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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gardens &amp; Goblins" data-source="post: 7000108" data-attributes="member: 6846794">Don't know how other folks run it, but in the example you give, it'd run something more like this:Player - ''Norman want to know if she's lying.''DM - ''Ok, how you going to achieve this?''Player - ''Norman carefully watches the cave stoat as she responds to the druid's questions, looking for, 'tells'. Norman's background is pirate and he's had to shake a crew member down in his time. Things like increased breathing, sweating and all that.DM - ''Great. Make an Investigation Check, using Wisdom bonus.''So really, the player - not the DM - helps flesh out the scene. The DM then decides how best to arbitrate the result. Likewise, if the DM wants to throw the player a bone, they can nudge them with information, and hope the player goes with it. (''The stoat seems agitated and is avoiding the druid's gaze. She answers slowly, as if carefully choosing her words.'')As a DM, I set things up - then stand back and let the players chip away. If they need extra info, I'll typically ad lib and supply it in the moment. If a player comes up with something I didn't anticipate, an action or intent I didn't account for, I'll either let them know if its unlikely or impossible (''Um..no, you can't ride a horse. There is no horse. Not in volcano, at this time.'') but ideally, I'll try and support play by either simply calling for a check or laying out a series of checks, being clear to let them know if they'll be at advantage/disadvantage and the relative difficulty, should their player's be able to gauge such a thing. Also known as, ''yes, but...'' style of DMing.[sblock]If that makes it any clearer? It's been a recent (last few years) development on my part, the result of various teacher training and now old school academic experience. Rather than tell a learner want the answer is, you try you best to elicit a response from them. I basically use that. To be honest, distinguishing (and having the players distinguish) the difference between what they want to achieve (intent) from how they propose to achieve it (character action) has been the real boon.[/sblock]</blockquote>

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