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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Scott Christian" data-source="post: 9700206" data-attributes="member: 6901101">If a fighter swings a sword and misses, narratively it might look like this: "You feign a swing at the goblin on the table, only to have it wait and eye you. Then you swing, catching it off guard, thinking it was just another feint."Or"You swing at the goblin on the table only to have it leap in the air making you miss. But as it lands you circle around and swing again, catching it before it has time to plant its feet and jump."Or"You swing your giant axe at the goblin on the table, missing. But the strike hits the table so hard that it cracks in the center forcing the goblin to lose its balance. And that is when your second swing hits."In all of these situations, the attacks conditions have changed. That is how multiple attacks work, narratively speaking.Haha. I get it. But surely you have a rogue stabbing and hiding or stabbing and disengaging? Surely you have a wizard that is surrounded that needs to get out of there? Surely you have a fighter that has to reposition in order to grant advantage to another PC attacking? And, you can still move, in fact you can move 35' around a large creature, without provoking opportunity attacks.Why do we gate ability checks? Again, they are all unique, so, some get gated and others don't. But there are a few core reasons why:<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">To keep the game moving. It is an expectation in D&D that combat takes quite a bit of time. (With four players and a DM, 1 round - 6 seconds, can take 15 or even 30 minutes of real time.) Exploration, the expectation is not the same. Hence, why so many rules revolve around combat, and fewer around exploration. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Logic dictates. Reading an ancient book, and failing your history or arcana roll, and therefore not understanding it, is kind of a done deal for that scene. Trying to remember something about a long lost, dead god, and failing on your religion roll, is kind of a done deal for that scene. (I do not know of any DM that would disallow a later roll after doing research, speaking with sages, etc.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">And we gate to sometimes hit a punchline or set a scene. We once had a character named Caz Creekleaper. His first attempt to cross a river, he rolled a 1. He was swept downstream and plummeted over the falls after failing a strength check to grab on to something. It was classic. It was almost destiny. That punchline was perfect for a fun laugh. (He was laughing too.) Sometimes, the failed roll just sets the scene, for serious or comedic effect. </li> </ol>And, I still think the door example needs to not be the only point. Everyone that has responded to the "breaking down the door" has stated they give repeated chances. And if they don't, I bet they would if you brought an axe to the door and performed the whole "Here's Johnny" bit.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /></blockquote>

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