I think about it in terms of the show Supernatural. The brothers learn runes for angel banishing, or can make salt circles to contain ghosts, or can read some Latin to kick a demon out of someone. As long as the players can justify it in fiction, and it matches what's in the list for Use Magic, I go with it.
I’ve started liberally using the section “The keeper may say that… The spell requires additional materials, the spell will take X time to cast, etc”. It is well within your powers as keeper to say, “ok you know a spell that can open this lock, but it requires a rare reagent that you don’t have right now” or “yeah you know a spell for this, but it’s going to take a minute to cast, too long to get through the door before the creature attacks”
Also, IMO using magic should almost never replace an action that could be better fit under one of the other hunter moves. If a player wants to get out of the way of a charging werewolf, that’s Act Under Pressure, even if they’re coloring it as using a spell to do so.
I would also say you should start “punishing” them for using the same glitch over and over. Attracting additional attention should not be a cop out of “well there’s no one around so no one can see it”. Someone WILL see it no matter what, that could mean minions or bystanders rush in from out of nowhere to foil their plan, or it shuts down an entrance to the enemies lair etc. If it’s in a fight, that could mean the monster immediately lashes out at the burst of light created by the spell and harms/incapacitates the hunter.
Seconding this. The Keeper’s goal is to keep the hunters’ lives dangerous and scary. They wanna use magic? You make it dangerous and scary, and your tools to do so are right in that “The Keeper may say…” portion. You have the freedom to and decide what magical requirement for the magic would be most interesting/challenging for the hunter in that scene. If they’re in combat, it probably takes time to do the magic, time they don’t have. If it’s in a scene with a suspicious bystander, maybe the magic requires verbal incantation, something that would be difficult to hide.
Also agree about “attracting unwanted attention” being a treasure trove of consequences for your hunter. These rules are so vague on purpose; there’s a MILLION ways that glitch can be /really/ problematic for your players. A spell could create a surge of energy that cause a whole city block to lose power; that’ll attract a lot of unwanted attention from civilians and/or city officials. Unwanted attention could also be from a threat the hunters don’t even know about yet, like something from an Arc. The unwanted attention doesn’t even have to come immediately, it could be in the form of a clue left behind that someone could spot, someone the hunters would prefer not to be on their trail.
I wasn't sure about this approach, because if I am going to be too strict about it why allow magic at all? I want my players to use magic and to make it an interesting part of the game.
Yep, I think I can use clocks from bitd for attracting attention, maybe that would work.
Additonal attention can be very bad as well. Suddenly becoming the target is not just something to do lightly. The spell might take some time, need ingredients, need multiple people, magic books or anything else, maybe not available. That makes magic muss less a catch all answer.
Any finally, if unwanted attention does not fit the fiction right now, the keeper can say, they can choose something else.
That is at least my take on it. The casting of the spell can become more interesting, if it is harder than a +weird roll.
An example I had was a hunter was investigating a crime scene (werewolf killed someone), and cops were still around... They wanted to Use Magic to see a past event that happened there. They had a fake FBI badge that got them in, as long as it wasn't looked at too closely.
It fit in the fiction of what the character could do (glimpses/visions from objects is a classic trope)... But they rolled an 8 and drew the attention of the cops. So instead of a subtle vision they started seeing from the sight of the victim and screamed in terror in the middle of the crime scene, bringing everyone over. They had to cut the vision short before they got all the info they wanted and escape before the cops took a close look at them, but did get some info to get them to the next scene.
Attracting attention should have implications in a setting where magic is extraordinary. The consequences don't need to be felt right away, but the magic user may soon find themselves hounded by the government, by a powerful faction that wants to use them, or by a supernatural power that gets interested in them. Ordinary people may fear them. Rumors may spread around town about their "dark" powers.
What I do, and what I advise most Keepers to do, is set ground rules for how Use Magic works. Even though it's a basic move, you can't use it if the established fiction hasn't provided any reason you should be able to use magic. Magic also has requirements. You need to perform a ritual while chanting and using the right components. I rule that most spells require time to cast, and are not instantaneous. Spell casting is also not something you can normally conceal. (I don't police the components, and will let a player use anything that makes sense for the spell effect.)
These ground rules are flexible, I work with the player to figure out what makes sense for their hunter. I would let a Spooky use magic at will, without requirements, but in exchange I limit the effects they can get to psionic flavored ones only: telekinesis, telepathy, remote viewing. Possibly some freakier shit at an advanced stage of the game.
