In my specific instance, I have an Immolator player that wants to gain the following move:
Ogdru Jahad
Gain the Wizard move Ritual. The GM will always tell you
what you have to sacrifice to gain the effect you desire.
and the Wizard move Ritual is as follows:
Ritual
When you draw on a place of power to create a magical efect,
tell the GM what you’re trying to achieve. Ritual efects are always
possible, but the GM will give you one to four of the following
conditions:
- It’s going to take days/weeks/months
- First you must ____
- You’ll need help from ____
- It will require a lot of money
- The best you can do is a lesser version, unreliable and limited
- You and your allies will risk danger from ____
- You’ll have to disenchant ____ to do it
This player has said that they want to use this move to gain the ability to breathe fire. I'm totally OK with that part; what I don't know is if I can (or want to) let them permanently retain this new attack from using Ritual. Just for context, let's assume I write a new move for the player called Fire Breath.
The options I have considered to gain Fire Breath are as follows:
- Simply use Ritual as usual to gain Fire Breath as a permanent move.
- Gain Fire Breath based upon the Ritual. The longer the character prepares, the more items they sacrifice, the more powerful the items, etc. extends the amount of time they can use Fire Breath. When the time runs out, they can use Ritual again. (Example: The character spends one full day preparing and completing a Ritual. As a result, they gain Fire Breath for three days.)
- Perform a Ritual to enchant an item that grants the wearer the ability to use Fire Breath.
- Permanently expend Ritual in order to permanently gain Fire Breath.
Which of these options is most like a "typical" use of Ritual? If none of them are appropriate, or they need to be modified, please provide an example.
Best Answer
The Ritual move gives you all you ask for already!
Have the player tell you what they would like to achieve: gaining the ability to breathe fire permanently or temporary, or enchanting an item to grant them the ability to breathe fire, or whatever. If the players' indications are not clear enough, ask questions and use the answers!
Then, with your players desires, look at the options that the Ritual move gives you and decide which of them are appropriate and fit your fiction as well as what the player wants.
Example: if they want to gain a permanent breath of fire, I would not reccommend a limited version by time. So the bullet points appropriate to the power level might be: It takes a long time to learn, maybe a full decade or so. You need the help of an ancient dragon to teach you his magic. (First) you need to live with the fire, maybe in a volcano or so.
If you want to be less restrictive on requirements, or they ask you for an easier to accomplish version you could lessen them by introducing side effects or a lesser version: maybe they always breathe fire, or the flame will only be anough to light paper afire, maybe burn flesh but not really melt steel.