Playing Stonetop (and Other PbtA Games)

Work continues on Stonetop, my "hearth-fantasy" adaptation of Dungeon World set in an iron age that never was, in which you portray the local heroes of a small, isolated village near the edge of the known world. It's going more slowly than I'd like, but we just added the "Playing Stonetop" chapter to the main book, and I'm quite pleased with it. 

This is a chapter that's addressed to the players, including:

• The Conversation
• Your Agenda (as a player)
• The Flow of Play
• Dice and Moves 
• Your Principles (as a player) 
• Other Things to Do (and not do) 

A few of the Stonetop Kickstarter backers commented that the chapter is a good, overall introduction to and solid advice for playing PbtA games in general. Hence me reposting them here. 

I'm not about to claim that this advice is universally applicable to all PbtA games. For example, I don't think that the "Flow of Play" is the same in Stonetop as it is in games like Monsterhearts or Cartel or even Apocalypse World, which feature a lot more PC-PC drama. 

But for PbtA games where the PCs mostly work together against adversity presented by the GM (like, Monster of the Week or the Sprawl or Impulse Drive, to name a few), I do think this stuff is largely relevant. 

If you're a new player in a game like that, or a GM trying to help new players "get it," maybe this will help?  

© 2022 Lucie Arnoux, used with permission (click here for more)

Anyway, here's "Playing Stonetop".

The conversation

You play Stonetop by talking to each other. The GM says something, you and the other players respond. You ask each other questions. You refer to the rules, roll some dice, and talk about what the results mean. You take turns talking, but it’s not, like, taking turns. As with any conversation, you’ll talk over each other, interrupt, offer suggestions, and so forth. 

The goal of this conversation to create the fiction, the shared imaginary reality in which the characters exist and act. The specifics of the fiction are often fuzzy, with each of you picturing things differently. But when the details start to matter, you’ll talk it out, clarify the situation, and come to an agreement.  

As a player, you are responsible for your player character (your PC). What they say and what they do. How they feel. Their background and their experiences prior to play. You speak in your PC’s voice. You say what your PC does.

The GM is responsible for everything else, including:

• The world, the terrain, the weather
• Monsters and hazards
• Non-player characters (NPCs), 
• What happened before the PCs got here
• What happens after they leave

The GM will ask for input and ideas. They’ll ask you to make up details about the world that your PC would know. But ultimately, the world beyond the PCs is the GM’s domain. The GM describes how the world reacts to the PCs’ actions, and they curate what is and isn’t true about the world at large.

Your agenda

When you play Stonetop, these should be your goals:

• Portray a compelling character
• Engage with the fictional world
• Play to find out what happens 

The game’s rules and structure assume that you are pursuing these three goals, and no others. This isn’t a game that you play to win. The game doesn’t expect you to optimize your character. It's not a game about testing your skill, and it’s not a game where you show up to be led through the GM’s story. 

Your first and most important goal is to portray a compelling character. Your PC is one of the protagonists of the story. Make them worthy of that role. Don’t treat them as just a set of stats and abilities. Portray them as a person, with hopes and dreams, inner conflicts and relationships with others. Your playbook will help you to sketch out a compelling character, but it’s your job to bring that character to life, to portray a protagonist that you and your fellow players care about.

Your second goal is to engage with the fictional world. Don’t just react to the world that the GM presents, care about it. Explore it and be curious about it. Talk with NPCs like they’re real people, get invested in their stories. And don’t just allow the world to be revealed to you—contribute! Suggest details. Ponder out loud about what things might mean. Be a fan of the world that you and the GM and your fellow players are creating together.  

Finally, play to find out what happens. The rules and the dice are there to introduce uncertainty and surprises, to tell us what happens when things could wrong. Your character won’t always get what they want. You often won’t get what you expect. 

Have ideas for your character’s arc and story, sure, but hold those ideas lightly. We don’t yet know what your PCs’ story will be, whether it will be a comedy or a tragedy or a little bit of both. Play to find out what happens. 

The GM’s agenda
In case you’re wondering, the GM’s agenda is as follows:

•   Portray a rich, mysterious world
•   Punctuate the PC’s lives with adventure
•   Play to find out what happens 

In other words, they’re supposed to present you with a world that’s worth engaging with. They’re meant to present opportunities and threats and challenges to your PCs and the things they care about. And then—just like you—they’re meant to let the game unfold and find out what happens as a result.

