Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Skill Checks (non time sensitive) homebrew fixes
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="77IM" data-source="post: 7553041" data-attributes="member: 12377"><p>If the PC is guaranteed to get it right eventually, then the only variable is how long it takes. In the past I've used a formal rule where skill checks take longer with each attempt. 1 round -> 1 hour -> 1 day -> 1 week, etc. Nowadays I do something similar, but instead of a formal rule I just use times that make sense. E.g., "You can make 1 Arcana check to decode the puzzle-runes for free, but each additional attempt takes 8 hours." Sometimes I'll declare automatic success after a long time, and then the check result shortens the time. E.g., "You can crack that safe, but it'll take about a week. But if you can hit DC 10 you'll get done in a day, and if you hit DC 20 it'll only take a few minutes." I especially like to make the task automatic after a time, and the player can decide to make a check as a risk-vs-reward scenario. E.g., "You can ask your contacts around town for the info, and it'll take about a week. Or you can put out word get the info in a few hours, but it's risky; if you fail a DC 15 check, then there's too much heat and nobody will talk to you for like a month."</p><p></p><p>The other trick is to make success automatic, and if the check fails, there's some other cost or risk. You can see this in the latest rules for traps; often, disabling the trap doesn't take much time, but carries with it a risk of setting off the trap.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="77IM, post: 7553041, member: 12377"] If the PC is guaranteed to get it right eventually, then the only variable is how long it takes. In the past I've used a formal rule where skill checks take longer with each attempt. 1 round -> 1 hour -> 1 day -> 1 week, etc. Nowadays I do something similar, but instead of a formal rule I just use times that make sense. E.g., "You can make 1 Arcana check to decode the puzzle-runes for free, but each additional attempt takes 8 hours." Sometimes I'll declare automatic success after a long time, and then the check result shortens the time. E.g., "You can crack that safe, but it'll take about a week. But if you can hit DC 10 you'll get done in a day, and if you hit DC 20 it'll only take a few minutes." I especially like to make the task automatic after a time, and the player can decide to make a check as a risk-vs-reward scenario. E.g., "You can ask your contacts around town for the info, and it'll take about a week. Or you can put out word get the info in a few hours, but it's risky; if you fail a DC 15 check, then there's too much heat and nobody will talk to you for like a month." The other trick is to make success automatic, and if the check fails, there's some other cost or risk. You can see this in the latest rules for traps; often, disabling the trap doesn't take much time, but carries with it a risk of setting off the trap. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Skill Checks (non time sensitive) homebrew fixes
Top