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Burning Questions: What's the Worst Thing a DM Can Do?
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<blockquote data-quote="iserith" data-source="post: 7758559" data-attributes="member: 97077"><p>To call for a check, the DM needs three things (again, in D&D 5e): A player to describe something that isn't impossible or trivially easy, an uncertain outcome, and a meaningful consequence of failure. So here, you'd still be missing the player's description. I'll grant you the uncertain outcome.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I'm not sure I've seen any support for this approach in the D&D 5e rules. When did you first start thinking about it this way out of curiosity?</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>It's almost always worthwhile to have Perception as a skill proficiency. You will notice that every time you've opted to Keep Watch and the DM determines surprise - you'll have a better chance of not sitting there in the first round of combat while the orcs or whatever hit you with axes. Further, you will feel any skill was worthwhile when you undertake tasks in which you have a supporting skill proficiency and have to roll to achieve success. (Ideally, you should be trying to achieve success <em>without</em> rolling.) I don't think that one need describe the environment differently based on who has what skill proficiency. That will work itself out when the players begin describing what they want to do.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Keeping Watch while traveling the dungeon, for example, means the character is on guard for any hidden dangers as he or she moves about. He or she therefore has a chance to avoid hidden traps (if he or she is in the appropriate rank of the marching order) or avoid surprise if sneaky monsters come calling. If the player decides to have the character in any task that is at least as distracting as drawing a map, navigating, foraging, or tracking, the character is not Keeping Watch and has no chance to avoid traps or surprise. Passive Perception no longer applies.</p><p></p><p>A player might make a Wisdom (Perception) check when trying to find a trap, a secret door, when taking the Search action in combat to find a hidden creature, or listen to something happening on the other side of a door. Again, only if the description the player offered isn't impossible or trivially easy, has an uncertain outcome, and a meaningful consequence of failure. So, a good strategy as a player is to try to remove any uncertainty as to the outcome or the meaningful consequence of failure. Then the player doesn't need to roll and leave his or her fate up to a fickle d20.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="iserith, post: 7758559, member: 97077"] To call for a check, the DM needs three things (again, in D&D 5e): A player to describe something that isn't impossible or trivially easy, an uncertain outcome, and a meaningful consequence of failure. So here, you'd still be missing the player's description. I'll grant you the uncertain outcome. I'm not sure I've seen any support for this approach in the D&D 5e rules. When did you first start thinking about it this way out of curiosity? It's almost always worthwhile to have Perception as a skill proficiency. You will notice that every time you've opted to Keep Watch and the DM determines surprise - you'll have a better chance of not sitting there in the first round of combat while the orcs or whatever hit you with axes. Further, you will feel any skill was worthwhile when you undertake tasks in which you have a supporting skill proficiency and have to roll to achieve success. (Ideally, you should be trying to achieve success [I]without[/I] rolling.) I don't think that one need describe the environment differently based on who has what skill proficiency. That will work itself out when the players begin describing what they want to do. Keeping Watch while traveling the dungeon, for example, means the character is on guard for any hidden dangers as he or she moves about. He or she therefore has a chance to avoid hidden traps (if he or she is in the appropriate rank of the marching order) or avoid surprise if sneaky monsters come calling. If the player decides to have the character in any task that is at least as distracting as drawing a map, navigating, foraging, or tracking, the character is not Keeping Watch and has no chance to avoid traps or surprise. Passive Perception no longer applies. A player might make a Wisdom (Perception) check when trying to find a trap, a secret door, when taking the Search action in combat to find a hidden creature, or listen to something happening on the other side of a door. Again, only if the description the player offered isn't impossible or trivially easy, has an uncertain outcome, and a meaningful consequence of failure. So, a good strategy as a player is to try to remove any uncertainty as to the outcome or the meaningful consequence of failure. Then the player doesn't need to roll and leave his or her fate up to a fickle d20. [/QUOTE]
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