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According to the philosophy of the Apocalypse World Engine, when PCs make a move and fail the roll, the story should still get advanced somehow. In effect, it's time for the GM to make a move of their own. [This has been discussed on the site before][1]. The PC actively tries to do something, they roll poorly, something bad happens to them in the process.

tremulus, being an investigative game, is less about the action. One of the basic moves it offers is called Puzzle Things Out, and it is very passive in nature. The character simply considers the information they already have. On success, they get to ask the GM some questions. But what happens on failure? Occasionally, a maniac could burst in, swinging an axe at their head. But that's not always appropriate. I've tried using moves such as Announce Trouble Elsewhere or Foreshadow Future Trouble in response, but each time it felt incredibly forced:

"I found this thing, what does it mean?" rolls a 6

 

"You have no idea, sorry. ...Oh, and by the way, Bob just died, far away. No, you don't know it yet. No, see, we sort of zoom out and cut to a different scene, and Bob has died there. Ugh, never mind."

Spout Lore of Dungeon World is potentially a more well-known example of a similar move, though in that case Reveal Unwelcome Truth would be a good response on GM's part. In tremulus, anything the PCs puzzle out is going to be unwelcome by definition, and so that's not going to be any different from success.

I'm looking for techniques to keep in mind when reacting to failure on passive moves. [1]: How does "failure" work in Dungeon World? How does it move the story forward?

According to the philosophy of the Apocalypse World Engine, when PCs make a move and fail the roll, the story should still get advanced somehow. In effect, it's time for the GM to make a move of their own. This has been discussed on the site before. The PC actively tries to do something, they roll poorly, something bad happens to them in the process.

tremulus, being an investigative game, is less about the action. One of the basic moves it offers is called Puzzle Things Out, and it is very passive in nature. The character simply considers the information they already have. On success, they get to ask the GM some questions. But what happens on failure? Occasionally, a maniac could burst in, swinging an axe at their head. But that's not always appropriate. I've tried using moves such as Announce Trouble Elsewhere or Foreshadow Future Trouble in response, but each time it felt incredibly forced:

"I found this thing, what does it mean?" rolls a 6

"You have no idea, sorry. ...Oh, and by the way, Bob just died, far away. No, you don't know it yet. No, see, we sort of zoom out and cut to a different scene, and Bob has died there. Ugh, never mind."

Spout Lore of Dungeon World is potentially a more well-known example of a similar move, though in that case Reveal Unwelcome Truth would be a good response on GM's part. In tremulus, anything the PCs puzzle out is going to be unwelcome by definition, and so that's not going to be any different from success.

I'm looking for techniques to keep in mind when reacting to failure on passive moves.

According to the philosophy of the Apocalypse World Engine, when PCs make a move and fail the roll, the story should still get advanced somehow. In effect, it's time for the GM to make a move of their own. [This has been discussed on the site before][1]. The PC actively tries to do something, they roll poorly, something bad happens to them in the process.

tremulus, being an investigative game, is less about the action. One of the basic moves it offers is called Puzzle Things Out, and it is very passive in nature. The character simply considers the information they already have. On success, they get to ask the GM some questions. But what happens on failure? Occasionally, a maniac could burst in, swinging an axe at their head. But that's not always appropriate. I've tried using moves such as Announce Trouble Elsewhere or Foreshadow Future Trouble in response, but each time it felt incredibly forced:

"I found this thing, what does it mean?" rolls a 6

"You have no idea, sorry. ...Oh, and by the way, Bob just died, far away. No, you don't know it yet. No, see, we sort of zoom out and cut to a different scene, and Bob has died there. Ugh, never mind."

Spout Lore of Dungeon World is potentially a more well-known example of a similar move, though in that case Reveal Unwelcome Truth would be a good response on GM's part. In tremulus, anything the PCs puzzle out is going to be unwelcome by definition, and so that's not going to be any different from success.

I'm looking for techniques to keep in mind when reacting to failure on passive moves. [1]: How does "failure" work in Dungeon World? How does it move the story forward?

