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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ahnehnois" data-source="post: 5719226" data-attributes="member: 17106">I didn't address that example because it's foreign to me-I don't really use maps, dungeons, or the rules you're referring to. That being said, let me think about it.Is the dungeon's structure fundamental to the game? Does it matter if I change it? Do I want the players to be challenged by the dungeon's constituents? For me, I've used only a few sets of underground passages, they've usually been pretty linear, and they're usually just scenery, so I'd say changing it doesn't matter. Your mileage may vary.There's also the realism issue. What is this "dungeon"? Who built it and what for? Depending on the answer, it may be plausible that a secret passage exists (given that most people don't enjoy facing their own traps and monsters) or not (if the dungeon is not intended to be traversed easily by anyone). As the DM, I know which it is (or I decide when needed). If the former scenario is true, a high-rolling player gets the logical outcome, a hint that there is a shortcut. If the latter is true, a high-rolling player gets the logical outcome, a hint that the road ahead is likely to be tough and that there is unlikely to be a shortcut. Would I allow a player to "create" a passage with such a skill? No. Only to remind me that such a passage could exist if the circumstances justify it.A counterexample:A party is traveling through the wilds. They are ambushed at night by a force they decide is an overwhelming threat. Thus, instead of fighting as the DM intended, a player decides to shoot a fireball 400+40 ft./level into the air as a distress signal, hoping that help will come.Has the DM statted up a force of allies? No. Could creatures exist that might see the signal? Sure. In fact, it would almost be stranger to think that no such creatures exist, given how D&D wilderness terrain is so heavily populated.---In circumstances like thus, I roll a percentile, and set arbitrary standards the same way one sets a DC. A high result means that I improvise allies. A low result means that I improvise hostiles. A medium result means they just wasted a fireball. In no case did the players "create" a creature, but they nonetheless excercised a form of narrative control.Would the creature have been there if the player hadn't sent up a flare? That's the kind of question I leave to philosophers.</blockquote>

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