Don't Make People Roll for a DC 10 or Less Checks, You Dicks.

A check with a Difficulty Class (DC) of 10 or less is not something that you should be making your players roll. The DC 10 represents an activity that is done regularly that poses no real challenge to your average person conducted under normal circumstances. A DC that is set at less than 10 represents something that an average person could do with little to no trouble, like changing the channel on the remote or picking up a glass of coke.  

Now I know that to some of my regular readers that this probably shouldn't have needed addressing but you would be amazed at how many comments I've read today while I was researching wilderness survival where people kept championing the "Roll every DC, no matter how low," line of thought. And I get it, they've got no one who will play in their boring ass games so they want us to have the same experience. 

Don't make people roll for things they should automatically succeed at doing. It slows down the game. It makes you a boring, unimaginative Dungeon Master. Forget that noise and keep the game moving.

It's A False Argument but Batman Running Through the Streets Should Make Up for It.

Last night I was catching up on some of the Black Gate archives I've missed when I ran across an article by Bob Byrne, Why I Went Old School - or Swords & Wizardry vs Pathfinder, that kind of got my attention. In the article Byrne discusses the reasons why he went with Swords & Wizardry over Pathfinder by trotting out many of the same arguments that you'll see time, and time again, whenever the discussion gets brought up online. But the one that got my attention was this one:

". . . I used this when explaining S&W to one of my new players. Now, in Baldur’s Gate, he would click on the ‘Find Traps’ skill and if a trap was nearby, it would be outlined on screen in a red box if detected. And he is aware that in a modern game (like Pathfinder), you would roll a 20-sided dice against your Find Trap skill. 

But I explained it won’t work that way in S&W. After I described the environment, he would have to tell me how he goes about looking for traps. Does he examine the ceiling? Does he roll a round stone across the floor? Does he put his fingers in the mouth of the idol (always a dangerous move!)?  

To try and bluff your way past the guard at the city gate, you don’t simply roll against your Bluff skill. You have to tell the same story to the Referee that your character is telling to the guard. With appropriate gestures . . .  

The Referee may simply determine whether it worked or not. Or if the try was plausible, they may roll a dice against the character’s Charisma score, with a bonus or penalty, depending on how good the story was. So, even though there is a version of a skill check involved, it’s driven by the player action, not the character sheet . . ." (Byrne)

Since I first became aware of the Old School movement I have always been bothered by the argument that rule heavy systems, like Dungeons & Dragons 3e and its kin, force the players to play the game through their die rolls and character sheets rather than to take control of the action through the use of their own creativity and narrative choices. At its core this argument is one that would have you believe that providing players who might not be as creative with a way to accomplish their goals and to participate in the game in a meaningful way, such as through the use of skill checks, eliminates the possibility for them to play in any other way - which is bullshit. 

Players did not suddenly cede their right to make a meaningful narrative choice, or use their creativity to deal with a problem in the game, simply because they elected to play a game that provided them with a skill check to accomplish the task without having to detail every action they might make in the attempt. Things like skill checks were not designed to eliminate the player's ability to think outside the box but rather to allow them the opportunity to accomplish actions which they might not have the natural skill or knowledge to otherwise attempt. They are an aide to play; not a hindrance binding play behind a massive block of rules. 

Now back to my book.

Works Cited
Byrne, Bob. "Why I Went Old School - or Swords & Wizardry vs Pathfinder" Black Gate. https://www.blackgate.com/2016/09/08/why-i-went-old-school-or-swords-wizardry-vs-pathfinder/ Accessed December 15, 2016

Skill Checks: Climb

Climb (Str; Armor Check Penalty)

Check: With a successful Climb check, you can advance up, down, or across a slope, a wall, or some other steep incline (or even a ceiling with handholds) at one-quarter your normal speed. A slope is considered to be any incline at an angle measuring less than 60 degrees; a wall is any incline at an angle measuring 60 degrees or more.

A Climb check that fails by 4 or less means that you make no progress, and one that fails by 5 or more means that you fall from whatever height you have already attained.

A climber’s kit gives you a +2 circumstance bonus on Climb checks.

