One of the most interesting things i notice in Worlds in Peril is the fact that moves and stats are independent.
I will be running a few games in the incomin Tierra de Nadie Convention, and i’ll like to use the system properly, so a have to ask about how this combination of moves and stats works.
Take Down is the most basic action move, and seems obvious Smash is the stat to use when punchin enemy villains.
What about using laser beams or archery shots?
Archery seems speedy or agile action, so we’ll use Take Down with Maneuver.
But energy beams?, is a matter of aim… Maneuver again?, Investigate if character defines it as a tactical use of her powers (like Cyclops and his force eyebeams)
And the also basic action of a perception check, against an enemy ambush for example?
You can’t examine, neither take down the ambushers nor seize control of something you have yet not noticed.
Serve and protect or Defy danger dont seem adequate too :S. Checking for ambushers is reflexive action, while those moves are active.
Stat should be Protect, because is the defensive passive stat and seems just right. But the move… which one should i use?
What stat to use with Take Down would depend on how the player describes their actions. If Cyclops is just trying to use brute force to take down an enemy, I’d have him roll Smash; If he was trying to pull off a maneuver that required some finesse – like ricocheting his beam off multiple surfaces, or trying to put the opponent off balance to set them up for another player, I’d have him use Maneuver, and so on. The breakdown for the Take Down move tells you what stat to roll depending on the situation – if you’re not sure, just pick one and ask if that sounds good to the player. If it doesn’t, then you either need to clarify the fiction and what their player is doing, or the player needs the move or how the game works explained to them more clearly.
Remember that you don’t have to look for moves that apply to every situation – there may be times when a move doesn’t get triggered at all, that’s fine. You just keep narrating the fiction, making soft moves, and players respond with what their character does in reaction, etc. Since it’s your job as EIC to make this soft move in a way that makes it clear that the player’s need to react, it really depends on how you narrate what is going on in the fiction at that moment. To be clear: there is no such thing as perception checks, or skill checks at all. From the player side of things, there are only triggers for moves, and if nothing is triggered, you simply keep the conversation and the game moving until a move is triggered.
So if you’re making a soft move and you want the players to be able to respond to this ambush that is coming down the pike, you’d narrate what is going on in the fiction at that moment to the players, and then ask them what they do in response. How you explain the situation will influence the players and how they react to it. Your job is to represent the world, and all the threats in it, honestly, taking into account what the players abilities are, who the enemies are, what the situation is, etc.
“You step down off the Blackbird and make your way to the rendezvous coordinates that was given to you. You start to get a really bad feeling about the situation though, as the coordinates look to put you in a pretty exposed spot. What do you want to do?”
This is fine as a soft move. If they don’t respond to it, or try to be more cautious, then you either make another soft move to show, no really, shit is about to hit the fan, make a hard move and spring the ambush, or give them a chance to Defy Danger. In fact, if they don’t use Examine to figure out what’s dangerous about the situation, they probably don’t know the basic moves well enough.
“You approach the city square and there’s the hustle and bustle you’ve grown accustomed to living in New York. All of a sudden, you catch a red light that refracted off your glasses. What do you do?”
This is also a fine soft move. It’s more immediate, and implies that something is going to happen right now – most players would probably assume they’re about to get shot or something so if they ignore it, or do something that wouldn’t prevent the shot from being taken, that happens (and you make a hard move), or you’re nice and you can get them to roll Defy Danger if they’ve got Spidey-Sense, quick reflexes, can see the future, etc.
So if they’re in danger, and you think they should get a chance to roll something before something bad happens to them, have them make a Defy Danger roll. If not, make soft moves to give warning and prompt the player to action, and make hard moves to inflict consequences as necessary. Examine is player-facing, so they really should use it when you make soft moves to prompt them about a dangerous situation in front of them. If they don’t, you tell them they probably should (if it’s their first session and are just learning the game), or you make a move (another soft one to tell them you’re serious or you’re just a really nice person), or you spring the ambush with a hard move and they learn.
Superb!
I guess i am (and my group) so used to classic D&D and WoD systems, that sometimes we go the hard way when everything is far more easier.
Thx for the detailed answer Kyle Simons .
Worlds in Peril review incoming after the games at TdN convention 😉
Sounds good! It can be tricky to get your brain around. Don’t think about stats or skills or anything like that. Just know the basic moves and their triggers so you know when you should roll the dice. Keep telling the players what’s happening in the fiction right now, and keep giving them stuff to react to. Guaranteed, they’ll be doing things that will trigger moves. If your tell the players there are strange radiation signatures coming from an area, or that there are signs that someone else has passed by here recently but tried to conceal their tracks, they’ll want to do know what’s up and will end up triggering Examine (all they have to do is closely study the person or situation for it to trigger). If you describe a villain throwing a car at them, they’ll want to get out of the way so will trigger Defy Danger, and so on. You just have to get everyone used to listening for the triggers, and to describing the fiction and what their players are actually doing rather than thinking of the effects they want to have. If they say I want to use the “Take Down” move to end this fight, ask them what their character is actually doing to make that happen. The game is all about being descriptive and requires everyone concentrating on the fiction and what’s happening in it. Hope that helps!
As a Game Master I tend to be very narrative, in fact ignoring the rules most of time and just talking with the players as the game flows naturally.
But when i’m running a demo game i try to stick to the rules as writen, and thats when the doubts arise >.< . I can play a fine game of superheroes, but i want to play a fine game of superheroes using Worlds in Peril.
I know what you mean! It sounds like it suits what you do naturally though, so I’m sure you’ll pick it up in no time 🙂
Smash is also for direct accions, so you use it every time you make a direct atack (IMO archery or laser beams are such actions too). I’d use Maneuver with archery if I’d like to unbalance or overwhem the enemy with arrows.
Perception check are related to Examine move.
Always remember that in order to trigger a move in the fiction the character has to do something in the fiction to trigger it. So if the character does something that don’t trigger a move stick to the Principles and be honest.
Besides, If the enemy ambushes the party, the EIC makes a soft move like “Show signs of an approaching threat”, then let players react to it. ex: “You are in an dark alley. You would say it’s a good place to be ambushed. What do you do?”
Sorry for late answers. As always, Kyle is the man.
Joaquim Ball-llosera You said what I said with far fewer words 🙂