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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 9003554" data-attributes="member: 82106">Think about this in practice though... Why would a GM ever say to himself "aha, the PCs decided to spend more time searching for the lost sword! I'll have the orcs burn down their house while they remain away." It just doesn't really make sense. Sure, I don't disagree it might be a logical consequence, but there are other principles at work here, like making things exciting, and being a fan of the PCs. The GM is much more likely to invoke such a hard move in a more immediate context where the action is immediately relevant. Like, "as you return to your house, you see a couple of orcs setting fire to it!" This can simply be scene framing, though I guess it amounts to a 'move'. You could account for it through some earlier offscreen move I guess, that's OK, but I see little of interest in presenting the results of a hard move later on as just a 'done deal'.Honestly, I think this is one of those cases where there are differences of opinion on how DW should be played. As I said above, it is hard to come up with good cases for making 'detached moves'. I would say there needs to be a pretty explicit foreshadowing or something like that, like some sign the orcs are out on a spree, before this offscreen house burning can happen. To be honest the only moves that I would really consider making that way would be for threats that the PCs have explicitly ignored, almost surely fronts and their dooms. So if I have an 'orc invasion front' and I declare a doom "the orcs appear to be burning outlying farms to the north" then maybe the PCs who go on about unrelated business come back to find orcs setting fire to their place, and the setting fire move was 'offscreen' when I made it.There is a Dungeon World 'guide' book out there, if you haven't run into it already. I think I read it years ago and I don't honestly remember specifically all of what is in there, but I think it codifies at least some practice a bit beyond what the rules text says straight out. The main things I've seen people do that IMHO diverge from the intent of the game is centering play on GM plot and moves that arise out of the GM's own idea of 'how things should be', and then things like anemic play where the GM either doesn't make moves, or makes moves that don't put any pressure on the PCs. I have not really seen a 'too harsh' DW GM. I've seen cases where people quibbled about specific moves, and there's certainly wiggle room in most situations, but usually the GM is exercising one of several good options, maybe one that is more aggressive than some player wished, but is not out of keeping with the rules etc. Lots of players would like it, for instance, if the GM didn't hit them with some damage that they have earned, lol. Often the GM COULD interject a DD or something in there, but really you should hit the PCs with what they have earned! And sometimes the only way through as a PC involves losing some skin!</blockquote>

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