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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Charlaquin" data-source="post: 8091955" data-attributes="member: 6779196">When you plan “a combat encounter,” even if you believe that you are open to the possibility of non-combat resolutions, you put your players in the position of having to convince you to let them bypass what you planned. It sets up combat as the default solution, which will always be a valid option, whereas alternative solutions have to be justified. Likewise, when you plan to call for “an athletics check,” you put the player in the position of having to justify use of a different skill.Granted, if you plan to use skills your players’ characters a proficient with, they may not feel the need to justify using another skill. They’re probably going to be happy for the obvious opportunity to put that skill to use, just like a player with a combat-optimized character will be happy for the opportunity for a fight. However, if you present obstacles with no planned solution, the optimal strategy becomes choosing the approach that you think is best suited to your goal, rather than choosing the approach you think the DM set you up for an opportunity to use.</blockquote>