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I like to let people roll. The result may determine the consequences of failure.
But then you get players who complain that “they couldn’t even succeed with a 20?!” And they complain why did you let them roll.
Of course if your players are used to that party of your style, that’s fine.
Just frame it as a success. Like our GM.
GM: Roll a d100
Player: rolls
GM: You’ve turned into a fairy.
Player: What…
GM: And as you look at yourself, you notice you’re naked.
Player: But I’ve rolled 90 out of a 100!
GM: Yes. The fairy IS actually the GOOD outcome!
if they’re int/dex/str, I make them roll a wisdom check to see if they do something impossibly stupid.
if they’re wis or cha, they roll deception against themselves with disadvantage. It’s excellent seeing a character literally deceive themselves into doing something dumb.
- Why did you let me roll???
- To see how loud the bystanders will laugh, obviously.
I’ve heard “because I like the sound of dice hitting the table.”
I had a dm who would tell us to roll. And then say “you fail” before hearing the number
No, you cannot attach a drop to this castle and drag it across the countryside, even with a nat 20.
What if I use a pulley?
Was the pulley created by Karsus? Then yes.
Legendary item Karsus’s Pulley.
When you fail the history check, and recall your teacher mentioning something about Karsus’s Pulley in the year -339 DR. “Can’t for the life of me remember how he managed to kill magic with the thing…”
“You sure can try” is a favorite of mine. I have exactly one player who has figured out what this means after 3 years.
Look, I’m not gonna tell you the DC so you can just make a note and come back later knowing you can pass. You’re gonna have to see what happens and figure it out. The only time I will ever tell a player they can’t do something, is if they are trying to do something that is against the rules of the game. I might inform them of potential consequences of their actions if they don’t seem to quite understand something that should be obvious, but that’s about it. I also use critical fail and success with skill checks in my games, to make things more interesting. So even if the DC is impossible, a NAT20 may still get you through.
One of my favorite features of GURPS, lately, is a relatively cheap Advantage (sorta like a Feat) called “Common Sense”. It’s very simple: if you’re about to do something STUPID (emphasis theirs), the GM can tell you that you should probably reconsider your actions.
And yet, I had to mention it several times for one of my players to consider taking it.
