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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ExploderWizard" data-source="post: 4454091" data-attributes="member: 66434">Player skill means not having to reach for a die whenever a problem presents itself. If the first thing out out of a player's mouth when presented with an obstacle is: " I got a (insert number),(insert skill name), check" then its a sign that player skill is either absent or on vacation. I prefer a nice mix of character skill and player skill, both when running and playing. There are those times when having a dimwitted character have a moment of brilliance or the opposite, create truly memorable moments. Even fantasy fiction provides examples of this. The Lord of the Rings scene featuring Gandalf (a bright guy not to mention a demigod) stumped by a riddle that Frodo ( not a dummy at all but not in Ganadalf's league of Int) solves rather easily. In a old 1E campaign from 20 years ago, I remember a minotaur fighter that charged full speed towards a door and failed ( he struck the door, rolled poorly and fell down). The human druid then stepped up, rolled a 1 and pushed the door open. It was very funny, based completely on traits from the characters, yet completely opposite to the results one would expect from these characters, looking over the raw numbers.  When it comes to puzzles, I really do enjoy them. The trick to good puzzles is to make solving them relative to what the characters know and not some strange puzzle that has no meaning in the campaign. Having to have memorized the lyrics to every song on a particular album to solve a riddle can take you right out of the game and bring it to a crashing halt. On the other hand, providing clues in the game that enable the PC's to solve a puzzle with just that information can be really fun.  What I don't like about systems that reduce everything to a die roll is that this type of play does nothing to reward players who actually think, and pay attention to the events in the campaign. If a player just wants to space out and roll the dice in combat, thats ok but when it comes time to solve a problem using information that every player has but this player chose not to care about then a die roll just won't cut it.  What it all boils down to is what type of game is the group there to play? For me, D&D has been a game that provides opportunities to think quickly, roleplay, problem solve, and improvise. If I just want to move a game piece around and roll dice I can play a board or war game.</blockquote>

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