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
Is Expertise too good?
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="The Crimson Binome" data-source="post: 7373125" data-attributes="member: 6775031"><p>That's up to interpretation. Personally, I directly equate the concept of uncertainty to whether the possible outcomes are within the d20 range; e.g. you don't have to roll to break down a door IFF your modifier to the check is sufficient to hit the break DC even were you to roll a 1, and there's no point in rolling if the DC is more than 20 points above your modifier.</p><p></p><p>(Keep in mind, also, that my determination of the DC is going to depend on your approach; it may well end up at zero, if you describe an approach which cannot possibly fail.)</p><p></p><p>The alternative can get... I don't want to say <em>weird</em>, as much as it's <em>unpredictable</em>. I mean, some DMs like to give characters freedom to do anything that they (the DM) imagine someone with those stat should be able to do. ("You have a Strength of 20 - you are literally the strongest human who could possibly live - so <em>of course</em> you can kick down that wooden door.") But other players can feel cheated when they <em>thought</em> they understood how the world was supposed to work, only to find that there's a major discrepancy between their understanding from the rules and the way that the DM rules it. ("You should have plenty of time to pick that lock, because I know roughly how strong that ogre is and roughly how strong that door is, and I estimate that it will take about a minute for it to break through.")</p><p></p><p>One of the big reasons why people use codified rule systems over more free-form ones is that it gets everyone on the same page about how the world is supposed to work. That's why DMs need to declare their house rules before the campaign starts, so everyone can make meaningful decisions instead of just guessing blindly.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="The Crimson Binome, post: 7373125, member: 6775031"] That's up to interpretation. Personally, I directly equate the concept of uncertainty to whether the possible outcomes are within the d20 range; e.g. you don't have to roll to break down a door IFF your modifier to the check is sufficient to hit the break DC even were you to roll a 1, and there's no point in rolling if the DC is more than 20 points above your modifier. (Keep in mind, also, that my determination of the DC is going to depend on your approach; it may well end up at zero, if you describe an approach which cannot possibly fail.) The alternative can get... I don't want to say [I]weird[/I], as much as it's [I]unpredictable[/I]. I mean, some DMs like to give characters freedom to do anything that they (the DM) imagine someone with those stat should be able to do. ("You have a Strength of 20 - you are literally the strongest human who could possibly live - so [I]of course[/I] you can kick down that wooden door.") But other players can feel cheated when they [I]thought[/I] they understood how the world was supposed to work, only to find that there's a major discrepancy between their understanding from the rules and the way that the DM rules it. ("You should have plenty of time to pick that lock, because I know roughly how strong that ogre is and roughly how strong that door is, and I estimate that it will take about a minute for it to break through.") One of the big reasons why people use codified rule systems over more free-form ones is that it gets everyone on the same page about how the world is supposed to work. That's why DMs need to declare their house rules before the campaign starts, so everyone can make meaningful decisions instead of just guessing blindly. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Is Expertise too good?
Top