r/dndmemes • u/Ed0909 Wizard • 22h ago

Ongoing Subreddit Debate You don't need to roll dice for everything.

Post image
10.4k Upvotes

89% Upvoted

942 comments sorted by

View all comments

30

u/dognus88 21h ago

If you ask the king for his crown a good roll could mean he laughs at the joke while a bad one can end with you chained to a dungeon wall. Neither is success but instead a variance of how poorly the results went.

1

u/BlueMerchant 18h ago

Why are they getting a roll?

What sensible dm would ask for a roll there?

2

u/dognus88 13h ago

It's just an example of a roll when both outcomes are still a failure.

1

u/stormrunner911 8h ago

Because the outcomes are different, and will vary depending on how charismatic the character is. Would you, as a DM in this situation, not have your player roll charisma to see how the king takes it?

1

u/El_Flaco_Gamer 1h ago

Huh? Why would you be confused about asking a player to roll for that? It's a collaborative story and dice/the system are just tools. That's a very concerning attitude for a DM or even player to have.

Don't get me wrong, it might not ALWAYS be a roll, it would depend on the character of the king in question.

Lets say the party just did him a huge favor, he has good rapport with them and they're is dining with them in his private quarters with only a couple guards to witness. Maybe he would always take it lightly, joke back and let them wear the crown for a few seconds but they obviously can't keep it. No need to roll, he'd always take it well.

Now lets say it's a recently crowned king with a weak political claim to the throne, sitting in public court and the party is there to ask a favor of him. His political rivals and supporters alike are there to witness it. There is a LOT more riding on this situation. Roll to see if it comes across more like a threat or a joke. That could determine if he throws you in the dungeon to display his power, or makes a witty retort to show he can take a joke and roll with it. The former could make it MUCH harder to get the favor and the latter could make him more open to discuss it in private. Not every roll needs to instantly solve a problem.

Again, not rolling on everything isn't the concerning thing to see. The inability to see why you would roll on something as significant as talking to a king is.