When you deny an NPC calling on you to live up to your principle, roll with that principle. On a hit, act as they say or mark 1-fatigue. On a 10+, their words hit hard; you must also shift your balance towards the called-on principle. On a miss, you stand strong; clear a condition, clear 1-fatigue, or shift your balance, your choice.
NPCs can, and will, call on you to live up to one of your principles just as you can call them out. When they do, you must choose: accept their words and do what they demand (whether you like it or not), or reject them and make this move. The NPC doesn’t have to know your principle; it’s up to the GM to tell you when their demand for action lines up with your internal struggles.
When an NPC calls on you to live up to one of your principles and you deny them, you must roll with the called-on principle. If you’re the Idealist and have +2 Forgiveness and -2 Action, you roll with +2 if you reject a call to Forgiveness or -2 to reject a call to Action. But this move is reversed from most—if you deny a callout, then you want to roll low, not high. This means that it’s easier to reject NPCs calling on you to live up to the principle you’re neglecting…and much harder to resist living up to what you believe in.
Unlike almost every other move, you have the most control when you roll a miss to deny a callout—a miss means that you hold your ground in the face of the NPC’s influence. In fact, your resilience allows you to either clear a condition, clear 1-fatigue, or shift your balance however you choose.
If you choose to shift your balance, you might shift away from the called-on principle to show them what you truly believe in or to outright reject their demands. You might shift towards the called-on principle instead, showing that while you chose not to follow their demands or their interpretation of the principle, your commitment to that core idea remains strong.
If you roll a hit when denying a callout, they make you stop in your tracks; maybe you know deep down that they’re right, or maybe they hit a sore spot. You have a choice: either act as they say or mark 1-fatigue. On a 10+, you need to choose and you also shift your balance towards the called-on principle.
Ren Tsuji the Prodigy, played by Ruhan, is having a heated conversation with Yonsang, their former teacher in the Yuyan archers.
"'You don't belong here, Ren,' Yonsang says, and he puts one hand on your shoulder. 'You're the greatest student I have ever known, and you belong back with the people who can help you rise still further. Come back to the Yuyan Archers with me.' He's definitely
your Excellence principle, Ren," says the GM."I want to deny him calling me out! 'I have friends here, people who care about me, and who've already helped me become better. I'm not leaving.' Do I roll with my Excellence?" asks Ruhan. The GM nods, and Ruhan rolls—and gets a 12!
"On this move, rolling high means his words really got to you," the GM says. "You've got to agree to go with him right now—and you've got to mean it, even if things change down the line—or you've got to mark 1-fatigue. And either way, your balance is shifting towards Excellence."
"I'm definitely not going, so I mark 1-fatigue!" says Ruhan.