Dealing with a useless 20

[Katasi]

I'm sure I'm not the first to ask this but I couldn't really find any others. When a player rolls for say a perception check in an area where you have already decided there's nothing, and roll a natural 20, I can't help but feel that I should reward that 20. Has anyone figured out how to do that without having to come up with a major addition to what's going on? Do you just ignore the 20 (you see nothing, but you're sure you see nothing?), do you ad-lib some detail in? How do you other DMs deal with this?

[LentilNinja]

They only rolled the dice. They had a 5% chance of getting a 20, like any other number on the dice. It didn't take skill or effort for them to do that :P

Besides, nat 20 and nat 1 only matter in combat, as its the heat of battle

[AMFV]

I'm sure I'm not the first to ask this but I couldn't really find any others. When a player rolls for say a perception check in an area where you have already decided there's nothing, and roll a natural 20, I can't help but feel that I should reward that 20. Has anyone figured out how to do that without having to come up with a major addition to what's going on? Do you just ignore the 20 (you see nothing, but you're sure you see nothing?), do you ad-lib some detail in? How do you other DMs deal with this?

It depends on the circumstances. There's nothing wrong with adding in some extra details to supplement a higher roll, maybe something that's some indication of future problems or the next encounter.

[Andezzar]

You have to forget the notion that a d20 showing a 20 on a skill check is somehow more meaningful than the other 19 numbers. There is no special treatment for a 20 or 1 on skill checks. Only the total value in relation to the DC matters.

As for high perception checks, I usually give them all sorts of detail. Sometimes it is obvious that it is irrelevant information, sometimes it isn't.

On opposed checks I usually only say that the character does not find any traps/hidden enemies/whatever or that they cannot detect any indication that a person is not genuine instead of saying there are no traps/etc. or that the person they are talking to is telling the truth.

[johnbragg]

Folks in this thread are no fun. The PC sees nothing, but if you want you can give him a luck chit to be used later for a reroll or a bonus or something.

OR improvise a hidden potion of cure light wounds or something. Maybe a jar with 2-12 dabs of ointment of cure minor wounds.

[JNAProductions]

Agreeing with Johnbragg. Give them a minor treat.

Alternatively, let them spot a random encounter long before it spots them, so they can decide exactly how to handle it. Who doesn't like free XP? :belkar:

[Dormammu]

you have already decided there's nothing

While I agree that there is no mechanical benefit to a natural 20 on skill checks, I think a DM should always pounce on an opportunity to add drama, context and plot.


you see nothing, but you're sure you see nothing

If I rolled a 20 and the DM says this, I'm pissed. There is no such thing as "nothing there" What on earth does that mean?

Do you mean, "In the clearing the thick forest gives way to a meadow. You see insects buzzing about and hear the incessant chirping of the spring peepers." Or do you mean, "You see vast black emptiness." Oh Wee Jas! It's a sphere of Annihilation a vast orb of 'NOTHING!'

When DM's say things like, "It just looks normal." or "You see nothing." or repeats a description they gave before I become infuriated, because this was a chance for them to tell me something meaningful and they refused to do so.

If the DM really just means, "there's nothing on the battle mat." That's fine. But of course there's something there! Because if my character is really staring out into empty graph paper, then what the hell are the players doing here? Don't waste our time! Skip this part! Get to a place where it's meaningful for me to ask questions about what my character is experiencing!

[Andezzar]

While I agree that there is no mechanical benefit to a natural 20 on skill checks, I think a DM should always pounce on an opportunity to add drama, context and plot. Do you really want the DM to always add a red herring? Sure DMs can make up stuff on the spot to expand the plot but sometimes that just isn't feasible. What about a 19? should he do it then as well?


If I rolled a 20 and the DM says this, I'm pissed. There is no such thing as "nothing there" What on earth does that mean?

Do you mean, "In the clearing the thick forest gives way to a meadow. You see insects buzzing about and hear the incessant chirping of the spring peepers." Or do you mean, "You see vast black emptiness." Oh Wee Jas! It's a sphere of Annihilation a vast orb of 'NOTHING!'

When DM's say things like, "It just looks normal." or "You see nothing." or repeats a description they gave before I become infuriated, because this was a chance for them to tell me something meaningful and they refused to do so.

