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<blockquote data-quote="Guest 6801328" data-source="post: 7798876">Not at all.&nbsp; As with the medicine example earlier, if it's strictly an odds thing and has nothing to do with character ability then, sure, roll some dice.&nbsp; But that's different from saying it depends on the player succeeding at an ability check.But that does illuminate a place (or another place?) that I've played too fast and loose with language.&nbsp; I keep saying &quot;using dice&quot; when really I specifically mean &quot;having the player make an ability check&quot;.&nbsp; I should have been more precise in my word choice. So thank you for pointing that out.And I think it's a really significant difference.&nbsp; We don't have ability checks because the results are random; it's because we don't know how to resolve the uncertainty of whether a character is able to achieve something.&nbsp; That is, we are using a metagame random number generator to determine a non-random in-game outcome.But if the in-game fiction is also a truly random event, then rolling dice seems like a great way to simulate that.P.S. It would also be easier to believe you are debating in good faith if instead of writing &quot;you admit that&quot; you&nbsp; posed an actual question that gave the appearance of genuine curiosity.&nbsp; E.g., &quot;Would your version of the game be able to handle such an event?&quot;&nbsp; Not that you asked for my opinion on forum etiquette.&nbsp; And certainly I've been guilty of the same sort of thing.&nbsp; Please feel free to call me out on it when I do.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Guest 6801328, post: 7798876"] Not at all. As with the medicine example earlier, if it's strictly an odds thing and has nothing to do with character ability then, sure, roll some dice. But that's different from saying it depends on the player succeeding at an ability check. But that does illuminate a place (or another place?) that I've played too fast and loose with language. I keep saying "using dice" when really I specifically mean "having the player make an ability check". I should have been more precise in my word choice. So thank you for pointing that out. And I think it's a really significant difference. We don't have ability checks because the results are random; it's because we don't know how to resolve the uncertainty of whether a character is able to achieve something. That is, we are using a metagame random number generator to determine a non-random in-game outcome. But if the in-game fiction is also a truly random event, then rolling dice seems like a great way to simulate that. P.S. It would also be easier to believe you are debating in good faith if instead of writing "you admit that" you posed an actual question that gave the appearance of genuine curiosity. E.g., "Would your version of the game be able to handle such an event?" Not that you asked for my opinion on forum etiquette. And certainly I've been guilty of the same sort of thing. Please feel free to call me out on it when I do. [/QUOTE]

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