Niche D20Associated Ability Modifier: Agility
Disable device the skill of disarming traps, opening locks, or even the sabotage of mechanical devices.
Common Uses
Disarm Trap or Device
A disable device check to disarm a trap or similar device is made by the GM rather than the player; this is to keep mystery if the roll was a success or failure.
The DC is usually dependent upon the device itself, scaling with complexity, though usually the more simple of devices being a DC 10. To hide any trace of tampering you may increase the DC by an additional 5.
Success disables the device; failure by less than one degree has no consequences and may be tried again, while failure by one degree or more you spring the trap, or fail to sabotage the device you’re attempting to disable. Success by 2 degrees or more allows the character to study the trap and determine how it works and ways to bypass it without requiring disassembly of the device.
Magic traps normally cannot be disarmed by a character, unless the possess the correct feats or class features to do so. Though a caster may choose to dispel a trap if they are aware of it and have the correct spell.
A creature may retry a disable device check, though you must be aware they failed to try again; assuming their failure didn’t result in springing the trap. A creature is not automatically aware they failed to disable a trap, and usually requires a Knowledge(Engineering), or Knowledge(Arcana) check if magical, to identify.
Sabotage Mechanical Item
Usually sabotage of an object is causing an object to work normally for a short time, only to fail a short time later, usually 1d4 rounds or minutes of use. The DC usually starts at 10 increasing depending on how complex the device they are attempting to work with, or how elaborate the failure of the device is.
This is usually utilized for scenarios such as having a wheel on a wagon fall off after a short while of use, cause a handle to pull off a door when pulled, or other such situations.
Pick a Lock
The DC to pick a lock varies on the lock’s quality, ranging from Simple to Master level of quality, you must have some sort of tools to perform this task, and improvised tools impart a +10 to the DC to pick the lock.
Failure to pick a lock by less than one degree may be attempted again at no consequence, while failure by one degree or more jams the lock and prevents further attempts to pick it; a disable device check of the lock’s DC+10 may allow the character to fix the problem and attempt picking again. You may retry as many times as long as you did not jam the lock.
| Lock Quality | DC |
|---|---|
| Simple | 20 |
| Average | 25 |
| Expert | 30 |
| Master | 40 |
Action
The amount of time needed to make a Disable Device check depends on the task:
- Simple Device: Disabling a simple device takes 4 AP, roughly a round to complete.
- Complex/Intricate Device: An intricate or complex device requires 1d4 or 2d4 rounds.
- Open a Lock: Attempting to open a lock is a 4 AP action.