If the DM really just means, "there's nothing on the battle mat." That's fine. But of course there's something there! Because if my character is really staring out into empty graph paper, then what the hell are the players doing here? Don't waste our time! Skip this part! Get to a place where it's meaningful for me to ask questions about what my character is experiencing!What do you consider meaningful? Is going into minute detail about the texture of the stone in the dungeon meaningful? Are the species of birds in the trees meaningful? Or does that only slow down the game? Do you tell the player that all the information you just gave him is irrelevant?

[Afgncaap5]

I try to include a few more elements of foreshadowing about the history of the location they're in, or I can arrange for a few minor useful items to be discoverable.

In Adventure!'s d20 retrofit, they suggest giving players an extra Inspiration Point on a roll of a 20 that doesn't confer any other results. That doesn't make sense for D&D since the game doesn't use Inspiration Points, though I *might* give an extra Action Point if it's an Eberron game.

[Dormammu]

Do you really want the DM to always add a red herring? Sure DMs can make up stuff on the spot to expand the plot but sometimes that just isn't feasible. What about a 19? should he do it then as well?

On a 19 I should also get something, on a 1 I should get, "It's a lovely spring day!" I should always get something! This is the DM's job!


What do you consider meaningful? Is going into minute detail about the texture of the stone in the dungeon meaningful? Are the species of birds in the trees meaningful? Or does that only slow down the game? Do you tell the player that all the information you just gave him is irrelevant?

What do I consider meaningful? I have no idea. But the DM damn well better!

It doesn't need to be a red herring, give me a normal colored herring please! I'm not asking for multiple paragraphs or for the DM to waste my time, quite the opposite. Don't waste my time! Tell me something about the world!

[Andezzar]

On a 19 I should also get something, on a 1 I should get, "It's a lovely spring day!" I should always get something! This is the DM's job!I doubt any DM literally says "you see nothing". I guess it depends on how detailed the description the players got without a spot check. I see nothing wrong with. "You find nothing of note." for a spot check when there is nothing of significance.


What do I consider meaningful? I have no idea. But the DM damn well better!

It doesn't need to be a red herring, give me a normal colored herring please! I'm not asking for multiple paragraphs or for the DM to waste my time, quite the opposite. Don't waste my time! Tell me something about the world!Again. I think that depends on the initial description of the scene. Also knowing that there isn't anything else to discover is also relevant information and the OP started with the situation when he cannot think about any further relevant information.

Just telling the players some description like "the floorboards are squeaky" can prompt a thorough search of the whole area.

[nedz]

While I agree that there is no mechanical benefit to a natural 20 on skill checks, I think a DM should always pounce on an opportunity to add drama, context and plot.

If I rolled a 20 and the DM says this, I'm pissed. There is no such thing as "nothing there" What on earth does that mean?

Do you mean, "In the clearing the thick forest gives way to a meadow. You see insects buzzing about and hear the incessant chirping of the spring peepers." Or do you mean, "You see vast black emptiness." Oh Wee Jas! It's a sphere of Annihilation a vast orb of 'NOTHING!'

When DM's say things like, "It just looks normal." or "You see nothing." or repeats a description they gave before I become infuriated, because this was a chance for them to tell me something meaningful and they refused to do so.

If the DM really just means, "there's nothing on the battle mat." That's fine. But of course there's something there! Because if my character is really staring out into empty graph paper, then what the hell are the players doing here? Don't waste our time! Skip this part! Get to a place where it's meaningful for me to ask questions about what my character is experiencing!

In one game I run: one player would hate this whilst another would love it.

It slows the pace down and possibly introduces a red-herring. The first point is the more salient: which approach serves your dramatic tension best at that point in the game: faster or slower ? There's no right, or consistent, answer. If you want to slow the pace go for the description, if you want to drive forward with events then gloss it over. This approach rewards the players far more than a luck token since it's drama focussed.

[Jay R]

That's no different from rolling 43 damage against an opponent with one hit point left, or rolling a perfect diplomacy roll when dealing with peasants with nothing to give you or tell you.

No matter what you roll, you cannot get more than there is.

[Troacctid]

Not only did you not see any enemies, you also spotted a copper piece on the ground! It must be your lucky day.

[SangoProduction]

I'm sure I'm not the first to ask this but I couldn't really find any others. When a player rolls for say a perception check in an area where you have already decided there's nothing, and roll a natural 20, I can't help but feel that I should reward that 20. Has anyone figured out how to do that without having to come up with a major addition to what's going on? Do you just ignore the 20 (you see nothing, but you're sure you see nothing?), do you ad-lib some detail in? How do you other DMs deal with this?

