Are there favorite examples of in-game fights besides the 16-hp Dragon?
I’m looking to spice up our melees a bit and my struggle is to come up with clever moves when a character roles sub-10 beyond the standard damage roll or ‘you lose your sword!’ stuff. Looking for inspiring examples of combat play.
Ugh, I had a great one with some goblins, a 6 on a discern realities, which I rolled into a revelation that the goblins worshipped a purple worm, that led into a battle with the purple worm, wherein the druid was swallowed by said worm, and then the party having to fight their way out of the worm’s lair while covered in sticky purple worm eggs… But it was almost a year ago, so I’ve forgotten the details.
Short version: when someone rolls a fail in my game, everyone at the table should feel a cold wind blowing, because things are about to get MUCH worse.
Using monster moves isn’t enough?
Some things,
Hit and run tactics
Smoke grenades
Sudden mutations
Grapple (not many can fight really effective at hand range)
Just push them aside and charge the Mage
Show the magic properties of their armor
Activate a magic charm
Shoot them with a hidden derringer crossbow
Nail them to the ground
Throw them through a thin wall
Grab them and jump down the balcony
Push them away and keep them at distance again with your spiked chain
Lure them into a trap
Actually, Tim, that’s what I mean- cool examples of move use. Most moves are (intentionally) pretty broad, so seeing stuff like 16HPD is great to get a sense of how people are applying them.
Illusion magic
Magic spells in general that change the fiction in a big way.
Move the fight to a moving location (like a water mill wheel)
Hurt their hirelings.
Knock them into each other.
Let the monster die to reveal something worse that was hiding inside them.
Mock them terribly.
Had a player lose an eye, another lost an arm. No HP damage from that move. In one fight a player lost all his weapons and ended up with a broken arm. Lose of ammo and pots is another fun one.
http://www.boredandsorcery.com/rpg/the-scariest-pudding/
This one is so excellent I translated for the french-speaking community.
From our games:
Knocked off a cliff.
Activated a trap.
Fell into a pit (2′ of water covered the floor).
Smashed a support column.
Threw a PC at another PC.
Creature cast a spell.
Potion in pouch destroyed.
Tripped on recently severed head.
Reopened an old wound.
Swallowed some of enemy’s blood.
Follow-through hit ally.
Dropped map in the swamp.
Shield shattered.
Enemy wizard’s wand breaks & explodes.
Floorboard rotten, one leg pinned at thigh.
Disarmed and attacked with own weapon.
Hair bunt off (head or beard).
Clothing ripped off (Captain Kirk move).
Lantern dropped (fire or lighting issues).
Arm/hand/foot caught in creature’s mouth.
Environmental effect; hit by lightning, wave crashes into hero, etc.
Bookshelf/wardrobe knocked onto hero.
Backpack/pouch/belt ripped off/breaks.
Creature utilizes nearby object; closes a door, flips over a table for cover.
Hero maneuvered into a disadvantageous position for a future move.
Enemy does a followup maneuver; breath weapon, shield bash, tail sweep.
Just a few for starters.
John Lewis Wow. When can I join a game you are G-Emming?
Swallowed some of the enemy’s blood is genius John Lewis
I’d have my players in fits with that one with them waiting for consequences that might never come.
I love to induce high levels of paranoia!
Wynand Louw I will be running DW sessions at DunDraCon in San Ramon, California next month if your in the area.
Hehehe, I’m in Cape Town, Darkest Africa….