Move Silently: Sneaking in Dungeon World 2

Stealth and subterfuge are done by many kinds of characters in in many different stories. In D&D especially, it's very common to sneak up on a threat to gain the advantage. Even those who are bad at sneaking might try to do that, though succeeding is another story. Despite this, many PbA games, including my and Helena's past works, don't dedicate a core move to this. Instead when you try to sneak in this games, it's usually handled in a few different ways.

Rely on a General Move

Some games might use a more general move such as "Defy Danger" from Dungeon World (DW1), "Act Under Fire" from Apocalypse World, or "Unleash Your Powers" from Masks (assuming, in that last one, that you sneak using your powers). One strength of this approach is that there has to be a threat/danger/fire/obstacle to trigger the move—if your sneaking isn't opposed, you just do it. This actually reminds me of "Threat Rolls" from the recent Blades in the Dark: Deep Cuts—you only roll when threatened, implying both challenge and stakes. 

Another strength is versatility. Whether you're diguising yourself as someone who belongs, jumping across chandeliers in the ceiling, or ethereally walking through walls, it's probably all the same move and might have the same consequences of getting caught, stumbling into trouble, etc. Unfortunately, to me this very strength also perpetuates the main weakness of this approach.

Whenever a 7-9 is rolled for Defy Danger, it can sometimes be difficult for the GM to come up with appropriate worse outcomes, hard bargains, or ugly choices. A mixed success should still feel like a success, and the consequences should still make an impact without negating the success itself. When sneaking, many typical 7-9 consequences (taking harm, collateral damage, losing/using/breaking items, social fallout, etc.) are much harder to make sense of in the fiction. Even when a consequence fits, it's easier than usual for it to be too soft or hard, making the 7-9 feel like a 10+ or a 6-. (As a side note, Blades in the Dark brilliantly bypasses this problem by ticking down clock segments, but that won't work for DW2)

While this approach technically works, it provides so little direction for stealth-related fiction that, even if DW2 still kept Defy Danger, we probably still wouldn't use it for sneaking.

Redirect to a Specific Move

Other games ask for the context of your stealth, such as how or why, then direct you to the appropriate move. If you're playing Avatar: Legends, sneaking could qualify as one or several of the moves listed below. If multiple would trigger, the GM and triggering player discuss which best fits the player's intent, narrative focus, and moment of tension.

• "Assess a Situation" if you're doing it to gather information
• "Trick" if you're doing it by distracting a guard away from their post
• "Live Up To Your Principle" if you're doing it in pursuance with one of your principles' values
• "Rely on Your Skills & Training" if you're doing it with your abilities as established in the fiction
• "Push Your Luck" if you're doing it in an especially risky way, or if none of the above qualify but you're doing it anyways.

(If you sneak into somewhere by using your established skills to trick a guard in a very risky way that aligns with a principle, all so you can learn about a situation, which move would you use?).

While the specificity of each move can narrow the range of consequences, some moves in the example above are also "general" ones which have the same issues listed above. They all also take the focus away from the sneaking itself, which makes more sense for Avatar than general adventure fantasy. Ultimately, we decided this solution also didn't fit our vision of DW2.

So, with both other common options explored and considered, we decided on a dedicated move for sneaking.

Our Dedicated Move

Skulk
When you hide from, or sneak past, a danger or obstacle, roll+Slippery. On a 7+, you evade their notice. On a 7-9, also choose one of the following.
- You leave evidence of your presence behind
- You lose something along the way
- You stumble into a risky situation

We're going to try this out and see how it works in the alpha. I think these 7-9 options are solid ones that can mix up your success without ruining it, especially the player makes the choice.

We aren't the first PbtA designers to make a dedicated stealth move, but the fact that there isn't one present in many well-known PbtA games make me worry a bit that we're missing a big obvious "designer's reason". The Sprawl uses a generic move, as do both Urban Shadows and Monsterhearts 2 unless you're specifically running away.

Only one way to find out I suppose. Try it and see how it works in play. Pre-alpha testing has gone well, but the alpha may be a different story.

That's all the Core Moves! Thanks for reading and check in on Friday when Helena will introduce our Exploration Moves.

Spencer