Classic adventure games don’t have a lot of skills that are included in the rules. Some skills and knowledge are assumed. I tend to give a lot of leeway when it comes to common tasks.
Classic adventure games don’t have a lot of skills that are included in the rules. Some skills and knowledge are assumed. I tend to give a lot of leeway when it comes to common tasks.
I like to add: making players roll for things they don’t have to (to clear, as per blog author said) can be useful in two situations, IMO.
to keep players doing something during non-dice times. Some players really like rolling dice. Setting up camp? Roll some dice. High, low, doesn’t matter, camp still gets made. Players can get worried when they roll low and nothing obviously happens. A great GM trick.
to randomly generate flavor text. Setting up camp? Make a survival check. Player got a 4 after modifiers? Use that in your description. It’s a rough site, full of rocks, but at least there’s a windbreak. Uncomfortable, cold, etc. They got an 18? Describe something more comfortable, or they found a fallen tree bow to sweep away the loose rocks. If you’re not sure how to describe a scene, get a die roll. Sure, the DM could make it, but this gets the players more invested. They don’t need to know it’s just flavor.
That is - don’t punish or reward rolls that don’t need to be made. And don’t let players describe the results of their rolls. They react to the world, not to dice.