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<blockquote data-quote="Oofta" data-source="post: 8794719" data-attributes="member: 6801845">Depends on the scenario.&nbsp; Most of the time, they can still achieve their overall goal but it will come at some cost. Other times they just fail and can't achieve their goal, which is why I have multiple possible goals.Is there a time restraint?&nbsp; In general what I do is have them roll once and if they make it, great.&nbsp; Took no time at all to open the lock. Fail?&nbsp; By how much?&nbsp; If they failed by more than 10 the lock is now jammed, the lockpick broke in the lock.&nbsp; Otherwise how much they missed it by determines how long it's going to take with each increment being 10 minutes.&nbsp; So miss by 10 and it will take 50 minutes, miss by 1 and it's 10 minutes.&nbsp; In real life, it can easily take quite a while to open locks.Whatever makes sense based on the NPC.&nbsp; Maybe the target is flattered, maybe their furious.&nbsp; There's also no way to guarantee success, I don't care if you roll 30+ some people are not going to be seduced.&nbsp; In general if I don't know I use the same idea as the lock, the more they miss by the more negative the reaction.They have to find another way around or spend an inordinate amount of time getting over.&nbsp; Hope they have cold weather gear and food.&nbsp; The last time this happened the PCs had to go find a guide who was willing to show them the trail, for a price.Time waits on no man.&nbsp; Or woman. Or PC.&nbsp; Figure out what happens, if the cultists have enough time to do the summoning it happens.&nbsp; One of the reasons I don't normally do end of the world campaigns.&nbsp; Don't be afraid to let the bad guys win now and then.On the other hand the cultists could screw up the summoning.&nbsp; The &quot;god&quot; they were summoning is really a demon and kills the cultists while going on a rampage, now the PCs have to take out the demon.&nbsp; Sometimes the city the PCs are defending falls.All player knowledge is gained through the eyes or perhaps knowledge/memory of the PCs.In one campaign I had, towards the end of the campaign the PCs simply face planted.&nbsp; Bad planning, bad luck, trusting the wrong people despite being clearly warned, they failed.&nbsp; They did their best to minimize the fallout and had some success, but the result was still huge mess and wiped out much of civilization in the region.&nbsp; The campaign ended and the next campaign dealt with the aftermath.What I don't do is the &quot;It was all a dream&quot; or take back things unless I really, completely f***ed up as a DM.&nbsp; I can't remember the last time it was that bad, other than one time when a PC died because I made a mistake.&nbsp; We just said that the PC was knocked out and actually survived.&nbsp; Other than that though, let the chips fall where they may.However, this is also something you may want to discuss with the group.&nbsp; For me death and failure is never totally off the table although the former is rare and the latter is rare for truly important stuff.&nbsp; That may not work for everyone.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Oofta, post: 8794719, member: 6801845"] Depends on the scenario. Most of the time, they can still achieve their overall goal but it will come at some cost. Other times they just fail and can't achieve their goal, which is why I have multiple possible goals. Is there a time restraint? In general what I do is have them roll once and if they make it, great. Took no time at all to open the lock. Fail? By how much? If they failed by more than 10 the lock is now jammed, the lockpick broke in the lock. Otherwise how much they missed it by determines how long it's going to take with each increment being 10 minutes. So miss by 10 and it will take 50 minutes, miss by 1 and it's 10 minutes. In real life, it can easily take quite a while to open locks. Whatever makes sense based on the NPC. Maybe the target is flattered, maybe their furious. There's also no way to guarantee success, I don't care if you roll 30+ some people are not going to be seduced. In general if I don't know I use the same idea as the lock, the more they miss by the more negative the reaction. They have to find another way around or spend an inordinate amount of time getting over. Hope they have cold weather gear and food. The last time this happened the PCs had to go find a guide who was willing to show them the trail, for a price. Time waits on no man. Or woman. Or PC. Figure out what happens, if the cultists have enough time to do the summoning it happens. One of the reasons I don't normally do end of the world campaigns. Don't be afraid to let the bad guys win now and then. On the other hand the cultists could screw up the summoning. The "god" they were summoning is really a demon and kills the cultists while going on a rampage, now the PCs have to take out the demon. Sometimes the city the PCs are defending falls. All player knowledge is gained through the eyes or perhaps knowledge/memory of the PCs. In one campaign I had, towards the end of the campaign the PCs simply face planted. Bad planning, bad luck, trusting the wrong people despite being clearly warned, they failed. They did their best to minimize the fallout and had some success, but the result was still huge mess and wiped out much of civilization in the region. The campaign ended and the next campaign dealt with the aftermath. What I don't do is the "It was all a dream" or take back things unless I really, completely f***ed up as a DM. I can't remember the last time it was that bad, other than one time when a PC died because I made a mistake. We just said that the PC was knocked out and actually survived. Other than that though, let the chips fall where they may. However, this is also something you may want to discuss with the group. For me death and failure is never totally off the table although the former is rare and the latter is rare for truly important stuff. That may not work for everyone. [/QUOTE]

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