You can ignore it...or you can make up an extra little detail. If they were making a knowledge check to find out about a place, then they also know one little quirk about it as well. Perhaps the people ate flowers on fridays.

[MesiDoomstalker]

"You see nothing" is almost always predicated with a description of the area. It really means "You see nothing of importance, don't waste our collective time searching this area with a fine tooth comb, there is literally nothing plot relevant, nor anything you can garner an advantage with. Move. On." The exact amount of details the first description gives (assuming nothing is hidden that requires a Perception check of some variety) varies by DM and game group, how much details they want/desire, etc etc. However, if I roll a Perception check, and I learn nothing new, then there is nothing new for me to learn (or at least, not that my result revealed. Can't metagame now can we?).

[Crake]

This thread is exactly why I roll perception checks behind the DM screen using some kind of non-obvious means and only when necessary. Players can tell me they are specifically observing their surroundings, which means they are spending a move action each turn on an active spot check, which means they would get a second chance, but other than that, I don't allow players to just say "I want to roll a perception check". If I give a description of the room, and they want something more out of it, they can enter the room and start inspecting it in more detail by asking me questions "What material is the door made out of, what color is the carpet, Is the chest a wooden or metal one?" etc etc.

[Katasi]

Not only did you not see any enemies, you also spotted a copper piece on the ground! It must be your lucky day.

I think I need to remember this one for later, especially in cities. Everyone loves a good penny laying on the group every once in awhile.

Overall, thanks for the answers, it's given me lots of ideas on ways to go with these.

[ace rooster]

Not only did you not see any enemies, you also spotted a copper piece on the ground! It must be your lucky day.

I was going to go with a cookie, but a copper piece fits better. Thinking about it though I imagine that some players might think it was a trap and refuse to go near it. :smalltongue:

[Toilet Cobra]

I was going to go with a cookie, but a copper piece fits better. Thinking about it though I imagine that some players might think it was a trap and refuse to go near it. :smalltongue:

God bless their little hearts, I know at least some of my players would write "Mysterious Copper Piece???" on their inventory and wonder about it forever.

And then at the end of the campaign they'd be like "So, what did that copper piece do anyway? You brought it up and never talked about it again!"

[Andezzar]

Not only did you not see any enemies, you also spotted a copper piece on the ground! It must be your lucky day.In case it wasn't a good roll "As you bend down to pick it up, you are shot in the back, I guess it wasn't your lucky day after all. Roll initiative."

[nedz]

God bless their little hearts, I know at least some of my players would write "Mysterious Copper Piece???" on their inventory and wonder about it forever.

And then at the end of the campaign they'd be like "So, what did that copper piece do anyway? You brought it up and never talked about it again!"

This works best if the face on one side, the runes on the other and maybe some scratched markings are actually mysterious looking.

[mabriss lethe]

I like to keep a "treat bag" for such occasions. Little things that aren't terribly relevant, but can be used for a few different things: Future plot hooks, a possible edge in a future scenario, a minor trinket as a reward, stuff like that.

You might find the initials of the BBEG carved into a tree with a heart and someone else's initials. you might find a small trail in the woods that puts you into an ambush position for the next encounter. You might find a small pouch mostly rotted from exposure with a few semi-valuable gems.

[Alex12]

My group has it that a natural 20 on a check like that is that you, the player, get to propose something, and (if the GM okays it) it's canon.

Dwarf nat-20s to appraise the stone door? "Smooth." [beat] "The sculptor's hands were smooth"

Investigator nat-20s a knowledge check about dwarven religion? "The dwarven religion holds that the beard is where the soul resides."

You can't make a bag of gold appear with a nat-20 Perception, but you might sense the vibrations of the monsters in the next room over. You can't change the layout of the house, but you can figure out the entire floor plan just from looking at the outside.

[martixy]

I agree with the fun-loving people in this thread and disagree with the fun-pooping ones.

As a player, if I rolled a 20, I want that to count for something. This has nothing to do with what's going on inside the game. I want to feel like something cool happened as a result of my flawless performance.

It doesn't have to be significant or valuable, but it does have to be something interesting.

For perception: A half-buried handkerchief stained with a bit of blood, a small coin you don't recognize, a locket containing the likeness of an unknown person, a rare flower or animal.
Other checks can yield similar flavourful and interesting, and thus satisfying results(no matter how meaningless crunch-wise).
Maybe you did a graceful pirouette(tumble), were able to discover a rare and delicious fruit tree(survival), discovered a dirty limerick the author hid in his book(decipher script), found a heart-shaped carving with the innkeeper's and some unknown maiden's names(search).

