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General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Balancing Investigation checks and player descriptions
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<blockquote data-quote="Greenstone.Walker" data-source="post: 6909541" data-attributes="member: 6788312"><p>If the player's choices have consequences, then get them to choose, and accept the consequences. If there are no consequences, then just tell them what they find.</p><p></p><p>For example:</p><p></p><p>Player: I'm searching the room.</p><p>GM: Are you leaving the room tidy, putting everything back where it was, or are you trashing the place?</p><p>Player: Leaving it nice.</p><p>GM: OK, a quick search is going to take 10 minutes, a full search about an hour, you know the guards come past here twice an hour. What do you do?</p><p></p><p>In this case, I might rule that a quick search has zero chance to find the false-bottomed drawer and a full-search requires a DC 15 INT/Investigation check and two wandering-monster rolls for the guard patrols. </p><p></p><p>• If the player chooses "quick" then I tell them "You don't find anything.". </p><p>• If they player chooses "full" then I get them to roll for the search and I roll for wandering monsters.</p><p></p><p>I figure that a quick search involves opening drawers, looking behind paintings, checking under desks, and so on. It's not going to find well-hidden things. E.g. a quick search is going to find a key attached under the edge of a desk but not a key rolled in a sock in a drawer. </p><p></p><p>Making the players specifically state "I pull out the drawers and look underneath" and "I unroll all the socks in the drawer" seems a bit mean to me, despite what the PHB says.</p><p></p><p>There might be further details.</p><p></p><p>GM: Are you moving furniture? If you do, you have a better chance of finding stuff, but the guards might hear (in game terms, an additional wandering-monster roll)? [DC 10 INT/Investigation and three wandering-monster rolls.]</p><p>Player: We'll leave the furniture alone.</p><p></p><p>Player: How about if we just search the desk and wardrobe, and leave the rest?</p><p>GM: 30 minutes, and one chance for the guards to hear. What do you do? [No chance to find the hidden item in the bed, one wandering-monster roll.]</p><p></p><p>In short: Give the players choices and visible consequences, let them choose and accept the consequences.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Greenstone.Walker, post: 6909541, member: 6788312"] If the player's choices have consequences, then get them to choose, and accept the consequences. If there are no consequences, then just tell them what they find. For example: Player: I'm searching the room. GM: Are you leaving the room tidy, putting everything back where it was, or are you trashing the place? Player: Leaving it nice. GM: OK, a quick search is going to take 10 minutes, a full search about an hour, you know the guards come past here twice an hour. What do you do? In this case, I might rule that a quick search has zero chance to find the false-bottomed drawer and a full-search requires a DC 15 INT/Investigation check and two wandering-monster rolls for the guard patrols. • If the player chooses "quick" then I tell them "You don't find anything.". • If they player chooses "full" then I get them to roll for the search and I roll for wandering monsters. I figure that a quick search involves opening drawers, looking behind paintings, checking under desks, and so on. It's not going to find well-hidden things. E.g. a quick search is going to find a key attached under the edge of a desk but not a key rolled in a sock in a drawer. Making the players specifically state "I pull out the drawers and look underneath" and "I unroll all the socks in the drawer" seems a bit mean to me, despite what the PHB says. There might be further details. GM: Are you moving furniture? If you do, you have a better chance of finding stuff, but the guards might hear (in game terms, an additional wandering-monster roll)? [DC 10 INT/Investigation and three wandering-monster rolls.] Player: We'll leave the furniture alone. Player: How about if we just search the desk and wardrobe, and leave the rest? GM: 30 minutes, and one chance for the guards to hear. What do you do? [No chance to find the hidden item in the bed, one wandering-monster roll.] In short: Give the players choices and visible consequences, let them choose and accept the consequences. [/QUOTE]
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