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<blockquote data-quote="Morrus" data-source="post: 5895997" data-attributes="member: 1">Do you have to be a professional actor to say &quot;I crush a mug&quot; rather than &quot;I use Intimidate&quot;?&nbsp;As an aside, I think there is a subtle difference between &quot;I use Intimidate&quot; and &quot;I make a Charisma check&quot;. Most of the skills are presented as actual verbs - they sound like actions. &quot;Intimidate&quot; sounds like an action; &quot;Charisma&quot; does not.&nbsp;It's a subtle difference, but I feel it can tie into how a player sees and interacts with the rules structure. I'm not saying it magically overrides a particular group's playstyle; just that it has a net average little nudge towards descriptions rather than skill names.&nbsp;But - and here's the kicker. None of that matters; it won't come up, because players can't declare when ability checks are needed. This ties in to the other clever part - not every action needs a check: some of it you can do automatically with a good ability score, and therefore the player himself doesn't know whether a check is required unless the DM tells him so. This is a change from 3E/4E, where easy actions just had a low DC - technically a check was still needed, so the player knew he could declare he was making a Climb check and that the DC was (probably) 5. In 5E, the check is dispensed with for certain actions, but the player doesn't know.&nbsp;This means we have a player not being able to say &quot;I make a Strength check&quot;. If ability checks are only called for by the DM in response to appropriate input from the player, the player has no choice but to say &quot;I crush a mug.&quot; &nbsp;He can't say &quot;I make a Strength check&quot; because the DM replies &quot;I'll decide when you need to make a Strength check, thank you very much; now what are you doing?&quot; &nbsp;Player: &quot;Oh, I'm crushing a mug.&quot;&nbsp;DM: [after simply referring to the character's 17 strength] &quot;You're a strong guy; the mug crushes easily.&quot;&nbsp;In the latter case, no check was even needed. In some cases, a check might be needed. But the player is no position to determine whether or not an ability check is required, so can't declare he's making one. All he can do is describe his action and wait for the DM to either tell him what happens or ask for an ability check.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Morrus, post: 5895997, member: 1"] Do you have to be a professional actor to say "I crush a mug" rather than "I use Intimidate"? As an aside, I think there is a subtle difference between "I use Intimidate" and "I make a Charisma check". Most of the skills are presented as actual verbs - they sound like actions. "Intimidate" sounds like an action; "Charisma" does not. It's a subtle difference, but I feel it can tie into how a player sees and interacts with the rules structure. I'm not saying it magically overrides a particular group's playstyle; just that it has a net average little nudge towards descriptions rather than skill names. But - and here's the kicker. [B]None of that matters[/B]; it won't come up, because players can't declare when ability checks are needed. This ties in to the other clever part - not every action needs a check: some of it you can do automatically with a good ability score, and [I]therefore[/I] [I]the player himself doesn't know whether a check is required unless the DM tells him so[/I]. This is a change from 3E/4E, where easy actions just had a low DC - technically a check was still needed, so the player knew he could declare he was making a Climb check and that the DC was (probably) 5. In 5E, the check is dispensed with for certain actions, but the player doesn't know. This means we have a player not being [I]able[/I] to say "I make a Strength check". If ability checks are only called for by the DM in response to appropriate input from the player, the player has no choice but to say "I crush a mug." He can't say "I make a Strength check" because the DM replies "[I]I'll [/I]decide when you need to make a Strength check, thank you very much; now what are you doing?" Player: "Oh, I'm crushing a mug." DM: [after simply referring to the character's 17 strength] "You're a strong guy; the mug crushes easily." In the latter case, no check was even needed. In some cases, a check might be needed. But the [I]player[/I] is no position to determine whether or not an ability check is required, so can't declare he's making one. All he can do is describe his action and wait for the DM to either tell him what happens or ask for an ability check. [/QUOTE]

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