D&D General What is player agency to you?

[soviet]

A random stranger getting an audience with the king of England because they claim to be a noble from some unheard of land? That's tells me they always saying yes no matter how illogical. Nobody has been able to come up with a reason why a background feature would not work for some people.

They're not a random stranger claiming to be a noble. That's false.

They are a noble. People (the king, his guards, his servants) are inclined to think the best of them. They are welcome in high society (Buckingham Palace). People assume they have the right to be wherever they are (Buckingham Palace). Other people of high birth (the royal family) treat them as a member of the same social sphere. You can secure an audience with a local noble (the King) if you need to.

 

[soviet]

I prefer some realism over a fever dream, even in my fantasy fiction

Oh, a realistic fantasy adventurers with unreliable abilities in modern day London campaign! Sorry, my bad.

 

[Oofta]

They're not a random stranger claiming to be a noble. That's false.

They are a noble. People (the king, his guards, his servants) are inclined to think the best of them. They are welcome in high society (Buckingham Palace). People assume they have the right to be wherever they are (Buckingham Palace). Other people of high birth (the royal family) treat them as a member of the same social sphere. You can secure an audience with a local noble (the King) if you need to.

As far as anyone at Buckingham Castle they are a random nut job.

 

[mamba]

I live in the UK, and let me tell you, a gang of adventurers from Waterdeep are unlikely to be the weirdest people the king encountered that day.

there goes the one shot for an audience

 

[mamba]

Oh, a realistic fantasy adventurers with unreliable abilities in modern day London campaign! Sorry, my bad.

yes, I find that far more interesting than ‘Waterdeep by another name’

If everywhere is the same, why bother going anywhere

 

[soviet]

Player: I'm going to use Second Wind to -
GM: Nope, you're too tired
Player: Oh, uh, I'll use my Noble background to -
GM: Nope, they've never heard of you
Player: Well I'll cast -
GM: The winds of magic are unpredictable, my friend! No bueno
Player: Well I'll tell the guard -
GM: He doesn't speak Common, only Orcish
Player: Haha, I can speak Orcish too, I say -
GM: He's deaf
Player: I draw my sword out of the scabbard -
GM: It's stuck
Player: I hit him with the sword still in the scabbard -
GM: It slips out of your hand and down a ravine
Player: I sit down in despair
GM: No need to give up yet! I was just about to let you exercise your agency!

 

[soviet]

As far as anyone at Buckingham Castle they are a random nut job.

The rules say different

 

[soviet]

yes, I find that far more interesting than ‘Waterdeep by another name’

If everywhere is the same, why bother going anywhere

Oh yes, how interesting. Let's play a fish out of water game, the twist is that all of the NPCs ignore you and nothing happens.

 

[mamba]

Of course it's not realistic - we're already in a scenario in which Faerun exists, and a PC has travelled from Faerun to the contemporary UK.

what if the players say that the noble feature working makes no sense and it therefore should not? Can the players break the rules while the GM is bound by them?

 

[soviet]

Shall we meet the King and try to explain our crazy story, making embarrassing faux pas at the dinner table? No let's fight some rats or something until a story thread is passed to us.