When a rolled "1" isn't an automatic failure?

[redboxrazor]

In 3.x skill check didn't fail automatically on a natural 1 either, iirc.

You are correct.

 

[mechaborys]

DMG pg. 189:


The only reference I could find to failing a skill check on a natural 1 was in the DMG--as an example house rule. Also worth noting: natural 20s aren't normally automatic successes on skill checks.

This does seem to be a pretty popular house rule, though. My DM uses it, too.

Personally I don't like rolls that automatically succeed. Balance out the other side of the coin by making the Natural 1 auto-fail and it makes the game make more sense to me.

 

[Aulirophile]

Personally I don't like rolls that automatically succeed. Balance out the other side of the coin by making the Natural 1 auto-fail and it makes the game make more sense to me.

I'm not a big fan of failing 5% of the time to jump 5 feet when my base athletics allows me to jump 40+. That isn't fun or realistic for my character, who is extremely athletic.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Personally I don't like rolls that automatically succeed. Balance out the other side of the coin by making the Natural 1 auto-fail and it makes the game make more sense to me.

But the only place in the game where a 20 is an auto-success is already balanced by 1 being an auto-fail: in combat. 20s aren't auto-successes on skill checks and the like.

 

[DracoSuave]

Who cares if you don't auto-fail on those skill checks... that's something you have a bonus equal to the DC for, that's so trivial that why aren't you just narrating it and moving on?

 

[nightwyrm]

Taking a step back, if you're not gonna fail even if you roll a 1, why is the DM making you roll anyways?

 

[DracoSuave]

Heck it shouldn't really come up that often in attack rolls either, to be quite honest.

 

[chitzk0i]

Heck it shouldn't really come up that often in attack rolls either, to be quite honest.

ur doin it wrong. If you aim for maximum attack bonus and your leader hands out more attack bonus, it's not that hard to hit on a two. If you're a high-wisdom fighter, OAs can be very close to auto-hit territory, especially with one of the recent "basic melee vs reflex" feats.

 

[Mirtek]

Taking a step back, if you're not gonna fail even if you roll a 1, why is the DM making you roll anyways?

Well, such a DC might be there for a special reason. E.g. anyone in the group needs to do this check and some might have a hard time to succeed. However the time of the auto-succeed player rolling his dice should be saved.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

I think the idea with skills is just that if you really can't fail on a 1 then for your character the task is simply 'ordinary' and no more difficult than using a fork properly or walking. It will come up with skills now and then but except at epic tier and a character that burned a lot of resources on a skill bonus it won't come up in any plot significant high difficulty situation.