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"I believe in nothing," Quinn says. "In the emptiness I find strength. When you believe in nothing, there is nothing to doubt. "This city - it is what it is because of what it was. No use mourning the past; it gave birth to the present. Don't let your belief in what could have been give...

To me, it means that the players can make inferences about features in the dungeon (monsters/NPCs, tricks, traps, treasures, and layout) and make meaningful decisions based on those inferences. That is very important to me.

Quinn pulls himself out of the Underbelly with slime and muck on his boots and robes. His eyes are wide, his skin pale, and his body tensed, but he relaxes as he returns to the group. "Anything interesting happen while I've been gone?" [Assuming that someone will tell him about the glyph...

You were confused because I was confusing! I think I was substituting "hit" for "success" and "miss" for "failure" in my mind. That's the way I tend to run things. So "hit" and "miss" do have meaning in D&D melee combat (I was wrong when I asserted that they did not); and treating a miss as a...

That's how I'd look at it as well (because the to-hit roll missed). I'm specifically looking at narration of the events in the game world: How is what we've described in the game world not appropriate for damage on a miss? My point is that you don't know - and can't say - what happened in the...

This; I wasn't clear. To me, that sounds like damage on a miss. I'm not sure in which way it is different in the game world. At the table, yeah, but in the game world I don't see much difference.

I'd argue that the independent reality of D&D melee is very abstract, so much so that "hit" and "miss" don't have any real meaning. Player: "I stab the orc in the face!" (rolls to-hit: hit; rolls damage: 5 damage) DM: "You stab the orc in the face. He takes 5 damage. He's still up and able to...

How would you have handled a "called shot" before? ("I stab the orc in the face!") Is there any reason you can't do it the same way now?

I could have used it earlier... :) I guess I was wrong to believe that there was no chance of failure. I am looking forward to seeing what kinds of complications I'm going to drag with me to the rest of the party. ;)

Check this out: Player: "I stab the orc in the face!" [roll to hit; hit; roll damage; 5 damage] DM: "You missed; you hit him in the leg instead. He takes 5 damage." What is going on here?

Sounds cool. I'll pick the Underbelly. I'm not sure how much M.O. I can give you yet - give me more first! Frame the scene for me. If I had to pick a goal for this transition scene it would be "I want to find out any and all dirt on the chamberlain." Edit 1: (I generally stay away from the...

I gave Quinn some beliefs, and here they are: B1: The kingdom will be ravaged by the red dragon. That should be enough to convince the king to pay a king's ransom for its head (or what he thinks is its head). B2: My study of illusions and enchantment have taught me that there is no truth in the...

I tend to agree with this, though I also agree with pemerton that it's easier to run an "indie" style game with 4E than other editions.

I agree. I think that if you've got Intimidate as a primary skill (or even secondary) in the skill challenge, and you succeed on the check, then it'll get you closer to success in that skill challenge. I'm not sure how clear 4E is on the resolution of a single check during a skill challenge...

I guess it depends on how you're running 4E! I'll propose three ways: 1. 4E "by the book"; 2. My game of 4E; and 3. A general "Indie" style. 1. In regular 4E (which confuses me!) I think that you can fail by using your Intimidation skill in the incorrect circumstances. I'm not sure if you'd...

Let's go back and have a look. You said: To which TwoSix replied: It looks like that original exchange - that you can fail by succeeding at your rolls - got lost in the mix. You did not suggest that "a character’s success today could come back with a negative repercussion at a later date"...

The link in my sig details a campaign of Burning Empires (Boldaq). We ran it years ago but if you have any questions about it I'd be happy to answer. I don't mention the rolls and mechanics much but I should be able to remember the basics.

Did you see any potential and/or issues arising from the play recaps I posted about my Burning Empires game?

I wouldn't mind taking part - though you might want to take others.

Good post. I tend to feel the same way, depending on the specifics of the game. I think the issue is detailed well in this blog post: The pitfalls of narrative technique in rpg play. It's a good size, so I'll sum up my take on it: If you're trying to advocate for your PC - that is, have your...