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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MarkB" data-source="post: 5193920" data-attributes="member: 40176">Funny you should give a Traveller-based example, since that system (at least, the Mongoose version - I've not read the rulebooks of other versions) does advocate granularity of both successes and failures.A success by zero is considered only a marginal success, and may have consequences later.A failure by only 1 is likewise a marginal failure, and the GM may allow the player to scrape a success out of it if they accept some significant consequence to their actions.D&D is less well-suited to such a system, lacking the 'bell-curve' mechanics of a system that uses two dice to determine each check. But if you supplement a failed roll with a saving throw, then Presto! You've got your two dice, and only a lousy roll on both will result in ultimate failure.Just a quick note on this: A number of skill checks in both 3e and 4e use a "fail by less/more than 5" mechanic to determine the severity of the penalty for failure - i.e. whether you simply fail to make progress when climbing, or actually start to fall. Also, any game which includes a pool of points that can be used to boost d20 rolls - such as 3.5e Eberron's Action Points or Star Wars Saga Edition's Force Points - effectively has degrees of failure on attack rolls and skill checks, since a near-miss is amenable to being boosted up to a hit with a limited resource, whilst a miss by a wider margin is not.</blockquote>