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<blockquote data-quote="Oofta" data-source="post: 9060024" data-attributes="member: 6801845"><p>In my game it can be as simple as </p><p style="margin-left: 20px">DM: "... the door is locked"</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Player: "20 to open"</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">DM: "You silently pick the lock, what do you do?"</p><p>instead of </p><p style="margin-left: 20px">DM: "... the door is locked"</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><strong>Player: "Can I pick the lock?"</strong></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><strong>DM: "Roll a thieve's tools check"</strong></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Player: "20"</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">DM: "You silently pick the lock, what do you do?"</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p>Either could happen in my game, the bolded is what I'm talking about that people add (and some people insist it <em>must</em> be added). It's just extra back and forth that I don't get why people require it. I know that the thief PC is doing, the player knows what their character is doing. </p><p></p><p>In most cases if a check wasn't required, it's not going to matter what they roll.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px">DM: "... the door is locked"</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Player: "20 to open"</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">DM: "<strong>It was a cheap lock, you could have done it in your sleep</strong>. You silently pick the lock, what do you do?"</p><p>instead of </p><p style="margin-left: 20px">DM: "... the door is locked"</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Player: "Can I pick the lock?"</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">DM: <strong>"It's a simple lock, no roll required. </strong>You silently pick the lock, what do you do?" </p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p>Of course if the roll is required for other reasons than opening the lock then the first example is what happens anyway. </p><p></p><p>If in either style the player ends up having to roll a D20, the only thing that is added is the player basically asking "may I get a skill check I know you're going to ask for anyway".</p><p></p><p></p><p>Whereas in mine it would be "Arcana to know what these symbols mean?" or whatever. Knowledge checks are a bit different, usually the player will have to ask for applicable skill. I never require them to explain why they have arcana, history or whatever, because the answer is always going to be some variation of "Because of my training and background". I can't think of any way I'd describe a knowledge check in more ways than that one explanation so why bother? If someone is a sailor they may remind me of that when trying to remember something about the history of a ship, but that's adding additional qualifier to the check I may not remember.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I just shortcut it because I don't care and my players know how to play the game. Knowledge checks are the exception to the general rule.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Oofta, post: 9060024, member: 6801845"] In my game it can be as simple as [INDENT]DM: "... the door is locked"[/INDENT] [INDENT]Player: "20 to open"[/INDENT] [INDENT]DM: "You silently pick the lock, what do you do?"[/INDENT] instead of [INDENT]DM: "... the door is locked"[/INDENT] [INDENT][B]Player: "Can I pick the lock?"[/B][/INDENT] [INDENT][B]DM: "Roll a thieve's tools check"[/B][/INDENT] [INDENT]Player: "20"[/INDENT] [INDENT]DM: "You silently pick the lock, what do you do?"[/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] Either could happen in my game, the bolded is what I'm talking about that people add (and some people insist it [I]must[/I] be added). It's just extra back and forth that I don't get why people require it. I know that the thief PC is doing, the player knows what their character is doing. In most cases if a check wasn't required, it's not going to matter what they roll. [INDENT]DM: "... the door is locked"[/INDENT] [INDENT]Player: "20 to open"[/INDENT] [INDENT]DM: "[B]It was a cheap lock, you could have done it in your sleep[/B]. You silently pick the lock, what do you do?"[/INDENT] instead of [INDENT]DM: "... the door is locked"[/INDENT] [INDENT]Player: "Can I pick the lock?"[/INDENT] [INDENT]DM: [B]"It's a simple lock, no roll required. [/B]You silently pick the lock, what do you do?" [/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] Of course if the roll is required for other reasons than opening the lock then the first example is what happens anyway. If in either style the player ends up having to roll a D20, the only thing that is added is the player basically asking "may I get a skill check I know you're going to ask for anyway". Whereas in mine it would be "Arcana to know what these symbols mean?" or whatever. Knowledge checks are a bit different, usually the player will have to ask for applicable skill. I never require them to explain why they have arcana, history or whatever, because the answer is always going to be some variation of "Because of my training and background". I can't think of any way I'd describe a knowledge check in more ways than that one explanation so why bother? If someone is a sailor they may remind me of that when trying to remember something about the history of a ship, but that's adding additional qualifier to the check I may not remember. I just shortcut it because I don't care and my players know how to play the game. Knowledge checks are the exception to the general rule. [/QUOTE]
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