GM Principles

Thirteen rules of behavior. They'll sometimes conflict; interpreting them is your craft.

• Follow the rules. When a move triggers, follow its procedure. Give players the full benefit of their rolls. Don't fudge results because you think things should go a certain way.
• Begin and end with the fiction. Ground every rule in what's happening. Fiction first, dice next, fiction again. Show, don't tell.
• Address the characters, not the players. "Vahid, what are you doing to stay awake?" not "Brian, what's Vahid doing?" This keeps the focus on the fiction.
• Ask questions and build on the answers. All the time, everywhere. About the world, the past, traditions, what an NPC looks like, what a PC is feeling. Treat their answers as if they've always been true.
• Be a fan of the player characters. Root for them. Care about them. That doesn't mean coddling — it means giving them adversity worthy of protagonists, then celebrating when they overcome it.
• Embrace the fantastic and the mundane. Fae and spirits, sure — but also crops, weather, friends. The contrast makes both feel real.
• Exploit the setting guide. Use Stonetop's established world to inspire, but don't be beholden. Change details freely; change broad themes carefully.
• Respect your prep. Decisions you've made (a monster's HP, who killed the widow Maire, an NPC's motives) are fictional truth. Honor them in play.
• Give your characters life. Name your NPCs. Give them distinct voices, traits, opinions. Beasts and even alien Things Below have personalities — put them on screen.
• Think offscreen, too. What are your NPCs doing while the PCs aren't watching? What traces do they leave? What escalates in their absence?
• Bring it home. Make Stonetop the foundation. Threaten it, give chances to improve it, show how the PCs' choices change the village.
• Let things breathe. Allow stretches of time to pass. Weeks, months. A threat doesn't have to be immediate — let it simmer.
• Let things burn. Protect no one and nothing. Don't shield favorite NPCs from the PCs' rolls. If your darlings should die, they die. You're playing to find out what happens.

Don't plan a storyline or assume the PCs will take a certain path. Don't tell players what to roll before they've described their action ("the bandit attacks, Defy Danger" is wrong — describe the bandit, ask what they do, see what triggers). Don't call for rolls "just because" or to gate perception. And don't stop making GM moves when players roll 10+ — the fiction keeps churning.