D&D 5E Roleplaying in D&D 5E: It’s How You Play the Game

[Bill Zebub]

Although I don’t “let it ride” in either of the two ways described, I do think there could be a role for knowing how good your attempt is.

For example, once you succeed against one target, further attempts could be made with advantage. Once you know you disguise, hiding place, forgery is working, you can be more confident and take greater chances. There’s some narrative value to that.

 

[Charlaquin]

That's a reasonable observation. So it may be easier to see how for some groups, invoking a skill conveys the information needed to determine approach.

Sure! But doing so generally requires making certain assumptions - the easy example being, when you say you “search” something (or worse, “make a perception check,”) are you just visually examining it, or are you touching it? Are you using any tools to interact with it? What and how? For many groups there’s an implicit assumption; sometimes searching a thing always involves contact, or perhaps it involves contact only when contact is needed to find whatever is being searched for, or it never involves contact if contact would be dangerous for the PC. These are all perfectly fine assumptions to make, but in my experience they almost always go unspoken, and when a player’s expectations about what the assumptions are don’t match up with the DM’s expectations of the assumption, it can lead to conflict. My preference is to ask the players to give enough information that such assumptions aren’t necessary to begin with. As an added bonus, this insures that the fictional action is clearly described, rather than being left abstract, which helps create a more consistent shared picture between everyone playing.

 

[Charlaquin]

We all know which Hawke is the best Hawke.

Bethany?

 

[Nefermandias]

Bethany?

Of course. Carver was a crybaby anyway.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

In combat, if DM has described circumstances in which it is possible for you to Hide (dim light for example, with Skulker) then you can invoke the Hide action and you make a check. That's one variation. Such cases are littered throughout the rules.

Sure - but, as a player, wouldn't you rather wait for the DM to ask you to roll? I mean, the DM could just declare you hidden. Done.

 

[Charlaquin]

Sure acting with a specific script, direction, and lines is not exactly the way roleplaying is generally done in RPGs, but improv acting is a great description/analogy/metaphor for roleplaying in an RPG.

In improv it can be completely created by the actors ("I am Jorge the Dog-Handler"), or it can be based on outside cues and directions (such as prompts from the audience or another person on the stage) "I'd better ask Jorge the dog-handler." "That is me, I am Jorge. What is your doggy emergency?"

Oh, absolutely! Improv acting is most definitely roleplaying in my opinion. And, again, more traditionally scripted and directed acting can involve roleplaying as part of the process, it’s just that the finished performance is… dubiously roleplaying. And I say this as a method-trained actor myself.

That seems to describe exactly a roll the dice then roleplay out the result approach to RPG roleplaying.

Well… I mean, I don’t disagree, I just don’t think the analogy casts that approach to RPG play in a very favorable light. This is actually a great way to encapsulate why I prefer the approach where the players describe what they do first and then roll the dice if necessary to determine the outcome. It insures that the player, not the polyhedrons, is deciding what the character does; the polyhedrons just provide a risk of failure, when in-fiction logic demands there be such a risk.

 

[Charlaquin]

Of course. Carver was a crybaby anyway.

To his credit, he makes a great dramatic foil to Garett/Marian, especially as a Templar. I view Hawke’s story as a tragedy, and I have a hard time choosing between Templar Carver and Warden Bethany as the more narratively compelling option in that context.

 

[Maxperson]

We all know which Hawke is the best Hawke.

 

[Oofta]

Sure - but, as a player, wouldn't you rather wait for the DM to ask you to roll? I mean, the DM could just declare you hidden. Done.

As a DM if I thought being hidden was going to be automatic and a player asked for or rolled a stealth check, why would I change my mind other than to be an a##hole?

 

[Oofta]

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