So this Thursday, I’m going to be running my first US game. While I’ve never played it or run it, I’ve watched everything I could get my hands on in the form of videos of actual play and have read over the books, etc.
Question for you guys:
In mentally going over my prep for the session, I’m thinking up situations with actions that don’t really have moves for them like “I want to kick in that door” or “I want to pick that lock” or “I want to hack a security system.” The way that I understand the game, I have several choices.
A) Use a move that already exists – Unleash to kick down that door (even though the description specifically says it’s not for that).
B) If the move becomes prevalent and important in the campaign it may be time to create a new move.
C) The action really doesn’t mesh with what the system is trying to accomplish with it’s move rolls, which is to say don’t worry about picking that lock – if it should happen, then it happens in the fiction without the need for a move. Or that it’s just not appropriate for the type of story that Urban Shadows is trying to tell, like hacking for example.
What is your general advice on situations like these? Thank you for your help!
It should go more like this:
“I kick down the door”
A) is there a move that matches? Hmm keep your cool might but there’s no pressure here, no need to “keep cool”.
B) Ok, so no move matches. That means they’re “looking to me to see what happens”. The book says I make a GM move now. Hmm Make a Faction move doesn’t seem to make sense here… What about umm Put someone in Danger? That could work, maybe they kick the door down and they end up face to face with Bruno’s shotgun! Or perhaps warn someone of impending danger – the kick the door in loudly and hear “hey I heard something” in a snarling wolf-like from down the hall. Here come the wolves chasing you!
I think intent is a very important thing to consider, especially with something like hacking. Ask why they’re hacking the computer, and the appropriate move will likely present itself. Accessing the cameras in the building to look for somebody? Let it Out to unleash your senses. Investigating the person who owns it? Figure Someone Out. Learning about the Faction who owns it? Maybe Investigate a Place of Power. Etc.
Also, kicking down a door is a specific example of what Let it Out is for.
One main point, though: don’t under any circumstances get bogged down in investigating physical evidence. That’s not what the game is about, and the game will fight you if you try to make it about that.
A computer, a place, anything physical is only important because of the people it’s tied to. Keep the focus on people and you’ll do fine.
James Etheridge oh, can you expand on the “don’t get bogged down in investigating physical evidence” bit (in another post)? I think I may have been bitten by that once or twice.
Aaron Griffin James Etheridge You guys are good! GM moves and asking “What are you trying to do?” and figuring out what move represents it both make a whole lot of sense!
Now I feel a little silly for asking, but I’m glad that I did. 🙂
Also keep in mind that rolls in Urban Shadows sometimes encompass more time than you would expect in other games. And sometimes there is no roll needed because there isn’t really any risk of failure.
Kicking down the door to an empty building, may be nothing important. So they just succeed (easily if they are high Blood or otherwise clearly strong, “with difficulty” if they are less brawny. Still successful, just described differently.)
Kicking down a bunch of doors in an abandoned hotel to search rooms because you are investigating the reports of hauntings: probably “investigate a place of power” which covers a lot of door kicking.
Kicking down a door to quickly hide from someone looking for you: probably “Misdirect/Trick” because that’s the goal. You are trying to get through a door without making it obvious you went that way.
You are being chased through a building and you need to crash through a door to get away from a rampaging werewolf? That’s clearly “Escape”.
Sometimes you’ll also do it as part of another action: I unleash against the Werewolf to hold it off while I try to find an escape route. By rolling a Hit I choose “Seize control of something vulnerable or exposed” to be “I kick open the door giving us an escape route” Giving me the opportunity to use the Escape move later.
Great answers so far! Andrew Medeiros and I are always so excited to see you all being helpful.
One more quick thought: be a fan of the player’s characters. Rolling dice is about uncertainty… so don’t add it in when it’s not needed.
Ex: The amazing hacker is about to hack some poor schlub’s laptop. She plugs in her gear and… you want her to roll? She just does it! Now, let’s come up with something interesting for her to find on that laptop, something that both affirms that hacking was cool/awesome/interesting AND that challenges her alliances/plans/goals. 😀
James Etheridge I suppose that Let It Out does make sense for that one, but I can see myself shying away from using that move just because of the fact that you’re decently likely to get corruption by using it. I’d planned to keep that move reserved for more supernatural types of situations because of that.
I’d feel bad if a character had to become a threat in the game because they kicked in too many doors or what have you.
Remember Moves come out of the fiction and feed back into it. So, for someone to “hack security”, has it been established that they can do such things in general?
When it comes up for the first time, ask the player questions: “Idk, can she hack computers? Oh, cool, so Anne is a hacker? Neat! Like, what does she usually use this skill for?” etc.
With that you establish a bit about her and the fiction.
Then you ask what Anne wants to achieve with her hacking. Oh, she wants to make sure the security cameras won’t record what is happening on the compound? Cool, sounds like a Mislead, Distract or Trick, roll+Mind!
