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General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Denying Players Rolls for Attacks, Damage, Saves, Etc
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<blockquote data-quote="Unwise" data-source="post: 8756020" data-attributes="member: 98008"><p>I only roll when:</p><p>A) the result is in doubt</p><p>B) It will build some dramatic tension</p><p>C) It's more fun/funny that way</p><p></p><p>If somebody sneaks up on a sleeping person and wants to slit their throat, is the result in doubt? You could argue that for dramatic tension the stealth might be in doubt, so they roll for that. If they succeed at that, is the result of the attack (in-world, non-mechanically) in doubt? </p><p>In the case of a PC getting their throat slit without a roll, point C above probably applies. It is more fun to roll the damage so the player feels some agency and the PC has a chance to live.</p><p></p><p>As for the example with the fireball. The fact that you cannot escape the fireball is exactly what the half-damage effect already represents mechanically. The best you can do is tuck into a ball behind your shield or backpack, or hit the deck for a moment (dex save), either way you are getting hurt.</p><p></p><p>The manacled person example, the result is not in doubt, whether it takes one or two attempts to stab the person, the person is getting stabbed. There seems little point in rolling due to doubt. For dramatic tension though, it might be necessary. </p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">If it was an PC trying to stab a normal NPC, there is no tension, so it just happens.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">If it was a PC trying to stab Black Widow or James Bond, then they roll, since the NPC might pull off some dramatic kick-necksnap thing and escape.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">If an NPC is trying to stab a PC, that will always be dramatically important, even if the result should not be in doubt, so I would roll.</li> </ul></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Unwise, post: 8756020, member: 98008"] I only roll when: A) the result is in doubt B) It will build some dramatic tension C) It's more fun/funny that way If somebody sneaks up on a sleeping person and wants to slit their throat, is the result in doubt? You could argue that for dramatic tension the stealth might be in doubt, so they roll for that. If they succeed at that, is the result of the attack (in-world, non-mechanically) in doubt? In the case of a PC getting their throat slit without a roll, point C above probably applies. It is more fun to roll the damage so the player feels some agency and the PC has a chance to live. As for the example with the fireball. The fact that you cannot escape the fireball is exactly what the half-damage effect already represents mechanically. The best you can do is tuck into a ball behind your shield or backpack, or hit the deck for a moment (dex save), either way you are getting hurt. The manacled person example, the result is not in doubt, whether it takes one or two attempts to stab the person, the person is getting stabbed. There seems little point in rolling due to doubt. For dramatic tension though, it might be necessary. [LIST] [*]If it was an PC trying to stab a normal NPC, there is no tension, so it just happens. [*]If it was a PC trying to stab Black Widow or James Bond, then they roll, since the NPC might pull off some dramatic kick-necksnap thing and escape. [*]If an NPC is trying to stab a PC, that will always be dramatically important, even if the result should not be in doubt, so I would roll. [/LIST] [/QUOTE]
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