Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gorgon Zee" data-source="post: 9523092" data-attributes="member: 75787">Although that is one style of play — always asking permission, it’s not the only way people interact with the world — and in fact some games specifically state that it’s not the way they want to work. Another way players can interact is to state their desired outcome, rather than just asking a question of the state of the world. In an investigative game where the fun is discovering stuff, it’ll be common to work the way you suggest. But an equally reasonable player statement might be “I grab the key from under the desk”, if the fiction has established that such a key exists. In fact, in general, it’s better for players to describe their desired outcomes rather than the steps they want to take. Otherwise it’s easy to develop misunderstandings or waste time:Player: “I look under the desk”GM: “nothing is there”Player: “I look in the bookcase”GM: “it has a bunch of books”…Player: “I look in the vase”GM: “you find the key”Versus:Player: “I search the room to find the key, and open the door”GM: “you find it in the vase; the door opens with a worrying click and gas starts hissing out”Rather than asking for active permission for actions with no goal, it helps pacing and fun to have players assume passive permission and state their goal; the GM (as above) can then confirm their action and get straight to the fun!</blockquote>