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<blockquote data-quote="doctorbadwolf" data-source="post: 8282404" data-attributes="member: 6704184">Sorry, I assumed that the initial failed attempt was built into the context of the discussion. Yes, he failed at first, and then decided to use the oil of etherealness to figure out how the lock worked. As in, it’s a precious resource. A bad roll would result in dumping a significant portion, probably making it insufficient to cover even a small creature, rather than a basically full bottle. If you want to think of it that way, cool. But what actually prevents it is that he has already made the roll, and has then gained insight into the inner workings of the device with the help of another character, and still failed. This means that he just isn’t going to get it. Best effort.&nbsp; Here’s the thing. If you roll a 2 or roll an 20, neither represents how good you are at picking locks. Your bonus does that. It represents whether you are able to pick this lock. That’s it.&nbsp; Let’s say you first roll a 2, and then get a second chance by changing the situation and roll a 20. The 2 means that your skill wasn’t enough to overcome some aspect of the obstacle. Changing the situation and then trying again, and succeeding, the 20 would represent figuring out what blocked you before and circumventing it.Neither represents your skill, both represent your ability to overcome this specific obstacle.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="doctorbadwolf, post: 8282404, member: 6704184"] Sorry, I assumed that the initial failed attempt was built into the context of the discussion. Yes, he failed at first, and then decided to use the oil of etherealness to figure out how the lock worked. As in, it’s a precious resource. A bad roll would result in dumping a significant portion, probably making it insufficient to cover even a small creature, rather than a basically full bottle. If you want to think of it that way, cool. But what actually prevents it is that he has already made the roll, and has then gained insight into the inner workings of the device with the help of another character, and still failed. This means that he just isn’t going to get it. Best effort. Here’s the thing. If you roll a 2 or roll an 20, neither represents how good you are at picking locks. Your bonus does that. It represents whether you are able to pick [I]this[/I] lock. That’s it. Let’s say you first roll a 2, and then get a second chance by changing the situation and roll a 20. The 2 means that your skill wasn’t enough to overcome some aspect of the obstacle. Changing the situation and then trying again, and succeeding, the 20 would represent figuring out what blocked you before and circumventing it. Neither represents your skill, both represent your ability to overcome this specific obstacle. [/QUOTE]

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