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Message: <blockquote data-quote="BSF" data-source="post: 1300023" data-attributes="member: 13098">By and large, I encourage people to take 10.  It is much quicker for game play. Your group uses a Natural 20 = 30 and Natural 1 = -10, I do not.  A 1 = 1 and a 20 = 20. A jump across a 5' chasm is not too hard, but it isn't assured either.  You need at least a +4 to jump to get that.  Now, if you are a weak mage with equipment, it might be tough.  Generally, we aren't talking about optimal circumstances for most skill checks.  If you are in a cavern where the floor surface is rough and the lighting less than perfect, you might have a little more difficulty.  Anytime your skill bonuses assure success, you don't even need to take a 10.  You can take a 1.  If you wanted to take a 10 in the above circumstance, I would probably wait for you to improve the lighting, divest yourself of your heavy equipment, etc.  You know, I remember being in High School and sneaking into the theater in the middle of the night.  This involved climbing onto the roof, entering through the vents, edging your toes along a 1" piece of dust covered aluminum while holding onto another small, dust covered ledge a foot or so over your head, in the dark, until you could come to one of the catwalks and drop down onto it.  That was definitely stupid!  It was a needless risk where an error would result in a 30-40' fall onto a stage that might, or might not have anything on it (can't tell in the dark) while the orchestra pit may or may not be open.  Of course, this is also in a building that was locked by padlocks on chains on the outside of the doors.  So, it would have been a little harder to seek medical assistance and it would have been a bit more difficult for help to arrive.  Maybe you were a little more conservative in your youth, but I was definitely one of the most conservative teenagers I knew.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />  My point is that you probably perceive acceptable risks quite often.  I think professional adventurers would more often than players would.  I definitely agree that the rules are a bit ambiguous on this one.  It is a judgement call for each game.In my game, I do not use a -10 for a natural 1.  A 1st level rogue with a 10 Str and 4 ranks of climb will always make a climb check on a rope coming down from a building.  In a situation where you had people assisting you down a building, and it wasn't a combat situation (or during a tornado or something like that) I would allow a Take 10.  Otherwise, I would probably allow an assist for a +2.  Crawling across a log bridge, as opposed to walking across, would be a Take 10.  As for spell use, how many times can the spellcaster do that?  How often can a rogue?  Magic is wondrous, but it is a crutch.  For a character that was very afraid of heights, maybe.  Probably not though.  For a character that was under a magical/supernatural affect that made them afraid of heights, yes it would be distracting.  That matches my 1st post in the thread.  I am not against Taking 10.  I see no problems with it.  However, I will not allow my players to take it in every circumstance.  It depends on the situation.  A rogue taking a 1 while jumping a 5' chasm probably didn't even break stride or think about the chasm being there.  He is the guy that will absent-mindedly note the chasm while he is scouting ahead of the party. He might stop and clear away some of the rubble and look for a good spot for the less than athletic mage who might actually need help to cross.  Similarly, you will have people that don't even need to think about walking across that 1 foot wide stone bridge that spans a 40' wide chasm, and you will have people that look at it and would prefer to crawl across on their hands and knees.  After all, a 2nd level Rogue (or monk) with an 18 Dex and will be able to take a 1 and have a 10.  They could crawl across a 2 inch span and if they took a 10, would be just short of the check.  They would need to be 3rd level for that.  As I said, it is a judgement call.  Taking 10 is a good way to streamline a game and move on to the action.  In cases where the characters have enouch skill ranks + bonuses to assure success, Taking 1 is better, in my opinion.  Of course, I also tend to think of a +10 to a skill as a good starting point.  I think I have digressed and gotten more into how I play the game.  Hmm.  Taking 10 is not a bad thing.  I use it more than some, less than others.  In the end, it really just depends on how you like to play the game and what your group finds to be "fun".  If your players are trying to find more situations to Take 10, maybe you should listen to why they are doing that rather then whether the rules allow it.  Maybe your players are finding some skill checks to be tedious and they are feeling less than heroic.  Perhaps they want to get to a different part of the story, and the game, where they enjoy everything more, whether that is the action/combat part or the social/roleplay part.  Ultimately, whatever works best for your group is "right".</blockquote>

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