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<blockquote data-quote="Bill Zebub" data-source="post: 8476237" data-attributes="member: 7031982">Yes, game mechanics regularly intrude.&nbsp; I didn’t ask if they ever do, I asked if they must in this case.And this gets back to a question I asked earlier: how do we distinguish between things the player decides, and things the referee decides? My answer, partly because I like clear definitions and partly because I just believe in it as a game design principle, is that players control their action declarations (and therefore, by implication, their character’s thoughts/feelings/emotions), unless a specific game mechanic clearly states otherwise.Some posters seem to prefer that this a privilege granted by the DM, who can revoke it when they see fit.Because if that action declaration can be used by the Dragon to override the player’s right of autonomy, then any NPC can do the same, which leaves us with the possibility of a goblin intimidating a Tier 4 barbarian with a lucky roll, if the DM thinks that’s what that PC “would do.”And, again, if such a disconnect actually occurred, the real answer is that those two people probably shouldn’t play together.&nbsp; But it’s the underlying principal that the DM arbitrarily decides how a PC reacts that I don’t want to validate.Also, if the Dragon could do that then it wouldn’t actually need an ability that accomplishes the same thing. Just sayin’</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Bill Zebub, post: 8476237, member: 7031982"] Yes, game mechanics regularly intrude. I didn’t ask if they ever do, I asked if they must in this case. And this gets back to a question I asked earlier: how do we distinguish between things the player decides, and things the referee decides? My answer, partly because I like clear definitions and partly because I just believe in it as a game design principle, is that players control their action declarations (and therefore, by implication, their character’s thoughts/feelings/emotions), unless a specific game mechanic clearly states otherwise. Some posters seem to prefer that this a privilege granted by the DM, who can revoke it when they see fit. Because if that action declaration can be used by the Dragon to override the player’s right of autonomy, then any NPC can do the same, which leaves us with the possibility of a goblin intimidating a Tier 4 barbarian with a lucky roll, if the DM thinks that’s what that PC “would do.” And, again, if such a disconnect actually occurred, the real answer is that those two people probably shouldn’t play together. But it’s the underlying principal that the DM arbitrarily decides how a PC reacts that I don’t want to validate. Also, if the Dragon could do that then it wouldn’t actually need an ability that accomplishes the same thing. Just sayin’ [/QUOTE]

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