Epyllion, Session 2

The second Epyllion game we played (Mom, Dad, and their Kiddo) started with Kiddo’s Seer dragon, Samera, getting a vision of something related to the Darkness.

Now, this is a Seer move– it’s the move they make at the start of the session. Roll 2d6 plus relevant stat. On a 7-9, they get a vision. On a 10+, they can ask questions about the vision.

I’m going to suggest a revision to this move. While it might work for less freeform groups, it locked me in as a DM and locked Kiddo in as a player.

Kiddo is 8 years old and has an imagination that is better than any of the adults at the table. Throughout the evening, she wanted to add to the vision, change details, etc. But the move doesn’t say she can do that, and her Mom kept trying to reign her in.

I was kind of trying to push her to stick to the bargain implicit in the move– she made the move, and as a result, she takes the vision as it was presented to her. But there were two problems with that. First: I hadn’t made that bargain clear to her at the outset. And second, if the vision couldn’t be the place where she could add to and change the fiction, she needed other points where she could do that.

In the previous session, her point of narrative control was the bridge she created with her moon magic– she was able to describe the bridge and put a life stone into it and everything.

One of the principles of Dungeon World– perhaps the main one, in fact– is "play to find out." Because we had this vision to start with, there was less room to play to find out.

Here’s what we’re going to try next time:

Roll+Charm. On a 7-9, the GM tells you a vision of the Darkness. Tell the GM one detail that you notice in the vision. On a 10+, you describe the vision, and the GM tells you one detail that you notice.

I think this will give her more narrative control in general, while still giving me places to attach "plot" to the vision.

The other thing I need to do is shut down any "no" at the table, and make sure to enable the players to use their opportunities for taking narrative control, whenever possible.

Ah, anyway, short plot description: we went in search of information at the Great Library about an ancient dragon that may have been turned to stone. On the way, there’s an island where the Chalice of Angels may be. And ran into an arrogant, slightly older dragon who flirted with Lydia the Warrior. Made a bargain with him to look for the chalice, though it’s possible they won’t keep that bargain.