Writing Moves & Love Letters

Moves &

Writing love letters

Player moves are little blocks of rules. Each move kicks in at certain times and says what happens. Between "standard" moves like Defy Danger and Seasons Change, playbook moves, arcana, and all the custom moves in Book II, Stonetop has hundreds of player moves.

And yet, you might write new player moves for a variety of reasons!

You might write custom moves as part of your prep, as a way to resolve a specific situation that you expect to come up in play, or as part of writing up a threat, a site, a danger, or a discovery.

You might write moves as new options, like as a new move that a specific PC can take when they Level Up, or as part of a new insert or arcanum. You might even write a whole new playbook!

You might write or modify moves to change how the game works for you and your table, to match your preferences or to meet your specific needs.

You might also write love letters, single-use moves addressed to a specific PC, used to gloss over certain events and/or frame new situations. See More examples for details.

Before you endeavor to write new moves, study the game's existing moves. You should be familiar with the moves that are already in play, how they work and how they work together. You should have a sense of what moves can look like and what they can do.

If you're thinking about making a new playbook, insert, or major arcanum, then you should actually play or run a lot of Stonetop, or at least games like it. You need to understand the flow of the game, and how moves fit into and shape that flow, before you make something big.

Creating new moves is an artform. They take time, effort, and practice to write well. You might take to it naturally, or need lots of practice to develop your craft.

Some moves you write will be clunky, or even bad! Many will be serviceable. But some of them, a blessed few, will be like poems—polished gems of language and rules, sparkling with potential play.

To write a new player-facing move:

1) Take stock

• What does the move reflect/model?
• What constraints do you have?
• What are your goals for the move?
• Do you really need the move?

2) Draft the trigger(s)

• When does the move kick in?
• Do you need multiple triggers?
• Do the triggers need limits?

3) Brainstorm results

• What definitely happens?
• What maybe happens?

4) Decide how you'll pick between results

• A roll
• Player's choice
• Target's choice
• GM's choice
• A procedure
• Consensus
• Mix and match

5) If there's a roll, decide how it works

• Should you define a 6- result?
• What should be added to the roll?
• Are there any other modifiers?
• What does each tier look like?
• Alternative roll structures

6) Write a full draft

7) Review and revise

• Imagine it in play
• Make sure it meets your goals
• Check for common pitfalls
• Punch it up
• Edit for length and clarity
• Check grammar and formatting
• Get feedback

Naming moves

Give your move a name if…

• it's an option in a playbook, an insert, or a major arcanum;
• you want other moves/rules to reference it (e.g. "When you

Haggle with Grimstew…");

• you just want to name it.

A move might even start as nothing more than a cool name, one that inspires you to write something worthy of it. "'Breaker of Chains?' That's hardcore. But what does it do?" Many of Stonetop's playbook moves started this way.

You might not need this whole process. A move might spring to mind and you can jump straight to drafting it. Or, you might see how an existing move's structure could apply to whatever you're creating, and just write a quick variant. If you're pressed for time, and you'll only use the move once, then that might suffice!

But if you're stumped, or you want to hone your move or just practice your craft, then try working through this process. The more moves you write and see in play, the more intuitive this process becomes and the less rigorous you'll need to be.

1 Take stock

Think through the following. Take notes as you go, at least the first few times you do this.

What does the move reflect or model?

Think about what the move represents. In what circumstance does it apply? What questions does it (help) answer? What sort of conflict does it resolve? What fictional situation, trait, or ability does it model via rules? For example:

• "This move lets a PC see the future."
• "What happens when you're near a thunder drake as it bellows?"
• "If the PCs chase someone through Gordin's Delve, will they catch them?"
• "I'd like a more formal way to deal with resisting mind control."

You might find yourself writing the move's trigger as you do this. If you do, great, but it's just an idea right now. You might very well revise it as you go.

What constraints do you have?

What practical concerns and limitations do you need to work within? Does this move need to fit in a limited space? What other PC moves might interact with it? How much time are you willing to spend on this move in play? How much time do you have to write it?

You're probably already aware of these constraints, at least at a gut level. But it can help to acknowledge them, and keep them in mind as you design your move.

The preferences, personalities, and quirks of your players are constraints, too. Keep your specific group in mind!

What are your goals?

