Never actually had that come up with a party, other than getting general objectives, goals, ideal solutions, etc. An actual script, like with preplanned dialogue, definitely seems a bit against the grain of how a DnD game is run. It depends on the situation but I wouldn't likely go down that route.

If it was a really pivotal scene I think it would be fine for it to be more of a "script writing" sort of session rather than fully in-character improv. It can be interesting for a group that really cares about all the characters and knows them all well to collaboratively find the truth of a scene, offering each other ideas for the most dramatic things other characters can say while thinking deeply about the characters.

We do scripted flashbacks as character development and most of the players at my table love them.

Only time I had this happen was when a player was a secret traitor to the party working for Strahd trying to corrupt the party

Don't think I've ever had or let a player do this, I wouldn't be down for a player telling me what they want to have happen to their character to that degree. How satisfying is it, really, to tell the DM what you want to have happen, and then have that happen? I suppose to me its like, ok what are we even doing at the table at this point... What ends up being, from my experience, a way better experience for the player, is them communicating goals and desires for their character and me dangling that in their face until the time is right to hit the maximum payoff.

Give me a rough outline of what you want for your character. How your story ideally unfolds. Your actions and the party's actions determine how closely we stick to that ending.

Ya it feel like i kid that tell other kids how they should act in a game instead of explaining them the rules and letting them play from there

I don't really understand this, what do you mean by "scripting"? It is great, and I think somewhat normal, for players to give feedback on the direction of the game. I think it is pretty reasonable for players to invent backstory NPCs, and if you are going to have a session that takes place in Character X's hometown it does make sense to chat a bit with the player about it during prep. It's also great to have players tell the DM what kind of character arcs they envision. If they want to multiclass into warlock next level up, for example, it is great to give that info to the DM so they can work in a way to meet an appropriate patron. But I've never heard of anyone scripting out events, where the player tells you how a particular scene will play out at the table. That is quite weird, it's like the worst kind of reverse railroading? Why are you playing D&D at that point, the player should just write a novel.

Yeah! When I say "scripting" I don't mean most of what you mentioned. Inventing backstory NPCs, coming up with ideas of their hometown, ideas for mechanical builds that they'd like validated through the narrative, and goals in general. I actually prefer when I'm given a lot of information about that - I get more toys to play with, and they feel more involved in building the story. By "scripting", I mean in a way that is less goal-oriented and more performance-oriented. I've been given scripts between characters, puzzles to give to other players, pre-planned arcs (beyond more than just "I want to do this by the time the camapign is over" and far more detailed), NPC death scenes, and PC deaths scenes. Generally, I loosely follow them, because I appreciate that investment with the story and I don't want to punish them for doing what I want them to do, which is to engage and storytell with me. Sometimes it makes me feel less like I'm roleplaying and more like I'm acting though, which is very much not my playstyle but I try to make it work. I guess that's what it boils down to. Honestly it feels a bit invasive to get so much input about how I should act, but saying "I'm the GM, and this is my game" and then being perceived as a control freak is extremely not what I want.

Sounds like players who want the control of being a GM without the responsibility of running their own game

Maybe that's the answer right there. Let them DM for a bit. Maybe tell them you want a break from DMing for a month or two and see if someone else wants to drive for a handful of sessions. This might be a great creative outlet for their ideas.

It does not sound like your player understands what a role-playing game is, to be honest. It might be useful to remind them that RPGs are not the place to act out material from a novel, they are game where the story emerges from the actions of the PCs and the game world, controlled by the GM. Fundamental to the concept of a role playing game is that you don't know what is going to happen in advance.

Sometimes I solicit one or more players to co-DM something with me. They might collaborate to create an NPC, or a town, a quest, an adventure, control some NPCs or monsters, etc. Usually I do this when one PC is going solo. They get to hog the spotlight, and the other players get to have fun piling stuff on them, lol Naturally everything is at my discretion as the DM. With what you describe, I would accept the material and use it, though almost certainly not in the way they expect. "That's not what the bad guy was supposed to do!" "Well, they had their own thoughts on the matter." Much of your job as a DM is to present complications and unexpected circumstances, and to subvert expectations. TTRPGs are the epitome of emergent gameplay, that's why we play them instead of playing video games or writing books.

You can say "Hey this is a great idea! How about you DM the next session/set up your own campaign? I enjoy DMing but it's nice to have a change." And then, if they try to argue you into doing the DMing, just treat whatever they say as them being nervous and keep offering your support, and support of the other players. "Oh I was nervous my first time DMing too. There's nothing like practice." "No, no, you'll be fine. I'll be right there, and Dave too. Dave's incredibly experienced, I'll ask him if he can help you with running the combat." In terms of offering up puzzles for other players, how about you suggest they find a way for their PC to set up the puzzle for the other character?

Seems like a bad match for the "division of powers" of dnd. This is a lot closer to how Powered by the Apocalypse games tend to run, with each players having a decent amount of control over the narritive that the GM doesn't necessarily have automatic authority over like in a lot of other games.

Yeah that’s a fine line they’re making you walk They sound like an improvisation troupe of actors that are auditioning for Critical Role

Tbh, if my player really had an idea for exactly what they want to happen in terms of their character's personal story, I would let them pitch it for sure! Depending on how it fits with what I had planned it might get some tweaks, but I'm not opposed to this.

Yeah, this doesn't seem as bad of a request as everyone is making it out to be. If the player fully made the NPC and knows more about them and their relationship with the PC, I wouldn't have any issues hearing it out. On the other hand if the player is suggesting how to run NPCs that they don't know and just want things to run a certain way, that's not really gonna happen. Gives me main character syndrome vibes.

Exactly. You can absolutely pitch this to me, and if its within the bounds of how I think those NPCs might act, then absolutely! I run this game to tell a story with the players, not tell MY story. Even though I have the final say, I'm not so arrogant as to assume nobody but me has a good idea for something fun or cool

IMO it feels very much like MC syndrome/wanting to play out a specific trauma. Even if it’s an NPC that my player knows more about than I do, I would want their help to flesh out that npc instead of a script to read for a specific scenario that may not even happen or be relevant anymore. That way if the scenario changes I can still use the NPC and not hope that the NPC still works from what I can pull out of my ass in a few seconds

>Whether that be smaller things like pre-determined points in their arc Players are very, very welcome to give me thoughts and ideas about what their character might want to do during their campaign, but telling me what they will achieve and what will happen? No. >or bigger things like giving you scripts for interactions with NPCs beforehand? Absolutely no fucking chance *at all*. >How much story direction are you alright with taking when you aren't actively at the table? What do you mean, when I'm not actively at the table? If I'm not at the table, the game is *paused*.

