Celebrim
Legend
Anabstercorian: Ha! Well, if any PC of mine ever gets 26 INT or WIS, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I'd certainly allow them to attempt extremely difficulty INT or WIS checks or skill based checks and if they get lucky inform them of hiden things that would not be noticed by characters of 'mere mortal ken'. And I'd probably let them make 'clue saves' if they were going to do something truly and extraordinarily stupid. However, as far as letting them retcon past actions, I doubt it.
Other than the fact that it would lead to tremendous arguements if I did, slow down play, and possibly break the campaign, there are a couple of philosophical reasons for this. Unlike the physical attributes (str, dex, and con), the mental attributes (int, wis, chr) relate to things that the players themselves actually do in the course of roleplay. While I don't make a player cartwheel across the room when making a tumble check, I do expect the player to at least make an attempt at actual conversation before he is allowed a bluff or diplomacy or other chr based check. I expect a Bard character to if not bring a musical instrument and play it, to at least show some interest in having poetry to quote, song lines to chant, and so forth. Similarly, if a person is searching a room, I let him make a second check to find something if he specifically says he is searching the area where it is hid - even if his first more general search check ("I search the room.") failed. Neither do I penalize players with characters of low intelligence for acting cautiously and in effect intelligently (though if they don't RP _stupid_ well no bonus xp for them). All these things are RP as I know it, and I wouldn't want to remove them. For one thing, It makes my job fun when players play well, and I reward player who do it well with experience. As such, you as a player have a certain burden to play intelligently if your character is intelligent, wisely if your character is wise, and charismaticly if your character is charismatic (and interestingly no matter what). If you cannot play a character with 26 INT intelligently, I can help you only so much (allowing you intelligence checks if you are on the right track, or to give you hints, and so forth), but ultimately the burden is on you.
As for cursing me, players do that all the time. But, they are usually laughing at the time and seem to usually come back for more.
And look at it this way. My IQ may be pretty high, but it is pitted against the collective minds of all my players AND I have to keep the game flowing quickly, describe events continiously, and keep track of multiple creatures simultaneously. The burden of the DM is that he has to know everything about everything in encyclapedic detail. Sometimes this burden is too high, and I have to fudge it. On the other hand, all I expect of the player is that they know something like what his character knows.
Other than the fact that it would lead to tremendous arguements if I did, slow down play, and possibly break the campaign, there are a couple of philosophical reasons for this. Unlike the physical attributes (str, dex, and con), the mental attributes (int, wis, chr) relate to things that the players themselves actually do in the course of roleplay. While I don't make a player cartwheel across the room when making a tumble check, I do expect the player to at least make an attempt at actual conversation before he is allowed a bluff or diplomacy or other chr based check. I expect a Bard character to if not bring a musical instrument and play it, to at least show some interest in having poetry to quote, song lines to chant, and so forth. Similarly, if a person is searching a room, I let him make a second check to find something if he specifically says he is searching the area where it is hid - even if his first more general search check ("I search the room.") failed. Neither do I penalize players with characters of low intelligence for acting cautiously and in effect intelligently (though if they don't RP _stupid_ well no bonus xp for them). All these things are RP as I know it, and I wouldn't want to remove them. For one thing, It makes my job fun when players play well, and I reward player who do it well with experience. As such, you as a player have a certain burden to play intelligently if your character is intelligent, wisely if your character is wise, and charismaticly if your character is charismatic (and interestingly no matter what). If you cannot play a character with 26 INT intelligently, I can help you only so much (allowing you intelligence checks if you are on the right track, or to give you hints, and so forth), but ultimately the burden is on you.
As for cursing me, players do that all the time. But, they are usually laughing at the time and seem to usually come back for more.
And look at it this way. My IQ may be pretty high, but it is pitted against the collective minds of all my players AND I have to keep the game flowing quickly, describe events continiously, and keep track of multiple creatures simultaneously. The burden of the DM is that he has to know everything about everything in encyclapedic detail. Sometimes this burden is too high, and I have to fudge it. On the other hand, all I expect of the player is that they know something like what his character knows.