The DC of the check depends on the conditions of the climb . . .  (SRD, Skills I, Climb)

Using the Climb Skill is one of those happy little checks that just makes me excited. As a Dungeon Master it means that I have a player who is putting himself at risk which is fun beyond measure for me; and as a Player it means that I’ve got something important going on. Both situations mean that the game is moving forward.

When to Use this Skill

Now I don’t like the delineation marker between a wall and an incline being 60 degrees, so for my games I’ve always used the delineation as a wall being 90 degrees from the horizontal. It works better for the conceptualization of a wall. That demarcation might not sound like much since both an incline and a wall might require a Climb check, but it is important for determining a player character’s bonuses and penalties to the check.

Determining when to use the Climb check for a wall is pretty straightforward: do you want to climb the wall, then roll. So let’s talk about when to call for the check on the incline. According to OSHA guidelines (see Stairways and Ladders page 13) a stairwell has to be used at 30 degrees from the horizontal and can be used up to 50 degrees from horizontal. By using that as our guideline we can determine that things become difficult for our players’ characters starting at the 30 degree line. But do we call for a Check then?

No.

While the stairwell guideline is good for determining where things get difficult it does not indicate a point at which a check must be made. Steep Hills are well within the stairwell guidelines, and while the going is tough it would be foolish to call such a hike a climb. For our purposes it is best to use the danger zone as our indicator for when to call for a Climb check. This means that for an incline of 51 degrees to 90 degrees we can safely call for a Climb check without worrying that we’re needlessly wasting time.

In the description of the Climb Skill we’re given a chart that’s supposed to provide us with the appropriate difficulty class (DC) for the check. Here’s the original chart:

I don’t like that chart. Anything that is below a DC of ten should not have a check attached to it – because when you ascribe a value to that activity some asshole is going to make his players roll to beat it. Instead the example chart should look like this:

How to Use this Skill When Being Attacked

. . . You need both hands free to climb, but you may cling to a wall with one hand while you cast a spell or take some other action that requires only one hand. While climbing, you can’t move to avoid a blow, so you lose your Dexterity bonus to AC (if any). You also can’t use a shield while climbing . . . (SRD, Skills I, Climb)

I’ve never been a fan of the idea that you need to have two hands to climb as I’ve done it with only one hand and I’ve seen enough one armed folk climb to know that it can be done. Now is it more difficult? Absolutely, but it can be done.

Now let’s talk about fighting in this situation.

While it’s reasonable to assume that a character who has a one handed weapon can use it to fend off an aggressor. It’s also very hard to imagine that the character will have an easy time of hanging onto the incline or plane – unless he’s throwing something at an enemy. It is not only possible, but surprisingly easy to hang from a tree, a rocky outcropping, or even your neighbor’s roof and chuck rocks at your friends to get their attention without falling.

Modifying the Check

Unlike the Appraise Skill there isn’t a lot that other players can do to help your character in their climb attempts. Sure they can tie knots at one foot intervals on the rope providing your character with a circumstance bonus of 2 or you can use climbing which adds a circumstance bonus of 2; but other than those two actions there isn’t a lot that other characters can do to help you out as climbing is a one man activity.

By contrast, however, there is a lot that can be done that will negatively impact your character’s ability to climb; greasing the walls, heavy rain, loose rocks, ice, snow, fire, tar, moss, and the like all provide negative modifiers, and they all stack. So if you’re foolish enough to climb a frozen mountain side that’s on fire you have no one but yourself to blame for rolling at a - 6 modifier.

. . . Any time you take damage while climbing, make a Climb check against the DC of the slope or wall. Failure means you fall from your current height and sustain the appropriate falling damage . . . (SRD, Skills I, Climb)

I really cannot adequately express how much I dislike this rule.  Instead of wasting my time with remembering all the fucking modifiers that I’ve set up I handle this situation in the simplest fashion I know: 10 + damage = DC. This speeds up play and I’m all about that.

