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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MerricB" data-source="post: 3770772" data-attributes="member: 3586">I think that it can inform it, yes - however, what you give there is actually pretty exclusive, and doesn't actually apply to much of actual play.I think it'd be very, very useful to come up with a list of non-combat encounter categories, and then show how each character can contribute to the situation. Just thinking about some 3e encounters, I can think of...* Must get past a guard without alerting the fortress.* Encounter a poison lock.* Encounter a room with swinging razor-sharp pendulums.* Must find the thieves' guild in town.* Must find the "History of Magic", a rare book.* Must get in to see the King to warn him of an oncoming orc invasion no-one else believes in.Now that we have those encounters - which is only a small fraction of possible ones - we could categorise and work out solutions for them. Consider:Encounter a room with swinging razor-sharp pendulumsWith the later Dungeonscape and Secrets of Xen'drik detailed trap plan, we get this as an entire encounter rather than one "Disable Device" check. Now, how could a party get past?* The Wizard or Cleric could use magic to bypass the trap (so many possibilities!)* The Rogue could disarm it* The Rogue or Monk could Tumble past* The PCs could Climb above the dangerous areas and past.Must find the thieves' guild in town.This can be a multi-encounter challenge. Diplomacy, Bluff, Intimidate, or Gather Information (in 3e terms) can be used to discover it, but perhaps Knowledge (local)? Do you find it by talking to lowlife, to the "bribed" city officials, by exploring, by finding city maps and deducing where it is?Rubbish. They're learning how to climb in that time, so they can get as good as the Wizard!(Due to the Armour Check penalty, the fighter, despite having Climb and Jump as class skills, spends the first few levels just overcoming the penalty of his armour. It's amusing, and possibly sad. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />)Cheers!</blockquote>

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