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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FrogReaver" data-source="post: 9205259" data-attributes="member: 6795602">I agree that D&D DM's establish the fictional context of the check, though I would note it's not typically unilateral - players are usually given large latitude in framing their action against the fictional context the DM has already established.  You probably agree here as well so don't think I'm suggesting otherwise.However, after the players action has been committed to, the DM does determine the consequences of failure and the benefits of success.  Often the players framing makes it clear what success should look like, ex: 'I want to jump over this obstacle' and thus success is he jumps over the obstacle.  Failure is usually a bit more fluid, but still the potential options are typically obvious - 'you fall into the obstacle', or 'you almost fall in and are now holding on by the ledge'.  i'd note here that this isn't DM story hour/gm decides or anything similar, where he can make up whatever consequence he wants, they still must revolve around the tables established fiction and/or fiction as established in his notes.  That said, the more complex the task the player wants to accomplish, the less clear success and failure become.  Social tasks tend to fall into this category, and exploration related tasks can go either way.  Stealth is one of the more complex tasks associated with a single skill.  It's in these areas, social and stealth that you most see the DM being able to decide what success and failure of the check looks like - but even here, it's still derived from the fiction, the DM's notes, and/or extrapolation - along with the described player action, which is still a far cry from anything resembling DM story hour/gm decides or anything similar.</blockquote>

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