D&D 5E How do you handle this? - DM edition

[iserith]

This seems like a 180 turnaround from what you were saying earlier. You were rquiring us to tell what in specific they were looking for, what advantage they expected to get out of it, and a consequence for a failed roll. Recalling lore you called a "Q&A with the DM out of context of the game".

Is this just a matter of verbiage? If I changed "I examine the statue visually without approaching. Do I know anything about it or see anything besides the scepter that catches my eye?" to include every variation of "historical events, legendary people, ancient kingdoms, past disputes, recent wars, and lost civilizations" for all of my knowledge skills, you'd be okay with it?

I don't think so, that doesn't jive with what you were saying before. But agreeing that a skill like history can recall facts seems like a pretty big departure from what you were saying so now I'm confused.

I think I see the issue. Correct me if I am wrong, but you appear to see "Do I know anything about..." as an action to recall lore. I do not. That is not an action because the player has not described what he or she wanted to do. It is a "Q&A with the DM out of the context of the game." I would ask the player to instead describe what the character is doing and hoping to achieve. In this case of this example, I offered what I would consider a reasonable description related to the character's background feature upthread.

An ability check isn't an action - it resolves an action, when that action has an uncertain outcome and a meaningful consequence for failure. And a question to the DM isn't an action the character is taking. If the DM accepts it as such, then the DM is making an assumption as to what the character is doing and that can lead to problems. I try to avoid those sorts of issues by asking the player to perform his or her rules-prescribed role in the game - describing what he or she wants to do.