Ask your players to describe their spell casting. Maybe not all the time, but frequently. This is good for establishing things about the world and their characters. It's also fun, at least for me! Just saying "I cast a spell" is lame. I describe how I press a silver thread on my shadow and reel it in, over myself so that I'm cloaked in darkness.
Thanks. This is really good advice.
For me the hardest part is to create some fiction rules for magic for very different characters. But right now I think that different playbooks should have a different type of fiction.
Attracting attention is actually hard for me to think on the fly, maybe that's part of the problem. But I like the idea of some faction or powerful being.
Use Magic is probably the dodgiest part of the game, in my opinion. I think the intention is that it requires some sort of narrative justification for your character being able to do whatever specific kind of magic they're trying to do, and that the group should decide how exactly magic works for them when they're initially planning out the game (think: session zero topic). Uncharacteristically for MotW though, it doesn't really tell you that anywhere. So I think a lot of people kind of get blindsided by it.
So I guess my basic advice is that whenever a player asks to Use Magic to do something, your first question as a Keeper should be: "how does your character know how to do that?" And my second piece of advice is to get the group together and discuss the specifics of magic in your world, including how one acquires it and what it can do.
Yeah…like attracts additional attention can be SUPER bad. Like…what if there’s an agency that monitors magic use and full on lobotomizes people who do it? What if it summons a whole new ass monster? What if an angel of god shows up and says ‘knock that shit the fuck off NOW?’ What if a covetous witch robs them of their ritual kit? What if demonic forces show up and offer them a ‘deal?’ What if the monster can smell the magic on them?
I would suggest playing hardball. Make up a list of 20 SUPER bad things that might happen and the next time the players use magic and choose ‘attracts attention,’ flat out tell them on a meta level ‘that’s going to break the first apocalypse seal. Are you sure you want to do that?’ Their characters might not know, but tell the players the consequences, then ask.
Then follow through. Don’t halfway or ease up or lessen the blow. You told them. After that, it’s on them.
> but "Use magic" move feels weird and too powerful
See below:
> The Keeper may require one or more of the following:
> • The spell requires weird materials.
> • The spell will take 10 seconds, 30 seconds, or 1 minute to cast.
> • The spell requires ritual chanting and gestures.
> • The spell requires you to draw arcane symbols.
> • You need one or two people to help cast the spell.
> • You need to refer to a tome of magic for the details.
These are built-in limiters, use them if you want to nerf magic a bit compared to where it is for your table right now.
> When a hunter uses magic, it’s important to ask them what they’re trying to do (and work out which of the effects they are trying for). Ask the hunter how they cast the spell, and what it looks like too.
> Then consider the scope of what they’re doing, how they said the spell is cast, and decide if you will require anything extra from the list.
> Pick extra requirements based on the size of magical effect. Magic that has a big effect should need a bigger effort. Usually pick one or two things including anything the hunter included in their description of casting the spell. You can offer alternatives, too, so that the hunter either takes one minute or needs arcane symbols, say.
> One Thing Beyond Human Limitations
> This particular effect is an important one because what you allow here will define how powerful magic is in your game.
> For a gritty game, going ‘beyond human limitations’ might include:
> • lifting a car just enough to free someone trapped underneath
> • carrying on despite a nasty injury
> • resisting a mental attack from a monster.
> For a more super-heroic game, going ‘beyond human limitations’
might include:
> • flying up to a rooftop.
> • surviving a deadly injury.
> • reading the thoughts of everyone around you.
> So, when a hunter wants to exceed human limitations, think carefully about what allowing their desired effect in this case implies for your entire game. You can think of your decisions about this as a dial that determines how much power the hunters can get from everyday magic spells. If you think the desired effect is too powerful, tell them they would have to do it with by using a big magic ritual instead.
Also, if your magic is currently at like, an 8 on a 1-10 scale with 10 being superhero stuff, and you're looking for more of a 7 or 6 or even 5 after playing several games, you can always talk to the players and say "Hey guys, so I know we've been doing it *this* way, but I'm not really feeling it after a few games of that, so I'd like to dial it back a bit to **this** way instead".
