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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 9251849" data-attributes="member: 42582">So, in AW the rulebook emphasises that prep of fronts and their threats is binding. From p 136.Creating a front means making decisions about backstory and about NPC motivations. Real decisions, binding ones, that call for creativity, attention and care. You do it outside of play, between sessions, so that you have the time and space to think.There is also an example of this given in explaining how to adjudicate a player having their PC *open their brain to the world's psychic maelstrom, on p 121:When a player’s character opens her brain to the world’s psychic maelstrom, for instance, the rules might tell you to reveal something interesting. Something interesting? Look to your fronts: Joe’s Girl has joined the water cult, I’ll bet they didn’t know that. So say that, and of course say it according to the principles. Maybe “deep under the brain-howling, you come to hear … is it chanting? A list of people’s names, chanted over and over by a hundred subliminal voices. ‘Tum Tum … Gnarly … Fleece … Lala … Forner … Joe’s Girl … Shan …’” (Player: “wait, Joe’s Girl? <Hell's bells>.”)I don't know what the corresponding principle might be (or might not be) in BitD, but in my example, I'm imagining that the GM, having made decisions about the existence and motivations of the servant/worker cult, is bound by those decisions even though they haven't yet been revealed in play.The idea that one might reveal that prep through (say) ritual slaughter of guard dogs followed by arranging their bodies just so, or through dogs in the courtyard, or through pastry carts in the corridor, on the other hand, is for me more like prepping for Torchbearer, where part of that prep includes making notes on possible twists. It's basically putting some (hopefully) cool ideas in your pocket so you can bring 'em out later (or bring out some variant of, or riff, on them) if/when you need them.</blockquote>

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