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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Golroc" data-source="post: 9108370" data-attributes="member: 7042497">But do you really think it is that simple? Low agency vs high agency? Agency is the capacity to affect. But to be more specific, I can mention my own tastes. I prefer a more serious style of gaming than a lot of people I know. I usually don't like silly humor or funny external references to be injected into the narrative. I also prefer the game to not be purely hack and slash. But apart from that I'm fairly open to different kinds of  gaming experiences.For me, it is not low agency if a particular session is heavy on story that the GM has created. As long as I can do my thing, interact and I feel that things make sense. I am even ok being railroaded as long as it is done artfully. What is low agency for me, is if there is consensus to not be silly and not have the game all hack and slash - and that's how the game turns out anyway. Regardless of what I do during the game, I won't be able to change those facts. I would feel lack of agency. Another thing that's important to me is that I have agency in creating my character. I can play games with hand-out characters or with very limited freedom of choice in creating a character, but it's not what I prefer.So I think it's unreasonable to simply equate agency with influence on story. There are other elements to an RPG game: tone, interactions, risk, reward, etc. Do we really gain anything from labelling systems and styles low agency and high agency? I think it's weird jab at people who like different things to label their style of gaming 'low agency'. Because at the end of the day, even in a high agency game where the system is built around shared authority and impact, it will only work if there is consensus.It's not just preferences for agency that are unique (and I do agree some people are satisfied with a more passive style of gaming) - it's also what people want to achieve. It's a multi-axis kind of thing - and I'm truly baffled why some posters seem to think that I should find agency irrelevant just because it's relative and individual. On the contrary. It's really important to figure out what a particular individual cares about -  especially as a GM because otherwise you risk taking away their agency unwittingly. Or you might take pains to avoid doing things they don't even care about.</blockquote>

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