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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 8227295" data-attributes="member: 6696971">ON PROTAGONISMThe best place to start to illustrate the concept is the Indie TTRPG My Life With Master.1)  At the outset of the game, the GM and the players design "The Master" with a series of tags; Wants, Needs, Aspect, Type.  This serves two purposes:a)  It gives the players a level of protagonism because they're defining (i) what the nature of their enemy will be and (ii) therefore what their Minions (their PCs) will be struggling against.b)  Along with the rest of the gaming tech (PC build, action resolution mechanics, feedback loops, GMing techniques), this orients The Master as THE PROTAGONIST at the outset of the game.2)  The point of play is for the players to advocate for their Minions, carve out their thematic portfolio during play, create relationships with the Townsfolk (or carry out The Masters brutal regime of orders and deal with the fallout depending on how any given scene plays out), all in effort to wrest protagonism from The Master (thereby transferring it to any given Minion, some Minions, or the Townsfolk), culminating in the realization of either The Master's Wants/Needs, or the Minion(s) and the Townsfolk.Basically, its a crucible of protagonism where the players orient the game (by creating the NPC protagonist) and then attempt to wrest the protagonism from their creation (which the GM plays).+++++++++++++++++++++++++++A game like Dungeon World (and Apocalypse World and Dogs in the Vineyard and Blades in the Dark) shares kindred procedures and ethos with MLWM except in orientation:1)  Making the map and building PCs and connecting them (through Bonds) is not a process for creating protagonism to wrest control of.  Its a process for creating antagonism and obstacles to thematically oppose the players initial and persistent state as protagonists (through the dramatic needs that they invest their PCs with and through the related antagonistic mileu that is built at the outset of play and is continuously built through play).2)  Asking questions and using the answers throughout play ensures the continual renewal and assurance of "protaganist-centers/dependent antagonism and obstacles" throughout the course of play.  Its a means of authority distribution that is subtle but robust.3)  Outside of scene framing (which the players have a huge role in via (1), (2), and the procedural generation of content via the action resolution mechanics), where the GM is at their most active, the GM is much more reactive in DW (and the like).  That is, until action resolution mechanics dictate Hard Moves need to be made and/or new scenes need to be framed.4)  The GM is framing scenes and deploying consequences that don't just address the broad premise of play (where Dungeon World genre-wise differs ZERO from D&D), and this is where I think people are confused (just because you're "on premise" - eg exploring dungeons and acquiring treasure - doesn't mean the players are situated as the protagonists; through their PCs or NPCs), but they also overwhelmingly address specific thematic focus that the players have invested the game with.++++++++++++++++++++++++++++All of the above are facets of protagonism.  It is a very different arrangement of all of:* Table orientation to content generation where the players are overwhelmingly dictating what play is about.* Authority distribution broadly (and specifically) during play (even if its authority-by-proxy like in the case of ask questions - use answers)* The orientation of the GM as (i) much more reactive than in traditional D&D, (ii) much more constrained by the rules/resolution mechanics/principles of the game than in traditional D&D, (iii) the "player whose pieces in play orbit around PC protagonism...opposing and provoking it", (iv) and the GM gets to "play to find out (what happens)."You are NOT THE LEAD STORYTELLERYou do NOT GET TO BREAK/CHANGE RULESYou do NOT USE YOUR PIECES TO CONVEY A THEMATICALLY NEUTRAL, PC-DISINTERESTED WORLDYou do NOT USE SECRET BACKSTORY (it doesn't exist) OR NATURALISTIC EXTRAPOLATION TO OPPOSE PC</blockquote>

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