D&D General How are locks so hard to open?

[Tonguez]

The basic ward lock was known to Sumerians whereas the Tumbler was invented by Romans and Chinese and pretty much stayed that way until the 18th century Pin and Tumbler (Yale) lock. Thats why gates and doors were mainly latched, barred, guarded rather than relying on locks.

of course DnD has magic Artificers and kobold tinkers who make exceptionally complex locks, that are often trapped and sometimes enchanted

 

[LordEntrails]

For a while I was doing it just to have something to fidget with while watching TV, and I got my time on that lock down to a few seconds.

Likewise, I've picked a couple locks and it's not all that easy as it's made out to be. Also, I knew that no one had a trap that could cause certain death set up on the lock. It becomes that much more difficult when you have to worry about that, plus having to be quiet about it so that anyone on the other side doesn't hear you working.

A level 1 rogue needs about 20 seconds to open it...

To add to or comment on all of this:

Yes, and a DC 20 roll means someone has 6 seconds to unlock it, not 20, not minutes. A lock they have never seen before. As others have said, if time is not a concern and failure does not mean a trap triggers, then give the rogue an automatic 20 to pick a lock.

 

[iserith]

To add to or comment on all of this:

Yes, and a DC 20 roll means someone has 6 seconds to unlock it, not 20, not minutes. A lock they have never seen before. As others have said, if time is not a concern and failure does not mean a trap triggers, then give the rogue an automatic 20 to pick a lock.

I'm not aware of any rule that says it takes 6 seconds to pick a lock. Outside of a thief with Fast Hands during combat, my understanding is that the time it takes is up to the DM.

 

[Umbran]

I'm not aware of any rule that says it takes 6 seconds to pick a lock.

I think they are deriving that time from the basic precept that you a character may try to use a skill as their action in a combat round, which we take as vaguely six seconds. From context, the idea is that the skill check is for when the character needs to do it in six seconds, but if they have minutes, you may not need to roll at all, and can just assume it happens.

 

[iserith]

I think they are deriving that time from the basic precept that you a character may try to use a skill as their action in a combat round

That is also not a given in the rules to my knowledge except for specific call-outs like the Hide and Search actions which may or may not call for an ability check. Most actions require the DM to decide how long it takes to accomplish. The DM could say that certain tasks take 6 seconds, but it's worth noting in my view that this is the DM's call, not the actual rules, and different DMs may rule differently.

 

[LordEntrails]

Thanks @Umbran yea, that's pretty much what I meant.

If you have 15 hours to defeat a locked door. Why wouldn't you take a door apart or defeat it in one of numerous ways? I'm not going to go lookup and reference the rules, but yes, if there are no time constraints, and their are no consequences for failure (triggering a trap, breaking the lock, etc), then the rules do imply that the DM should not bother to have the PC make a roll. Just tell the PCs the results (and one can again imply that this would be akin to take 20.)

Since picking a lock is an action, and the rules do not say otherwise, then yes, you can pick a lock in one round, if you make the DC check. Therefore why would you spend longer and have a DC?

But anyways, that's how I run the game and why a DC 20 lock is not unusual or unrealistic. Everyone can do otherwise.

 

[James Gasik]

Thanks @Umbran yea, that's pretty much what I meant.

If you have 15 hours to defeat a locked door. Why wouldn't you take a door apart or defeat it in one of numerous ways? I'm not going to go lookup and reference the rules, but yes, if there are no time constraints, and their are no consequences for failure (triggering a trap, breaking the lock, etc), then the rules do imply that the DM should not bother to have the PC make a roll. Just tell the PCs the results (and one can again imply that this would be akin to take 20.)

Since picking a lock is an action, and the rules do not say otherwise, then yes, you can pick a lock in one round, if you make the DC check. Therefore why would you spend longer and have a DC?

But anyways, that's how I run the game and why a DC 20 lock is not unusual or unrealistic. Everyone can do otherwise.

And if picking a lock is intended to take longer than 6 seconds, then the Thief's Fast Hands ability is insanely fast.

 

[Bolares]

See, that argument implies that realism should ALWAYS take a backseat if the gameplay aspects of anything are fun and engaging for the players. What makes lockpicking any different than other aspects of the game?

Does it though? I was talking about this specific part of the game not about realism always taking a backseat. Please don't generalize the coment. About why it's any different... well it's a major part of the rogues identity, as combat for the fighter for an example, so I think realism IN THIS CASE should take a back seat.

 

[iserith]

Thanks @Umbran yea, that's pretty much what I meant.

If you have 15 hours to defeat a locked door. Why wouldn't you take a door apart or defeat it in one of numerous ways? I'm not going to go lookup and reference the rules, but yes, if there are no time constraints, and their are no consequences for failure (triggering a trap, breaking the lock, etc), then the rules do imply that the DM should not bother to have the PC make a roll. Just tell the PCs the results (and one can again imply that this would be akin to take 20.)

They do more than imply actually - they state this outright. Or rather, they lay out the conditions when a roll might occur and when automatic success might be granted instead.

Since picking a lock is an action, and the rules do not say otherwise, then yes, you can pick a lock in one round, if you make the DC check. Therefore why would you spend longer and have a DC?

It's certainly an action, but it's not necessarily an Action, unless the DM says so.

And if picking a lock is intended to take longer than 6 seconds, then the Thief's Fast Hands ability is insanely fast.

Yes, it is! (Or can be, depending on how long a DM rules the task takes.)

In my game, picking a lock is 10 minutes in the context of an exploration challenge. You simply can't unlock a lock in combat unless you're a thief. I further rule that a thief in an exploration challenge can both pick a lock and do some other task in that time span like keep watch for danger or search for traps, whereas most characters can only perform one task in that time frame.

All that to say, it's useful in my view to check one's assumptions about what are rules and what are rulings. It's easy to present a ruling as if it's a rule, particularly if it's been in use for a while.

 

[James Gasik]

They do more than imply actually - they state this outright. Or rather, they lay out the conditions when a roll might occur and when automatic success might be granted instead.


It's certainly an action, but it's not necessarily an Action, unless the DM says so.


Yes, it is! (Or can be, depending on how long a DM rules the task takes.)

In my game, picking a lock is 10 minutes in the context of an exploration challenge. You simply can't unlock a lock in combat unless you're a thief. I further rule that a thief in an exploration challenge can both pick a lock and do some other task in that time span like keep watch for danger or search for traps, whereas most characters can only perform one task in that time frame.

All that to say, it's useful in my view to check one's assumptions about what are rules and what are rulings. It's easy to present a ruling as if it's a rule, particularly if it's been in use for a while.

Of course, in 5e, the difference between rulings and rules is rather fine...