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Community
General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
AD&D (yes, 2e too) players and referees, what do you think of rolling under for ability and NWP checks?
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<blockquote data-quote="Hriston" data-source="post: 9280631" data-attributes="member: 6787503"><p>I haven't played AD&D in a long long time, but, when I did (1E), I don't recall we ever used roll-under ability checks. When I heard/read about them years later, they always seemed off to me aesthetically. If I played AD&D now, I would use a d6 check like is present in the game for things like opening doors, finding secret doors, detecting traps, etc., using a difficulty scale like this:</p><table style='width: 100%'><tr><td><p style="text-align: center"><strong>target number</strong></p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center"><strong>difficulty</strong></p> </td></tr><tr><td><p style="text-align: center">6</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">very hard</p> </td></tr><tr><td><p style="text-align: center">5</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">hard</p> </td></tr><tr><td><p style="text-align: center">4</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">medium</p> </td></tr><tr><td><p style="text-align: center">3</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">easy</p> </td></tr><tr><td><p style="text-align: center">2</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">very easy</p> </td></tr></table><p></p><p>I'd model modifiers off the "Open Doors On A" column of the PHB Strength Table II, assuming opening the door is a hard difficulty task. So the modifiers would be:</p><table style='width: 100%'><tr><td><p style="text-align: center"><strong>score</strong></p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center"><strong>modifier</strong></p> </td></tr><tr><td><p style="text-align: center">3-7</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">-1</p> </td></tr><tr><td><p style="text-align: center">8-15</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">0</p> </td></tr><tr><td><p style="text-align: center">16-18/50*</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">+1</p> </td></tr><tr><td><p style="text-align: center">18/51-18/99*</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">+2</p> </td></tr><tr><td><p style="text-align: center">18/00*</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">+3</p> </td></tr></table><p>*exceptional scores given for fighter Strength only</p><p></p><p>I'd leave the roll-under mechanic as a non-standard ability saving throw where it's present in the game. I.e. the 4th-level magic-user spell <em>dig </em>(Dex, presumably d20) and the 4th-level illusionist spell <em>phantasmal killer </em>(Int, 3d6)<em>.</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Hriston, post: 9280631, member: 6787503"] I haven't played AD&D in a long long time, but, when I did (1E), I don't recall we ever used roll-under ability checks. When I heard/read about them years later, they always seemed off to me aesthetically. If I played AD&D now, I would use a d6 check like is present in the game for things like opening doors, finding secret doors, detecting traps, etc., using a difficulty scale like this: [TABLE] [TR] [TD][CENTER][B]target number[/B][/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER][B]difficulty[/B][/CENTER][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][CENTER]6[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]very hard[/CENTER][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][CENTER]5[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]hard[/CENTER][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][CENTER]4[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]medium[/CENTER][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][CENTER]3[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]easy[/CENTER][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][CENTER]2[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]very easy[/CENTER][/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] I'd model modifiers off the "Open Doors On A" column of the PHB Strength Table II, assuming opening the door is a hard difficulty task. So the modifiers would be: [TABLE] [TR] [TD][CENTER][B]score[/B][/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER][B]modifier[/B][/CENTER][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][CENTER]3-7[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]-1[/CENTER][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][CENTER]8-15[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]0[/CENTER][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][CENTER]16-18/50*[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]+1[/CENTER][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][CENTER]18/51-18/99*[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]+2[/CENTER][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][CENTER]18/00*[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]+3[/CENTER][/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] *exceptional scores given for fighter Strength only I'd leave the roll-under mechanic as a non-standard ability saving throw where it's present in the game. I.e. the 4th-level magic-user spell [I]dig [/I](Dex, presumably d20) and the 4th-level illusionist spell [I]phantasmal killer [/I](Int, 3d6)[I].[/I] [/QUOTE]
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AD&D (yes, 2e too) players and referees, what do you think of rolling under for ability and NWP checks?
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