Weird Move for a Conan hack?

Hello, first off, I'm new and enthusiastic about playing some Apocalypse World.
Second, what I'm most excited to do is hack it for a Conan game, which I've been doing furiously for the last few weeks. (I have seen SimonC's World of Conan too)

The sticking point I've had is coming up with a Weird move to replace, "Open your brain".

I have created a move called, "Swear an Oath". The character can swear an oath about some objective they are passionate about completing.
examples:

"I'll varnish the floor with your brains!"
"By Mitra, I won't let you die today!"
"Bel's Balls, it won't slip through my fingers again!"
"I'll dine with Crom the day a scurvy Barachan pirate gets the best of me!"

Roll+Weird ('Wyrd' in my hack). On a 10+ hold 1+1. On a 7-9 hold 1. The  character may spend his hold in any effort to see his oath through. On a 10+ they are also invigorated by making the oath and get +1 forward now.

So... how is this move? Thoughts? Suggestions? Alternative ideas?

(It may be important to note that since there is no psychic maelstrom in the Hyborian age, I made Augury closer to the original 'Open your brain' move but it is only available to Cultists, Sages, and Sorcerers).

Thanks

I'm going to run this, this coming Monday; disappointed I haven't gotten any advice.

I just saw the Deadwood hack, Dead World, and liked the Weird move there called:

Indulge your Vices

Thinking of using that.

I don't think there is anything wrong with your oath-move, but I wouldn't personally recommend that you remove open your brain to fit it in. Open has a very potent function that it took me some playing to identify: it serves as a sort of emergency-move for whenever a player gets bored or frustrated with not knowing what to do in play. No matter the situation, if you're talking to the king or being shot to pieces or whatever it is, you can always announce that you open your brain to the maelstrom and something will invariably be added to the situation that changes it and moves it forward.

So I would recommend tweaking the setting in some way to allow for a basic move that is similar or at least does the same thing for the process of play, before removing it or replacing it with a different kind of move.

Are you keeping the rest of the basic moves and the stats from AW?

Wow, thanks for replying.

I just wrote a play report in the AW thread. I did use the Oath move to replace Open your brain, but I made Open your brain Augury. Sorry if that's confusing.
I have made 11 playbooks and 4 of them have Augury.

Shreyas helped me iron out the Oath move:

When you Swear an Oath, roll Wyrd. On a 10+ hold 2. On a 7-9, hold 1. You may spend your holds one for one to get +1 forward when your goal is in sight. When you complete your oath, mark XP. You may only hold one oath at a time, if you swear a new oath for something different, it replaces the one you were holding.

Because I want players using this a lot, and it's an xp gimme, I removed the MC marking a highlighted stat.

It worked well in our 1st session anyway.
I explained that Wyrd will not only represent how 'Weird' you are, but kind of your destiny, fortune, and luck as well. So for random custom moves that are based on chance, I have them roll Wyrd.

I like it.

Would be nice to have more options than +1forward, though, like you can spend a hold to use a move from your playbook that you don't have, or cast an extra spell, or dodge a blow, etc etc. But anyway, that would be tied to genre expectations. It looks good as it is.

Thanks! I will have to talk to my group about using the holds to use a move thing.
That was one of the ideas bandied about when this was discussed briefly at Story-Games.

BTW, for those interested, I am in the process of asking Vincent if I can post my hack publicly. (emailed & pm'd a few days ago...).

I agree with Simon; the swearing an oath is interesting, but shouldn't replace opening your mind.

In the original fiction, Conan's philosophy is that the gods don't really care that much about us.  In the original film, he tells Crom to go to hell if he won't help him, and doesn't expect anything to come of this.  Given this, I'd frame the move along the lines of impressing the gods.

Get the Gods' Attention

When in a charged situation, swear an oath to your god, then roll +Wyrd.  On a hit, your oath comes to pass.  On a 10+, you have impressed your god and gained their favor, in the form of +1 forward.  The gods are capricious, and keeping their fleeting attention is like trying to hold sand.  On a miss, your opponents have impressed their god instead.  Woe unto you.

I can see Conan doing that, for sure. :D

As for opening your mind, the real weirdness in Conan was almost always sorcery. I'd say keep the move, but frame it within the fiction that way.  Of course, Barbarians hated sorcery, so maybe make it either involuntary on the character's part, but still the player's choice.  Or maybe for Barbarians, frame it so they're listening to their instincts or the voices of their ancestors. 

As for opening your mind, the real weirdness in Conan was almost always sorcery. I'd say keep the move, but frame it within the fiction that way.  Of course, Barbarians hated sorcery, so maybe make it either involuntary on the character's part, but still the player's choice.  Or maybe for Barbarians, frame it so they're listening to their instincts or the voices of their ancestors. 

Instincts are good, yeah. What about that scene in, oh, The Phoenix on The Sword, where the sage-ghost gives Conan a warning about his impending doom? Stuff like that, visions and omens, definitely cool.

(Probably this is a thing that just happens, an MC move, but the player can try for it, too, through magic or practice or ritual or else.)

Guys, I've been off the boards for a while.

I finished my Conan game (my group takes turns running 6 week campaign arcs), and it was pretty awesome. Everyone enjoyed it but the hardest part I found was this Swear an Oath move. While everyone liked the idea, it was just awkward in play.

I'm re-editing my hack and I think I'm gonna keep the open your brain move like you guys suggested, framing it for S&S. Wizards and the like can make the move deliberately with arcane rituals. For other adventurers it will look like dreams, visions, instincts, or a sudden realization from connecting snippets of lore.

I want to call it "Discern the Unnatural"

Gavinwulf,
have you planned to release your Conan hack ?

Thx.

I wanted to. I wrote Vincent an email and PM'd him here, attached copies of my playbooks. But he never replied and thus I don't have official permission to post it up publicly (free of course).

Since you asked I'll have to try contacting him again.

Ok. Thx for the info.

I'd really like to see your Conan hack ! :)

Oops! My bad.

Of course you have my permission to post it up publicly.

-Vincent

Thanks Vincent! Will start a new thread with link.