Editing Gladius et Aegis: Rolling with the punches (section)

===Declaring an Action===

Most often, an ''Attribute test'' occurs when the player says that his character is attempting to do something, or when the GM wants an NPC to do something. If the outcome of the action 
is likely to be variable according to who is doing it and what the circumstances are, then a test is called for.

Knowing when ''not'' to call for a test is an important GM skill. Sometimes its best to assume that predictable results will be attained, and to skip the test and just dictate an outcome. Sometimes this will be obvious: you don't need to take a test to start your car in the morning, or to walk across a room. Sometimes (and this is where skilful GM judgment comes in) a reliable outcome to an action serves the story better than slowing it down with a dice roll. For example, if a Magus wants to use his magic to light a candle, the GM should likely just say that it just happens, as the story isn't really served by variable effects or by the magus failing to cast and having to try again. This can be scaled up according to taste - for example, some GMs and player groups might even skip rolling for an entire conflict just to keep the story moving. If a werewolf, a vampire and a necromancer are taking on a teenage thug with a switchblade, then the outcome is pretty obvious: the GM can just describe what happens (based on the players actions) and dispense with dice rolls.

Judgment also comes in when running conflicts that don't run to combat rounds, such as socialization conflicts. The GM needs to work out when is a good time to interrupt roleplaying and to call for a roll. Generally it'll still follow the format of each party getting one "action" on each "round", but in this case, a round might represent ten to twenty minutes of roleplaying.
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