Questions tagged [difficulty-class]
For questions about the target numbers rolls are trying to achieve, in systems which call that the "difficulty class." (Questions for RPG systems that describe the target number as the "difficulty", such as Fate, should be tagged [difficulty] instead.)
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What NPC skill or ability should be used to oppose a PC's Intelligence check made when using the Disguise Kit?
The Player's Handbook states that "The DM might call for an Intelligence check when you try to accomplish tasks like [...] Pull together a disguise to pass as a city guard." However, it's ...
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What's the DC of a Devourer's "trap essence" attack?
What's the DC of a Devourer's "trap essence" attack?
I checked several sources on the internet, but they just say the DC is "charisma-based" without saying what the number is. They ...
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How do I calculate my Maneuver save DC if I use a Battle Master Maneuver while in Wild Shape?
If I have a suitable Battle Master Maneuver (from three levels of Fighter, or through Superior Technique fighting style from one level of Fighter or the Fighting Initiate feat) and I use it when I ...
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Is the DC of the Swarmkeeper ranger's Gathered Swarm feature affected by a Moon Sickle?
In the Swarmkeeper ranger's 3rd-level feature Gathered Swarm, one of the possible effects after you hit a creature with an attack on your turn is:
The attack’s target must succeed on a Strength ...
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How is the spell DC of a staff calculated when used with UMD?
Related description from Use Magic Device:
Emulate an Ability Score: To cast a spell from a scroll, you need a high score in the appropriate ability (Intelligence for wizard spells, Wisdom for divine ...
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What is the Avenging Angel Aura of Menace save DC?
The party paladin (Oath of Vengeance) is currently 18th level and we are planning on playing to 20th. Eventually he will get the Avenging Angel class feature, which states, in part:
At 20th level, ...
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Different checks for the same action?
Situation: Players are investigating a field trying to find a missing dog.
Would it be reasonable to allow a DC 15 investigation or a DC 12 survival to get the "same" information of "...
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How to calculate Friendfetch spell force vs grappled DC?
The rules for Pathfinder 2 say something like "if forced movement would break the grappled condition it has to pass the DC (either athletics for grabber or thievery for rope)".
The ...
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If a fighter learns the Command spell from the Fey Touched feat, what is the spell save DC?
When you have the Fey Touched feat, you learn misty step and one enchantment or divination spell.
What is the spell save DC for the Wisdom saving throw against the command spell, when you are a ...
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How does casting spells from magic items with fixed attack bonuses/save DCs interact with magic items that provide additional bonuses?
Some magic items, such as the Circlet of Blasting or the Eyes of Charming, allow you to cast a spell, but specify the attack bonus or save DC. Other magic items, such as the Robe of the Archmagi and ...
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How to justify Expertise? [closed]
Apologies - I am still stuck up with Bounded Accuracy and Expertise. As far as I understand from the answers about what it means to break bounded accuracy, from the related Q&As about how bonuses ...
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What is a dexterity saving throw in the spell 'Burning Hands'? [duplicate]
When the wizard fires off burning hands, the other creature has to roll a Dexterity saving throw. Is the DC the same as what's noted on my character sheet in 'features and traits'? I.e. 13
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I'm trying to do a Charisma (Persuasion) check with no DC to compare it to!
Encounter with a Hollyfant
I'm playing the DnD solo adventure "To Hell and Back Again" and there's no DC to compare my check Charisma (Persuasion) to. Here's the passage:
Hi there! I’m Lulu,...
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How long can my character survive without sleep?
I got into a discussion over Discord this morning about whether the Dream spell could be used to kill someone. The claim was, if I remember correctly, that it would only take 6 days/nights because ...
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How to handle the Soulknife Rogue's Psi Bolstered Knack if the DM doesn't do clear-cut successes and failures on skill checks?
The Soulknife Rogue has the following ability:
Psi-Bolstered Knack. When your nonpsionic training fails you, your psionic power can help: if you fail an ability check using a skill or tool with which ...
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Who sets the difficulty class test?
I was reading the player's book and in many parts of the book it says
The test is determined by the difficulty of the class
I read it several times and can't understand if the difficulty class is ...
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What is the Performance DC for feats with the "Combat Performance" tags?
