99. Moves Snowball: Part IX – A PC-NPC-PC triangle

Here’s my big plan, by the way. Isle’s listed in the cast for a threat called Isle’s family, which is a brute: family (naturally enough). Its impulse, accordingly, is to close ranks and protect their own. What’s most fun is that I’m acting on that impulse but I’m using Plover, Church Head, and Pellet – members of Keeler’s gang! – as Isle’s family’s weapon. It’s just like when Keeler uses them to go aggro or seize by force, only I’m the one doing it.

If Keeler lets me, that is. Keeler thinks about imposing her will upon her gang to stop them, her player thinks about it too. She twists her mouth around, thinking about it.

Finally, instead, “knock yourself out,” she says.

Marie’s player: “damn it, Keeler.”

I really like this entire interlude with Keeler and her player. Why is it so great?

The MC has a “big plan” and is excited to see it unfold. If she wanted to, she could cut straight to Marie pacing inside her home behind her triple-locked door and get right to it, but she doesn’t. She detours to Keeler instead, giving her every chance to scuttle the big plan! That seems like a crazily bold move by the MC. Well, yes and no. It could definitely mean that Plover and his buddies leave Marie alone, but it won’t mean that they’ll forgive or forget. Because you create a world with a meaningful chain of cause and effect, the fallout of Marie’s attempted manipulation of Isle would only be postponed by Keeler’s intervention, not dissipated.

In short, the rules of the game make it so that no matter what happens, the players will create interesting and dramatic stories. If Keeler makes her pack alpha move, she’s going to have to roll dice. On a miss or a 7-9, there is immediate tension between Keeler and her gang that temporarily overrides Plover’s concerns with Marie. On a 10+, Plover and the others obey Keeler without confrontation. But even then, a 10+ doesn’t threaten to kill the dramatic momentum, because now Plover might get to wondering why Keeler is protecting Marie, wondering why she’s siding with Marie over her own biking brothers? Plover, Church Head, and Pellet might become a disgruntled group, and far from extinguishing the dramatic possibilities, the 10+ has multiplied them.

This scene with Keeler pulls the PC-NPC-PC triangle into the forefront. Keeler has one relationship with her gang, and Marie now clearly has a different relationship. By bringing Keeler into the dustup, the MC uses that triangle to make everything fraught! Keeler has refused to step in, and now Marie’s player knows that she left Marie out to dry – drama! We can easily imagine how tense their future meeting will be, especially when at least two of the three gang members are dead at Marie’s own hand. The actions of one character have a direct impact on the world of the other character because of the PC-NPC-PC triangle.

I love that we don’t get any insight into what Keeler’s player is thinking. Is she afraid that a low roll puts her into a confrontation she doesn’t want? Is she thinking about whether Keeler’s character would care one way or another what happens to Marie? That “knock yourself out” line is gloriously non-committal. No matter what happens at Marie’s home, things are going to be awkward afterwards.

One last bit of praise for the MC. Plover could have gone to face Marie alone, but the MC latches onto the “close ranks” impulse of the Isle family to have Plover gather together Church Head and Pellet. Three dudes with an axe to grind is a much more daunting enemy than one badass with a shotgun. It’s because there are three gang members that Keeler has to pause. It’s because there are three gang members that Marie’s player is nervous about the impending confrontation. Apocalypse World doesn’t have challenge ratings or anything that forces the MC to consider how big a threat a player can face. The rules are flexible enough that the MC can throw whatever she wants at the players and know that it will work out. Besides, Plover probably just wants to beat the crud out of Marie to teach her a lesson—although he might well want to kill her. There are systems in place to prevent the random killing of a PC, so the MC can push hard at a player with NPCs to see what she will do without having to worry about doing something "unfair."

The other line I want to acknowledge is the MC’s “What’s most fun . . .” That is how you should feel when you are MCing Apocalypse World! Using Keeler’s gang as Isle’s family’s weapon should give you joy because you are tugging on those PC-NPC-PC triangles and have no idea what will happen—and you know whatever does happen is going to be awesome and entertaining. Playing to find out means wandering into the unknown with the other players and being psyched to watch the explosions and chaos.