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Sure, and I never said they were. So... what? Because the stakes are higher--life or death--continuing to have a PC and not. SC aren't that intense IMO so I don't think they need it. And FWIW, a while ago a person posted about a way to streamline combat with a system so it could be resolved in...

So... what, their failure at a SC led them to only learning about the young adult and not the adult?? Regardless, without knowing exactly what happened, I would think they behaved rather foolishly. It's a dragon. You should never proceed with any measure of confidence, and we all know the best...

They were "optional" but feature in a Dragon Magazine (IIRC???) for 1E and easily adopted by many groups IME. It's on page 61 of the DMG 2E

Such as? Can you give me an example or two? Something from your games?

Which didn't seem to have any impact, did it? They found out when the got to the moon about pirates and the king's new fleet. So it delayed them getting the information, but they got it anyway. Now, if during the 10-day chat/journey, them being attacked by pirates and not having any...

So, which of these did they fail on??? It seems like just reading the Merc was a failure, which didn't matter to the adventure since the Assassin was the one who gave them the job tip. Now, maybe if they had been able to read the Merc, they would have gotten the job from them, or perhaps a...

That certainly might be to a point... perhaps I am too focused on the discussion of the mechanics to resolve SC (the old failing to see the forest through the trees thing...). Well, it isn't as though I have everything scripted LOL! When I don't care about the result for something, I like to...

I disagree with your premise. It is illogical not to use the biggest "bang for the buck" ASAP in hopes of ending the combat quickly. The sole exception comes when judging threat level. You want to use the biggest feature that is needed to accomplish the goal of winning the fight. The suspense...

Ok, so you used those? Most DM's IME never bothered -- you are strange. :D Yep, you're wrong. I never even heard of that until you posted about it--who bothered debating that junk? Sure, it could be (I even provided an example in my prior post!), but in the 5E framework it isn't and I've never...

(bold) I never talked about the players not getting to declare what their characters do. I have no idea where you are even getting this from. Of course the DM decides how the guard responds! The DM controls all the NPCs in the game. The die roll, generated by the PC's action, simply indicate...

We do. I'll leave it at that. I've grown pretty tired of this discussion/thread.

Well, the DM doesn't decide (in that example) if the NPC helps or not, just the degree to which the NPC will help. Or the DM wants to allow the roll to dictate the degree of assistance (which I believe is your concept). Or the DM could also decide (due to role-playing or the desire to forward...

Um... that isn't what I said... it is pass/fail. I just think we are looking at different aspects of the goal. For me, the goal is getting the NPC to co-operate. If they will, I (as DM) decide to what degree they will help, not the dice. Sure, you can let the dice dictate the degree of...

I will say this: if you are a new DM and learning how to balance your game to the style your group wants to play, it is ok to fudge something when you messed up. For example, TPK due to Exploding Acid Zombies??? (a true story) First, the new DM didn't realize 4d6 AoE damage at 2nd/3rd level...

Sure, there's a point here. 5E's one thing about ability (skill) checks is failing to meet a DC doesn't mean you necessarily failed at the task. There is success with a set back, no progress, or absolute failure, and completely up to the DM which the result it. Personally, I like the rule used...

I disagree. When the PC talks to the NPC and wants a lift, I DECIDE where the NPC is going, not the dice... So, when you DM maybe you don't know where every NPC is going--I do. Or full success could represent the NPC simply being willing to give the PC a lift. (bold) It does though. The PC...

No. The goal is to get a ride from the NPC, which the NPC agreed to. So it is success. The fact the NPC wasn't going all the way to Port Fairy doesn't matter. Combat, no, but role-playing or a single roll would be sufficient. You really don't need a series of rolls, accumulated successes, etc...