D&D 5E Create a DC 20 Skill check

[Scott Christian]

And that's that I am asking for

Tasks associated to a skill that would have a DC of 20 as an ability check.

But that's an ugly topic title.

Here are a few I can think of:

• Getting the gist of a scroll when only certain words are visible or the language is dead and lost, but a few words have (insert language here like Sylvan) roots. If I were to do this, I'd either make it a real paper puzzle for the players to solve or have a degrees of success written out so they could find out some information even with a low score.
• Calming a wild stallion through animal handling or nature
• Identifying something that is far off in the distance (ie Is that a dark cloud or a conspiracy of ravens?) Again, I would probably have a degrees of success written out. For example, if they succeeded first try, they have four rounds to do whatever they want. Then the countdown of free rounds would begin from four down to three down to two down to, "Uh-oh. That's not a cloud."
• Balancing on a small ice flow that is floating on the water. Failure might mean it tips and you go splash.
• Keeping with the ice theme, holding onto a glacier edge for six rounds. I would imagine numbing fingers and slippery edges make it a 20.
• Trying to calm a bunch of drunk sailors down with an acting performance.

Of course, all of these are subject to have advantage/disadvantage depending on the context earlier rounds created and how the player describes what their PC is doing.

 

[Gorck]

The first thing that came to my mind was Knowledge checks (Arcana, History, Nature, and Religion). The DC would increase (or decrease) depending on how obscure the information is.

 

[Minigiant]

The first thing that came to my mind was Knowledge checks (Arcana, History, Nature, and Religion). The DC would increase (or decrease) depending on how obscure the information is.

DC 20 Knowledge checks would be info that anyone might pick up from a random conversation but not common enough that everyone might be or hear that conversation and not spoken about often enough that everyone remembers it.

Like info that is common but not local. Like a dwarf's king's oldest son's name or facts about an animal not native to the continent.

A person either is from there and doesn't have to roll OR isn't from there and has a 5% of running into a person from there and learning that trivia.

 

[Hriston]

A charisma check to convince someone you are not doing something you are blatantly and obviously dressed and geared to do seems like a DC 20.

People have momentary lapses of processing.

"Digging? Nooooo. This is a communing shovel. You use it to speak to earth spirits."
"Oh. Wouldn't want stray earth spirits in the lord's garden. Give them hell."

I think about it a little differently. I think the NPC's attitude towards what you are blatantly and obviously dressed and geared up to do is relevant in setting a DC. In my example, if the NPCs were indifferent to the PCs' goal of acquiring treasure then the DC to convince them to allow the party to pass (help without taking risks) would have been 10, and if they were friendly towards it then they would allow passage without a Charisma check.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

I think about it a little differently. I think the NPC's attitude towards what you are blatantly and obviously dressed and geared up to do is relevant in setting a DC. In my example, if the NPCs were indifferent to the PCs' goal of acquiring treasure then the DC to convince them to allow them to pass (help without taking risks) would have been 10, and if they were friendly towards it then they would allow passage without a Charisma check.

Indeed - this is supported by the Social Interaction tables in the DMG (friendly vs indifferent vs hostile)

 

[Hriston]

Indeed - this is supported by the Social Interaction tables in the DMG (friendly vs indifferent vs hostile)

Yup, that's what I follow. So, to put it in terms of the OP's question, now that what was meant by "skill check" has been clarified (which at first I wasn't sure about), I think the following tasks would qualify as "DC 20".*

Deception:

• misleading or lying to a hostile NPC to get them to help with no risk or sacrifice involved,
• misleading or lying to an indifferent NPC to get them to help by accepting a minor risk or sacrifice, and
• misleading or lying to a friendly NPC to get them to help by accepting a significant risk or sacrifice.

Intimidation:

• threatening a hostile NPC or using hostile actions or physical violence to get them to help with no risk or sacrifice involved,
• threatening an indifferent NPC or using hostile actions or physical violence to get them to help by accepting a minor risk or sacrifice, and
• threatening a friendly NPC or using hostile actions or physical violence to get them to help by accepting a significant risk or sacrifice.

Performance:

• delighting a hostile NPC with music, dance, acting, storytelling, or some other form of entertainment to get them to help with no risk or sacrifice involved,
• delighting an indifferent NPC with music, dance, acting, storytelling, or some other form of entertainment to get them to help by accepting a minor risk or sacrifice, and
• delighting a friendly NPC with music, dance, acting, storytelling, or some other form of entertainment to get them to help by accepting a significant risk or sacrifice.

Persuasion:

• using tact, social graces, or good nature to get a hostile NPC to help with no risk or sacrifice involved,
• using tact, social graces, or good nature to get an indifferent NPC to help by accepting a minor risk or sacrifice, and
• using tact, social graces, or good nature to get a friendly NPC to help by accepting a significant risk or sacrifice.

ETA: *when such tasks are reflected by an ability check.