Dungeon World Zen

Okay, so after running a game wrong, and reading some forum posts, I think I might get the way DW is supposed to work.  I want to recap my thoughts here to get some feedback.

I now understand that monster moves happen when players roll badly enough on a player character move.  But what was getting me, though, was what happens if the player characters never make a move?  Just standing there while a grizzly bear charges, them, for example. 

I worked through that to come to my basic statement of DW philosophy, which I hope is right:  Player character moves are the player's way to alter the course of the narration. 

So if they do nothing, I continue narrating how the bear mauls them, and have them take damage.  If they want to avoid that, they need to make a move of some sort. 

Is that how it's intended to be run?

Short answer: Yes yes yes!

Long answer: Coming in a minute.

So if they do nothing, I continue narrating how the bear mauls them, and have them take damage.  If they want to avoid that, they need to make a move of some sort. 

Is that how it's intended to be run?

Yes!  The thing, too, is that this runs through the whole text.  We talk about always asking "what do you do?" so that if a player says "nothing?" you can make a move.  Those are the rules.  On top of that, you can see it in things like Fronts, which are ways to guide the narrative "if the players do nothing".  Sage, I am sure, will elucidate.

First off, a refresher on GM moves: there are two types, soft and hard.

A soft one is a GM move where the consequences are revocable or pending. That usually means that the player is in a spot that they can get out of, and maybe that if they don't get out of it there's something bad coming. Some examples: getting trapped in a net, the goblins start their charge, the rumble as the temple starts to collapse.

A hard move is a GM move where the consequences are immediate and more or less permanent. Damage is the typical example, but there are others: the duke cuts off your funding, the ground collapses and you fall into a deeper level of the dungeon.

The text mentions three times to make a move: when everyone looks at you to find out what happens, when the players fail a roll, and when they give you a golden opportunity.

When the players look at you to find out what happens you make a soft move. Remember that not every move is entirely bad: maybe you reveal an unfortunate truth, or tell them the requirements and ask.

When the players fail a roll you make a hard move. Damage is often an obvious choice, but there are more: the goblin dodges your swing, nabs your coinpurse from your belt, and runs off with it. The ogre pins you under one meaty hand.

The the players give you a golden opportunity you can make as hard a move as you like. Doing nothing in the face of an onslaught is certainly a golden opportunity, as is doing something amazingly dangerous without precautions: walking up to a troll, insulting its ancestors, and slapping it on the face (all without a weapon or armor). This is kind of the "if they ask for it" rule. It's often a good idea to clarify that's really what they meant to do first. "So you're really crossing the profane circle on the floor to interrupt the ritual? The one that just turned a poor goblin to dust?"

So you're making moves all the time, really. In fact a lot of what you already do as an experienced GM (which I'm presuming you are) could be counted as moves. The 6- result is just a cue to make that move as hard as is appropriate to the situation. The rest of the time you're making softer moves, unless they really set themselves up, then you go as hard as you like.

That helps a lot, thanks! 

I think these sort of explanations along with how to adjudicate common dungeon challenges as noted in the question about stealth would help make this game even more noob friendly.

I know its in there but making it very explicit even a bit redundant may help those people who haven't seen this sort of game before.

I think Sage and Adam will most definitely put an extended example in the book that highlights the move decision making process of the players (Inclusive of the GM). Once you play a few times and see the snowball at work, it really is a smooth-flowing system.

I agree with saintandsinner. During our second play session i realized I was doing combat completely wrong..The opponent only hitting on a 7-9 roll!!!!

Went from stupid easy to UH OH!  :)

There is an extended example as of Beta 2.3 with stealth in it! And fighting!

There is an extended example as of Beta 2.3 with stealth in it! And fighting!

The problem is that there is no example given for a complete failure.  I think that several examples of applying moves, especially non-damage ones, against a player when rolling a failure would be great especially with multiple attackers.

The problem is that there is no example given for a complete failure.  I think that several examples of applying moves, especially non-damage ones, against a player when rolling a failure would be great especially with multiple attackers.

This is a very good idea.  IMHO

And honestly, examples are good, but I get a lot out of these conversational discussions of when to make moves and why.  They would just clutter the main rules chapter, for instance, but would be helpful in a separate section ("For more detail, see...") with or without examples.