[zergling.exe]

I agree with the fun-loving people in this thread and disagree with the fun-pooping ones.

As a player, if I rolled a 20, I want that to count for something. This has nothing to do with what's going on inside the game. I want to feel like something cool happened as a result of my flawless performance.

It doesn't have to be significant or valuable, but it does have to be something interesting.

For perception: A half-buried handkerchief stained with a bit of blood, a small coin you don't recognize, a locket containing the likeness of an unknown person, a rare flower or animal.
Other checks can yield similar flavourful and interesting, and thus satisfying results(no matter how meaningless crunch-wise).
Maybe you did a graceful pirouette(tumble), were able to discover a rare and delicious fruit tree(survival), discovered a dirty limerick the author hid in his book(decipher script), found a heart-shaped carving with the innkeeper's and some unknown maiden's names(search).

I would try to avoid actual story hooks unless you are prepared to actually investigate this in detail. It may just be a one-off thing, but introducing something into the story that is pointless can cause frustration in people wanting to figure out the story behind this random nothing they found.

[Deophaun]

"You see nothing" is almost always predicated with a description of the area. It really means "You see nothing of importance, don't waste our collective time searching this area with a fine tooth comb, there is literally nothing plot relevant, nor anything you can garner an advantage with. Move. On."

^^ This.

As lovely as it would be for a DM to enter into a soliloquy about the wonders your nat-20 rolling, Wis-dumped, CC-Spot Skilled Fighter saw that the Cleric with his measly roll of 12 (plus 9 ranks in Spot and +6 Wis modifier) somehow didn't see, Economy of Detail demands the DM not do that, lest the session get eaten up with the fighter poking everything mentioned in the description with a sharp stick while making dozens of Knowledge checks for every red herring he comes across (and Pelor help you if he rolls a nat 20 on those, too, even though he's untrained and shouldn't even be rolling to begin with).

I agree with the fun-loving people in this thread and disagree with the fun-pooping ones.
Actually, you're the fun-pooping one. Time spent on red herrings is time not spent on the actual game. The world does not stop spinning so that you can have extra spotlight time to celebrate your random success at a meaningless die roll you chose to make. (Because it is highly doubtful the DM called for a Spot check when there was nothing to Spot)

[Eldaran]

Folks in this thread are no fun. The PC sees nothing, but if you want you can give him a luck chit to be used later for a reroll or a bonus or something.

OR improvise a hidden potion of cure light wounds or something. Maybe a jar with 2-12 dabs of ointment of cure minor wounds.

If you were my DM I'd walk around a field spamming perception checks until I walked away with a haul of potions.

[SangoProduction]

If you were my DM I'd walk around a field spamming perception checks until I walked away with a haul of potions.

At which point, you wouldn't be given bonuses for nat 20 for trying to abuse an insignificant ruling.

[Andezzar]

At which point, you wouldn't be given bonuses for nat 20 for trying to abuse an insignificant ruling.Or they could have avoided the pointless exercise in the first place, by using the rules as written. If you have the possibility of gettinga non negligible reward for a negligible investment, most people will do it, as often as you are able. And if the same procedure starts to give different, less positive results the players will be disappointed.

[Sliver]

Rolling a 20 isn't an accomplishment by itself, no more than rolling any other number. Why should a player be rewarded for it beyond what he would otherwise get?

*Rolls 20*
"You see nothing else of note."
"Aww, your no fun!"

Really? A DM isn't fun because he isn't rewarding you with a random distraction for every roll you make?

Making stuff up to accompany every single roll the players make is up to the individual DM, but if I already give a detailed description of the scene and it has no more significant or hidden details to it, but a player expects more just because he rolled high and gets pissed at me for not providing it? Screw him.

[ace rooster]

What about the DnD drinking game. Natural 20, take a swig, but you see nothing. :smallbiggrin:

[Gallowglass]

Why is the player even rolling a perception check if there is nothing there? How did that even happen?

DM: "Okay, so you are beginning the trip through the Aldonken Alps toward the mining villages. Because you left the wagon behind, it will be a ten-day journey. On day one, as you crest the top of the first mountain, you see a fine valley below you, white with deep winter snow with black pines carpeting the..."

Player: "I roll perception! I got a 20!"

DM: ".... uh... o... okay... what are you rolling for?"

Player: "To see what is there!"

