r/PBtA • u/Entire_Impress7485 • 17d ago

Investigation move in Thirsty Sword Lesbians?

Is there any move or similar action in Thirsty Sword Lesbians that lets you investigate situations, not just people? I haven’t been able to find one in the rule book. If one doesn’t exist, how does a GM avoid the need for that? I’ve found it narratively essential in games like DnD and Monster of the Week.

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u/TimeBlossom Perception checks are dumb 17d ago edited 17d ago

DnD aside, Monster of the Week is a game that's specifically about investigating mysteries, so that's why it has moves for looking around (well, that and early-PbtA defaultism). Thirsty Sword Lesbians isn't; it's a game about characters being dramatic and having sword fights and kissing. The uncertainty of what you might find when looking around a room doesn't generally lead to drama or sword fights or kissing, so that's why the game doesn't have a move for it; it's just not important enough to have specific mechanics.

So, if you do find your players looking around at something, ask yourself the following questions:

Is the investigation focused on a place that's important to a specific and interesting person, like their bedroom or office or something? If so, then this is a good trigger for Figure Out a Person. If not...

Are they looking for something specific in a situation that has sufficient narrative and dramatic weight? If so, then make an appropriate move, perhaps Offer what they want at a high cost if they're looking for clues in a dangerous place and hanging around too long can get them accosted, or Escalate the stakes of a conflict by revealing a clue that makes things more dramatic than they already were. If not...

Just tell them what they find. Perception checks aren't actually that important most of the time, and learning not to make everything a roll or an exchange is a good habit to get into.

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u/Entire_Impress7485 16d ago

Oh, okay, that’s actually super helpful! So essentially channel it into Figure Out a Person or into no move at all, and leave all ACTUAL mysteries up to the player’s real life detective skills or whatever. If there’s not really an investigation skill, what’s the benefit of a high Wit score? I’m thinking about playing a Seeker or Infamous who used to be a royal inquisitor of some sort, and I’m planning to make her super analytical and perceptive, with a high Wit score.

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u/TimeBlossom Perception checks are dumb 16d ago

The benefit to a high Wit score is that you look really cute in glasses /lh

No but really, look at the basic moves and your playbook moves and that will tell you what a high score in a given stat will make you good at. Wit is most notably what you roll for Figure Out a Person, so it's a good pick for a former inquisitor since it means you have a knack for reading people.