a possible solution for the in/out of character ice bath is for the dm to decide most of the nature of a decision, but the players must decide about the “snap decision” like the character would in the plot. “you hit the pycho with a crowbar, but his afterblow is coming towards you quickly, what do you block it with, there is no time to dodge” essentially prompting that you have to risk the structural integrity of an item, but the player decides what that is.
One thing to consider is that the pick lists for the moves are a subtle form of genre reinforcement. They contribute to the feel of the game. Sure in a given move a player might want a more usual option, something they would be free to do in a system that didn't impose that kind of limitation. I know people often see limitation as something negative, but I think at it's best limitation prompts creativity, pushes us beyond what might be our habitual reactions to things. And in these cases keeps the fiction in a certain expressive space.
I always look at those feats/moves/whathaveyou as something the character had all along but simply has not used until the moment I buy them for the character. And if necessarily I might even retcon some stuff in the past, like finding explanations in-world why my character has not used it previous even though she was capable of doing so.
I've experienced the same thing. As a GM, I feel really constrained by PbtA games. The GM is expected to conform to some preexisting procedures, and it really rubs against my instincts to do some stuff adhoc.
Good video. I really hope you will try Apocalypse World 2e sometime. Its a lot better than UW, IMO. I have found UW to be too nebulous, and I love PbtA games. I'd like to write a paragraph from AW on how Moves are intended to work, and I feel UW strays slightly from this in a bit of its implementation. ... The rules for moves is to do it, do it. In order for it to be a move and in order for the player to roll dice, THE CHARACTER has to do something that counts as that move; and whenever the character does something that counts as the move, it's the move and players roll dice. This is the fundamental rule of how PbtA games are intended to be played. These games are character focused, by design. Even if a player says they want to roll dice, they can't roll dice until their characters do something in the Fictional Positioning of the game that will trigger the move. The MC doesn't just ask for rolls. They can't, by design. You never just ask for the players to roll dice unless their characters do something.
Right on ~ I think all of us read that or understood the spirit of it. It’s just a matter of getting past the point of being unfamiliar with what the moves are (so we recognize them when they show up) & confusion about procedure at times. More to follow
I'm gonna have to watch the actual play. With all of the consternation between you, Jason, JI, etc it seems like it was not played "correctly". I also think UW is not a good choice as a first experience, Dungeon World is a better way to figure out the system.
I've only played Dungeon World from all of the various PbtA games, but I enjoyed it. I think the GM (while doing most of the things in the "correct manner" also put a bit more of a traditional RPG spin on things. I had the same experience with a GM who spun Fate that way, but I'm fairly sure I wouldn't like it played RAW.
