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<blockquote data-quote="iserith" data-source="post: 7293660" data-attributes="member: 97077"><p>One thing I've noticed in connection with games where the players ask to roll or make rolls unprompted is that players often don't make a clear statement of goal and approach. The DM steps in after the roll and fills in the blanks, saying what the character does.</p><p></p><p><strong>Player:</strong> I make a Perception check on the door. *rolls* 20.</p><p><strong>DM:</strong> Okay, you spend a few minutes examining the door, giving the hinges a look-see while jiggling the door knob. You find nothing out of the ordinary, but it is locked.</p><p><strong>Player:</strong> I make a Thieves' tools check. *rolls* 15.</p><p><strong>DM:</strong> Alright, you take out your thieves' tools and find your lockpicks. After some careful work, you manage to unlock the door.</p><p></p><p>And so on. So not only do we have a situation where the player is stepping into the role of the DM by making rolls unprompted, the DM is now stepping into the player's role and saying what their characters are doing instead of just narrating the results. Even some of the "famous" DMs sometimes do this. It seems that failing to put forth a clear statement of goal and approach creates a vacuum that the DM feels the need to fill. If the player makes a clear statement of goal and approach instead of (or at least in addition to) making an unprompted role, this reduces the chance the DM will start overstepping his or her role in my view.</p><p></p><p>In my experience, however, the unprompted rolling and the lack of a clear description of what the player wants the character to do go hand in hand. What really cracks me up is when the DM oversteps his or her role and then the player's like "I totally didn't jiggle the door knob..." or whatever. Which leads to some stumbling around and revision all of which could have been avoided on the front end with some succinct description.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="iserith, post: 7293660, member: 97077"] One thing I've noticed in connection with games where the players ask to roll or make rolls unprompted is that players often don't make a clear statement of goal and approach. The DM steps in after the roll and fills in the blanks, saying what the character does. [B]Player:[/B] I make a Perception check on the door. *rolls* 20. [B]DM:[/B] Okay, you spend a few minutes examining the door, giving the hinges a look-see while jiggling the door knob. You find nothing out of the ordinary, but it is locked. [B]Player:[/B] I make a Thieves' tools check. *rolls* 15. [B]DM:[/B] Alright, you take out your thieves' tools and find your lockpicks. After some careful work, you manage to unlock the door. And so on. So not only do we have a situation where the player is stepping into the role of the DM by making rolls unprompted, the DM is now stepping into the player's role and saying what their characters are doing instead of just narrating the results. Even some of the "famous" DMs sometimes do this. It seems that failing to put forth a clear statement of goal and approach creates a vacuum that the DM feels the need to fill. If the player makes a clear statement of goal and approach instead of (or at least in addition to) making an unprompted role, this reduces the chance the DM will start overstepping his or her role in my view. In my experience, however, the unprompted rolling and the lack of a clear description of what the player wants the character to do go hand in hand. What really cracks me up is when the DM oversteps his or her role and then the player's like "I totally didn't jiggle the door knob..." or whatever. Which leads to some stumbling around and revision all of which could have been avoided on the front end with some succinct description. [/QUOTE]
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