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<blockquote data-quote="iserith" data-source="post: 7099832" data-attributes="member: 97077"><p>No - the <em>players </em>have to determine that. The DM should not assume in my view. "I search the room" is not reasonably specific enough for the DM to adjudicate the action properly. My recommendation is that when players say something vague like this that the DM ask them for reasonable specificity as to the things they are doing and how long they spend on the task. This will reveal whether the outcome of the task is uncertain and whether you need to engage the mechanics at all in order to narrate the results of the adventurers' actions. It will also help you avoid situations wherein you assume character action which has negative repercussions and the player objecting because he or she did not establish the character taking that action.</p><p></p><p>As a side note to this, remember that players shouldn't really want to have the DM ask for checks, passive or otherwise. Being specific means they are more likely to succeed without a check which is far more desirable than rolling or the DM using a passive score. So if players object to being reasonably specific with their actions, I suggest reminding them that the d20 is not their friend and that smart play means trying to succeed without a roll. When it comes to exploration, that means being reasonably specific.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I find it's helpful to read those entries in adventures as trying to convey the uncertainty and difficulty of a specific task under specific circumstances.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="iserith, post: 7099832, member: 97077"] No - the [I]players [/I]have to determine that. The DM should not assume in my view. "I search the room" is not reasonably specific enough for the DM to adjudicate the action properly. My recommendation is that when players say something vague like this that the DM ask them for reasonable specificity as to the things they are doing and how long they spend on the task. This will reveal whether the outcome of the task is uncertain and whether you need to engage the mechanics at all in order to narrate the results of the adventurers' actions. It will also help you avoid situations wherein you assume character action which has negative repercussions and the player objecting because he or she did not establish the character taking that action. As a side note to this, remember that players shouldn't really want to have the DM ask for checks, passive or otherwise. Being specific means they are more likely to succeed without a check which is far more desirable than rolling or the DM using a passive score. So if players object to being reasonably specific with their actions, I suggest reminding them that the d20 is not their friend and that smart play means trying to succeed without a roll. When it comes to exploration, that means being reasonably specific. I find it's helpful to read those entries in adventures as trying to convey the uncertainty and difficulty of a specific task under specific circumstances. [/QUOTE]
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