Let’s say you’ve been playing Dungeon World for a while with the same group of friends and they picked up on how the game works. I never mentioned the name of my moves but they seem to understand the pattern (or maybe they read the rules). When I describe how they get separated by a blast of magic, a player will say “But I didn’t roll anything to get a consequence like that” and another player will come to my defense (I suppose) and say “That’s how the GM moves work”.
Before they would just be so invested in the fiction they would never tell me stuff like that. I guess it’s like when you kids tell you they know Santa is not real before you had to explain them…
Is there anything I can do about it? I feel like a magician in a crowd with other magicians who know how the tricks work.
Have you tried talking to them and asking them to stop calling out the DM mechanics when they see them/stop arguing about the calls you’re making as a DM? Because that is definitely the best solution.
Wait! What’s that about Santa?!?!
What’s bad in everyone at the table knowing the rules?
I’ve always played like that, and never noticed anything wrong…
Can also let it happen but let players roll for avoiding damage or minor things like grabbing hirelings or gear from getting lost & separated together. Maybe they feel like the story is a railroad with giving them no choice. If they’re having fun it shouldn’t be a problem.
To be honest, I’m that player in my group.
We have two players who own DW, so after the session everyone will typically comment on the game and meta-game:
“I like how that goblin grabbed your shield and ran away with it in combat — that was a great use of “lose equipment'”
“Your Spout Lore failure with the elves — hilarious! I love the way you went along with the idea that your character misinterpreted everything about your capture and imprisonment as signs of elven hospitality, revealing an unwelcome truth”
I think doing it during game is problematic – especially calling the GM out. That smacks of an us vs them mentality – did they do DnD before DW?
The best bet may be to remind them that you’re a fan of the characters, not their enemy. If you were: rocks fall, everyone dies.
Tell the the “M” in “GM” stands for “Master” and not “minion”, that means you’ve got some agency. That means you can do moves whenever you feel it is needed for the fun, not just when they feel it is fair or according to the rules.
If they don’t question your agency you won’t muck with theirs. That way most fun can be had.
Highly agree with others of doing game questions & comments at the end of the session. Have the players read all of the DW book or just player stuff? Everyone knowing the game rules isn’t a problem but seems some might be confused on the rules.
I do this all the time! I’m usually a fan of the GM though when I’m playing, so he’ll make a move, or have something happen after a roll and all you’ll hear from me is “nice!” And see a big smile on my face.
If the players know what you are doing, make it clear that their knowledge is not needed to make their characters bad-ass, you are a fan, so arguing your choice of GM moves is actually limiting your ability to give them opportunities to be awesome.
Knowing the GM side of the rules helps in understanding stakes – specifically it helps in understanding the scope outcomes on a low role.
Also, make provocative questions to the players (funnier, don’t make’em to the player that failed the roll): “Ehi, the mage’ spell failed! What do you think is going to happen??”
You could be surprised from the answers of the players (better, more surprised from the players don’t know the DW system “canon” moves), and you can build on those answers 😀