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Reliable Talent. What the what?
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<blockquote data-quote="The Crimson Binome" data-source="post: 7292039" data-attributes="member: 6775031"><p>My point is that you're making seven skill checks, and rolling the d20 seven times. If a rogue doesn't fail on a 1, then the best possible chance for the group to get past those traps unscathed is 100%. If they fail a check on a natural 1, then the best possible chance for the best possible group is slightly <em>worse</em> than 70%.</p><p></p><p>You go directly from "Yeah, you're fine, don't worry about it," straight to "Don't be surprised if something goes wrong, it's basically a coin flip." There is no way for the mechanics to say "You're probably going to be fine, seriously, but you never know." If you think the best possible chance for a group to get past these traps under optimal circumstances should be 95%, then giving them a 100% chance is closer to that than giving them a 70% chance.</p><p>It's been a while since I've run a solo dungeon, and I don't think I've ever run one for a rogue (or thief). I'm also generally opposed to creating dungeons with the intent of challenging specific characters, because it can invalidate their character choices - why would they bother being proficient in thieves' tools, or choosing it as one of their expertise skills, if they knew I was going to take their modifier into account when designing the dungeon? If I did take up the challenge of specifically designing a solo dungeon to challenge a rogue, then I would use a much broader range of DCs for the various traps and locks - again, because I wouldn't want to look at their character sheet beforehand, and because I would want <em>whatever</em> their modifier ended up as to actually <em>matter</em>.</p><p></p><p>I will go on record as saying that I'm not a fan of dungeon traps, just on general principle. They either strain the laws of physics with their mechanical efficiency, or they add gratuitous magic to a setting that probably already has too much magic in it. I will include some in the obvious sorts of places when I design a dungeon, and I don't mind if I'm the designated trap-monkey when I'm a player, because they are an expected part of the genre. </p><p></p><p>Traps in fifth edition seem even more pointless than in other editions, since they can't really inflict lasting damage - similar to combat encounters, you'll be fine after a nap - and they aren't even worth XP, so I honestly have no problem with a character just breezing past that aspect of the game. Not everything needs to be a contest, and if someone feels <em>very strongly</em> that they don't want to worry about traps, then I'm happy to oblige them on that. (Likewise, if someone makes a character with a very high AC, I don't feel obligated to challenge them on that; there's more to the game than whatever singular aspect the character has specialized in.)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="The Crimson Binome, post: 7292039, member: 6775031"] My point is that you're making seven skill checks, and rolling the d20 seven times. If a rogue doesn't fail on a 1, then the best possible chance for the group to get past those traps unscathed is 100%. If they fail a check on a natural 1, then the best possible chance for the best possible group is slightly [I]worse[/I] than 70%. You go directly from "Yeah, you're fine, don't worry about it," straight to "Don't be surprised if something goes wrong, it's basically a coin flip." There is no way for the mechanics to say "You're probably going to be fine, seriously, but you never know." If you think the best possible chance for a group to get past these traps under optimal circumstances should be 95%, then giving them a 100% chance is closer to that than giving them a 70% chance. It's been a while since I've run a solo dungeon, and I don't think I've ever run one for a rogue (or thief). I'm also generally opposed to creating dungeons with the intent of challenging specific characters, because it can invalidate their character choices - why would they bother being proficient in thieves' tools, or choosing it as one of their expertise skills, if they knew I was going to take their modifier into account when designing the dungeon? If I did take up the challenge of specifically designing a solo dungeon to challenge a rogue, then I would use a much broader range of DCs for the various traps and locks - again, because I wouldn't want to look at their character sheet beforehand, and because I would want [I]whatever[/I] their modifier ended up as to actually [I]matter[/I]. I will go on record as saying that I'm not a fan of dungeon traps, just on general principle. They either strain the laws of physics with their mechanical efficiency, or they add gratuitous magic to a setting that probably already has too much magic in it. I will include some in the obvious sorts of places when I design a dungeon, and I don't mind if I'm the designated trap-monkey when I'm a player, because they are an expected part of the genre. Traps in fifth edition seem even more pointless than in other editions, since they can't really inflict lasting damage - similar to combat encounters, you'll be fine after a nap - and they aren't even worth XP, so I honestly have no problem with a character just breezing past that aspect of the game. Not everything needs to be a contest, and if someone feels [I]very strongly[/I] that they don't want to worry about traps, then I'm happy to oblige them on that. (Likewise, if someone makes a character with a very high AC, I don't feel obligated to challenge them on that; there's more to the game than whatever singular aspect the character has specialized in.) [/QUOTE]
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