Summary of the basic AW framework. Game Master Cheat SheetMC Agenda1. Make AW world seem real2. Make characters' lives not boring (== make character lives interesting?)3. Play to find out what happensMC Principles1. Barf forth apocalyiptica -the text has some dumb examples without stating the principle, which would seems to be , understand the world and imagine its components, and relay in terms of sensory data e.g: rain has toner like grit whith makes leaves gray , dogs have inner eyelids that click etc2. Address yourself to players never characters = obvious3. Make your move, but misdirect.(which is better stated as "make your move flow from game world events"afaiui, the actual GM move is triggered by something the player says his character does, or something the player does - look at you for input, say . But you explain the move as a result of /flowing from game world happenings.Eg: Player makes a move (" go aggro") of "grab his gun" and rolls and fails. This is what triggers the GM move.But you don't say, "you rolled low so you two get separated" you say"you try to grab his gun (player move) but he is fast and lays it across your forehead. He seems pissed by your attempt and says "Oh she wants to play? take her dickboy to the cauldron and throw him in" As they are stomping you, you see them drag Damon (character name!) away. What do you do?"4. Make your move but never speak its name a clarification on the above principle is all. Never say "you are separated" (GM move = "separate them"extra concept tacked on: your move may be chosen at random from the GM list of moves. But present it as having fictional effect (above, 3 is about fictional *cause*)e.g: GM Move == "announce future badness"what you say == " you can see a cloud of black smoke in the East and when the wind is right, you can hear occasional shots from that direction. I wonder what is happening over there?"Essentially a way to condense 3 and 4 into 1 rule would be "Present GM moves as effects/events in the game world, and having game world causes and effects". Done5. Look through the crosshairs == a dumb way of saying - the GM should hold the attitude that anything in the world can be attacked and destroyed -an institution, a rival gang, any NPC. The players may think specific aspects of the world are reliable. As a GM, don't.6. "name everyone, make everyone human"has 3 parts6.a Everyone should have a name, including all NPCs with even one line or one significant screen moment.6.b Give them sensible (not necessarily complicated) motivations and have them act on it. e.g: Roark, burning down the nearby hardhold (and bringing trouble down on the players) and now looking for a bubble bath. (The point is that Roark does what he does, as per *his* lights, and it doesn't necessarily have to make sense to the players)6.c Make PC-NPC-PC triangles.i.e make NPC self interests involve PC s individually.e.g: Roark loves Marie, who is ambitious, but serves Uncle,who wants people to stay in their places.What is really happening here is that there are two distinct arrows from Roark to Uncle and Marie, but more importantly, *these conflict*. 7 Ask provocative questions and build on the answers.- essentially a two step process. Constantly ask players questions (a) and build on it (b)(a) ask questions - start simple - What is your living space like? Why can only two people fit into the tank?as play proceeds, ask for immediate details of the players experiencesList of question seeds - sense based - sight, texture, temperature, sound, smell , taste - details of things, relations, placesHow do the people of tent city make you feel?How do her lips feel under your palm?(b) note answers and --- 'barf apocalytica about the answers, adding your own details and imagery --- bring it back into play later in the game --- incorporate the answer (and more importantly its implications) into your developing apocalyptic aesthetic/visionHa! no examples. Very helpful! Not.8. Respond with fuckery and intermittent rewardsfuckery = fuck around with not fuck over (roll eyes)essentially the Joe's girl example says, even when players get what they expect, which they should, since they worked hard, you should add unexpected aspects to it. the example is pretty terrible since it does not delineate what the expectation was and why the changes added by the GM are particularly problematic.Intermittently give players what the expect or something beyond what they expected. Intermittently.9. Be a fan of the players characters. Don't be an eternal adversary.Specifically - don't take away what makes the characters cool/memorable - don't deny a character success when they've fought for it. Instead give character success, but make it consequential - the world responds to success - NPC act/change, triangle activations/changes etc - Make hard move you like != make hardest possible move - don't screw the character by highlighting his worst stat (consistently)10. Sometimes declaim decision making- four choices 1. put decision in your NPC's hands 2. put it in the players hands 3. create a countdown 4. make it a stakes questionGiven an NPC, say Deere, who the NPC's care about. Decision: Does he die?1. put decision in your NPC's hands - Birdie (NPC) decides whether Deere dies or not. Does it make sense for Birdy to kill Deere? If so he dies. Else, he lives2. put decision in your players hands - "Deere's been shot and he is shuddering and going into shock. What do you do?" - If player/s help, Deere lives, else he dies.3. create a countdown - (detailed procedure to come). But in in essence, have a countdown that ticks along.4. make it a stakes question - (details to come, but it seems like a scene is setup with PC's and NPCs and played out)9. Think Offscreen too - essentially keep NPCs fronts etc moving in your head and when their actions become manifest, present to players MC MovesA. General principles:1. Choose a move that logically follows from the game's fiction.2. Generally choose a move that (a) sets up for future harder move *and* (b) gives the character a chance to react3. When the player gives you a golden opportunity (eg: a player makes a move and misses - < 6) make a hard and direct move. Not necessarily meanest possible but irrevocable (?)4. Unless golden opp, only do a move that sets up a future move. Good example is "announce future badness" (I guess the point here is that you don't necessarily directly hurt the players unless there is a golden opp. e.g: Separating players is by itself not 'hurty' but sets up future fights without allies)."you hear gunfire and screams to the west and there is a black cloud of smoke blotting out the setting Sun. What do you do?"5. When the game rules tell you things to say, say them in accordance with the "ground events and responses in the fiction " principlee.g: when the game rules say (as a response to a roll) "they get the hell out of your way" the MC actually says "she jumps into the mud and elbow crawls away from you, looking back in fear"e.g: "they give you what they want" - "all right keep them asshole but don't come around tonight"6. When your fronts tell you to say things == when "say something interesting" you decide to reveal "joe's girl joined the cult" etc present audio 'picture' of gang's chant with "joe's girl" in it somewhere7. Make maps like crazy.8. Turn questions back on players - "What does the mountain look like?" " I don't know what *does* it look like?" 9. Occasionally go into great detail about some insignificant part of the scene. - details of coat pins blah10. . Elide action sometimes - battle being played out in great detail then you say in the middle "so you are pinned till night falls"11. Vary scales of moves " make a dash under fire " == "navigate 100 meters to cave entrance" or "cross the burning desert over a period of weeks with Dink and his cannibals chasing you all the way"12. Go around the table "While this is going on, what do you do Martha?" . Cut back and forth between players.13. Take frequent breaks. 1. After every move, ask "what do you do?"Whenever any player looks at you expecting you to say something *pick on of the MC moves* and "say" it, rooting in the fiction etc as per the MC principle of move originating and terminating in the fiction. Then *always* ask "what do you do?"2. Announce future badness Not sure what the difference is between this and put someone in a spot. The examples are really dumb.3. Announce offscreen badnessThe difference between 'announce future badness' and "announce offscreen badness" is that the latter cannot be directly examined by the player. So a gunman coming into the scene and aiming at player, vs gunfire in the distance.4. Separate them: - by distance - 'you are far enough away that you can't hear each other" - by forcing one player to 'stay behind' while another escapes/passes into different 'territory zones' etc5. Capture someone - 'capture' used very loosely. In the first example, someone is under siege, not really captured. The basic idea seems to be to restrict movement. Which fits in with the second example where someone is 'captured' by someone else throwing themselves in front of the exit. So essentially "nail character down to present location and somehow unable to leave"6. Put someone in a spot == create present , *immediately impending* trouble. Could be in the middle of an action sequence (enemy truck grinding blah).7. Trade harm for harm (as established). - essentially do harm, get harm. I think harm rules come later 8. Inflict harm (as established). - essentially player takes harm without inflicting it.9. Take away their stuff - I would have thought this would be as simple as characters losing equipment but the first example has an enemy gunman standing on the character's car (thus "taking it away" but in the second, the character is screwing someone and enemies burst in and beat him up (so no Hx? is that what is being taken away? wtf?)10. Make them buy== if character wants something they can get it at a price11. Activate their stuff's downside = make equipment's weaknesses come to life. rifle in close combat blah.12. Tell them possible consequences and ask. - essentially when a player plans to do X, give them the possible consequences of doing Xe.g: You can go to Hatchet city but that will use up all your fuel and you won't be able to leave unless you find more. What do you do?"13. Offer an opportunity (a) with cost - he isn't aware of you and you can get the drop on him IF you leave Amni here. What do you do? (or better "Do you want to?") (b) without cost - he isn't aware of you and you can get the drop on him. What do you do?14. Turn their move back on them == ??? the example is totally weird. WTF15. Make a threat move from one of your fronts.