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<blockquote data-quote="ExploderWizard" data-source="post: 4499110" data-attributes="member: 66434">Ultimately a good game and a good DM will challenge the player and the character. Skills have thier place but should never stand in for a description of what a character is doing. Skills help in the resolution of numerous tasks but are a very poor substitute for descriptive narration.&nbsp;A player should not be punished for not being the greatest public speaker. If his or her character has skills in that area then a good skill skill roll will polish what the player actually says. It shouldn't mean that the player gets to mumble &quot; I inspire the crowd&quot; and roll a die. The player should still convey his or her message clearly. The die roll is to represent the character's delivery of what the player said.&nbsp;When it comes to riddles or puzzles these can be a lot of fun completely without skill rolls. Its important that the solution to these puzzles be information that the characters have or is relevant to them. Challenging the players to remember something that both they and thier characters know can be a great exercise in using the old noggin. A riddle with an answer based on some out of game knowledge is pointless to the game world and the characters so why use it? &nbsp;For situations like searching its easy to mix in character skill with player cleverness. If good descriptions of key things to search are given and the player just says &quot; I make a search check&quot; perhaps it takes longer to find and a wandering encounter might interrupt. If the player actually listens and searches specific areas perhaps the goodies are found quickly and maybe (gasp) without a die roll. &nbsp;Characters having skills and sbilities that the player's don't is a good thing and kind of the point of roleplaying. The reality is that its the players at the table, and not the characters that need to be involved and engaged in what is happening. If a player can't even be bothered to descibe the actions of his or her character then why come to the table.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="ExploderWizard, post: 4499110, member: 66434"] Ultimately a good game and a good DM will challenge the player and the character. Skills have thier place but should never stand in for a description of what a character is doing. Skills help in the resolution of numerous tasks but are a very poor substitute for descriptive narration. A player should not be punished for not being the greatest public speaker. If his or her character has skills in that area then a good skill skill roll will polish what the player actually says. It shouldn't mean that the player gets to mumble " I inspire the crowd" and roll a die. The player should still convey his or her message clearly. The die roll is to represent the character's delivery of what the player said. When it comes to riddles or puzzles these can be a lot of fun completely without skill rolls. Its important that the solution to these puzzles be information that the characters have or is relevant to them. Challenging the players to remember something that both they and thier characters know can be a great exercise in using the old noggin. A riddle with an answer based on some out of game knowledge is pointless to the game world and the characters so why use it? For situations like searching its easy to mix in character skill with player cleverness. If good descriptions of key things to search are given and the player just says " I make a search check" perhaps it takes longer to find and a wandering encounter might interrupt. If the player actually listens and searches specific areas perhaps the goodies are found quickly and maybe (gasp) without a die roll. Characters having skills and sbilities that the player's don't is a good thing and kind of the point of roleplaying. The reality is that its the players at the table, and not the characters that need to be involved and engaged in what is happening. If a player can't even be bothered to descibe the actions of his or her character then why come to the table. [/QUOTE]

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