I tried to make a “Druid version” of the carouse move. I really just rewrote the trigger. It’s not a carouse move per se, but a move that has a similar effect.
The 6- wording feels like it could be more pointed? relevant?
Comments?
When you walk among the flock, herd or pride of the wild, native animals as one of them, and learn what they know, tell us how long time it takes and roll+how many weeks you spend. (Max +3)
*On a 10+ choose 3. *On a 7-9 choose 1. *On a miss, you still choose 1, but it gets really out of hand (the gm will say how).
-You befriend a useful npc/animal.
-You gain useful information.
-You learn of an opportunity.
-You are not lost in your animal shape.
I don’t know if it’s… Using enough of the druid’s resources, I guess, though I am not sure what they could be. Time is wasted anyway, maybe… Have the druid just roll for his druid shape and then depending on how many holds he gets, that’s how many things s/he can choose from the list instead of the usual druid shape moves?
Emir Pasanovic That’s certainly a decent way of handling it without creating a new move. Having said that, I kind of like the idea of writing a class-based carouse. Regarding, “lost in your animal shape.” I assume that becomes a story hook. The other players have to trap him and help him come to his senses, or the druid struggles until he comes out of it, or you do a solo adventure with the druid as an animal? Otherwise that’s just kind of straight up character death sentence.
Emir Pasanovic Yeah, the resource, I struggled with that. But the Druid is a playbook that manages fabulously on close to no resources, so what can you use?
I wonder too if “weeks” makes the move unusable. In DW I’ve rarely had weeks to spend in-game. But as it is now the move could function as a basic love letter move for druids.
Another option could be to just say “you leave something behind in the wild, tell us what and roll+WIS”. That way it is open to interpretation.
Ray Otus I’m thinking “lost in your animal shape” does not mean lost forever. It was just the most obvious consequence I could think of.
And yeah, obviously a story hook opportunity.
On the class-based carouse idea, were you thinking a more thorough rewrite of carouse? Or was that just a comment on what Emir said?
Morten Halvorsen Yeah, more of a reaction to Emir’a “why not use the existing move?” thought.
Basically, I would just push you to make each option more flavorful. I may take a crack at it myself later when my day settles down.
Don’t worry about the two week time frame. It’s a special move meant to encapsulate downtime. Having said that I would be more vague. Like “When you spend a significant amount of time…” or maybe “a few days to a few weeks.”
Morten Halvorsen, how about this:
When you spend days or even weeks in animal form you heal all wounds and debilities, Roll+WIS.
On a 10+ choose 3
On a 7-9 choose 2
-You befriend a legendary figure among the animal tribes, perhaps also someone in changed form.
-You learn of a terrible lurking threat that only animals in the area could know about.
-You learn of a great resource or treasure (valuable to humanoids, not animals) that only animals could find.
-You don’t suffer a permanent scar or injury from a ferocious scrap in the fight for survival.
-You are not lost in your animal shape for a time. The GM will state one or more conditions for your return.
Ray Otus Hmmm… yeah I like it. It is kind of a philosophical shift tough. My move leaves very much up to interpretation, but yours is very evocative. Yours could be great as an adventure starter for a druid & ranger duo.
Morten Halvorsen yes. The two “you learn” ones are just “get a useful bit of info” but I like to help GMs who might struggle with coming up with different ideas. It’s not meant to be prescriptive. Maybe it should stay generic and these would work as examples.
Ray Otus leaving it generic is why I suggested keeping the wild shapes option instead of a completely new move. So she turns into a bear, she has moves:
* Find honey.
* Maul them like they’re Leo DiCaprio.
* Smarter than the average bear.
She’ll stay that way for a longer time? Cool, existing list of moves
expands by a “permanent list” for druidic carouse and however many holds she has (let’s say 3) she spends them like this:
* Befriends the bear Baloo
* Brings him to honey
* Together they find out a plot to kill off all bees and stop the production of plums in this area.
Not all at once but as their interactions progress, you have a mini adventure and as she turns back into human shape on that last spent hold, they say goodbye until next time.
Morten Halvorsen i like the move you originally posted. But I dislike it for the time involved too. Another option is to make the trigger less loaded… Like: If it were just “follow the flock, herd, or pride and learn what they know” that also says you’ve got to be in position to do it. That could take weeks (and perhaps you say that in the subtext, since this seems harder than finding out what a person knows.. but I digress) but.. it could also be shorter (or far longer!) depending on the circumstances.
