D&D 5E Why don't everything scale by proficiency bonus?

Garthanos · Jul 11, 2019

Slit518 said:
That killer rabbit was quite the ruffian! I ran!

I defeated him in World of Warcraft and he is now my pet.

Slit518 · Jul 11, 2019

Garthanos said:
I defeated him in World of Warcraft and he is now my pet.

BRAVO to you, good sir, BRAVO!

*claps*

Mistwell · Jul 11, 2019

FrogReaver said:
We are talking about adventurers who are doing adventurer things. If you did golf things for the past 60 years you surely would be better at said golf things.

My barbarian is simply never going to get better at arcana checks. His answer at level 1 and at level 20 is likely the same - I dunno, maybe poke it with something and see what happens?

Garthanos · Jul 11, 2019

DEFCON 1 said:
When you have a Level 1 character without proficiency and any ability modifier (+0 total) able to roll a check against a fully ability modified (+5) and full proficient (+6) person and still be able to beat that supposedly uber person on various checks ("I rolled a 17 on my Perception check and I have no bonus, what'd you roll? Oh, a 3-- grand total of 14? Oh, what a shame!"

While flukes can happen the d20 variation is the cause of that to happen a lot one system I was
working on used progressively smaller die sizes if you wanted to be careful. D12+4, D10+5, D8+6, D6+7, d4+8 for instance as your base roll then add your bonuses. You wont perform worse than someone who is significantly less capable than you. Sort of bunks with classic critical hits though so it still needs something.

Tony Vargas · Jul 11, 2019

Mistwell said:
My barbarian is simply never going to get better at arcana checks.

That's getting more into the concept of a Trained-only check.

Though he might acquire specific knowledge in that domain second-hand or through experience.

Mistwell · Jul 11, 2019

Tony Vargas said:
That's getting more into the concept of a Trained-only check.

Though he might acquire specific knowledge in that domain second-hand or through experience.

So reward a bonus to a specific check based on something which happened in the game. The rules do allow for that. You don't need to alter the base generic check.

Garthanos · Jul 11, 2019

Tony Vargas said:
That's getting more into the concept of a Trained-only check.

Though he might acquire specific knowledge in that domain second-hand or through experience.

Like how you cannot use Arcana to roll for sensing magic unless you are trained in it(4e).

Alternatively we get the DM having sheets of paper with all that in character offhand knowledge of many characters written down for the special exceptions. Or players doing the same.

Tony Vargas · Jul 11, 2019

Mistwell said:
So reward a bonus to a specific check based on something which happened in the game. The rules do allow for that. You don't need to alter the base generic check.

I was actually thinking the player could just remember the fact his character stumbled across, maybe note it on his character sheet. Arcana seems /really/ "Trained only" to me. It's, well, /arcane/.

doctorbadwolf · Jul 11, 2019

Garthanos said:
Like how you cannot use Arcana to roll for sensing magic unless you are trained in it(4e).

Alternatively we get the DM having sheets of paper with all that in character offhand knowledge of many characters written down for the special exceptions. Or players doing the same.

Excellent! I want my players writing down notes on what their character has learned and referencing them later. That is a very very good outcome.

Tony Vargas said:
I was actually thinking the player could just remember the fact his character stumbled across, maybe note it on his character sheet. Arcana seems /really/ "Trained only" to me. It's, well, /arcane/.

It's a magical world. Any noble or person from a city with late medieval English or Muslim public education knows some bits and pieces of Arcana. Not enough to be trained, but certainly enough to make a check if the DM determines that there is a chance of success.

Mistwell · Jul 11, 2019

Tony Vargas said:
I was actually thinking the player could just remember the fact his character stumbled across, maybe note it on his character sheet. Arcana seems /really/ "Trained only" to me. It's, well, /arcane/.

This is how a lot of those conversations go in our game:

DM: There is an eerie glow around the chalice which is decorated with a stag symbol.
Player 1: Hey didn't we hear something about a stag chalice from some wizard dude in that town a while back?
Player 2: Maybe? That was, like, last March in real time. Four character sheets ago for me.
Players shrug to DM
DM sighs
DM: OK just go ahead and make an Arcana check with advantage.