. . . Making Your Own Handholds and Footholds: You can make your own handholds and footholds by pounding pitons into a wall. Doing so takes 1 minute per piton, and one piton is needed per 3 feet of distance. As with any surface that offers handholds and footholds, a wall with pitons in it has a DC of 15. In the same way, a climber with a handaxe or similar implement can cut handholds in an ice wall . . . (SRD, Skills I, Climb)

From what I’ve been able to understand if you’re using pitons the distance isn’t really the main point because you can go 10, 20, or even 30 feet in between each use – cause they’re not really helping you climb as much as they are preventing you from hitting the ground when you fall. So realistically using a piton doesn’t help you climb, but it does help you aid another player in climbing as they’re used in aid climbing.

When Things Go Wrong

. . . Catching Yourself When Falling: It’s practically impossible to catch yourself on a wall while falling. Make a Climb check (DC = wall’s DC + 20) to do so. It’s much easier to catch yourself on a slope (DC = slope’s DC + 10).

Catching a Falling Character While Climbing: If someone climbing above you or adjacent to you falls, you can attempt to catch the falling character if he or she is within your reach. Doing so requires a successful melee touch attack against the falling character (though he or she can voluntarily forego any Dexterity bonus to AC if desired). If you hit, you must immediately attempt a Climb check (DC = wall’s DC + 10). Success indicates that you catch the falling character, but his or her total weight, including equipment, cannot exceed your heavy load limit or you automatically fall. If you fail your Climb check by 4 or less, you fail to stop the character’s fall but don’t lose your grip on the wall. If you fail by 5 or more, you fail to stop the character’s fall and begin falling as well . . . (SRD, Skills I, Climb)

When someone falls near me, and we’ve not used pitons and rope, his ass is hitting the ground. There is no reason for anyone to attempt to catch another player because you’re only going to get both of you killed. I know that sounds cruel, but if you’re climbing in the game you have to make the determination of survival over foolish acts of bravery.

Remember: discretion is the better part of valor. Besides, you can always loot the body on your way out.

. . . Action: Climbing is part of movement, so it’s generally part of a move action (and may be combined with other types of movement in a move action). Each move action that includes any climbing requires a separate Climb check. Catching yourself or another falling character doesn’t take an action.

Special: You can use a rope to haul a character upward (or lower a character) through sheer strength. You can lift double your maximum load in this manner . . . (SRD, Skills I, Climb)

The bad thing about that Special descriptor there is that it adds a greater emphasis to maintaining your character’s weight, including all their gear. And it never fails that when I call for that, that someone hasn’t been keeping up with it. My solution: I add – 2 to the check for each minute that we have to wait. 

If you’ve enjoyed this article you can find similar ones on the Skill Checks Page and can catch up with all my past thoughts on Third Edition Game Mechanics. As always, thank you for reading, Google pluses, commenting, sharing and linking to my articles. Hope to see you again when the next one comes out!

Skill Checks: Balance

Welcome back to my series of articles focused on the Skill System from Third Edition Dungeons and Dragons presenting alternative uses, methods, and readings of the skills as presented in the d20 System Reference Document – because it’s free, editable, and I can provide my own flavor text. Today we’re going to be talking about the use of the Balance skill which is often ignored by everyone at my table but the player playing the thief.

Balance (DEX; ARMOR CHECK PENALTY)

Check: You can walk on a precarious surface. A successful check lets you move at half your speed along the surface for 1 round. A failure by 4 or less means you can’t move for 1 round. A failure by 5 or more means you fall. The difficulty varies with the surface . . . (SRD, Skills I, Balance)

When thinking about alternative uses to the Balance Skill as a player you have to consider three questions: (1.) is using this variation sufficiently exciting enough that my Dungeon Master will allow its attempt; (2.) in making this attempt am I weakening the game for my own empowerment; (3.) am I willing to accept the use of this skill variation when used against me.

One of the things that I encourage in my games is awe inspiring moments. If you want to attempt to catch hold of a Hill Giant’s club and perch on top so that you can run down its length and smack that bad boy in the face, I’ll let you try it. Because having that opportunity to do something exceptional is far more enjoyable and rewarding then rolling a d20 and asking, “Did a 14 hit?” every time we play together.

