Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
[D&D Design Discussion] Preserving the "Sweet Spot"
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Jarrod" data-source="post: 3011236" data-attributes="member: 13253"><p>Resurrecting an old topic...</p><p></p><p>One of the earlier complaints was that DCs either remained static, and thus high-level PCs auto-succeeded, or they scaled and became unrealistic. Then there was an example of the high-level rogue picking a lock behind his back while debating with his captors. </p><p></p><p>That's the solution - penalities. Given infinite time, both the low-level and high-level PC can get through a lock. However, the high-level PC can do it faster, while distracted, and chew gum simultaneously. </p><p></p><p>A LARP game I used to play had a lock-picking mechanic based on wires and a buzzer. Picking a lock was a matter of getting everyone quiet, sitting down, doing a dry run, and going for it. Boooooring. Then one game decided to toss in a real challenge - pick the lock in the middle of a fight while the NPCs were _specifically_ gunning for you. That really separated the skilled from the unskilled. </p><p></p><p>So that's my suggestion. Let the skill ranks rise, but start using more difficult situations and scaling up the penalties to suit. Make them pick the lock _fast_. Maybe the normal time used for all skills should be a minute (move and pick a lock in 6 seconds? Oy!) with a -20 for a standard action. Then you can toss in the party being chased by big baddies and needing to get through that lock _right now_. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Oh, and spells should give skill bonuses instead of auto-succeeding. But that's another discussion.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jarrod, post: 3011236, member: 13253"] Resurrecting an old topic... One of the earlier complaints was that DCs either remained static, and thus high-level PCs auto-succeeded, or they scaled and became unrealistic. Then there was an example of the high-level rogue picking a lock behind his back while debating with his captors. That's the solution - penalities. Given infinite time, both the low-level and high-level PC can get through a lock. However, the high-level PC can do it faster, while distracted, and chew gum simultaneously. A LARP game I used to play had a lock-picking mechanic based on wires and a buzzer. Picking a lock was a matter of getting everyone quiet, sitting down, doing a dry run, and going for it. Boooooring. Then one game decided to toss in a real challenge - pick the lock in the middle of a fight while the NPCs were _specifically_ gunning for you. That really separated the skilled from the unskilled. So that's my suggestion. Let the skill ranks rise, but start using more difficult situations and scaling up the penalties to suit. Make them pick the lock _fast_. Maybe the normal time used for all skills should be a minute (move and pick a lock in 6 seconds? Oy!) with a -20 for a standard action. Then you can toss in the party being chased by big baddies and needing to get through that lock _right now_. Oh, and spells should give skill bonuses instead of auto-succeeding. But that's another discussion. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
[D&D Design Discussion] Preserving the "Sweet Spot"
Top