Many PbtA games have a core set of moves that the GM is to make during play. For instance, in the first edition of Apocalypse World, here were the GM moves (actually MC [Master of Ceremonies] moves). I’ve reorganized them into my own categories—

  • Direct threats and violence:
    • Separate them.
    • Capture someone.
    • Put someone in a spot.
    • Trade harm for harm (as established).
    • Inflict harm (as established).
    • Make a threat move (from one of your fronts).
  • Escalation and mounting pressure:
    • Announce off-screen badness.
    • Announce future badness.
    • Tell them the possible consequences and ask.
    • Offer an opportunity, with or without a cost.
    • Turn their move back on them.
  • Resource management:
    • Take away their stuff.
    • Make them buy.
    • Activate their stuff’s downside.

The move “Make a threat move (from one of your fronts)” brings in a library of additional GM moves. These are organized by five types of threat: warlords, grotesques, landscapes, afflictions, and brutes. For example, here are the GM moves for warlords—

  • Outflank someone, corner someone, encircle someone.
  • Attack someone suddenly, directly, and very hard.
  • Attack someone cautiously, holding reserves.
  • Seize someone or something, for leverage or information.
  • Make a show of force.
  • Make a show of discipline.
  • Offer to negotiate. Demand concession or obedience.
  • Claim territory: move into it, blockade it, assault it.
  • Buy out someone’s allies.
  • Make a careful study of someone and attack where they’re weak.

Subsequent games by other authors extended this modularization of GM moves. For instance, Dungeon World added threat moves for over 100 monsters, and Masks added playbook-specific GM moves.

Dungeon World transformed Apocalypse World’s threat moves. While it created a set of “Dungeon Moves” to replace AW’s landscape threats, more ambitiously it gave two to four moves to each of its 155 or so monsters. These moves are largely unique with few duplicates.

For instance, the satyr’s moves are:

  • Pull others into revelry through magic
  • Force gifts upon them
  • Play jokes with illusions and tricks.

Thirsty Sword Lesbians and Chasing Adventure have since adapted the Masks approach of playbook-specific GM moves.

Just like there is a “moveosphere” for the players, which changes over time and location, there is a moveosphere for the GM. Depending on the game, they will have universal moves, moves that vary by threat, moves that vary by location, and moves that vary by playbook.

If you’re designing a PbtA game, both Chasing Adventure and Stonetop have good lists of GM moves and are licensed for re-use under the Creative Commons, so you can start with their moves and adapt from there. Or check out the other PbtA games with a Creative Commons license.

But, as Dice Exploder points out, these lists of GM moves can be overwhelming. Make sure to present them in a useful way for GMs to use them in the heat of the moment.

Photo credit: Andrej Lišakov for Unsplash+.