[cleric] revoking spells

Has anyone experimented with revoking spells?
I imagine the default option would be to revoke each spell after it's been cast once, to remain in "balance" with the wizard, but since it's such a subjective call for the DM to make, it seems ripe for interpretation.

In particular, I was thinking about using it to "signal" the cleric player about their god's desires or intentions, but you could instead interpret the "boons" granted by the cleric's deity for abiding by the Precepts of your Religion as the signal to give the player back a spell of some level.

Whoa, actually, you could have a pretty heavy-handed god acting kind of like a Shadow from Wraith, putting weapons in the character's hands when she needs healing spells, for instance.

You could dial in very close to the cleric's "arc" for a bit by carefully interpreting boons and revocation, just like the wizard-class can be put in the spotlight with use of the move Ritual. Their magic is what makes them special, so the game puts in these "interpretive" little tidbits to liven things up when the mood strikes.

I'm a little confused. I think the player gets to chose what the result is of a 7-9.

With Clerics, I sometimes tie the forgetting of spells into the narrative. I did it once as a 6- hard move.

Yeah, I totally misinterpreted that. Ha!

I suppose you could establish a local "tolerance" for the DM revoking a spell on a 6 or less. It could potentially feel like a usurpation of the player's authority (since it's by default something a player can choose to do) but because that 7-9 option puts it "out there" as a possibility, it could be something the DM could do as a hard move.

Yeah, I've used up their resources and taken a cleric's spell away once. The relationship with her god was tenuous, she missed her roll and I made that the hard move I felt like. I also added an impending doom that maybe she was losing her connection to her diety and thus her faith.

I re-incorporated this later in the adventure when she had to make the deal with death, her god totally abandoned her and she had to make a choice: Die or return to the land of the living bereft of her faith as an atheist. None of her faith based moves worked anymore...

Dang, what did she choose?

Bereft of power. She's since played 2 sessions and levelled up! She's become a zealot and evangelist. We made a bond with her goddess (of knowledge and hidden things), that if Freya (the cleric) manages to render a petition that covers both precepts (offerings and gaining secrets) that her excommunication may be revoked and her powers regained - but in a different manner, that of a 1st level Paladin!

This has led to no end of hooks for play! At the end of last session, the party were planning a foray into the darkened wood, which was rumoured to contain the ancient ruins to a long lost dwarven citadel. Freya had taken the religious studies (she's still a cleric) advance and authored through a spout lore that the ruins contained an ancient weapon of a secret cult. She hopes to find this weapon and convince the others that it is everyone's interest for her to make an offering to her goddess...

That is brilliant! I don't know if there is something in DW pulling it out or if it is just floating out there but religion seems to be much more personal in DW. Have others seen that?

Agreed, that is really hot!  With their class powers gone, are they just hoarding their advances until they get a new playbook? (what I would do)

That is brilliant! I don't know if there is something in DW pulling it out or if it is just floating out there but religion seems to be much more personal in DW. Have others seen that?

Yep. Because the Cleric makes up their god and religion rather than just picking it from a list; instant investment.

That and the way that the player has to justify their god's actions in the fiction as well which adds another level of investment.

What do you mean by "the player has to justify their gods actions in the fiction"?

@Archangel and JBMannon

From personal experience, it's definitely more personal and I would say it has to do to creating the god/religion. I didn't intend to play a cleric when I sat down for my first ever session, but ended up being the guy "stuck playin' the cleric." Several levels later, it's a pretty developed religion on its own and I've even managed to use bonds to convert another character (kind of). Plus the DM can build on what I give him and incorporate elements of it in play.

If I was just picking something out of a rulebook, I don't have the same investment. It's a clever system that I hope stays in.

I'm sure it will, Iserith. And if they even think about removing it, I'll wrastle up a posse and ride north!

I'm not much of a fan of Clerics usually, but making up your god/religion is the thing that makes them awesome in DW.

We had a pretty, uh, I'm gonna say awesome cleric in Living Dungeon World. And yes, the player was so invested -- he never missed an opportunity to build a shrine or convert people or try to attract followers -- was because he was a big part of inventing his goddess and her mythology.

A combination of two other factors made that cleric especially interesting: He ended up being a key figure in the over-arching story, and he was evil.

We had a pretty, uh, I'm gonna say awesome cleric in Living Dungeon World. And yes, the player was so invested -- he never missed an opportunity to build a shrine or convert people or try to attract followers -- was because he was a big part of inventing his goddess and her mythology.

A combination of two other factors made that cleric especially interesting: He ended up being a key figure in the over-arching story, and he was evil.

Ah Boots, from Villager to bound demi-god cursed to forever watch over Orcus' realm by his goddess.

Such a great cleric player!