Think about what you want this move to add to the game. For example, your new move might…

• grant permission, like how Spirit Tongue lets the Blessed talk to spirits and natural beasts.
• establish how stuff works, like how the "attempt to commit violence on the roads" move says what happens when someone does just that.
• encourage certain behavior, like how Better Part of Valor pushes the Would-be Hero to avoid fights.
• establish risks and stakes and serious consequences, like how the "fall from the boughs of the tree" move says just how bad it'll be.
• streamline play, like how Outfit and Have What You Need make packing for a trip easy.
• embellish parts of play, like how Keep Company fills in scenes that might otherwise be glossed over.
• shape or frame play in a particular way, like how Burgle deals with a Fox sneaking off on their own.
• reinforce a theme or mood, like how Haggle (Book II, Fae) makes deals with the Fae always feel fraught or how Drowning (Book II, Blackwater Lake) creates tension as PCs hold their breath.
• get players to buy into adversity, like how the "call of the nosgalau" move (Book II, The Makers' Roads) has players say what compels them to leave the roads.
• push players into making interesting, meaningful decisions, like how Forage has players pick between food, a discovery, and safety.
• explore a PC's feelings, thoughts, or past, like how the "Hall of Humility" move has them reveal a moment of humility or one of pride.
• prompt you to think more about the world/characters, like how Persuade vs. NPCs forces you to consider whether an NPC has reason to resist, and what could convince them.

You'll probably have an instinctive sense of your goals when you start writing (otherwise, you probably wouldn't have thought, "I should write a move for this"). But as with constraints, it can help to name them and consciously design towards them.

Do you really need this move?

Whatever you intend your new move to reflect or model, how would you handle it in play without this new move? Would it even be possible? What questions might you ask the PCs? What GM moves might you make? How might the PCs respond?

What existing player moves might that trigger? How would those moves likely play out?

If you realize that you don't need a move, great, you've just saved yourself some time!

If you move forward with writing a move, you've now got a benchmark to measure your move against. If it doesn't improve on what you'd do with the core loop, GM moves, and existing player moves, then why are you writing it?

The PCs are planning to take the Fae paths again (to find and destroy the tether of the shadowy presence that haunts the Great Wood). They'd prefer not to indebt themselves to Thornthumb again, and so they intend to access the waystones by taking hallucinogenic mushrooms under a full moon.

There's already a move for walking the paths once they access them (Book II, Waystones), but I'd like a custom move to resolve what happens when they take shrooms together in the Great Wood. (Hey look, a trigger!)

Because I expect to use this move only once or twice, I don't want to spend too much time writing it. But I am willing to spend a fair bit of table-time using it. It shouldn't overlap significantly with the "walking the paths" move. And, oh yeah, Rhianna's bringing her crew, so I need to account for them.

Not all of my players have experience with psychedelics, so I'd like the move to model how a shroom trip might go. The move should also communicate the stakes and risks of taking shrooms, especially in a haunted forest! And because shrooms can bring strong emotions to the surface, this seems like a great time to explore the PCs' inner feelings.

Without a custom move, I'd probably fall back on having everyone Defy Danger with CON or WIS, the danger being that they get sick or overwhelmed or have a really bad trip. Then I'd probably prompt them to Keep Company while hallucinating. Which ain't bad, but I bet I can do better with a move!

2 Draft the trigger(s)

If you haven't already done so, write a draft of the move's trigger. Ask yourself the following.

When does the move kick in?

Most moves trigger when a PC does something specific, or something general under particular conditions. For example:

• "When you press or entice someone…"
• "When you raise your voice…."
• "When danger looms, the stakes are high, and you do something chancy…"

But moves can also trigger when…

• a PC makes a certain, other move, like "When you Seek Insight…."
• a player does a thing in the real world, like "When you write up detailed session notes and share them…."
• a player gets a certain result on a roll, like "When you Clash and get a 7+…."
• something happens to or near a PC, like "When you are near a rage drake as it bellows…."
• specific conditions are met, in-fiction or in the real world or both, like "While you are touching the ground…" or "When a session ends…."
• a player wants them to, like "When you decide that you had something all along…"
• a player/PC first gains the move, like Improved Stat;
• some combination of the above.

Pick a trigger that makes sense for your move and what it's doing. If your move is meant to reflect a PC being especially good at reading people, you might use a "when a PC acts" trigger, such as "When you size up an NPC…." But if that move will modify how Seek Insight works, then a better trigger might be, "When you Seek

Insight against an NPC…."

If a move is meant to grant permission and imply that something is possible, you can use the move's trigger to convey that. For example, the Fox's Light Fingers move starts with, "When you perform a sleight of hand…." That implies that a PC with this move can do such tricks, without having to specifically say so.

Do you need multiple triggers?

A move might need multiple triggers, each with its own result(s), if…

• it covers multiple related but distinct activities, like how Recover has one trigger for restoring HP and another for treating debilities/wounds.
• it's a playbook move that grants two or more related benefits, like how Catlike allows the Fox to both move silently and hide in shadows.
• it operates in phases, like how Wards

& Bindings has one trigger for placing the boundary and another trigger for when it's put to the test.

• you want a certain result to be conditional, like how Make Camp grants advantage on the next roll if the rest is especially pleasant.
• you need to put a limit on the trigger (see next page).

