Hey all! Quick question in preparation of my first game tomorrow. How do to handle multiple players making the same moves in light of a failure? I could see a player doing a spout knowledge after finding some interesting relic or a book in an unknown language, failing, and then another character stepping in to do the same.
Is this a problem I should worry about, and if so how do I handle it?
Look to the fiction. And remember the adage “Warn them, wound them, then wack them.” Escalate from soft moves to hard moves to apocalyptic moves.
That’s fine! Every roll is another opportunity for a miss, and something interesting happen. Misses on discern realities and spout lore are perfect opportunities for reveal an unwelcome truth.
You can still tell them something true on failed SL and DR rolls, just make it bad news.
You make a soft move when they fail. If they want to ignore that, might be defying danger or it might be a golden opportunity. They should also know that if they fail the second roll, it definitely will be [a hard move or golden opportunity].
Unwelcome Truth: The relic or book is alive and wants to kill them! 😉
What Adric and Marshall said. Also, in my games I often ask things like “so, it’s an apparatus from golden age of Mechanical Serenity, who of you is competent enough in that kind of things?”. Usually only one or two of them are.
Thanks guys! Great suggestions and feedback! I wish I could think of more questions, pre game.
I also suggest to players to Aid Another which can improve their chances rather than everyone trying separately.