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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Campbell" data-source="post: 7794572" data-attributes="member: 16586">I think part of the issue might be how we see what is happening in the fiction when something like an Arcana check is called for and what the roll actually resolves. As far as I am concerned it is resolving what can I recall in this highly specific moment in time. It is not resolving what your character knows in the broad sense of what they have been exposed to in years of study. Given more time they would probably be able to piece together more and can try to do so over the course of a fight if need be.I look at it like this. I am a software engineer. I have worked with a number of different technology stacks over the years. I broadly know a lot about a number of different technologies, programming techniques, databases, and the like. In the moment of coding a solution this is not all immediately available to me. I must exert mental effort to recall how to do things even if I have done so 100 times before.I view skilled play of the fiction to be a crucial skill that new players should learn over time if they want to be good at the game. This includes things like investigating the right areas, choosing where to look for hidden enemies, use of divination spells, and use of knowledge skills. It also includes finding and exploiting leverage to convince NPCs to do the things you want them to. I try to guide new players through this process.I know this might be contentious in some parts, but I want to foster an environment where skilled play of the fiction and mechanics of the game are rewarded. Moldvay B/X is one of my favorite versions of the game and I tend to hew pretty close to its advice on how to referee Dungeons and Dragons. I set up an environment meant to challenge the players and it is up to them to navigate it using their skills as players and the abilities of their characters.</blockquote>

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