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<blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 5970390" data-attributes="member: 6696971">Regarding the topic of the post:The reasoning for why I like skill challenges is the inverse of the reasoning for why I have a measure of antipathy for unconstrained, limited-use, powerful Divinations (Legend Lore, Commune, Scry, etc) and mildly-constrained, borderline at-will, useful Divinations (Detect Evil).&nbsp; The former empowers (and hopefully through practice, emboldens) the PCs to directly interface with the fiction and sculpt it in interesting, dynamic directions that naturally widens the scope of the play before us.&nbsp; Unfortunately, I have found that the latter, when fairly adjudicated RaW, empowers (and inevitably emboldens to the point of SoP) the PCs to directly bypass, rather than interface with, the fiction in predictable, trite ways that narrow the scope of play before us - crowding out the possibility of singularly or (better yet) jointly composing intrigue or investigatory plot (2 tropes that I find seminal to my brand of role-playing).&nbsp; Playing Rock-Paper-Scissors, in my mind, during plot creation against the looming specter of PC Divination resources is writer's block up in your face with a big, nasty sword...with a crystal ball attached to the end to brain you with.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Manbearcat, post: 5970390, member: 6696971"] Regarding the topic of the post: The reasoning for why I like skill challenges is the inverse of the reasoning for why I have a measure of antipathy for unconstrained, limited-use, powerful Divinations (Legend Lore, Commune, Scry, etc) and mildly-constrained, borderline at-will, useful Divinations (Detect Evil). The former empowers (and hopefully through practice, emboldens) the PCs to directly interface with the fiction and sculpt it in interesting, dynamic directions that naturally widens the scope of the play before us. Unfortunately, I have found that the latter, when fairly adjudicated RaW, empowers (and inevitably emboldens to the point of SoP) the PCs to directly bypass, rather than interface with, the fiction in predictable, trite ways that narrow the scope of play before us - crowding out the possibility of singularly or (better yet) jointly composing intrigue or investigatory plot (2 tropes that I find seminal to my brand of role-playing). Playing Rock-Paper-Scissors, in my mind, during plot creation against the looming specter of PC Divination resources is writer's block up in your face with a big, nasty sword...with a crystal ball attached to the end to brain you with. [/QUOTE]

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