49. Some Final Thoughts about Principles.

We’ve walked through the principles one at a time to see how each one works. Now it’s time to look at them together:

Barf forth apocalyptica.
Address yourself to the characters, not the players.
Make your move, but misdirect.
Make your move, but never speak its name.
Look through crosshairs.
Name everyone, make everyone human.
Ask provocative questions and build on the answers.
Respond with fuckery and intermittent rewards.
Be a fan of the players’ characters.
Think offscreen too.
Sometimes, disclaim decision-making.

Barfing forth apocalyptica is the flavor that seasons everything you say.

Addressing yourself to the characters and making your move but misdirecting and never speaking its name ground the conversation in the Fiction in spite of non-fictional motivations.

Looking through crosshairs colors your attitude toward the things you control and gives you permission to avoid status quos and to make the players’ characters’ actions consequential and meaningful.

Naming everyone and making everyone human makes NPCs that will allow you to satisfy your agenda items. NPCs are the meat of your world and the main way the MC interacts with the Fiction; they are her number-one tool.

Asking provocative questions and building on the answers forces the MC to share the creation of the fictional space in the conversation, and it allows the conversation to go deep inside the characters’ heads to reveal their feelings and attitudes.

Responding with fuckery and intermittent rewards and being a fan of the players’ characters dictate the way you react to characters’ actions and your attitude toward them. Knowing these two things lets you respond appropriately to anything the players’ characters do.

Thinking offscreen forces the scope of your narrative and the consequences of the characters’ actions to be far-reaching.

Disclaiming decision-making gives you the tools to play to find out what happens.

Each principle places a restraint upon what you can say on your end of the conversation. But they restrain you in order to guide you and make Apocalypse World work. They are (to use an admittedly clumsy analogy) like the track of a luge slide, channeling your energy and propelling you forward to take you where you need to go when playing.

Most importantly, they teach you how to MC the game by directing what you can and cannot say. You can think of each principle as answering a crucial question to MCing Apocalypse World.

How do I make everything I say bring the post apocalyptic world to life? Barf forth apocalyptica.

How do I guide the conversation so that it’s grounded in the fiction whenever possible? Address yourself to the characters, not the players. Make your move, but misdirect. Make your move, but never speak its name.

How do I build the tools I need to create the stories this game needs? Name everyone, make everyone human.

How am I supposed to respond to what the PCs do? Respond with fuckery and intermittent rewards. Be a fan of the players’ characters. Look through crosshairs.

How do I make the players’ characters’ actions consequential? Respond with fuckery and intermittent rewards. Be a fan of the players’ characters. Look through cross hairs. Think offscreen too.

How do I make the focus of the Fiction both broad and deep? Ask provocative questions and build on the answers. Think offscreen too.

How do I share the act of creation with the players? Ask provocative questions and build on the answers.

How do I balance having ultimate power with playing to find out? Sometimes, disclaim decision-making.

Moreover, if you always say what these principles demand (while also being mindful of what honesty, your prep, and the rules demand) you can be certain that everything you add to the conversation will make Apocalypse World seem real, make the players’ characters’ lives not boring, and let you play to find out what happens. And the text communicates all that in fewer than 8 pages.