QQ&A: Stopping Insight Check Spamming
GM: The merchant’s eyes light up as you-
Player: I roll Insight on the merchant!
GM: The orphan runs up to you, tears in her-
Player: I roll for Insight!
GM: The shambling undead-
Player: Insight!
Players who spam Insight checks (or Perception, or whatever) are a quick way to ruin the fun. It undercuts authentic scenes when you have to explain to them that the farmer seems legit. It ruins most mysteries, intrigue and conspiracies.
But you can’t tell them to stop. It’s a classic game design principle: if people have to choose between a fun, losing strategy and a boring, winning strategy, they’ll choose to win and complain about your game.
So… what do you do?
Here are a few ways to make Insight spamming less appealing.
Blind rolls
This is the obvious and simple solution. When they want to make an Insight check, you as the GM roll in secret, adding their modifier. They don’t know if they rolled a 2 or a 22, making it harder (but not impossible) to act on that information.
You’ve probably heard that before, so let’s move on.
More insight, less influence
Imagine constantly scrutinising everyone you meet.
Every merchant, guard, maiden and goblin earns your curious and judgemental eye.
Yeah, you’ll better spot the liars, the corrupt and the untrustworthy.
You’ll also undermine your own Charisma scores.
People can tell when someone is judging them. They don’t like it. If you enter a town with suspicion on your mind, they will become suspicious of you in turn.
Mental exhaustion
Want to roll Insight on five strangers in five minutes?
Great - take a level of exhaustion.
I’ve studied personality profiling, observation and deception detection. It’s tough mental work. Sure, with practice it grows easier, but it’s never mentally free.
Some of my teachers can do the impossible, telling you things about you that no one else knows. Even they don’t go around, always seeing every behaviour around them.
They switch it on and off.
And, yeah, even when it’s off, they still see plenty that’s below the surface. That’s not the same as scrutinising someone to see if they’re a secret cultist.
Anything that mentally taxing, done without breaks, will wear you out.
To end on a truism, that is that.
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