D&D 5E Arcana Checks

[BlivetWidget]

As for designers using it for "detect magic," that's just sloppy design and not worth emulating in my view as it is not in line with the rules. It's certainly in line with the rules of D&D 4e though (see D&D 4e Rules Compendium, page 135), but one wonders why it's showing up in a D&D 5e module. Sounds like whoever wrote that was conflating the rules from different games.

It's fine if you don't want to run the game that way at your table, but "whoever wrote that" was Wizards of the Coast. Specifically, the lead 5e designer, lead rules designer, and lead story designer all show up on the author lists of these adventures. They clearly intend Arcana to be used that way.

 

[iserith]

It's fine if you don't want to run the game that way at your table, but "whoever wrote that" was Wizards of the Coast. Specifically, the lead 5e designer, lead rules designer, and lead story designer all show up on the author lists of these adventures. They clearly intend Arcana to be used that way.

Are adventure modules rules? Because at best - and going back to your initial response to me - in my view this is just a DM telling someone reading his or her prep notes that in context a specific task involving recalling Arcana can achieve a specific result. It needn't be expanded to other situations.

 

[BlivetWidget]

Are adventure modules rules? Because at best - and going back to your initial response to me - in my view this is just a DM telling someone reading his or her prep notes that in context a specific task involving recalling Arcana can achieve a specific result. It needn't be expanded to other situations.

They’re “merely“ rulings made by the lead game creators and designers. Since 5e took a “rulings not rules” approach, and considering who is making these rulings, I think it gives valuable insight into the rules as intended.

The context dependency of skill checks that I discussed earlier was in relation to the difficulty of a skill check. I definitely do not believe that context alters the capability of a skill. That is, the conditions under which a skill is used determine how difficult it is to accomplish a goal, but context does not alter the actual capabilities of the player. The adventures provide examples and insight into those capabilities. That is why I put together the list.

 

[iserith]

They’re “merely“ rulings made by the lead game creators and designers. Since 5e took a “rulings not rules” approach, and considering who is making these rulings, I think it gives valuable insight into the rules as intended.

Fair enough. The absence of Arcana as "detect magic" in D&D 5e, but its explicit existence in D&D 4e is a signal to me that a fallible human got the rules mixed up when writing the module. Unless what we're talking about is the PC recalling some lore that then allows him or her to deduce that the object in context has magical properties. It wouldn't, however, work the same as a detect magic spell, according to the D&D 5e rules.

The context dependency of skill checks that I discussed earlier was in relation to the difficulty of a skill check. I definitely do not believe that context alters the capability of a skill. That is, the conditions under which a skill is used determine how difficult it is to accomplish a goal, but context does not alter the actual capabilities of the player. The adventures provide examples and insight into those capabilities. That is why I put together the list.

I would say context absolutely determines whether an approach to a goal may be successful and whether a skill proficiency may apply if there's an ability check involved.

 

[BlivetWidget]

For anyone interested, I have consolidated the list significantly and updated the original post.

 

[Splinterverse]

I like this thread and I know it's old, but I can't find translations for the following codes used in the OP:

EKDC
EKSDW
KW
OotW

All of the others I've been able to translate. Any ideas on the one's above?

 

[BlivetWidget]

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