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<blockquote data-quote="Imaginary Number" data-source="post: 5300334" data-attributes="member: 63056">I'm a bit conflicted by this.&nbsp; On the one hand, I generally agree with the proposition that it doesn't matter what a character supposedly is doing because the probabilities and results do not change.&nbsp; One of the flaws of &quot;old D&amp;D&quot; is that different DMs often had radically different views on what a player had to do or say to entitle them to a bonus or even a roll to find traps, secret doors, etc.:&nbsp; in certain circles, if a player didn't use the correct Magic Language to narrate what they were doing or how they were searching, the player wouldn't find anything.&nbsp; The trend in subsequent iterations of D&amp;D to eliminate bonuses or other DM-specific entitlements from particular Magic Language and to assume in the mechanics, for example, that everyone who is searching is doing it appropriately, is in my view a good thing.&nbsp;On the other hand, I would never assume as a result that I should take over player narration of whatever action they're trying to accomplish.&nbsp; My job as the DM is to translate whatever the player says they're doing into something the system can resolve mechanically and to be even-handed about it.&nbsp; I want my players to describe what they want to do in whatever level of detail they're happy with.&nbsp; So when my roleplayers describe in exquisite detail how they're searching a hidden altar for secret panels, I'll give them a Perception check; I'll also give the identical check for my combat-oriented players who say simply that they're searching the hidden altar.&nbsp; Although I want to encourage my roleplayers to roleplay in appropriate circumstances, I also don't want to give anyone an undue advantage simply because they give me a more detail-oriented description of their actions.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Imaginary Number, post: 5300334, member: 63056"] I'm a bit conflicted by this. On the one hand, I generally agree with the proposition that it doesn't matter what a character supposedly is doing because the probabilities and results do not change. One of the flaws of "old D&D" is that different DMs often had radically different views on what a player had to do or say to entitle them to a bonus or even a roll to find traps, secret doors, etc.: in certain circles, if a player didn't use the correct Magic Language to narrate what they were doing or how they were searching, the player wouldn't find anything. The trend in subsequent iterations of D&D to eliminate bonuses or other DM-specific entitlements from particular Magic Language and to assume in the mechanics, for example, that everyone who is searching is doing it appropriately, is in my view a good thing. On the other hand, I would never assume as a result that I should take over player narration of whatever action they're trying to accomplish. My job as the DM is to translate whatever the player says they're doing into something the system can resolve mechanically and to be even-handed about it. I want my players to describe what they want to do in whatever level of detail they're happy with. So when my roleplayers describe in exquisite detail how they're searching a hidden altar for secret panels, I'll give them a Perception check; I'll also give the identical check for my combat-oriented players who say simply that they're searching the hidden altar. Although I want to encourage my roleplayers to roleplay in appropriate circumstances, I also don't want to give anyone an undue advantage simply because they give me a more detail-oriented description of their actions. [/QUOTE]

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