I am new-ish to running PbtA games and am having a struggle with the game I am currently running for my family. There are no moves for observing/examining a non-magical location or object. Is the point to always have the player observe something arcane or ancient? Do I just give them the info or ask them about it, if the place is not arcane/ancient ? The players keep asking me about things that do not fit that move and I am at a loss sometimes.
Any help for a newer GM?
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Following.
There are two approaches I use here.
#1: Just give them the information. There’s almost never a problem with this, and it’s a good baseline.
#2: Ask them some questions – “Have you seen a thing like this before? When?” or “You seem like you aren’t very detail oriented. Are you (or “Is character”) really going to spend a while going over this carefully?” the first type of question is good for world building, while the second type helps give a little more individuality to the characters, as we learn about how or why they do this sort of thing well.
Mike has good advice! I’d also say that the moves are reminders for the GM to prioritize certain kinds of conflicts, like introducing older dragons or danger or arcane areas. If you’re finding that your players are just observing, make a move to raise the stakes and get them to trigger a move. Here’s an example:
GM: There’s a huge monument here to the Stone Moon too.
Player: I’d like to investigate an arcane place.
GM: Actually, it’s not arcane. It’s just a monument. No magic.
(Note: I’d probably just say it’s arcane because that’s cool, but let’s say we already established that it wasn’t magical or ancient.)
Player: Okay, I get closer and try to look at it.
GM: As you do, a dragon leaps out from behind the monument, almost crashing into you. “Hey!” dre yells. “Who are you? Get away from here! This isn’t a place for younger drakes!”
… and now we can get on to other moves that will trigger based on how the drakes react.
Does that help?
My group loves rules (I think they just love to roll dice, they like the unpredictability of the rolls) and therefore they are always asking what they need to roll for everything. Most things I just assume that they are able to achieve, since they are dragons and I want to convey the idea that they are truly powerful, even if they are young drakes.
But sometimes to keep spicing things up and because they love the dice, I create a move on the spot just for something like this. I would request a Roll + Cunning and think of potential things they discover that are not so obvious at first sight. Not necessarily something magical, but maybe a detail that has to do with nature, or history, or who knows. It depends on what character is trying the move and how the session is evolving.
My approach for things like this is a lot like what Mark and Mike describe, but there’s one other thing I try to think about, too. If the Moves aren’t helping me figure out what to do, can I use the Principles? The situation you described is a great opportunity for a few of them – Mike described how you could “Ask provocative questions and build on the answers,” for example. You might also “Make the history and traditions of Dragonia matter” by connecting what they’re looking at to the past, or “Remind them of the creeping Darkness” by focusing on how this place has been touched by it.
The Principles in a PbtA game are the things I try to keep on a little notecard in my field of view when I’m being the DM, because they’re guidelines on how to keep the story coming back to the things that are most important and interesting.