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<blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 8701496" data-attributes="member: 6696971">On &quot;charged with conflict&quot; in AW...here is the thing.No, this isn't Dogs in the Vineyard where &quot;at every moment, drive play toward conflict&quot; and &quot;escalate/escalate/escalate&quot; (even then we Reflect between Towns) or Blades in the Dark (even then we End of Session and Downtime and Info Gather) with &quot;Cut to the Action&quot; or 4e D&amp;D with &quot;skip the gate guards and get to the fun...&quot; (even then we have transition scene vignettes).AW absolutely has moments of digression where you're meandering through the annals of your mind about scenery.&nbsp; You're working through framing a scene.&nbsp; You're asking questions about stuff and getting feedback.&nbsp; You're soliciting people to jump in or they're just jumping in and charging the situation themselves with a move made.You're taking breaks and reflecting.You're thinking about ephemera and talking about or doing it (like making maps).You're eliding some stuff or zooming way the hell out and resolving conflict at a really abstract, low resolution ((like Working Gigs or some custom moves for Journeys and the like).Yes, this happens in AW.But the overwhelming bulk of play is what Vincent outlines on page 97:&quot;Say it with me: there are no status quos in Apocalypse World.What it means instead: it’s your job to create a fractured, tilting landscape of inequalities, incompatible interests, PC-NPC-PC triangles, untenable arrangements. A dynamic opening situation, not a status quo you’re going to have to put your shoulder against and somehow shift, like pushing a futon up a ladder. No: an unstable mass, already charged with potential energy and ready to split and slide, not a mass at rest.&quot;That is all about &quot;chargedness.&quot;If a situation isn't charged and you're not zoomed out (like Working Gigs or digressing or reflecting), you're working to get to &quot;charged&quot; nearly all of the time.&nbsp; If you've barred the way...its either already charged or its about to be right quick (by one of the participants at the table...not necessarily the MC...players should be taking the initiative to charge situations with aggression and thematic, playbook-driven boldness).&nbsp; Otherwise, that wall or that rebuffing NPC or that whatever is just color (like the rat furs she's pinned to her wall on p 93)...its not an actual move made.&nbsp; Your MC moves foreground conflict, they provoke, they portend threat/danger/loss of control/someone who wants something that you don't want to give up/something you want from someone (or thing) that they don't want to give up.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Manbearcat, post: 8701496, member: 6696971"] On "charged with conflict" in AW...here is the thing. No, this isn't Dogs in the Vineyard where "at every moment, drive play toward conflict" and "escalate/escalate/escalate" (even then we Reflect between Towns) or Blades in the Dark (even then we End of Session and Downtime and Info Gather) with "Cut to the Action" or 4e D&D with "skip the gate guards and get to the fun..." (even then we have transition scene vignettes). AW absolutely has moments of digression where you're meandering through the annals of your mind about scenery. You're working through framing a scene. You're asking questions about stuff and getting feedback. You're soliciting people to jump in or they're just jumping in and charging the situation themselves with a move made. You're taking breaks and reflecting. You're thinking about ephemera and talking about or doing it (like making maps). You're eliding some stuff or zooming way the hell out and resolving conflict at a really abstract, low resolution ((like Working Gigs or some custom moves for Journeys and the like). Yes, this happens in AW. But the overwhelming bulk of play is what Vincent outlines on page 97: [I]"Say it with me: there are no status quos in Apocalypse World. What it means instead: it’s your job to create a fractured, tilting landscape of inequalities, incompatible interests, PC-NPC-PC triangles, untenable arrangements. A dynamic opening situation, not a status quo you’re going to have to put your shoulder against and somehow shift, like pushing a futon up a ladder. No: an unstable mass, already charged with potential energy and ready to split and slide, not a mass at rest."[/I] That is all about "chargedness." If a situation isn't charged and you're not zoomed out (like Working Gigs or digressing or reflecting), you're working to get to "charged" nearly all of the time. If you've barred the way...its either already charged or its about to be right quick (by one of the participants at the table...not necessarily the MC...players should be taking the initiative to charge situations with aggression and thematic, playbook-driven boldness). Otherwise, that wall or that rebuffing NPC or that whatever is just color (like the rat furs she's pinned to her wall on p 93)...its not an actual move made. Your MC moves foreground conflict, they provoke, they portend threat/danger/loss of control/someone who wants something that you don't want to give up/something you want from someone (or thing) that they don't want to give up. [/QUOTE]

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