According to the philosophy of the Apocalypse World Engine, when PCs make a move and fail the roll, the story should still get advanced somehow. In effect, it's time for the GM to make a move of their own. [This has been discussed on the site before][1]. The PC actively tries to do something, they roll poorly, something bad happens to them in the process.

tremulus, being an investigative game, is less about the action. One of the basic moves it offers is called Puzzle Things Out, and it is very passive in nature. The character simply considers the information they already have. On success, they get to ask the GM some questions. But what happens on failure? Occasionally, a maniac could burst in, swinging an axe at their head. But that's not always appropriate. I've tried using moves such as Announce Trouble Elsewhere or Foreshadow Future Trouble in response, but each time it felt incredibly forced:

"I found this thing, what does it mean?" rolls a 6

"You have no idea, sorry. ...Oh, and by the way, Bob just died, far away. No, you don't know it yet. No, see, we sort of zoom out and cut to a different scene, and Bob has died there. Ugh, never mind."

Spout Lore of Dungeon World is potentially a more well-known example of a similar move, though in that case Reveal Unwelcome Truth would be a good response on GM's part. In tremulus, anything the PCs puzzle out is going to be unwelcome by definition, and so that's not going to be any different from success.

I'm looking for techniques to keep in mind when reacting to failure on passive moves. [1]: How does "failure" work in Dungeon World? How does it move the story forward?

According to the philosophy of AWE, when PCs make a move and fail the roll, the story should still get advanced somehow. In effect, it's time for the GM to make a move of their own. [This has been discussed on the site before][1]. The PC actively tries to do something, they roll poorly, something bad happens to them in the process.

tremulus, being an investigative game, is less about the action. One of the basic moves it offers is called Puzzle Things Out, and it is very passive in nature. The character simply considers the information they already have. On success, they get to ask the GM some questions. But what happens on failure? Occasionally, a maniac could burst in, swinging an axe at their head. But that's not always appropriate. I've tried using moves such as Announce Trouble Elsewhere or Foreshadow Future Trouble in response, but each time it felt incredibly forced:

"I found this thing, what does it mean?" rolls a 6

"You have no idea, sorry. ...Oh, and by the way, Bob just died, far away. No, you don't know it yet. No, see, we sort of zoom out and cut to a different scene, and Bob has died there. Ugh, never mind."

Spout Lore of Dungeon World is potentially a more well-known example of a similar move, though in that case Reveal Unwelcome Truth would be a good response on GM's part. In tremulus, anything the PCs puzzle out is going to be unwelcome by definition, and so that's not going to be any different from success.

I'm looking for techniques to keep in mind when reacting to failure on passive moves. [1]: How does "failure" work in Dungeon World? How does it move the story forward?

According to the philosophy of the Apocalypse World Engine, when PCs make a move and fail the roll, the story should still get advanced somehow. In effect, it's time for the GM to make a move of their own. [This has been discussed on the site before][1]. The PC actively tries to do something, they roll poorly, something bad happens to them in the process.

tremulus, being an investigative game, is less about the action. One of the basic moves it offers is called Puzzle Things Out, and it is very passive in nature. The character simply considers the information they already have. On success, they get to ask the GM some questions. But what happens on failure? Occasionally, a maniac could burst in, swinging an axe at their head. But that's not always appropriate. I've tried using moves such as Announce Trouble Elsewhere or Foreshadow Future Trouble in response, but each time it felt incredibly forced:

"I found this thing, what does it mean?" rolls a 6

"You have no idea, sorry. ...Oh, and by the way, Bob just died, far away. No, you don't know it yet. No, see, we sort of zoom out and cut to a different scene, and Bob has died there. Ugh, never mind."

Spout Lore of Dungeon World is potentially a more well-known example of a similar move, though in that case Reveal Unwelcome Truth would be a good response on GM's part. In tremulus, anything the PCs puzzle out is going to be unwelcome by definition, and so that's not going to be any different from success.

I'm looking for techniques to keep in mind when reacting to failure on passive moves. [1]: How does "failure" work in Dungeon World? How does it move the story forward?