Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Game Mechanics And Player Agency
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Shiroiken" data-source="post: 7738487" data-attributes="member: 6775477"><p>IME, the term Player Agency is often thrown out as an argument against an action taken by the GM that upsets certain types of players. In an RPG, players control their characters actions, but only within the rules of the game. Effects that limit options or remove them altogether are generally disliked, but so long as this possibility is known (usually in the form of the game rules), the player has little ground for complaint (other than to play a different game). It doesn't even have to be magic compulsion, because I've found some games work well with actual social mechanics.</p><p></p><p>I'm not a fan of effects that prevent a player from doing anything for a long period of time, and try to mitigate them. For example, a charmed/dominated character can still be controlled by the player, so long as the player acts appropriately. If the player starts to half-ass their abilities to save the rest of the party, they lose that option and then get to sit out the rest of the fight (or until no longer charmed/dominated). Most players seem okay with this (and a few jerks delight in the rare PvP), so I've seldom had to sit a player. Insanity is another good example, as is replacement by doppelganger. Good players don't have to sit out, even though it may be recommended in the game rules, so long as everyone plays their character correctly (including personality altering effects).</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Shiroiken, post: 7738487, member: 6775477"] IME, the term Player Agency is often thrown out as an argument against an action taken by the GM that upsets certain types of players. In an RPG, players control their characters actions, but only within the rules of the game. Effects that limit options or remove them altogether are generally disliked, but so long as this possibility is known (usually in the form of the game rules), the player has little ground for complaint (other than to play a different game). It doesn't even have to be magic compulsion, because I've found some games work well with actual social mechanics. I'm not a fan of effects that prevent a player from doing anything for a long period of time, and try to mitigate them. For example, a charmed/dominated character can still be controlled by the player, so long as the player acts appropriately. If the player starts to half-ass their abilities to save the rest of the party, they lose that option and then get to sit out the rest of the fight (or until no longer charmed/dominated). Most players seem okay with this (and a few jerks delight in the rare PvP), so I've seldom had to sit a player. Insanity is another good example, as is replacement by doppelganger. Good players don't have to sit out, even though it may be recommended in the game rules, so long as everyone plays their character correctly (including personality altering effects). [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Game Mechanics And Player Agency
Top