Aaron Griffin I would not say so. Failing a roll is not deprotagonization, as I understand it. Paul ostensibly casts the spell knowing that there is a 1 in 20 chance that he will receive a nonsense answer. That sort of resource gambling is totally a part of functional D&D.

I’d also argue that, had the rolls been made in the open, this same situation would probably be a memorable anecdote, rather than a tale of woe. “Dude, remember that time you rolled two 1s in a row during that boss battle?”