Just like the players have moves they can make during the game, you also have GM moves that change the story in response to their actions. Unlike the PCs, you aren’t bound by specific spells you can cast or certain effects you can do—when you make GM moves, you are acting to shape and facilitate the story, whatever that requires. When you begin a GM move, you are starting your GM turn. When you are done making your GM move (or moves) and play passes back to the PCs, your GM turn is over.

At its most simple, a GM move is anything you do that guides the story. These moves can heighten the danger, often by introducing conflict or increasing the Difficulty, or they can offer ease and support, often by revealing new information or relieving a burden. This ebb and flow of opposition and cooperation facilitates dynamic play and invites opportunities for both GMs and players to surprise one another with exciting choices.

If moves are your chance to make things happen in the scene, what should you do? The upcoming sections provide suggestions (and examples in the “Example GM Moves” section), but these decisions are hard to make in a vacuum. The best tool you have at your disposal is listening to your players as they add to the narrative, then weaving your moves into theirs.