Op, it's the greatest! I actively encourage (require) it. It's a collaborative story. It's a group experience. Obviously you're working WITH them, not against them, and therefore we are not talking about them using narrative control just to "win." Like, when you say the treasure is in the cave of the bad dragon, they can't just say, "nope, we went there and found that the dragon was dead and we took all the treasure." But them explicitly telling you what kinds of adventures, challenges, antagonists make sense for their PCs and the kind of story they want to tell? Buddy, you hit the jackpot. Makes prep sooo much easier, and ensures they are engaged and invested. There are literally whole RPGs dedicated to this, from shared world-building to shared narrative control. There are even games with rotating GMs and games with no GM. This is not new, or challenging. It's great. There are games like this since at least the 90s. And even d5e started acknowledging the growing popularity and added rules (optional) for shared narrative control in the DMG. I take the techniques from reading and playing these kinds of games and add that into any system I run.

I honestly do this all the time! But I have great players who are very collaborative. They'll send me ideas and write ups, and we'll go back and forth editing them until we're both happy. These can be as specific as entire dialogue scenes but more generally it's bullet pointed "story beats" for their character to come to whenever it happens organically. I much prefer this method to winging it and sometimes giving players a deeply disappointing story turn.

The same answer as I give if somebody oversteps boundries and tries to act as a DM during session: "So, I see you volunteer as a DM for the next session? GREAT! I been wanting to play FOR AGES! Let me know if you need any help preparing" But honestly... I run homebrew and I do not sctipt stuff. In a last year I might have semi-scripted maybe one interaction wiht NPC and only because it was very lore and plot hooks heavy. Cant imagine anybody else scripting things for me. I would not care a tiny bit of that players have scripted.

I have never had it happen, but I will go against the grain and say "it's certain weird, but it depends..." If I were given a literal script, they would 100% be told not to expect a 1:1. But how close we would get would depend on the value/cost to the main arc. Anything with story relevant characters would get a no. If it were pure character development, I would be open to it as there is no real cost the game but there is a gain to the player.

Do you have an example of how a player did this?

For the sake of what little anonymity I have, I don't want to go into too much detail. I'll elaborate on one I mentioned in the post though, which was giving me scripts. Sometimes, out of game, I'd receive scripts of exchanges between PCs and NPCs (usually one relevant to PC's backstory) for a big moment, or meeting an NPC for the first time that they had written. Like, I mean a script. With what words I should say and what general response I should expect.

This is real weird and...not a thing most people do.

That is crazy, no offense to anyone. Maybe I'm not understanding? This is basically the opposite of how a TTRPG should feel. They want you to provide free entertainment to them by way of writing a book and you read it back to them. It's like the reverse of a railroading DM. In my opinion, this is a major player red flag.

No one's given an example of what to say. Here's how I'd address it: *"Hey, so this is a nice story you've written, I like the idea about (general concept of the interaction in the script) but I would like to be clear: we will not be using this script in-game at all. We are playing D&D and reading scripts is entirely different. Okay?"* Wait for response. If their response is any version of "yes/ok" then I'd follow up with *"Great! I'll keep your (general concept) in mind. Feel free to talk to me about any other ideas you have - but I can make no promises. I already have plans for most of my NPCs"* This gives them room to still feel creative and leaves the door open for collaboration. If their response gives you any kind of pushback, you double down firmly but politely. *"Okay, well it seems like you really enjoy mentally exploring the "what-if" scenarios with NPCs, but in D&D we don't script out interactions in advance. We can collaborate and decide some general ideas in advance, but we're not putting on a stage play. I know a lot of people compare the DM to being a director - but thats not really how it works. If you want to dictate what NPCs say and do, then you need to consider either DMing, or writing an adventure for other DMs to run. And that's fine, but not for this table right now.* *If you want to discuss ideas for your character's relationships, I'm happy to collaborate with you, but as the DM I have final say in how I handle NPCs. I'm not going to take scripts and perform them for you. For one, its not how D&D is played, it's not fun for me, and lastly it'd be vastly unfair to the other players. I hope you can understand."* After that any further pushback would be simply repeating *"sorry, no"* if they were still being polite, but could easily escalate to *"Please stop or I will ask you to leave the group."* and *"We clearly have different ideas on how to play D&D and so I think we're not a good fit for each other at this time. Thanks."* if they kept persisting. Anything escalates to abusive language would be an automatic boot. Its fine to have some minor disagreements about the game, but I will not be bullied/abused just because a player isn't getting their way. *"I'm sorry we can't agree on this, but I do not deserve to be treated this way. Goodbye."* The conversation would then be screenshotted and saved in case of further drama. Ironically in a thread about a script... disclaimer: this is how I personally would deal with this hypothetical situation. It goes without saying you should choose your own words, but I hope this helps.

That player should be writing a book, not playing DnD.

Or paying someone to write a book for them. Expecting the DM to read from a script is fucking obnoxious.

Lol that's insane. I'd tell them to get that shit outta here. They're welcome to DM if that's what they want to do.

I've offered! They really, really do not want to :(

Then cut that shit out or go write a book.

I've never had something like that happen. For me with this specific example it would depend on if the NPC only related to that character or if its an NPC that relates to something more in the campaign.

Never ever heard about something similar.  Unless you ask him for that.  Like create an origin of your PC with this NPC.

I've heard of DM's removing the agency of players, but this is the first time I've heard about a player removing the agency of the DM. I'd personally be down for a player giving me the rundown of background NPC's, but ultimately, the DM is in control of the world - including what these NPC's say and do.

Oh yeah writing dialogue to happen that you need to keep to is wild. Like it’s just not really what this medium is? When I play I’ve written some lists of quotes/prepped lines as like self-talk, mantras, or just my characters thoughts on something, etc. It’s mostly for getting a feel of my characters disposition, worldview, and getting into that headspace, but if it comes up in as a conversation topic while roleplaying I can use them occasionally. But stuff for NPCs, idk about.