Do the triggers need limits?

Is your trigger too broad? If read literally, will it apply even when you don't intend it to? Revise the trigger to avoid such problems. You might do this by…

• using more-specific language. The original trigger for Clash was, "When you attack a foe…", which applied even if that foe could not fight back. So now the trigger is, "When you fight…", which better reflects when the move is intended to apply.
• adding a qualifier, like how Defy Danger has you first check whether another move applies.
• checking for player intent, like how Seek Insight clarifies that the player is "looking to the GM for insight," or how Keep Company has the players ask each other if they want to invoke the move.
• splitting the move into multiple parts, each with a sperate trigger. When a PC Persuades vs. NPCs, for example, the move has the player say what they want the NPC to do. It then has a second trigger, "If they have reason to resist…", which prompts you, the GM, to consider whether the NPC would just go along with the PC or if the player needs to roll.

You don't need to get this "right" just yet.

You might not realize that you need limits until you get feedback on your move or see it in play. But give it some thought. Take your best shot at identifying and fixing any obvious mismatches between the trigger you intended and what you wrote.

For my mushroom-trip move, I already have a trigger in mind: "When you take shrooms together in the Great Wood."

I'm quite happy with that! It's nice and specific, based on the PCs acting as a group in a particular way. I consider making it more general, like just "When you take shrooms," but I don't think I'd bother with this move if someone took them alone, back home in safety.

Is my trigger too broad? Hmm. Maybe. I'm writing this move for a very specific situation: the PCs addling their minds under a full moon in order to access to the Fae paths. That might have more specific results than just taking shrooms in the forest.

I adjust my trigger to: "When you take shrooms together near a waystone, under a full moon." But depending on the results that I come up with, I might reconsider.

3 Brainstorm results

Think about what happens when the move's trigger is met. What definitely happens? What might happen? If the move has multiple triggers, then think about what could happen as a result of each.

A move's results can be…

• fictional, where something happens or is avoided, someone reacts in a certain way, something becomes possible, facts are established, etc. For example, see Know Things, Persuade vs.

NPCs, or Magpie.

• mechanical, involving a bonus/penalty to a roll, a change to another move, damage, debilities, HP, XP, hold-andspend, etc. For example, see Bolster or Perceptive.
• player-level, with questions asked and answered, feedback given, revelations made, etc. See Keep Company or All Is Illuminated.
• immediate, like how Clash says what happens here and now.
• ongoing, like how Defend gives a player Readiness to spend in a scene, or how a Muster lasts until certain conditions are met.
• delayed, like how the Six Locks of Sajua (Book II, The Six Locks of Sajua) can lead to a looming visit from the Pale Hunter.
• combinations of the above, like how Aid can grant advantage or a fictional change of scope, or how Seek Insight has the player ask the GM questions and roll with advantage to act on the answers.

If it helps you to think of these as 10+ or 7-9 results, or items that a player might pick from, then great. But hold your ideas lightly. The goal right now is to identify interesting, potential outcomes.

Don't force it. Sometimes there's really just one possible result, and that's fine! You can skip to step 6 and write your draft.

If you identify multiple possible results:

• Look for similarities and consolidate where you can

• Which results are mutually exclusive?
• Which could happen together?
• Which results definitely happen?

Revise your list, breaking it down into "definitely" and "maybe" results. Further split the "maybe" results into those that are good or desirable for the PC, and which are bad or unwanted. This helps clarify your thinking, and will help you pick an appropriate structure for the move.

Things that could happen when the PCs take shrooms near a waystone:

• Feel a profound connection to each other/the world/themselves • Hallucinate stuff that isn't real • See into the spirit world • Need a bigger dose • Get sick, nauseous, shaky • Get confused, overwhelmed • Freak out, have a bad trip • Draw attention from hostile spirits (maybe the shadowy presence!) • Access the Fae paths The "get sick" and "get confused" options could be consolidated into "mark a debility."

The "feel a profound connection" result seems mutually exclusive with the "freak out, have a bad trip" result. It doesn't really fit with the "mark a debility" result, either.

The "hallucinate" result is basically a given. And I can probably combine that with "see into the spirit world." "Access the Fae" paths should also be a given—I don't want some of the PCs or followers to be left behind.

My revised list of results looks like this:

Definitely

• Access the Fae paths • Hallucinate/see spirits

Maybe (good!)

• Feel a profound connection to each other/the world/themselves

Maybe (bad!)

• Need a bigger dose • Mark a debility • Freak out, have a bad trip • Draw attention from hostile spirits (maybe the shadowy presence!)

4 Decide how you'll pick between results

If you've identified multiple results that your move could have, then how will you decide between those potential results?

