Larian Banner: Baldur's Gate Patch 9
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
#811894 17/03/22 06:05 PM
Joined: Oct 2021
stranger
OP Offline
stranger
Joined: Oct 2021
One thing that has been bothering me is that you can see the difficulty class (DC) when making (active) ability checks. I really would like an option to hide it, because now I will likely spam "Guidance" and other things to get to that DC. In TTRPG you won't see the DC either. Maybe also leave out the "success/failure" and just found out if it succeeds with the dialog.


Smiley day to you!
Joined: Oct 2020
Location: Savage North
addict
Offline
addict
Joined: Oct 2020
Location: Savage North
Not a completely new request, but one I very much support.

Especially as an option. It sounds very easy to implement, and can be a cool improvement for those players who like it.

Joined: Dec 2021
enthusiast
Offline
enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2021
Originally Posted by vesnatallstag
One thing that has been bothering me is that you can see the difficulty class (DC) when making (active) ability checks. I really would like an option to hide it, because now I will likely spam "Guidance" and other things to get to that DC. In TTRPG you won't see the DC either. Maybe also leave out the "success/failure" and just found out if it succeeds with the dialog.

Even in tabletop that is EXTREMELY DM dependent. Many DMs will, in fact, either straight up tell you the DC of a check before hand or at least contextually "very easy" (5), "easy" (10), etc. That said, having it optional to hide DCs is a good suggestion.

Joined: Feb 2021
CMK Offline
member
Offline
member
Joined: Feb 2021
Originally Posted by vesnatallstag
One thing that has been bothering me is that you can see the difficulty class (DC) when making (active) ability checks. I really would like an option to hide it, because now I will likely spam "Guidance" and other things to get to that DC. In TTRPG you won't see the DC either. Maybe also leave out the "success/failure" and just found out if it succeeds with the dialog.

Honestly, since Guidance doesn't use up any resources I would probably use it on ability checks regardless of if I can see the number to beat or not.

That said I do tend to agree with you there there should be an option to turn that off and only find out if you succeed or fail by the dialog response though I'd still keep the success fail pop up for things like disarming a trap or picking a lock... that or you'd need to replace that with some dialog or sound indicating success or failure especially in the case of failure on disarming a trap because you may want to use inspiration to try again.

However, there is an aspect of game that relates to this that I actually find more annoying... and that is when you pass by something that is discoverable (either a hidden lever, traps or hidden loot) you get a little dice rolly thing over the character's head as they get near it and it tells you if you passed or failed... this becomes annoying as a player when you see the failure and all four party members fail because you as the player know something is there and it allows you to meta game a little. I say when it comes to stuff like that you should only get the icon above your head (along with discovered thing shining like they currently do) upon success, if it fails you should get no indicator at all.

Joined: Oct 2020
L
addict
Offline
addict
L
Joined: Oct 2020
Agree on both these points. Failures are a lot of fun in multiplayer, it could be even moreso if you don't know you've failed until the dialog plays out. And yep, as soon as you see that perception fail dice over your head you have to run every character past that spot (or even reload).

Joined: Feb 2022
stranger
Offline
stranger
Joined: Feb 2022
I completely agree with this. At many tables the DCs that players need to overcome are not known by the players. This creates a feeling of suspense that some people (me included) may hold in high esteem.

Joined: Nov 2020
P
addict
Offline
addict
P
Joined: Nov 2020
I would appreciate an option to not only hide the DC, but also an option for simple rolling that doesn't bring up the massive UI roll window with all the sparkly graphics. I don't like it at all, and it makes everything feel slow and clunky, while the entire world stops for one roll, except then it stops for many other rolls, and I just want the dice to roll without fanfare so I can get on with actually playing the game.

Joined: Oct 2020
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Oct 2020
Ya +1, generally knowing the DC is metagaming, thinking about the mechanics and not the convo.

Joined: Jun 2020
veteran
Offline
veteran
Joined: Jun 2020
Originally Posted by WebSpyder
Even in tabletop that is EXTREMELY DM dependent. Many DMs will, in fact, either straight up tell you the DC of a check before hand or at least contextually "very easy" (5), "easy" (10), etc. That said, having it optional to hide DCs is a good suggestion.

I've personally never known any DMs who tell players the DC they're rolling against for ability checks, outside of combat where there is a need to streamline. Atmospherics and scene setting are often used to indicate to players in hinting ways how hard what they're attempting may be, but never outright telling them.

There's a difference between a DM saying, mid combat "You've seen enough at this point that you know her AC is 21" and "As he holds out his hand, I need everyone to make a Wisdom saving throw; DC is 21" - which are things done in combat in order to keep action flowing, and are things that players can generally work out rapidly enough on their own because it comes up repeatedly during said combat. I have never experienced a DM who would do something like that outside of combat, for individual one-time checks, however; I'm not seeking to argue her, just suggesting that it might be good if our combat log was made more robust and this information remained viewable there.

I agree with Piff though - as fancy as the new interface is, it slows down everything to such an egregious extent that I just want it gone.

Last edited by Niara; 19/03/22 12:55 AM.
Joined: Oct 2020
L
addict
Offline
addict
L
Joined: Oct 2020
This is my experience too, regarding DMs not disclosing DCs outside of combat.

I'm not too worried about the big DC interface, it does let you add spells, potions etc. You can also blast through it very quickly too by just clicking again, you don't need to wait for the animation.

Joined: Oct 2020
member
Offline
member
Joined: Oct 2020
Agree with this 100%. This also has you consider whether using those re-rolls would actually be worth it for what you are trying to do.

Joined: Sep 2020
veteran
Offline
veteran
Joined: Sep 2020
+1 for at least an option.

Not knowing the DC also helps weak-willed people such as myself to not save-scum checks. If you know you failed the DC by just 1 then you (I) might be very very tempted to reload, especially if the character has a super-high bonus (5e's bounded accuracy+d20 system = incredibly variable results). But if you don't know the actual DC, for all you know reloading to succeed would take a lot of effort or be impossible, so you'll (I'll) be happier to just go with the flow.

And yes, blablablah "you can just not savescum" blahblah.

Joined: Oct 2020
member
Offline
member
Joined: Oct 2020
Originally Posted by mrfuji3
+1 for at least an option.

Not knowing the DC also helps weak-willed people such as myself to not save-scum checks. If you know you failed the DC by just 1 then you (I) might be very very tempted to reload, especially if the character has a super-high bonus (5e's bounded accuracy+d20 system = incredibly variable results). But if you don't know the actual DC, for all you know reloading to succeed would take a lot of effort or be impossible, so you'll (I'll) be happier to just go with the flow.

And yes, blablablah "you can just not savescum" blahblah.


Agree. Save scumming is an "option", but should never be required to get critical checks in a game. If you don't know what the DC is, then you MIGHT save scum once, but then if you fail again, well, maybe there's a story reason for it.


Link Copied to Clipboard
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5