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Ok, first off, I know that I, and probably a lot of other GMs who need to improv and encounter probably already have some ideas in the back of their minds. I say there’s footprints—and since the players probably want clarification, I might specify human-sized bootprints. This would give me an...

One: the 5.14 DMG definition of the word encounter does not conflict with what we’ve been saying. Two: there are more games that use encounters than just D&D.

If the party follows the tracks, they’ll almost certainly come across what made them. And that’s the encounter. But that’s unimportant, because anyone who has ever played a trad game knows what an encounter is, and anyone, even someone who hasn’t played such a game but who has internet access...

Sure.

There are some whiteboard apps out there that allow you to have multiple people view and modify it in real time. My group doesn’t use them because it’s a pain for some of us to keep switching between tabs. We generally stick to theater of the mind via discord and occasionally throw some maps up...

Depends on the system. Take a look at City of Mist to see what I consider to be an extreme modification to the PbtA “system.” I’m sure someone else can point to a game with even bigger differences. But it really depends on what you’re trying to do with the game. Reflavor it? Add a subsystem...

Taken Out in Fate means you’re not in the scene anymore; it doesn’t necessarily mean dead (Emphasis mine) Edit: It should be noted that it’s not easy to be Taken Out, nor is it easy to heal from it. It’s not like D&D where death is no biggie and spare the dying is a cantrip. If you’re in...

No, the hints are not the encounter. Following the hints leads to the encounter. Deliberately avoiding those hints is bypassing the encounter—or potential encounter, if you prefer. I agree that’s how the DMG puts it. I agree that’s how a lot of GMs, regardless of system, do it (even if...

Ah. I’ve only read the book once so I missed that!

That was the point, though. The GM describes tracks. Following the tracks would lead to an encounter with a potentially hostile group. The PCs go around them or go in a different direction. They get to their destination having bypassed that encounter—the encounter with a potentially hostile...

A bunch of other games have similar. Fate has mental stress, which you can take from social encounters, and in Fate Accelerated and Fate Condensed you just take regular stress. I believe you take stress from social encounters in Daggerheart as well, but I’ve only read through the book once. Lots...

No. As I’ve said multiple times, it’s possible, even easy to have completely improvised encounters and to bypass them.

Literally the entire definition in the dictionary is the same as the typical RPG usages. In many RPGs, “move” means movement, as in “my character moves 30 feet.” It doesn’t mean “move the story along” like it does in PbtA games. And it doesn’t help that some moves are like other games’ skills...

Because there isn’t. Or rather, there isn’t always. I prep NPCs with their own interests and goals. The players may choose to interact with those NPCs, or they may not. The fact that there’s an NPC that exists doesn’t force the players to do anything. My Level Up party has no healers. I knew...

An encounter doesn’t have to include a threat. A social encounter is an encounter that can be avoided, even though the only threat might be being bored because of dull conversation.

I’m guessing it’s the equivalent of D&D’s rare/very rare/legendary tiers of magic items, so there wouldn’t be improved versions. I’m still not 100% sure if regular weapons automatically upgrade with you when you go up a tier, or if you have to replace your regular broadsword with an Improved...

Unfortunately, some games—like D&D—don’t have social-specific resources to be drained, which undoubtedly leads people into thinking that social events aren’t encounters. Hmm. Considering how easy it is to regain hit points in D&D, maybe social events should cause damage.

So “GM comes up with something on the fly, players decide to move around it” isn’t a satisfying answer? What more do you want?

Hey, the verb form is used pretty darn often! 😀 PbtA games do tend to have a “one true way”-ism feel to them, which can be very off-putting, especially if they’re writer combines it with an overly… snotty, perhaps, style of writing. And I agree that it’s not an intuitive “rule” at all. I will...