Splatbook*

Custom moves

Book II: The Wider World and Other Wonders contains dozens of custom moves that you can use in your game. These moves apply only to specific game or setting elements, and only if you choose to use them.

Most custom moves are unnamed; they're simply presented as part of a setting element's description.

For example, the Makers' Roads have a few custom moves. Here's one, related to their wards against violence:

When you attempt to commit violence upon the road, or to harm the road or anything upon it, you hesitate. If you will yourself to continue, lose 1d4 HP and roll +WIS: on a 10+, go for it; on a 7-9, you act but have disadvantage on any rolls to commit violence (including damage); on a 6-, you fail to act and mark dazed.

This is an example of a custom move that establishes how something works. It says what happens if a PC tries to fight on the roads, and what the possible outcomes are. And while a custom move like this doesn't directly apply to NPCs or monsters, you can use it as a guide for how they might be affected. Most folks will fail to fight on the roads, but a strong-willed NPC might force themselves to do so.

Note that a PC can Order Followers to trigger a custom move. As usual, the PC's player rolls for the move and makes any decisions on the follower's behalf. Here's another custom move related to the roads, specifically to the Crossroads. This one establishes that something is possible (calling up the dead), as well as some of the stakes, risks, and potential benefits or consequences.

When you stand at the Crossroads under the new moon and call the departed by name, roll and add…

  • … +1 if you are tied to them by blood;
  • … +1 if you bear a possession of theirs; and/or
  • … +1 if you offer food or drink that they loved in life.

On a 10+, their shade appears but pick 1; on a 7-9, their shade appears but pick 2:

  • They are deranged, confused, muddled, unreasonable
  • They have no intention of returning peacefully to their rest
  • Something slips through the Last Door with them—a dool spirit, a gwyllgi, an unbound wraith, etc.

If a custom move doesn't say what happens on a 6-, it follows the standard rules: the player marks XP and you make a hard GM move, that fits the established situation.

Here's another a custom move, associated with an artifact. There's no 2d6 roll on this one; the move just says what happens!

When you strike an entity of darkness, chaos, or death with a shattered roadstone (hand, thrown, crude), it takes 1d8 damage (ignores armor) but the stone then crumbles to dust.

And here's one last example of a custom move, this one associated with a danger the mysterious nosgalau that lure travelers from the roads at night:

When you hear the call of the nosgalau, say whose voice you hear on the wind and why you feel compelled to join them. Then, roll +WIS: on a 10+, say how you see through the deception, and you'll never hear their call again; on a 7-9, either mark XP and follow the call, or tell us how you detect the lie this one time; on a 6-, you heed the call and go to the nosgalau, unless your allies restrain you.

Notice how this move is reactive. The players don't choose to trigger it, you do! You make a GM move like announce trouble ("You've been watching the lights far out in the Flats, when the wind shifts and you hear a faint whispering…"), and that triggers the move. Most custom moves that work like this are related to dangers, and reflect a particularly nasty or subtle effect.

Also notice how the move above resolves a situation in a specific, thematic way. You don't have to try to lure the PCs off the road and hope the players play along. The move asserts that the PC is compelled to leave the road, and asks their player to tell us how and why. The roll then tells us whether the PC sees through the deception or not. It ensures that even the wariest player's PC might fall prey to the nosgalau, while inviting them to reveal something about their character in the process. Pretty neat, huh?

Reveal a custom move's text to the players as soon as it's relevant to them. Players should know that the move is in play and how it works, so that they can choose to engage with it (or avoid it). Toss a copy of the move onto the table or into the group chat, and ask a player to read it aloud. Or just read it aloud yourself.

"As soon as it's relevant" will vary from case to case. You probably want to share the "When you attempt to commit violence upon the road…" move as soon as the PCs set out, and remind them of it when they encounter a monster or NPC. But you might not reveal "When you hear the call of the nosgalau…" until it gets triggered.

If you don't think that the workings of a custom move would be apparent to the PCs, then don't reveal it to them right away. Maybe just hint at more than meets the eye or otherwise suggest that there's more to learn, and see what they do.

Vahid and Caradoc have stopped at the Crossroads. I mention the nearby dool trees and the uncanny feeling about the place, and sure enough, Vahid decides to Know Things. On a 10+, I'd give him the full custom move from the previous page. But he gets a 7, so I just tell him the trigger. "You've heard stories that one can summon a dead soul by calling their name at the Crossroads, under the new moon," I say. "But if you want to know more about how that works, you'll need to do some research. Or try it out. There is a new moon tonight…"

For guidance on writing your own custom moves, see Writing moves.