Have the player roll

Use a roll to reflect uncertainty or risk, or if you want there to be multiple tiers of success. The result of the roll can dictate the results directly, as with Know Things. Or it might affect the choices that get made, like how Seek Insight's roll determines how many questions the player gets to ask.

"A roll" usually means that the player rolls

2d6 and adds a stat, with different results on a 10+, 7-9, and 6-. But see step 5 for other options.

Have the player pick

When there are multiple equally attractive (or repellant) options, have the player pick between them. For example, when a player gets a 10+ to Clash, they pick between striking hard or avoiding their foe's attack. When they Forage, they decide which benefit(s) to gain.

Letting the player pick gives them agency over their PC's behavior and fate. It helps players accept the bad stuff that happens to them. It allows them to say something about their PC, about what's important to them and how they handle trouble. And sometimes, a player will pick an outcome that you'd never choose to inflict on them.

Also, practically, it's just easier to have the player making the move make the choices, rather than having them read or pass the move's text to the GM or another player.

Have the target pick

When a move forces another character to feel or react in a particular way, then the move should have that character's player (the GM for NPCs) pick between options.

This maintains a player's agency over their

PC, and allows the GM to maintain the integrity of NPCs.

For example, on a 10+ to Persuade vs. PCs the targeted player still decides whether to agree (and mark XP) or reveal how they could be convinced. When the Ranger uses Alpha, the beast or spirit decides how to react. When a PC uses the Red Scepter to Inflame (Book II, Red Scepter) and gets a 10+, the victim picks whether to act as compelled or resist and suffer terrible burns.

Have the GM pick

Use this option sparingly. Reserve it for moves where you're in the best position to choose, based on your agenda, principles, prep, and knowledge of the situation—or when you want to emphasize a PC's lack of control.

For example, because Defy Danger can apply to so many situations, it makes sense for you, the GM, to decide whether a 7-9 leads to a lesser success, a cost, or a consequence, and what exactly that means. And because Trade & Barter involves deciding what is or is not available—something entirely outside the PCs' control—it makes sense for the GM to pick between the 7-9 results.

Decide by procedure

Your move can have different results based on the fiction, like how Take the Measure lets the Marshal ask an extra question if the target fears or respects them. Or your move can have results based on mechanical interactions, like how Meet With Disaster has a different result when Fortunes would be reduced below -1.

Decide by consensus

A few moves call on the group as a whole to choose an outcome, like how End of Session has everyone answer the XP questions together.

This approach produces a "writer's room" effect, where the players talk about the game at a meta-level. It's a natural fit for End of Session, because the whole point of that move is to get the players to reflect on recent events. But you could certainly write a move in which the group decides between fictional outcomes by vote or by consensus. Just make sure that's something your players are into!

Mix and match

Many moves combine these approaches.

Clash has the player roll to see if their maneuver works, and has them make a choice on a 10+. Invoke the Sun God has the player pick a consequence on a 7+, but the GM picks a second consequence on a 7-9. Deploy's 7-9 result has the player pick if the village is acting from a strong position, and the GM picks otherwise. Have What You Need lets the player decide what they're carrying, but gives the GM and other players veto power.

Do something else

You can probably come up with variations on these methods, or entirely new ways to choose between the potential results.

For my "take shrooms near a waystone" move, I've identified a potential good result (feeling a profound sense of connection) and a number of potential bad results. Seems like it'd make sense to have each player roll (+CON, maybe?). On a 10+, they get the good result. On a 7-9, they pick one of the bad results. On a 6-, multiple bad results. (Maybe? I'll come back to this later.)

But no matter what they roll, they'll be hallucinating and be able to both see (some?) spirits and access the Fae paths.

5 If there's a roll, decide how it works

The standard structure for a move with a roll is: "When you trigger the move, roll

2d6 + STAT: on a 10+, you get the best result; on a 7-9, you get a result that's not as good." But you can modify this structure to meet the needs of your move and your goals for writing it.

Should you define a 6- result?

Most moves don't say what happens on a 6-, which means that the player marks XP and you make a hard GM move—one that flows from the established fiction and that follows your principles.

Write a 6- result for your move only when you have a good reason to do so, when you judge it to be preferable to making a hard GM move on the spot, and when you can be sure that the result will make sense whenever the move gets made.

For example, Death's Door tells us what happens when a PC is dying.

On a 6-, the PC either dies or clings to the world via undeath—which frees you (the GM) from having to decide the PC's fate.

Meanwhile, Struggle as One's 6- limits you to a specific GM move, put someone in a spot. It has you zoom in from a group action to a specific situation, which is then resolved by either another player's 10+ or by playing out the scene.

As a final example, Trade & Barter says "don't mark XP" on a 6- and the PCs can't get or sell the item here and now. It's intended to be low-risk with a high chance of failure. The 6- result both establishes and reflects that lack of risk—nothing risked, no XP gained.

