Annayla Thorntip
First Post
Here's a snippet of my old house rule page that I am still pleased with...bear with the 'sales speech' used below from a bygone time in my life, heh:
Taking one's time to perform a certain skill instead of flat out completing it outright is kewl by 'taking 20' but I think I have a less time-consuming approach.
Take the lock-picking Rogue with a Pick Locks skill of +6, that needs to open that hard to pick lock of DC30, before a Rolling Boulder trap 200' away, speeding towards his position at a rate of 50'/round, ends his career choice (and life)prematurely. Obviously he could not hope to complete the task unless he rolled a Critical Success of '20' then re-rolled as the option above this states he could do.
What I will add is that in times like these whereby the DC is within 20+(double the total Skill Bonus of the Skill involved) - in this case within a DC of 32=(20+(6*2=12)), the PC has as option to take their time during a stressful situation - if that makes sense.
The normal skill bonus is subtracted from the DC round by round until the Player feels the DC left is within a d20 roll. Then the die roll result will be taken away from the DC needed to be successful. Will luck hold?!
So, say Bastian has the aformentioned +6 to Pick Locks and is in dire need of escape through the DC30 locked door whilst looking back every so often at his encroaching doom. He decides to forego rolling and the hopes of getting that Natural 20, and wants to 'take his time'.
Round 1 has Bastian setting to work, probing the lock instead of raking his lockpicks in the hopes of a lucky break. His Skill Bonus of 6 is taken away from the DC30 lock leaving DC24. Next round, the boulder now 150' away, Bastian keeps up his slight pressure and can feel the tumblers in the bolt housing give slightly. From the remaining DC of 24 he again subtracts his Total Bonus of 6 arriving at DC18 with a single d20 roll in reserve. Not liking those odds, he puts his head down and tries to block out the roaring sound of the boulder, now only 100' away and still closing. On round 3, Bastian hears the 'click' of another tumbler and looks at his handy work in haste. Subtracting another 6 from the remaining DC of 18, leaves a DC of 12 and Bastian no longer needs to look back to see he has run out of time! With a flick of his wrist, he strives to force the last tumbler open with a single d20 roll...will Bastian's Player roll the needed 12 or higher? Will he? Hmmm?
Heh. Anyways, I like this approach much better than 'taking 20' as a more exact timeframe can be achieved with this. Although this rule can only be used with a DC that is only 20+ double the PC's Total Skill Bonus. Anything higher is just too complicated to perform and can only be attempted by rolling as many times as one's level grants them.
That stroke of luck can only strike so many times. In the above example of Bastian racing against the boulder, he would only be able to attempt a Natural 20 try once. At 2nd level, he would be able to try twice. Some things just won't happen no matter how long someone tries.
I've been thinking about letting only so many rounds go by as a maximum before a die roll MUST be made; to still ensure SOME kind of risk is involved, but even then...
PC's have to succeed some times, heh!
Taking one's time to perform a certain skill instead of flat out completing it outright is kewl by 'taking 20' but I think I have a less time-consuming approach.
Take the lock-picking Rogue with a Pick Locks skill of +6, that needs to open that hard to pick lock of DC30, before a Rolling Boulder trap 200' away, speeding towards his position at a rate of 50'/round, ends his career choice (and life)prematurely. Obviously he could not hope to complete the task unless he rolled a Critical Success of '20' then re-rolled as the option above this states he could do.
What I will add is that in times like these whereby the DC is within 20+(double the total Skill Bonus of the Skill involved) - in this case within a DC of 32=(20+(6*2=12)), the PC has as option to take their time during a stressful situation - if that makes sense.
The normal skill bonus is subtracted from the DC round by round until the Player feels the DC left is within a d20 roll. Then the die roll result will be taken away from the DC needed to be successful. Will luck hold?!
So, say Bastian has the aformentioned +6 to Pick Locks and is in dire need of escape through the DC30 locked door whilst looking back every so often at his encroaching doom. He decides to forego rolling and the hopes of getting that Natural 20, and wants to 'take his time'.
Round 1 has Bastian setting to work, probing the lock instead of raking his lockpicks in the hopes of a lucky break. His Skill Bonus of 6 is taken away from the DC30 lock leaving DC24. Next round, the boulder now 150' away, Bastian keeps up his slight pressure and can feel the tumblers in the bolt housing give slightly. From the remaining DC of 24 he again subtracts his Total Bonus of 6 arriving at DC18 with a single d20 roll in reserve. Not liking those odds, he puts his head down and tries to block out the roaring sound of the boulder, now only 100' away and still closing. On round 3, Bastian hears the 'click' of another tumbler and looks at his handy work in haste. Subtracting another 6 from the remaining DC of 18, leaves a DC of 12 and Bastian no longer needs to look back to see he has run out of time! With a flick of his wrist, he strives to force the last tumbler open with a single d20 roll...will Bastian's Player roll the needed 12 or higher? Will he? Hmmm?
Heh. Anyways, I like this approach much better than 'taking 20' as a more exact timeframe can be achieved with this. Although this rule can only be used with a DC that is only 20+ double the PC's Total Skill Bonus. Anything higher is just too complicated to perform and can only be attempted by rolling as many times as one's level grants them.
That stroke of luck can only strike so many times. In the above example of Bastian racing against the boulder, he would only be able to attempt a Natural 20 try once. At 2nd level, he would be able to try twice. Some things just won't happen no matter how long someone tries.
I've been thinking about letting only so many rounds go by as a maximum before a die roll MUST be made; to still ensure SOME kind of risk is involved, but even then...
PC's have to succeed some times, heh!
Last edited:
