[Blue Devil Games] FREE PRODUCT - d20 Master Table

[Justin D. Jacobson]

So I whipped up a handy little GM aid I thought some of you might find handy too. It's the d20 Master Table.

The d20 Master Table is a handy visual reference for any rpg that uses a single d20 compared against a target number, including the basic d20 system, Green Ronin's True 20, and the upcoming Passages game from Blue Devil Games (and the Bullseye20 system it's based on).

In seconds, the d20 Master Table gives you the chance of success for any check given the bonus/penalty and the target number/difficulty class. The table can be used when creating adventures to properly scale encounters and at the table to tweak DCs "on the fly" based on the specific circumstances. For example, maybe you created a DC to open a lock assuming the party's resident lockpicker would be present. Unfortunately, the rogue was captured in the last fight. Using the Master Table, you can scale the challenge to the same level of difficulty based upon who is attempting to pick the lock now. Or perhaps the party has gone off the beaten path and is attempting something you hadn't planned for. Now you can create a DC based on what you perceive is the appropriate chance of success.

True 20 is a trademark of Green Ronin Publishing, used with permission.

Enjoy!

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Handy as is it for those that automatically understand it. I must be a bit of an idiot because I don't fully understand it. Maybe a min-insctruction manual is needed.

 

[Justin D. Jacobson]

Handy as is it for those that automatically understand it. I must be a bit of an idiot because I don't fully understand it. Maybe a min-insctruction manual is needed.

I was trying to release it more as a free doohickey than as a formal product. I probably went a bit too far to the austere end of the spectrum.

In any case, all the table does is give you the percentage chance of a check succeeding given a particular bonus or penalty on the roll and a particular DC. It's just relatively simple math in a tabular format for ease of reference. So, if the bonus on the check is +5 and the DC is 10, you cross-reference the row and column and get 80; there's any 80% chance of the check succeeding.

I think it has two nice functions. First, it lets you properly scale adventures as you create them. So, if you know the rogue in the party has a bonus to his Open Lock skill of +10, you can set the DC of a particular lock to exactly how difficult you want the encounter to be. Second, it lets you tweak DCs on the fly based on changing circumstances, i.e., a DM fiat enabler. So, if that same rogue was captured in the last encounter and you want to preserve the same chance of success, you can "reverse engineer" the new DC given the bonus of the character actually trying to pick the lock.

 

[LordMelquiades]

Nifty, thanks.