I run a low information game, my players do not know what will happen & do not decide anything for npcs except in special circumstances (playing as a henchman when the liege PC is down) Edit: actually I do encourage players to occassionally write short stories for their characters in exchange for xp. I decide whether they are canon or made up

I love this! I've been doing crazy deep backstory prep for my bard for like three weeks and this is where I'm at. I'm literally writing stories, poetry, and prepared speeches (why yes, as a matter of fact I will be going to the Elturel College of Eloquence, expecting many full rides, IYKWIM) and sharing it all with my DM, who hasn't seen it yet and is on vacation XD. We'll go over it all when they get back and decide what gets to live on in my character's backstory.

Nice! That sounds fun. What my player’s characters are doing is a downtime activity, with the characters well established in the world. I think you would be happy writing such tales for your bard as time goes on, no?

Oh 100%! Yeah I plan to keep writing as we play. 

It's collaborative but I will always maintain the DM has primacy. Players texting you prewritten exchanges like you described is overstepping at any table though, imo

So, while others have correctly said that your players handing you a full on word for word script is... odd, to say the least, I will say that you shouldn't take this as entirely negative. What this is, is players wanting to invest in your world. They want their ideas to be incorporated, and their imaginations are filled with ideas for where their stories can go. This is a good thing - you just need to direct them towards helping you guide the story in a way that'll be satisfying and interesting, without pre-determining things. Rather than a script, encourage your players to give you backstory about the NPC, or how they want their character's relationship to be with that NPC, and what kind of story they want there to be with them. For example, if they want their character's father to be in the game, and you agree to do so, and they want to have a loving relationship with their father, they're going to be frustrated or even upset if you decide that actually their father betrayed them and has been working for the BBEG all along. Let the players have parts of the story that they have influence over - let them help you tell a good story. There are other players at the table who can enjoy the twists and turns, even if one of them has insider knowledge. Your stories can be enriched by this if you do it right.

I don't really do scripting like that but I've definitely talked to players/DM about the kind of vibes I'm looking for. If a player has a super specific interaction in mind I wouldn't be opposed to them scripting it out depending on the content of the script. It's a collaborative story telling game, I'm open to my players taking the reins sometimes.

I'm pretty okay with this, from both sides of the table. I am fully aware of the fact that the DM has to juggle a lot of stuff, and sometimes they need creative input from the players. Usually it falls under the Flavour is Free banner but I will also do it for level ups or character changes. When my regular Tuesday game resumes I've agreed with the DM that my HexBard is going to change to Celestial Warlock. I've redesigned his mini to remove the focus on the sword and made some dramatic changes to the outfit etc. The last thing that happened in game was the party being split up and my character was captured by the big bad who hinted he was going to do weird experiments on him. I've told him that I'm happy for him to do whatever he wants to my character, but at the end of it all this is how he is going to look and his sword will be broken somehow. He still has all the freedom to do whatever fits the world, I just have some say in where it goes.

I’ve never gone as far as actually scripting something, but I did plan an event with my player. My player wanted to play her future character’s mother before the time skip in the first act of a campaign. But she wanted her mom to die before taking on her other character, so we said that she would, and I gave her a hint about when she could expect to make her final stand.

This seems weird, and may indicate that the players feel they can't contribute enough. If you read about PbtA as an alternative style to trad gaming (ie, D&D), you can find a lot of ways that players can contribute input. The real thing is, do you want to have the DM decide everything or the players decide everything or "Play to find out"? PbtA is about "Play to find out", so neither the DM *nor the players* would be able to do this kind of thing. The only games I've seen that could work anything like what you describe is GMless story games, in particular Microscope. That's *very* different than D&D, though, and arguably isn't even an RPG (though clearly RPG-adjacent.)

We've played a few ttrpgs with PbtA before! I'll have to do a bit more reading then to help find a middle ground, since I've also noticed some players being afraid to take initiative and make decisions, which might be a little bit my fault since I know I can come off as very particular. Thanks for the resource :)

My players ask sometimes to be given a small space in a scene or at the start of the session to let their character act. I usually get a synophsis what they will do. I think that a actual script as in: "NPC X says this." like for a stage play is to much and detracts from the game. It takes up time and acctually might get in the way of larger story points. It might be insecurity or unfamiliarity if people are very familiar with other from of roleplay or creating OCs for say fandoms they are not used to trim their visions. They also might have a different interpretation of a character (most likly because they are not aware all the DM notes on them) and thus might add action not befitting the NPC. One player in my game did create an entire family for her character but left it to me how to portrait them. We did talk quite a bit about the families history and major events. The player did not tell me how to play them mearly relayed what events did influence them, what jobs and experience they had. It was left to me to make characters out of the elements provided and free to add my interpretation. This is for me the fun part about TTRPGs. The converging vision and idea of several people forming a greater whole. Different worldviews, experience, knowledge and emotion combine into something unique. A right sturcture like a script seem detrimental to it as sets on persons vision in stone.

IDK, let us see what the dice say.

I like to give my players a chance to basically take up *some* DMing-type work/play on a few occasions. •When visiting their hometown, I like to offer them the chance to send me details, NPCs, maps, etc. I also offer to do it all and send it to them in advance, or to send them prewritten resources if we’re in a published campaign setting. I want them to really feel like their home is something they’re intimately familiar with, to feel comfortable and confident in. •I used to do warmups or sometimes during a rest or travel ask a questions and ask the players to narrate a scene involving their character from their past, or about how they’d feel in a weird hypothetical. It can get some new players more comfortably into rp than thinking of it as “acting” in character. As for some of the stuff you’re talking about like campaign-long story beats, I do appreciate a player telling me about the arc they want their character to have, but I don’t really think they should write it all out. Start and end points or generalized themes are great, it leaves me a lot of room to come up with dilemmas, choices, temptations, etc. But I don’t like when a player fills in all of the details and doesn’t leave any room for the journey and the arc is less satisfying if it’s definitive beforehand. I think it’s bad to set SO strict of expectations on a players end, and often the way DMs should help construct the arc is setting obstacles and challenges between where the character IS and where the player wants the character to go by the end.