(Editorial note:  the GM's agenda varies greatly between PbtA games, though "play to find out what happens" or something similar is almost always there.)  

 

The flow of play

The GM establishes the situation: where you are, what time it is, who’s there, what’s going on. They describe the environment, add details, portray NPCs. They ask questions about what you’re doing or what’s on your mind.

As a player, you ask questions to clarify and understand the situation. You answer the GM’s questions. You offer up details or ideas of your own. Maybe you all act out a bit of dialogue. 

Once the situation is established, the GM says something to provoke action and/or increase tension. Then they ask, “What do you do?” 

If you…

• need more information, ask for it
• trigger a move (see below), follow the move’s procedures 
• do anything else, the GM says what happens

If you ignore an established danger, or you trigger a move and roll a 6 or less, the GM says what bad thing happens. 

The process then repeats. The GM re-establishes the situation, gives it a nudge, and asks, “What do you do?” 

When the current situation ends, the GM frames the next one. If they’re unsure what situation should come next, they’ll ask you and your fellow players questions until it becomes clear. 

The flow of play is conversational. There are no formal turns, not even during fights. The GM is responsible for moving the spotlight around, addressing one PC at a time and ensuring that you each have a chance to talk and act. But it’s okay to interject, make suggestions, or jump in and say what you’re doing before the GM asks. Just be polite and respectful and share the spotlight with your fellow players. 

The conversation and the game will shift naturally between scenes and loose play. Scenes happen in a specific place at a specific time, with players speaking in their PC’s voices and saying what they’re doing moment-by-moment. Loose play is zoomed out, less specific, taking place over time and space. When you explore the clearing where Pryder went missing, looking for clues and discussing what you’ve found, that’s a scene. When you spend the rest of the day following his trail through the woods—discussing how long you want to keep going and what you’re each doing to get on each other’s nerves—that’s loose play. 

Dice and moves

As you all talk about what’s happening in the fiction, and what your PCs are doing, you’ll often trigger moves. A move is a little bit of rules that shapes the conversation and the fiction. 

Here's an example: 

CLASH

When you fight in melee or close quarters, roll +STR: on a 10+, your maneuver works as expected (deal your damage) and pick 1:

• Avoid, prevent, or counter your enemy’s attack
• Strike hard and fast, for 1d6 extra damage, but suffer your enemy’s attack

On a 7-9, your maneuver works, mostly (deal your damage) but you suffer your enemy’s attack.

Many moves are shared by all players (you can see them here). Other moves are specific to your character, or a magic item they possess. Other moves will be custom-made for specific situations. 

Triggers

Each move has a trigger, which says when the move kicks in. The trigger is almost always fictional; you say that your character does something that matches the trigger, and the rest of the move tells us how to resolve that action. 

You might trigger a move intentionally, describing actions that you know match its trigger. Or you might say, “I Clash.” That’s fine, but expect the GM to ask you what that looks like, or what exactly you’re doing to meet the move’s trigger. To do it, you have to do it. 

The opposite is also true: if you do it, you have to do it. If you elbow this guy in the face, and we all agree that you’re fighting in close quarters, then that’s Clash. You can back out (“Oh, no, I don’t elbow him after all”), but if you carry on, make with the dice. 

It's everyone’s job to watch for moves. If you think you’ve triggered a move, say so. If another player triggers a move and no one notices, say something! “Hey, elbowing a guy in the face sounds like ‘fighting in close quarters,’ is this Clash?” 

Everyone must agree that you’re doing something plausible and that the trigger is actually met. For example:

• If the guy is 12 feet tall and holding you at arm’s length, then his face isn’t close enough to elbow! Do something else.
• If the guy is literally made of iron, an elbow to his face won’t do squat and Clash doesn’t trigger. If you insist on trying, the GM says what happens.
• If the guy is distracted and doesn’t see it coming, then you’re not really fighting and Clash doesn’t trigger. You just bash his face and the GM says what happens next. 

If it’s unclear whether you’re triggering a move, or which one you’re triggering, talk it out. Clarify your intent and the details until everyone agrees. 

Rolling

Many moves tell you to “roll +STAT” (usually with a specific stat, like STR or INT).

• “Roll” means: roll two six-sided dice (2d6), and add them together.
• “+STAT” means: find that stat from your PC’s playbook and add it to the roll; stats range from -1 to +3.