I’ve read some Dungeon Masters who believe that allowing for this sort of creative play is a form of breaking the game. There is some truth in that view; but only when you allow for the unbridled creativity of the player to be given dominance over the game. It is the responsibility of each party to make sure that the use of this skill will not adversely affect the game and the greater responsibility falls to the player, because the Dungeon Master will make him pay if the variation breaks the game.

So as a player, how do you make sure that the variation you’re proposing isn’t game breaking?

Ask this question: am I willing to have the same action used against me without feeling like the Dungeon Master is taking liberties. If you cannot honestly say that you’re fine with the comeback then the variation should not be attempted.

A Word on Variable Difficulty Classes

I have touched on the subject in the articles Skill Check: Ability Checks and Skill Check: Appraise but it should be stated again, I don’t like the inflation rate on skills. If you’re building your character correctly then there will come a time when your character is unable to fail on a Balance Skill Check that does not involve some bizarrely difficult task like crossing a molten lake of fire on a tightrope while being shot at by hobgoblins and dive-bombed by gargoyles.

One of the ways that I have begun to deal with this inflation problem is to simply stop asking characters with a skill bonus of 15 or better for rolls on all but the most difficult of tasks. This speeds up play, allows for characters who should not fail a check to move on, and in general makes play a lot more fun.

This is not a method that everyone enjoys as I have had a player complain about not getting to make the checks. I put the measure to a vote for everyone and he was the only one who voted against my normal policy; so for him, I make him roll for anything above a DC 10.

He fails more than you would ever imagine possible.

Balancing While Being Attacked

Being Attacked while Balancing: You are considered flat-footed while balancing, since you can’t move to avoid a blow, and thus you lose your Dexterity bonus to AC (if any). If you have 5 or more ranks in Balance, you aren’t considered flat-footed while balancing. If you take damage while balancing, you must make another Balance check against the same DC to remain standing. (SRD, Skills I, Balance)

One of my favorite times to adjudicate the Balance Skill is during combat. If you rule the skill exactly as worded than there are lots of occasions when your players will be despirately rolling d2os in an effort to catch that tightrope they were walking on when the guard shot them in the back.

I like that.

The Burt Lancaster Rule for Being Attacked While Balancing

I created this rule late one night after watching a Burt Lancaster marathon on Turner Classic Movies. He was so fluid in his movements that it occurred to me that someone trained in tumbling as he was would trust that movement more than would they simply trust to luck.

The rule I created would be used by characters that also have 5 ranks in the Tumble Skill. Instead of having the player use their static Armor Class the player may elect to use their Tumble Skill to avoid the attack. With this variable rule the player and the attacking creature each roll opposing d20s plus their appropriate modifiers. The higher roll wins.

After the attack, whether it succeed or fails, the player will have to make a DC 15 Balance Check to avoid falling off the surface they’re balancing on. If the attack succeeded add the damage dealt to the player character to the DC. Thus, if the player received 12 points of damage the Balance Check will now be a DC 27 (15 + 12 = 27).

On a side note, Burt Lancaster is the bomb.

Accelerated Movement

Accelerated Movement: You can try to walk across a precarious surface more quickly than normal. If you accept a –5 penalty, you can move your full speed as a move action. (Moving twice your speed in a round requires two Balance checks, one for each move action used.) You may also accept this penalty in order to charge across a precarious surface; charging requires one Balance check for each multiple of your speed (or fraction thereof) that you charge. (SRD, Skill I, Balance)

I really like this rule – except I don’t like the charging option. So I never use it.

To my mind if you’re charging your whole body has to be occupied with building up speed and momentum. Wasting the efforts of your body on balancing limits your ability to charge so I never allow charging when balancing.

One More Really Important Thing

Action: None. A Balance check doesn’t require an action; it is made as part of another action or as a reaction to a situation. (SRD, Skill I, Balance)

It’s really important to remember that the Balance check doesn’t require an action and that it is part of a move. This means that you can allow a Balance Check as a free check during Tumbles and the like.

That’s good to know.