To play up the intent, you might offer a new kind of stat (their “friendship level” to the animals, so to speak). A rising and falling variable -3 to +3 reflecting their actual closeness. to avoid just.. using +Charisma, but also avoid this time measurement Thing
That’s an interesting thought Morten Halvorsen. And I agree that the way it’s written sounds more suited for a Love Letter, with the weeks requirement and all.
I consider Carouse to be roughly equivalent to BitD’s Vice in terms of fictional justification. DW seems to assume the PCs get so stressed while dungeoneering that they just can’t avoid throwing wild parties when in town.
An alternative way of handling a druid’s Carouse could be:
When you discard the shackles of civilization to run free in the wild, tell the GM how far do you push and roll:
+1 if you discard your civilized equipment before you go.
+1 if you permanently return a valued possession to nature, yours or someone else’s.
+1 if you free a captive brother as well.
…on a 10+ choose 3, on a 7-9 choose 1:
a. You befriend a useful wild spirit
b. You learn something that only an animal could have discovered
c. You learn a forgotten secret of the wilderness
d. You don’t savagely strike a symbol of civilization
Stefano Casella great stuff!
Stefano Casella OMG! I hate you now! Or, more precisely, that was amazing! I can’t add anything to that. You did it! That’s the move. It has to be just like that. (And I envy and admire you).
I’m glad you appreciated 😀
Stefano Casella is spot on. The Original Carouse-move is to emulate genré and the original focus on treasure, while both rewarding for amassing and releaving the characters of coin.
This sounds like a lovely love letter-idea, and I can clearly see a campaign were wilderness is favoured over inns.
Michael Esperum Yeah, with the trigger changed, you loose the whole relation to treasure and what the carouse move emulates. But the end effect is similar.
That reminds me, we can’t call this move Carouse for druids. It needs it’s own name.
Any suggestions?
‘Call of the Wild’ comes to mind. ‘Wisdom of the Herd/Flock’ might also work?
As far as it looking like a love letter move, I feel my original wording with it taking weeks, that’s true. But with Stefano Casella version it is much more useable and easier to get into play.
Would I be drummed out of the Tavern if I suggested the move name of “Let It Go”? 🙂
Robert Rendell as in the song from Frozen?
Morten Halvorsen yes, that’s the association I thought people might go “argh” at 🙂
Although in my defence, I thought it might be a good name for the move, and only then thought of the song. You’re letting go of your human (/elf/halfling/what have you) side and running free in the wild. It also had associations with releasing a creature into the wild.
But then along came the associations from Frozen. Although, since that’s a song about letting your power go free and revelling in it, it’s not inappropriate for this move either.
Robert Rendell It’s not great either though, is it?
Elsa is hardly a druid.
I am a fan of Jack London, but Don the Mantle of the Wild or Let Go of the Matnle of Civilisation could both work.
I think the trigger has to be semented in the fiction before one changes to many moves, and I also wonder why Druids can’t carouse at the roadside inn like the Paladin or the Ranger?
To talk of hypetetical techniqalities the trigger should include the shedding of sivilisation, perhaps by returning coin (or other metal) to the mountains or letting go of the trappings of civilisation in other ways.
I think we know they can’t trigger it in the inn because that’s not going to be “the wild” but I agree for some fictional text to accompany it, if for nothing else than to ensure it stays close to the intent.
How about Answer The Call?
Also, for some reason I’m feeling like there should be one less “gather info” option and one that relates to healing HP/Debilities or maybe not taking damage, to represent the fact that the Druid is taking care of they’re own nature.
You learn a forgotten secret of the wilderness.+ You heal a debility of your choice
I am skeptical about it replacing Carouse, Mark Cleveland Massengale, but I understand how you can’t answer it in the inn.
Morten Halvorsen should all playbooks have their own Carouse-move?
Michael Esperum Your skepticism has been duly documented and noted by now.
Chill! This is just a theoretical and fun (hopefully) exercise.
Morten Halvorsen I am on the theoretical and hypotethical level, too. It’s fun, and good to have in the Arsenal.
I must admit that this was something that would have been cool to experience in a game, maybe as a Love Letter for a Druid-player who’d lost a session or two?
I really like that coin and treasure is part of DW so I think this should be in addition to Carouse, but then again I never got to experience getting loot in games myself so I might be thorouughly biased.
I think I’d like 6- options of Nature giving demands of the Druid.