Thomas Shey
Legend
So, a "condition" would generally be a hard move. And so would be imposed when the rules permit and the GM decides that it follows from the fiction.
I think "when the rules permit" is doing some heavy lifting there. Though perhaps there's a more broad case of "rules permitting" than I've noticed in either of the two PbtA games I own.
The rules of Apocalypse World permit a hard move (i) when a player's adjusted roll for a move is 6 or less, or (ii) when a player hands a golden opportunity on a plate.
Well, the first I was absolutely aware of. Can you elaborate on what you mean by the second?
This is why I am saying that the key difference is not the mechanics, but the rules that constrain a GM making a hard move.
I think the problem is I consider the latter to be mechanics. Mechanics aren't just about how you roll dice.
To give a concrete example: in Moldvay Basic, it's fair game (as far as rules and procedures are concerned) to have deadly traps strike from nowhere. The opening of the chest in the example of play, where Black Dougal dies from a poison needle (because the player fails a save) is an example.
In Dungeon World, on the other hand, you die from the poison (a hard move by the GM) is not permissible in the absence of a soft move that put the life of the PC at stake in some fashion.
OD&D is much the same as Moldvay Basic in this context.
Okay, I think I get what you're talking about.
But it's not the same in virtually any RPG.
Consider, again, classic D&D (in any of its varieties - Moldvay Basic, Gygax's AD&D, OD&D, etc): as part of the conversation, it is permitted for the GM to make hard moves (including "nothing happens") just as their prep, and their extrapolation from their prep, dictatees. But in Dungeon World the making of hard moves is governed by completely different principles. Likewise Apocalypse World. I don't know how different Monster of the Week is from these other PbtA RPGs, but I'd be surprised if it's closer to classic D&D than it is to them.
I think what I was referring to as "could happen in any game" are things that are either soft moves or not moves at all. They're things that may have some impact on the fiction but don't really have any, well, consequences of any account.