WizardWeek – Page 2 – Dungeon World Tavern G+ Archives

#WizardWeek

Originally shared by Ben Wray

#WizardWeek

Chronomancy. The Death Art. Far Summoning. Refraction.

Forbidden Magic.

As dangerous as it is tantalizing. As tantalizing as it is dangerous.

Let’s discuss.

Ideas for working within the system as is: When a wizard demonstrates mastery of forbidden magic, don’t forget to roll Outstanding Warrants whenever they return to said steading. However, this also counts as a useful reputation towards recruiting hirelings, for certain definitions of “useful”. (Depends on the type of hireling you’re trying to recruit, of course.)

Also, Rituals can always include a “You and your allies will risk the danger of anyone finding out that you’re performing this sort of magic” requirement at the GM’s option, as an easy way to flag the fact that they’re Dabbling In Things Of Which Their Peers Would Not Approve.

And with that in mind, a miniCompendium Class to get the ball rolling:

MASTER OF THE UNSPEAKABLE

When you take up the practice of the forbidden arts, the following count as class moves for you:

SINISTER MIEN: When you use the threat, or promise, of applying your forbidden magics as leverage to parley, roll with INT instead of CHA.

SHORT CUTS: When you perform a ritual, you may replace any requirement with “You and your allies will risk the danger of anyone finding out that you’re performing this sort of magic.” If you already have this requirement, you’re compounding forbidden means onto forbidden ends, and are risking a very high chance of a very strong reaction indeed.

FRIENDS IN LOW PLACES: When you use your reputation as a master of the forbidden arts to help recruit hirelings, you may automatically set their loyalty at +3 (fanatically loyal if a bit bumbling) or -2 (skilled but treacherous) before the GM sets their skills.

Hey! For #wizardweek I’m going to share a preview of my take on magic users: The Alchemist.

I’ve been working on this class on-and-off for a few months now and it’s just-about finished playtesting, almost ready for sale! The class is focused around brewing potions and then using them to do crazy things.

It works via a tag system that lets players describe what effects the potions have. For example, an Alchemist with a freezing potion could use Belch to breathe out an ice-bridge, Transform to make the alchemist undetectable to a heat-seeking monster or able to freeze creatures on touch, or might hold a far away enemy frozen in place with Voodoo.

The (20+) advanced moves are mainly based around grabbing more tags (e.g. making potions from monster bits gives you one of the monster’s tags) and using potions in increasingly crazy ways. E.g. Voodoo, where you down a potion, choose an enemy, and the effects hit them. And you too, if you’re unlucky! Of course, no Alchemist is complete without the ability to transmute, fooling merchants with gold coins that revert back to copper or turning their enemies into lead statues .

New Wizard Level 6-10 Move

ARCANE SPLICE

When you cast a spell,and splice another spell you have prepared onto it, granting your initial spell some of its properties roll Cast a Spell as normal.

On a hit you can add one effect of the spliced spell to the initial spell.

On a 10+ choose 1 from the 7-9 list.

On a 7-9 you forget the spliced spell and then choose 1 from the list.

#WizardWeek

A little something different for #WizardWeek – a new Hireling!

A little something different for #WizardWeek – a new Hireling!

CULTIST

Cults used to be quite common throughout Darkmoor, but since the fall of Mordred, many of the Old Gods and unknowable entities worshipped by cultists have been outlawed, or at least fallen into disrepute. The resulting overflow of aimless cultists has lead to an explosion of (often bizarre) start-up cults, each in direct competition with the next for followers, funds, and prestige.

With novel cults come unfamiliar rules and tenets, which can be all too confusing for the newly initiated. Many cultists are expelled almost as soon as they join a cult, and are ever on the search for a clan that will finally accept them. These individuals usually have to resort to hiring on as dungeon guides, arcane assistants, cheap labour, and as general minions.

Minion Lore – When a cultist aids you to discern realities in a dungeon or other locale that employs cultists, you may opt to take +1 from their aid.

Ritual Attendant – Before attempting to cast a ritual, you may make use of the Cultist’s aid to remove It will require a lot of money OR It’s going to take days/weeks/months from the list of conditions the GM may choose from. Whether or not the ritual is successfully completed, reduce this skill by -1. Once it reaches zero, the cultist is of no more use in ritual casting.

Ritual Observations #WizardWeek

Ritual is not only one of the strongest tools the wizard has, it’s also the GMs best friend!

What can be easy or hardly done with a ritual colors your world in a grand way. If lot’s of effects can be done just by spending money and time then this is saying something about your world and about magic. It will feel more like (for example) the forgotten Realms.

If your rituals involve a lot of pact making and blood-sacrifice then your magic suddenly is much darker, more like in Conan.

So is this only your decision as a GM? I hope not.

