D&D 5E Players: Why Do You Want to Roll a d20?

[5ekyu]

It looks like you are right, I can’t find much about degrees of success in the PHB or DMG. But a game without them would completely break and become unplayable, unless you were intentionally running some kind of dark comedy.
If he does any flips at all that is degrees of success, whether he botches the last one or not.

If you look under running the game you have references to failing by 5 for social checks and for traps. It's also shown in saves too. Sections that get into the topic specifically are titled Degrees of Failure and Criticsl Success and Failure iirc

Thry are under the larger section called Resolution snd Consequences in the chapter Running the Game and one section I will quote hopefully ok is this

"As a DM, you have a variety of flourishes and approaches you can take when adjudicating success and failure to make things a little less black-and-white."

Then that section goes on to go into some cases and examples of mechanics and approaches.

They dont actually label a section degrees of success - maybe that throws folks off.

 

[Seramus]

They dont actually label a section degrees of success - maybe that throws folks off.

Yeah. I posted that while looking for some reference to degrees of success, but then I started reading the individual rules and mechanics and found some of the stuff you were talking about. It’s definitely implied all over the place. Thank you.

 

[Oofta]

...
Does it need to have a label with "degrees of success" for some to think its RAW?

Do you really need to ask? This is the same message board where we've been scolded for using the words "skill check" instead of "ability check modified by skill proficiency score" or some such.

 

[Bawylie]

It seems odd, thatvthere are those who thinkn5e does not support degrees of success - even "as written."

The DMG and Monster Manual show a number of examples of cases where degrees matter or can matter.

One case that's common for saves are poison saves - where in a number of cases failing by 5 gets you a worse effect - unconscious - maybe others.

Other DMG cases include worse consequences on social checks orctraps if you fail by 5. There are sections in running the game on Degrees of Failure, critical failure and success etc.

The DMG gives more specifics but the core rules simply put give a variety of latitude to the GM on success and failure adjudication.

Does it need to have a label with "degrees of success" for some to think its RAW?

Yeah, tracking damage against a foe’s HP is definitely an example of measuring degrees of success. System’s there, if you want it.

 

[Bawylie]

...I can totally see @iserith's point that trusting the dice in a game is a VERY bad idea. Far, far better to try to find an approach (either leveraging spells, IMO, the most common approach or finding an applicable narration that obviates the need for a die roll).

Yeah, I didn’t feel like OP was too controversial, either. Given a bad risk, any reasonable actor would look for a non-dice way to avoid taking the risk.

I’ll go further, even, and say I’m interested in proactively finding paths forward that don’t incur unnecessary risks.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

Yeah, tracking damage against a foe’s HP is definitely an example of measuring degrees of success. System’s there, if you want it.

Success at a Cost and Degrees of Failure (DMG p242) are also variations on this theme.

 

[5ekyu]

Do you really need to ask? This is the same message board where we've been scolded for using the words "skill check" instead of "ability check modified by skill proficiency score" or some such.

Hah!!!!!!!

Just like how some push that 5e is binary resolutions even though ability checks, attack rolls and even some kinds of saves all are to varying degree not binary.

 

[Charlaquin]

Edit: There seem to be many cases with implied degrees of success. Anything from dealing damage to your enemy,

That’s the damage roll. The actual d20 roll is binary.

hiding from some people but not all people,

That’s still binary. For each potential observer, you are effectively making a contested Dexterity (Stealth) versus Wisdom (Perception) check, you just happen to use the same result for each contest.

failing your resistance rolls by 5 or more, using the performance skill to earn money,

(EDIT: My mistake on this one. There is indeed support for this kind of thing.)

Generally speaking, degrees of success have to exist or the game breaks down pretty quick, unless you are playing some kind of dark comedy.

I disagree.

If he does any flips at all that is degrees of success, whether he botches the last one or not.

Not really. The result is still binary: either he passes and does 10 flips, or he fails, does not do 10 flips, and suffers whatever the consequence of failure was determined to be. How many flips he managed to do is inconsequential, he still failed to achieve his goal of doing 10 flips and fell prone.

 

[5ekyu]

Success at a Cost and Degrees of Failure (DMG p242) are also variations on this theme.

There's a lot of that stuff all thru the section on running the game.

 

[Charlaquin]

Just like how some push that 5e is binary resolutions even though ability checks, attack rolls and even some kinds of saves all are to varying degree not binary.

“Some people” in this case meaning “Charlaquin.” And I concede I was mistaken.