Quote Originally Posted by Tanarii View Post
This is the type of circumlocutions that seem entirely unnecessary to me. If I can figure it out, my character can figure it out. If I can't figure it out, my character can't figure it out. If my Int 20 character can pass an Int check that gives me, the player, a hint that helps me figure it out, great. If my Int 8 character fails and gets bad information that causes me to make a mistake in figuring it out, also great.
That's not necessarily true. In part because words are lossy--there's lots of things the character can see that can't be described well in words. In addition, being removed from things (and having lots of experience that the character doesn't have) can make it easier to deduce the presence of a trap (to continue that example). A level 1 character wouldn't know that's a trap (he's never seen something like that before), when the experienced player is dead sure it is.