Retrying Conundrum

[Vitruviansquid]

The easiest fix for this would be to play a system in which it isn't a problem.

The more I play D20 systems, the more I realize it breaks down in a lot of situations.

[Selkirk]

The easiest fix for this would be to play a system in which it isn't a problem.

The more I play D20 systems, the more I realize it breaks down in a lot of situations.

gotta agree...the nature of d20 with the skill checks is almost a game breaker for me. i would rather just have dc's for tasks (or better yet just dm rulings/roleplay)..if you have a 16 charisma and dc is 15 you pass. could roll if dc was higher than charisma but for most skill based tasks the number should just pass or fail. none of this rolling a 3 or 4 when trying to get important information from npc's or monsters. d20 almost defeats the purpose of investing in skills/abilities...when a high number really only gives you marginally better chances than a character with no investment.

our fighter was trying to break down a door last nite (i know...i know the doors again ^^;..:D)...failed twice on rolls of 5 and 9. meanwhile we are all just standing there twiddling thumbs. finally on third try it works. kills the drama/momentum for me.

[XionUnborn01]

What I don't like is a situation where you have an expert make a test and rolls poorly. For example:

Your ranger returns from the foraging empty ended and replies "I am sorry, but the winter is bad. The herds have moved on, and the leaves are all dormant. Even the rocks are bare of fungus. There is simply no food to be had."

Or the party healer claims "I am sorry, his injuries are simply too severe for mortal medicine. He is in the god's hands now, and if they are willing he will survive the night."

Your reaction should not be "All right, well let's have the rogue give it a try. He isn't as good, but maybe he will roll better. And if he fails then lets give the fighter a crack, he is dumb as a rock but even so he can still succeed is he rolls a 20."

For the ranger example, the get along check is only DC10 and includes you moving at half speed while foraging and this is supposed to be an all day activity. If he goes out for 10 minutes and comes back empty handed, it's very possible for the rogue to go out in a different direction and find berries or a rabbit. The ranger's statement should only be said if the DM told him this exactly and if that's the case then no one should find anything. If the DM says that he can't locate anything of substance, the ranger should simply say that he didn't find anything, meaning the rogue has every right to spend some time looking around.

Similarly, the healer should never say that his wounds are too severe for medicine unless he knows it for a fact. Most doctors know when thy're out of their league. Maybe the rogue saw or received a similar wound in the past and knows know to treat it. Maybe the fighter knows HOW to inflict that kind of wound and knows what can slow the bleeding. It's a matter of applying character knowledge to the situation, just because the fighter is dumb doesn't mean he hasn't picked up a trick of the trade or two. Remember, the characters existed before the story started, so little things like a rogue closing a nasty looking wound because they happened to have stabbed someone and left that same kind of wound isn't all that unusual.