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<blockquote data-quote="Philotomy Jurament" data-source="post: 4531553" data-attributes="member: 20854">Yeah...sorta.&nbsp; The thing is, the DM still defines the difficulty, and still defines many of the modifiers that get applied.&nbsp; And he probably takes your PC's skill level into account when he creates the challenge.&nbsp; For example, when designing an adventure, I used to think &quot;okay, this should present a decent challenge for an average 4th level Fighter (which assumes a decent strength and some skill points in the athletic skills), and he should have about a 65% chance of success...&quot; and I'd back into a DC number that way.&nbsp; Now, I cut to the chase and make it simpler.If you've got a challenge that's pre-defined off a list of &quot;appropriate DCs&quot; you can short-cut that procedure and avoid tying it tightly to the PC, but DCs and details for stuff like &quot;climb a wall with the assistance of a knotted rope&quot; is a usually a waste of time, anyway; you really only need to worry about challenges that really are challenges.&nbsp; And in those cases, you're always going to have the DM making some evaluations and adjustments.For me, the overhead of a detailed and granular system is more trouble than it's worth.&nbsp; I don't think it buys you as much consistency and impartiality as it might seem to, on the surface, so I think it adds a lot of trouble and bookkeeping for little reward.&nbsp; Like you said, though, different preferences and all.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Philotomy Jurament, post: 4531553, member: 20854"] Yeah...sorta. The thing is, the DM still defines the difficulty, and still defines many of the modifiers that get applied. And he probably takes your PC's skill level into account when he creates the challenge. For example, when designing an adventure, I used to think "okay, this should present a decent challenge for an average 4th level Fighter (which assumes a decent strength and some skill points in the athletic skills), and he should have about a 65% chance of success..." and I'd back into a DC number that way. Now, I cut to the chase and make it simpler. If you've got a challenge that's pre-defined off a list of "appropriate DCs" you can short-cut that procedure and avoid tying it tightly to the PC, but DCs and details for stuff like "climb a wall with the assistance of a knotted rope" is a usually a waste of time, anyway; you really only need to worry about challenges that really are challenges. And in those cases, you're always going to have the DM making some evaluations and adjustments. For me, the overhead of a detailed and granular system is more trouble than it's worth. I don't think it buys you as much consistency and impartiality as it might seem to, on the surface, so I think it adds a lot of trouble and bookkeeping for little reward. Like you said, though, different preferences and all. [/QUOTE]

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