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Message: <blockquote data-quote="spinozajack" data-source="post: 6647503" data-attributes="member: 6794198">Oh yes, that's the word, treadmill! It does get you in shape, but you're not really moving <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> I guess what counts is whether you prefer the journey (actual improvement instead of the mere illusion of it), or the destination (fitness to solve a task that's automatically suited to your character despite there being no story reason for that). This analogy is true about 4e on so many levels. I actually like treadmills in real life, at the gym, because it's my mind that wanders, and my body is still getting fit despite not moving. It gives me precise control over slope and duration and velocity. But when I go for a bike ride, I can't compare it to a stationary bike, it's a real experience, and full of wonder.Problem is, D&D is already imaginary, so giving your imaginary PCs an imaginary workout seems redundant and pointless to me. Give them a real workout, and let them come back when they're good enough to pick that DC 25 lock. Not every challenge that PCs come across should be winnable the first time they come across them. This is why I agree with others that static DCs (and ACs) make much more sense. They help anchor the world in its own fiction and maintain consistency. When every obstacle, every enemy, every lock, every cliff face to climb, are all automatically scaling to the PC's current abilities, that rubs me the wrong way.If you come across a DC 25 lock that nobody can currently pick, then it's a question of improvisation, like you said. and that's great. Means you might not be able to win a fight or beat this current obstacle or monster in a square fight or ability check, but if you manage to get some situational bonuses together through clever gaming or get around the problem, that's just as a good. Better. I like encouraging creative play. Straight up dice rolling has its place, but sometimes it's really fun to win something that is supposedly unwinnable just looking at the default math of the game. It's hard if not impossible to do that if your improvisation rules strictly do not allow you to do something much better than your normal, straightforward powers would allow you to. That's why I think those kinds of floating DCs and improv rules don't work.</blockquote>

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