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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kannik" data-source="post: 5794524" data-attributes="member: 984">This is an astute observation -- the more specific the game became about what a character could do, the more it often became assumed by players that you couldn't do something unless it was explicitly mentioned or granted.  As things became codified through feats, skills and abilities it became easy to slip into the mindset that unless it is codified by a game aspect it didn't exist for your character.  The end point (of sorts) of this might be that given that direction of game design, when 4e emerged and there were many power cards in front of you there was a tendency to slip into a mode to relating to the character as only those power cards, despite the actually very large freedom that had been re-granted retro-style.  (And without that freeform-ness being noted as such (and noted as a change) via text in the DMG or PHB it isn't a surprise that it wasn't noted by those who had gotten used to high codification and seen as a loss or lack)Myself I like to occupy the middle way between full openness of 1e (here's THAC0, spells and HP, the rest is up to you to describe) and the minutia of 3e (specific listen, see things, search for things skills).  I think you can provide some game-rule support for things without becoming bogged down, primarily by allowing differing skills to have different granularity (profession or background skills are very free-form to allow for RP and inventiveness, Spot is specifically all about how well you notice things) and a good discussion in the DMG to illustrate how to allow backgrounds, player input, skills and PC abilities and narrative to interplay and support each other for a rich rich rich experience, sans straight-jackets on either the player or the PC end of things.As to the thread topic and spotlighting, I think a great way to look at the issue might be to look at it from the reverse end;  rather than look to ensure no spotlight stealing simply work towards allowing each character to have  the opportunity to participate in every scene.  They don't have to participate (it isn't required) and they don't have to participate equally (they may not pull as much weight as another character), but if they choose to help they can either through a direct skill, profession, background, etc.  And this comes as much as from the DM and adventure design as it does from straight up rules.  More discussion in the DMG.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":P" title="Stick out tongue    :P"  data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":P" />  If your rogue is sneaky-sneaking through a section of the adventure, allowing the retired soldier fighter to hit up the taverns, ply the off-duty city guard with booze and tales of battle in order to get some corroborating information is allowed and encouraged (and not forced) if the player so desires to do it, and whether the fighter had invested points in diplomacy or not.  It doesn't steal the rogue's thunder, nor does it force the fighter player to sit around for a few hours until the rogue returns. Or maybe the fighter goes to the tavern, plys the city guard with booze and tales of battle, then drinks some more, sings songs into the morning, stumbles back to the inn to meet his companions, and totally forgot to ask about that information.  Fighters do that, sometimes.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />peace and options,Kannik</blockquote>

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