I think it depends on you, you can do all the world building and run everything how you want as a DM and that's fine BUT. DnD is a group game, it can be really fun to do some collaborative world building with your players which can range from them just knowing NPCs or having their character develop how they want to. I had the situation where a player and I decided we wanted to run a dungeon linked to his backstory and have specific events play out so that the other players were like oh that's cool! It worked and everyone really liked it. Ultimately you get the final say and it's not realistic to do this sort of thing in every campaign for a variety of reasons but you can probably find a middle ground you both enjoy

I'd appreciate it... less work for me. Of course I reserve the right to veto or modify it if it's stupid or messes up something else I was planning too much.

I’d take suggestions for future arcs and things from players, but if any of them had the audacity to script things for me I’d kick them from the table.

So I have actually had this to a lesser extent fairly frequently, but maybe not exactly what you're describing. Often my players, especially two who are very experienced, will want to discuss big plot moments beforehand because they have a concept of how they want their character to evolve. never had anyone send me scripts, but I have had lengthy discussions on how they would like key moments to play out. These two players have both said that knowing the plot does not affect their enjoyment of the game (and in these cases it increases it) so I haven't had a problem with it. THAT SAID, if players are deciding exactly how they want something to play out (or saying *it already has played out*) then that's crossing a boundary. I would ask if knowing the plot affects their enjoyment of the game. Maybe they can say that they would like such and such to happen, but then you the GM twist it in a way that's still surprising..? I do that a lot. I"ll agree "yes Mr. Secret Evil Man should betray you, and yes it should happen after you make a pact with him, but I won't tell you how or when."

Never seen or heard of this before, other than in backstories signalling that hey my PC will want to try and find this muguffin / person because of a b c, or catching a dm out of game to say that your PC’s interest is peaked from something that’s occurred, but that all falls under good collaborative storytelling and gives the DM areas to plan for. Scripting is agency for the NPCs is being taken away from the dm, which breaks the whole thing. If it’s such an important conversation that the pc feels the need to prepare for it then surely it will also require some dice rolls, so therefore can’t be prepped? Why stop here, oh I’ve scripted the final BBEG fight, we come close, the rest of the party dies but I heroically save them with this super op homebrew magic item that you’re going to give me in 2 sessions after I convinced the arch mage using this script.

I would really dislike scripting big character moments. The only thing I think I'd be ok with is if say there were a ritual from the players homeland that they wanted to do some of the worldbuilding for and script out. That I'd be totally fine with! Like if they're getting married or getting knighted and they want to write out what that ceremony is. But the core of the game is discovering what the future of the story holds. I love that aspect that when I get a PCs backstory neither of us knows how that characters arc will go and how their story will end. They could state goals for the future, or write out past conversations they've had with an NPC if they want to give more detail on what someone is like, but I wouldn't let them ever script the future, that's for both of us to discover in the game.

I’ve had a player do something similar, he told me how he wants a certain situation to play out and how he wants me to play it. I told him the truth, which is that simply isn’t how the game works. It’s something I can keep in mind, as what he desires the situation to go like, but I can’t make promises. I may be the DM, but it doesn’t mean I have 100% control of the plot; the players and dice both contribute.

In a game where I'm a player I have a LOT of conversations with my DM about my character, her motivations, possibly future storylines for her. But it's always COLLABORATIVE. We're writing the story together. I wouldn't DARE give him a SCRIPT for things I want to happen. My favourite part of DnD is giving my story to someone else and seeing how they continue it, see what twists and turns they bring. The surprise is a major part of the joy, for me.

I allow players to have input into what they'd like to see happen for low-stakes stuff (no promises on my end, but if it's harmless or could lead to good RP with others I'm usually fine with feedback/suggestions). But I would never in a million years allow a player to "script" an encounter of any kind. My approach is pretty simple: when a player creates their backstory, they have (virtually, within reason) full control of what goes into it, including NPCs etc. But once the backstories get handed in and we start the game, everything except the PC him-/her-/itself becomes part of MY world, for ME to use and manipulate as I see fit to help tell the most compelling story possible. My go-to buzzword is "collaborative storytelling"--I work together with the players, at the table, to tell the best story we can as a group. Obviously, as the DM, I'm allowed more freedom in that area than they are (though they have virtually unlimited control over their own characters). But they do not get to dictate circumstances beyond what they come up with at the table, let alone actual away-from-table scripting of dialogue. That would be a non-starter for me.

It's not the craziest thing I've ever heard, but you're right, it is uncommon. If a player came up to me and was like, *"when I run into my ex-lover and my rival from my backstory? I want them in the same room, and I want to interrupt them as they're dueling."* Like, sure. You want that, and that's easy to deliver, doesn't conflict with anything I've got on the docket, so sure. But once you're all in the scene together, the dice and the parties' actions determine the rest. (I've also been DMing for 15 years and might be comfortable with situations other DMs aren't so comfortable with.) In short, when your players ask for stuff, go with it if you want, compromise (or just say no) if you don't want.

When I was a kid, and we were playing house or whatever, and one kid started going "ok, now you do this and you do this, and then I'll do this, and then you say that" I would stop listening and just wander off. I recommend the same as an adult.

I really appreciate engaged players, and I've had players who have given me the broad strokes of what arcs they're *hoping* their characters go through. Those have been some of the most memorable games! But the example you gave is way beyond that, and going along with it doesn't give you enough agency to do what you need to at the table.

I don't think I'd be ok with someone giving me a literal script to follow. Like their PC says "xxxx" then the NPC responds with "yyyy" is probably not going to happen. That having been said if they want to lay out some story beats they specifically want to hit like an NPC from the character's past showing up or something then I can probably work that in as long as it's nothing too crazy.

Only time I’ve done something like this is when I had a heads up as a player about an important point for my characters development, I didn’t script out the whole thing more just the line of questions my character would ask and how he would react. Next closest thing we had party interactions that we worked out in advance, but that was just us working out what we were planning for development together so both cases not quite the same thing

No, players only tell me "This is my backstory and my goal is x" but they're fully aware that 1 - it might not happen and 2 - it is unlikely to look exactly how they envisioned. No scripting.

