Contests (Opposed Rolls)

[zot]

Originally Posted by JohnPaulB

I was just overthinking the situation.

The original concept was Joe has average intelligence, the goblin was very bright. If Joe failed on his end, the Goblin still might be able to figure it out because he's bright. Way too much doodling on the rules that don't really justify the results. The original RAW are most streamline, giving a quicker result.

If Joe failed that turn, he just tries again next turn.

For something like figuring out a communication, I'd allow only one roll for the entire communication. If the PC can establish a rapport, there's no need to keep rolling. If the PC fails, they can't establish one. The roll doesn't have to represent a single turn of activity, of course -- it can represent a decent amount of effort. The rules give an example of one roll for an entire arm wrestling match, for instance.

I try to specify the contest structure, choosing single-round, multi-player, multi-round, etc. like the rules specify, before any rolls start. I find that avoiding do-overs keeps the stakes higher.

In cases like lock picking where the rules explicitly allow multiple attempts, I still try to make failures meaningful, endangering the PCs with noise, etc.