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What is player agency to you?
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<blockquote data-quote="hawkeyefan" data-source="post: 9117678" data-attributes="member: 6785785"><p>I mean have players ever introduced an idea to your game on their own. Has anyone ever said something like “Maybe it was that necromancer we ran into a few sessions ago” and then you were like “wow, why didn’t I think of that?” and decided to make that so? </p><p></p><p>Like I don’t mean them responding to something you’ve introduced, like slaying a dragon that you placed in the game world. I mean them introducing something entirely new. An NPC family member or patron, maybe a villain of some sort. A family heirloom that played a prominent role in a character’s story. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>That never happens in anyone’s game, stop being silly. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Well, [USER=7037848]@pointofyou[/USER] already shows you how flawed your logic is as it applies to the basic playloop from attacks to skill checks and so on. </p><p></p><p>But I’d say when a game has something like Circles… which stands for Social Circles… then you can make a check using that stat at appropriate times. If you succeed at the roll, then you gain some kind of benefit… someone you know is available to help or provide some information. Who it is and what they do may depend on what makes sense in the game world and what’s been established. </p><p></p><p>What I think you’re missing here is that if you fail the roll, it’s not just “oh no one’s available to help”, but that there’s a consequence of some sort. Maybe you do find your old friend… but they’re in jail. Or as you ask around town for your friend, you attract unwanted attention. There’s no simple “oh well, I failed, let’s move on”… each such roll is consequential. </p><p></p><p>Circles and similar game mechanics are used in games that want the characters to seem like people who actually exist in the world of the game. That they know people and have resources they may be able to draw upon. And they don’t want to just leave this all up to the GM. </p><p></p><p>It’s a pretty fine example of player agency supported by mechanics.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="hawkeyefan, post: 9117678, member: 6785785"] I mean have players ever introduced an idea to your game on their own. Has anyone ever said something like “Maybe it was that necromancer we ran into a few sessions ago” and then you were like “wow, why didn’t I think of that?” and decided to make that so? Like I don’t mean them responding to something you’ve introduced, like slaying a dragon that you placed in the game world. I mean them introducing something entirely new. An NPC family member or patron, maybe a villain of some sort. A family heirloom that played a prominent role in a character’s story. That never happens in anyone’s game, stop being silly. Well, [USER=7037848]@pointofyou[/USER] already shows you how flawed your logic is as it applies to the basic playloop from attacks to skill checks and so on. But I’d say when a game has something like Circles… which stands for Social Circles… then you can make a check using that stat at appropriate times. If you succeed at the roll, then you gain some kind of benefit… someone you know is available to help or provide some information. Who it is and what they do may depend on what makes sense in the game world and what’s been established. What I think you’re missing here is that if you fail the roll, it’s not just “oh no one’s available to help”, but that there’s a consequence of some sort. Maybe you do find your old friend… but they’re in jail. Or as you ask around town for your friend, you attract unwanted attention. There’s no simple “oh well, I failed, let’s move on”… each such roll is consequential. Circles and similar game mechanics are used in games that want the characters to seem like people who actually exist in the world of the game. That they know people and have resources they may be able to draw upon. And they don’t want to just leave this all up to the GM. It’s a pretty fine example of player agency supported by mechanics. [/QUOTE]
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