For example: I say that I elbow this guy in the face. We agree that I’m fighting in close quarters, triggering Clash. I roll 2d6 and add my PC’s STR. If my STR is +1, my roll might look like this:

You’ll sometimes have advantage, meaning: roll an extra die and discard the lowest. With advantage, the roll above might look like this:

And sometimes, you’ll have disadvantage: roll an extra die and discard the highest. With disadvantage, that roll might look like this:

If you have advantage and disadvantage on the same roll, they cancel each other out. Roll normally (2d6, add them).

Advantage and disadvantage normally stem from a move or condition. The GM can apply them ad hoc if they deem a roll especially hard or easy, but they’re encouraged not to. See "Fictional Positioning," below.

Editorial note: many PbtA games use terms like "+1 forward" or "-2 forward" or "+1 ongoing" instead of "advantage" or "disadvantage."

+ or - X forward means "the next roll you make, add or subtract X to the total."  

+ or - X ongoing means "add or subtract X to all relevant rolls." This will pretty much always come with some sort of condition, like "take +1 ongoing until the scene ends" or "take -1 ongoing to anything but hide or escape from the monster." 

Stonetop does have a few moves that apply + or - modifiers instead of advantage or disadvantage, but those moves are the exception and they don't use the "forward" or "ongoing' terminology. I generally prefer advantage/disadvantage because:

• They don't "stack"
• They have a bigger impact (closer to +2 than +1, though that changes based on your starting modifier)
• Rolling an extra die always feels like it could have changed the result of the roll; with a straight +1 or -1 modifier, you can clearly tell whether it did affect the outcome (and about 3 out of 4 times, it does not).

Results

When a move has you roll, it will also say what happens based on that roll. 

On a 10+ (meaning, a total roll of 10 or higher), you get a strong hit, the best you can hope for. 

On a 7-9 (meaning, a total roll of 7, 8, or 9), you get a weak hit. You get only some of what you wanted, or you get what you wanted but with a cost. 

On a 6- (meaning, a total roll of 6 or lower), you get a miss, meaning:

• You mark XP, unless the move says otherwise
• The GM says what happens, and it will be bad 

A 6- doesn’t always mean you screwed up. It means something bad happens, something that your PC won’t like. Your foe gets the jump on you. The branch breaks before you can jump. You find the missing villager, but oh no, they’ve been dead for hours.

A few moves say what happens on a 6-, in which case the GM must abide by those results. But for most moves: on a 6-, mark XP and prepare for the worst. 

If a move doesn’t have you roll, then it will just tell you what happens. 

Whatever the results of a move, work together to figure out what it looks like in the fiction. The GM has final say on how the world reacts to and is affected by your actions, but they are constrained by the results of your move and they might very well ask you for input.  

Editorial note: "Mark XP" means that you gain an XP, a.k.a. an experience point. When you accumulate enough XP, you can improve your character or start spending that XP to boost your rolls. 

Not every PbtA game has you mark XP on a miss (a 6-). Heck, many PbtA games don't even have the concept of XP.   

An example:

You and your fellow PCs have entered the cave bears’ den, hoping to harvest some much-needed meat during a long, hard winter. You’re playing Caradoc (the Would-be Hero). 

“Caradoc,” says the GM, “your eyes are adjusting to the gloom when you hear snuffling, and the sound of something moving, something big. At the edge of the light, a huge form rears up and ROARS. It’s a bear, what do you do?”

“Here we go,” you say. “I yell and rush it, shield up, stabbing with my spear.”

“That sure sounds like you’re fighting in melee with this 10-foot-tall bear. Roll +STR to Clash!”

You get lucky and roll a 4 and a 5. With your STR +1, that’s a 10!  You (perhaps unwisely) choose to strike hard for extra damage, but suffer its attack in turn. You deal 6 damage total, not bad! You and the GM agree that this means your strike landed and you bloodied the big beast. 

But you also suffer its attack. The GM says “As you connect, it just THWAPS you with its right paw. Take 1d10+4 damage. Roll it.”  You take 9 damage (almost half your hit points). The GM says “I think you get your shield up but the force of the blow smacks it into your head, and sends you staggering back. Mark the dazed debility, as the world starts spinning.”

If you had rolled a 6 or less, then the GM probably would have said that the bear thwacked you (as above) before you were able to stab it. But, hey, at least you would have gotten to mark XP.

  

Hold and spend

Some moves will tell you to “hold X currency,” where the currency is something specific like “Preparation” or “Readiness.” Note how much you hold, and spend it as described by the move. 

