Complete newbie GM question here regarding items and custom moves in DW:
When players first encounter a new magical item how much do you reveal about it to them. Do you have them try and figure it out by using it? Do you just hand them the information? Do you have them spout lore? Take it to a specialist?
I have the same question for a location that has a custom move associated with it. For example, do you just tell them outright what the possible outcomes are involving the roll? Do you hint at what it might do?
Any help would be appreciated.
If someone might have knowledge about it, they can Spout Lore. If no one might have knowledge about it, they would either seek out knowledge, or experiment with it. Or not—maybe they don’t want to know!
Who might have knowledge about it is usually not a big deal. “Thief, have you heard about this goblet before?” Or, “Bard, do you know any lore about this item?” You can also ask them more specific leading questions to flesh out things you haven’t spelled out in your prep. “The shield is notched with marks from an ancient battle. Fighter, what monster did it hold at bay, according to legend?”
Classes like the Bard and Wizard might seem to lend themselves to more lore-spouting than others. But anyone can trigger the move, and it’s just a matter of what kind of knowledge they have.
Sometimes you will know stuff based on your prep and moves that might foreclose Spouting Lore about an item. Suppose there’s a witch who just today invented a new kind of brew, and she didn’t tell anyone her secrets about it. That might be a situation where the characters have no knowledge to consult about it. Take a sip!
Re: anyone can Spout Lore: definitely! I have a barbarian with his -1 in INT, and he LOVES rolling it, mostly to get the miss XP, but being chaotic, he doesn’t mind additional complications. I don’t have a pat solution (so commenting sort or to keep up), but I would point out that the Wizard has an advanced move that allows them to identify items, so just giving players full info would be something any wizard-type would want to know, so they don’t “waste” one of their advanced moves.
Good point. I would add, the Wizard’s Enchanter move requires “time and safety”, it delivers accurate information about what the item does, and there is no chance of missing. Spout Lore delivers whatever rumors, legends, or half-baked notions the character may have learned, and there’s a good chance of stirring up trouble with a miss.
I think you’ve answered my question, which was even a more basic mechanical question. When characters encounter an item, location, etc. you don’t share with the player the description and particulars (i.e. tags, what happens when you roll, etc.) with them. Instead it is a mystery and you let the fiction reveal anything important about it.
I follow this advice from Play Unsafe by Graham W in any RPG: “Be boring”, and “be obvious”.
As the GM, it’s your job to “describe the immediate situation around the players at all times”, and that means saying what’s obvious.
That doesn’t mean you don’t reveal the item’s description, tags, and other particulars, it’s just that you do so as it becomes obvious.
GM: “Thief, there’s a shaft of light shining through a chink in the ceiling, and it falls on a goblet on the dusty table. Dust is floating in the air.”
Thief: “I pick it up.”
GM: “Removing it from the shaft of light, you see it’s surrounded by a cold, bluish aura. Inside, a little bit of brown liquid swishes as the goblet moves.”
Thief: “Have I heard about this before?”
GM: “I don’t know. If you’re consulting your knowledge, Spout Lore.”