I agree that storywise there are a lot of holes in the game, and especially concerning chronology a strong effort of mentally "ignoring" inconsistencies is required.
Still I love the game.
But with repsect to the rolls of this topic, I'm not against them. The alternative would be an uninterrupted cinematic cutscene that shows the futile attempt to dominate the brain. Personally, after reflection I prefer these "fake" rolls as an immersion for the player to finally execute the plan that they fought so long and hard for. Even if it's doomed to fail.... But you can't know that until you try. And actually trying it may make the experience more immersive.
But, as I said I can totally empathize with players who don't find this cool at all.

I was reminded of some comparable situations. First, Frodo in Mount Doom. It is totally impossible for a ringbearer to harm, let alone destroy the one ring. Everyone should have known that, but we hoped for the best anyway. (Hope, such a tease!) Frodo Holding the ring over the volcano crater could only hope to roll a ciritical success, but even thatis not powerful enough for this case. And it is credible....

Another comparison that crossed my mind comes from John Milius' 1982 Conan film. (If you haven't seen this film I warmly recommend it as one of the best fantasy films in the history of filmmaking)
Conan' will infiltrate the camp of Tulsa Doom . He has obtained an amulet of the cult followers, stolen from one of Tulsa's snake towers. He shows the amulet to the guard, who examines it closely and lets Conan pass.
Deception check succeeded ! the Conan "player" rejoyces.
But, the guard actually noticed that there was someting not right with this amulet, and deceived Conan by letting him in and then warn the guard commander that something's amiss with that guy overthere.
So Conan was captured and hung on the tree of death to die from exposure while being eaten alive by vultures.
Fortunately his party members could save him just in time and the adventure could continue.

But yes, the "player" (i.e. Conan) saw that his deception roll succeeded, but the DM decided otherwise and the player was deceived instead.

Last edited by ldo58; 22/04/24 07:52 PM.