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<blockquote data-quote="iserith" data-source="post: 8473174" data-attributes="member: 97077">And, not that anyone actually reads the DMG - especially not experienced DMs - but it does provide an implicit endorsement of balancing ruling automatic success with calling for ability checks. This is referred to as the &quot;Middle Path&quot; and it has no drawbacks as compared to methods where the DM calls for a lot of rolls versus very few. As a player, I don't want to roll. I'm going to usually engage in tasks for which I have a good ability score and skill or tool proficiency in case I have to roll, but I'm going to put some amount of effort into removing the uncertainty as to the outcome and/or the meaningful consequence, if it's possible. That's because automatic success is better than relying on a fickle d20, provided success is my goal. This doesn't diminish my investment in those ability scores, skills, or tool proficiencies; rather, it just makes them into a form of &quot;insurance&quot; just in case I have to roll. If I'm generally engaged in boldly confronting deadly perils and otherwise dealing with situations that have meaningful stakes where there is some amount of opposition, I'll still probably be rolling quite a bit relative to the session time. Which is also why I'm going to play to my personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws in order to bank Inspiration so that I can bend the curve in my favor. This is a very good positive feedback loop for play!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="iserith, post: 8473174, member: 97077"] And, not that anyone actually reads the DMG - especially not experienced DMs - but it does provide an implicit endorsement of balancing ruling automatic success with calling for ability checks. This is referred to as the "Middle Path" and it has no drawbacks as compared to methods where the DM calls for a lot of rolls versus very few. As a player, I don't want to roll. I'm going to usually engage in tasks for which I have a good ability score and skill or tool proficiency [I]in case I have to roll[/I], but I'm going to put some amount of effort into removing the uncertainty as to the outcome and/or the meaningful consequence, if it's possible. That's because automatic success is better than relying on a fickle d20, provided success is my goal. This doesn't diminish my investment in those ability scores, skills, or tool proficiencies; rather, it just makes them into a form of "insurance" just in case I have to roll. If I'm generally engaged in boldly confronting deadly perils and otherwise dealing with situations that have meaningful stakes where there is some amount of opposition, I'll still probably be rolling quite a bit relative to the session time. Which is also why I'm going to play to my personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws in order to bank Inspiration so that I can bend the curve in my favor. This is a very good positive feedback loop for play! [/QUOTE]

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