Difficulty Tables

These tables suggest suitable DC’s and modifiers for various tasks. The tables are provided primarily for the benefit and guidance of the referee. The referee may choose a different DC if the circumstances of the fiction suggest that the listed value is not appropriate.

Balance

DC	Surface
5	1-3 feet wide
10	7–12 inches wide
15	2–6 inches wide
20	Less than 2 inches wide
10	Uneven floor
15	Thick brush, large rocks
20	Rotten boards, sliding roof tiles
+5*	Surface angled
+5*	Surface slippery
+5*	Surface moving

*Cumulative if multiple cases apply

Boating

Roll	Speed	10 Min.	Hour	Day
<10	20 feet	1/3 mile	2 miles	16 miles
10	30 feet	1/2 mile	3 miles	24 miles
15	40 feet	2/3 mile	4 miles	32 miles
20	50 feet	5/6 mile	5 miles	40 miles
25+	60 feet	1 mile	6 miles	48 miles

Bluff

Modifier	Circumstance
+5	Target wants to believe you
+0	Doesn’t affect target much
−5	A little hard to believe, or puts at risk
−10	Hard to believe, or entails a large risk
−20	Completely outrageous

Standard DC to Intimidate a Creature: 10 + Wis + HD

Climb

DC	Surface
0	Steep hillside, knotted rope with wall
5	Rope with wall; or knotted rope.
10	Very rough wall, or ship's rigging.
15	Rocky cliff, tree, or unknotted rope.
20	Typical wall in dungeon or ruins.
25	Natural rock wall, brick wall.
25	Overhang; ceiling with handholds.
−10*	Rock chimney (two opposite walls)
−5*	Climbing in corner (perpendicular walls).
+5*	Slippery surface

*Cumulative if multiple apply

One climb check is required for each 50 feet climbed. A failure indicates you fall down unless stopped by a rope harness or something else along those lines. The referee may roll 1d10 × 5 to see how many feet you manage to climb before you fall.

Additionally, an Endurance check is required after every 500 feet of climbing at a DC of 9 or less, every 200 feet at a DC of 10 to 19, or every 100 at a DC of 20 or more.

Decipher Script

DC	Text (No Retry)
20	Simplest messages
25	Standard texts
30	Intricate, exotic, or very ancient writing

Dig

Soil	Base Speed	Req’d Tools
Loose Soil	2 feet/hour	Shovel
Packed Earth	1 foot/hour	Pickaxe
Soft Stone	2 inches/hour	Hammer/chisel
Hard Rock	1 inch/hour	Hammer/chisel

Base speed is to dig a man-sized passage. Round dig check down to nearest 5, where 15 = 1.5x speed, 20 = 2x speed, etc. Progress is halved (or worse) without the right tools.

Disable Device

DC	Example Device
10	Jam a lock
15	Sabotage a wagon wheel
20	Typical trap
25	Complex trap
25 + Spell Level	Magic trap (requires the Thief trick Disable Magic Traps)

Disguise

Modifier	Disguise
+5	Minor details only
−2	Different sex
−2	Different race
−2 per step	Different age category

Handle Animal

DC	Task
10	Handle a domestic animal
10 + HD	Befriend a wild animal
15	Read an animal’s intentions
15 + HD	Calm a scared or hostile animal
+5	Creature is a magic beast

Heal

DC	Task
10 + neg. HP	First aid
15	Treat caltrop wound
Spell’s DC	Treat magic wounds
Poison's DC	Treat poison (advantage on save)
Disease's DC	Treat disease (advantage on save)

Intuit Direction

DC	Circumstances
10	Cloudy day in slightly rough terrain
15	Heavy rain/fog; or forested terrain; or very rough terrain
20	Bad weather in bad terrain; or overcast night (torchlight only)
25	Overcast night in bad terrain, or twisting underground caves
30	Twisting caves in total darkness

Jump

Jump	Min**	Additional Distance
Run. long*	5 ft.	+1 ft./1 point above 10
Stand. long	3 ft.	+1 ft./2 points above 10
Run. high*	2 ft.	+1 ft./4 points above 10
Stand. high	2 ft.	+1 ft./8 points above 10
Jump back	1 ft.	+1 ft./8 points above 10

*Requires 20-foot run-up. Impossible in hv armour.
**Assumes a creature with speed of 30 feet; otherwise, adjust proportionately.

