Custom Moves: Now I am your Master

The basic mechanic of Dungeon World (currently on Kickstarter) is so simple: roll 2d6, add your attribute modifier; on a 10+ you hit it hard, on a 7-9 you get a partial hit or complications, on a 6- bad stuff happens. As a DM, it makes it very easy for me to come up with custom ruling on the fly by creating moves for the current situation.

In one of our recent sessions, Ysolde the Wizard agreed to become the apprentice of Hi Xaphon, a wizard the party ran afould of a couple of sessions ago. Ysolde's player, Phil, and I chatted for a bit about what being an apprentice means. Then Phil took a bathroom break. As the other players were still planning their upcoming Goblin raid, I quickly jotted down a custom move:

When you exchange blood and power with your new master and bind as their apprentice, roll 2d6 plus your Wisdom modifier:

10+ hold 3 7-9 hold 1

You can spend your hold, 1 for 1 at any time for one of the following:
Privacy your master can't scry you, doesn't know what your up to, or sees your preferred version of events.
Help appeal to your master for aid through your magical bond and they will help you in some way appropriate to the situation and their powers
Turnabout turn your apprenticeship bond against your master in some way


Ysolde rolled a 9 or so, gaining one precious hold on her master.

It's funny how moves snowball, though. Later in the same adventure, Terek, the Paladin, laid hands on Ysolde to heal her numerous wounds. On a 7-9 with Lay on Hands, the Paladin takes the subjects wounds onto himself. I briefly described Ysolde's wounds and asked which one Terek wanted to take. "Oh, I'll take that small cut on the arm, since I'm only healing one HP". Of course that was the cut Ysolde received on the apprenticeship bonding. So now our Paladin has some kind of psychic connection with Ysolde's arcane master...

Magical Research

I have always been fascinated with the idea of magical research, but no D&D campaign I've played in has really done it justice. Some flavors of D&D give rules for crafting magic items, but that doesn't do it for me. I want magic to have mystery, power, and unpredictability.

Here's a magical research move. It's totally stolen from Vincent's Savvyhead rules for Apocalypse World. I don't invent, I steal.

When you go into an arcane library, laboratory, and workspace trying to get to the bottom of something or make something magical, tell the DM what you want. The DM will answer "Sure, no problem, but..."

• It's going to take days/hours/weeks/months of work


• First you have to acqurie _____ (magical reagent)


• You need some information you can get from ____


• You're going to need ______'s help with it


• It's going to cost you a lot of money


• It's going to mean exposing yourself (and maybe others) to significant danger


• You're going to have to take _____ apart to do it

For easy stuff, pick just one.
For medium stuff, pick one AND another OR another.
For seriously hard stuff, it's one AND another AND yet another.

Dusty End

When you seek advice from the Ogre, roll 1d4:

1. You are observed by agents of Dreadstone, who start looking into your affairs
2. The Enchantress of Dusty End demands you do her a service before you pass her grounds
3. The players of the Theatre Viande are out hunting for "volunteers" for the macabre performances
4. Someone is besiging Belaq's citadel, and the neighborhood is enveloped in violence and chaos

Marlo's Skeleton

If Marlo thought there was treasure out there, then there's treasure. Marlo the Thief, well known for his quick dagger and his amulet of greed, could sniff out the loot in a beggar's second-best rag bin. But wherever he went, he hasn't come back. Normally, that would be the end of the story, but armed with a crude map and a potion of find object, you should have no problem figuring out what happened to good 'ol Marlo.

When you try to climb down into the Sacrifice Pit, roll 2d6 plus your DEX modifier to armor class.

On a 10+, you descend safely to the first level
On a 7+, there's a complication. If you're not using a rope, thief skills, or other climbing apparatus, you're now plummeting towards the stalactite-filled lower pool. If you are, you get into trouble. The rope if fraying, or the wall is slippery, or the intense winds in the pit are making it hard to navigate. Deal with the danger, or plummet to the floor.
On a 6-, you're plummeting.