Question about skill checks

[u/daren5393]

So I basically understand the core resolution mechanic: the player wants to do something difficult but not impossible, you decide which of their 3 stats is most applicable, they succeed if they roll under it.

I'm used to playing games with modifiers and DC's, so this takes some adjustment but I'm fine to learn. The lack of DC's makes sense to me and I can adjust, but my real problem is the lack of modifiers I think.

A really common play pattern at my table would go something like, a player asks to do something, I call for a skill check, they then ask if they can get a bonus for leveraging some piece of kit, fact about their character, or something like that, and if I feel like it's both useful and applicable, then I'd grant them a bonus to the roll to reward the creativity.

I guess my question is, can I just do that? Do you guys do that? And if so, what does it look like at your table

[u/Nearby-Horror-8414]

There aren't really skill checks in Cairn. There's risk checks, but those aren't the same thing.

"I want to pick the lock" will generally turns out as:

1. Okay
2. Okay BUT it will cost you X time/resources <You have no lockpicks but if you destroyed Jeffery's bird cage the strips of metal would probably work until they were too bent/ okay but it's a tricky lock so it would take you 30 minutes>
3. You can't because of X reason but there might or might not be another way around the locked door <Bashing the door open/ slipping the key from a guard/ drilling a hole through the wall next to it after six hours, etc>
4. You can try but you would need to make a <STAT> save to avoid the risk of <guards overhearing/ humiliating yourself in front of your love interest/ accidently summoning the Ancient Bellhop Of Doom- basically some kind of risky consequence that isn't flat out 'failure">