And make sure she is not fooling the cameras but whoever is responsible for the security system… this might be the cameras don’t record but it also includes no one notices when this is what is at stake.
You might find it helpful to reframe the situation in your mind with what they are actually about (what are the stakes at hand?).
The question rarely is ‘can I break down the door?’ It’s can I break down the door before the ritual is enacted/to get out of the burning building/etc.?
And then it is easier to see what Basic Move is suitable: “When things get real and you keep your cool, tell the MC what situation you want to avoid…” or “When you take advantage of an opening to escape a situation…”
Ask the player if they just carry lock picks with them. It’s awesome if they do, let them! Like that will never get them into trouble 😉 … then, of course, they can pick any locks… these are protagonists in an urban environment.
The real question is can they pick the lock, get into the house and lock it back up from the inside before the pack of werewolves has caught up with them?
Frame it until you can see what the question is that moves the story forward; then you can see what, if any, of their Moves are needed.
With the example situations you are thinking of, try to stop thinking about the task at hand (which is likely interchangeable) but what is at stake for the people.
Scott Cohen the disconnect for me was that the part of the book that says you can make a GM move when “everyone looks to you to see what happens” wasn’t clear enough. That happens all the time when a move isn’t triggered! It’s giving you permission to execute GM moves as responses when moves are not triggered. It was an epiphany for me.
Also, in my book it’s most interesting to “show the consequences and ask” or “show them an opportunity”. Example:
P: I kick in the door
GM: ok buy those wolves are on your tail, and it could make a lot of noise. You okay with that? (show the consequences and ask)
P: oh hmm, I wanna put my coat over the door handle to try to deaden any noise i make (now THAT is a keep your cool)
(Pretend they rolled a 6-)
GM: after the loud crack of the door slamming open, you hear hurried trotting on the floor below you. Wolves! They’re coming, fast. What do you do?
P: I jump out the window! (They’re not currently engaged, so Escape might not apply – use discretion here)
GM: it’s a four story fall, you’re gonna take some harm if you do that (show the consequences again)
P: I’m half demon, I can take it! (accepting the consequences, meaning a “golden opportunity”, so you can deal harm as established)
Scott Cohen you don’t get to decide when a move triggers. It’s not up to the GM. Don’t shy away from Corruption – let them know up front. Every single one of my players love corruption and are more encouraged by that than normal Advances!
Aaron Griffin That’s a really good point, re: the Let It Out. I will really have to keep that in mind.
Aaron Griffin I suppose that I’m also just having a hard time wrapping my head around why players would love corruption. Yes, you do get some cool new moves, but you’re also one irrevocable step closer to losing your character forever.
Scott Cohen it’s a supernatural game and you’re playing people on the edge of evil! That’s the cool shit, fighting against your inner demons.
Losing your character due to random chance is one thing, losing it on your terms is another.
Aaron Griffin You make a good point. 🙂
“something something about driving stolen cars…” 😉
This is a good thing to be aware of: Urban Shadows, like many PbtA games have a build in arc: meaning they end.
Sure, the number of sessions vary on group, style and how things go but it is a good idea to have some expectations that such an arc lasts for something around 12 sessions or so.
Setting such expectations is important, imo. At some point the story of these protagonists will be told.
And the games have build in mechanics supporting and driving towards these very satisfying conclusions.
Players go for corruption 90 percent of the time…..100 percent of the time
If there’s ever something you FEEL like you want someone to roll for but there isn’t a move in US, then figure out something nasty that might happen if they do it. “So.. you wanna kick that door down huh? It would really suck if the vampires heard you beating down their door.” And they say something like… “I don’t want that to happen.” And all of a sudden they’ve triggered Keep Your Cool. If they don’t give a shit about the Vampires hearing them because they’re coming and they want them to fucking know it, then you let that shit happen and you make your move hard because you TOLD them what was going to happen and they didn’t care. Silly players. There’s a GM move that says this… it’s like “tell them the consequences” or something… or it should be. It’s the way you get players to roll Keep Your Cool.
gets out soap box
If you’re a GM and you find yourself wanting them to see if they’re ABLE to kick down the door, and the other option is they stand outside the vampires door like a fucking idiot because they failed a roll… then you need to back up and analyse your GM’ing… because making the story stop because players fail a role is shitty for everyone. The story stops because of a fucking die roll and they do… what now oh great GM? They try again? Are we playing Yahtzee or are we telling a story? Story? Good… let them do it and don’t make players role just to make them feel shitty that they can’t kick a door in. NO one watches a movie to see the action hero FAIL to kick the door in when he goes to murderface some vampires. And I don’t want to play in a game where I can’t feel like a badass when I’m ready to be a badass. The story isn’t about the door. It’s about this player and his conflict with the vampires. Go play DoorWorld or something. I will put down my sword and get off my soap box now. But if I catch ANY OF YOU making players fail things that would only serve to stop the story I’ll bring out the box again!
Brian Poe I will absolutely keep that in mind! PbtA is about what happens when you do things and how it advances the story, not if they can do things. I really like that.