Theory: Show downside of equipment basically has to go together with another move.

Theory: Show downside of equipment basically has to go together with another move.

Theory: Show downside of equipment basically has to go together with another move.

Can you give an example where Shwoing the downside isn’t one of those too: 

– Deal Damage

– Put someone in a spot

– Deal Damage

– Take away their ressources 

– another GM move

?

14 thoughts on “Theory: Show downside of equipment basically has to go together with another move.”

  1. I guess I would argue that “the goblin is inside the reach of your halberd” isn’t so much putting someone in a spot as it is showing them what they have to do to be able to use their equipment. You could argue that’s “take away their resources,” or more likely “tell them the requirements and ask.”

    So I can’t yet really disprove your theory, BUT I would say that “show the downside of their equipment” still belongs on the list because it’s an important thing to be reminded of.

  2. There’s definitely overlap, but the point is that “show the downside of equipment” (or race, or class, or whatever) is a helpful way of framing things to give the GM ideas, suggesting things that “put someone in a spot” or “take away their resources” might not.

  3. p 165 

    “Note that “deal damage” is a move, but other moves may include damage as well. When an ogre flings you against a wall you take damage as surely as if he had smashed you with his fists.” 

    so there is that.

    How true is this for other moves?

  4. To do it, do it! If doing it involves dealing the PCs damage or taking away resources even if that’s not the specific move you’re making, go right ahead.

  5. I did one that was “you stab through the spider, but your sword also sticks into the large web cable [that your friend is using to dangle precariously over a very deep gorge]. The sword isn’t stuck, but you might cut the web by pulling it out. What do you do?”

    That’s a downside of owning a sharp and pointy piece of metal. It didn’t take it away from her, as she still has it. That’s kind of putting her in a spot, though.

    I agree with Vasiliy Shapovalov; the actions aren’t exclusive categories. But it’s still a fun intellectual exercise to figure out something that is X but not any other move.

  6. In some ways there’s only one GM move: make something happen that follows (usually with a negative bent, but not always).

    All the actual GM moves are just ways of looking at that, because giving concrete options (even when not all of them apply all the time) is more useful (to us at least) than a super general directive.

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