Does anyone have suggestions for either of the following moves/systems? I’m running a homebrew Arabian Nights setting and both of these would be killer to improve the thematic feel of the setting.
1. A “seller” equivalent of Supply. The party is based (for now) in the largest city of the region, which I have established as the preeminent trade hub for thousands of miles in any direction (including ocean trade with distant lands). They’ve found some ancient coinage which naturally seems (to me) more valuable than its direct coin worth IF they can find a reputable, interested, wealthy collector/historian/etc. I’ve already got some ideas on this front, but I’d love any advice people have.
2. Reputation systems/moves. I want this game to have a political angle. Being able to reward/trip up with reputation changes, both with individuals and organizations, would be a great way to show the complex web of allegiances present in the city. I’m just not sure how to translate that into concrete, move/system-based meaning.
Thanks for reading and any tips you might have!
Coinage should be easy enough, you just call it Dukat and make it worth 10 coin instead of 5, for example. Since it’s worth only in specific situations (with specific people) it gains worth only when it’s sold for regular coins or used to buy specific items only those people can procure.
I’m not sure about your second question, you have to give us more info. I would like to hear other suggestions, but it seems like these would be GM moves, such as:
HEART OF THE PARTY
When you enter a ball room, roll+CHA; on 10+, choose 2; on 7-9, choose 1:
Waiters are always around you and the group of admirers you attract.
The musicians start performing the traditional song of your people and you join them impressing the host.
Hold the host’s attention as you move through the ballroom meeting influential people.
Emir Pasanovic Much appreciated, though for the “find a buyer” thing I was hoping for something that could be invoked for future instances and things that aren’t necessarily coin, I was just giving the ancient coins as the current example. So, say the party finds a case of Jinnistani wine. They could sell it at the price of regular fine wine, but it would be far better to find someone who wants the unique (possibly magical) qualities of Jinn-made wine–worth much more. That seems like just the kind of thing that would trigger a move, e.g. “When you go looking for a buyer for something particularly unusual or exotic…”
I’d probably keep it in the realm of GM moves, personally, but I could totally see it codified sorta like Ritual:
When you go looking for a buyer for something particularly unusual or exotic, tell the GM what you’re trying to sell. The GM will give you at least one of these conditions:
● First you must _____
● You’ll have to go somewhere else to find the buyer
● You’ll need help from ____
● The buyer won’t be paying full price
● Yourself and your allies will be exposed to danger, attention, or cost
The GM may say that some of the conditions are mutually exclusive: “You’ll need help from Zamir to find a proper buyer in this town, otherwise you’ll only find small fish who won’t pay nearly what the Jinnistani wine is worth.”
Sounds like it might also be connected with potential dangers (ambitious organizations first come to mind) and then you can use that danger’s impulse as the only way to infiltrate or ingratiate the PCs with them. In your example, a religious sect might need that wine and will pay anything to get it for their next ritual. You don’t have to make a move for it at all, just use particularly rare item(s) or powers as parts of your front.
Nikolaj Munk Excellent, I would never have thought of that.
Emir Pasanovic Good point. Part of my problem is I’m still pretty new to DMing (having done only like 6 sessions before this), AND most of my group is super new to tabletop anything (all of them new to Dungeon World). My main reason for wanting player-facing moves, or at least codified stuff they could see/understand, was so they had motive to ‘think outside the box’ as it were. As both I and they get more comfortable with DW, all of this will I’m sure come more naturally and no/little codification will be needed.
Ezekiel Raiden That’s a totally fair concern. I’m kind of the same; I know that I can do basically anything I want to, and that can be kind of daunting so I often gravitate to the codified stuff.
I think a “Here’s stuff you might want to try out” list would work kind of similarly. Throw stuff like “get in a bar fight” and “steal a spellbook for the wizard” in there and you’ll get those wheels a-churnin in their heads.
There are a few compendium classes in Class Warfare (see the “Adventurer” section) that provide moves for running a shop/business. Might be a good place to start.
For relationships/reputation, maybe check out the Green Law of Varkith. The whole setting hinges on your “guild” and its relationships with other guilds in the city. I recall finding it a bit fiddly for my tastes, but it’s a starting point.
Ezekiel Raiden looks like you might be overpreparing though, so just make sure not to make moves that already can be solved with basic moves. If someone wants something a PC has, that’s simply Parley unless the PC doesn’t want to part with it of course. Good luck and break a leg!