So, one of the things that has come up recently is when do you roll your dice.
You need to roll dice when:
- You are going to do something (action)
- You are reacting to something done to you (save)
- The DM alerts you (check)
You don't need to roll when:
- You are deciding to do something (your character has free will, what whould he do?)
- You are doing something mundane
Thompson Who, the bard has just played his lute (action) for the entertainment of the tavern. He decides he's in need of a free drink, thirstily asks the landlord for "one on the house", the landlord, having enjoyed the music and also being friendly, was already pouring one for him.In the above example only one roll was made (perform), everything else just happened. Now it's possible that the landlord didn't like the song or he was an unfriendly barkeep, but then it would be the job of the DM to notify the player to make an opposed roll.