Hi, folks! I came across Night Witches via The Warren and had a question.
Does it ever happen that the GM can directly prevent a player from achieving an advance? For example, the Pigeon/Protector uses her Bedside Manner to try to patch someone up but misses the roll, and the GM chooses “Have death collect what is due,” thereby preventing her from earning an advance by saving someone’s life.
Just curious whether this might happen frequently, rarely, or not at all.
I think you’ll find in play that things are less adversarial than that- the GM is supposed to be a fan of the characters, so preventing them from getting an advance isn’t something you’re supposed to be doing.
That said, GMs are supposed to make hard moves when players roll poorly, so making the patient worse (or dead) is reasonable. That doesn’t mean that the Protector advance might not still happen (from saving someone at another time before the Duty Station changes).
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That GM move is there to remind you that no one is safe, and that if the fiction demands some die, you should kill them. In your example this isn’t the case.
Thanks, guys! Looks like this isn’t even an issue.
Thank you for asking! I hope you enjoy the game.