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<blockquote data-quote="Ovinomancer" data-source="post: 8697503" data-attributes="member: 16814">A hook is an invitation to a GM prepared topic of play.&nbsp; It's the guy in the corner with a job, or a rumor of bad guys massing, or somesuch.&nbsp; It's not a generic term for &quot;thing I've prepped.&quot;&nbsp; If you're deploying hooks as the GM in AW (not necessarily in MotW) then you are not engaged with the play as intended.The core thing with AW (and many PbtA games) is that until it's in play it's not, and cannot, be binding on play.&nbsp; So, with that context, prep is just you thinking about stuff that could, maybe happen or details about the world that are evocative and can be pulled on when play asks for them.&nbsp; Prep is not like in D&amp;D, where your prep is, at least to a large degree, the truth about the setting that then constrains how you narrate results of action declarations. Here's an example.&nbsp; You, though play, introduce an NPC type.&nbsp; We need to play to find out how this NPC works in play.&nbsp; If you've &quot;prepped&quot; the idea that this NPC will start a fight with the first person that questions them, then you are not playing to find out -- you've established an outcome that will constrain the outcome of action declarations in a way that is not supported by the principles of play.&nbsp; This is not the &quot;prep&quot; discussed.&nbsp; Instead, if you have this NPC &quot;prepped&quot; as &quot;has a wickedly scarred face, where it looks like a hyena used him as a chewtoy, making him look hard, and he is hard and will press PCs.&quot;&nbsp; Then you haven't determined outcomes so much as established for yourself a set of guidelines for how this NPC might react depending on the outcomes of a check.&nbsp; If a PC 'Goes Aggro' on this guy and succeeds, you know that this NPC might very well just press the issue and take the consequence to keep going.&nbsp; After all, he's already been chewed on by a hyena, so what's he got to lose?&nbsp; This is a nuanced distinction, but extremely important.&nbsp; &quot;Prep&quot; cannot ever be a limiter on play.&nbsp; Only what's established in play is a limiter on play.&nbsp; &quot;Prep&quot; in AW is really just some prompts and ideas that might be useful.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Ovinomancer, post: 8697503, member: 16814"] A hook is an invitation to a GM prepared topic of play. It's the guy in the corner with a job, or a rumor of bad guys massing, or somesuch. It's not a generic term for "thing I've prepped." If you're deploying hooks as the GM in AW (not necessarily in MotW) then you are not engaged with the play as intended. The core thing with AW (and many PbtA games) is that until it's in play it's not, and cannot, be binding on play. So, with that context, prep is just you thinking about stuff that could, maybe happen or details about the world that are evocative and can be pulled on when play asks for them. Prep is not like in D&D, where your prep is, at least to a large degree, the truth about the setting that then constrains how you narrate results of action declarations. Here's an example. You, though play, introduce an NPC type. We need to play to find out how this NPC works in play. If you've "prepped" the idea that this NPC will start a fight with the first person that questions them, then you are not playing to find out -- you've established an outcome that will constrain the outcome of action declarations in a way that is not supported by the principles of play. This is not the "prep" discussed. Instead, if you have this NPC "prepped" as "has a wickedly scarred face, where it looks like a hyena used him as a chewtoy, making him look hard, and he is hard and will press PCs." Then you haven't determined outcomes so much as established for yourself a set of guidelines for how this NPC might react depending on the outcomes of a check. If a PC 'Goes Aggro' on this guy and succeeds, you know that this NPC might very well just press the issue and take the consequence to keep going. After all, he's already been chewed on by a hyena, so what's he got to lose? This is a nuanced distinction, but extremely important. "Prep" cannot ever be a limiter on play. Only what's established in play is a limiter on play. "Prep" in AW is really just some prompts and ideas that might be useful. [/QUOTE]

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