Stoutstien
lunk
IMO I dislike players asking to make any ability check and strongly suggest they don't because I'm way more likely to be make spot ruling in their favor if they tell me what they are trying to achieve and the desired outcome.
D&D 5E When is it OK to let a player substitute one skill for another?
iserith
Magic Wordsmith
Right. It's not optimal play in my view as a player to push "skill checks." In a game where the DM decides whether you roll a d20 or not, the smart play is to try to avoid rolling! The d20 is very swingy. It is not to be trusted.
As well, the DMG has this to say: "By balancing the use of dice against deciding on success, you can encourage your players to strike a balance between relying on their bonuses and abilities and paying attention to the game and immersing themselves in its world." Since the criteria for rolling are that the action has an uncertain outcome and a meaningful consequence for failure, then the goal as players to avoid rolling is to remove at least one of those two criteria, if they can. That requires paying attention and engaging with the environment in an effective way.
clearstream
(He, Him)
From discussion on these forums, I believe people play in a variety of modes. Some leaning more into fluff, others more into crunch. How one plays skill use is an element of that: another case where there are various good ways, and not really one right way.
Don Durito
Hero
People don't generally read the rules.
It's amazing how people think the rules work vs how they actually work.
Oofta
Legend
If someone asks for an ability check and I'm not sure it's needed I'll clarify what they are trying to accomplish and depending on the answer tell them whether or not it's not needed. I'm not going to be a dick DM just because of the verbiage they used when they stated how their PC is interacting with the world.
If someone rolls a dice and tells me "I made a 19 stealth check to sneak up on the guard" I'll let them know if a check was not necessary at all and why. It's not like I'm going to change the scene just because they made a stealth check, I can't imagine why any DM would. If I don't think a stealth check is appropriate I'll tell them why it's not (from their PC's perspective) because maybe I wasn't clear on the scene description. Then I'll ask what they're trying to accomplish.
In general people get away from ability/skill check first mentality, but it's not a hard and fast rule at my table. I'm certainly not going to punish someone for not following proper protocol.
Oofta
Legend
Or people just don't take the suggestions and examples as gospel that must be followed and instead do what makes sense to them and their group.
Don Durito
Hero
You can only choose not to follow the rules if you know what they actually are.Or people just don't take the suggestions and examples as gospel that must be followed and instead do what makes sense to them and their group.
iserith
Magic Wordsmith
Sure, as I say upthread, it won't break the game to do it another way than is stated in the rules. It's just a different experience. Even the way I do it is not strictly speaking the rules as written.
Benjamin Olson
Hero
If a rule is printed in a book, and nobody ever reads it, is it a rule?
clearstream
(He, Him)
Yes, because it will have been at minimum played prospectively - in the mind of the designer.
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