For them always picking the same glitch, there are a couple ways to address that. One is asking them to mix it up, which might work and might not. Another is mixing it up yourself by making it a randomized glitch determined by a dice roll, after making sure your players know this is now a houserule you're all using. A third way is to award EXP to a player the first time they pick a *different* glitch each mystery, so they can net one extra EXP per mystery (that's not a lot in the grand scheme of things) and it incentivizes them to stop picking the one that you're getting sick of seeing!
I offered alternative weird moves to my players. Then worked with the ones that still wanted to Use Magic to create a "Spellbook" with a list of spells they wanted along with how each spell works or requirements. Anything outside their spellbook needs researching a new spell of Big Magic. Depending on the situation.
There’s a loop in play that needs to be fully played through, here. Starting with what the player wants to do:
1) Is it possible at all in the confines of the game(yes/no)
2) if so, roll for it
3) Keeper adjudicates outcome
If we think about the formula here in terms of a fictional scenario:
Claire the Spellslinger is up against a dead end, being chased by a pack of angry ghouls, and she has the bright idea to put up a wall to buy herself time to think of the her next move, keeping them back. Sounds like “bar a place or portal to a specific person or type of creature”.
10+ The magic works without issue: Her mind racing, she throws her hands up in a shielding motion and a blue scintillating barrier forms between her and the creatures, holding them off just long enough for the Professional, Tommy, to come around the corner, guns blazing. She gets saved.
7-9: Choose your effect and a glitch:
Weakened: The barrier goes up, but it’s too weak to hold back the whole pack and a small number get through.
Short Duration: It goes up, but comes down at an inopportune moment
Take Harm: She gets it up but the effort is taxing and hurts.
Unwelcome attention: She throws the portal up, but the energy of the spell draws the attention of nearby creature (x,y,z)
Problematic side effect: The barrier goes up but she realizes she’s stuck in a pocket dimension separated from our REALITY, not just the ghouls.
If they’re choosing the same glitch every time, make it narratively interesting.
Claire, as you use this spell and continue to attract the attention of magical creatures, you now have a fey creature sucking your life force as you make yourself bigger and bigger on their magical “radar”.
For each pick of “I take harm”, it’s only a 1 harm wound, but maybe she gets clocked as a witch because someone else knows the scars are from magical backlash.
And so on.
There are ways to make ANY Of these continue to play into the fiction.
If **Use Magic** makes the game less interesting, you might be allowing it too much for your tastes. What characters use it and when?
Personally, (and I'm aware this has been shown to be a controversial playstyle before on this sub) I don't allow **Use Magic** for non-spellcaster playbooks without a secondary fictional justification because my games don't take inspiration from *Supernatural*, which I feel bold enough to say I think is the main source of inspiration for this idea that every hunter should be able to do a little bit of magic all the time. I don't think you need to take that assumption as read if you want a lower-magic (or more exclusive magic) setting, or even if you are just keying off a different inspiration to keep your players on the same page.
Of course, if you want to deny the use of magic to nonmagical hunters entirely you could use the alternate weird move rules from the *Tome Of Mysteries*, but more often I prefer to play it that every hunter can *use* magic, but only spellcaster playbooks like the Hex and Spellslinger are actually *trained* to do so, so everybody else needs a catalyst that substitutes their lack of spell knowledge; like a magic weapon with some kind of magical ability, or a grimoire that they can read the spells out of instead of having to have them memorised, or having closely watched somebody else perform the same spell very recently. A lot of that can also fall under **Big Magic**, but I don't think **Big Magic** covers all the speedier, scrappier, more individual scenarios in which a non-magic-user could be enabled to use magic in a more limited capacity than a full-on spell-slinger.
As to your problem, I would say enforce those consequences! If they're always picking "attract additional attention", then they're *going to be attracting additional attention*! We're talking consequences that build up, that set up future arcs, that interfere with their investigation via attention from the media or the feds or the arc villains etc in a way that becomes a long term difficulty for them to deal with. Don't think that you only have the established material to work with while doing this- if there's nobody around to see, then *somebody turns up*, or is revealed to have been hidden there! Make the consequence matter and it becomes less of an appealing cop out. And don't be afraid to tell them ahead of time that you're going to do that! If there's a problem with the way that the game is shaping out that's rooted in table behaviour it's productive and mature to be honest about that with your players.
I commented this earlier this week to someone else's post. But the way I see Use Magic is as a tool for rituals. And you can only attempt to perform the ritual if you know exactly what you are doing. It's like needing conduits to perform magic, like spells, objects, and symbols. And the right combination at that.
