D&D 5E Can a PC perform a miracle with a stat/skill check?

[miniaturehoarder]

I was prompted to ask this question by a discussion in another thread.

In 5e, can a player make a check to have his/her PC perform a miracle. For instance, if a fighter comes across a villager who is injured and dying, is it a valid action declaration to say "I pray for the villager's life"?

If the answer is yes, what is the relevant stat? WIS? And what is the DC? And what skill (if any) would grant a proficiency bonus to the check?

I'd say unless the fighter's passive WIS check is less than 8, the fighter understands know that the commoner is better off if the fighter tries to stabilize the commoner by hand while praying with his mouth.

Act, should the gods care, so will they.

 

[Leatherhead]

Sure, all the cool stuff happens when PC's are around, it's kind of the nature of the world. In this case you are asking to basically ritualize a cantrip, and I am all about ritual healing.
The check would be a religion check.
Just be careful who answers the prayer, and what they want in return.

 

[delericho]

I wouldn't make it as high as a 1% chance. At the very best I'd rule that both myself and the player roll %. If they match, miracle performed!

Um... that is a 1% chance of success.

 

[miniaturehoarder]

Um... that is a 1% chance of success.

it's a one in 10000 chance to get matching % rolls.

 

[Rocksome]

Nah, it's 1 in 100.

There are 100 numbers the DM can roll and 100 numbers the player can roll i.e 100^2 for a total of 10,000 possible outcomes. Out of these 10000 possible outcomes there are 100 outcomes where the number rolled is the same... Both 1, both 2, both 3, both 4 and so on up until both 100. So the odds of rolling the same number are 100/10000 = 1/100 = 1%.

If you were to specify the number required in advance, i.e. if both DM and player need to roll 01 or 00 then the odds would be 1 in 10000.

 

[JWO]

Sure, all the cool stuff happens when PC's are around, it's kind of the nature of the world. In this case you are asking to basically ritualize a cantrip, and I am all about ritual healing.
The check would be a religion check.
Just be careful who answers the prayer, and what they want in return.

Yeah exactly! I'd say that there'd be a chance that someone other than who they were trying to pray to might answer with whatever nasty consequences that might have!

 

[Sage Genesis]

*This edition explicitly states that there are priests who are not Clerics, and anyone with the Acolyte background can perform the rites of his or her faith. Divine classes are not the only representatives of the Gods in the world.

Just because you're an ordained priest who can perform marriages doesn't mean you can call down divine intervention. There is a very clear, specific class ability for that. Saying that non-Cleric priests can replicate this is like saying every lumberjack can Hide in Plain Sight as a 10th level Ranger.

I wouldn't make it as high as a 1% chance. At the very best I'd rule that both myself and the player roll %. If they match, miracle performed!

I assume this is a sly joke?

 

[SteveC]

This is a really interesting question. For me, it really depends on the role of the gods in your campaign. I've run games where there was a kind and forgiving All-Father sort of god, and others where the gods were just powerful spellcasters from another universe. Very different results.

I'd really ask the player what they were attempting to accomplish here, since letting something like this occur is a big change for the game. Does the player want to eventually become a paladin or cleric? If that's the case, asking for help in a case like this would make for an excellent reason to change their direction.

Are they angrily raging at an uncaring universe like Liam Neeson's character in The Grey? Well, perhaps this is a great way to teach a lesson about how the universe really doesn't care.

Is this just some random action from the player? Better move on in that case.

So I guess I'm saying that it should definitely be possible, but that depends on the campaign, what the player is trying to do, and how you as a GM feel your universe should act.

 

[keterys]

Sounds like a good time for a god to pick up the fighter's service. Sure, I can help you out there. In exchange, you're going to have to do X, Y, and Z.

 

[Mallus]

Quick, iPad-friendly answer: sure, why not?, could be fun! Minor intercessions are the stuff fantasy fiction & religions are made of.

To my mind, the important questions are: who do you ask & how do you ask? This is where the opportunity for amusing role playing & consequences lies.

The stat/skill roll required should vary accordingly.

If I had to whip up a mechanic... roll <= relevant stat modifier on d%100. Add 1 to the modifier if there's a relevant skill.

Yeah, this kinda/sorta duplicates a Clerical ability. So what? That class ability can be used 1/week. Don't let random petitioners pray for miracles that frequently.