Anyone care to answer this: How do you mechanically handle Hunters questioning a Bystander or Minion who doesn’t…

4 thoughts on “Anyone care to answer this: How do you mechanically handle Hunters questioning a Bystander or Minion who doesn’t…”

1. Manipulate, maybe? Or you could abstract it into an Investigate roll, but I would usually roleplay until it is either CLEARLY manipulate (you tell and I do/do not do unto you) or investigate (hah! they spake a thing and now I think on it).

2. TL;DR at bottom.

   Always, always, always pay attention to the fiction, and see if the fiction triggers moves… Never the other way around.

   I still struggle with this from time to time, but it’s a necessary part of PbtA, you know? Otherwise the whole game falls apart.

   So, in this case, you gotta take a quick moment to figure out exactly how the PC is doing this ‘ask’, consider the NPC in question (from their motivations, etc) and, of course, “the fiction so far”.

   If no move has been triggered, guess what? The players are ‘looking to you to see what happens next’ or even are handing you a ‘golden opportunity’… That means you get to use your Keeper moves accordingly.

   The gimmick here is basically seeing if there is a trigger, seeing if it makes sense in the fiction, and then deciding if a move roll is needed, or if you need a Keeper move instead. That’s all.

   as a quick aside, when it comes to generic manipulation of NPCs, I basically require that a) the NPC does NOT want to do the thing and b) the PC has actual leverage of some sort to use against the NPC.

   If the NPC does want to help, or at least is very likely to help, then it will probably fall under investigate or a simple keeper move.

   So, for example, consider the following situations:

   1. PC: pulls out gun and shoves it against the minion’s forehead “Tell me where Argus is, right now, or I paint that wall behind you a nasty shade of brain.” (The leverage here is the threat of death for not answering. So its a manipulate someone. Unless, you know, the PC is known to never get violent, or the NPC is bait for a trap or whatever)

   2. PC: licks lips and smirks, leaning forward suggestively “You know, if someone told me where Argus was, it’d make me happy… Which would make me want to make them very, very happy in return…” wink (so there’s an implied sorta flirty seduction thing going on, so it’s a Manipulate. Unless you know, the NPC isn’t interested. Again, it depends on if the PC actually has leverage. An asexual (or scared, or hostile, etc) NPC would likely not be interested.)

   3. Glares at NPC from across interview room table “Your friend is in the other room right now. The DA told us that the first one to tell us about Argus gets leniency, maybe even a little immunity. The one that waits? They’re getting nailed with twelve counts of murder. So, we gonna talk or do I need to get you in an orange jumper?” (Manipulate again, with the threat of jail time, etc)

   4. Glares at NPC, who has PC at gunpoint “Put the gun down and tell me where Argus is, or else!” (Not a manipulate… They don’t have any leverage outside a very weak ambiguous threat. Hit em with a Keeper move)

   5. Flashing fake Police Badge “Sir, I know you’re busy, but you can either answer my questions about Argus here, or down at the station, you follow?” (Manipulate likely, even if their ID is fake, etc. Again, it’s about leverage and most folks don’t like the idea of hanging out at police stations… Now if the minion already knows the badge is fake…well… Hit em with a keeper move instead)

   6. Going over notes during interrogation at the police station “so wait, you don’t know where Argus is, yet you are often seen driving him around town, at odd hours of the night, and your car was IDd leaving the scene of a crime… Surely you know something?” (Okay, this is kinda clunky, but in the event that the PC is looking for more clues (and often, has missed one or two vital ones during other direct investigate moves), it may actually fall under an investigate move. The idea here is that the PC isn’t necessarily asking the NPC to pipe up, but more going over clues, etc. You could then frame the NPCs response accordingly for the investigate holds like the NPC responding ‘i ain’t never seen Argus nor have I ever been to The Camel Club’ (and the clue is nobody mentioned the camel Club..) or ‘the NPC’s vaguely flinched when you mentioned his car… Where is that car anyway?’)

   Hope that makes sense.

   TL;DR: manipulate moves are triggered when the NPC doesn’t want to ‘do a thing’ AND the PC has reasonable leverage to encourage/coerce the NPC into ‘doing the thing’.

   Investigate moves are triggered when there’s an information search (so to speak), AND there is a clue/etc to be found, AND the method of information gathering would make sense to find that clue. (Running a blood test won’t likely tell you what color car the perp drives, Speaking with the dead won’t likely get you tomorrow’s Powerball numbers)

   If a move isn’t triggered, and the table is looking to you to see what happens next, hit them back with a soft or hard keeper move.

   HTH

3. Manipulate is based on Charm, and Investigate is based on Sharp.

   If the Hunter is trying to persuade someone to talk, it’s Manipulate. If they are trying to read clues from body language or lies, then it’s Investigate. So, I would ask the player to describe how they are trying to get information from the Bystander (or role play until it’s clear, as Felix said).

4. Thanks so much folks. Appreciate the great answers!

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