D&D 5E Are there actions not covered under a skill?

[prabe]

Succeeding at what check? Checks don’t exist independently of actions, and if the declared action is “keep looking until we find it” when there’s no time constraint, then there’s no chance of failure, so no check.

Just because there's no time constraint doesn't mean there's no chance of failure.

 

[Charlaquin]

Just because there's no time constraint doesn't mean there's no chance of failure.

If the action is “spend as much time as I need to thoroughly search the area” and there’s no time constraint... how is there a chance of failure?

 

[prabe]

If the action is “spend as much time as I need to thoroughly search the area” and there’s no time constraint... how is there a chance of failure?

Because even the most-thorough search might miss something, basically.

The example (from my games) I have in mind is this: The party had killed the Evil Wizard and his Mooks, and they searched his quarters. The party found a lot of stuff, including money and items and information. They had a chance, even taking as much time as they wanted, of not finding the secret door that led to the chamber where his clone was stored. They failed on the Int(Investigation) check/s to realize that the volumes of notes they found were A) fragmentary and B) on paper that was too close to the same age to match up with the dates on the notes, so it never occurred to them that these notes, and the treasure they found, were there with the intent to convince someone that they'd found what there was to find.

I figured there was a chance of failure, so the dice decided. Right out of the PHB.

 

[iserith]

The rules say that if a character spends 10 times the amount of time on a task as normal, then they automatically succeed, provided that the only real cost is the time it takes. This doesn't turn an impossible task into a successful one, however.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Some people do play games that take the standard of reasonable specificity into unreasonable territory, relative to what the game suggests. (It might not be unreasonable to those people.) I don't think you're talking to any of those people right now, however much some posters may want to imply that it is the case.



It's in the sidebar for finding hidden objects in the chapter on using ability scores. I paraphrased that section in the example upthread. The lame and boring one, according to what you said. PHB: "You would have to specify that you were opening the drawers or searching the bureau in order to have any chance of success."

I’ve clarified what is lame and boring, to me. Stop mischaracterizing my position or stop replying to me.

 

[Charlaquin]

I’ve clarified what is lame and boring, to me. Stop mischaracterizing my position or stop replying to me.

I’m sorry, but your clarifications have not been at all clear. At this point I have no idea what you’re actually trying to express.

 

[iserith]

I’ve clarified what is lame and boring, to me. Stop mischaracterizing my position or stop replying to me.

So to be clear, the example the PHB provided that I paraphrased upthread isn't lame and boring to you?

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Do folks generally have things hidden in rooms that the players have ample time to thoroughly search? Cause, like, sure, hypothetically if there was a scenario in my game where there was no time pressure and the players said “we thoroughly search this whole room, taking as much time as we need to make sure we don’t miss anything,” then yeah, they’d find anything hidden in that room without a roll, on account of no consequences for time spent looking in parts of the room where nothing is hidden. But, like, that wouldn’t happen in my games? If I’m setting up a challenge where the players need to find a hidden thing, there’s gonna be time pressure. At least periodic random encounter checks if nothing else.

Ive never done a random encounter roll in my life, and I doubt I ever will.
People hide valuable things. Not all of it will be there due to a meta desire to challenge the players. Sometimes the meta goal is simply to build the world and give insight into an NPC or group of NPCS, or into a situation, etc.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

So to be clear, the example the PHB provided that I paraphrased upthread isn't lame and boring to you?

I described what was lame and boring. I don’t play rhetorical games, ever.

 

[iserith]

I described what was lame and boring. I don’t play rhetorical games, ever.

Is this post what you mean? The games that go well beyond the reasonable specificity described in the rules? I'm not playing at rhetoric. At least one other person than me isn't clear on your position.