Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Charlaquin" data-source="post: 7588992" data-attributes="member: 6779196">The bolded segment is where we fundamentally disagree. “I look for signs of traps, but don’t touch because touching might set it off” is what determines whether or not a roll is called for. Depending on the nature of the traps, looking without touching may or may not have a chance of succeeding in detecting signs of traps. It may or may not have a chance of failing to do so. It may or may not have a consequence for failing to do so. Unless it does have all three of those things, a roll will not be called for. So, I would argue that I very well might change the fact that a roll is called for. Now, whether a roll is called for or not, I will need to narrate the result, because that is my roll as the DM. But I will only need to take into account the result of a roll if I called for one, and I will only call for one if “I look for signs of traps, but don’t touch because touching might set it off” meets all three of the afformentioned criteria.No.Are you asking how I would adjudicate that action like that as a DM, or for me to describe an approach to sneaking past a guard as a player?Indeed, which is why it is the player’s role to say what they want to accomplish and how, and the DM’s role to narrate the result. The player doesn’t say “I throw something down the hall and sneak past the guard while he is distracted,” they say “I try to distract the guard by throwing something down the hall,” or “I throw something down the hall to sistract the guard,” and the DM describes what happens next, potentially asking for a dice roll if they are not certain.You’re putting the cart before the horse by assuming that at some point dice will be rolled, without first taking into account what the PC is doing. Maybe dice will be rolled. But maybe they won’t need to be. Depends on if the approach has a chance of succeeding in the goal, a chance of failing in the goal, and a consequence for failing in the goal.</blockquote>We’re going to have to agree to disagree here. I think directly stating what characters other than the POV character are feeling is poor writing. I’d prefer a description of the qualities of the scream that might lead me to conclude that the screamer is terrified. Perhaps “a shrill, trembling scream” or “a strangled squeak that might have began as a scream” or “a scream that could wake the dead.”I mean, whatever floats your boat. I don’t tend to go into a ton of detail. I try to limit myself to only narrating a few sentences at once before asking the players what they do, because I find longer than that risks losing their attention. But you can do a lot with a few sentences. Certainly enough to convey “scary Dragon” without saying that the PCs are scared. In fact, you can use the players’ familiatity with dragons to your advantage. They largely know what dragons look like and what about them they find scary or not, so I don’t have to waste any effort painting a picture of it. “The enormous reptilian beast unfurls its batlike wings and lets out a deafening roar; the air feels hot, as if it could ignite at any moment.” It’s not my place to say if your character is afraid of that or not.[/QUOTE]

Verification