34
This is something you'll have to settle among yourselves.
Everyone plays D&D a bit differently, sometimes more than a bit. There are groups that go to extreme lengths to maintain a hygienic distinction between character and player knowledge to avoid "metagaming", there are groups that feel the game only improves by allowing players to leverage any ...
23
The DM is wrong here
As the DMG explains on page 237, a roll is called for by the DM when the outcome is in question.
Unless forced not to by magic (ie. something that explicitly overrules this) you have agency over what your character believes. If you state that you do or do not believe what someone says, there is no room for a roll, as the outcome is not ...
18
Yes, you can shove an ally
Shoving
The rules for shoving say
Using the Attack action, you can make a special melee attack to shove a creature ... The target must be no more than one size larger than you and must be within your reach. (PHB, p. 195)
There is nothing here to suggest that the target must explicitly be an enemy. Your ally is a creature, so ...
12
This is an issue best resolved by discussion. They want to run a story with a traitor among them. You don't want to run that story.
The basic rules (SRD) description for the Deception skill reads:
Deception
Your Charisma (Deception) check determines whether you can convincingly hide the truth, either verbally or through your actions. This deception ...
10
Yes.
From the PRD:
Each level, your character gains a number of skill ranks dependent upon your class plus your Intelligence modifier. Investing a rank in a skill represents a measure of training in that skill. You can never have more ranks in a skill than your total number of Hit Dice. In addition, each class has a number of favored skills, called class ...
10
Not exactly a skill, but there is a related feat, entitled Dungeon Delver, which gives the benefits
You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks and Intelligence (Investigation) checks made to detect the presence of secret doors.
You have advantage on saving throws made to avoid or resist traps.
You have resistance to damage dealt by traps.
...
10
There is no "right" way to play D&D
Okay, let's go back to the basics.
The play of the Dungeons & Dragons game unfolds according to this basic pattern:
The DM describes the environment.
The players describe what they want to do.
The DM narrates the results of the adventurers’ actions.
The DM might (but don't have to) ask you for an ability check ...
7
History, Arcana and Nature
Depending on the types of traps you are interested in, each of these skills could provide you with information. From the rules on Intelligence checks:
History. Your Intelligence (History) check measures your ability to
recall lore about historical events, legendary people, ancient
kingdoms, past disputes, recent wars, and ...
6
There is no interaction
Unified Theory has three requirements:
That you are using an action or skill feat.
That whatever you are doing requires a Nature, Occultism, or Religion check.
That the kind of check is determined by a magical tradition.
Using Nature to Treat Wounds passes the first two conditions, but not the third. Therefore, you cannot use ...
6
Rolls are only for when the outcome is in doubt.
PHB pg. 171 under Ability Checks:
The DM calls for an ability check when a character or
monster attempts an action (other than an attack) that
has a chance of failure. When the outcome is uncertain,
the dice determine the results.
When a player character is attempting to persuade somebody else's ...
6
RaW, your PC does not know if the other PC is lying or not. Your PC should behave accordingly.
Metagaming: Most tables avoid meta-gaming. So you (as a person) knowing that the other person is lying or not is irrelevant. What matters is what your PC believes. It seems clear to me that your DM wants to avoid meta-gaming at the table, and if you do not agree ...
5
You can try
The play of the Dungeons & Dragons game unfolds according to this basic pattern:
The DM describes the environment.
The players describe what they want to do.
The DM narrates the results of the adventurers’ actions.
If you want to step forward and push an ally back, as a player you describe what you want to do — for instance, "I step ...
5
In order for this to work, you nearly have to assume only automatic ability progression (or a headband of intelligence, if it's on their sheet) could be used to increase Intelligence. It "works" otherwise, but you'll have no way to verify your conclusion.
A lot of math.
First, you know the amount of skill points they have. You also know their current Int ...
5
Yes, they can
There is nothing in the rules against it. It's only that feeling that all GMs get that creating magic items feels too easy. Well, there is any good reason for players to fail to create their own magic items and waste their Wealth by Level?
To create a magic item, you must spend at least half of its price as material components, meaning that ...
4
Look no further than the Cursed Items page...
From the Cursed Items section:
Cursed items are any magic items with some sort of potentially negative impact on the user. Occasionally they mix bad with good, forcing characters to make difficult choices. ... When a magic item creation skill check fails by 5 or more, roll on Table: Common Item Curses to ...
3
So the bonus from change shape is on “Disguise checks made to appear human.” The bonus from Realistic Likeness is on “Disguise checks made to fool others with your impersonation.” A GM could argue that these are separate things: if someone wants to know “are you human?” the racial bonus applies, and if they want to know “are you John Peters, you know, the ...
3
The primary advantage of Intimidation over Diplomacy for those that use it is that you use your Intimidation ranks on the check instead of your Diplomacy ranks. Since Intimidation is also useful in combat for demoralizing foes, warriors often take ranks in Intimidation—and then since they have those ranks, they might want to use them in other situations as ...
3
There are definitely larger issues here about how to use the social influence mechanics between PCs, and this depends on your group's play style. However:
This is a protocol mistake.
A player character rolled for deception, saying it was deception aloud. I rolled low on my insight, therefore by DM logic, my character full-heartedly believes him without a ...
2
I'm a latecomer to this question, but I think I still have a couple of worthwhile things to add. So please think of this as an "in addition to" the other answers here:
The situation you are describing is filled with problems for what the DM seems to have wanted to do.
As others have mentioned it seems that you and the DM were working towards separate games/...
2
Social skills suffer from a general problem
There is a basic difference between all skills related to talking and the mind and all physical and magical skills. The players sit around a table and actually talk to each other - but they don't climb/fight/wizard, we just describe them doing this.
DnD is a game where high-level skills can achieve unbelievable ...
2
Games of Skill and Not
First, estimate whether you want the scene to involve a game of skill, or a game of pure chance, or something in-between. Among the games colloquially known as gambling, some have a huge skill component, while others only have a 'non-stupid' strategy and you can't get much better than that.
If the game leans towards the skill end of ...
2
Disclaimer: Biased Response. It may be correct, but I'm still biased.
Yes, they all stack together.
Explanation of each bonus.
Let's run over each of sources for the bonus to the check.
1. Disguise skill (+17 Untyped):
The skill check rules state:
Each skill rank grants a +1 bonus on checks made using that skill. When you make a skill check, you roll ...
1
In addition to the Dungeon Delver feat mentioned above, the Investigation skill is crucial.
When you look around for clues and make deductions based on those clues, you make an Intelligence (Investigation) check. You might deduce the location of a hidden object, discern from the appearance of a wound what kind of weapon dealt it, or determine the weakest ...
1
There’s too many variables to be able to determine that after the fact unless you have them documented.
starting stats
random?
predefined?
player applied?
were racial points applied to Int?
was Int increased at new levels?
any long-term temporary increase/decrease applied?
any other permanent increase/decrease applied?
etc.
I always recommend players ...
1
It depends entirely on how you and your players choose to interact with the situation, emphasis on your players.
Assuming they just want to play the game itself, with pure random chance, a simple dice roll should work fine. If you want to work out even more rules, you could make the dice rolling more complex for the sake of making it more interesting.
On ...
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