Help with GM Moves

John,

I wasn't disagreeing with you. I really liked your fire example, because I think it helped open my eyes a bit to the problem I was having.

I was really using "effect" in the sense used in the the previous quote that Noofy provided. Basically where a "soft" moves were defined as "Say what happens, but stop before the effect and ask 'What do you do?'"

Whereas a hard move is "Say what happens including the effect".

By this definition, a soft move doesn't necessarily lack an immediate threat. "You hear a bull-like bellow as a massive shape bursts from the shadows. The ogre's face, twisted in anger, is briefly illuminated by your torchlight. Then it brings a tree-sized club down at your head with a massive, two-handed swing. What do you do?" would qualify as a soft move.

We could argue over the semantics of whether the blinding/choking/confusion in your narration was an effect or not--but I think it's undeniably different in nature than giving a modifier to future actions or applying damage or any other mechanical effect. Even while "narrative effects" might constrain the player's actions--they are really just the set for an upcoming spike. The ball is in the air, but the player still has a chance to react before it gets slammed down their throat.

Hey Rich!
It sounds like its beginning to gel, which is awesome, and John's examples are superb. How is the actual play going? The more you GM DW/AW the 'easier' it gets. Its not that different than what you would do GMing any other game, rather its explicit in the narrative as to when a hard or soft move is called for.

'Effects' are your special GM power. They can be mechanical or narrative, but as the esteemed Mr. Harper suggests, the fictional effects carry far more evocative 'weight' to the story. Its almost as if you have to convert a mechanical +1 or -1 into a fictional justification in order for it to 'make sense', whereas a narrated effect is so much more apparent to everyone and is deeply rooted in what is happening at the table.

Its all about being a fan of the PC's. In the introductions section to the AW chargen, Vx states that he could kill everyone just like that, but he won't, 'caus that would be a dick move.

In your example, the ogre could:
"You hear a bull-like bellow as a massive shape bursts from the shadows. The ogre's face, twisted in anger, is briefly illuminated by your torchlight. Then it brings a tree-sized club down at your head with a massive, two-handed swing, It crushes your skull for 20 damage".

You know that the PC has only 15hp and it will cause them to make the Death Move. Its a hard hard move (and possibly a dick move), but you can do that! Its a mechanical consequence that comes from the narration. Moves are both prescriptive and descriptive, it helps me enormously to remember this. Always include both facets to your conversation.

You could also say for instance: "You hear a bull-like bellow as a massive shape bursts from the shadows. The ogre's face, twisted in anger, is briefly illuminated by your torchlight. Then it brings a tree-sized club down at your head with a massive, two-handed swing. Luckily, your 'Thorin's Helm of infinite verisimilitude' protects your noggin, but shatters into metal and bone fragments, broken for ever, never to be re-forged."

Again a hard hard move. No real mechanical effect, but you are most certainly using up their most valuable magical resources, and possibly the mcguffin that the adventure was hinging on.

Please keep asking questions if you have them Rich! Its a great discussion we are having :)