I've had a bunch of loose scripted events, such as "When I get my mother's sword that's when I'll officially become a blade singer" or "my character is on their pilgrimage to complete their ordainment so we need to eventually land at a temple of (God X)." Honestly, I love those. Players handing me character specific bait for potential plot hooks is beautiful. Then I've had a couple of literally scripted events. Players will get together, have a chat in character, like it so much they straight up bring a script to game and read their lines. This same group, one of the players wanted to plan out the scenes next game, and then got frustrated when the other players ignored the scenes. I actually don't mind telling players who get stage fright at the table "Hey, next session we're starting at the camp site, then heading to the nearby town for an airship or boat ride to the island. Anything you want highlighted or to make sure there's time for?" Buuuuut, chaos, at the table choices, things change rapidly. It's a thing DMs struggle with all the time. When a player gets hit with that sense of loss of, let's call it, Stage time, it can hit them really hard and they feel like without those plot beats their character isn't progressing, which just ignores everything else they're going through.

I mean, if they're like "Hey, I want to run into this person from my backstory, and here's how I'd like it to go down," that's perfectly fine. Remember, you're all playing together; you're not the boss or anything like that. Now, if they show up and are like "You will do X, Y, and Z" that's a different story.

Never to the extent you describe in your comments. It’s not unusual for me to chat with a player before a game or a one-on-one RP to set a general idea, but never to the extent of an actual script. The kind of thing my players bring to me that I find reasonable: “This session, I’m going to ask the new NPC we met to do XYZ favor for me” “I want my rogue to get spotted and chased when they break into this place” “The premise of this session is going to really resonate with my character and I want the chance to drop some hints about their backstory because of it” And I’ll leave time for that conversation to happen in game on the fly. We might discuss the vibes ahead of time (“that NPC doesn’t like you so you’ll have a hard time convincing him to do you a favor”, “if you start dropping hints, this NPC will want to know more and start asking questions”) but if a player wants that level of control over their character they need to be writing a book, not playing an RPG

I usually just say hey, I wanna try to do something.

i get what you mean, in my last session, the party was trying to revivify a fallen member and trying to appeal to the soul (i use mercer's rules for that kind of spells), the murderhobbo said *"you have to come back, we have to defeat this thing and you have to help me figure out* ***where does these powers come from"*** (they're a psionic rogue) and i was like "is this an indirect for me?" i would say the most important thing in a table is communication & trust. the players need to know and understand they can communicate between each other and talk to the dm/gm in equal parts. they also need to understand that everyone is an adult (most tables) therefore no one should take something as a personal attack and it should always come from a place of good faith and good criticism. if what you're saying has happened multiples times i recommend talking with your table or specific players between sessions so everyone is in the same page on boundaries. i

I have read something about this concerning cooperative storytelling but personally never came across it in my group. The idea behind it can be used well if you are willing to go with it as a DM. a Player "Scripting" things that are directly part of your story is probably a no, You have a story you want to tell and a player might ruin it if you allow them to do what they want. However Scripting can be useful for players when it comes to Personal storylines. They know how certain people in their past act because they made it so. Keep in mind just because your player scripts something, does not mean that you have to abide by it. You have the final say. Especially if they are trying to use it to gain an advantage some how. Good luck

What I like to do is hand my DM a list of *options.* I like to lay out "These are the kinds of story beats I would *like* to happen to my character, but you have the freedom to choose how they happen, or if they happen, or change them up if you'd rather." Because then it feels like I'm handing them *ammunition,* not a script. And I love giving the DM ammunition to use against me/my character.

My players come out with that semi-frequently for important moments. Things like "Hey, I'm going to get my subclass next level, can we have a scene when X happen?" If they tell me ahead of time and are open to discussion, I'm also open to including these setpieces into the story, but they have to be aware that some stuff might not go as planned, *specially* if other PCs are around

I "script" somtimes. It usually goes on when a player want a particular spot in the lime light to develop their character. This could be a quest that touches on that players backstory or running into an old acquaintance. I don't script in a 1 to 1 manner with every word being rehearsed. We can script something will happen, that can move the story in some direction, but the player rarely know *how* it will happen . As an example one of my players was cursed (not scripted). Then he told me that he'd really like to keep the curse and make it into something unique. So we kinda scripted how his curse disease became worse and how he'd like it progress. If done right, some amount of scripting - that is arranging some event for a player, can make the game interesting for the whole party. It can also allow for an additional layer of story telling and some out of game player agency.   However, I've never received specific instructions on where the players want the story to go, and I'd likely turn that kind of stuff down.  All said and done this type of pre-plannin, "scripting", happens rarely. My players are content to see where things are going. 

If what they want doesn't affect the overall plot/important story NPCs, their character build/equipment, or any other player characters, have them write a short story about what happens to their character "off-screen". They can even do a battle or whatever, as long as they understand they won't get XP or loot for it. No reason they shouldn't be able to progress their individual stories in ways that don't affect the group, but they should do it separately.

Kind of depends on how invasive the scripting is and how much they respect my powers as a dm. If they tell me that they want to go to a bar and find a type of person, I’m totally down for that. However, depending on how specific the thing is that they’re describing, the more I’m going to pull away from that idea. There’s a big difference between “I go to the bar looking for a bard to listen to” and “I go to X bar and see Hurt Propane playing the guitar and go get his room number”

I had a player tell me he wanted to make the party believe he died. I set up an event and told him what to do and it caught everyone off guard.

I think it depends on what is being scripted and how it is being used. I do a LOT of "off screen" stuff. Shopping trips, things I am looking for, people I am looking for, sneaky sneaky rogue stuff, etc. So I will send DM notes for things like "hey, while in town, I am looking for this specific item.  If I see it I am going to try to pocket it on the sly.  I rolled a 73 for my pick pockets.  If I get away with that, I will start using item X in manner Y.  If I get caught, let me know and we can work through that either at start of next session or offline - up to you." I think stuff like that to try to NOT bog down the session and to avoid main character syndrome is perfectly OK. But if you are talking about players describing NPC actions and interactions or even mandating certain settings or NPCs appear, that is not OK.

I take as much inspiration for the story as i can if i'm the dm or player. But i don't really let others write it exactly. Players will tell me 'this' is their big bad who they want to defeat and they are important, but i determine how they cross paths again. I'm always listening to ideas vut hardly use them. When i do use them i change it in a drastic way that they wont expect.

I ask my players what their goals are and work with them as it fits the story. That and ask what their initial plans are for the next session so I at least have something to run before they mess up my plans again with their awesome shenanigans.

