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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 5935117" data-attributes="member: 42582">I don't think this is true of 4e (I'm not sure if you include it as an "older edition"). It has skill challenges, which are a particular form of the fairly generic "extended resolution mechanic" found in many contemporary RPGs.It's not also strictly true of classic D&D. The resolution system for reactions, exploring dungeons, and evading encounters in B/X and 1st ed AD&D aren't all that spectacular, but they're not just "roll some checks and make it up". I think that description is probably most true for 2nd ed AD&D and 3E.I don't really agree with this. There is no particular need for combat to be structured - combat could simply be resolved by an opposed check (sorry, a Contest!) between attack bonuses.But structuring combat gives it a certain "heft" and place in the game.Likewise non-combat. Despite the discussion of 3 pillars by the designers, I will be pretty surprised if D&Dnext ends up, in mechanical terms, doing anything dramatic with non-combat that hasn't been part of earlier editions. The furthest D&d has gone in this direction is skill challenges, and it seems pretty clear no sort of extended resolution system of that sort will be in D&Dnext.There's no reason in principle why combat can't be handled the same way - the situation is narrated, the GM wings it and sets some stakes for what will happen on successful or failed rolls (perhaps telling the players, perhaps giving hints, perhaps keeping it secret as best suits the current pace and state of the game), dice are rolled, and outcomes adjudicated. Rinse and repeat.That most RPGs have more robust resolution system for combat doesn't tell us anything about what combat resolution needs. It might tell us something about what RPGers want, though.Which ones? There is the standard dungeon exploration stuff: Pick Locks, Disarm Traps, Detect Magic, Light, Perception, Stealth (with the Stealth rules seeming to me like a slimmed-down version of 4e's). There are no rules for running a chase through a dungeon, though. Or for spelunking. Or even for the PCs roping together so as to avoid the threat of pits.There are Animal Handling and Survival, but no developed resolution system for them. How can I run wilderness exploration to make it as gripping as a combat with the ogre or minotaur?There are social skills, but no developed resolution system for them. The interaction rules are even weaker than those in Basic D&D. (And they're pretty rudimentary).And then there are the lore skills and Comprehend Languages. But again with no resolution system. (What benefits does Forbidden Lore give me when it comes to dealing with the imprisoned medusa? The rules don't say.)In my view, non-combat abilities aren't just about entries on a character sheet (those are cheap!). It's about resolution systems that players can engage with confidence about the sorts of outcomes that might result from that engagement. I'm not seeing any signs of that in this playtest.</blockquote>

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