Recently I was playing in a group with two brand new players. A couple of times during the session one of the players rolled low and missed during a combat. She asked me later why the game was set up that way (she's played a few boardgames, but nothing like D&D). I guess I didn't have a good answer for her. I've done some reading on the subject since, looking at how different games handle "failure" and I wondered what approaches/thoughts you guys had.
So - what should happen when a player rolls low? In combat and out of combat?
PS - I tend to run groups of 3-5 players, we have a quick pace and it doesn't take long to get around the table in initiative order. We do narrate misses just as we narrate hits, but mechanically a low roll is often a "null" effect in combat. Out of combat failing a roll rarely has a "null effect", I use "let it ride" from Burning Wheel (in which a player makes say one stealth roll to infiltrate a keep rather than multiple as they approach) and never ask for a roll that doesn't have an interesting result for failure - but in combat that's not so easy in D&D.
Cheers!
So - what should happen when a player rolls low? In combat and out of combat?
PS - I tend to run groups of 3-5 players, we have a quick pace and it doesn't take long to get around the table in initiative order. We do narrate misses just as we narrate hits, but mechanically a low roll is often a "null" effect in combat. Out of combat failing a roll rarely has a "null effect", I use "let it ride" from Burning Wheel (in which a player makes say one stealth roll to infiltrate a keep rather than multiple as they approach) and never ask for a roll that doesn't have an interesting result for failure - but in combat that's not so easy in D&D.
Cheers!