This is the PbtA element I was originally alluding to. Do those games contrain GM Agency more than traditional RPGs because they tell you what happens when a roll is successful? If so, how and why? D&D tells you what happens when a PC hits or a monster fails a save. But, at the same, time, the GM in 5E has a lot of latitude to determine results from other kinds of actions and rolls.
So here's an example move to Gather Information, from
Ironsworn page 62:
GATHER INFORMATION
When you search an area, ask questions, conduct an investigation, or follow a track, roll +wits. If you act within a community or ask questions of a person with whom you share a bond, add +1.
On a strong hit, you discover something helpful and specific. The path you must follow or action you must take to make progress is made clear. Envision what you learn (Ask the Oracle if unsure), and take +2 momentum.
On a weak hit, the information complicates your quest or introduces a new danger. Envision what you discover (Ask the Oracle if unsure), and take +1 momentum.
On a miss, your investigation unearths a dire threat or reveals an unwelcome truth that undermines your quest. Pay the Price. |
If a player rolls a
strong hit, some information is required to be provided by a source (the GM or other player input) that
clearly indicates a path to follow or action to take to make progress.
This is a classic case where a "trad" D&D / GURPS / WHFP / Rolemaster GM might introduce some prevarication invisibly, without the characters knowing, by inserting his or her own translation of what a success means.
"Well, I don't really think they deserve to get
this bit of information, because that's too important to something else I have planned later. And I don't think they deserve
this other bit of information, because they didn't tell me they specifically ransacked every tomb in the cemetery. And they probably don't deserve this bit of information, because, well, that's just too cool for me to give away now, and I want an appropriate dramatic moment to reveal it." So the GM throws out some half-baked, mostly vague, generally not useful information that the players already knew.
This kind of thing absolutely runs counter to the principles / spirit / intent of
Ironsworn specifically, and PbtA play generally.
The thing about PbtA, is
moves matter, A LOT. Every failed move introduces a potential obstacle or setback; there are no neutral failures. If a player succeeds at a check, give them the benefit the move describes.