For example:

DEFEND

When you take up a defensive stance or jump in to protect others roll +CON: on a 10+, hold 3 Readiness (or 4 if you bear a shield); on a 7-9, hold 1 Readiness (or 2 if you bear a shield). Spend your Readiness 1-for-1 to:

• Suffer an attack’s damage/effects instead of your ward
• Halve an attack’s effects/damage
• Draw all attention from your ward to yourself
• Strike back at an attacker (deal your damage, with disadvantage)

When you go on the offense, cease to focus on defense, or the threat passes, lose any Readiness that you hold.

Think of held currency as permission to do something awesome, now or later. When you spend held currency to do something, you just do it—even if it interrupts the flow of play, and even if doing it would normally trigger a move. If you spend 1 Readiness to strike back at an attacker and deal some damage, you just do that, even though fighting in melee would normally trigger Clash. 

When you spend currency, say what it looks like in the fiction. If you can't describe it, then don't spend the currency after all.

Editorial note: "hold and spend" moves are common in PbtA games, but they often just say something like "on a 10+, hold 3; on a 7-9, hold 1. Spend your hold 1-for-1 to...."  In other words, they treat "hold" as both a verb and a noun, in a way that's unique to these sorts of games. I've found that this confuses folks, so in Stonetop, you always "hold <currency>" and then spend that currency. 

 

The GM, dice, and moves

In Stonetop, the GM doesn’t normally roll dice and they don’t trigger moves. If you’re fighting a monster, the GM might declare, “It leaps at you, claws out and hissing.” But they don’t trigger Clash and they don’t roll dice to see if the monster’s attack succeeds. Instead, they ask, “What do you do?” 

If you ignore the leaping monster, then the GM will confirm that you understand the situation and really want to do that. If you do, they’ll tell you what bad thing happens as a result.

More likely, you’ll do something about this monster leaping at your face: you duck and hope it flies over you, or twist away and stab it, or raise your shield to block it. This will probably trigger a move, and the result of that move will inform whether or not the monster’s attack lands. 

Editorial note: when the GM says "it leaps at you, claws out and hissing, what do you do?" that's called a soft GM move. They're saying something provocative, something to spur you to action or emotional response, and then giving you an opportunity to do something about it. If you ignore the leaping monster and the GM tells you "what bad thing happens as a result," that's a hard GM move. They are establishing badness, saying the (now unavoidable) consequences of your action or inaction. The GM also makes hard GM moves when you make a player move and roll a 6-. 

This terminology ("soft GM move" and "hard GM move") is a little confusing, because as noted above, the GM moves don't involve the dice or even any particular rules. They're just the GM saying "this is happening" in the fiction. Some PbtA games go so far as to call these GM moves something else, like "reactions" or "cuts." But referring to "GM moves" is a common thing in PbtA games. 

Regardless of what they're called, most (all?) PbtA games provide a list of potential GM moves to make, like "put them in a spot" or "reveal an unwelcome truth" or "use up their resources."  They then provide a bunch of guidelines and principles for what GM moves to make, how to make them, and when to make them. Generally, the GM doesn't say the name of the GM move they're making, they just say what happens in the fiction. The move they make should flow from the established fiction or their prep. They shouldn't make a hard GM move unless the PC has knowingly ignored some source of trouble, or they've triggered a move and the result involved a bad thing happening.   

If you'd like to know more about the GM side of things, check out My Framework for Running Dungeon World and Running Fights in Stonetop and Dungeon World. 

 

The Die of Fate

When the GM wants to let the fates decide an outcome, but there’s no move that would apply, they might ask you to roll the Die of Fate. That means: roll a d6 (straight, with no modifiers unless the GM says otherwise). High is good, low is bad. 

Fictional positioning

The actions that your character takes and the moves you trigger are informed by your fictional positioning—the sum of established fictional details about your character and the world around them. This includes (but is not limited to):

• Your established traits (age, height, weight, experiences, skills, habits, instincts, personality, etc.)
• Your equipment, what you have in hand vs. stowed away, what’s on your person, what’s within reach
• Your position, relative to your foes, your allies, hazards, cover, features of the environment
• What you can realistically see or hear or otherwise sense, given the light, your position, the weather
• What you’re doing, what you’re looking for, what you’re focused on
• Your momentum, your footing, your balance, your emotional state
• How exactly you describe doing something, how you approach the challenge at hand

Your fictional positioning determines what actions are feasible, whether your action triggers a move, and which move that action triggers. It affects the range possible outcomes for a move, both good and bad. 

