Re-wrote the questions list for Keep and Eye Out today. Let me know what you think of the change. 🙂
When you keep an eye out in a potentially charged situation, roll+mind. On a hit, you can ask the MC questions. Whenever you act on one of the MC’s answers, take +1. On a 10+, ask 3. On a 7–9, ask 1:
-What’s my best way in or out?
-Who or what here is not what they seem?
-What happened here recently?
-What here is the greatest danger to me?
-What is about to happen here?
-Who is pulling the strings here?
What did you add/cut and why?
but it looks good i think.
Who is pulling the strings here?
might be hard.
When they really want to make it look like it’s the spanish mob trying to kill you but are actually shapeshfting battle witches send from a fey princes who is under the influence of Poseidon – who is pulling the strings? Poseidon? How does the character know that? When they don’t get the answer are you still honest to them?
I removed all the apocalypse world specific questions and started from scratch. A lot of the questions are still very similar but I focused on what I could recall were the sort of questions people tend to ask and tried to accomodate those.
I don’t see much difference between “who is pulling the strings here” and “who is in control here”. Just a different flavour. I would say go with the most direct influence on the situation, in your example I would say the Fey princes. If they want to learn more, go see them ask find out. Instant story creation and fiction generation. 😀
I find that in *World games, if you encounter an outcome or option picked that’s lacking in verisimilitude, there’s a lot of leverage in the ‘descriptive & prescriptive’ rule. Both are vectors to success, but simultaneously, both have to be (made) true.
So if a player says “Something feels wrong here. It seems weird that the Spanish mob would be attacking us when our only enemy are the Fey”, the MC says “Oh, really? Why don’t you Keep an Eye Out then, and see if you can figure out who’s pulling the strings.” If they succeed, the MC tells them what the connection is.
OR
If a player says “I’m going to Keep an Eye Out and see what’s really up with these guys”, succeeds and picks the suitable option, the MC can turn it around on the player and say “It’s the gosh darned Fey Princes pulling the strings. How can you tell?”
Another aspect of that is that if what transpires is completely lacking in verisimilitude, it’s impossible. Compare “it’s not Hack-and-Slash when a character goes up against a [regular sized] ant; it’s not Hack-and-Slash when a character goes up against a [regular sized] Tarrasque”.
” Who’s pulling the strings here?” “Well, the Spanish Mob have a very distinctive stance, and these people don’t have it. You’ve had some dealings with the fey, yeah? Well, this haphazard cover job looks like just their thing. Who was that fey prince you knew? Azazeal? Might want to ask him a thing or two.”
You’re honest with them to the point of information they can pick up. Be honest, but also make it feel real, right? On the other hand, if they know nothing about Fey Princes or the Spanish Mob, just that a bunch of Spaniards jumped them and they ask it, then maybe an answer more like “You notice subtle changes in the ganger’s face as he stares at you. Shapeshifting? Maybe mages can do that, yeah?” or if they’ve had dealings with Poseidon, “This all smells… fishy. Like, actually. Okay, well not actually, but y’know that smell that’s always all over someone that’s had contact with Poseidon? Yeah, that.” So now you know Poseidon’s involved, but maybe these guys don’t, so when you interrogate them about Sea Gods they’re all “Huh? Bitch please. The Autumn Court High Prince sent us. Please don’t kill us? We left bunsen burners going in the lab, and there were kids, and…”