What should be added to the roll?

Most moves have the player add a specific stat (STR, DEX, etc.). See Playing the Game for guidance on what each stat represents.

If different stats could apply based on how the PC approaches the move, then provide guidance on when to use each stat, like how Defy Danger does. Or just say "roll +STAT (per Defy Danger)".

If the move reflects the members of a community doing something, rather than a specific PC, use one of the community's steading stats instead.

Another option is to build up a modifier based on things that are true, like how the "stand at the Crossroads" move has the player add +1 if they bring a possession of the deceased, another +1 if they bring food or drink that the deceased loved in life, and a final +1 if they are tied to them by blood. This approach takes extra time to resolve, but it can encourage players to engage with the specifics of the fiction. It also works well for moves that apply to everyone in the party, or those that resolve the actions of NPCs (who don't have their own stats to roll).

Your move could have the player add a held currency (per Hold and spend, page

563) in lieu of a stat. No standard moves in Stonetop do this, but it's a valid approach!

Finally, your move might have them roll

+nothing, with no modifier at all. Death's Door takes this approach to make the move feel impersonal and arbitrary.

Are there any other modifiers?

Consider whether any modifiers should be baked into the move, to reflect something important about how the move works. For example, Trade & Barter has players subtract the item's Value to reflect availability, and has them roll with disadvantage during winter to reflect the lack of traveling merchants.

What does each tier look like?

Typically, a 10+ is a clean success, a 7-9 is a limited or costly success, and 6- is bad news. But your move might…

• still have a downside on a 10+, like how Invoke the Sun God still has the player pick a consequence as a way to limit how often the Lightbearer can use their magic.
• grant a full success on a 7-9 and a little extra on a 10+, as a way to reflect a PC being extra good at something (like Expert Tracker, The Ranger) or otherwise acting from a position of strength.
• establish an especially mild or brutal result on a 6- (see the examples on the previous page).
• include an extra tier, like how Haggle (Book II, Fae) has separate results for 12+ and 10-11, to reflect the full range of possible outcomes.
• invert the tiers entirely, like how the howling curse (Book II, The Whitefang Mountains) is permanent on a 10+, temporary on a 7-9, and fleeting on a 6-. This works because the PC adds +1 for each benefit they gain from the howling curse.

Set the results for each tier however works best for your move.

Alternative roll structures

A few moves use a totally different type of roll, and yours can too. For example:

• Wishing Candles (Book II, Baleful Utterance) has the player roll a Die of Fate to see what their wish costs them, emphasizing the candles' fickle nature.
• Fear of the Flame (Book II, Mantle Wraiths) uses a risk roll, where the player rolls a d6 and a bad thing happens if they roll under some number that grows each time. This a good way to reflect magic that's increasingly risky/costly to use.
• The Horn of Storms (Book II, Horn of Storms) has the player roll a pool of dice and assign one die each to the storm's onset, intensity, reach, and duration, with an outcome for each based on the result of the assigned die. This allows you to have multiple axes of effect, each with a different tier effect.
• The Blackened Splinter (Book II, Death and the Undying) has the player roll 3d6, with the effect depending on whether they roll over or under the target's current HP. This is a good trick for effects that can straight-up defeat a foe.

You can combine alternative rolls with standard rolls, too, like how the Power of the Lidless Orb (Book II, Staff of the Lidless Orb) has the player roll +CON to call on an effect,

and one of those effects involves a roll vs.

the victim's current HP.

Feel free to experiment, and try other types of rolls for your moves, too!

For my shrooms move, I've decided that the PCs will roll to see what happens. I'm initially thinking that they'll roll +CON. On a 10+ they'll experience a profound sense of connection; on a 7-9, they'll pick between a debility, a bad trip, or needing to take a bigger dose.

For a 6-, I think I'll have them pick two of the 7-9 results and draw unwanted attention from the spirit realm.

Is CON the right stat, or would WIS be a better choice? Or should I build up the modifier from things that are true, like "+1 if you've taken shrooms before" and "+1 if you practice meditation."

I decide to go with +WIS, as I feel like this is more about knowing your own mind than, like, resisting poison. And I'm not sure how I'd apply the "build the modifier" method to Rhianna's crew.

Someone's first shroom trip does tend to be the riskiest, as they don't know what to expect. I think I'll add a modifier like, "If you've taken shrooms before, roll with advantage." It's a nice chance to learn a bit about each PC's past. And given that everyone is going to be making this move, there's still a good chance that someone will roll low even if everyone has advantage.

6 Write a full draft

Write out the move, beginning to end, keeping in mind everything you've done so far. Don't worry about polished language or formatting yet, unless that helps you write. Your goal here is to see how it all fits together.

As you write, you might rethink decisions you made earlier. Something might not work as well as you thought it would, or you might think of a better way. Great.

