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<blockquote data-quote="MarkB" data-source="post: 8395978" data-attributes="member: 40176">Another issue with freeform games is the concept of agency. Players brought up on D&amp;D and similar games tend to view themselves as being in control of their character and that character's thoughts and actions, but not of anything else in the world. But in other systems this can vary wildly.Some will allow the player's influence to extend to aspects of the game world and narrative that the character they're playing has no direct influence over.Others may wrest control of that character away from the player under some circumstances - games in which the character's personality traits and motivations are not mere roleplay suggestions but active parts of the ruleset.Without a ruleset to work from, players may well be unaware of their options, and wind up unintentionally leaving viable strategies on the table because their preconceptions left them unaware that such strategies were even available to them. Or they may work under the assumption that some options are available to them only to get shut down because the referee decides otherwise.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="MarkB, post: 8395978, member: 40176"] Another issue with freeform games is the concept of agency. Players brought up on D&D and similar games tend to view themselves as being in control of their character and that character's thoughts and actions, but not of anything else in the world. But in other systems this can vary wildly. Some will allow the player's influence to extend to aspects of the game world and narrative that the character they're playing has no direct influence over. Others may wrest control of that character away from the player under some circumstances - games in which the character's personality traits and motivations are not mere roleplay suggestions but active parts of the ruleset. Without a ruleset to work from, players may well be unaware of their options, and wind up unintentionally leaving viable strategies on the table because their preconceptions left them unaware that such strategies were even available to them. Or they may work under the assumption that some options [I]are[/I] available to them only to get shut down because the referee decides otherwise. [/QUOTE]

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