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<blockquote data-quote="Rune" data-source="post: 8193329" data-attributes="member: 67">The important thing to remember about ability checks (and sequences thereof) is that the stakes are what matter most. If those aren’t clear and significant (and interesting), then the challenge isn’t going to be interesting (or worth wasting time on), no matter the mechanics used. Of course, the fix for that isn’t to just not do it; the fix is to introduce meaningful stakes when they are lacking.If the DM is having trouble coming up with interesting stakes consistently, one thing that might help would be to pay attention to what the players make preparations against.The things they are anxious about will always make compelling stakes. But not too often, of course – otherwise it becomes a grind!On the other hand, if they never make preparations, that probably means they don’t have any anxieties (or they don’t feel preparations can meaningfully affect things – which is a separate problem entirely). In which case, it’s time to shake things up and introduce something to be anxious about.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Rune, post: 8193329, member: 67"] The important thing to remember about ability checks (and sequences thereof) is that the stakes are what matter most. If those aren’t clear and significant (and interesting), then the challenge isn’t going to be interesting (or worth wasting time on), no matter the mechanics used. Of course, the fix for that isn’t to just not do it; the fix is to introduce meaningful stakes when they are lacking. If the DM is having trouble coming up with interesting stakes consistently, one thing that might help would be to pay attention to what the players make preparations against. The things they are anxious about will always make compelling stakes. But not [I]too[/I] often, of course – otherwise it becomes a grind! On the other hand, if they [I]never[/I] make preparations, that probably means they don’t have any anxieties (or they don’t feel preparations can meaningfully affect things – which is a separate problem entirely). In which case, it’s time to shake things up and introduce something to be anxious about. [/QUOTE]

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