Change it. Creativity is often messy.

Keep your goals and constraints in mind.

Let them guide your decisions, your choices, your words.

If your move involves someone picking between results, you can either write the choices inline, or you can make a pick list.

An inline choice looks like this: "on a 7-9, you either succeed OR no one's the wiser (your choice)". This approach saves space, so it's useful when brevity is a concern. But it's often less clear than a pick list.

Use a bulleted pick list any time there are 3 or more options to pick from, unless you have a very good reason to do otherwise.

Even with 2 options, a pick list can often be clearer and easier for players to process.

With that said, keep your pick lists short.

2-4 is ideal. 5 or 6 can work, but see if you can condense them. 7 or more options in a single move is usually a bad idea, as it can lead to decision paralysis.

Try to make the different choices parallel, in their language and their scope, scale, timeframe. Don't make one of the choices obviously and always better than the rest.

If you have a pick list, consider whether any of your options would benefit from an "else" statement at the end. For example, one option for Forage is "you avoid danger or risk (else, there is some)."

The "else" there clarifies that if they don't pick this option, there will be danger or risk. You can also use "else" statements to establish a baseline result in a succinct way, which can be quite useful for magical effects. See Ice Weaving and Impudent

Polymorph for examples (Book II, pages

515 and 525).

Okay, here's my full draft:

When you take shrooms together near a waystone, under a full moon, roll

+WIS. If you've taken shrooms before, roll with advantage. On a 10+, you experience a profound sense of connectedness to your companions and the world; on a 7-9, pick 1:

• Mark a debility • It's a bad trip, and you're kind of freaking out • You're not really feeling it—you need to take another dose and roll again at disadvantage

On a 6-, pick 2 from the list above and you draw unwanted attention from the spirit world.

Regardless, you're hallucinating now, and your eyes are open to the spirit world and the Fae paths. Have fun!

Hold and spend

Some moves have the player "hold x currency," where the currency is something specific like "Readiness" or "Nerve." The move then says how the player can spend that currency, and what happens when they do. That could be a mechanical bonus (as with Bolster, Homefront), something happening in the fiction (like with Silver Tongued, The Fox), or some combo of the two (see Defend, Player Moves).

Hold-and-spend is a good choice for moves that…

• reflect a PC's preparations, like A Safe Place does;
• provide a limited, ongoing bonus, like Anger Is a Gift;
• need to limit how often a PC can use them, such as Stentorian, The Marshal); and/or…
• reward behaviors, like Chronicler of Stonetop does.

Your move might grant a set amount of currency each time it's triggered (see Piety, The Lightbearer), or a variable amount based on a roll (see Silver Tongued, The Fox), fictional details (see Prepare a Welcome, The Marshal), or both (see Defend, Player Moves).

Name the currency something unique, or at least something that isn't being used in your game. Include a place to track currency on whatever handout you give the players, usually with a series of s. Consider whether ◇ you need to spell out when the player loses all held currency, or if that's obvious from context.

7 Review and revise

Read your drafted move. Revise it.

Make it better!

Imagine it in play

Envision a situation where this move could come up in play. Picture your players triggering it. Run through the move. Try to read it with fresh eyes. Imagine your players' reactions. If anything strikes you as unclear, confusing, or awkward, then fix it.

Run through the possible outcomes. Do they all make sense in this scenario? If you can't envision what a given result (or combination of results) would look like, then something's wrong. Rethink the result(s), or how it prompts you to pick them.

Repeat this process a few times, imagining a different potential situation each time.

Make sure it meets your goals

Think back on what you intended this move to do. Is it doing that? Is it doing it better than what you'd get if you just relied on the core loop, your GM moves, and the player moves already in play? If not, why not? How can it better meet your goals?

Consider your constraints for this move.

Does it fit in the space you have? Does it account for the needs and preferences of your group? If not, revise until it does.

Check for common pitfalls

Is the trigger too broad or too specific, such that the move will trigger more often or less often than you want? If so, fix it.

Does your trigger confound outcome with intent? Have you written "When you solve the puzzle" instead of "When you try to solve the puzzle"? If so, clarify the trigger.

Does your move apply player mechanics to monsters/NPCs? For example, does it say, "Your foe has disadvantage on their next move" or "They mark dazed." Monsters and NPCs don't use those rules! Rewrite the result to impose a fictional limitation, or to grant PCs an opportunity or bonus against it. (It is okay to modify the damage rolls of monsters or NPCs, or to apply modifiers or debilities to followers.)

Does your move refer to "rounds," "turns," or other concepts that don't exist in Stonetop? Use fictional equivalents instead (like "for a few moments," or "until they can clear their head").

Are any of the results boring? Do they amount to "nothing happens," or "try again?" If so, try to restructure the move so that there's a meaningful result or change every time it triggers.

