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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mort" data-source="post: 5719625" data-attributes="member: 762">What if it's a question you as DM don't actually know the answer to with certainty? Such that when this player asks "Is there a faster way through the city?" And it's this player whos character actually knows the answer better than either of you, how is that decided?To stretch the example to its likely limits:This character has a 22 INT and an 18 WIS so likely knows and remembers just about all aspects about the city.He knows the villian is headed by the most direct route to where he needs to go. BUT he also knows that the most direct route is not always the fastest, especially on days when the streetfair is in town (he knows it is town today, this is HIS city). Thus he (and the members of his party at his direction) take a route not hampered by the street fair and catch up to the villain/beat the villain to his destination.The above can be accomplished in a number of ways from a RP/game perspective:1) The player wanting to catch the villain tells the DM "I want to catch the villain" and the DM comes up with the above scenario for the player catching the villian. Arguably this does not have the player influencing the narrative at all - except for the fact that the player got exactly what he wanted so there is little difference.2)  The player tells the DM what he wants and the DM has the player make opposing checks with the villain. The player, winning the check, comes up with the above scenario to catch the villian. This is a clear case of the player having at least some control of the narrative.I'm sure there are others but it's 12:00 a.m. and I should probably be going to bed <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />.On the flip side: The player (who's character has all of the qualifications mentioned above) asks the DM if there is a quicker route. The DM, looking down at the map decides it's a complete picture and the player is out of luck the villain gets there first and the character knows it. Frankly it is with this answer that I'd feel cheated, because the DM didn't really take all relevant factors into acount just the ones he chose to that likely led to his preferred outcome.[edit]just to address another issue, in the original example I mentioned looking down at a map - that's true. But it's just a map (that only the DM is looking at currently btw) not some official document with a seal on it that states "this is the one true way, there are no passages, situations, or other circumstances other than what are on this map." Or to put it another way, I don't think having "a map" is an excuse to limit possibilies for the DM (or the players) - the map is a helpful tool - if it's anything else, it's a crutch.</blockquote>

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