Can you take 10 on ability check for contact other plane

[Lodow MoBo]

The reson why I ask this is dc 7 is no check at all and a 14 is reached with an 18 int. There is no stipulation that you can't take 10, but it seems like its too easy without rolling

 

[irdeggman]

You can only take 10 on a skill check not on any d20 roll you make.

You can't take 10 on a caster level check, attack roll, saving throw or an ability check. Taking 10 and 20 is specifically listed under skill checks.

I believe this has been specifically addressed in the FAQ at WotC site.

 

[CronoDekar]

Actually, according to the SRD:

Ability Checks and Caster Level Checks: The normal take 10 and take 20 rules apply for ability checks. Neither rule applies to caster level checks.

So technically you do seem to be able to take 10 for Contact Other Plane. However, given the nature of the spell I don't think it'd be too unreasonable for a DM to say that you cannot. Keep in mind though that it is a lv5 spell, for the most part you'll only get yes/no answers, and there's a possibility of getting a lie or a random answer. While on any single question you'll probably get the right answer, over a series of questions you won't necessarily know which ones are right and which ones aren't. (Though, if you ask your questions strategically you may be able to get around that.)

 

[irdeggman]

Yes, I saw where I had missed that quote on ability checks - but didn't have the chance to retract my statement.