Improvising a hazard

Hazards don't always need game mechanics or stats. You'll often just improvise them.

To improvise a hazard: imagine a physical obstacle or danger that would make sense in the environment. Then, frame a scene (if you haven't already) and make a GM move to introduce the hazard. Ask the PCs what they do. If they ask clarifying questions, make up answers that make sense but then act as if they were true all along. If the PCs do something with an obvious outcome, say what happens. If they trigger a player move, resolve it. Use your knowledge of the situation and your sense of the fiction to describe what happens next.

When the players try to bypass or overcome a hazard, you should regularly tell them the consequences/requirements and ask if they still want to do that. Players should understand the risks before they commit to any course of action—even if the risks are "you aren't sure what will happen."

Clever players will often come up with ways to bypass a hazard that don't trigger a move. Resist the urge to call for a move (like Defy Danger or Struggle as One) just because you think "there should be a roll." Always confirm that the trigger is, in fact, being met. Otherwise, you'll end up invalidating the players' creativity and you might find yourself struggling to come up with meaningful results on a 7-9 or 6-.

You can also introduce hazards in response to a player move. A new hazard is a great consequence on a 7-9 roll to Defy Danger ("You get past the thug, but the lamp tips onto the mattress—it's on fire!"). When someone Seeks Insight and asks, "What should I be on the lookout for?" make up a hazard and tell them about it. If they're traveling cross-country and someone gets a 6- on pretty much anything, you could introduce a danger and have the sky open up in a torrent of rain.

Remember that on a 6-, when you make a hard GM move and establish badness, you decide just how bad it is. That means you can introduce a hazard and immediately have it cause harm or badness, as long as it makes sense in the fiction. But you don't have to. So when the Fox rolls a 6- to Burgle a chest, you might jump straight to hurting them with a poison needle trap. But you could also introduce a danger and say that they notice these arcane runes around the lip, and clearly some sort of harmful magic will be unleashed if the chest is opened, what do you do?

When a hazard is present during a fight or any other sort of action scene, keep including it in the fiction and keep making moves with it. A hazard is part of the environment and the fictional positioning of the characters; its presence limits what the PCs can do and informs the results of their actions.

Vahid, Caradoc, Blodwen, Rhianna, and Andras are exploring the ruins around Three Coven Lake. They're climbing a set of wide, ancient stairs going up the side of a bluff. It'd be a nasty fall into rocky water, but the stairs so far have been well-built and stable.

I decide to change that, and introduce a danger. "The stairs and bluff curve inward, away from the lake, then the stairs level off to a short landing. Vahid, you're in front, so you see this first. The landing has partially collapsed, and while there's enough left to scamper across, it doesn't look entirely stable. The stairs on the other end look fine, though. What do you do?"

They ask some questions about the drop (like 50 or 60 feet, onto rocks) and the size of the landing (originally about 12 feet square, but there's only like 2 or 3 feet left for most of it, up against the cliff wall, and a gap of almost 9 feet).

"Only 9 feet? So we can just jump it, right?" says Caradoc.

I tell them the consequences and ask. "It's certainly jumpable, but it's not a sure thing. You'll each have to Defy Danger, and anyone with a normal or heavy load will be at disadvantage. Oh, and I don't think Andras can make it—he's still nursing that arrow wound in his leg, right? But the rest of you can try if you want. What do you do?"

They decide against jumping it. Vahid pokes the landing with his spear and otherwise takes in the situation, Seeking Insight. He gets a 7-9. "What here is useful or valuable to me?" he asks.

I think about the situation and make a decision (remember, I'm making this up as I go). "Well, the ledge that remains should bear your weight if you go one at a time, but it's impossible to tell. But when you look closely, you realize that the cliff face has some ridges that could be used as handholds. Oh, and if you've got any rope in your gear, that could be useful, too."

I then offer riches at a price and say that he can see the rest of the stairs from here. "They appear to be intact all the way up to the next opening carved into the cliff, an ornate arch carved with Maker runes. What do you do?"

"I really want to check that out," says Vahid. After some discussion, they produce some rope and tie each other together, then scamper over the ledge one at a time, using the handholds to brace themselves. The rope means that they're Defying Danger as a group, so we resolve this using Struggle as One (and decide that everyone gets advantage on their rolls for acting on the answers from Seeking Insight).