Poll 2 of 2: Debilities
How long do debilities last in your game?
For reference, the official rules are:
“Debilities are harder to heal than HP. Some high level magic can do it, sure, but your best bet is getting somewhere safe and spending a few days in a soft, warm bed. Of course, debilities are both descriptive and prescriptive: if something happens that would remove a debility, that debility is gone.”
And the Recover move:
“When you do nothing but rest in comfort and safety after a day of rest you recover all your HP. After three days of rest you remove one debility of your choice. If you’re under the care of a healer (magical or otherwise) you heal a debility for every two days of rest instead.”
Plus, a healing potion: “When you drink an entire healing potion, heal yourself of 10 damage or remove one debility, your choice.”
All the above? But especially 1 and 3 for serious ones and 2 for minor ones. Major/minor being largely a fictional thing. [Settled on 3 as being the most comprehensive though.]
#3, with the understanding that sometimes that means #1 or #2.
For me, it’s Rules As Written, but that includes “until you treat/heal a debility’s cause”.
I choose “we dont use debilities at all”
I had to go with 4 because of “scarred”. I just don´t see how taking a potion or resting would affect how people react to the disfigurement – In my reading the PCs get used to their appearance over time until they become as confident in social interactions as before.
I feel that “scarred” isn’t a good name for the CHA debility… it’s a bit too specific to the cause (caused by injury) while not actually matching exactly to what is intended (I think the idea is that your face is scarred, but scars can occur anywhere on the body, and there are plenty of places for scars which wouldn’t necessarily have a social impact).
IMHO “disfigured” would be better, because it can cover the same sorts of injuries that might cause “scarred”, but would also cover debilities caused by other things… e.g. from the discussion about starvation, someone might be disfigured by looking gaunt and starved, and from Jeremy’s custom drowning move someone might become disfigured through bloodshot eyes from coughing up water or whatever. “Disfigured” also clearly indicates that the debility has messed with your features in an unnerving fashion.
I’m also not to keen on “scarred” as a description of the Charisma debility.
In Dungeon World, Charisma is explicitly defined (through the moves) as “charm and social grace” and the ability to manipulate others.
To me, that’s a lot more about personal magnetism and dominance than physical beauty. Sure someone who is “scarred” (or more aptly “disfigured”, as Robert Rendell put it) might suffer a weakness in confidence for a time. But they might not. I’ve sure met people with speech impediments or shocking facial injuries who still have powerful personalities.
I’d put the debility for Charisma as something related to personality, like “meek”, “servile”, “dominated”, or “unconvincing”. Someone might be “unconvincing” because they are stuttering or because people are shocked by a disfigurement, but there could be any number of other factors. Maybe they’re voice is hoarse, or their mind is clouded with a spell.
Dishonored would work as a CHA debility too. I don’t see the labels as prescriptive, only examples.
Yeah, the problem with debilities is the names. I have a hard time justifying someone staying “stunned” for long periods of time.
Mike Pureka Right. If it doesn’t make sense, then it shouldn’t be. If someone is stunned and the source of the thing that stunned them is removed, that’s probably going to be short-lived. As soon as they take 10 minutes to rest and get their bearings, they are probably over it. Right? Let the ficiton rule, I say. I think the book is just saying debilities aren’t healed as simply as HP. It’s not just a mechanical kind of healing. It’s listing things that might work, not giving you an exhaustive/prescriptive set of things that will remove a debility. You have to directly counteract the debility. You get poisoned? Take an antitoxin or otherwise purge your system and wait it out. Have your arm broken? Set it and wait a month. Or get some special magical healing.