Template:Meaningful Checks

Meaningful Checks
A check should only ever be attempted when both potential outcomes have consequences. Say you need to make a strength check to push open a door. The effect of success is obvious (the door is opened), but is there a consequence for failure other than just having to try again? If there is, then it's a valid check. But if there isn't, assume you eventually manage to push the door open and move on. Time and effort are potential consequences, but only if they'll make a difference for the next decision or encounter.

Likewise, be prepared to follow through on either possibility if the check dictates it. If that sounds untenable or uninteresting then don't check, just narrate the success. Narrating an automatic failure is possible but much more frustrating. Any time you take this option you should highlight that the failure is due to circumstances outside the players control, and call out those circumstances so they have an avenue for changing them. Never cheat a check. When you get a result you don't want it introduces precisely the chaos and surprise that makes a dice driven game different from a story driven game. What you thought was the climactic victorious moment is actually a tragedy or a setback. Go with it, and see what's down that path.