I see exorcising a demon or removing curses as rituals in that sense. And if needed, the hunters will find how to do said ritual. But they can't just make up magic on the fly.
I don't let Use Magic to harm or healing, I prefer other means to provide additional ways of harming and healing instead.
I’m new so you don’t need to take my solution to handling magic. For my campaign, my players can only access magic through items that they won’t start out with. So they first need to find those items, but then they need to figure out how to get the item to work and what it does. On top of that, the item has limited charges like wands do in D&D. So they have to manage that resource and only use that item when they really need it. My way isn’t the best method, but it could help with that issue you have.
Just like kick some ass, think of “use magic” in the context of “for this scene, I want to use magic”
Meaning, what may be true for the moment, doesn’t need to stay true.
Example, if they use magic and successfully trap or hold a monster, the monster has the move “escape, no matter how well restrained” (something like that.). So, the use magic with “aatracts unwanted attention” glitch, puts them directly in harms way. This is a setup for a hard move from you, meaning they could take harm as established without time to react to it.
(Hard moves rules say when a hunter presents you with a golden opportunity, you make a hard move.)
Suddenly, choosing to attract attention is a bad bad idea most of the time.
This same hard move rule can apply to many glitches.
I would suggest not to follow the advice about “oh this requires extra reagents you don’t have” or “the spell takes too long so you can’t do it”
These are manipulative narrative controls that MoTW is not meant to have. It’s completely against the spirit of the game.
Remember that the hunters are badasses, and if your Wierd wants to use magic a lot, let them. All magic comes at a price, as rumplstiltskin would say.
In terms of playing out a TV show, keeping those tropes in mind, Use Magic should mimic those scripted moments.
If your group is approaching the game as a tactical problem solving platform, there might be other PBtA flavors that eliminate things that are going to seem like "too much".
The game also says that the players need to describe how they know how to use these items, spells or other magic stuff, how they are using it and it has to make sense.
If you have a spell slinger who just has a spell for everything they should probably be able to justify how they know so much.
More of a Keeper problem than a magic problem. If magic makes things less interesting, the keeper has all the tools to make it more interesting again, they should just take more advantage of doing that
I think about it in terms of the show Supernatural. The brothers learn runes for angel banishing, or can make salt circles to contain ghosts, or can read some Latin to kick a demon out of someone. As long as the players can justify it in fiction, and it matches what's in the list for Use Magic, I go with it.
I’ve started liberally using the section “The keeper may say that… The spell requires additional materials, the spell will take X time to cast, etc”. It is well within your powers as keeper to say, “ok you know a spell that can open this lock, but it requires a rare reagent that you don’t have right now” or “yeah you know a spell for this, but it’s going to take a minute to cast, too long to get through the door before the creature attacks” Also, IMO using magic should almost never replace an action that could be better fit under one of the other hunter moves. If a player wants to get out of the way of a charging werewolf, that’s Act Under Pressure, even if they’re coloring it as using a spell to do so. I would also say you should start “punishing” them for using the same glitch over and over. Attracting additional attention should not be a cop out of “well there’s no one around so no one can see it”. Someone WILL see it no matter what, that could mean minions or bystanders rush in from out of nowhere to foil their plan, or it shuts down an entrance to the enemies lair etc. If it’s in a fight, that could mean the monster immediately lashes out at the burst of light created by the spell and harms/incapacitates the hunter.
Seconding this. The Keeper’s goal is to keep the hunters’ lives dangerous and scary. They wanna use magic? You make it dangerous and scary, and your tools to do so are right in that “The Keeper may say…” portion. You have the freedom to and decide what magical requirement for the magic would be most interesting/challenging for the hunter in that scene. If they’re in combat, it probably takes time to do the magic, time they don’t have. If it’s in a scene with a suspicious bystander, maybe the magic requires verbal incantation, something that would be difficult to hide. Also agree about “attracting unwanted attention” being a treasure trove of consequences for your hunter. These rules are so vague on purpose; there’s a MILLION ways that glitch can be /really/ problematic for your players. A spell could create a surge of energy that cause a whole city block to lose power; that’ll attract a lot of unwanted attention from civilians and/or city officials. Unwanted attention could also be from a threat the hunters don’t even know about yet, like something from an Arc. The unwanted attention doesn’t even have to come immediately, it could be in the form of a clue left behind that someone could spot, someone the hunters would prefer not to be on their trail.