Open Lock

DC	Open Lock
20	Very simple lock
25	Average lock
30	Good lock
40	Amazing Lock

Parley

Modifier	Relationship	Your Offer
+10	Intimate	Fantastic
+5	Friend or associate	Favourable
+2	Positive impression	Slightly good
0	Just met	Fair
−2	Negative impression	Slightly bad
−5	Personal enemy	Unfavourable
−10	Archenemy	Horrible

Base DC 15 to negotiate with a willing party, or 15 + Wis + HD to overcome intransigence.

Strength

DC	Break Door*	DC	Break Item
13	Simple	23	Rope
18	Good	23	Treasure chest
23	Strong	24	Iron bars
28	Stone/iron	26	Chain/manacles

*DC when stuck; add +2 if locked, +2 if barred. Lifting a portcullis is DC 20 or higher.

Sense Motive

Modifier	Creature
+10	Intimate
+5	Friend or associate
+2	Casual acquaintance
0	Just met
−2	Different race/culture
−5	Unknown race/culture
−10	Alien creature

Slip Free

DC	Restraint
Use Rope +10	Ropes
Grapple check	Grappler
20	Net
30	Manacles
30	Head-sized squeeze

Spot (Outdoor Encounters)

DC	Circumstance
20	Base DC
+/-4	Size (per category)
+/-5	Contrast
+5	Stillness
-2	6+ creatures
+5	Moonlight (without adequate darkvision)
+10	Starlight (without adequate darkvision)

Survival

Foraging

DC	Foraging	Example
n/a	Obvious source	Apple orchard
10	Abundant food	Forest in the summer
15	Limited	Typical grasslands or hills
20	Very limited	Winter, desert, drought

Fishing

DC	Fishing Spot
−4	Boat in middle of water
12	Clear, deep lake
14	Muddy pond or lake
16	Cool, fast-moving mountain stream
20	Shallow or slow-moving creek
25	Swamp or bog

Other

DC	Task
15	Cleanly harvest a pelt from a creature’s corpse
15	Smoke and preserve meat (1 hour per ration)
20	Collect a vial of poison from a dead creature

Swim

DC	Swim
10	Calm water
15	Rough water
20	Stormy water

A -1 penalty applies to swim checks for each slot of gear you are carrying while swimming, except floating objects (such as wooden poles). This penalty is doubled for metal armour (e.g., chain mail results in a -6 penalty, not -3).

You can always take 10 on Swim checks in calm water when carrying no equipment.

One Swim check is required for every 10 minutes of swimming. A failure indicates you sink and may drown. While underwater, you can attempt a new Swim check each combat round to attempt to surface. You can drop carried items to reduce your weight before rolling.

Additionally, an endurance check is required after every hour of swimming.

Track

DC	Ground	Example
5	Very soft	Snow, mud
10	Soft	Sand, dry streambed
15	Firm	Grass, woods
20	Hard	Bare rock, indoor floors
30	Water	Flowing stream

Or use an opposed camouflage check, if higher.

DC Mod	Condition
−1	Every three creatures in group
+1	Every 24 hours since trail was made
+1	Every hour of rain
+10	Fresh snow since trail was made
DC Mod	Creature Size
+2	Tiny
+1	Small
−1	Large
−2	Huge
−4	Gargantuan
−8	Colossal
DC Mod	Visibility
+6	Moonless night
+3	Moonlight
+3	Inclement weather

Use Rope

DC	Task
10	Tie a firm knot
10 + 2 per 10 feet	Secure a grappling hook
15	Secure climbing harness
15	Tie a trick knot
10 + HD + (grap. size)	Lasso a creature