Puzzling situations (updated 2004/01/13)

There will always come those situations where the party has no idea how to proceed.  Usually these occasions will involve some form of knowledge that, perhaps, the players don't have, and the characters should.  In those circumstances, some skill rolls are appropriate. 

Rather than give the character a skill roll, and then giving them some critical information, another solution is to let the player choose a skill that they think is applicable, and assign the problem a DC.  If they succeed at the roll then they are permitted to ask Out of Character questions based on the skill used.  The DM will answer the questions directly, and honestly, indicating the character's knowledge of the situation.

The number of questions should be up to the DM but a good rule of thumb would be to base it on the DC of the situation.  Divide the DC by 5, and round down.  Then for every multiple of that number, give the player 1 question.  ie, the DC is 15, so the multiple is 3, so for every 3 points that the skill check is over the DC, the player gets one question.  In most situations, the number of questions shouldn't go over 5. 

Each player whose character is present should be permitted to participate in the process, but they should all utilize different skills.  The DM should use judgement in determining the answers, and making them suit the skill that the questions are based on.  The answers should not be deliberately misleading, or excessively obtuse.  The questions are being asked out of character, and are not divinations, but are based on the character's knowledge of the subject.