What do you do?

This deceptively simple question, as it does in Dungeon World, drives the action of a Playright adventure. It implies that to “play your character” you will need to know, in any given situation, how your character would respond to this question.

Of course the best way to get to the answer, if you haven’t already guessed, is by answering the previous question; “who are you”. Since we’ve already done that and created Belle Somers in the process, let’s see how we can use our knowledge of her to help anyone playing the role of Belle respond to the game masters query; “what do you do”.

The answer is right under your nose

Somewhere on your character sheet in those carefully chosen words is the answer:

Clichés

These are the few words that say what your character knows how to do so it makes sense to look there first. For example:

GM: The stagecoach driver says “I just saw a fella matching that description go into the saloon across the way not five minutes ago”. What do you do?

Given Belle’s old west gambler hot on the trail of the man that wronged her cliché, the words “hot on the trail” could suggest:

Belle: I race across the street and burst into the saloon. I scan the room for the no good lying varmint.

Hooks

The next place to look for the answer is in the hooks of the character. When Belle finally catches up with the man that wronged her what is she going to do? According to her second hook the answer is make him pay for stealing granny’s pearls.

Tale

Sometimes the answer can be found in the character’s back story. Consider this gameplay example:

GM: After overhearing the teller you are pretty sure that the safety deposit box belongs to “him”. What do you do?

This is a problem for the player because Belle’s “hot on the trail” cliché suggests getting access to the safety deposit box by any means. 

It could contain a clue to his whereabouts or even her granny’s pearls!

However, her “committed to the straight and narrow” cliché would suggest otherwise. It's the line in her tale, “dedicates her life to hunting down the man that wronged her”, that tips the balance and allows:

Belle: I know it's wrong. Forgive me Jesus but I’m just going to have to break into that there bank.

Um, err, well

It’s ok if you don’t have the answer. Sometimes your character will be out of their depth and no amount of re-reading your character sheet will help. Don’t panic. You have a few choices:

You don’t know until you try

Just because you don’t have an applicable cliché doesn’t mean you can’t give it a go (there are rules to cover this). Just remember that there will definitely be a slim chance it could work.

For example: Belle is not the sort of person to have ever handled dynamite but that doesn't mean she can’t get her hands on a dozen sticks and try to blow the vault to get at the safety deposit boxes. 

Play to your strengths

The chance of Belle blowing herself to kingdom come is very likely if she attempts to blow the safe. However, her “former showgirl” cliché could be used to perhaps sweet talk the bank manager into letting her have a quick peek in that there safety deposit box.

Your character might not have the skills to get it done themselves but usually there is an indirect way to accomplish your goals. 

Delegate

If you can’t answer, maybe someone else can. Make use of the other player characters beside you or the characters that you’ve met in the story.  Perhaps the shifty saloon owner that owes Belle a favour might know a guy who knows a guy who might be able to crack the safe.

Be descriptive

The more descriptive you are the more chance you will be rewarded with inspiration points or bonus dice for the thing you are trying to do. 

If Belle wants to convince the bank manager to let her have a look in the safety deposit box she is going to have to do better than:

Belle: I walk up to the bank manager and flash him some leg and say “Hey, how about you open up safety deposit box 123 for little ol me”?

GM: Well you can try that at four dice disadvantage or maybe give it a little more thought.

Clearly the game master isn’t that impressed with the player’s plan. After a little more thought the player comes back with:

Belle: I wait just outside the bank for the bank manager to come out. When he does, I take a couple of wobbly steps towards him and stumble into his arms remarking “Oh thank goodness you caught me. I had no idea bank tellers were so strong” waiting for him to tell me he is that he is in fact the manager. Then I say, “The manager? Maybe you can help me out with a little problem. My thieving ex-boyfriend nabbed my pearls, they were my granny’s, and I think he’s keeping them in a safety deposit box in your bank. I would be ever so grateful if you could have a look for me. I’m Belle [flash my winning showgirl smile] by the way. Belle Somers”.

GM: Wow! Add an extra dice to your “former showgirl” cliché roll and let's see what happens.

Belle: Even with the extra dice it's still a partial.

GM: He replies, “I wouldn’t normally entertain such a thought Miss Somers but maybe we could help each other out. You see the annual company dinner is tomorrow night and I still need a plus one and I never seem to have time to meet anyone and I need to make a good impression after what happened last year so if you don’t mind would you do me the honour of escorting me”?

Drive the fiction

What this means is that the player tells a part of the story from their character’s perspective that is plausible and advances the plot. Seems tricky but it’s not as hard as it sounds. Here’s some example gameplay to help explain what this means:

GM: It’s been days since you’ve seen a clear track. Face it Belle, the trail’s gone cold. What do you do?

Belle: If I’m not mistaken, I once played a poker tournament in a town near here and the saloon owner still owes me a favour. I think I’ll mosey on that way and see what I can turn up.

The player has driven the fiction. They have totally made up the tournament, the little town with the saloon and the owner that owes Belle a favour.

Is it plausible? For an old west gambler and former showgirl? Sure. Does it advance the plot? Yes. Should the game master go with it? It depends.

If the game master has something else in mind:

GM: Sorry Belle but you must be thinking of some other town. What do you do?

If this fits nicely with the game master’s plans:

GM: You’re right Belle. Have a point of inspiration. In a couple of hours you are hitching your horse at the Double Deuce Saloon...

It's a nice piece of storytelling so the game master rewards the player and lets the dice decide:

GM: One inspiration point for Belle. Roll your gambler cliché and let's see.

Belle: A fail.

GM: Must have been a different town. What do you do?

Or

Belle: A success.

GM: You’re right Belle. In a couple of hours you are hitching your horse at the Double Deuce Saloon...

Or

Belle: A partial success.

GM: It’s been nearly half a day. You know that town is around here somewhere. What do you do?

Keep it real

Try to do things that are in keeping with your character’s clichés.

Belle Somers is not a scientist. There is no way she could ever build a “fancy appearing cabinet” and have the man that wronged her magically materialize; although the GM could have fun with that and string the player along until they realize that it's just too out of character to ever succeed.

But Belle might know some scientists. She may have one or two at convention she worked back in the day and while they can not build her that “fancy appearing cabinet” they may be able to furnish her with a special pair of spectacles that make tracks in the dirt easier to see; even at night!

Only know what you know

Over the course of the game you may learn things from conversations between the GM and other players that your character would not be privy to. You need to try and separate what you know, even your personal everyday knowledge, from what your character knows and only act on the latter. If you slip up the GM will be there to correct you.

Do some research

If you are going to be a former showgirl from the old west then it probably wouldn’t hurt to do a little reading on the subject. For example the showgirls of that time were not “ladies of the evening” or “soiled doves” as the cowboys would say. They were very much appreciated for what they did and would be treated as such. Also, Vegas was not a thing until the early 1940s but Dodge City was the place in the 1850s or so. 

Adjusting Belle’s backstory and cliché from Vegas to Dodge City and showgirl to “dance hall” girl will make the character more believable.

Stay in character

Role playing is about becoming the character. Not everyone is good at acting but here are a couple of things to help you stay in the role:

An accent

A good way to tell when you are in character is to change the sound and/or the cadence of your voice. For Belle, being from the south, you could try your hand at a southern accent. Watch a little “Gone with the Wind” for inspiration.

“There’s no Dana only Zuul”

Another way to stay in character is to only respond when you are addressed by your character’s name and not your own. Likewise, addressing others by their character names during game play will help them stay in character too.

Really, there is no wrong answer to “What do you do?” Hopefully the above has made it little easier to come up with answers and allow your character to survive and thrive!