What is the Performance DC for feats with the "Combat Performance" tags?
Example: Dramatic Display feat
What is the Performance DC that you add the +2 to skill check from the feat that ...
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If a spell is stored in a Ring of Spell Storing, and then the original caster's save DC/attack bonus changes, which save DC/attack bonus do I use?
For the ring of spell storing, I know a stored spell's save DC/attack bonus is based on the caster who originally stored the spell in the ring.
But say the original caster uses temporary items to ...
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What does "DC 20" refer to in the description of the Erinyes' "Entangle" ability?
The Erinyes has an ability called Entangle that functions "as an animate rope spell (CL 16th, DC 20)".
Normally, this format of ability description would set the save DC of the spell, but ...
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How to determine a DC for a magical effect? [closed]
The DC guidelines in the DMG are in increments of five (DC 15 for a moderate task, DC 20 for a hard one, etc.). Yet, a lot of spells and magic items use DCs like 13 or 17.
Are there any guidelines, ...
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Is the DC table applied to characters with or without proficiency?
In the PHB there is a section on typical difficulty classes:
Difficulty
DC
Very easy
5
Easy
10
Medium
15
Hard
20
Very hard
25
Almost impossible
30
Just looking at the numbers, I would say that ...
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Should I tell players the difficulty of checks?
I'll be running Tails of Equestria with my daughter and her friend soon. (For reference, I've previously played D&D 5e before and DMed it a little, including with children.)
Should the PCs be told ...
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What ability or skill check would cover surfing on a shield down stairs, and what would the DC be for such an action?
Based on existing DCs, what would a ballpark number be for a group of 4 7th-level individuals to surf a single shared tower shield down a series of flights of stairs (each turning at 90 degrees at ...
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How do I convert the DC of a check from AD&D 2E to 5E?
In the AD&D 2e supplement, In The Cage: A Guide to Sigil, there are rules given for the impacts of a noxious smog, as follows:
Any PC exposed to [the smog] must make a Constitution ability check, ...
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Do save penalties also apply to DCs?
If someone has a penalty to a save, does it automatically lower the matching DC?
Bon Mot for example gives a penalty to saves:
Critical Success: The target is distracted and takes a –3 status penalty ...
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What would be the DC to navigate through a heavy storm at sea?
I am working on Seafaring Navigation DC checks. I have found the following DCs based on the Wilderness Navigation table on page 112 of the DMG and the following quote on page 117:
As long as a ship ...
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Is Armor Class a difficulty class (DC)?
Frightened talks only about DCs:
[...] You take a status penalty equal to this value to all your checks and DCs [...]
Compare it to Clumsy:
[...] You take a status penalty equal to the condition ...
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DC of Knowledge arcana/religion for information about spell mechanics
What's the DC on knowledge arcana/religion checks to know the mechanics of a higher level spell?
In my current campaign, the players try to find a scroll of true resurrection to revive a dead party ...
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What is the spell save DC for the spells gains via the dark gifts in Curse of Strahd?
In Curse of Strahd, in Amber Temple,
The descriptions of these dark gifts do not make any mention of a spell save DC, should the dark gift allow the casting of a spell. For a player who has a ...
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How loud are guns in Pathfinder, really?
Related question here, similar question about casting volume here.
I'm playing in a game with a gunslinger ally, and while this hasn't come up just yet, I'm sure it will eventually. Are there any ...
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Converting difficulty class (DC) of checks from D&D 3E to 5E
I'm looking at converting the 5th-level D&D 3E adventure The Speaker in Dreams to the fifth edition and I'm noticing a lot of DCs from 20 to 30. Were difficulty classes higher in 3E or were ...
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Is there a name for a single saving throw with multiple DCs (i.e. whose effect is determined based on the highest DC met)?
Is there a name for a single saving throw with multiple DCs (i.e. whose effect is determined based on the highest DC met)?
For example, say a character is placed in a supernaturally hot environment, ...
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For Ring of Shooting Stars, can Ball Lightning affect a creature when you move it into their space?
The Ring of Shooting Stars has the following feature (emphasis mine):
Ball Lightning.
You can expend 2 charges as an action to create one to four 3-foot-diameter spheres of lightning. The more ...
user53884
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What is the DC to break a tree?