In many role-playing games, your fictional positioning results in bonuses or penalties to your rolls, or changes the number you’re trying to roll over or under. It adjusts the probability of a roll succeeding or not. That’s not really a thing in Stonetop. You don’t get a +1 bonus or -1 penalty just because the GM deems a task to be “easy” or “hard.” 

Instead, your fictional positioning might be reflected by… 

…how much of a spot the GM puts you in before asking, “What do you do?” “The drake hisses and tenses, like it’s about to charge, what do you do?” vs. “There’s a rustling to your left and something big bursts out of the brush, coming right at you, what do you do?”

…whether your action is even feasible. “The cliff is pretty sheer, and wet, and your fingers are already numb from the cold. I don’t think you can just climb it.”

…whether a move is triggered, or if you just do what you wanted. “No, don’t roll to Clash, you’ve caught him flat-footed. Just deal your damage.”

…whether a move even can trigger. “You can stab it with your spear, but that won’t trigger Clash. It’s made of solid stone. You won’t hurt it, you’ll just put yourself in danger. You sure?”

…what’s required to attempt an action, and/or to trigger a move. “No way you can make that jump right now. You need to drop down to a light load first, and even then you’ll be Defying Danger.”

…which move is triggering. “No, I don’t think you’re Seeking Insight, I think you’re Defying Danger with WIS to spot them in time.”

…the risks being lesser or greater. “In this case, suffering his attack will mean he just gets inside your guard.” Or, “Just to be clear, if you roll a 6-, you’re gonna miss the jump and you’ll be rolling for Death’s Door.”

…the scope of what a single move can accomplish. “Cool, a 10+? Yeah, you get to Andras, arrows whizzing past you, and manage to drag him to cover.” Or, “Okay, cool, but I think that’s two moves—Defy Danger to duck inside its guard, and then Clash if you manage to pull that off. Do you still do that?”

…rarely, whether you make a roll with advantage or disadvantage. “Oof, with the gusting wind, I don’t think the shot is impossible but it’ll be particularly hard. You can Let Fly, but you’ll have disadvantage on the roll.” The GM should do this rarely, though, because it diminishes the impact of moves and other mechanics that specifically apply advantage or disadvantage. 

PC vs. PC

There will be times when you and other PCs come into conflict. You might Persuade another PC to go along with your plan. They might Seek Insight to figure out what you’re up to. You might Interfere to keep them from doing something they’ll regret, or something you’ll regret.

When there’s conflict between PCs, slow down. If you’re making a move that targets another PC, or that you think another PC might object to, give them a chance to say what they’re doing, what move (if any) they make.

If another PC does something that you want to Interfere with, speak up! Raise your hand or interrupt. Say how you try to stop what they’re doing. 

If it’s unclear who is triggering which moves, and in what order, talk it out. The GM has the final say.

Your principles

As a player, Stonetop works best if you…

• Begin and end with the fiction
• Connect with the other PCs
• Show us what’s important to you
• Have goals and pursue them
• Be bold, take risks
• Embrace difficulty, setback, and failure
• Participate in worldbuilding
• Build on what others have said
• Give others a chance to shine
• Participate in the conversation

Following these principles will lead you to achieving your agenda (see above). Strive to follow them, always. 

Begin and end with the fiction

Tell us how you do what you do, what it looks like. Don’t just say “I’m Seeking Insight,” tell us how. “I cock my head, listening to the sounds of the forest for anything odd.” Don’t just say “I attack,” say what you do. “I rush in, shield up, stabbing into this thing’s gut."

When you resolve a move, make sure you’re clear about what has happened as a result. It’s the GMs job to describe the impact of your move on the world (or to defer to you). If they skimp, or think things are clear when they aren’t, then say so. If you can’t picture what happened, ask for more detail!

Beginning and ending with the fiction is one the main ways that you engage with the fictional world. But it’s also a great way to portray a compelling character. Anyone can trigger Clash, but show us how you, Brynfor of Stonetop, fight this particular fight.

Connect with the other PCs

Explore the relationships between your character and the other PCs. Play out scenes with each other, speaking in your character’s voices. Go out of your way to interact with each other, to care about each other, and to get involved in each other’s lives. 

Your PCs don’t have to be friends. They don’t even have to like each other. But the game assumes that they’re allies at least, and that they’ll work together on behalf of the town when there’s trouble. Your PCs will spend a lot of on-screen time together. 

