Lay on Hands

Summary

Lay on Hands is a paladin class ability in Dungeon World that Vasso possesses, allowing the character to heal others or themselves. The ability uses Charisma as its governing stat and represents one of the core healing capabilities available to paladins in the campaign. During Session 3, the ability was discussed in the context of character advancement options, specifically whether to enhance its effectiveness through additional moves.

Details

Lay on Hands functions as a paladin class move that enables healing through the expenditure of the character's Charisma modifier. In Dungeon World, this represents the paladin's divine power channeled through their devotion and force of personality.

The ability can be enhanced by taking the Hospitalier advanced move, which adds an additional +1d8 to the healing provided. This improvement was under consideration during Session 3, as Dayna evaluated whether to select Hospitalier among the available Advanced Moves for Vasso's character development. As Shawn explained, taking Hospitalier would mean that "when you heal that you would heal an additional plus one D8" beyond the base healing provided by Lay on Hands.

The decision to enhance Lay on Hands versus selecting other advancement options reflects the strategic choices players face when developing their characters' capabilities in the campaign.

History

Session 3

Lay on Hands became relevant during character advancement discussions when Dayna considered taking the Hospitalier advanced move. Dayna noted, "I already have the lay on hands," establishing that Vasso already possessed this core paladin ability at the beginning of the session. The conversation focused on whether enhancing this existing healing capability through Hospitalier would be the best use of an advancement selection, with Shawn clarifying the mechanical benefit of the additional 1d8 healing that the advanced move would provide.