A high-strength character (D&D 3.5) attempts to snap a tree or thick branch in half across their knee, or kick a tree down in the forest. This is not dealing damage, this is clearly a Strength ...
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How do I adjudicate PCs attempting to tie up a significantly stronger enemy?
How do I adjudicate PCs attempting to tie up a significantly stronger enemy?
Situation: He tries to tie up a prone but otherwise perfectly healthy zombie. I thought a die roll isn't even worth it, ...
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Break DC too low?
I am making a Magic Rod out of Adamantine. The normal description of a rod is as such:
Physical Description: Rods weigh approximately 5 pounds. They range from 2 feet to 3 feet long and are usually ...
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Is the Undead Fortitude trait's DC based on damage dealt or damage taken?
I'm new to DMing and I'm looking through options to throw at my players. I see the Zombie creature has the following trait:
Undead Fortitude. If damage reduces the zombie to 0 hit points, it must ...
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How is CON save DC determined for the Behir?
I am homebrewing a monster that has incorporates the Swallow mechanic used by the Behir (MM, pg. 25). My monster is not at the same CR and I need to adjust its statistics accordingly, but there is one ...
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Does the grapple escape DC of a vampire change when it has disadvantage on Strength ability checks?
When a vampire hits a creature with its Unarmed Strike attack and chooses to grapple it instead of dealing damage, the creature has an escape DC of 18.
However, if I cast Hex on the vampire and ...
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What are the examples of a successful DC 30 Ability Check that uses a Skill?
Simply put, are there official examples, such as a table, of DC 30 Ability Checks that use skills, for each skill?
I would like to see what the upper boundaries of a character's potential is for a ...
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Can a multiclassed Sorcerer/Tempest Cleric use Charisma instead of Wisdom to determine save DC for the Wrath of the Storm feature? [duplicate]
I have a question related to this one:
What is the DC of the Tempest Cleric's Wrath of the Storm feature?
Since the rules don't specify how you calculate your DC for this ability, could a ...
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Would it be game-breaking to allow casting spells at a higher level to increase the save DC for that spell instead of increasing damage?
There are a number of spells that include a section on "At Higher Levels." The actual effect varies from spell to spell; longer duration, more targets, summon better creatures, etc. I am specifically ...
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For the Ring of Shooting Stars, what is the spell save DC of Faerie Fire?
The Ring of Shooting Stars has the following feature:
Faerie Fire. You can expend 1 charge as an action to cast faerie fire from the ring.
Since it does not specifically state that you use your ...
user53884
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Do Spellcaster Class DCs not increase?
This feels like a stupid question, but I can't find any actual answers.
While building a higher-level character to play with the system a little, I noticed what appears to be an omission. At some ...
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To what extent is a lower DC skill check with disadvantage harder than a higher skill check without?
I'm wondering how mechanically I could calculate a lower DC challenge with disadvantage as a middle-ground between a higher skill DC and that same DC with disadvantage. I'd like to describe a ...
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Chances on ability checks don't seem to add up [duplicate]
I'm going through the Dungeon Master's Guide, and I see that DCs should be based on the "average person". What I'm having a hard time with is that if someone has a +5 modifier to their History checks ...
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What is the DC of the Tempest Cleric's Wrath of the Storm feature?
Tempest Domain clerics have the ability Wrath of the Storm (PHB, p. 62):
When a creature within 5 feet of you that you can see hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to cause the ...
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How do I determine Shadow Dragon's Breath Save DC?
From the Shadow Dragon template, it would appear that the Shadow Breath has the same damage and save as the original dragon's breath weapon, as no change is stated in the template:
New Action: ...
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How can I determine an appropriate DC for an Acrobatics check to "vault" over a barrel?
My PC is running down a hallway. She comes across a section that is blocked by beer barrels (3' tall, 2' round). She finds a place where the blockade is only one barrel deep.
She asks for an ...
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If the Dragon's Breath spell is cast on a familiar, does it use the wizard's DC or familiar's DC?
XGE has a spell that lets anything that breaths spew magical energy from its mouth for 10 rounds called Dragon's Breath (p. 154). Part of it reads:
Each creature in that area must make a Dexterity ...
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