Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Swarmkeeper" data-source="post: 9062865" data-attributes="member: 6921763">Ah, right.&nbsp; Thank you.&nbsp; So that is why we expect the player to be reasonably specific with their action.&nbsp; The player wants to check for traps... ok, how?&nbsp; Tapping with your dagger?&nbsp; First a visual inspection?&nbsp; Using the swiss-army-ten-foot-pole?&nbsp; Something else?We also try to telegraph that something is off with the scene - so, in the case of trapped chest, there might be drag marks leading away from the chest (where the last guy to attempt it died of poison then was dragged away by some dungeon denizen...)&nbsp; That way, the player makes an informed decision for the PC - although they might miss the clue entirely, but at least it was there.Got it.&nbsp; So, at our table, as mentioned above, telegraphing is used to minimize &quot;gotchas&quot; like you describe.&nbsp; Even if they miss the clue, we're still not &quot;playing their character&quot;, we're just describing the results of their actions.I mean, that's our interpretation of the rules as laid out in the PHB and DMG.&nbsp; An interpretation that seems to resonate (at least partially) with 85% of the respondents (<a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/at-your-5e-table-how-is-it-agreed-upon-that-the-pcs-do-stuff-other-than-attack.698596/" target="_blank">even higher if you go to the other poll with more specific wording</a>).&nbsp; Why you (and others) keep insisting that when &quot;ONLY the dm may call for these rolls&quot; is a playstyle predicated on &quot;magic words&quot; truly baffles me.&nbsp; We're just asking for the player to say what their character is doing and how they're going about it.&nbsp; Goal and approach.&nbsp; It's been explained ad nauseum now.&nbsp; Please drop the &quot;magic words&quot; pejorative.&nbsp; Please and thank you.Again, the advice is right there in the books.Notably, you don't hear me telling you that your way of playing, letting players announce rolls, is terrible, do you?&nbsp; Or that you explaining how you play is &quot;terrible advice&quot; to share with other here on the forum?&nbsp; And, you know why?&nbsp; Because, while I prefer our method for our table, neither way is terrible.&nbsp; Either way is fine if the table agrees upon that style and is having fun with it.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Swarmkeeper, post: 9062865, member: 6921763"] Ah, right. Thank you. So that is why we expect the player to be reasonably specific with their action. The player wants to check for traps... ok, how? Tapping with your dagger? First a visual inspection? Using the swiss-army-ten-foot-pole? Something else? We also try to telegraph that something is off with the scene - so, in the case of trapped chest, there might be drag marks leading away from the chest (where the last guy to attempt it died of poison then was dragged away by some dungeon denizen...) That way, the player makes an informed decision for the PC - although they might miss the clue entirely, but at least it was there. Got it. So, at our table, as mentioned above, telegraphing is used to minimize "gotchas" like you describe. Even if they miss the clue, we're still not "playing their character", we're just describing the results of their actions. I mean, that's our interpretation of the rules as laid out in the PHB and DMG. An interpretation that seems to resonate (at least partially) with 85% of the respondents ([URL='https://www.enworld.org/threads/at-your-5e-table-how-is-it-agreed-upon-that-the-pcs-do-stuff-other-than-attack.698596/']even higher if you go to the other poll with more specific wording[/URL]). Why you (and others) keep insisting that when "ONLY the dm may call for these rolls" is a playstyle predicated on "magic words" truly baffles me. We're just asking for the player to say what their character is doing and how they're going about it. Goal and approach. It's been explained ad nauseum now. Please drop the "magic words" pejorative. Please and thank you. Again, the advice is right there in the books. Notably, you don't hear me telling you that your way of playing, letting players announce rolls, is terrible, do you? Or that you explaining how you play is "terrible advice" to share with other here on the forum? And, you know why? Because, while I prefer our method for our table, neither way is terrible. Either way is fine if the table agrees upon that style and is having fun with it. [/QUOTE]

Verification