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Skill Check DCs per Character Level

A nifty tool I've created for all of you today, this chart takes every single level and most common combinations of character skill check bonuses and breaks it out to what DCs you need to set in order to create appropriate challenges.

For example, if you want to create a "hard" DC for a 6th-level rogue with expertise in thieves' tools, you'd set the DC as 20. They'd have a 55% chance of accomplishing the task.

Let me know what you think!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HCTt_lSZDKRsZNbvVK0duCV9_iuWM0WUoTvKN97FA1E/edit?usp=sharing

Skill Check DCs per Character Level

Comments

Thank you, I really needed this

Gravy

Brilliant! this chart shows me that I am still too old school. allow for more fails thatn passes. It will be my players that will be thanking you for thsi chart :)

Ltbadger

Exactly my problem! I think I make things too easy sometimes so it's good to have a chart to reference

Really it’s to show more or less what to expect as a reference. I’m lazy honestly. For me it’s always 10, 15, and 20 πŸ˜‚

DM Dave

Thanks! I think I’m always to easy on skill checks, this will help even it out.

Awesome. Thanks for taking the time to reply!

Really, you should scale it based on normal proficiences as that would be a reward for folks who double down on certain skills.

DM Dave

Thanks! I'll try it out. Not generally my style to match the DC's with the character levels, my world is still stuck in AD&D, but I'm open to giving it whirl. Might just be the 5e tool we've been missing.

Ha, fair enough! I was just curious if you would continue to scale the difficulty for a rogue with reliable talent, so they don't automatically succeed every (prof.) skill check, or if you let them succeed most/all of them because, well, that's supposed to be the point of reliable talent? Certainly a minor question (I have a rogue in my game, she never rolls lowers than a 23 on stealth, investigation, perception, etc. haha). Love this spreadsheet, this will be an amazing reference for both encounter building and quick in-game referencing. Thanks!

No. If I factored in every single possibility the sheet would have 1,000,000 columns

DM Dave

Such a roll would be a contest based on the guard’s insight. πŸ˜‰

DM Dave

I love this kind of stuff. I'm always here for a great spreadsheet!

Tactical Tokens

What if the maxed out charlatan rogue attempts to persuade a guard and fails, and then the barbarian with no charisma tries? Does the barbarian have the same DC as the rogue, or do you lower it? At that point, why use skill checks at all when everything could just be a straight D20?

Holy cow this is amazing!

this is great thanks Dave!

Oo love this!

K Strobes

I thought so but I also did not want to come off with a "That was my idea!"

Brad Thomson

This is very very very useful. Thanks Dave! Rad

Does this factor in a Rogue's Reliable Talent, which makes it basically impossible for them to "roll" less than a 10 on the die? Which means an 11th level Rogue wouldn't be able to roll less than a 23 on a skill they're proficient in, unless they're playing at a table who uses critical fails for ability checks. Or would you just not factor that in, and let them basically pass all of their (proficient) ability checks because, rogues?

I read your comment and made it. Haha :D

DM Dave

Um...Wow, that was fast or just coincidental.

Brad Thomson


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