When the Wizard sits down for his or her first ritual then ask a lot of questions about it. Where does he know this ritual from? Was it taught to him/her or is it improvised? Does it involve a lot of candles and crystals or is it about aligning triangles and ley lines?

Use these factors to determine how hard a ritual should be and what kind of requirements are matching.

How hard should a ritual be? This depends on your world. The number of requirements alone will impact how often ritual is used and also how common rituals are in your Dungeon World.

Anyway; if you really don’t like a particular ritual because of its long-term-consequences then always consider that it can be erratic or not long lasting. Allow your wizards to do amazing things with magic. That is how you are a fan of them.

Tip for you Wizard Players: if you want to do a particular ritual in the dungeon; ask before what kind of requirements this will have. You are THE Wizard – you should have a pretty good idea. When you want to do a really big effect it will be it’s own quest to get the ingredients etc. If you know before you need them then you actually have the option of going to get them. It also gives the GM some time to think about what this will mean for the world.

Also, don’t be a jerk about it. Consider the other players at your table and don’t take away all their fun by only ever doing big rituals that solve everything (as if the GM would let you…). If you do then involve everyone in the progress. Get their help, make a plan on what everyones task is etc.

#WizardWeek

Level 2-5 Wizard Move:

ANTIMAGIC FIELD

When you channel one of your spells into an antimagic zone

choose 1 of your spells and roll+INT.

On a hit you create a zone of antimagic, as big as a small room, in which no spell of

the channeled spells type (Evocation, Illusion, Fire etc.) can be cast.

On a 10+ choose 1, on a 7-9 choose 2.

– The zone lasts only for a short moment

– You lose the channeled spell

– The antimagic messes up your own spellcasting abilities, take -1 forward to your next spell

Wizards channel magic through their soul, like light through a lens; focusing and directing energy.

In humans, the soul is immortal; it’s the portion of the self that remains after death, freed from the mortal body. This separation of body and soul means magic can pass through the soul of a human wizard without touching or hurting the flesh.

In elves, however, there is never such freedom; their body and soul are inextricably intertwined; their immortality permanently embodied, permanently embedded in the material world. This permanent joining of body and soul means an elven wizard must channel magic through both their soul and their body. Sometimes that hurts.

To reflect this, change the Cast A Spell move for elven wizards.

i) Remove the second option under 7-9: – The spell disturbs the fabric of reality as it is cast—take -1 ongoing to Cast a Spell until you Prepare Spells again.

ii) In its place add the following 7-9 option:

– Ethereal-flames burn and scar your flesh during the casting—take damage equal to the level of the spell cast.

#wizardweek

Just a quick thought about a looser spell design move for Wizards.

When you (carve a rune into a surface | invoke the ancient powers by song | call up magic by word and gesture) roll+INT. 10+ Choose 3 from the following list. 7-9 Choose 2 and the GM chooses 1 from the second list. 6- Ouch. You may add an additional tag from the first list by also choosing an additional tag from the second list.

Forceful, Messy, Silent, Subtle, Area, Ward, Elemental (type), Necrotic, Illusion, Ongoing, +1 Forward, +1 Ongoing (to a narrow set of circumstances), -1 Ongoing to opponent (to a narrow set of circumstances). Near, Far, Piercing, Stun, Damaging (deals 2 x class damage), etc.

Loud, Attracts Attention, Exhausting, Slow, -1 Forward to spell casting, -1 Ongoing (to a narrow set of circumstances), Debility, Spent (this particular spell is used up for the day) etc.

For additional colour, choose one from the following list: Divination, Enchantment, Illusion, Summoning, Evocation, Necromancy, etc.

If relevant choose the spell type: Missile, Shield, Circle, Wall, Touch, Eye Contact, etc.

Example (for Tim Franzke )

Wall of Fire (Wall, Summoning): Ward, Elemental (fire), Ongoing. Deals class damage and produces a wall of fire.

#wizardweek

#WizardWeek Compendium Class – The Academic Researcher

This, and the research move, will actually work for all classes but fit the Wizard the best.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/13GwAGhWEQw3e5hGuH8vV_DXwCZ7uJ015tpIw2l41_VQ/edit?usp=sharing

(see more of my compendium classes at www.tinyurl.com/tfdungeonworld )

#wizardweek

Would it be feasible to add a Wizard move (or perhaps a spell in the vein of Contingency) that allowed the wizard to inscribe a rune or enchant an object that acted as the touch of that wizard for the purpose of casting certain spells? For example, instead of having to touch someone to cast Charm Person or Mimic, you could cast it on someone who touched the rune or object instead of having to touch them yourself.

It kind of fits in the same area as some of the other spells that make your spells more effective, but I’m not sure how much more powerful it actually makes the spells. Being able to touch things that are distant from you is pretty helpful…