▸ Hurt someone

Inflict a specific, problematic injury or wound on a PC or an NPC they care about. Something more than just losing HP. Something painful, bloody, consequential, or all three.

Using this move definitely means the victim takes damage, and against a PC it might also mean that they mark a debility. It definitely means that they've now got a problematic wound (see Problematic). It's a part of the fiction, something they have to deal with and something you can use as a basis for your GM moves.

How badly you hurt them depends on the fiction, whether the harm came from a 7+ or a 6-, the damage rolled, and the tags on the damage (messy, forceful, etc.). When you hurt them because they rolled a 7-9 to Clash with a guy with a club, and they only take 2 damage, that's going to look a lot different than a 6- against a rage drake dealing 12 messy damage.

Feel free to describe the general nature of the wound ("He stabs you in the thigh and you feel your leg buckle."), then have the player roll damage ("Take d6+2 damage.") and modulate the injury based on the damage dealt ("3 damage? Okay, I think you drop to one knee and your leg is like on fire, but it'll still hold your weight," versus "Yikes, 8 damage? You still up? Well, your leg gives out under you and it's just gushing blood.")

As a rule, only inflict a permanent, disabling injury if you've warned them it's possible (explicitly or by telegraphing/ demonstrating the danger), and either they rolled a 6- or they knowingly ignored the danger. Don't spring that stuff on them.

For example: if you say, "that thing has 6-inch long teeth and jaws that can crush trees… if it gets you, you'll be missing bits, you sure you want to just stand there and swing at it?" and they reply "Yeah, no guts no glory!" and then roll a 7-9 to Clash… well, you warned them. Say goodbye to that arm and hello to a fountain of blood.

On the other hand, if you've presented this thing as a threat but not, like, an armchomping-off threat, on a 7-9 you might say "It chomps down, there's blood everywhere, and it starts to shake you around. There's this weird, calm part of your brain that's like 'Oh my arm is about to get torn off,' but the rest of you just AAAGH. Take a d10+3 damage and mark weakened. What do you do?" Still a pretty hard move, I'd say, but one they might recover from. Taking their arm without warning? Not cool.

With that said: feel free to hurt NPCs more aggressively and brutally than you hurt the PCs. Taking a follower's arm (for example) is a great way to show that this thing's attacks are messy and terrible, raising the stakes without deprotagonizing the PCs. (Word of advice, though: don't brutalize an animal companion without warning; players get super precious with their pets.)

Once inflicted, a wound or injury is part of the fiction. It might cause the PC to Defy Danger to attempt something that wouldn't otherwise be dangerous. It might be the fictional justification for another move you make. It might prompt you to make moves that escalate the injury.

For more about HP, damage, debilities, and problematic wounds, see the Harm and Healing chapter Harm & Healing.

"It like reaches out towards Eira, its hand expanding like mist and clutching her chest, and she just starts moaning and convulsing and you see bits of her skin blackening. She takes 1d12 damage, ignoring armor. Is she still up? No? Okay, well it drops her and she just slumps to the ground. What do you do?"

"It just SQUEEZES and you can't breathe, can't move, then SNAP you feel a rib go and HOLY CRAP this hurts. Take a d8+3 damage, ignoring armor, and mark weakened*. Vahid, you finish lighting the naphtha as this happens, see Caradoc turning blue in its coils. What do you do?"*

"Oh dear. 9 damage? And you're still up? Yeah, um... I think as you try to wrench your arm free, it, um… crap, I think it just chomps down hard and there's just this searing pain and you go staggering back. You're free, but you look down and your right arm is just gone. Blood is spurting, you feel cold, and you think you might faint. What do you do?"