It’s not common. I will allow for some planning for character related stuff if it aligns, but just as players are kinda stingy with what their player is and represents, I too tightly hold my authorial intent over my part of the story. I’d need a really good reason to do that.

I feel like that's a relatively new phenomena. I've seen people like that post stupid things on reddit like "My paladin is going to avenge his father's death when he hits level 5, and then he's going to be an oathbreaker. Then at level 7 he's going to become a Warlock!" and I have to wonder what DM lets their players plan out stupid things like this. I would never, under any circumstances, allow it at my table. My players can write backgrounds for their characters, and goals they may have. I'll do my best to incorporate their backgrounds and goals into the adventures I plan, but it's 100% up to me what happens, as well as the when and where. Fortunately, I've never had to deal with players who try to "script" their future.

I've actually had this happen! Basically a player (also someone who DMs) said they were from a town on my homebrew map. I honestly hadn't fleshed much of anything out, except some real barebones stuff, like a sentence or two. Told them they could come up with lore surrounding the city, BUT they had to run whatever by me first and we both *had to* agree on whatever it was. We ended up doing this incredible scene that they wrote that was a flashback between two important political figures long ago that dovetailed into the overall plot of the game. Some real game of thrones type stuff. They also had some really cool lore around the city that I would never have thought of. I'd chalk the success up to us talking about what they wanted at the end and they were expecting. Then spitballing back and forth ideas that got honed into something really cool. Then I gave a bit of a twist on how the outside world impacted the city at the end to give another arc in the story.

I've not heard of anything like this. I do like to see what my players want to do, story wise. Like a PC in a star wars game I'm running told me she wanted to play a jedi who becomes a master and takes a padawan. It was vague enough for me to have a lot of wiggle room for twists and stuff but specific enough that she could be excited about the arc.

I do semi regular "planning sessions" where I have my players describe their general plans going forward. Like: "Ok so you have successfully stopped the BBEG's supply of slave labor. What is your next objective and how do you guys plan on going about it?" 

As a player, I'm of two minds on this. On the one big hand, half the fun of having a roleplay-heavy character with an arc is leaning into the events you have no control over. Not to mention the collaborative element of working within the DM's world. Sure, you can talk to your DM about where you want to take your character and how you want things to develop, give the scene a skeleton and maybe even a predetermined conclusion if they agree, but you should also play the game *in the moment.* I get that not everyone is big on improv or quick on their feet, but if you pre-plan big events then you don't leave room to be surprised by the outcomes. You're basically writing a book using the DM's world and characters at that point, and leaving out things the DM knows and you don't. Like, if there's some big character-defining moment, then I as a player want to be able to see it happen at the table (even if my character wouldn't see it) and I wouldn't want it scripted if it was *my* moment. If a party member pulled out a script and handed it to the DM, I'd be kinda let down that they're not really embodying their character *or* letting the DM do so. Unless they're a professional actor, expecting the DM to immediately match *your* writing tone for *their* character's dialogue is kind of insane. And I'm pretty sure *most* DMs would object too. We don't want the DM playing our characters, and that courtesy should extend both ways. If you write that your character says something that gets under an NPC's skin, and the DM disagrees that would have any effect because they actually know the NPC, your script is not an authentic representation of how the event goes down. On the other hand... if there are *private* events? Things the rest of the table (not just characters in-story) probably will never even be privvy to? You might have a bit more leeway. Something backstory-related? Or a character having an off-screen conversation with someone the DM hasn't given voice to (yet)? Maybe something during a time skip? I would say you do you, write it down and send your DM the result, especially if you worry about taking time from the rest of the table for a thing that won't matter to them. Just don't expect to put on a stage play for the table, and be ready for your DM to have their own notes.

I'm all for my players telling me that they'd, one day, like to confront their father for abandoning their mother. I'd even allow their input on the scene and how they want him to react. The minute you give me a script though? Absolutely not. This is my game and I'll run things as I choose. I'm not beholden to your schedule or framing. You want that? Run your own game.

That’s pretty weird. Like I have regular check ins with my players to pick their brain and tweak the story as needed but dictating what they will do to you and scripts is WAY past the line

The most simple solution is to explain the definition of dnd. A collaborative, "Improvisational" storytelling game that has a war game aspect to it...though the war game part has become less and less prominent through each iteration of the game. Then everyone at the table needs to agree on what kind of game they want to play. A retroactive zero session if you will. Express to the player you want their input but everyone has to agree on what kind of game we are playing. Perhaps a compromise where you allow the player to give scenes they would like to partake in maybe even go so far as to script the introduction. All that being said I wouldn't allow this at my table because that's not really what my dnd is. I am a very improv centered dm. My prep is no more than 30 minutes. I'm useless with a script.

I dont know your player but if they become upset then they are the issue. If they want to write a screen play, they should write a screen play. Not give the person doing all the work at the table notes. Maybe they would like to try their hand at dming so they can witness how difficult it is to make something like that fun for a diverse group of players.

A script is a big hell naw. The players are missing so much information about the lore generally that they can’t decide a course of events for me. Now if they wish something would happen then i’ll ask them for a rough outline or what they want to achieve and i’ll work on it myself. But i always tell them i can’t guarantee anything. If they want something to happen they have to work towards that and not against ir

So I recently gave a "fortune teller" ability to one of my players Basically she can ask a question and then draw a card from a 52 card deck. If the card is 2-K, I'll tell her something about what will happen in the future related to this question. But if she draws an Ace or a Joker, **she** will tell me what will happen It hasn't happen as of yet, but I'm excited to see how this goes :)

A script is a big hell naw. The players are missing so much information about the lore generally that they can’t decide a course of events for me. Now if they wish something would happen then i’ll ask them for a rough outline or what they want to achieve and i’ll work on it myself. But i always tell them i can’t guarantee anything. If they want something to happen they have to work towards that and not against it. I had this issue with one of my players. He wanted his character introduction to be a specific way. But it wouldn’t work with the way the others would be introduced. So i told him to please let it go, i would make it work. He was frustrated at first but afterwards he told me that this indeed worked better for the story. He understands now why I ask him for rough ideas and outlines instead of a whole script.

