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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tymophil" data-source="post: 5818131" data-attributes="member: 46923">That's right. I hate to tell someone that his action was very clever and to the point, but failed because of a bad roll...If the action has little chance of being a right thing to do, then the dice gives me a hint of the outcome of the action. If it succeeds, it does what the player intented his action to do. If it fails, then something happens that is a hint for the player, pointing towards the best action to perform, in my mind, given the situation.A Dungeon Master is the senses and the intuition of the characters. I give them hints when they fail, rather than when they succeed. When they succeed, the information they recieve is much more than hints. Mots of the time something new HAPPENS.Let's imagine that the intented action has no chance in succeeding. If the roll is a success, I give the character hints related to the situation, the best that the intented action could give. If it fails, I give hints that are of the very same kind, but with a dull tone...I am not playing against the players. I want them to play. In order to play, they need information. I beleive that if the players don't come up with good methods/actions, it's mostly MY fault. So, rather than blame them or their dice, I feed them them with enough hints for them to perform better actions for the next turn...What do you mean by gaffing the action of your character ?Let's imagine that Sir Rakehell the Glib tries to charm the Queen with a nice speech. I would first ask you what kind of speech Sir Rakehell would do, with a smile. Then, I would ask for a Diplomacy check. If the test is a success, then the Queen is very pleased with Sir Rakehell, and something good happens : he gets what he wanted, and maybe some more. If the roll is a failure (unlikely if social skill score is high), then the Queen is merely amused, and something simply useful happens : he gets what he wanted, and that's all.Now, let's assume that you play in a very strange way, and state that Sir Rakehell tries to intimidate the Queen. Then, it is quite unlikely that the action will be met with success. If the tests is a success, then the Queen is offended, but one of the member of the court is impressed, and though Sir Rakehell will not be ableto talk to the Queen for a while, the nobleman introduces the rude Sir Rakehell to the etiquette, and gives several hints on how to talk in the proper manner to her Highness (getting some useful information in the process). If he fails, then he gets the irritation of the Queen in full force, and some nobleman taeches in a harsh way the rules of the etiquette (giving many hints on how the court works).Now if you gaff several times by making inadequate/illogical actions, then maybe my table may not be for you...</blockquote>

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