Composer99
Hero
I usually just use DC 15.
D&D 5E How do you set DCs?
Viking Bastard
Adventurer
Yeah, I would say that the vast majority of my DCs are 15
Oofta
Legend
Like @jgsugden I use the guidelines from the book. At the lower end of the scale, people often don't need to roll.
The trick, of course, is to figure out the difficulty and that just depends on the fiction. Sneaking past a drunken, half asleep guard? The rogue doesn't need to roll but sadly the fighter in heavy armor and a bad dex does because even at 20th level they'll still have a decent chance to fail that DC 5 check because they likely still have a -1 penalty to the check with disadvantage.
We can give all sorts of descriptions about how we set DC, and I don't disagree with any of the posts above. But describing why something is a specific DC, while useful, kind of misses the point. We only have DCs for things that are not automatic. So when we assign DCs it's because we want some dramatic tension, we want a chance of failure. Failure can mean many things including just not being able to open that lock quickly or it could mean something bad happens.
But going back to that "sneaking past a guard" example, I either base it on what I envision for the current setting or I set it based on the capabilities of the PCs because I want it to be a challenge. For examples of the setting determining the DC, imagine if it's late at night and the guards aren't very good, it will be the DC 5. On the other hand if it's the imperial palace and the guards are the best of the best but still human then it will be DC 20. If the guards are supernatural and you're trying to sneak into a archdevil's palace it will be DC 30.
Another example would be checks to know something about my world. Then I base it on how common something should be. Religious symbols of well known but not locally worshipped gods may be a 5, so if you're trained in religion you'll likely know. That monster that hasn't appeared in over a thousand years and even then was only infrequently seen? DC 30.
Suppose on the other hand that I'm doing something as a challenge to the PCs. This happens in the planning stages for a session when I haven't already thought about or previously established the location and the types of guards they have. At that point I'm thinking how to make fun and interesting encounters. So yeah, I'm going to take into consideration the capabilities of the PCs just like I take into consideration the CR of possible monsters they may encounter. Something the whole group needs to succeed at? Likely a pretty low check, since most people aren't going to be trained. Slightly higher if I allow different training or assistance. But if it could be done by just the rogue? How high do I need to make the DC to ensure that there's a risk?
So I think it's generally a good idea to have at least a general idea of what your players PCs are capable of so you don't have them roll for things that will be automatic or impossible.
The trick, of course, is to figure out the difficulty and that just depends on the fiction. Sneaking past a drunken, half asleep guard? The rogue doesn't need to roll but sadly the fighter in heavy armor and a bad dex does because even at 20th level they'll still have a decent chance to fail that DC 5 check because they likely still have a -1 penalty to the check with disadvantage.
We can give all sorts of descriptions about how we set DC, and I don't disagree with any of the posts above. But describing why something is a specific DC, while useful, kind of misses the point. We only have DCs for things that are not automatic. So when we assign DCs it's because we want some dramatic tension, we want a chance of failure. Failure can mean many things including just not being able to open that lock quickly or it could mean something bad happens.
But going back to that "sneaking past a guard" example, I either base it on what I envision for the current setting or I set it based on the capabilities of the PCs because I want it to be a challenge. For examples of the setting determining the DC, imagine if it's late at night and the guards aren't very good, it will be the DC 5. On the other hand if it's the imperial palace and the guards are the best of the best but still human then it will be DC 20. If the guards are supernatural and you're trying to sneak into a archdevil's palace it will be DC 30.
Another example would be checks to know something about my world. Then I base it on how common something should be. Religious symbols of well known but not locally worshipped gods may be a 5, so if you're trained in religion you'll likely know. That monster that hasn't appeared in over a thousand years and even then was only infrequently seen? DC 30.
Suppose on the other hand that I'm doing something as a challenge to the PCs. This happens in the planning stages for a session when I haven't already thought about or previously established the location and the types of guards they have. At that point I'm thinking how to make fun and interesting encounters. So yeah, I'm going to take into consideration the capabilities of the PCs just like I take into consideration the CR of possible monsters they may encounter. Something the whole group needs to succeed at? Likely a pretty low check, since most people aren't going to be trained. Slightly higher if I allow different training or assistance. But if it could be done by just the rogue? How high do I need to make the DC to ensure that there's a risk?
So I think it's generally a good idea to have at least a general idea of what your players PCs are capable of so you don't have them roll for things that will be automatic or impossible.
el-remmen
Moderator Emeritus
I use the default guidelines of 5/10/15/25/30 but might tweak them up or down depending on the situation, so I might make a 10 a 12, or a 15 into a 13 or an 18, and so on depending on the circumstances.
I still make people roll for a DC 5 if their plus is less than +4 or if the roll is going to be used to measure a degree of success more granular than just pass/fail.
I still make people roll for a DC 5 if their plus is less than +4 or if the roll is going to be used to measure a degree of success more granular than just pass/fail.
Stormonu
Legend
I use the ranges from 5-25, with an average of 15. Most of the time, if things drop down to 5 end of the scale, I generally do not even ask for a roll, mainly if the characters are not under some sort of duress.
