Sometimes, Disclaim Decision-Making

Sometimes, you need to make a decision about what to say or what happens next, and you don’t want to make the decision yourself. Would the August agree to Hornet’s plan to take down Satin? Would Cuckoo possess Grasshopper’s sister before Grasshopper gets home? In those cases, it can help to disclaim decision-making, and pass the choice oﬀ to some other source of authority.

Your choices are: To disclaim authority to the moves, interpret the action either in terms of the basic moves or your GM moves. If you can find a move that fts, it should help resolve the uncertainty for you—just do what that move says. “Would the August agree to Hornet’s plan to take down Satin?” “Yes, so long as Hornet agrees to stop training with Mantis and come train with him instead. He’s supporting Hornet conditionally.”
 * the moves
 * the players
 * the characters
 * the arcs.

To disclaim authority to the players, make it a question about what they do, specifically. Push them until they do something that resolves the uncertainty for you. “Would the August agree to Hornet’s plan to take down Satin?” “Somebody should provoke him or pierce his mask to find out!”

To disclaim authority to the NPCs, look at the drives and moves of the NPCs involved, and follow them through to their conclusion. If the drives and moves support one course over all the others, go with that. “Would the August agree to Hornet’s plan to take down Satin?” “The August has the drive ‘To serve and protect the whole of Halcyon City at any cost.’ So, yes—he’d go with the plan to save Halcyon from Satin.”

To disclaim authority to the arcs, look at your arcs and hooks, and see if you can use them to answer the question for you. “Would the August agree to Hornet’s plan to take down Satin?” “The August is a hook for Hornet, pulling her to be a Savior. He’ll agree if Hornet puts the emphasis of the plan on saving people, and not on beating Satin.