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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 8305945" data-attributes="member: 82106">I guess I don't like the terminology 'constraining', as if the players and the GM are really wrestling for leverage on the narrative. Yes, the players presumably want to see the PC's goals achieved, and to earn XP and thus advance in level. However, the GM isn't at all opposed to this. Her job is only to make it interesting and challenging. The players can tell the GM what they want the story to be about. Maybe by how they answer questions, or maybe by how they ASK questions, and certainly by which fictional actions they take.I think the admonition against players describing their character's actions in terms of MOVES (and the GM is never ever supposed to name his moves either) is important here. The GM ALWAYS has a certain leeway in terms of how he frames the action. VERY VERY often he can decide that you are Defying Danger vs Hack & Slashing, for example. This is a pretty significant mechanical distinction! Now, maybe there are cases where a clever player can skillfully limit the options of the GM to say, Hack & Slash. I agree this is skill, but given the GM's agenda of being a fan of the players and play to see what happens, this doesn't seem like CONTROL, and in fact it is just as likely the GM will naturally want the same things as the players! There is clearly skill here. It could take a couple of forms, but I don't think DW is fundamentally ABOUT skilled play in any mechanical sense, except maybe "I am good at maximizing our achieving of our mutual agendas by way of getting certain moves to happen." To go back to [USER=6696971]@Manbearcat[/USER]'s talk about 'win cons' in another thread, I don't think there REALLY are 'win cons' in a hard sense in DW. You may want to get XP, level up, and achieve the PC's goals, but you don't WIN by doing that. It may put some added tools in your toolchest by opening up some additional moves, or get you some gear, or something, but DW works fine without even leveling. I think the XP/Leveling system is useful, but it is not actually pivotal to DW like it is to D&D.</blockquote>

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