Gamey moves vs the fiction

It depends on how much you want to bend the rules as written for your needs. RAW, maybe they can't open that gate or they need to be more clever with how they get past it.

However, you can also use these abilities to guide the fiction even if the PC doesn't have them. Take Bend Bars, Lift Gates for example.

When you use pure strength to destroy an inanimate obstacle, roll+Str.

On a 10+, choose 3.

On a 7-9 choose 2.

It doesn’t take a very long time

Nothing of value is damaged

It doesn’t make an inordinate amount of noise

You can fix the thing again without a lot of effort

So none of your PCs have this move, but you could still ask for a STR check to have them overcome the gate for example. This move gives you 4 awesome complications that can occur. If they aren't a fighter, maybe they open the gate on a 7 but it takes a long time, makes a ton of noise, breaks the gate, and breaks something valuable. A 10 maybe only removes one of these negatives. Plus you can make these as light or severe as you want. Warn the PC ahead of time. "This is so outside of your wheel house, but you think that you could move this gate with a lot of effort. You think this is a risky move but you need to weigh the potential consequences."

As a Fighter, the benefit to the PC is that they either choose 2 or 3 of these options.

/r/DungeonWorld Thread