Is the move purely mechanical? Sometimes this makes sense, like with Improved Stat. But most moves should prompt interesting fiction via their triggers and/or generate it via their results.

If the move involves a pick list, are all the options equally appealing (or equally bad)?

For each option, can you imagine a time when a player would pick this over one of the others? If not, either make the option more appealing or cut it entirely.

Does the move blatantly cross the Line of GM/player authority? Does it have the player decide what NPCs or other PCs do, or invent new details about the current situation that their PC would have no influence over or prior knowledge of? If so, change what decisions get made, or who makes them.

Is this a playbook or arcanum move, or some other move meant to give the PC an edge? If so, make sure it's actually letting them do something they couldn't do without the move, or letting them do it better.

If it's just a more-specific version of Defy Danger, then what's the point?

Is the move overly complex? Does it have too many variations or variables? Does it have a lot of steps or dependencies? If so, simplify it. Rein in its scope if you need to.

Cut any decision that isn't crucial. Reorder the procedure so that it flows naturally and intuitively. If need be, split this out into multiple moves.

Is the move written defensively? Does it use legalistic language to prevent abuse or loopholes? If so, does it need to? Can you rely on context and the players' agenda and principles to prevent such abuse? You do sometimes need to clarify intent and establish what a move can't do, but keep it short and sweet.

Punch it up

Look for ways to make the move grabbier, more exciting, more thematic. Formidable doesn't trigger "when a battle starts." It triggers "When you wade into battle." When the Lightbearer gets a 10+ on Guiding Light, "you all make it through (Helior be praised)." That little prayer at the end adds a lot!

Edit for length and clarity

Cut any word that's unneeded. Read each sentence, look for a cleaner way to phrase it. Reduce the move to its simplest version, while maintaining clarity and impact.

Check grammar, formatting

Make sure you're using the right words, that your subjects and verbs agree, that your bullet lists use parallel language.

Check your spelling. If typing them out, put triggers in bold and italic text. Put thresholds in bold, like, "on a 10+:…"

Grammar and formatting are less crucial for a move you'll use just once at your own table. But the more you plan to use it or share it, the more important this becomes.

Get feedback

Ask others for feedback. Share your move online, with other Stonetop players and GMs. Share it with your players, too (unless you want it to be a surprise).

Call out specific areas where you'd like input, but be open to any feedback you get.

You need not take the advice of strangers on the internet, but at least consider whether they have a point.

Remember: you can revise your move once you see it in play. Even a move that you use only once can be clarified in play. Your move doesn't need to be perfect before you use it.

If you're creating something to publish or share with other groups—like a playbook, arcanum, or supplement—then seek feedback widely and playtest the moves as much as you can. Adjust them based on how they actually perform in play.

I frame a scene in my mind: the Great Wood at night, the party encamped near a waystone. They've been here for hours, waiting for moonrise. It's time! They get a little solemn as Blodwen passes out the shrooms. They trigger my move!

I haven't really accounted for Rhianna's crew, but do I need to? Order Followers will have Rhianna roll the move for them. They're a group, so they'll roll just once and we'll apply the results to specific individuals. That works, I'm good.

I imagine we'll go around asking who's taken shrooms before, to see who rolls with advantage. That'll be fun.

The players will each roll +WIS. Someone (let's say Blodwen) would get a 10+. "You experience a profound sense of connectedness to your companions and the world." Which is… boring, actually! Reviewing my goals, I planned for this move to explore the PCs' emotions and relationships. Without it, I'd use Keep Company to do just that. So, I revise the 10+ result to have them ask each other (and the world) a meaningful question.

I imagine Rhianna rolling a 7-9. Hmm. She'd probably pick "It's a bad trip, and you're kind of freaking out," which I realize overlaps with marking dazed. And I could use that "bad trip" choice to explore some darker emotions.

Let's say Caradoc gets a 6-. He'd draw unwanted attention from the spirit realm, mark a debility, and have a bad trip. So: he'd see the shadowy presence in his mind's eye, it would see him back, and he'd be left shaken by it. Cool!

Then I imagine Vahid getting a 6- and picking "bad trip" and "not really feeling it." He'd maybe draw the ire of some spiteful nature spirits, and freak out, and… need a bigger dose? That doesn't feel right. And it'd lead to just rerolling, and maybe picking the same thing. No, the "not feeling it" option has to go.

I think a bit and rewrite the move. As I do, I simplify the trigger—it didn't need to be so specific after all! I also run it by a player and incorporate some of their feedback. I end up with this:

When you take shrooms in the Great Wood, roll +WIS. If you've taken them before, you have advantage. On a 10+, ask one of these to one other player,

and one to the GM who will answer for the world at large:

• What do you love most about me? • What saddens you about me? • What is your dearest hope for me?

