[D20 Modern] Strength DC Question

[Tetsubo]

Does anyone have an idea of what the DC would be for tearing a steering wheel out of a care by hand?

Thanks.

 

[ValhallaGH]

Breaking rope bonds is a 23 to 25. Kicking in a barred door is a 25. Ripping a steering wheel out of a car (not dismantling and removing but just pulling it out, bolts and all) gets a knee-jerk estimate of 30, and a revised estimate of 29. Impossible for most d20 Modern Heroes and all Ordinaries, but barely possible for a select few Strong Heroes.

If you want that sort of thing to be common in your games, knock it down to an 18 or 19.

 

[HeapThaumaturgist]

Is this taking the wheel whole with part of the column?

I mean, you can RUIN a steering wheel. They're generally held together with bolts and suchnot, so that lowers the overall strength of the object. I'd not give it more than a 25 break DC, probably 20.

--fje

 

[ValhallaGH]

I mean, you can RUIN a steering wheel. They're generally held together with bolts and suchnot, so that lowers the overall strength of the object. I'd not give it more than a 25 break DC, probably 20.

--fje

[shame]
It didn't even occur to me that he might just want to ruin it.
Yeah, for simply ruining the steering wheel, as opposed to ripping it out of the car entirely, a DC of 21 sounds right to me. Just enough that you have to be strong to do it, but low enough that anyone with a strength bonus can do it and some characters can do it regularly (Str 22+ with Extreme Effort talents).
[/shame]

Edit: Though after messing around with a couple of steering wheels, I'm tempted to reduce the break DC to only a 15. They feel pretty flimsy to me, if someone is willing to simply break them. Ripping it straight out of the column feels like a 25-30, still.

 

[argo]

Riping the entire thing out in one go? My first instinct says DC 25+ (max result for a Str 20 character w/o special abilities).

Depending on how over-the-top I want the campaign to be I might go as low as DC 20 but that would be a conscious decision as a GM to let the player do his cool thing ("I rip off the steering wheel and throw it like a discus at the sniper knocking him out of the window and into the tiger pit")