I mean, what the **** man? What precipitated this that caused the player to roll his perception? If there is "nothing" there, why are you describing a scene and giving them interaction to it? Are they sneaking down a crypt hall? Every time you describe a scene and pause to let them interact there should be SOMETHING going on, shouldn't there?

I suppose I _could_ see giving them some precursor information for a future encounter "You see scufflings in the dust of three toes feet. Perhaps goblins are ahead?" But that's just rewarding the **** who is screaming "I roll perception!" every two minutes.

[Jay R]

I'd be far more likely to invent extraneous detail when they roll a 1. Assume that they are searching a room with a trap door on the north wall. I roll the die, and it comes up 1.

"Looking over the room, there is no particular detail on the floor that seems notable. The walls seem to be ordinary granite. Perhaps a couple of stones on the south wall seem a little darker than the rest. Over on the east wall, near the south wall, there are two small holes four feet up, three feet apart. Perhaps there was a shelf there once - or something."

But really, giving them any extraneous detail is - extraneous. I saw a module once with a room that has a large brown stain in the corner, with an 8 inch unstained perfect circle in the middle. Turns out that when it was a working castle, there was a spittoon there. I wondered when I read it how many parties would spend useless and frustrating time trying to figure out its mystical significance. It was just a time-waster.

Let them play the game, which is not about getting exciting when there is nothing to find.

[Andezzar]

But really, giving them any extraneous detail is - extraneous. I saw a module once with a room that has a large brown stain in the corner, with an 8 inch unstained perfect circle in the middle. Turns out that when it was a working castle, there was a spittoon there. I wondered when I read it how many parties would spend useless and frustrating time trying to figure out its mystical significance. It was just a time-waster.Gotta use this the next time my players progress the story too quickly ;)

[Nibbens]

God bless their little hearts, I know at least some of my players would write "Mysterious Copper Piece???" on their inventory and wonder about it forever.

And then at the end of the campaign they'd be like "So, what did that copper piece do anyway? You brought it up and never talked about it again!"

This is true, more so if the PCs were currently in one of the layers of hell, or perhaps outer space.

[Zaq]

Most people here are overthinking this. Just go with what makes the game more fun. Is it fun to sit and rhapsodize about every detail of every location every time a player picks up a d20? Generally not, so don't do that. Is it fun to treat the world as a series of featureless rooms empty except for monsters/doors/chests? Generally not, so don't do that either. And honestly, I don't think anyone is actually advocating either of those extremes.

It's perfectly legitimate to want to hand out a small cookie (whether that's a minor item or a +2 token or a glimpse of insight into the next challenge) for a player getting lucky, so do that if it makes the game fun. That will obviously stop being fun if players try to abuse this and farm for cookies by rolling unnecessarily every time you pause to take a breath, so don't reward that sort of behavior. If your group finds it fun to "stop and smell the roses" along the way, then put in details and encourage that fun. If your group finds it boring to describe much more than what's necessary, then do what you have to do to get to the parts of the game your group enjoys.

And here's the really important thing I think a lot of this thread is missing: we aren't writing a rulebook here. You don't have to set down a law to always follow forevermore, and you don't have to craft a universal way of doing things that will affect you and me and everyone else who plays this game. The same group might find details interesting one day and find them tedious the next day, and that's okay. You go with what works right now. You probably shouldn't codify a hard rule that "any nat 20 on a skill check will be rewarded," but that doesn't mean that you can't reward any nat 20 you choose to reward. Just gauge the group's wants and needs and roll with what makes things fun right now.

[SangoProduction]

Most people here are overthinking this. Just go with what makes the game more fun. Is it fun to sit and rhapsodize about every detail of every location every time a player picks up a d20? Generally not, so don't do that. Is it fun to treat the world as a serious of featureless rooms empty except for monsters/doors/chests? Generally not, so don't do that either. And honestly, I don't think anyone is actually advocating either of those extremes.

It's perfectly legitimate to want to hand out a small cookie (whether that's a minor item or a +2 token or a glimpse of insight into the next challenge) for a player getting lucky, so do that if it makes the game fun. That will obviously stop being fun if players try to abuse this and farm for cookies by rolling unnecessarily every time you pause to take a breath, so don't reward that sort of behavior. If your group finds it fun to "stop and smell the roses" along the way, then put in details and encourage that fun. If your group finds it boring to describe much more than what's necessary, then do what you have to do to get to the parts of the game your group enjoys.

