The latest Discern Realities podcast mentioned The Menagerie of Minor Magic ( http://dwdstudios.com/node/9158 ) – I’ve read through the items and adore many of them. Would happily pick from them when a minor magic item is needed.
As a relatively inexperienced GM , I wonder how to reveal the properties of such items to players/characters when they discover them. Spout Lore seems like the obvious method, but what are some other ways to justify conveying the information?
Do players enjoy discovering things by trial and error based on the description and any context available? I imagine this could suck if it’s a single-use item…
I’m listening 🙂
I’m listening 🙂
It depends on how the character approaches it. If they are simply studying it and trying to see what they might know about such a thing, Spout Lore is the right move (don’t forget to ask “How do you know this?”). If they engage in experiments, that’s Discern Realities. In either case, you don’t have to worry too much as the GM about when and how to reveal this knowledge. If the character does the thing, they trigger the move, and the move does most of the work.
It depends on how the character approaches it. If they are simply studying it and trying to see what they might know about such a thing, Spout Lore is the right move (don’t forget to ask “How do you know this?”). If they engage in experiments, that’s Discern Realities. In either case, you don’t have to worry too much as the GM about when and how to reveal this knowledge. If the character does the thing, they trigger the move, and the move does most of the work.
I’ll add an addendum to the above: for truly minor, inconsequential magic items, I just tell the players what they do at the end of the adventure, under the assumption they will have time to carefully investigate during downtime.
I’ll add an addendum to the above: for truly minor, inconsequential magic items, I just tell the players what they do at the end of the adventure, under the assumption they will have time to carefully investigate during downtime.
I guess at the end of the day the items are only fun for the players if they know what they do, so the GM shouldn’t be too tough about revealing their properties unless it is fun/interesting to do so.
Some situations could even involve the players being told directly (e.g. trading for it with an NPC who knows what it does) or find out about it without a roll (e.g. searching the alchemist’s lab for notes regarding the item)…
Some approaches will work better than others in short term / oneshot games, where their chances to use an item would be limited.
I guess at the end of the day the items are only fun for the players if they know what they do, so the GM shouldn’t be too tough about revealing their properties unless it is fun/interesting to do so.
Some situations could even involve the players being told directly (e.g. trading for it with an NPC who knows what it does) or find out about it without a roll (e.g. searching the alchemist’s lab for notes regarding the item)…
Some approaches will work better than others in short term / oneshot games, where their chances to use an item would be limited.
Jason has the right of it. In general, let the moves do the work.
But sometimes it’s okay to simply let the PC begin using the item. In these cases, throw the question at the player – “So, you’ve figured it out. This item does X, and you can use it reliably. Describe a quick montage of a few short scenes in which your character figured it out.”
This puts some of the creative heavy-lifting on your player. But it’s not purely lazy-GMing. It also gives the player a chance to tell YOU what they’re interested in seeing, what sorts of scenes are relevant to their PC, and it might help build a little player investment in continuing to explore the blank spaces on the map.
Jason has the right of it. In general, let the moves do the work.
But sometimes it’s okay to simply let the PC begin using the item. In these cases, throw the question at the player – “So, you’ve figured it out. This item does X, and you can use it reliably. Describe a quick montage of a few short scenes in which your character figured it out.”
This puts some of the creative heavy-lifting on your player. But it’s not purely lazy-GMing. It also gives the player a chance to tell YOU what they’re interested in seeing, what sorts of scenes are relevant to their PC, and it might help build a little player investment in continuing to explore the blank spaces on the map.
Thanks for discussing this in the Discern Realities podcast! 😀
Thanks for discussing this in the Discern Realities podcast! 😀