I got burned not to long ago by a DM who took Perception DCs too far, to the point we were rolling every time we entered a room. It was possible to get such a bad roll to ”see nothing”, even when there were obvious things like tables and chair sitting in the middle of the room, and some of the DCs were widely out of range - especially if the DM wanted to ensure some trap or monster could ambush us, even if it was in the open. (I got out of that game pretty quick).
I got burned not to long ago by a DM who took Perception DCs too far, to the point we were rolling every time we entered a room. It was possible to get such a bad roll to ”see nothing”, even when there were obvious things like tables and chair sitting in the middle of the room, and some of the DCs were widely out of range - especially if the DM wanted to ensure some trap or monster could ambush us, even if it was in the open. (I got out of that game pretty quick).
J-H
Hero
Can anyone do it easily? Don't roll.
Can an average healthy adult do it some of the time? 10.
Does it need someone strong/skilled/trained? 15.
Is it pretty hard and require an expert to likely succeed? 20.
Is it superhuman? 30.
The only time I used a DC 30 with a skill check was following tracks 500' back through a library that was a mix of stone and carpet floors. The player (rogue) rolled a 32, so he was able to track them back to find the secret door the attackers came out of.
Can an average healthy adult do it some of the time? 10.
Does it need someone strong/skilled/trained? 15.
Is it pretty hard and require an expert to likely succeed? 20.
Is it superhuman? 30.
The only time I used a DC 30 with a skill check was following tracks 500' back through a library that was a mix of stone and carpet floors. The player (rogue) rolled a 32, so he was able to track them back to find the secret door the attackers came out of.
Quickleaf
Legend
I find the RAW DC's to be too punitive for "typically skilled", especially at lower levels. So I pretty much use this revised DC chart: Difficulty Classes for Ability Checks in 5e D&D
I generally don't call for "Very Easy" checks, rather those are the sorts of things that don't require rolling dice, and you can just do. Similarly, if something is impossible, I'm not going to go through the pretense of having a player roll hoping for a nat 20 – I'll just say "that's impossible in this situation." But I'm also of the "fewer rolls, more meaning attached to those rolls" school of thought as a GM.
Easy 8
Moderate 10
Tricky 12
Hard 15
Very Hard 20
Incredibly Hard 25
This approach to DC's means that players who invest in Expertise generally succeed more often on those skill checks, which I'm ok with.
One way I arrive at the exact DC number is I'll count up the narrative "downshifts or upshifts", for example: Climbing Out of a Well.
OK, start from DC 10. There are clear handholds and some uneven projecting stones, so I downshift to DC 8. But it's a sheer surface, no slope, so I upshift back to DC 10. It's slick, so I upshift to DC 12. There is no light down here, it's nighttime, and the PC doesn't carry a light source, they do have darkvision, but this is a situation where color-differentiation of algae on the rocks would really help, so I upshift one more time to DC 15.
I generally don't call for "Very Easy" checks, rather those are the sorts of things that don't require rolling dice, and you can just do. Similarly, if something is impossible, I'm not going to go through the pretense of having a player roll hoping for a nat 20 – I'll just say "that's impossible in this situation." But I'm also of the "fewer rolls, more meaning attached to those rolls" school of thought as a GM.
Easy 8
Moderate 10
Tricky 12
Hard 15
Very Hard 20
Incredibly Hard 25
This approach to DC's means that players who invest in Expertise generally succeed more often on those skill checks, which I'm ok with.
One way I arrive at the exact DC number is I'll count up the narrative "downshifts or upshifts", for example: Climbing Out of a Well.
OK, start from DC 10. There are clear handholds and some uneven projecting stones, so I downshift to DC 8. But it's a sheer surface, no slope, so I upshift back to DC 10. It's slick, so I upshift to DC 12. There is no light down here, it's nighttime, and the PC doesn't carry a light source, they do have darkvision, but this is a situation where color-differentiation of algae on the rocks would really help, so I upshift one more time to DC 15.
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J.Quondam
CR 1/8
The DM's first step is to determine the DC of setting an appropriate DC. Usually, setting a DC is itself a DC 10 task, but that can vary a bit if the players are particularly feisty. A DM's DC-setting check is typically modified by the DM's Wisdom, or +0, whichever is higher.*
Upon rolling a successful DC-setting check, the DM should groan a bit (because now they have to think) and then set the DC to 15. Or maybe 10 or 20. Flipping a coin can aid in this process, if the DM is feeling especially energetic.
If the DM fails their DC-setting check, then they should just roll some random dice and declare that result to be the DC.
* A DM's Wisdom modifier is never higher than +0, since they wouldn't be DM otherwise.
Upon rolling a successful DC-setting check, the DM should groan a bit (because now they have to think) and then set the DC to 15. Or maybe 10 or 20. Flipping a coin can aid in this process, if the DM is feeling especially energetic.
If the DM fails their DC-setting check, then they should just roll some random dice and declare that result to be the DC.
* A DM's Wisdom modifier is never higher than +0, since they wouldn't be DM otherwise.
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