When you develop nuanced relationships with your fellow PCs, and let those relationships change and grow, you are portraying a compelling character. When you let those relationships guide your actions and your decisions, even if it means bringing you into conflict with each other, you are playing to find out what happens. 

Show us what’s important to you

Ask yourself, as your character: Who and what will you fight for? What do you prize? What do you aspire to, hope for, dream of? For whom would you lay down your life? 

Make it clear what you value, through word and deed, and you’ll be portraying a compelling character. Show yourself caring about mundane things like your home and your garden and your goats, about NPCs and what they think of you, and you’ll be engaging with the fictional world. Let your values guide your actions and push you into conflict, and then play to find out what happens. 

Have goals and pursue them

Identify things that your PC wants—a steading improvement, an NPC’s hand in marriage, the respect of the elders, maybe just a roof that doesn’t leak—and actively work towards those things in play. Don’t just react to the threats that the GM presents. Having goals and striving towards them is a great way to portray a compelling character, and it pretty much requires you to engage with the fictional world. 

But also: have goals as a player. Share these goals to the GM and the other players. Have meta-game conversations about scenes that you want to have and conflicts you want to play towards. Just as important, be clear about what’s not important to you, what you’d be happy glossing over. Your play time is limited, so be clear about what you want to see the in the game. The End of Session move gives you a formal chance to do this, but you can always step out of character and talk to each other, player-to-player. 

To be clear: having goals and pursuing them doesn’t mean “always getting what you want.” It means having things that you work towards, things that will drive scenes and adventures. Whether you achieve your goals is up to the actions you take and the moves you trigger and the dice you roll, and how the fiction logically and plausibly reacts. Play to find out what happens.
 

Be bold, take risks

Take decisive action that moves the game and situation forward. You’re the PCs, the folks that Stonetop looks to save them when danger looms. If you don’t act like a hero, who will?

Avoid being overly cautious, or spending hours on careful, elaborate plans that cover every contingency. Plan a little, sure. Be clever. Play to your strengths and your weaknesses, and consider what your character, specifically might do. But don’t let the game grind to a halt. If you find yourself deliberating for more than a few minutes, stop. Make a choice. Act. Play to find out what happens.
 

Embrace difficulty, setback, and failure

Not everything is going to go your way. Part of the GM’s job is present you with adversity and threaten the things you care about. Those challenges are meaningless unless the stakes are real, unless there’s a chance you’ll lose. Difficulty, setback, and failure are all key parts of playing to find out what happens. 

Difficulty, setback, and failure are also an opportunity to portray a compelling character. Show us how you deal with adversity, how you rise to the challenge. Show us how loss affects you. Show us how you keep going anyway.

It’s not that heroes don’t fall down. It’s that they get back up. 

Participate in worldbuilding

The GM is responsible for the world at large. But as you create your character, your playbook will prompt you to define things about the world: about the god you serve, about the troubles you’ve seen, about the NPCs who live in Stonetop. Choose options and make up details that you find interesting and compelling. 

As you introduce your character, the GM will ask you questions. Lots of questions. Some of these will be about your PC specifically (“Do you know how to read?”) but others will invite you to add details to the world (“Who, if anyone, did this job before you?”). Once play begins, the GM will continue to ask questions and build on the answers. They’ll ask your character questions that help shape the world, questions like:

• “Rhianna, who taught you how to hunt and track?”
• “Blodwen, you live with your mother, right? Any siblings? What’s the place look like inside?”
• “Vahid, you’ve met Brennan before, what’s his most distinctive feature?”
• “Caradoc, what have you heard about the Quiet Twins and how they came to haunt the Stream?”
• “Vahid, what have you noticed that all the missing children have in common?”
• “What’s the most striking detail about the Flats in early spring?”
• “Caradoc, when you got back to Stonetop, whose reaction surprised you the most?”

Answer with enthusiasm, with color and life! Think about what you know about your character, what you know about the assumed setting, what other players have already established. Steal cool ideas from books or comics, from shows or movies, from other games, from real life. Add details that you want to see in the game, that you’re excited about! Give answers that you think are cool and interesting, and you’ll automatically be engaging with fictional world. 

With that said: don’t overthink it. The best answer is often the obvious answer, the first thing that comes to mind. The first thing to come to your mind is often a surprise to the GM and other players, something they’d never have thought of, and thus you’re helping them play to find out what happens.

