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<blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 9286118" data-attributes="member: 82106">I think all of these techniques and advices are highly situational and their valence depends heavily on additional factors, particularly game play process factors. Just taking your phrase above, I might ask consequentially:1) how was the existence of the village established?2) how is the nature and resources of the village established? Is it predetermined or is it open to discovery? Is that discovery player or GM mediated?3) how was the existence of bandits as a threat established? 4) At what point in the process of play, or pre-play were all of the above established?5) What are the principles of play which are being invoked, if any, in terms of what to establish, and how?6) How much is established to follow from the village/bandit conflict?Those are all vital questions! I mean, if nothing more than the existence of a village and some threatening bandits exists as a 'plot element', then there is VERY LITTLE plot, I think that's safe to say. There's a bit, &quot;the bandits are going to attack the village tomorrow&quot; is a plot element, but a small one. We can see a contrast here though, with say a DW danger. The bandit danger in DW has an impulse: 'loot and pillage' lets say. It will have a grim portent, maybe something like &quot;the local reeve drove off a couple of suspicious strangers trying to steal a cow the other day, they disappeared into the Forest of Grin.&quot; There isn't really 'plot' here per-se, there's incipient story though! The bandits are very likely to attack the village, for sure, but it might not happen if, say, the PCs are proactive and attack the bandit camp first, before granting the GM a great opening to use his hard move to have the attack happen (say after the grim portent fires off on a soft move). It is definitely qualitatively a different sort of play, and things like 'clue rules' don't necessarily apply.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="AbdulAlhazred, post: 9286118, member: 82106"] I think all of these techniques and advices are highly situational and their valence depends heavily on additional factors, particularly game play process factors. Just taking your phrase above, I might ask consequentially: 1) how was the existence of the village established? 2) how is the nature and resources of the village established? Is it predetermined or is it open to discovery? Is that discovery player or GM mediated? 3) how was the existence of bandits as a threat established? 4) At what point in the process of play, or pre-play were all of the above established? 5) What are the principles of play which are being invoked, if any, in terms of what to establish, and how? 6) How much is established to follow from the village/bandit conflict? Those are all vital questions! I mean, if nothing more than the existence of a village and some threatening bandits exists as a 'plot element', then there is VERY LITTLE plot, I think that's safe to say. There's a bit, "the bandits are going to attack the village tomorrow" is a plot element, but a small one. We can see a contrast here though, with say a DW danger. The bandit danger in DW has an impulse: 'loot and pillage' lets say. It will have a grim portent, maybe something like "the local reeve drove off a couple of suspicious strangers trying to steal a cow the other day, they disappeared into the Forest of Grin." There isn't really 'plot' here per-se, there's incipient story though! The bandits are very likely to attack the village, for sure, but it might not happen if, say, the PCs are proactive and attack the bandit camp first, before granting the GM a great opening to use his hard move to have the attack happen (say after the grim portent fires off on a soft move). It is definitely qualitatively a different sort of play, and things like 'clue rules' don't necessarily apply. [/QUOTE]

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