Ability Check Criticals

A new article over on EN5ider! Rolling a natural 20 or a natural 1 has never been so much fun! With these ability check critical effects for your 5E game, there are positive and negative tables for physical, social, medicine, knowledge, and arcane style checks. By Jeff Gomez; illustrated by Herman Lau.

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Recently on EN5ider:

• #242. Ability Check Criticals. Rolling a natural 20 or a natural 1 has never been so much fun! With these ability check critical effects, there are positive and negative tables for physical, social, medicine, knowledge, and arcane style checks. By Jeff Gomez; illustrated by Herman Lau.
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[5ekyu]

Not a fan of empowering the dice with Nat 1/20 additions.

However...

In 5e rules under Ability Checks its stated that any failed ability check can result in some progress (different from overcome the challenge) with setback. So, no roll of 1 is needed to get setbacks like these as long as they also gain a little positive out of it.

A lot of the "Nat 1" criticals here will serve that basic rule just fine without needing any house rule for 1/20 ability checks - so i find this article useful.

Basic Rules - Ability Checks
If the total equals or exceeds the DC, the ability check is a success--the creature overcomes the challenge at hand. Otherwise, it's a failure, which means the character or monster makes no progress toward the objective or makes progress combined with a setback determined by the DM.

 

[jmucchiello]

Just follow "Your player said what" on tumblr to get a sickening amount of stupid GM rulings when Nat 1s and Nat 20s are rolled for skill checks. Don't need such idiocy statted out.

I know I'm drifting into badwrongfun land here but I don't think you can seduce the Lich Queen just because you rolled a 20 on a persuasion check, once.

 

[5ekyu]

Just follow "Your player said what" on tumblr to get a sickening amount of stupid GM rulings when Nat 1s and Nat 20s are rolled for skill checks. Don't need such idiocy statted out.

I know I'm drifting into badwrongfun land here but I don't think you can seduce the Lich Queen just because you rolled a 20 on a persuasion check, once.

For some reason "seducing the Lich Queen" sounds more like a result of a "some progress with setback" (or NAT 1) to me...

"I will agree to hear out your group's petition tomorrow even though i find it not quite so appealing as to grant it outright. perhaps you might come see me tonight and see if you can make it more "appealing" to me."

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Just follow "Your player said what" on tumblr to get a sickening amount of stupid GM rulings when Nat 1s and Nat 20s are rolled for skill checks. Don't need such idiocy statted out.

I know I'm drifting into badwrongfun land here but I don't think you can seduce the Lich Queen just because you rolled a 20 on a persuasion check, once.

It's definitely a game style, not a case of badwrongfun, but for most games you're right.

Although to be fair, seducing the Lich Queen doesn't mean she isn't just as dangerous to you as before. She is a lich. She is beyond her emotions. She will sacrifice even that which she loves most at the alter of power. She will rip out your heart and feed the power of your death into the dread machine of her ambition even as she grieves for the loss of you.

Seducing the Lich Queen may be possible, and it may even happen quickly and with little real work, if the circumstance is right, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

For some reason "seducing the Lich Queen" sounds more like a result of a "some progress with setback" (or NAT 1) to me...

"I will agree to hear out your group's petition tomorrow even though i find it not quite so appealing as to grant it outright. perhaps you might come see me tonight and see if you can make it more "appealing" to me."

Reminds me of this: http://keith-baker.com/erandis-vol-hot-or-not/

 

[robus]

I know I'm drifting into badwrongfun land here but I don't think you can seduce the Lich Queen just because you rolled a 20 on a persuasion check, once.

Well the assumption going in is that the DM only called for a roll when there's uncertainty in the result. If the Lich Queen is not interested in seduction then there is no roll. It seems too many DMs allow or call for too many rolls making tables, such as these, overkill. For DMs that strike the right balance there's nothing wrong with introducing some extra fun into the times when the roll is needed.

 

[ad_hoc]

Well the assumption going in is that the DM only called for a roll when there's uncertainty in the result. If the Lich Queen is not interested in seduction then there is no roll. It seems too many DMs allow or call for too many rolls making tables, such as these, overkill. For DMs that strike the right balance there's nothing wrong with introducing some extra fun into the times when the roll is needed.

Yeah, agreed.

We just started a new group. We have 3 new players, 2 players from previous editions but who have been playing 5e since 2014, and one player who last played 3.5. That last player keeps declaring he's making a ____ roll and grabbing his d20 before the DM says anything. We've only had a couple sessions so I'm sure he will come around, that habit though can be hard to break.

 

[5ekyu]

Well the assumption going in is that the DM only called for a roll when there's uncertainty in the result. If the Lich Queen is not interested in seduction then there is no roll. It seems too many DMs allow or call for too many rolls making tables, such as these, overkill. For DMs that strike the right balance there's nothing wrong with introducing some extra fun into the times when the roll is needed.

Within the context of this particular rule suggestion - it explicitly states that unlike hits - no auto-success or failure is given by the 1 and 20. these are additional effects, outside the main thrust of the task at times.

 

[Paragon Lost]

Within the context of this particular rule suggestion - it explicitly states that unlike hits - no auto-success or failure is given by the 1 and 20. these are additional effects, outside the main thrust of the task at times.

Which is entirely your choice within the game that you run. Personally I enjoy critical hits and failures and that's how it's played at my place. No matter how many times you quote the rules.