Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="StreamOfTheSky" data-source="post: 4836983" data-attributes="member: 35909">Actually, you can take 20 on search checks.&nbsp; Taking 20 assumes some failures as you go along, and there is no penalty for failing a search check.&nbsp; Doing so is the same as not noticing a trap, which in and of itself doesn't cause bad things to happen -- triggering the trap after failing to notice it does.&nbsp; For the same reason, you cannot take 20 on disable device, and I don't know many DMs that would even allow you to take 10, since disabling a dangerous trap is always pretty much a &quot;stressful situation.&quot;&nbsp; The reason that rogues don't take 20 all the time is the massive time it takes.&nbsp; If they can't afford to progress at a crawl through the dungeon or don't want buff spells running out, the literally hours this would waste becomes a major issue.&nbsp;I don't know, honestly.&nbsp; I could see an argument for detecting at both places.&nbsp; If you wanted it to be detectable at only one location, I'd go with where it is triggered, rather than where it acts.&nbsp; As for what disabling it involves...that's up to you, as the DM.&nbsp; It might mean blocking those holes the spears come out of.&nbsp; It might mean just making sure the party isn't in line to get hit when it triggers.&nbsp; It might mean finding some kind of bypass to the trigger mechanism.&nbsp; The player's roll and DM fiat decides how that works out.&nbsp; It doesn't really &quot;matter&quot; as long as you allow successful disablings to do as they're supposed to -- keep the party safe from the trap.This might be helpful, it's a Sean K. Reynolds essay on what skills he thinks you can and can't take 20 on, and why.&nbsp; Note it is 3.0, but that makes little difference. <a href="http://www.seankreynolds.com/rpgfiles/misc/take20.html" target="_blank">Take 20</a></blockquote>

[QUOTE="StreamOfTheSky, post: 4836983, member: 35909"] Actually, you can take 20 on search checks. Taking 20 assumes some failures as you go along, and there is no penalty for failing a search check. Doing so is the same as not noticing a trap, which in and of itself doesn't cause bad things to happen -- triggering the trap after failing to notice it does. For the same reason, you cannot take 20 on disable device, and I don't know many DMs that would even allow you to take 10, since disabling a dangerous trap is always pretty much a "stressful situation." The reason that rogues don't take 20 all the time is the massive time it takes. If they can't afford to progress at a crawl through the dungeon or don't want buff spells running out, the literally hours this would waste becomes a major issue. I don't know, honestly. I could see an argument for detecting at both places. If you wanted it to be detectable at only one location, I'd go with where it is triggered, rather than where it acts. As for what disabling it involves...that's up to you, as the DM. It might mean blocking those holes the spears come out of. It might mean just making sure the party isn't in line to get hit when it triggers. It might mean finding some kind of bypass to the trigger mechanism. The player's roll and DM fiat decides how that works out. It doesn't really "matter" as long as you allow successful disablings to do as they're supposed to -- keep the party safe from the trap. This might be helpful, it's a Sean K. Reynolds essay on what skills he thinks you can and can't take 20 on, and why. Note it is 3.0, but that makes little difference. [url=http://www.seankreynolds.com/rpgfiles/misc/take20.html]Take 20[/url] [/QUOTE]

Verification