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I like to let people roll. The result may determine the consequences of failure.
But then you get players who complain that “they couldn’t even succeed with a 20?!” And they complain why did you let them roll.
Of course if your players are used to that party of your style, that’s fine.
Just frame it as a success. Like our GM.
GM: Roll a d100
Player: rolls
GM: You’ve turned into a fairy.
Player: What…
GM: And as you look at yourself, you notice you’re naked.
Player: But I’ve rolled 90 out of a 100!
GM: Yes. The fairy IS actually the GOOD outcome!
- Why did you let me roll???
- To see how loud the bystanders will laugh, obviously.
I’ve heard “because I like the sound of dice hitting the table.”
thats an amazing answer, i love it
if they’re int/dex/str, I make them roll a wisdom check to see if they do something impossibly stupid.
if they’re wis or cha, they roll deception against themselves with disadvantage. It’s excellent seeing a character literally deceive themselves into doing something dumb.
“You sure can try” is a favorite of mine. I have exactly one player who has figured out what this means after 3 years.
I had a dm who would tell us to roll. And then say “you fail” before hearing the number
im not sure if this is funny or sad
One of my favorite features of GURPS, lately, is a relatively cheap Advantage (sorta like a Feat) called “Common Sense”. It’s very simple: if you’re about to do something STUPID (emphasis theirs), the GM can tell you that you should probably reconsider your actions.
And yet, I had to mention it several times for one of my players to consider taking it.
No, you cannot attach a drop to this castle and drag it across the countryside, even with a nat 20.
What if I use a pulley?
Was the pulley created by Karsus? Then yes.
Legendary item Karsus’s Pulley.
When you fail the history check, and recall your teacher mentioning something about Karsus’s Pulley in the year -339 DR. “Can’t for the life of me remember how he managed to kill magic with the thing…”
Look, I’m not gonna tell you the DC so you can just make a note and come back later knowing you can pass. You’re gonna have to see what happens and figure it out. The only time I will ever tell a player they can’t do something, is if they are trying to do something that is against the rules of the game. I might inform them of potential consequences of their actions if they don’t seem to quite understand something that should be obvious, but that’s about it. I also use critical fail and success with skill checks in my games, to make things more interesting. So even if the DC is impossible, a NAT20 may still get you through.
