DM Question on Combat Autonomy

>>51333909
Depends on the group and the player.

Talk to her, explain that you are used to narrating but will try to cut back, but at the same time would like her to tone down her descriptions a little bit.

>>51333909
Grow some balls and kill the character the next time she bites off more than she can chew.

The only way for some people to learn is failure. You're doing great. Don't let someone in your game act like they're too good for dm hints, unless they're willing to take the consequences.

>>51333994
You sound fun. I'm sure your friends love you.

>>51333909
>Talk to her, explain that you are used to narrating but will try to cut back, but at the same time would like her to tone down her descriptions a little bit.

Done! We had a real talk after this last session, and she conceded, but definitely a begrudging, sad tone... Clearly not happy, but also not fighting.

So now one of my players is upset, so I need to double-check myself and ask the "am I the problem?" question.

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>Her
Most of the ladies I've run into put more emphasis on the narrative of the game, so something like this could crop up. Myself, I wouldn't be bothered either way, but it's better to get a gyst of what the group wants. She might want to have that control, but the rest of the group in the same situation might say something like.
>"Uh, I stab the dude?"

So long as the player isn't using it to give themselves little advantages or mitigate risks they would have taken had they known they would succeed in hitting.

>"I stab the troll"
>"a roll of 4 is a miss"
>"I carefully ...."

Versus

>"I stab the troll"
>"a roll of 16 is a hit"
>"With all my strength ...."

>>51333909
I fucking wish my players would take the initiative in narrating things like that.

Often I sort of lead them down that road by giving a couple of suggestions about what should happen and asking questions about the details when they pick one.

>>51333909
>describe her characters actions, thoughts, and feeling, down to minutiae
Your player is right. As a GM, you should not dictate your PCs' mood to them unless something is explicitly overriding their control of it. Your players have very little control in the game, and it's important to let them keep that by not imposing on it.

One way to help with this is to rephrase things. Instead of "you all feel concern that he might die soon" you could leave it at "it looks like he might die soon without help, which seems like a cause for concern". Or "it's a grisly sight that would cause concern in all but the most callus warriors". That can allow you to convey what you expect them to feel, but ultimately leave it up to the players.

>letting players dictate their moves
This is a very good thing that you should encourage. Players should be describing their own actions whenever possible. But you should also be able to take over when there's something crucial in the resolution, like conveying that an enemy has a resistance or something like that.

>over-the-top descriptions
Ask yourself if this is actually a problem. You are playing a fantasy game after all. If it seems like a bit much, try asking her about some of those descriptions seeming a bit more embellished or implausible than you'd like.

>My party has first time players as well as some far more experienced than I.
>Besides this, she's a phenomenal player
My guess is that your player is one of the "far more experienced" ones? She seems to be exhibiting a high level of engagement that would result from a healthy playstyle. As a new GM, you would do well to learn from it. Try asking her about the way her old GM did things.