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<blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 9006144" data-attributes="member: 29398">Because, IMO, a) the setting has to have surprises, secrets, and backstory; and b) somebody (i.e. the DM) has to be charged with keeping those secrets and backstory elements straight, and their application consistent.&nbsp; That's what backstory prep is, and what it's for.&nbsp; Unless the game specifically involves omniscient PCs, the PCs (and thus, the players) don't and can't know everything about the setting, and thus it's beyond artificial that they'd be warned about everything bad that's about to happen to them.&nbsp; Referring to the sniper example upthread, once in a while in a dangerous environment such as that which adventurers usually seem to operate in, you're just not going to know what's hit you maybe even until after you're already dead...which mirrors the PCs ability to ambush a foe and place it in the same situation: it's dead before it knows what hit it.&nbsp; War, not sport.And before anyone accuses me of supporting &quot;gotcha&quot; play, I'll just cut to the chase and say right out that yes, I do support gotcha play when it makes sense.&nbsp; Like anything else, it shouldn't be overdone, but nor should it be eschewed entirely.AW only allows a hard move under certain prescribed circumstances.&nbsp; I prefer it if &quot;hard moves&quot; are allowed at any time that makes sense, as authorized by whatever prep the DM is using and-or whatever history has already been established through play.&nbsp; An example of the first: if the module says there's a killer trap hidden there, I'm not going to proactively telegraph it and nor should I be expected to.&nbsp; Instead, they'll either proactively look, or they'll take a captive and get info, or do something else proactive to learn; or some unlucky PC is going to walk into it and die.An example of the second (and this comes back to downstream hard moves as referenced earlier): revenge is a dish best served cold.&nbsp; If the PCs killed off a respected member of the local Assassins' guild last summer (maybe without even realizing who/what she was), then on returning to town for the winter it makes sense the guild is going to want their pound of flesh; hence the rooftop sniper with the poisoned bolt waiting for one of them to emerge from their inn.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Lanefan, post: 9006144, member: 29398"] Because, IMO, a) the setting has to have surprises, secrets, and backstory; and b) somebody (i.e. the DM) has to be charged with keeping those secrets and backstory elements straight, and their application consistent. That's what backstory prep is, and what it's for. Unless the game specifically involves omniscient PCs, the PCs (and thus, the players) don't and can't know everything about the setting, and thus it's beyond artificial that they'd be warned about everything bad that's about to happen to them. Referring to the sniper example upthread, once in a while in a dangerous environment such as that which adventurers usually seem to operate in, you're just not going to know what's hit you maybe even until after you're already dead...which mirrors the PCs ability to ambush a foe and place it in the same situation: it's dead before it knows what hit it. War, not sport. And before anyone accuses me of supporting "gotcha" play, I'll just cut to the chase and say right out that yes, I do support gotcha play when it makes sense. Like anything else, it shouldn't be overdone, but nor should it be eschewed entirely. AW only allows a hard move under certain prescribed circumstances. I prefer it if "hard moves" are allowed at any time that makes sense, as authorized by whatever prep the DM is using and-or whatever history has already been established through play. An example of the first: if the module says there's a killer trap hidden there, I'm not going to proactively telegraph it and nor should I be expected to. Instead, they'll either proactively look, or they'll take a captive and get info, or do something else proactive to learn; or some unlucky PC is going to walk into it and die. An example of the second (and this comes back to downstream hard moves as referenced earlier): revenge is a dish best served cold. If the PCs killed off a respected member of the local Assassins' guild last summer (maybe without even realizing who/what she was), then on returning to town for the winter it makes sense the guild is going to want their pound of flesh; hence the rooftop sniper with the poisoned bolt waiting for one of them to emerge from their inn. [/QUOTE]

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