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<blockquote data-quote="Fanaelialae" data-source="post: 7859676" data-attributes="member: 53980">Keep in mind that this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Take a look at how the Gumshoe system (which is a system specifically designed for RPG investigations) handles it. Information that is needed to progress isn't gated behind a check, because a failed check could otherwise stonewall the investigation. Non critical actions, on the other hand, do have a chance to fail.It's all well and good to want the possibility of failure, but you need to have a plan for failure if you do so. If a few bad rolls means the investigation is permanently stuck in with the cold cases bin, and the players run off to take out their frustration on some goblins, then the game has lost its investigation aspect before it really began.To put it as an analogy, the DM has prepped a dungeon for tonight's adventure. There are three doors, all locked. The doors are magicked such that they can't be broken down or otherwise circumvented, only picked (and only one try for each). The rogue fails all three lock picking checks. Now you may as well toss the material you prepped in the garbage for all the good it will do you. Of course, you could backpedal and have a convenient monster exit through one of the doors, thereby permitting them entry, but then what was the point of the fail condition in the first place? You could have left that door unlocked to begin with (with that same monster waiting on the other side of it, if desired).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Fanaelialae, post: 7859676, member: 53980"] Keep in mind that this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Take a look at how the Gumshoe system (which is a system specifically designed for RPG investigations) handles it. Information that is needed to progress isn't gated behind a check, because a failed check could otherwise stonewall the investigation. Non critical actions, on the other hand, do have a chance to fail. It's all well and good to want the possibility of failure, but you need to have a plan for failure if you do so. If a few bad rolls means the investigation is permanently stuck in with the cold cases bin, and the players run off to take out their frustration on some goblins, then the game has lost its investigation aspect before it really began. To put it as an analogy, the DM has prepped a dungeon for tonight's adventure. There are three doors, all locked. The doors are magicked such that they can't be broken down or otherwise circumvented, only picked (and only one try for each). The rogue fails all three lock picking checks. Now you may as well toss the material you prepped in the garbage for all the good it will do you. Of course, you could backpedal and have a convenient monster exit through one of the doors, thereby permitting them entry, but then what was the point of the fail condition in the first place? You could have left that door unlocked to begin with (with that same monster waiting on the other side of it, if desired). [/QUOTE]

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