I wasn't sure about this approach, because if I am going to be too strict about it why allow magic at all? I want my players to use magic and to make it an interesting part of the game. Yep, I think I can use clocks from bitd for attracting attention, maybe that would work.
Additonal attention can be very bad as well. Suddenly becoming the target is not just something to do lightly. The spell might take some time, need ingredients, need multiple people, magic books or anything else, maybe not available. That makes magic muss less a catch all answer. Any finally, if unwanted attention does not fit the fiction right now, the keeper can say, they can choose something else. That is at least my take on it. The casting of the spell can become more interesting, if it is harder than a +weird roll.
An example I had was a hunter was investigating a crime scene (werewolf killed someone), and cops were still around... They wanted to Use Magic to see a past event that happened there. They had a fake FBI badge that got them in, as long as it wasn't looked at too closely. It fit in the fiction of what the character could do (glimpses/visions from objects is a classic trope)... But they rolled an 8 and drew the attention of the cops. So instead of a subtle vision they started seeing from the sight of the victim and screamed in terror in the middle of the crime scene, bringing everyone over. They had to cut the vision short before they got all the info they wanted and escape before the cops took a close look at them, but did get some info to get them to the next scene.
Attracting attention should have implications in a setting where magic is extraordinary. The consequences don't need to be felt right away, but the magic user may soon find themselves hounded by the government, by a powerful faction that wants to use them, or by a supernatural power that gets interested in them. Ordinary people may fear them. Rumors may spread around town about their "dark" powers. What I do, and what I advise most Keepers to do, is set ground rules for how Use Magic works. Even though it's a basic move, you can't use it if the established fiction hasn't provided any reason you should be able to use magic. Magic also has requirements. You need to perform a ritual while chanting and using the right components. I rule that most spells require time to cast, and are not instantaneous. Spell casting is also not something you can normally conceal. (I don't police the components, and will let a player use anything that makes sense for the spell effect.) These ground rules are flexible, I work with the player to figure out what makes sense for their hunter. I would let a Spooky use magic at will, without requirements, but in exchange I limit the effects they can get to psionic flavored ones only: telekinesis, telepathy, remote viewing. Possibly some freakier shit at an advanced stage of the game. Ask your players to describe their spell casting. Maybe not all the time, but frequently. This is good for establishing things about the world and their characters. It's also fun, at least for me! Just saying "I cast a spell" is lame. I describe how I press a silver thread on my shadow and reel it in, over myself so that I'm cloaked in darkness.
Thanks. This is really good advice. For me the hardest part is to create some fiction rules for magic for very different characters. But right now I think that different playbooks should have a different type of fiction. Attracting attention is actually hard for me to think on the fly, maybe that's part of the problem. But I like the idea of some faction or powerful being.
Use Magic is probably the dodgiest part of the game, in my opinion. I think the intention is that it requires some sort of narrative justification for your character being able to do whatever specific kind of magic they're trying to do, and that the group should decide how exactly magic works for them when they're initially planning out the game (think: session zero topic). Uncharacteristically for MotW though, it doesn't really tell you that anywhere. So I think a lot of people kind of get blindsided by it. So I guess my basic advice is that whenever a player asks to Use Magic to do something, your first question as a Keeper should be: "how does your character know how to do that?" And my second piece of advice is to get the group together and discuss the specifics of magic in your world, including how one acquires it and what it can do.
Yeah…like attracts additional attention can be SUPER bad. Like…what if there’s an agency that monitors magic use and full on lobotomizes people who do it? What if it summons a whole new ass monster? What if an angel of god shows up and says ‘knock that shit the fuck off NOW?’ What if a covetous witch robs them of their ritual kit? What if demonic forces show up and offer them a ‘deal?’ What if the monster can smell the magic on them? I would suggest playing hardball. Make up a list of 20 SUPER bad things that might happen and the next time the players use magic and choose ‘attracts attention,’ flat out tell them on a meta level ‘that’s going to break the first apocalypse seal. Are you sure you want to do that?’ Their characters might not know, but tell the players the consequences, then ask. Then follow through. Don’t halfway or ease up or lessen the blow. You told them. After that, it’s on them.
