Skill Checks

Let It Ride

(Paraphrased from Burning Wheel).

The fundamental principle governing skill checks boils down to this: The DM and Players have an agreement: There is one roll per set of circumstances.

For example, as the DM, I won’t make you roll Stealth over and over again until you fail. As players, you won’t pile on to each others’ skill checks over and over until you succeed. In any given set of circumstances, there is one roll that represents the best effort over the time period, and we Let It Ride.

This is a cooperative story telling game, and part of how we tell a story is through dice rolls. Successes and failures both contribute to the story. Metagaming chips away at the story.

Individual Skill Checks

• Only one PC can roll a skill check to generate a particular outcome, even when that particular outcome impacts the party as a whole.
  • Examples of particular outcomes include locating things (such as secret doors or books in a library).
• Before rolling, the player making the check must first describe what their character is doing to accomplish their objective during the check.
  • The DC (difficulty class) of a skill check may decrease or increase depending on the action described by the player before rolling.
• All buffs (such as casting Guidance) must be declared before rolling.
• The help action may be taken by one other PC, but only if the helping PC is proficient in the skill being checked, if the helping player describes what their character is doing to help, and if that player fulfils these requisites before any dice are rolled.

Contested Skill Checks

I retain the rules for contested skill checks from the 2014 rules on a case-by-case basis.