If you find these sorts of questions off-putting or even stressful, consider why that is. Talk to your GM about it. If you don’t like being put on the spot, the GM can ask you a question and then move the spotlight, giving you time to think. If you feel like you’re being asked to do the GM’s job (author the world) and that takes away from your fun, the GM can ask you fewer questions that involve worldbuilding and more questions about your PC’s current thoughts and feelings. 

But also, it could be that you’re just not used to it. Many roleplaying games have a very strict line between the player’s job and the GM’s job, and Stonetop intentionally blurs that line. If worldbuilding isn’t something you’re used to doing, give it a try. Stretch yourself! The more you participate in worldbuilding, the easier it becomes. 

Build on what others have said

Let yourself be inspired by your fellow players. Take elements that they introduce and use them yourself. Build on them, riff on them, tweak them. 

Character creation is the most obvious time to build on what others have said. The Fox tells a tall tale about how she and her sister met a creepy old man in the woods? On your turn, reuse one of those elements! If you’re the Ranger, maybe what you’re worried about is that same creepy old man, spotted near the Ruined Tower. If you’re the Would-be Hero, maybe the Fox’s sister is the NPC whose heart you hope to win. 

During play, when the GM asks questions, continue to build on each other’s answers. Let your own ideas grow from the what’s already established. Don’t make up something new when you can reuse and reincorporate. Engage with the fictional world, even as you create it!

Give others a chance to shine

Don’t hog the spotlight. Be aware of how much you talk, relative to the other players. If you’ve been talking a lot, suggest a spotlight change. If a quiet player is talking, don’t interrupt unless its timely and valuable—and even then, raise your hand or wait for a natural pause. 

Be proactive, too. Set others up for greatness! Has the Fox been flirting with one of your followers? Arrange for them to have a scene together, alone. Has the Blessed’s player been quiet this session? Ask their PC to join yours on an errand, then strike up a conversation about something they care about. 

This principle isn’t about pursuing your agenda—it’s about helping the other players to pursue theirs, to portray compelling characters and engage with the fictional world. But when you give each other a chance to shine, the results are often surprising, which means you’re all playing to find out what happens.
 

Participate in the conversation

You play this game by talking to each other. The game is the conversation. Be an active, engaged part of that conversation. Otherwise, why are you here?

Pay attention, even when your PC isn’t involved. Try to avoid distractions, in whatever way works for you (maybe take notes, or doodle, or knit, or whatever). 

Ask questions. Ask for clarification, for more detail. Be curious! Ask players about their PC’s, about their actions, thoughts, and feelings. 

Offer suggestions. If there’s a pause in the conversation and you’ve got a good idea, offer it up. 

Get excited! Ooh and ahh at the awesome stuff the other players say and do. Laugh at each other’s jokes. Groan at each other’s puns. Cheer when a clutch roll goes your way. Curse the fates when a roll comes up short. 

You’re going to have off nights, sessions where you’re distracted or your energy is low. That’s fine. But do what you can to focus, to pay attention, to participate in the conversation and enjoy the company of your friends. Because ultimately, that’s what you’re here to do.

Other things to do

Take notes. Write stuff down! NPC names and traits. Who’s related to who. Bits of history and lore. Places. Things. The events of each session. If you think it’ll be helpful to reference later, write it down. Your future self will thank you.

Learn the rules. You don’t have to be an expert, but learn the basics. Know that “roll +STR” means you roll 2d6 and add your STR. Familiarize yourself with the basic moves, especially their triggers. Understand how outfitting, gear, and possessions work.  

Know your character. You’re the one with the playbook in front of you. Know what your stats are (or where to find them). Know what your damage die is. Know your moves, what triggers them and what they do. Double-check things, sure, and everyone makes mistakes. But you are responsible for your character. Don’t expect the GM or other players to tell you what your PC is capable of. 

Watch for moves triggering. It’s everyone’s job to call out when moves trigger, or to question it when someone calls for a move whose trigger hasn’t been met. “This feels like you’re enticing her… Persuade?” “Is this really Defy Danger? Like, what’s at stake?"

Work the fiction. Describe your PC’s actions so that you trigger the moves you want to trigger, using the stats you want to roll with. Or, describe actions that avoid triggering moves that you don’t want to make. Exploit the details of the established fiction.

Advocate for yourself, for each other. If you think the GM has interpreted a move wrongly, or missed a detail, or skipped someone who’s been waiting, say something! If you think another player is being a butt, ask them to knock it off. If you want to see something in the game, make that known. If someone else seems unhappy, ask them what’s up. Communication is key!

