Casual player and new DM – To what extent can I ‘control’ or act for PCs, if at all? /u/nerd866 DnD: Roll for Initiative!

This question is kind of a 2-parter.

1) Say I want to introduce my players to the properties of the dungeon or area they just walked into.

Can I do something like:

Upon entering the corridor, Player 1 reaches out and touches the strange wall, jerking back instantly as it’s shockingly cold to the touch.

Or an even less intrusive action: Player 2 recoils from the awful smell from the vent.

Taking some amount of control of a character to illustrate something about the area?

The goal would be to save everyone the extra step of

you think the wall is very cold.

“I touch the wall.”

You jerk back instantly from the shocking cold.

and just turn that obvious interaction into a seamless narrative.

2) Can I take some limited control over the PCs for the purpose of streamlining the narrative?

I know I can ‘montage’ travel sequences to get to the interesting parts, but is it reasonable to do something like:

“We slayed the boss in the cave and found the king’s gem! Let’s go back to the city.”

You return the to the city in high spirits. Upon arrival, the King sees the gem in your hands and invites you to a private meeting. You attend and feast with the king and his entourage, where he awards you with a medal of honour, followed up with a sad story of how his son passed away while you were gone. He asks you desperately if there is any hope to restore his son’s life.

Of course, that could be fleshed out a bit more, but the the point is, Now we’ve completed the last quest and started the next quest, getting to the next interesting player choice swiftly. But I took away some player agency to do that. I didn’t let the PCs say no to joining the king, I just ‘drove’ them there myself. I didn’t let them do anything at the ceremony, I just moved to the next quest beat – Not railroading the campaign but rather spoonfeeding them a new quest opportunity – The party can answer the king’s desperate question however they want.

Is something like this typically acceptable or should I slow down and let the players navigate those steps themselves?

[EDIT]

Thank you everyone! I haven’t attempted to DM yet but I will be soon.

Your responses here makes it very clear why it’s better to not use PC actions in my narrative. PCs are for the players and it’s best I respect that as a DM.

I only really asked this because sometimes around the internet and pop culture you see DMs doing things like my examples above. I couldn’t tell if that was normal and expected, or simply bad form. After reading these responses, I’m definitely in agreement that it’s generally bad form.

I’m glad I asked this question here. This community is fantastic! I look forward to growing as a DM!

This question is kind of a 2-parter.

1) Say I want to introduce my players to the properties of the dungeon or area they just walked into.

Can I do something like:

Upon entering the corridor, Player 1 reaches out and touches the strange wall, jerking back instantly as it’s shockingly cold to the touch.

Or an even less intrusive action: Player 2 recoils from the awful smell from the vent.

Taking some amount of control of a character to illustrate something about the area?

The goal would be to save everyone the extra step of

you think the wall is very cold.

“I touch the wall.”

You jerk back instantly from the shocking cold.

and just turn that obvious interaction into a seamless narrative.

2) Can I take some limited control over the PCs for the purpose of streamlining the narrative?

I know I can ‘montage’ travel sequences to get to the interesting parts, but is it reasonable to do something like:

“We slayed the boss in the cave and found the king’s gem! Let’s go back to the city.”

You return the to the city in high spirits. Upon arrival, the King sees the gem in your hands and invites you to a private meeting. You attend and feast with the king and his entourage, where he awards you with a medal of honour, followed up with a sad story of how his son passed away while you were gone. He asks you desperately if there is any hope to restore his son’s life.

Of course, that could be fleshed out a bit more, but the the point is, Now we’ve completed the last quest and started the next quest, getting to the next interesting player choice swiftly. But I took away some player agency to do that. I didn’t let the PCs say no to joining the king, I just ‘drove’ them there myself. I didn’t let them do anything at the ceremony, I just moved to the next quest beat – Not railroading the campaign but rather spoonfeeding them a new quest opportunity – The party can answer the king’s desperate question however they want.

Is something like this typically acceptable or should I slow down and let the players navigate those steps themselves?

[EDIT]

Thank you everyone! I haven’t attempted to DM yet but I will be soon.

Your responses here makes it very clear why it’s better to not use PC actions in my narrative. PCs are for the players and it’s best I respect that as a DM.

I only really asked this because sometimes around the internet and pop culture you see DMs doing things like my examples above. I couldn’t tell if that was normal and expected, or simply bad form. After reading these responses, I’m definitely in agreement that it’s generally bad form.

I’m glad I asked this question here. This community is fantastic! I look forward to growing as a DM!