Mother-May-I?

No "Mother-May-I" type play I try to limit or discourage players asking if their character can do something. Note: asking if your character can do something is different than asking if your character can within reason, attempt something. Ex. DM can my character pull his dagger out and point at the goblin with it? vs DM can my character pulls his dagger out to point at the goblin with. Removing just one word saves a back-and-forth interaction between the DM and PC that ends up only ruining immersion and bogging down play with "Mother-may-I' "Yes you may" "Okay I do that thing you said is okay" "*k he does that thing guys"... you see now why in a game like DnD this type of play will really add up in a 3-4 sesh. "But DM....y tho?" Great question! You bring up a good point, rly...y tho?: Your character is your character. The other Player's PCs are just that, as well. Their. NPCs are my characters. So if the thing you want to do affects another character, it'll require the owners permission for the game to reflect that action. In that example if you told me you wanted to threaten the goblin by pointing the dagger, you are now affecting another character, so this rule no longer applies.

Tl;DR: Your character wants to <whatever>? and it will only affect him as far as gameplay/worldbreaking is concerned? Yes, you may!