Mind the vibe. Everyone is responsible for creating the game’s tone, mood, and themes. Pay attention to the vibe at the table. Build on it, riff on it, respect it. If you like how “hope” is becoming a theme, then look for ways to reinforce that or explore it. If everyone is playing things mud-spattered, serious, and gritty, don’t describe your character doing anime-style acrobatics like running up the rage drake’s back.

Share the load. A lot of logistical tasks fall to the GM by default. But they don’t have to! The GM’s got plenty to do just running the game, so do what you can to help. Divvy up responsibilities for: 

• Scheduling, hosting, ordering food
• Printing materials
• Taking notes
• Updating the steading playbook 
• Recapping sessions
• Explaining rules
• Wrangling players between sessions (“hey everyone, did you level up?”) 
• Watching the clock, calling for breaks, nudging things along
• Watching for discomfort, calling time out, checking in with others

Even if you don’t take formal responsibility for these things, you can step in and help out as needed. 

Ask questions! When you’re unsure about some detail, ask for clarification. When you don’t know what to do or how to answer a question, ask for advice. 

Respect boundaries and wishes. Before you start play, you’ll talk about the content that you and your fellow players want to exclude from the game, or veil and handle “off screen,” or handle in particular ways. “No sexual violence,” or, “Veil harm to animals,” or, “Spiders are fine, but don’t talk about how their legs move.” Once play begins, you or other players can adjust these guidelines.

Respect these boundaries. If “torture” is excluded content, then don’t have your PC torture anyone. It doesn’t matter if “that’s what my character would do.” The boundaries and feelings of your fellow human beings are more important than your vision for your character, more important than your player agenda and principles. You and your friends are more important than the game. 

When in doubt…

If the GM asks, “What do you do?” and you’re unsure, do the following:

• Visualize the situation
• Ask the GM for clarification
• Ask yourself, “What do I want? What’s my goal?”
• Consider your strengths and weaknesses
• Look to others for advice
• Go with the obvious choice, the interesting choice, the meaningful choice, not necessarily the “right” choice (and remember, you get XP on a 6-)! 
  
  

What not to do

Don’t roll until there’s agreement. If you say “Ooh, I bet I Know Things about Fae” don’t just pick up the dice and roll +INT. Wait for the GM and the rest of the players to acknowledge that, yeah, you’re triggering a move, this move. If you roll for a move before the others agree that you’ve triggered it, then it doesn’t count. Pick your dice back up.   

Don’t cheat. If you fudge your dice rolls to get the outcome you want, or you “forget” a rule or some detail established earlier, then you’re not really playing to find out what happens. Roll your dice in the open, respect the established fiction, and play by the rules. You’ll have more fun, and you won’t be a cheater. 

Don’t keep secrets from other players. It’s fine for your character to keep secrets from the other PCs. Heck, that’s great! But the other players should be in on it, able to enjoy the dramatic irony. 

Don’t expect fights to be fair. Just because the GM puts a monster in front of you doesn’t mean that they think you can defeat it. There’s no guarantee that fight will be “balanced” to your PCs. And even a fight with an “easy” foe can go sidewise if the dice are against you. Judge your chances carefully, avoid fights that you can’t handle, and be willing to flee if things go south. 

With that being said: don’t overthink it. Don’t waste your time deliberating every decision, or making elaborate plans that cover every contingency, or thinking of the perfect answer to the GM’s question. Be bold, take risks and embrace difficulty, setback, and failure. 

Closing remarks

The rest of the "Playing Stonetop" chapter goes over topics that are extremely specific to Stonetop, and not especially relevant to other PbtA games. Things like:

• The anatomy of a Stonetop PC playbook
• Arcana (the weird artifacts, sites, and lore that PCs can start with or acquire in play)
• Followers (NPCs that follow the PC's lead and generally do as they're told)
• The "steading playbook" (for the PC's home village)
• The PC moves (basic, special, expedition, and homefront)
• Outfitting, gear, and possessions

Stonetop is still in development, but it's a fully-playable game at this point. You can see our current progress (including what's done and left to be done) here.

Stonetop preorders are available here. Folks who pre-order get access to the in-progress PDFs and the Stonetop Discord server. We have to send those links out manually, though, so we do it batches; expect a delay of up to a week or two between pre-ordering and receiving the links. If you're really itching to get your hands on the materials, reach out to me at "jack" underscore "blackfoot" at Yahoo.