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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 9086758" data-attributes="member: 42582">I'm not sure if you're advocating railroading or not. In case it's unclear, I'm not.I've expressed no view, in this thread so far, about the relationship between player agency and access to equipment. It's a vexed question in D&D, going way back to spellbook shenanigans as a means to control the power of mid-to-high level MUs in the early years of the game. But my general approach is the same as to other examples of consequences: who put the loss of a spellbook, or bow, or whatever it might be, at stake - the player, or the GM?As to what is distinctive about the Noble background: its rules text to me seems crystal clear. Just like (say) Action Surge, it grants an ability that can be deployed by the player whenever the conditions are right. Second Wind defines the conditions mostly in mechanical terms (using the jargon of the 5e D&D action economy). Position of Privilege defines the conditions in terms of the fiction. Neither requires the player to succeed on a roll. There are at least two RPGs which gate an Action Surge-like ability behind a successful check: Rolemaster, with its Adrenal Moves (Speed) skill, and HARP (a type of RM-lite) which has a similar skill. D&D 5e could have gone down this path, but didn't.There are likewise at least two RPGs which gate a Position of Privilege-like ability behind a successful check: Burning Wheel, with its Circles abilities, and Torchbearer (a cousin of BW) which has a similar ability with the same name. D&D 5e could have gone down this path, but didn't.No one is stopping you houseruling D&D backgrounds. I'm just reading what the rulebook says.</blockquote>

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