I just have a quick question regarding tests, and as a GM, when I should be calling for them. I'm fairly new to RPG's in general, I've played a few DnD sessions before but nothing more. The group I'm running through now are even newer than that, sitting down and rolling their first Deathwatch characters was the first exposure to any RPG ever. So needless to say, they are still getting used to this style of game play.

Over the past few sessions, its been running fairly smooth, and everyone has said they are having a great time. I've really only been calling for the odd lore test, and quite often, perception checks here and there, nothing more. Moving into a new adventure however now, I want to show how import skills are to their characters, rather then have them continue just buying talent and characteristic upgrades.

The question I have is, when should I call for a test, and when should I wait for them to ask to make one? An example would be in: In this new adventure, there is an NPC who approaches the group, asking them to come help rescue a bunch of others who are trapped in a building. The NPC is deceiving the players, luring them into a trap, and I'm obviously hessitant to ask the group "Take a Scrutiny test", to see if they can tell, becuase then its fairly obvious. However, I know that their fundamentals aren't there yet, and there response will be to follow, without hesitation.

In situations like that, should I just let the players fall into the trap, then let them know the error of their ways at the end? Or should I prompt them by saying this could be a trap?

Thanks very much!

In the situation posted, I wouldn't tell them it's a trap. If one of them thinks "hey, I'm suspicious, is there a something I can roll to see if he's lying" then by all means say Scrutiny.

If none of them thinks to ask, feel free to roll Scrutiny behind the screen, as it were, and tell the player of a character who succeeded whatever relevant info you deem to be proper given the DoS of the roll.

I usually ask for scrutiny or awareness tests. But one idea I've been toying with is to before a session print out a table of pre-rolled results and note the PCs current awareness and scrutiny. So say a five-strong killteam approaches a trap. You can quietly look for the next five results (or five random ones) from that list and compare those to the skills you've already noted. With a GM screen, who's to tell you're not just consulting notes? Completely fair so long as you aren't fudging results (the rolls were made, just not in session).

Okay cool - thanks for your help! I guess the bottom line is the test is still made, whether or not the PC's know they are or not?

squishyb said:

Theoretically. If the guy runs out and wants to lie to the KT, he should make a Deceive Test to see how well he said his lie. If he fails it horribly, the PCs aren't going to buy it at all and don't need to "resist" it.

If he succeeds, they can roll Scrutiny (or you can secretly roll for them) in order to see through the lie. And success doesn't necessarily mean they know he's lying. They may just see that something is off about the story, or that he seems nervous, or whatever. It doesn't have to be "you know he's lying," though a really good Scrutiny test with multiple DoS might call for that to be the answer.

I would also test in this situation- the fact that the attempt to decieve is obvoius can be represented by a low Decieve value on the part of the NPC.

More broadly speaking, I usually require tests either when A) the PCs are attempting something unusual, or B) when they are attempting just about anything other that combat during combat. So, for instance, a character with Literacy or Drive can read a book or drive from point A to point B without having to make any rolls; but frantically trying to find a specific entry on a dataslate while being shot at, or trying to drive a vehicle around a rockslide that is blocking most of the road- these are the kinds of situations where the dice come out.

-And I've been doing something similar to Decessor's suggestion: to avoid tipping my hand when I want my players to roll for 'noticing' something- and thus alerting them even if they fail their rolls!- I have each player make a half-dozen rolls every few sessions, and I jot the results down in a notebook. Then, when I need a test, I just take the next roll from their list; if it's a success, I tell them (or pass a note if only one or two players pass), and if they fail, they remain properly ignorant...

I just want to thank for the many intel I gained, even if I didn't start this thread. These will help me in future missions and I also thank the OP for asking this question. This Forum provides me with as much information and help as the books do - I think I might be more active in these.

Thanks a lot.

That all makes sense - thanks everyone for your help with this, clears it up!!

Appreciate it