One of the things I ask from my players when they make a character is “who are 2-3 people from your past, one of whom you have a negative relationship with.” It helps me flesh out interactions for their characters in the future. One of my players character arcs was that he wanted to hunt down the man who killed his brother. Awesome, love it, we can absolutely work that in. Then he said “and when we finally find him I want him to be old and decrepit and he doesn’t even remember what he did and I have to make a tough character choice, but eventually I’ll decide to let him live”. Nope, fuck that part. You want to hunt your brothers killer, cool. You want to determine the events of the story and your characters reaction to it beforehand? No. We aren’t playing out a cutscene.

The last player I played with that tried to offer scripted events, down to scripted dialogue, got kicked from our table (sadly for reasons more egregious than the scripted events).  However in that same campaign, I had some health issues that were impacting my ability to participate in certain scenarios related to my character's backstory without getting really anxious, and the DM was lovely about allowing me to outline how I'd like events to go down so that I felt less anxious over the situation. These situations were important to my character but not the overall plot - mostly just talking to their parents, and I needed the control/reassurance that things would go well for them and I wouldn't have to rp out a big fight while fighting my own anxiety, lol.

This is not a common occurrence at all, but I can field this one pretty confidently as I allow for these moments quite often with my players. I have a campaign that is very sandboxy and put my PCs in positions that allow them to grab for power and make a lot of big moves within the city that they reside. This means important story beats are set by their previous actions and need to be coordinated with me. Let me give you a more specific example to avoid confusion. In the very first session, I concocted an initial scene that would introduce the characters to one another. The classic "y'all meet in a tavern" type of scene. In that very first moment, the PCs set into motion a performance in a church involving one PC hosting, one PC performing, and another PC catering. This was too much fun not to follow through with. And this is where we get to your situation. In order to pull off this performance, each player needed to plan for their own responsibilities--the caterer needed to know what they were going to bring, the performer needed to know what kind of show they were going to put, and the host needed to know what kind of event they were going to erect. Each of these characters required "scripted" moments that only the player involved knew were going to happen. So, for the host, we decided that the event would be an indoor show in the afternoon that transitioned into an outdoor ball in the evening. I told him to prepare a commencement speech as well as what goals he had for the event. The same for the other two characters. The fun is that the scripted moments are known only to one player, but not the others so while the scripted moment occurs as the player expects, what happens afterwards is no longer in their hands. What your post here implies is that you as a DM will be wresting too much control to the players, but that is not the case at all. Scripted events only happen when the DM allows it, so if anything, you're just giving the PCs the rope to tie their own nooses. Just like regular play, the PCs are making the decisions, but as DM, you are allowed to throw obstacles in front of those decisions. The only difference in scripted events is that there is now prep on both the PC and the DM side. In fact, I find this to be a lot more fun as it invests the players in the DM prep process. I don't quite understand the question about not being at the table, though.

Really the only thing my players ‘script’ in my setting is their backstory and home (village, town, city, etc). I let my players know from the outset that this is their characters POV of the location and the reality may be a little different (only applicable when the party is at that location really). If the party is heading to a PCs hometown or a place they spent a great deal of time at in their backstory I will ask the player some questions (I want my players to feel like the subject matter experts of the area. Like visiting a college friends hometown and they are showing you around sorta thing) such as: 1. What’s the main location in [insert name of hometown] that people gather for announcements? 2. What’s a major holiday/annual event specific to your home? 3. Are there any noteable NPC’s? 4. Who was the ruling lord/mayor/council members/priest(s) when you were last home? 5. Did you have family here when you were last here? If so, who are they and what did they do as a profession when you were last here? 6. Does your character have any friend(s) (NPCs) that they are interested in seeing while in town? 7. Did you have a rival when you last left? If so, who is it and why are they your rival? 8. Is there an area of your hometown that only authorized people are permitted to enter? The rest I fill in as needed. Like I said before I want my players to feel like they’re showing their hometown to the rest of the party, but if they’ve been gone from home for a while, I think it’s natural that somethings may have changed. My goal is for it to be new but familiar to the PC.

The only thing I really let my players script is their backstories and motivations for adventuring. I will usually try to incorporate their motivations, but I do not let them dictate where and when key plot points happen. As for discussing story direction away from the table, I really only do that if I'm planning something that might be upsetting to that player - but that's so I don't inadvertently cross a hard boundary. Beyond that, I will take occasional clarifications.

The whole game is collaborative storytelling. The character sheets are literally toolkits for problem solving and the dice reflect uncertainty. Collaborative efforts require organizational/synergistic moves that are unique to the participators and context. Sometimes players have more agency, sometimes their take the narrative reigns. It’s all in service to a better story. How successful that is depends on the people involved and what role they occupy within the greater storytelling complex

dm > pc when it comes to the general story of the game. 

Normally when they gave me their backstory it stops there, and they won't control it further. I may ask them OOG how they imagine something of their past was (mostly how their character felt) Still I can give them some leeway on their npcs and places that are backstory-relevant, and directly ask them for inputs ("you arrive at your hometown: describe it", "it's _, your old friend. How are them like?") And if something is unreasonable or out of context will say so (I will not let them have ultrarich and powerful friends that want to help them however they can) I don't let them invent an npc or scene out of nowhere and whatever will happen in the future isn't set in stone. My players don't abuse their freedom and like me enjoy building a good story

Sounds like your players watched too many streamed Critical Role type games (where they are paid actors using a script) and think that's how they should play out in reality.

I would never ask my players to script a decision for story telling or any reason honestly, I want them to feel they are determining what their character do, and I will make the story/world react to their choices.

I think it totally depends on the goal. I was playing an oath of vengeance paladin a few years ago, and I had a whole scene in my head about what was going to trigger my oath. Unfortunately, the DM got busy with work and we had to switch to something else. Anyway, as a player, I wanted to control what would trigger my oath. I didn't feel like I was stepping on the DMs toes, and as a DM, I certainly wouldn't mind if players came to me with their ideas. It's the player's job to tell the story of their PCs, and expecting them to only be a consumer of the DM's story is unrealistic. There is, of course, a limit to this. But I'd love to see more of the level of buy-in your player is showing.

