What skills can you take 10 or 20 on?

[Question]

Anyone got a list? Or should i just assume that unless it specifically says you CAN take 10 or 20, that you cant?

 

[IcyCool]

I think you can take a 10 or a 20 on a skill check when there is no penalty for failure. So no taking a 10 or 20 on a disable device check for a trap (barring class abilities that let you do so anyway).

 

[Exquisite Dead Guy]

Anyone got a list? Or should i just assume that unless it specifically says you CAN take 10 or 20, that you cant?

I found this for "take 20". It's 3.0, but I still useable: http://www.seankreynolds.com/rpgfiles/misc/take20.html

Checks Without Rolls

A skill check represents an attempt to accomplish some goal, usually while under some sort of time pressure or distraction. Sometimes, though, a character can use a skill under more favorable conditions and eliminate the luck factor.

Taking 10
When your character is not being threatened or distracted, you may choose to take 10. Instead of rolling 1d20 for the skill check, calculate your result as if you had rolled a 10. For many routine tasks, taking 10 makes them automatically successful. Distractions or threats (such as combat) make it impossible for a character to take 10. In most cases, taking 10 is purely a safety measure —you know (or expect) that an average roll will succeed but fear that a poor roll might fail, so you elect to settle for the average roll (a 10). Taking 10 is especially useful in situations where a particularly high roll wouldn’t help.

Taking 20
When you have plenty of time (generally 2 minutes for a skill that can normally be checked in 1 round, one full-round action, or one standard action), you are faced with no threats or distractions, and the skill being attempted carries no penalties for failure, you can take 20. In other words, eventually you will get a 20 on 1d20 if you roll enough times. Instead of rolling 1d20 for the skill check, just calculate your result as if you had rolled a 20.

Taking 20 means you are trying until you get it right, and it assumes that you fail many times before succeeding. Taking 20 takes twenty times as long as making a single check would take.

Since taking 20 assumes that the character will fail many times before succeeding, if you did attempt to take 20 on a skill that carries penalties for failure, your character would automatically incur those penalties before he or she could complete the task. Common “take 20” skills include Escape Artist, Open Lock, and Search.

 

[MatthewJHanson]

You can take a 10 on any skill (even if there is a penalty for failure) unless it says otherwise (Use Magic Device).

 

[Lamoni]

You can take a 10 on any skill (even if there is a penalty for failure) unless it says otherwise (Use Magic Device).

Correct. And taking 10 is encouraged to make the game go faster. If you have high ranks in a skill and will succeed on a 5, DON'T roll the dice.

Of course once combat starts, you can't take 10 anymore because you are considered distracted. But you are free to take 10 on your hide and move silently to AVOID combat.

 

[irdeggman]

You can take a 10 on any skill (even if there is a penalty for failure) unless it says otherwise (Use Magic Device).

Or you are distracted.


Wasn't this a topic that was discussed on the boards maybe a month or so ago?

IIRC there was pretty comprehensive list made up on it too.

 

[Vegepygmy]

Anyone got a list? Or should i just assume that unless it specifically says you CAN take 10 or 20, that you cant?

Other way around, actually. You should assume that you can unless it specifically says you can't.

Taking 10/20 is a Good Thing. Don't be afraid of it.

 

[Transit]

Remember, taking 10 or 20 is just a way of "fast forwarding" through a lot of boring and repetitive dice rolling. So if you're not sure if you can use it with a particular check, go ahead and actually DO the boring dice rolling and see what happens.

Keep rolling until you succeed, keep track of the number of rounds it takes, account for anything that might happen while you're doing the check. It will soon become evident which checks you can safely "skip ahead" on without affecting the game, and which you can't.

For instance, I disagree with Sean's list where he says you can take 20 with hide. The first time a PC fails a hide check, the person he is hiding from has SEEN HIM. So there's no way for a PC to say "I keep attempting to hide over and over again until I'm no longer seen." (Also the Modern D20 rules have specifically stated you can't take 20 with hide. Since Modern is part of the D20 "system" I assume that ruling should go for all other D20 versions as well)

Personally I think WOTC overly complicated things by making Take 10 and Take 20 actual rules. It should have just been given as some good DMing advice: "To speed up the game, the DM can always choose to skip ahead and declare success when a player plans to keep rolling a check over and over again until he succeeds."

 

[Deset Gled]

For instance, I disagree with Sean's list where he says you can take 20 with hide. The first time a PC fails a hide check, the person he is hiding from has SEEN HIM. So there's no way for a PC to say "I keep attempting to hide over and over again until I'm no longer seen." (Also the Modern D20 rules have specifically stated you can't take 20 with hide. Since Modern is part of the D20 "system" I assume that ruling should go for all other D20 versions as well).

I believe the idea here was that somewas was hiding before an observer was present, since you can't normally hide while being observed. Kind of like a covert ops guy settling in and camoflaging himself before the enemy shows up.

Hiding is a problematic skill to begin with.

 

[Transit]

You can't attempt a hide check before an observer is present. It's an opposed role, checked at the time that the opponent has a chance to spot you. Hiding also requires having cover or concealment against the spotter. You can't check cover and concealment against someone who isn't even there yet.

Yes, if someone is hiding in advance, he should get circumstance bonuses to his check, but he can't use Take 20 to get 20 hide checks against his opponents one spot check.

Look at the reverse situation. Could a sentry "Take 20" on a spot check, so that later in the day if someone tries to sneak up on him, the sentry would have already "spotted him in advance?" Could I get up in the morning and Take 20 on a grapple check, without an opponent there, and then later in the day use that 20 to grapple with someone? IMHO Nope.