?’
It piqued my mind and it makes narrative sense that some people may want to wantonly rage into combat, while this player was wanting to, moreso, have a cooler head about it.
How would you balance it so that it seems fair and supposed in gameplay? Have you dealt with this or something similar?
I usually take “wanton rage” as the extra damage of 10+ on Hack and Slash, and the other as a more defensive response, but this is an interesting thought.
Yeah, other games, like Beyond the Wall or 13th age have different styles that give bonuses. Eg, aggressive (+2 to hit, -4 AC) or defensive (+2 to AC, -2 to hit) or something like that. Outside of having to narratively support his playing style I just wanted to know if anyone has played with someone who wanted to, in essence, marry the Defense move with other moves.
I know that the Defend options kind of do this, but dealing 1 is definitely not what a player at low levels is going to do with their hold.
I agree with steelsmiter that the choices on H&S are where you get the “defensive stance” part.
Aaron Griffin and steelsmiter can you guys elaborate?
I use it in place of Hack n Slash.
On your move you are either doing the Defend move, or another move. No doubling down.
Andrew Huffaker “taking a defensive stance” when wading into combat means that on a 10+ hack and slash roll you aren’t choosing the extra damage. You’re choosing to avoid the attack and deal your damage.
Than what is the partial success in a 7-9? You choose to deal damage or dodge the monster, not both?
Andrew Huffaker the partial success is you not succeeding as well as you want – your defensive stance sucked
In addition to the above, defend let’s you spend a hold to “Deal damage to the attacker equal to your level”. I’d say the player has to choose which how the defensively they fight and declare one move. Very safe: defend and spend hold to do lvl damage, or H&S without overreaching on a 10+. A defensive H&S would also be reflected in the fiction and perhaps have softer GM responses.
Yeah. Though I wouldn’t use the phrase “defensive Hack & Slash.” That confuses the issue a little. You perform one move at a time. Sometimes they chain together and sometimes effects linger (e.g. +1 forward), but you are never simultaneously performing two moves in any situation I can imagine/recall. In this case, you are either taking the fight to the foe (H&S) or standing in place and defending yourself and/or another person/thing when the foe attacks. You can’t both stand firm (Defend) and step into an attack (H&S) any more than you could Spout Lore and Parley in the same roll.
i dont think weve ever used defend, but if theyre being careful or defensive i usually allow a reactionary defy danger taking 1/2 dmg on a 7-9
I usually ask what they want most. If the primary goal is to not get hurt or protect someone else then Defend, if they want to hurt the bad guy then it’s H&S. Even better is listening when they describe what they are doing in the fiction and telling them what move applies. Several times my players have been thinking H&S when the goal of the action they describe is more in line with Defend. It’s easy to get into the f20 mindset that attacking the bad guy is how you protect your friends/draw the attention.
The names are evocative.
When you hack and slash, hacking and slashing is your target, not getting hit is a bonus. A parry stance would succeed on 7+. Smacking the bad doods would be a 10+.
Deflect attack
> > *When you stand at the ready to deflect an opponent’s attack, roll+DEX. {[…
Great thinking Camilo Suñer, I think you got on the idea that defy danger is basically a different way of looking at an attack or action is even trying to accomplish. All actions are basically a ‘saving throw’ of old
Well… every roll is 2d6+stat. Thinking in terms of saving rolls is a baggage one has to unlearn. There aren’t any powers or abilities. Only actions and reactions that trigger descriptive moves. If your character holds a ritual, but it’s a cow, not much would happen. If they’re a powerful bloodmage, they probably have (and if they don’t, you can easily, and quickly, make one) a ruleset that reads: “*When a corpse basks in moonlight as you bask in its raining blood*…” and whatever follows, happens. There are no fails in Dungeon World; only outcomes.