ORDER FOLLOWERS

Followers are NPCs—they don't usually trigger player-facing moves. You might put them in a spot and have a follower rush in to attack a foe they can't beat, but that's just you making a soft GM move. You tell the players that this happens and ask, "What do you do?" No one rolls Clash for the reckless follower!

That changes, though, when a follower acts at a PC's behest. The follower is acting as an extension of the PC's will, and so we look to the dice and player-facing moves to find out what happens.

If a PC tells a follower to do something that they don't want to do, the PC must Persuade or otherwise convince them to do it—just like they would with any other NPC. Loyalty makes this easier, but most followers won't charge a thunder drake without some convincing!

Assuming the follower does do what the PC says, and that action would trigger a player-facing move if a PC did it, then resolve the move normally. The player rolls on the follower's behalf, and makes any decisions they'd normally make if their PC triggered the move. If they roll a 6-, the player marks XP.

Followers don't have stats like STR or INT. If a move calls for rolling +STAT, the player looks at the follower's tags and moves. If any of them indicate that the follower is good at this, the player adds +1 (even if multiple tags or moves apply). Otherwise, they add +0.

If the follower is exceptional, AND they have another tag or move that applies, then the player rolls +2. But if no other tag or move applies, the player still rolls +0 for an exceptional follower.

If any of a follower's tags would actively hinder the move that they're making, the player rolls with disadvantage. A roll can get both a +1 (or +2) and disadvantage. If Vahid sends his stealthy, mischievous wind spirit to spy on someone, the stealthy tag helps (+1) but the mischievous tag means that it might get distracted and try to prank the target (imposing disadvantage).

Rhianna just saw Caradoc get smashed by the hagr, and she rushes to his side yelling, "Eira, Lowri—shoot!" They recover their wits, nock arrows, and Let Fly.

The crew have the archers tag (but not the exceptional tag), so Rhianna rolls +1 and gets a 7. The crew deals damage but Rhianna has to pick: reduce ammo, hold steady, move closer, or rush their shots. "I think they take a bunch of shots," she says, and marks 4low ammo on her crew's gear. She then rolls 1d6+1 (her crew's damage, +1 because there are two of them shooting) and gets a 5.

"Nice!" I say. "It howls in pain and rears up, looking for what stung it, giving you time to reach Caradoc. Vahid, you've been watching this unfold, what do you do?"

Rhianna doesn't trust the hostler up in Gordin's Delve, so she tells Andras that he'll be sleeping in the cart and keeping an eye on it and the horse.

Andras is a follower and he'll be keeping watch off-screen, so I say, "I think you're having him Defy Danger, the danger being whatever the hostler gets up to. But don't roll it just yet." I have Rhianna roll the next day, after a few PC-focused scenes. Andras's observant tag applies, so she adds +1 but she gets a 5. "Caradoc, a bloodynosed Andras finds you at the inn, and he's like, They stole Fflur! What do we do?'"

Eira is all but dead, the Shadowy Presence having sucked the life out of her. Blodwen asks "Do we know how to treat this? I'll consult with Gwendyl and Seren." We all agree that Blodwen's Ordering Followers, but it's unclear whether she's having them Know Things, or Knowing Things and having her followers Aid her. We decide on the latter, as it keeps the focus on the PC.

So, Blodwen rolls +INT, with advantage. She gets a 12 and I tell her "Eira's soul has been wounded. Gwendyl can fortify her body, but to actually heal her you'll need to go into a trance, contact her spirit, and try to restore it with your own. It'll be hella dangerous. What do you do?"

Blodwen and Seren have found Eira's nearferal soul. Blodwen tries to Persuade Eira to let her help, but rolls a 4 and I put someone in a spot. "After some coaxing, she lets you approach. But as you do, Seren curses and shoots off. You see a pack of leering spirits emerging from the mists, and she's going to face them down!"

Blodwen asks if Seren is Defending or Clashing. "Neither," I say, "she's doing this on her own, not at your direction" Then I tell her the consequences. "She's holding them off for now, but she can't keep it up for long. You can help her, but Eira will run away. Or you can help Eira and hope you're quick enough to get Seren out of there. What do you do?"

Try to resolve follower actions with as few moves and rolls as possible. Zoom out and resolve complicated tasks with a single Defy Danger. If a follower takes the same action as a PC, treat that as the follower Aiding the PC rather than triggering a move of their own.

Note that followers don't have access to the PC's playbook moves. The Marshal can order a follower to give a rousing speech, but they won't trigger We Happy Few. The Ranger might have Big Game Hunter, but their pet wolf doesn't deal +2 damage vs. large foes as a result.