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Message: <blockquote data-quote="hawkeyefan" data-source="post: 8138821" data-attributes="member: 6785785">I think that no matter what we're talking about, it's all through declarations as a player, right? That's all that is actually happening, whether it's the swing of an axe, or remembering a location, or trying to disarm a trap, or finding out the latest rumors.I think that it's important to keep this in mind.What you're advocating for is a mode of play where the vast majority of content is introduced by the GM. In this mode of play, what the players can declare is constrained by what has or has not been established, and with any unestablished factor going to the GM. This is indeed a popular mode of play. I think what's frustrating, is that you constantly site this mode as "normal" and "long established" and so on, which implies that any other approach is abnormal. The fact that you can do this, without seeming to even realize you are doing it, while also appealing to others to not place some objective value on their preferred approach, is a bit tough to take. Anyone can play however they like, and there is no wrong way to play. But that doesn't mean every game allows the same amount of agency. There are mechanics and methods that allow for more or less agency. Having the GM be the arbiter of almost all the fiction in the game is one method that tends to allow for less player agency. It's okay. This being a descriptor of a game is not the same as saying the game is bad or allows for less fun.So the distinction that seems most important to you seems to be the initial introduction of an element to the fiction. Does that seem right? The GM should (in most cases) be the source of new fictional details. "There are hills north of the swamp!" The players are then free to go to the hills, or to avoid the hills, as they desire. If a game allows the player some means to establish the hills.....what's the problem? Can't a game do this? "I make a Wilderness check to see if I know where we are. If it's the Great Swamp, then Lothar knows the Iron Hills are to the north of us....." a successful Wilderness check means the player was right, and the PCs are now in the Great Swamp, and the Iron Hills are to the North. This is a different approach than what many are used to, yes, but that doesn't mean it can't be suggested as a valid way to play, and as a method that will very likely increase player agency. The whole fictional world doesn't come crashing down if someone besides the GM decides what's on the map.</blockquote>

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