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D&D 5E I reject your reality and substitute my own!
- Thread starter Mort
- Start date
Sure the abilities "just work," but the HOW is up to the player (and sometimes the DM) and the extent is up to the DM. Lots of opportunities for interesting interactions thanks to the backgrounds! Frankly, I don't think most campaigns utilize them enough.
Optional Hero points (from the DMG) can be close. Especially if the DM makes the player explain how the hero point manifests. Of course, that's 1) an add on 2) by default. it just works the player doesn't have to explain it. But If I throw hero points in, I think I will make the player explain how the hero point manifests for the character.
Lakesidefantasy
Hero
Attachments
Flamestrike
Legend
The purpose of asking for a check when there is no trap is to avoid metagaming.
If the DM only ever asks for checks when the chest is trapped, then you know a request for a check means 'trapped chest'.
The PC in question was unable to metagame if this chest was in fact trapped simply due to the request for a check.
Thunder Brother
God Learner
Both rolling and not rolling lead to metagaming. Unless the outcome is immediately obvious, a PC isn't necessarily aware of the outcome of a check. Only the player knows they rolled a 2, not the character.
So really it comes down to one's preferred flavor of metagaming, and how much the table likes rolling them dice.
On a side note, the DM rolling certain checks behind the screen for the PC would potentially resolve this issue, but from what I know that's not exactly kosher in DnD.
Ruin Explorer
Legend
Some players aren't the brightest lol, that is amazing."But I rolled a nat-20!" the player insisted. "I totally found the trap!" It never occurred to him that there was never a trap there for him to find. When I explained that to him, he accused me of wasting his Luck points.
A ton of D&D spells pretty much amount to "I reject your reality...", in that they allow the player to dictate the fiction. They might not meet the ultra-strict definition posited by @Ovinomancer but I think they're close enough for me. Wish being the most obvious/powerful in that it can literally change reality.
It's not that rolling behind the screen is not "kosher." it's that hidden rolls have fallen out of favor to rolling out in the open.
I tend to favor passive checks in such circumstances. If a player doesn't indicate that they are actively searching, I don't have them roll, but a passive investigation check might then be dictated.
If the player expressly engages in behavior that involves searching for traps, then I have them roll whether there is a trap or not. Note, this means under most circumstances the minimum ACTUAL result would be their passive check. I find it silly that they could actively get lower than they could passively (though one could certainly, and easily, justify that in the fiction).
All that said, even with the lucky feat, this isn't really ALTERING reality, it's finding reality. Unless the player has some way of saying I KNOW there's a trap there and the trap suddenly is there whether or not it read before.
Ovinomancer
No flips for you!
I posted a definition? <looks> Where?
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