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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 7335238" data-attributes="member: 6696971">So lets re-iterate this play excerpt using Dungeon World and the difference should be noticeable.Ok, this might be a setup for a DW game with 3 PCs; Dashing Hero (A Lover in Every Port, Daring Devil, Plan of Action), Barbarian (Mortal Pleasures and Fame and Glory appetites), Wizard (Mystical Puppet Strings, Charm Person spell).  Skulduggery City wouldn't be a place that the GM fleshed out stem to stern before play.  This may be a place that was put on the map by a player prior to play and the only bit that we know about it (and have written out) is that its a den of scoundrels from the government, to the nobles, to the watch, to the clergy, to the layfolk.  That, coupled with the PC build flags is plenty to work with to come up with interesting, dangerous situations on the spot and let things snowball from there.So they've entered the town.  That triggers the Dashing Hero's move:Looks like a 6- and the harlot is the romantic misadventure.  I would make up some story about a hooker without a heart of gold in this city to reveal an unwelcome truth.  I may ask the player to fill in the blanks about what went wrong or I may make something up myself.  So my current complication is the only chance they have to avoid her wrath is by sticking to this real den of horrors ward of the city.  She's so well-connected that she'll hear he is in town, but she might steer clear of that place (but, of course, it amps up the danger).Alright, so it sounds like they have Coin to spend (on hirelings/henchman, lodgings, finery, gear, prestige).  So if they do indeed go to the den of horrors ward, then I make up an appropriate inn and clientele for that setting, give it an appropriate name (maybe Rock Bottom), an appropriate staff and layabouts/rabblerousers/troublemakers.  The players pay their Coin and are making the Recover move and the Carouse move:Sounds like a 6- on Carouse!.  Players mark xp, they get one thing they want and then I make things get out of hand.This doesn't tell me much of anything about what may have happened in terms of how the content was introduced/procedurally generated.  From the above, it looks like a lot of GM Force and offscreen piece-moving that in no way interacted with player knowledge or reasonably informed decision-points.  Here is something of consequence.  If the players picked "you are not entangled, ensorcelled, or tricked" I would be breaking the rules to have this harlot be a double agent.  So clearly, they didn't choose that in this situation.  Lets say they chose to "gain useful information."  Perhaps that useful generation was about a secret entrance in the alley to the Duke's manor house.  Now this Duke must have been a relevant feature of play beforehand for this to be "useful information" for the players.  Perhaps this Duke's manor house actually has his distillery where he makes spirits of which the formula was stolen from the Barbarian's people.  And its time for some revenge!So they get their info, but I get to introduce a major complication with a Hard move (given the 6-).  So as the evening picks up, of course in comes the harlot with a temper a mile wide and a band of ruffians to beat the tar out of the Dashing Hero PC.  Everyone is excited about the prospect of a fight (heck, maybe some rabblerousers fall in line behind her crew!) and its mayhem.  Looks like its time for our Wizard to make use of their Mystical Puppet Strings (folks charmed don't recall what you had them do and bear you no ill will) and Charm Person spell:So obviously a 7-9 and the player chose to draw unwelcome attention or put themselves in a spot.So now I go with the double agent complication.  Right before she gets charmed, she nods to a pair of shadowy figures at the door who quickly slip away into the night.  This would be conveyed to the PCs.  It would also be conveyed that they have a good headstart and there is a boisterous crowd that is just getting quelled (the harlot is quelling them at the Wizards command I guess...maybe she is table dancing or something)...taking the harlot away may turn a potential powderkeg into a blow-up (they would have to Defy Danger Charisma).  So I guess they stay put rather than pursue.So the Barbarian and the Dashing Hero break into the manor house to smash the whiskey and steal back the formula.  In the course of it, they get a 6- on a result of some appropriate move and end up leaving some incriminating information at the scene that points directly to them.  They only realize it the next morning when something identifying that should be on their person is missing...or torn fine silks that match the Dashing Heroes cape/longcoat (whatever)![HR][/HR]So that is how Dungeon World's play agenda/GMing ethos/action resolution and no real setting prep of any consequence/hidden backstory/offscreen moving parts by fiat can bring this situation to life.  You don't have to deploy Force, you don't have to adjudicate action resolution by way of extrapolation of unknowable offscreen/unintroduced content.  Stuff can just happen and you can fill in the necessary setting blanks as you go to give the players interesting decision points and thematic complications...and players can have all the necessary control over their archetypal portfolio and their decision-tree and inhabit their character's perspective and push their interests.And GMs can play to find out what happens.</blockquote>

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