Sort of echoing K.O.s post above, I believe Larian has stated that they're trying to design the game so that it's not just okay to fail, it can be a good thing. If you fail a persuasion check in a conversation, a door might close, but another door should open. Sometimes this feels bad when you really want a specific outcome, but if you approach the game as an evolving story you can find a lot of fun in adapting to these outcomes.
