29 thoughts on “This may be a dumb question, but am playing this for the first in a long time.”

  2. Yeah, Defy Danger works very well for this. That said, if you feel there’s a need to write a new move (which I don’t think would be the case, bar special powers/circumstances) then there’s no reason not to do so!

  4. It might be worth pointing out that because stealth is Defying Danger, it isn’t limited to rogues.

    The ranger in my game has proven to be quite sneaky when he has to be.

  6. Not really. You’ll tend to roll Dex for stealth, and thieves will tend to have high Dex, but there’s nothing that actually makes them better at stealth than anyone else.

  8. OTOH, Thieves get backstab, which means that they have a solid mechanical incentive to USE stealth in a fight. As opposed to everyone else, where’s just in-fiction, so not meaningless, but not quite as good as a solid mechanically supported move.

  9. That’s right. However, Rangers get Called Shot, which is basically the same, but with a volley instead of a hack and slash.

    AND, since Called Shot rolls off Dex, (Backstab is Str, if I’m remembering correctly) that’s even MORE incentive for the Ranger to max out their Dex than the Thief!

  11. They must have changed that since the last time I had a Thief in my group. It was definitely Str in the Red Book version…

    I suppose that means that Rangers and Thieves are equally sneaky then!

  17. Thieves are Thieves not because they sneak, but because they take that which does not belong to them.

    Sneaking just, you know, helps.

    I usually use Defy Danger.  The Danger is “do you get busted” Use DEX if you’re being all shadow-skulking stealthy.  If you’re in disguise or just using your clever tongue to evade being caught (in a lie, where you don’t belong, with your hand the cookie jar) maybe use CHA.

  19. Stacey Chancellor the player initiates the move like any other, by describing a situation in which their character spits in the eye of the clear and present danger of getting caught by the guards, the sleeping ogre, etc etc.

    Not a dumb question at all, mind you, because hey, there’s loads of ways to get there from here.

  22. There needs to be some sort of danger. If you’re scouting and there are enemy patrols looking for you, roll.

    If your scouting and there’s no one out there, don’t roll.

  24. If there’s no danger to defy, there’s no move to be made.

    Elrosine: I don my blackest leathers, hug my wolfskin cloak around my shoulders and press out, quiet as a ghost, into the woods ahead of the party.

    GM: consults prep, considers the situation Excellent, you are like the wind, travelling through the woods unseen and unheard.  Over this hill, here points to map you see the campfires of the bandit gang.

    OR OR OR

    Elrosine: I don my blackest leathers, hug my wolfskin cloak around my shoulders and press out, quiet as a ghost, into the woods ahead of the party.

    GM: consults prep, considers the situation Signs appear almost immediately, there are bandit patrols around here.  Recently, too.  What do you do?

    Elrosine: I am invisible.  These humans cannot see me.  I press on.

    GM: We’ll see about that.  Defy Danger, please.  The Danger is “Do you spot the Bandits before they spot you?”

  25. Drops of blood are just the GM making a move!  In this case, probably “show signs of an approaching threat” which follows the principle of “think dangerous” and “think offscreen, too”

    If you press on, despite the blood, you’ll come face to face with the Danger, but if you’re being sneaky and stealthy, the GM should “be a fan of the characters” and give you a chance to do your badass Solid Snake impression 

  28. The hardest thing about DW is unlearning old habits. Trust the rules as written, think about the games as movies rather than mechanics and the rules will present themselves.

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