Roll or Role?!
The innkeeper smiles and asks,
"What can I get for you tonight?"
Role, play out the scene.
or
Roll, roll a dice.
No, you dont have to roll here. As the conversation progresses perhaps you can roll persuasion or other rolls. Depends on what happens!
Introduce yourself to the party for the very first time.
Whomever does the prompt gets points
You want to climb a steep wet (slippery) cliff.
Athletics
The only door forward is locked.
Name one way you could get past it.
as long as they get creative, gets a point.
A player says:
"I'd like to buy a rope."
Should the DM...
A) Ask for a Persuasion check.
B) Simply let them buy it.
C) Roll a d20 to see if the shop has rope.
B, you shouldnt limit them from buying items, no roll is needed, no persuasion unless theres someone holding it back from them. thats just story wise. It is up to the DM
A guard watched you steal a cheese wheel.
He points at you.
"You stole that."
You respond:
"No I didn't."
Should the DM...
A) Allow a Deception roll.
B) Say the lie simply doesn't work.
B
A roll can't rewrite reality. If the NPC personally witnessed the event, the DM can simply say the lie fails.
Convince a suspicious town guard to let you through the city gates.
Whomever does it best gets points: who convinces sarah (the town guard) to let the party through
A noble smiles warmly as he promises to help your party. You want to know if he's hiding something
Insight
Insight doesn't tell you if someone is lying with certainty, it helps you read intentions, emotions, or suspicious behavior.
A 20-foot-wide chasm blocks your path.
Name one way your party could cross.
whomeveer gets creative, gets points
A player says:
"I'd like to jump across a 10-foot gap."
Should the DM...
A) Automatically call for an Athletics check.
B) Decide whether a check is needed based on the character and circumstances.
C) Say it's impossible.
B. depending on the circumstance, conditions can differ. Rocks can be wet or slippery, which can call for an athletics check.
The rogue says,
"I check the chest for traps."
The DM says,
"Roll Investigation."
The player rolls a 3.
The rogue never finds any traps.
The wizard immediately says,
"I check too."
Should the DM allow it?
Not automaticlly
Another pc can help before the roll, or try a different way, but retrying over and over again can amke the rolls loose its purpose.
A frightened child asks, "Are you really a hero?" How do you answer?
Depends on how much emotion, in character they are, decided by the dm.
You discover an ancient rune carved into a ruined temple. You want to remember what civilization created it.
History, or arcana IF it has something to do with magic in the rune.
A sleeping ogre lies across the only tunnel forward.
How do you get past without starting a fight?
shhh!
The bard gives a heartfelt speech asking the queen to spare a captured thief. The speech is thoughtful and fits the queen's values.
Should the DM...
A) Ignore the speech and ask for Persuasion anyway.
B) Let the speech influence the outcome, perhaps lowering the DC (difficulty class) , granting advantage, or even succeeding automatically if appropriate.
C) Say no because "the plot says so."
B, great roleplay should be praised upon. sometimes because of good roleplay a roll isnt needed. IT depends on the DM and circumstancess, but in this case the PC took that time to say that long speech.
The party is speaking with a duke. He calmly tells everyone,
"I assure you, I've never heard of the Ruby Blade."
You suspect he's lying, but he shows no obvious signs.
Do you...
Accept what he says and move on. Role
Ask the DM if you can make a check. Roll
ROLL THE DICE! The truth isn't obvious, and your character is trying to determine whether the duke is hiding something.
bonus! what would you roll here?
You've accidentally insulted the king. Apologize before the guards throw you out.
Whomever is the most convincing of an apology gets the point. Bonus if they almost cry.
Your party has become lost in a dangerous swamp. You want to find the safest path without getting trapped in the bog.
Survival
Bonus: Nature if theyre indentifying the nature around them. (plants, trees, etc)
The city gates are closed, and two guards refuse to let anyone through until morning.
Get your party inside.
pwety pwease?
The party enters a room.
Before the DM finishes describing it, a player blurts out:
"I roll Perception!"
Should the DM...
A) Accept the roll.
B) Ignore the player.
C) Ask what the character is actually doing before deciding whether a check is needed.
C, asking why the player is doing something is nessasary if the player doesnt specify what they are doing. How is the DM or other party members supposed to know why or what a player is going to do with that perception roll?
A fighter says:
"I want to jump to the moon."
The barbarian says:
"I'll roll a Natural 20!"
Does a Natural 20 succeed?
Outside of attack rolls (and death saves), a natural 20 isn't an automatic success by the core rules. More importantly, players don't decide when they roll,the DM does. If something is impossible, the DM can simply say: "That cannot happen, no roll is needed"
A dragon offers you unlimited wealth and money if you'll betray your party. Explain your decision to the dragon and your friends.
Done individually.
Depends how much they go into this. Do they betray or not?
You enter a room with a suspicious-looking treasure chest. Before touching it, you say:
"I carefully examine it from every angle, looking for anything unusual."
What's the check?
No roll, unless you specify something that lines up with a check. Otherwise, no check is needed!
tell what you are doing! is the big reveal.
Deep inside a ruined temple sits a glowing artifact. Your goal is to retrieve it, but you know touching it will trigger a deadly curse.
How do you get the artifact without triggering the curse?
bonus points for those who team up.
A player says:
"I want to convince the ancient red dragon to hand over its entire treasure hoard forever. I rolled a natural 20 on Persuasion!"
Should the DM...
A) The dragon gives them everything.
B) The dragon laughs and kills them.
C) Rule that the request is impossible (or wildly unreasonable), so the roll doesn't guarantee success.
C, A natural 20 is not a magical "I get whatever I want" button. As the DM, you decide whether the roll is possible in the first place. If the request is impossible, no roll can make it happen. No matter how much you may want those tresures.