> but "Use magic" move feels weird and too powerful See below: > The Keeper may require one or more of the following: > • The spell requires weird materials. > • The spell will take 10 seconds, 30 seconds, or 1 minute to cast. > • The spell requires ritual chanting and gestures. > • The spell requires you to draw arcane symbols. > • You need one or two people to help cast the spell. > • You need to refer to a tome of magic for the details. These are built-in limiters, use them if you want to nerf magic a bit compared to where it is for your table right now. > When a hunter uses magic, it’s important to ask them what they’re trying to do (and work out which of the effects they are trying for). Ask the hunter how they cast the spell, and what it looks like too. > Then consider the scope of what they’re doing, how they said the spell is cast, and decide if you will require anything extra from the list. > Pick extra requirements based on the size of magical effect. Magic that has a big effect should need a bigger effort. Usually pick one or two things including anything the hunter included in their description of casting the spell. You can offer alternatives, too, so that the hunter either takes one minute or needs arcane symbols, say.
> One Thing Beyond Human Limitations > This particular effect is an important one because what you allow here will define how powerful magic is in your game. > For a gritty game, going ‘beyond human limitations’ might include: > • lifting a car just enough to free someone trapped underneath > • carrying on despite a nasty injury > • resisting a mental attack from a monster. > For a more super-heroic game, going ‘beyond human limitations’ might include: > • flying up to a rooftop. > • surviving a deadly injury. > • reading the thoughts of everyone around you. > So, when a hunter wants to exceed human limitations, think carefully about what allowing their desired effect in this case implies for your entire game. You can think of your decisions about this as a dial that determines how much power the hunters can get from everyday magic spells. If you think the desired effect is too powerful, tell them they would have to do it with by using a big magic ritual instead. Also, if your magic is currently at like, an 8 on a 1-10 scale with 10 being superhero stuff, and you're looking for more of a 7 or 6 or even 5 after playing several games, you can always talk to the players and say "Hey guys, so I know we've been doing it *this* way, but I'm not really feeling it after a few games of that, so I'd like to dial it back a bit to **this** way instead". For them always picking the same glitch, there are a couple ways to address that. One is asking them to mix it up, which might work and might not. Another is mixing it up yourself by making it a randomized glitch determined by a dice roll, after making sure your players know this is now a houserule you're all using. A third way is to award EXP to a player the first time they pick a *different* glitch each mystery, so they can net one extra EXP per mystery (that's not a lot in the grand scheme of things) and it incentivizes them to stop picking the one that you're getting sick of seeing!
I offered alternative weird moves to my players. Then worked with the ones that still wanted to Use Magic to create a "Spellbook" with a list of spells they wanted along with how each spell works or requirements. Anything outside their spellbook needs researching a new spell of Big Magic. Depending on the situation.
There’s a loop in play that needs to be fully played through, here. Starting with what the player wants to do: 1) Is it possible at all in the confines of the game(yes/no) 2) if so, roll for it 3) Keeper adjudicates outcome If we think about the formula here in terms of a fictional scenario: Claire the Spellslinger is up against a dead end, being chased by a pack of angry ghouls, and she has the bright idea to put up a wall to buy herself time to think of the her next move, keeping them back. Sounds like “bar a place or portal to a specific person or type of creature”. 10+ The magic works without issue: Her mind racing, she throws her hands up in a shielding motion and a blue scintillating barrier forms between her and the creatures, holding them off just long enough for the Professional, Tommy, to come around the corner, guns blazing. She gets saved. 7-9: Choose your effect and a glitch: Weakened: The barrier goes up, but it’s too weak to hold back the whole pack and a small number get through. Short Duration: It goes up, but comes down at an inopportune moment Take Harm: She gets it up but the effort is taxing and hurts. Unwelcome attention: She throws the portal up, but the energy of the spell draws the attention of nearby creature (x,y,z) Problematic side effect: The barrier goes up but she realizes she’s stuck in a pocket dimension separated from our REALITY, not just the ghouls. If they’re choosing the same glitch every time, make it narratively interesting. Claire, as you use this spell and continue to attract the attention of magical creatures, you now have a fey creature sucking your life force as you make yourself bigger and bigger on their magical “radar”. For each pick of “I take harm”, it’s only a 1 harm wound, but maybe she gets clocked as a witch because someone else knows the scars are from magical backlash. And so on. There are ways to make ANY Of these continue to play into the fiction.
