Stan
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2018
- Messages
- 2,415
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Most of the time, yes - why roll if the outcome is certain? Save the rolls for times of stress or if you just want to see what happens.If the best possible roll is still a failure and the worst possible roll a success, they shouldn’t even be rolling.
For example, suppose characters have to cross a rickety bridge as a lead up to combat. Maybe a DC 5 acrobatics check, which some characters would fail only on a 1. I'd make them roll as things out of their control could cause them to fail. If there were not enemies on the other side, I wouldn't have them roll (5e should have kept taking 10 for casual situations - I still use it). The 5% fail chance is enough uncertainty to make players consider their options.
On the other end, if someone comes up with a plan that's impossible but sounds cool, set the difficulty insanely high and let them try if they still want to.
Unlikely events should be rare but they should have some possibility. When rare events do happen, it makes the session more memorable.