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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 5721323" data-attributes="member: 22779">How about this:Player: We need some supplies. How far to the nearest town?DM: Based on your map, about 20 miles or so.Player: Hmmm, maps often gloss over smaller settlements. I want to use my geography skill to see if I know of any smaller hamlets.DM: Gimmie a geography roll.Player: I got a 30.DM: You know of an old fording place over the river that will cut about five miles off your trip and several hours.  Since the weather has been dry lately, the ford should be clear.Now, there was no ford marked on the map, and the weather point was previously unestablished.  To me, this is a fairly mild form of Player Agency, or Narrative Control (depending on whose verbiage you want to use).  The Player has initiated something over which his character has no possible way of initiating and the DM has effectively just gone with "Say Yes".  Really, that's what the whole "Say Yes" thing is - allowing player suggestions to override the DM while the DM does maintain a veto option.  The DM did not have a ford on his map, nor did he establish the weather previously.  These things have all been added at the Player's prompting.Now a more clear example would be where the Player simply dictates the existence of the ford - that's pretty clear cut and I think we'd all agree that that's narrative control.But, I think that a broader definition is still applicable here.  If the DM is changing things at the Player's prompting, that's a mild form of Narrative Control.  In the early example of finding a secret door, it would depend.  Did the DM add the secret door based on the player's skill check?  If yes, then that's Narrative Control.</blockquote>

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