Player agency is a foundational aspect of role-playing games, where players experience the freedom to make choices that meaningfully impact the game world. For experienced game masters, understanding the different levels of player agency can enhance the gaming experience, offering tailored interactions that resonate with various player groups. By recognizing and applying these levels, GMs can craft dynamic, engaging campaigns that allow players to make impactful decisions.

Understanding Levels of Player Agency

Game masters often vary player agency to accommodate different scenarios or campaign goals. Below are four key levels of agency, each offering unique opportunities for player decision-making.

Agency Level 0: Freedom to Control One’s Own Character

Agency Level 0 represents the baseline assumption of any RPG: the player has full control over their character’s thoughts and actions. This fundamental freedom is central to player immersion and engagement. At this level, the GM creates scenarios, but players maintain autonomy over their character’s responses, motives, and decisions.

Reactance – a psychological effect where players resist restrictions – can occur if this core agency is compromised. For instance, situations involving mind control, love potions, or capture may infringe on players’ baseline control of their characters. When a GM imposes such restrictions, players may feel their fundamental agency is undermined, leading to disengagement or defiance.

Agency Level 1: Freedom to Deal with the Situation

Building on Level 0, Agency Level 1 is the freedom to deal with the situation the GM presents. Often called “freedom at the scene level“, this form of agency gives players control over how they handle specific challenges or obstacles. Meaningful choices at this level allow players to determine the outcome of a scene based on their decisions, giving them real influence within the game world.

In a linear scenario, where scenes follow a fixed sequence, GMs may inadvertently restrict this agency by enforcing specific outcomes to maintain the narrative structure. This approach, known as railroading, can wake reactance and thus lead to player frustration as they feel their choices lack genuine impact. Transitioning from linear to nonlinear scenarios – associated with Agency Level 2 – enables players to select their approach and sequence, enhancing their sense of control. This freedom often invokes the IKEA effect, as players attribute greater subjective value to their individual (inevitably linear) storyline they create themselves, which makes the experience feel more personal and rewarding.

Agency Level 2: Freedom to Choose the Situation

Agency Level 2 marks a significant increase in player influence, allowing players to proactively determine which situations or encounters they engage in to pursue the scenario goal. Players don’t merely react to GM-set scenes; they take control by choosing their own plans and opening scenes aligned with their strategy.

In this level, the GM provides an open framework, such as a map with various locations or multiple leads, while players decide their approach. By setting the agenda, players drive the story forward, determining the flow and content of new scenes themselves. Unlike linear scenarios where NPCs or the GM direct the narrative, players in Agency Level 2 take charge, reinforcing their active role in shaping the narrative. This empowers players to feel they are true co-creators, deepening their involvement in the unfolding story.

Agency Level 3: Freedom to Choose the Goal

The highest level of player agency is Agency Level 3. At this level, players determine the primary scenario objectives and shape the campaign’s overarching narrative, rather than following a GM-assigned mission. Instead of adhering to a specific prewritten storyline, they establish their own scenario goals, which guide the direction of the campaign. This is often seen in open-world or sandbox-style games, where players decide the broader purpose of their adventures.

Though this level of freedom can lead to deep engagement, it also presents unique challenges, as some players may feel uncertain without specific guidance (decision paralysis). However, when successfully implemented, Level 3 agency empowers players to take full control of the game’s purpose, choosing causes and quests that matter to their characters. For GMs, this requires adaptability and creativity, as they support player-driven goals and integrate them into the evolving narrative.

Bringing It All Together

Understanding and employing the right level of player agency can transform a campaign, making it more dynamic and engaging for players. Skilled GMs recognize to offer a high level, supporting meaningful choices that enhance the game without overwhelming players. By recognizing the effects of each level of agency, GMs can reduce risks of player disengagement, reactance, and frustration.

This approach is inspired by concepts discussed in Scott “Angry” Rehm’s “Game Angry: How to RPG the Angry Way”, which offers insights into game mastering and player interaction. By recognizing and applying these different levels of player agency, GMs can create an adaptable, immersive experience, allowing players to shape their own journey in the game world.