And here's the really important thing I think a lot of this thread is missing: we aren't writing a rulebook here. You don't have to set down a law to always follow forevermore, and you don't have to craft a universal way of doing things that will affect you and me and everyone else who plays this game. The same group might find details interesting one day and find them tedious the next day, and that's okay. You go with what works right now. You probably shouldn't codify a hard rule that "any nat 20 on a skill check will be rewarded," but that doesn't mean that you can't reward any nat 20 you choose to reward. Just gauge the group's wants and needs and roll with what makes things fun right now.

Someone gets it. It's sad that some people want to abuse it simply to deny it to others.

[BRC]

There IS a benefit to rolling a nat 20 and seeing nothing, certainty.

If you roll a 10, add +5 perception, and see nothing, all you have learned is that there is nothing to see with a DC lower than 15. There could still be an assassin hiding in the bushes behind a DC 18 check.

If you roll a Natural 20, you KNOW that there is nothing there.

[zergling.exe]

There IS a benefit to rolling a nat 20 and seeing nothing, certainty.

If you roll a 10, add +5 perception, and see nothing, all you have learned is that there is nothing to see with a DC lower than 15. There could still be an assassin hiding in the bushes behind a DC 18 check.

If you roll a Natural 20, you KNOW that there is nothing there.

Unless Pathfinder changed it, rolling a 20 on a skill check does not equal auto success.You would only get whatever is warranted by your roll (in your example a 25).

[Andezzar]

Unless Pathfinder changed it, rolling a 20 on a skill check does not equal auto success.You would only get whatever is warranted by your roll (in your example a 25).Exactly anyone with a hide check of 26 or more, no mater if they rolled a 1 or a 20, would be hidden from that spotter.

[Krazzman]

I personally handle it a bit in accordance to the Rule of Cool.

Depending on what exactly they are doing and where they are they get either a pun, something irrelevant funny or a useless item that catched their eye or they see something more nuanced that one might miss.

A nat20 on an locked/unlocked stuck/blocked door uses next to no time since he actually sees or feels or whatever that the door is actually stuck and he can't lockpick it.

[PersonMan]

Or they could have avoided the pointless exercise in the first place, by using the rules as written. If you have the possibility of gettinga non negligible reward for a negligible investment, most people will do it, as often as you are able. And if the same procedure starts to give different, less positive results the players will be disappointed.

Anyone sane knows that trying to abuse the rule isn't going to result in a haul of potions.

This is the equivalent of someone saying 'well, when I have a runny nose I can get a tissue from someone, so obviously I can just use this rule (ask for tissue with runny nose = acquire tissue for free) to stock up on hundreds of tissues whenever I need to blow my nose' and then getting angry when people refuse to hand them additional tissues after they took one and don't use it.

[Andezzar]

Anyone sane knows that trying to abuse the rule isn't going to result in a haul of potions.

This is the equivalent of someone saying 'well, when I have a runny nose I can get a tissue from someone, so obviously I can just use this rule (ask for tissue with runny nose = acquire tissue for free) to stock up on hundreds of tissues whenever I need to blow my nose' and then getting angry when people refuse to hand them additional tissues after they took one and don't use it.There are some significant differences a) you have "achieved" something, you are not begging for a handout. b) there is no value in carrying the tissues around yourself if others could carry them for you and hand them out when you need them. The found potions however do not pop up when you need them and, contrary to loose tissues can be sold, should you not need them.

BTW does the commoner with 1 rank in Knowledge (physics) and INT 3 develop the Grand Unified Theory on a 20? Can the same commoner jump arbitrarily high/far on a 20?Attributing special rules to one side of the d20 makes no sense for skill checks.

[A_S]

Anyone sane knows that trying to abuse the rule isn't going to result in a haul of potions.

This is the equivalent of someone saying 'well, when I have a runny nose I can get a tissue from someone, so obviously I can just use this rule (ask for tissue with runny nose = acquire tissue for free) to stock up on hundreds of tissues whenever I need to blow my nose' and then getting angry when people refuse to hand them additional tissues after they took one and don't use it.
Relevant xkcd (https://xkcd.com/1499/)

[Sliver]

you have "achieved" something, you are not begging for a handout.

I think achieving a cold is more difficult than achieving a 20. :smalltongue:

[Jay R]

This is the kind of roll I prefer to make myself, behind the screen.

If they get a 20, I tell them, "You have searched diligently, and are absolutely certain that there is nothing relevant here to find."

This is also exactly what I tell them if they roll a 1.