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Help Me Get "Apocalypse World" and PbtA games in general.
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<blockquote data-quote="deleuzian_kernel" data-source="post: 8698560" data-attributes="member: 7036985"><p>You are essentially right. I want to complement your understanding by adding that if the action they take<strong> does not</strong> trigger a move, then the MC gets to say what happens by making a move of their own.</p><p></p><p>[HR][/HR]</p><p>I would also like to make a sidenote that it isn't so much that players tell the MC<em> what they <strong>want</strong> to do, </em>and then the MC asks them for a roll. Instead players <strong>do</strong> things in the fiction and if those things happen to trigger a move, then someone, anyone including themselves, calls for the appropriate roll.</p><p></p><p>This was one of the hardest and subtlest lessons for me to learn when I transitioned from more traditional games.</p><p></p><p>You see, most of us have come to expect during our time with traditional RPGs that one implicit GM function is to "police" over which things players say actually become part of the fiction, and which need to get somehow "filtered" before they become real in the fiction. This is <strong>not</strong> the kind of collaboration Apocalypse World asks of us. In Apocalypse World players have <strong>authority</strong> over their characters and the things that they do within the fictional space. What they say <strong>sticks</strong>; and as the MC you should not contradict or block what they say but instead respond to it.</p><p></p><p>This is the other side of the coin of<strong> if you do it, you do it; to do it, you have to do it. </strong>A move is not a thing that grants permission to do something in the fiction; it is what happens the moment someone <strong>does </strong>something that matches its trigger. It is already in <em>motion</em>.</p><p></p><p>Now, every time a player says to me "I want to do X" (asking for permission due to their trad expectations), I often respond with "Cool! Do you do it?" (Cause that's the only way we are going to find out what happens.)</p><p>[HR][/HR]</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>This goes all back to the fact that Apocalypse World's most fundamental structure is <strong>The Conversation</strong>. When do you get to say something? When it's your turn to add something to the conversation.</p><p></p><p>You get to make your GM moves (MC Moves, Threat Moves) when players look at you expecting you to say something. From experience, I know that players are going to look at you, most likely, at the beginning of the session and in between scenes to set up new action, and they will also look at you after they get the result from a move, good or bad. Essentially they are going to look at you when it's clear that in order to continue with the story, <strong>you, </strong>The MC, have to say something.</p><p></p><p>That's your trigger. You make your moves in response to the flow of the conversation. Once its clear that it's your turn to say something, you look down at the fiction to help you decide which move to make.</p><p></p><p>Also, this "lull" word you've been using, I believe it is vocabulary that comes from Masks and not AW. In that game, a lull in the action is a hint that its your turn to say something in the conversation. Different game though, so I think it might be useful for you to keep them separate in your head.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="deleuzian_kernel, post: 8698560, member: 7036985"] You are essentially right. I want to complement your understanding by adding that if the action they take[B] does not[/B] trigger a move, then the MC gets to say what happens by making a move of their own. [HR][/HR] I would also like to make a sidenote that it isn't so much that players tell the MC[I] what they [B]want[/B] to do, [/I]and then the MC asks them for a roll. Instead players [B]do[/B] things in the fiction and if those things happen to trigger a move, then someone, anyone including themselves, calls for the appropriate roll. This was one of the hardest and subtlest lessons for me to learn when I transitioned from more traditional games. You see, most of us have come to expect during our time with traditional RPGs that one implicit GM function is to "police" over which things players say actually become part of the fiction, and which need to get somehow "filtered" before they become real in the fiction. This is [B]not[/B] the kind of collaboration Apocalypse World asks of us. In Apocalypse World players have [B]authority[/B] over their characters and the things that they do within the fictional space. What they say [B]sticks[/B]; and as the MC you should not contradict or block what they say but instead respond to it. This is the other side of the coin of[B] if you do it, you do it; to do it, you have to do it. [/B]A move is not a thing that grants permission to do something in the fiction; it is what happens the moment someone [B]does [/B]something that matches its trigger. It is already in [I]motion[/I]. Now, every time a player says to me "I want to do X" (asking for permission due to their trad expectations), I often respond with "Cool! Do you do it?" (Cause that's the only way we are going to find out what happens.) [HR][/HR] This goes all back to the fact that Apocalypse World's most fundamental structure is [B]The Conversation[/B]. When do you get to say something? When it's your turn to add something to the conversation. You get to make your GM moves (MC Moves, Threat Moves) when players look at you expecting you to say something. From experience, I know that players are going to look at you, most likely, at the beginning of the session and in between scenes to set up new action, and they will also look at you after they get the result from a move, good or bad. Essentially they are going to look at you when it's clear that in order to continue with the story, [B]you, [/B]The MC, have to say something. That's your trigger. You make your moves in response to the flow of the conversation. Once its clear that it's your turn to say something, you look down at the fiction to help you decide which move to make. Also, this "lull" word you've been using, I believe it is vocabulary that comes from Masks and not AW. In that game, a lull in the action is a hint that its your turn to say something in the conversation. Different game though, so I think it might be useful for you to keep them separate in your head. [/QUOTE]
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