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<blockquote data-quote="Blue" data-source="post: 9400405" data-attributes="member: 20564">Something I've said multiple times: the character sheet is the floor of what the character can do - it can't go lower.&nbsp; If it says you can cast a spell, you can cast that spell even if the player spouts out faux-Latin and that's not how the DM envisions verbal components.&nbsp; Or gives poor lyrics to a love song their bard is trying to sing to the neglected princess on her balcony.&nbsp; The player not knowing shouldn't hurt the proficient character's chances.It can go up from what's on the character sheet - D&amp;D has always been a combination of both. even before skills existed combat was a player's tactics, choice of targets, choice of spells and abilities, combined with the numbers on their sheet.Where this is going is that the player should never need to backtrack to &quot;my character would know better&quot;, because even with the player screwing it up, the DM should never give a chance less than what the character, knowing better, does.&nbsp; To have to backtrack to this is a DM failure.Now, I can see a player bringing this up ahead of time.&nbsp; If as a player I indicated my ranger was looking for a good campsite to deal with the incoming storm that was still defensible because we're in hostile terrain, and the DM asked how I was doing it, I'd default back to &quot;my character knows&quot;.&nbsp; The DM needs my intent - that I'm looking first for someplace to deal with the storm and second defendable, and the unspoken parts of it, like I'm not prioritizing it being hidden, but the player doesn't need to know the &quot;how&quot; of it any more than they know the &quot;how&quot; of casting a spell.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Blue, post: 9400405, member: 20564"] Something I've said multiple times: the character sheet is the floor of what the character can do - it can't go lower. If it says you can cast a spell, you can cast that spell even if the player spouts out faux-Latin and that's not how the DM envisions verbal components. Or gives poor lyrics to a love song their bard is trying to sing to the neglected princess on her balcony. The player not knowing shouldn't hurt the proficient character's chances. It can go up from what's on the character sheet - D&D has always been a combination of both. even before skills existed combat was a player's tactics, choice of targets, choice of spells and abilities, combined with the numbers on their sheet. Where this is going is that the player should never need to [I]backtrack[/I] to "my character would know better", because even with the player screwing it up, the DM should never give a chance less than what the character, knowing better, does. [I]To have to [B]backtrack [/B]to this is a DM failure.[/I] Now, I can see a player bringing this up ahead of time. If as a player I indicated my ranger was looking for a good campsite to deal with the incoming storm that was still defensible because we're in hostile terrain, and the DM asked how I was doing it, I'd default back to "my character knows". The DM needs my intent - that I'm looking first for someplace to deal with the storm and second defendable, and the unspoken parts of it, like I'm not prioritizing it being hidden, but the player doesn't need to know the "how" of it any more than they know the "how" of casting a spell. [/QUOTE]

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