So.

So.

So…. I would appreciate if people could weigh in on a question for me. An MC just told me that I couldn’t roll any basic moves on my Dark power. And could only interact with it via the bargains….. this is something that I find is most definitely not supported by the book and rules as written and goes antithesis to pbta. I understand if I was trying to stab the dark power and it was incorporeal and couldn’t be stabbed then that would be narratively valid, or my RP comment wasn’t strong enough to warrant a roll to manipulate, or shut down, or turn on in that particular instance……but to say point blank that NO BASIC MOVES apply to them at all doesn’t fly with me. But I’d like to get other people’s take on this.

8 thoughts on “So.”

  1. For the most part I’d agree with you, but it depends on the Dark Power. It it is far physically removed, only letting you to interact with it through rituals or written communication, that might make sense. But if the Dark Power is all like ‘hey Bill, let’s get a coffee while we talk about lacing the water supply with demonic semen’ then they should be treated as an npc, albeit one with incredible power. If you don’t feel comfortable I’d ask to have a conversation about it to get a better idea how it fits with the MC principles.

  2. You are 100% correct.

    I can see the point David Rothfeder​ is making, but in that case, you wouldn’t be rolling because you wouldn’t be triggering the moves, just like in the examples you provided yourself – and even if the Dark Power was removed enough for you not to be able to get a move on them (which honestly would probably be a boring choice), you’d still be able to manoeuvre yourself so that you eventually could.

    The system’s basic logic is simple: if you hit the move’s trigger in the fiction, you roll the move. Whether you like it or not, whether the MC likes it or not.

  3. David Rothfeder its there in person, though maybe incorporeal, and I was rolling to turn it on and got a 12. Backstory is also established that it has had a sexual relationship with me. It’s basically Desire personified as a demon.

  4. J.D. Lichauco​ the only thing that could make sense there is if the Dark Power was asexual. There are rules in the 2nd edition coming out for that, but 1st edition assumes everything can be turned on.

  6. I would disagree with your MC as well – the Dark Power is an NPC and even if it is a very alien NPC with motives that are nearly impossible to understand, it choose you because it wants something from you. Because it wants something from you, you are definitely someone who should be able to trigger basic moves with it.

    Now, turning on the Dark Power or shutting it down could have terrible consequences when the MC follows up with this thing turning around and making a hard move. Maybe after you turn it on, it gets jealous of everyone you’ve ever had a crush on or had sex with and triggers your Darkest Self and demands you ritually sacrifice them all to it. It could go pretty bad very quickly.

    Shut down your Dark Power, and while that might stop it for the moment, it’s almost certain to be petty enough to feel compelled to show you why you should never treat it so disrespectfully again – just imagine what sorts of horrible things might happen to teach you that lesson! Or, rather, ask your MC to imagine such things.

  7. I think your MC is incorrect from a strict rules point of view, but might very well have a good reason for doing this. It isn’t really the sort of game you can rules lawyer (although I’d probably say that about most RPGs). The real issue is, did it significantly harm your fun? If so, then talk to them about that rather than the exact phrasing in the rulebook.

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