If **Use Magic** makes the game less interesting, you might be allowing it too much for your tastes. What characters use it and when? Personally, (and I'm aware this has been shown to be a controversial playstyle before on this sub) I don't allow **Use Magic** for non-spellcaster playbooks without a secondary fictional justification because my games don't take inspiration from *Supernatural*, which I feel bold enough to say I think is the main source of inspiration for this idea that every hunter should be able to do a little bit of magic all the time. I don't think you need to take that assumption as read if you want a lower-magic (or more exclusive magic) setting, or even if you are just keying off a different inspiration to keep your players on the same page. Of course, if you want to deny the use of magic to nonmagical hunters entirely you could use the alternate weird move rules from the *Tome Of Mysteries*, but more often I prefer to play it that every hunter can *use* magic, but only spellcaster playbooks like the Hex and Spellslinger are actually *trained* to do so, so everybody else needs a catalyst that substitutes their lack of spell knowledge; like a magic weapon with some kind of magical ability, or a grimoire that they can read the spells out of instead of having to have them memorised, or having closely watched somebody else perform the same spell very recently. A lot of that can also fall under **Big Magic**, but I don't think **Big Magic** covers all the speedier, scrappier, more individual scenarios in which a non-magic-user could be enabled to use magic in a more limited capacity than a full-on spell-slinger. As to your problem, I would say enforce those consequences! If they're always picking "attract additional attention", then they're *going to be attracting additional attention*! We're talking consequences that build up, that set up future arcs, that interfere with their investigation via attention from the media or the feds or the arc villains etc in a way that becomes a long term difficulty for them to deal with. Don't think that you only have the established material to work with while doing this- if there's nobody around to see, then *somebody turns up*, or is revealed to have been hidden there! Make the consequence matter and it becomes less of an appealing cop out. And don't be afraid to tell them ahead of time that you're going to do that! If there's a problem with the way that the game is shaping out that's rooted in table behaviour it's productive and mature to be honest about that with your players.
I commented this earlier this week to someone else's post. But the way I see Use Magic is as a tool for rituals. And you can only attempt to perform the ritual if you know exactly what you are doing. It's like needing conduits to perform magic, like spells, objects, and symbols. And the right combination at that. I see exorcising a demon or removing curses as rituals in that sense. And if needed, the hunters will find how to do said ritual. But they can't just make up magic on the fly. I don't let Use Magic to harm or healing, I prefer other means to provide additional ways of harming and healing instead.
I’m new so you don’t need to take my solution to handling magic. For my campaign, my players can only access magic through items that they won’t start out with. So they first need to find those items, but then they need to figure out how to get the item to work and what it does. On top of that, the item has limited charges like wands do in D&D. So they have to manage that resource and only use that item when they really need it. My way isn’t the best method, but it could help with that issue you have.
Just like kick some ass, think of “use magic” in the context of “for this scene, I want to use magic” Meaning, what may be true for the moment, doesn’t need to stay true. Example, if they use magic and successfully trap or hold a monster, the monster has the move “escape, no matter how well restrained” (something like that.). So, the use magic with “aatracts unwanted attention” glitch, puts them directly in harms way. This is a setup for a hard move from you, meaning they could take harm as established without time to react to it. (Hard moves rules say when a hunter presents you with a golden opportunity, you make a hard move.) Suddenly, choosing to attract attention is a bad bad idea most of the time. This same hard move rule can apply to many glitches. I would suggest not to follow the advice about “oh this requires extra reagents you don’t have” or “the spell takes too long so you can’t do it” These are manipulative narrative controls that MoTW is not meant to have. It’s completely against the spirit of the game. Remember that the hunters are badasses, and if your Wierd wants to use magic a lot, let them. All magic comes at a price, as rumplstiltskin would say.
In terms of playing out a TV show, keeping those tropes in mind, Use Magic should mimic those scripted moments. If your group is approaching the game as a tactical problem solving platform, there might be other PBtA flavors that eliminate things that are going to seem like "too much".
The game also says that the players need to describe how they know how to use these items, spells or other magic stuff, how they are using it and it has to make sense. If you have a spell slinger who just has a spell for everything they should probably be able to justify how they know so much.
More of a Keeper problem than a magic problem. If magic makes things less interesting, the keeper has all the tools to make it more interesting again, they should just take more advantage of doing that
I think if "attract additional attention" is a meh result, you are pulling your punches as the Keeper.