Infodump:Types of roleplay

orphaned skill checks

Trying to use skill checks or other actions without justification or context can be problematic.

An example I ran into a lot one time:

• A friend has a sneaky archer type in a Skyrim type game. He really liked to sneak around and shoot people with the bow for bonus sneak attack damage.
  • All cool, I love those play styles too. That's been like 85% of my Breath of the Wild playthrough.
  • But in skyrim, you can just... crouch down and be "sneaking" then get the bonus damage if nobody is actively looking at you.
• So he would, in mid-combat, say "okay so I sneak, then I'm going to shoot my bow at the guy." His character would basically be standing out in the open, crouch down, and somehow be considered stealthy and somehow that would generate bonus damage?
• I'd have to keep asking him "but what are you doing to sneak around?" His response was generally "I'm crouched low to the ground behind this guy's back". In combat there really isn't directional facing, so the only way to do something like that is through magic/invisibility. Generally you'd need to justify sneaking around by means of finding cover and concealment.
  • It took him a while to break that habit/pattern of trying to replicate a gameplay loop from one game into the gameplay loop of another. It's understandable given how video games are set up, but there needs to be some more narrative support being it in tabletop play
• Similarly, just coming out of the gate saying "okay I roll for perception" and look at the GM to wait for a response, is usually going to be met with "okay, but what are you doing? Are you listening carefully, or scanning the horizon, or what?" The DC of the check and the type of information you get would depend on how you are trying to perceive and how you are going about it.