Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
If an NPC is telling the truth, what's the Insight DC to know they're telling the truth?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Oofta" data-source="post: 7583079" data-attributes="member: 6801845"><p>I'm not saying anyone is making a judgement call and honestly I don't understand why this is a touchy subject. I've just never really gotten clarification on how people run this, or even why they care. </p><p></p><p>So for me, if an action can't succeed if they roll the dice it doesn't matter if the result is 30 or more. There is no 5% chance to climb the wall because it's a perfectly smooth or magic wall and they need to find a different alternative. So I don't negotiate either: if I've already determined that there is no chance of success or failure the attempt is still made. </p><p></p><p>But I don't see any real difference if someone rolls and says "I do an athletics check of 30 to climb the wall" vs "I try to climb the wall". Conversely if they roll an athletics check and get a 0, I may let them know they climb the wall anyway and that no check was necessary. Hopefully I've described the scene well enough that won't happen.</p><p></p><p>To put it a slightly different way: from the PC's perspective they are trying to climb a wall. The way we express that attempted action via the rules is an athletics check. Whether or not it was even possible to climb the wall may be unknown to the PC at the time they make the attempt (especially when magic/illusion may come into play). </p><p></p><p>So let's say I've set up the scene where the party has been temporarily split up, and each come to a different section of a wall of an ancient keep. I'd be okay with any of the following.</p><p>PC 1: Rolls the dice "I make an athletics check 20 to climb"</p><p>PC 2: "Looking around, do I see anything unusual about the wall, or any way up that I may have missed at first glance?"</p><p>PC 3: "This keep is well known, can I make a history check to see if I remember anything?"</p><p>PC 4: "Hmm, my athletics isn't great, maybe this rock soft enough to make handholds for climbing." picks up dice "Do I get advantage on an investigation check because of my background?"</p><p></p><p>And so on. Each PC is doing their best to get over the wall using what they know they're good at. How would you run it differently? Why would it matter if the skill check they're trying isn't necessary?</p><p></p><p>Or throw in an additional twist. The wall looks smooth, but is really pock-marked with holes that's covered by a glamour. Anybody could climb it if they wish but the PCs don't realize that.</p><p></p><p>Again, I'm curious how other people run this. I don't think one way or another is "right", "wrong" or "bad" but I'm always looking at different ways of doing things to see if it's something I can learn from.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Oofta, post: 7583079, member: 6801845"] I'm not saying anyone is making a judgement call and honestly I don't understand why this is a touchy subject. I've just never really gotten clarification on how people run this, or even why they care. So for me, if an action can't succeed if they roll the dice it doesn't matter if the result is 30 or more. There is no 5% chance to climb the wall because it's a perfectly smooth or magic wall and they need to find a different alternative. So I don't negotiate either: if I've already determined that there is no chance of success or failure the attempt is still made. But I don't see any real difference if someone rolls and says "I do an athletics check of 30 to climb the wall" vs "I try to climb the wall". Conversely if they roll an athletics check and get a 0, I may let them know they climb the wall anyway and that no check was necessary. Hopefully I've described the scene well enough that won't happen. To put it a slightly different way: from the PC's perspective they are trying to climb a wall. The way we express that attempted action via the rules is an athletics check. Whether or not it was even possible to climb the wall may be unknown to the PC at the time they make the attempt (especially when magic/illusion may come into play). So let's say I've set up the scene where the party has been temporarily split up, and each come to a different section of a wall of an ancient keep. I'd be okay with any of the following. PC 1: Rolls the dice "I make an athletics check 20 to climb" PC 2: "Looking around, do I see anything unusual about the wall, or any way up that I may have missed at first glance?" PC 3: "This keep is well known, can I make a history check to see if I remember anything?" PC 4: "Hmm, my athletics isn't great, maybe this rock soft enough to make handholds for climbing." picks up dice "Do I get advantage on an investigation check because of my background?" And so on. Each PC is doing their best to get over the wall using what they know they're good at. How would you run it differently? Why would it matter if the skill check they're trying isn't necessary? Or throw in an additional twist. The wall looks smooth, but is really pock-marked with holes that's covered by a glamour. Anybody could climb it if they wish but the PCs don't realize that. Again, I'm curious how other people run this. I don't think one way or another is "right", "wrong" or "bad" but I'm always looking at different ways of doing things to see if it's something I can learn from. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
If an NPC is telling the truth, what's the Insight DC to know they're telling the truth?
Top