Spout Lore Variant

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Spout Lore Variant
« on: December 27, 2011, 05:28:35 PM »
I was considering including a variant of Spout Lore which would push some of the world building to the player.  Being new to the game I was wondering what experienced players think of this idea?
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The GM has the option of executing the Move as written, or using this variant:

When you consult your accumulated knowledge about something, you confidently recite a single fact about the subject.  Make your INT roll only when it comes time to test your assertion; when that fact is acted upon in the fiction.  On a 10+ your memory served you well and the fact is established.  On a 7-9 your prediction is accurate to the letter, but possibly not in the spirit you intended, or there is some unforeseen complication.  On a 6 or lower the GM should use a hard move to communicate the true answer.

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noofy

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Re: Spout Lore Variant
« Reply #1 on: December 28, 2011, 04:50:19 AM »
Nice Glitch! It does feel good to share in the setting establishment sometimes. :)
You can also just use the move as it stands in the rules (I assume you are using the redbook? Simply use the GM move / principle to sometimes disclaim decision making and turn the player's questions back on them. "I don't know, what do YOU think?".

Not everytime of course, but if you have no front or danger information prepped about their spouting lore, by all means let the players author some excellent stuff into the world. They still get +1 if they act on their own answers of course.

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noofy

  • 777
Re: Spout Lore Variant
« Reply #2 on: January 02, 2012, 07:00:49 AM »
Discern Reality and Spout Lore are rather good at generalized information gathering for use in the story at hand, sometimes the age old trope of fingering through musty tomes is required. When the adventuring party (usually the wizard) finds themselves wading through books looking for some lost kernel of wisdom to convey the information the PCs need, I came up with this more focused custom move which makes leaving the heroes alone with a whole lot of books more fun than you might think.

I got the idea from Derek Myer’s excellent post on Dungeon’s Master.com
http://dungeonsmaster.com/2011/11/adventure-hooks-found-in-the-library/

When I say library it doesn’t have to be a library in the traditional sense. These hooks will work with any sizable collection of literature. It could be a prestigious library at a college, a rich noble’s private collection or a long-lost set of tomes in a musty dungeon. Find and getting into the library can often be an adventure in and of itself. But once surrounded by all those books what do you do next?

When you spend time in a library searching for important information, ask a question about what you are looking for and roll + INT.

On a hit, the GM will tell you the answer. +1 Forward if you act on it.

On a 10+ choose 3, on a 7-9, you choose one and the GM chooses one. Answer the questions as you see fit.

You find the book you need but you are too late; someone’s beaten you to it  and the book has been vandalized. It could be that the pages you need have been torn out, key words have been crossed out, or there are notes or doodles in the margins. You know what, but who? and why?

While flipping through the book you need, you find an illustration of a room you’ve been in before. Some of the details in the illustration don’t match what you remember. Do tell.

You discover that one of the book shelves is on a swivel and pivots away from the wall. When the shelf is swung out what do you find? A passageway? An arcane artifact? A forbidden tome?

Someone you know of was in this library recently. Who? What were they looking looking for? When you find the books you need there are bookmarks on several pages. What makes these pages so important?

Whilst researching you get distracted by a comprehensive text on a particularly interesting topic. Choose one: a monster, a location, or an artifact. Tell us all about it.?   

Re: Spout Lore Variant
« Reply #3 on: January 02, 2012, 12:45:36 PM »
Very cool.  One of the levels of a dungeon I'm creating for my first game is an ancient library, so this will come in handy!

Re: Spout Lore Variant
« Reply #4 on: January 10, 2012, 03:26:32 PM »
I like that, noofy!