Position/Effect has always been the weirdest part of any FitD game to me. Like, most of FitD as a framework is so interested in very concrete ways that narrative informs mechanics and mechanic informs narrative. But Position/Effect are so abstract and subjective in terms of both trigger and impact. It’s a mechanic that exists to ensure the narrative impacts the narrative, and that doesn’t feel right for this sort of game. Then because its impact is purely narrative, it’s always completely overshadowed by the dice’s result, because that’s the cooler one you get excited about. And yes I know they impact clocks but that’s just one very specific situation (only when you are actively doing an action with the intent to tick a clock up) and also FitD clocks suck anyway. I just constantly feel like it is a completely vestigial mechanic that I’ve never actually found interesting in execution.
I really like position and effect because it can lead to the bickering between player and GM reminiscent of asking the dm if you can get a +2 mod to a roll for doing something in a specific way. The discussion of setting and modifying position and effect, haggling over it, is an act of fumbling around something and getting a better sense of the situation.
