I see arguments about this on X (Twitter) on a regular basis.
What is “Player Agency?” I hear this term slung around a lot, but it’s getting more prominent every day. One of the biggest problems so far is that no one can seem to agree on what it means and others still can’t figure out why it’s important.
Everyone’s take on player agency that I’ve seen so far has been incredibly subjective. Most of the arguments are very pro or anti Game Master. Honestly, I fall somewhere in the middle. I think it’s important for especially new Dungeon Master/Game Masters to understand why it’s important, though.
Disclaimer: Statements expressed in this article are strictly my opinion. If you disagree or have a different opinion, that’s okay. I’m not an expert on everything. I’m not always right. I’m just writing from my experience as I know it. Your mileage may vary.
What “Player Agency” means to me personally.
As a player, I like to be almost 100% of my character’s actions, thoughts, feelings, etc. However I agree with Bear, the Gen X GM that it should more rightly be called “character agency” instead. If you’re wondering who Bear is, here’s a link to his YouTube Channel. I think he’s very wise in the ways of gaming.
The idea is that players should have most say in what their characters are doing, thinking, and feeling. The problem lies in the fact that the GM controls what the characters see, hear, taste, smell, and touch. Sometimes we could even add some intuitiveness to that when there are descriptions. There are also times when the characters are effectively out of their right minds and the GM should be in control of the character while they’re freaking out.
I find it perfectly acceptable for the GM to confirm a character’s precise actions by asking, “So you do it like this? Or like that?”
Sometimes those confirmation questions are the difference between the characters learning something or one of them stepping into one of Grimtooth’s traps. Any agency kinda goes right out the window if the character plummets 15 meters into one of those metal grinder things and then fed to the dungeon lobsters. Saving throws and weeping for the dead, I guess.
There’s where the argument comes in.
Some players believe that they should have agency over everything that happens to their characters. There’s apparently some sort of new Safety Tool in the new 2024 Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master’s Guide that is going to give players a do-over if their character is going to be ground into mustard and giblets. Apparently it’s no longer acceptable for us GMs to outright kill a character or even suggest such a thing is possible. Poor Grimtooth is getting beaten silly by the Nerf bat.
Apparently there are DM/GMs out there claiming they’ve never said something like, “Your character can smell rotten cabbage coming from the cabin.” Personally, I’m not sure how else to describe a scene as the characters are walking headlong into it without making them ask a thousand questions and hope they hit the right one.
It’s a game about make believe. At some point, the person in charge (that’s the DM/GM,) has to say, “Okay, pretend something in the room smells really awful like rotting vegetables.”
Otherwise, we don’t have a game. Seriously. Are the players supposed to tell the GM everything they see, hear, smell, etc? That’s absolutely preposterous to me. What am I even doing here if I’m not dropping some kind of description, playing all these Non Player Characters, and playing the opposition while adjudicating combat? Even GM-Less games have to do it somehow.
Apparently there’s some manifesto out there I haven’t read yet that states what Players can and can’t do. I’m not sure who would write such a thing or why, but I guess good on them. My table and my group play by our rules. If that’s a problem, please stuff that manifesto where the sun don’t shine.
It’s a cooperative game.
Unless the characters are acting in general as a group by saying they’re traveling to the Lake of Tears, I don’t take charge of their collective actions. Even then I usually describe what happened on the voyage and stop to deal with any encounters as they occur. I try my very best to leave individual character actions to the players to describe unless I need clarification. The bottom line for me is we have to work together at some point, or we don’t have a game.
As I often say, what works out at my table might look different at yours. If you and your group do everything differently and they’re happy, you’re doing it right. If the GM tells the players what their characters do 7/8 of the time as if they were reading a book, that’s cool, too. As long as everyone is having fun- that’s great.
As I’ve said many times before, you can’t get it wrong. If the group is having fun, no one from the Internet or anywhere else can tell you, “You’re playing all wrong.” There is no one way to play “pretend goblins with sticks” as my friend the OG GM would say.
I’m sure this debate will pop up again sometime very soon. Issues around character harm will certainly arise again. We have a list that seems to be rotating in short order pending the new 2024 DMG coming out. The new GMs of the world might have an exciting couple of weeks as all of the veterans start freaking out about one issue or another.
Let’s all have a good laugh, shall we?
Thank you for being here today with me. I appreciate you. Please embrace the things that bring you the most joy.
Jeff's Game Box 