On a 7-9, pick 1; on a 6-, all 3:

• Mark a debility • Guilt and shame boil up within you; describe the vision/memory that comes with them • You draw unwanted attention from the spirit world Regardless, you're hallucinating now, and your eyes are open to the spirit world and the Fae paths. Have fun!

I run through all the combinations again and they all feel good. I consider posting it online for feedback, but the game starts in an hour. This is good enough!

More examples

Here's another example of a situational move, this one written to reflect the party's current, sour mood. (That last bullet was originally "What do you do that I find so annoying?" But a fellow GM suggested this replacement. Hooray for feedback!)

Love letters are like single-use custom moves, addressed to a specific PC. Write them as part of your prep and hand them out at the start of a session (or whenever it makes sense). They're especially useful for:

• Glossing over downtime
• Resolving individual PC projects, or giving them a chance to make progress
• Filling in periods where a PC is "off camera," like if they take a solo trip or their player misses a session
• Wrapping up a situation that the group doesn't want to play out in detail
• Starting a session with momentum, hard-framing a scene or situation and jumping to the "good stuff"
• Digging into a PC's backstory, relationships, or inner thoughts
• Giving players setting info without it being a one-sided lore dump (see First Adventure for an example)

You might write a love letter to just one PC (like when their player missed the last session). But often, you'll write each PC a love letter and run through them in turn.

Love letters are an investment. They take time to write, and skill to write well. They get used only once. But they're powerful tools, and writing them is great practice for writing moves in general.

To write a love letter, consider first and foremost what you're trying to establish:

what you need the letter to declare as true.

Given that, ask yourself:

• What elements do you want to hand over to the player to define?
• What could go well for the PC?
• What could go poorly?

As far as structure goes:

• Love letters don't have triggers; start them with "Dear <PC>"
• Follow that with as much context as you need (though keep it tight)
• Give the player specific prompts for the details you want them to add, as part of either the setup or the results
• Decide how you'll pick between results, and if there's a roll, what that roll looks like

Pick a structure that seems to fit your needs, and start writing. Don't force it—if the structure isn't working, try something else. Get a working draft, then tweak the language and details as time and interest permit. Don't stress over it too much. A love letter gets used only once, and if it doesn't land, you can clarify it in play.

Print the love letter out or write it on an index card, or send it to the player online.

During play, have them read the letter aloud and do what it says. If you write love letters for multiple PCs, you can set them up to be read in a specific order, or let the players choose who goes when.

Take notes! Incorporate the results into this and future sessions. Make the results and their choices matter.

Some examples:

Dear Rhianna, You got back from a few days hunting to find everyone talking about

Caradoc, Vahid, and their trip to the Tower. As if you didn't have enough to worry about. Speaking of worries, roll +Fortunes: on a 10+, pick 1; on a 7-9, pick 2; on a 6-, mark XP and all 3.

• Owain's been calling for folks to "do something" about Vahid—who has been agreeing with him, that you would not have expected? • Wini (Cerys's eldest) has been acting out, badly—how so? • Crinwin jumped one of your crew while out hunting (who?); they're home, but badly hurt (how so?)

XOXO – your GM

Dear Caradoc, You and Morwenna are still tied up, but you're at the greenhouse. Tell us what unpleasant truth you had to reveal to seal the deal, then roll

+CHA: on a 10+, pick 2; on a 7-9, pick

1; on a 6-, pick 1, mark XP, and your captors clearly know they're being followed—they're laying a trap!

• You've slyly loosened your bonds • Morwenna's calm & playing along (else, she's freaking right out) • They haven't separated you and Morwenna yet (else, they have)

XOXO – your GM

Dear Vahid, It's been a quiet, cozy winter, with plenty of time inside. What unlikely aspect of a personality has the Mindgem revealed, now that you've spent so much time with it?

Now, ask the Mindgem a question about the Makers, their history, or their arts. You've gleaned a clear and useful answer, and even a few follow-up questions. But also, roll +WIS:

on a 10+, you've not neglected anyone nor anything; on a 7-9, tell us who you've let down in some little way; on a 6-, mark XP, and tell us who you've let down and why they're still upset.

XOXO – your GM

Dear Blodwen (read after Rhianna), Dawn finds you all hiding in a cart, rattling out into the fields after a sleepless night tending to Tierny and the others (with Brin's able help).

What personal advice did you give

Brin before you left?

As for Tierny, roll +INT. If Rhianna's turn led to casualties, then roll with disadvantage. On a 10+, Tierny has made a full recovery and few will know how close she was to death; on a 7-9, she's up and will recover, but your name will spread as a miracleworker; on a 6-, either she dies and becomes a martyr, or lives on as a husk of her former self (your call).

XOXO – your GM