Player knowledge of World Moves

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Player knowledge of World Moves
« on: January 17, 2013, 10:19:27 PM »
This is something of a poll question. To what degree do players in your DW games understand (or want to understand) the potential results prior having their character trigger a World Move?

For example, before "opening a sewer hatch" (see the World Move example from DW book), would the GM tell the player that a gelatinous cube to the face is an option?

DW is a player-facing game in many repsects, but some of the fun of the classic experience is the "oh crap" moment. So, I'm curious how folks play this sort of thing in their DW games.


Re: Player knowledge of World Moves
« Reply #1 on: January 17, 2013, 11:13:48 PM »
Good world moves are like dares.  You show them to the player and they see the possible outcomes and they know it could go wrong but, you know, they get to do something cool if it works out.  For example, if they see the move 'when you insult the king's hair, roll+Cha.  On a 10+, your honesty wins you favor.  On a 7-9, you win a friend but it's not the king,' it kinda plants the idea that there's a payoff for being bold in court.

Sometimes, just the trigger is cool and the move is more consequential - but it still tugs at them to put the move into play because they want the implied details of the trigger in the fiction.  For example, if you put out a move with the trigger 'when you fall from a speeding carriage', of course it's mostly bad but don't you want a carriage chase now?
« Last Edit: January 18, 2013, 08:32:03 AM by mease19 »

Re: Player knowledge of World Moves
« Reply #2 on: January 18, 2013, 05:33:05 AM »
Sometimes, I'll warn the player that doing something triggers a World Move and let them back out or find some way to work around the potential risk, but I won't tell them the possible outcomes until after they've committed to it. They can probably infer a few of the likely outcomes from the situation, though.

For example, when you browse the Goblin Market is the kind of move that I'll give people a bit of advance warning about. They might not realise out of character that this is the kind of place where weird things can happen to you just by being there, but their characters almost certainly will. On the other hand, when you immerse yourself in the Sacred Pool of Amn-Shegorath probably doesn't warrant advance warning.

Re: Player knowledge of World Moves
« Reply #3 on: January 18, 2013, 09:41:42 PM »
Thanks for the input folks!

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Re: Player knowledge of World Moves
« Reply #4 on: January 19, 2013, 12:52:44 AM »
Interesting. I don't present the moves beforehand, I announce them when they're triggered and only give the options that were rolled. Sort of like Defy, but they're pre-written. Like, "Okay, you're sneaking past the dogs? Roll +Dex. You got an 8? Here's your options..."

I think there's a lot of valid options but that's how I do it.

Re: Player knowledge of World Moves
« Reply #5 on: January 19, 2013, 02:58:29 AM »
I'll always present the move as open player knowledge, though maybe not until they've triggered it.

If I want to keep the consequences a secret, I'll just bake that into the move.  Instead of "you release a gelatinous cube" it can just be "you meet danger" -- The gelatinous cube is a secret, but the move isn't.

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noofy

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Re: Player knowledge of World Moves
« Reply #6 on: January 19, 2013, 03:47:37 PM »
For the 'listed' moves I present them prior, as Marshall does... Sort of like a dare.
For Custom 'on the fly' Defy Danger or similar, I often ask another player 'what's the worst that could happen?' and make that part of the 7-9 consequence.

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Re: Player knowledge of World Moves
« Reply #7 on: January 19, 2013, 10:45:07 PM »
Asking another player is a cool idea. My group is usually good about suggesting their own dark fates, so I usually take it to the person who rolled. But I think I'll start turning to the next player just to get them involved. Cool.