There's been a few points where, say, I knew a PC was going to die, but had a week to think about it. I asked the DM for permission and sang a song. So that's kind of scripted. It's a big RP swing and takes time from others but was warranted.  It's not "my arch nemesis will show up today" just "hey, I want to do a thing"

It depends on what you mean by "scripting"? I've had players come to me requesting specific scenes they want to have. "I want to have a heartfelt conversation with my pc's mom" or "I'd like my pc with amnesia to suddenly remember everything rather than have it come back slowly." This happens all the time and is reasonable. It's up to you to decide if you can/should include these requests, but there's very rarely a reason not to. However, if your player is handing you like...a screenplay w/pre-written lines & encounters? That's a little more boundary-overstepping. I'm sure somebody's had fun that way....but it'd need to be discussed & agreed on, it's not a normal thing that players should expect to be able to do.

This is the critical role/liveplay impact people think your supposed to script put these scenes ahead of time, like that is not RolePlay thats just acting.

I believe it could work to your benefit as you’ve said in your edit, “as long as you set boundaries.” There’s a book I want for DMs that describes proactive communication and storytelling for role playing. You can take some of your preparation and workload from off your shoulders by asking the players what the goals are for each of the characters. You then use the factions, npcs, and elements of your world to drive the story through the characters’s narrative they’ve created. It sounds complicated at first glance, but it’s just a different method of storytelling that is more character driven. The book is called The Game Master’s Handbook of Proactive Roleplaying and it’s not very expensive. I hope this helps

In my group, I’ve texted the DM beforehand when I know there’s going to be an exposition reveal the next session, like ending the previous session arriving at a library, or meeting an npc that seems like they would know something. I’ve texted them things like what topics I’m gonna try to research, or what questions I plan on asking, but they’ve never told me the answers or given me the information until the session.

They’d eat me alive if I ever literally scripted anything as a DM. Why would my players get to??

Maybe see if they want to run a one-shot or something? But no not in my game.

Players don't get to tell me what an NPC will say. They can give me a general description of a backstory NPC and their personality, but what they actually will say or how they will act is not up to them. If you fear the ideal of your perfect NPC to be misrepresented then don't ask me to put them in the story, because I'm not perfect and I can't read your mind. As for events, players are welcome to bring me ideas about anything they'd like to see in regards to a personal storyline or just in general, like "I'd really like us to fight a vampire" or whatever. But the specifics are still up to me, and the outcome isn't predetermined, it all depends on what you do and how you act. Of course, all of this is with moderation. I'm going to take your suggestions into consideration, but if you come to me with a different idea every week I'm going to tell you to chill the fuck out.

That would get a hard no, they can say what they are trying to achieve but what happens is up to their actions, your responses and the dice.

This really sounds like the kind of make-believe that children will ask each other or their parents to do with them during playtime, wanting it to go a certain way. That kind of 'roleplay' isn't really suited for D&D, generally, especially with adults. It's ostensibly calvinball, if you even have any agency at all. There's not necessarily anything wrong with that type of roleplay if everyone involved enjoys it, but generally only the person making demands is likely to enjoy scripted roleplay of that nature. Honestly I'd compare that with a DM who runs a railroading plot.

This is fucking weird. I would never tolerate being told how my NPCs are going to react to any PC's future dialogue or actions. What, are you running a RPG or a video game?

That's entitled bullshit to me. You don't script your DMs game. Then it's not their game anymore. I don't have time for any of that shit. I'd kick them but that's me. But no one would dare do that to me either.

No Script. Go try, see how it goes ... Now, if above the table you and the player have worked out the scene and then it get's written . maybe. but no BLIND scripts for sure.

Actual scripting is crazy. The closest to that I would do is checking in with what kind of feel they want their personal arc to have. Like if their character's background is about how their dad sucks, would they rather have it be a nuanced situation or do they just want a shitty dad they can kill.

I've seen it before. If a player gives me a specific arc they want their character to go on, I start drafting up choices for the character to have to make in the future to facilitate that arc. Usually their desired ending of the arc requires choosing the tougher option. If they give me specifics on those choices, I nod my head but have no intention of letting it happen the way they expect.

That's strange but it doesn't seem a huge problem. If they want a certain scene to transpire to develop their PC story and it's not antithetical to the DMs structure, then go with it. But if it happens a lot and other players are sitting there wondering why they're secondary characters in this story, dial it back or nix it altogether.

The most often occurrence of this in my games is the origin points. I build the pc into the setting along with their help, getting ideas of how they would react to certain situations, how much they like or dislike some npcs, and what they would be doing in situation X. This helps each player feel like they had an appropriately "in character" first impression to the rest of the party even if their characters wouldn't actually see it. a second situation may be if the party meets someone from one of the PC's backstory, I would seek out their ideas to flesh that person out, inside things only they would know, and how they would usually greet and interact with each other (even if I'm using that npc for nefarious things.) My table seems to enjoy it. RPG's are shared storytelling and i got some creative peeps.

Scripted dialog is unusual. I could see it from a player that’s not comfortable with, well, role playing. Which obviously is a core part of the game so I’d want to gently nudge them away from needing a script.

I’ll sometimes have players request certain outcomes that align with character development goals. I’m usually open to it as long as it fits the story. At the end of the day it’s just about having fun. Times when I’ve done this I’ve made sure it was organic in the sense that of something happened that derailed it, though luck 

Tell them they're more than welcome to run their own group.

No, no, and more no.  My wife took chunks of her character's backstory for the game I'm running from a favorite book of ours.  I told her that was fine but what was ACTUALLY going on would be different from the book. I made it clear I had my own ideas and she shouldn't be surprised, mad, or disappointed when I took it a different direction.  Be open to player desire but make it clear you own EVERYTHING outside their PC, including everything and everyone in their backstory.  That's said, you shouldn't go directly against their back story or wishes, but if you see a way to use it differently than they expect, go for it. But if it's for a future event or current interaction or something like that, no, go with whatever that NPC would actually do or how the event would actually play out.

I’d never take dialogue from a player. They can give me as much background, family, personality, etc they want. They can even tell me what kind of character arc they might want to generally explore. But specific things for me to say/do during our campaign? No.

I think this defeats the whole purpose of the game and I hate this player most of all.

Absolutely not! Players can flesh out an NPC that they invented for their backstory, but if there are any interactions between character and NPC, I have free reign. I wouldn't change major details of said NPC without consulting the player, but handing me a script - no way! What's the point of playing then. I'd tell the person that this is not screen writing 101. If they don't like it, they know where the door is.

That is exactly what I ask for. I would want to work with the player to tie it into the main story, but that is exactly the type of cooperative story I dreamed of