Break Open Doors DC/Item HP/Level

Gloomshroud

First Post
I apologize if this has been posted before. I do not have the search feature.

In the DMG I, it lists various tables for item damage and DCs for opening doors and calculating HP and so on. (p. 65). My question is this:

On page 64, in the DCs to Break Down Doors table, it lists a level. What is this a representative of? Character level? Item level? Suggested level for this DC?

Thank you in advance.
 

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The level is the suggested difficulty of doors for characters of that level. Alternatively, you could consider it a "level 11 door" and put its DC as such.

It's really a quick shortcut: compare the level of the door to the level of your characters and you'll get an idea of how hard it will be to break down. Level 1 characters probably won't break down a level 30 door in a hurry.

Cheers!
 


Awesome! Thank you! So, the level can be used to find the target DC?

Pretty much. One of the troubles D&D has is in properly assessing how difficult things should be. In 4E, it gives all those tables with levels and suggested DCs - a character of *this* level should be able to make *this* DC.

Some of the tables seem a little generous to PCs, especially with non-challenge skill checks, but it's a good starting point until you know the system better.

Cheers!
 

Note, its up to the DM to describe the door in such a way that supports the level (and therefore the DC) given to it. So, a level 1 door might be of wood, and in really bad shape, a level 5 door is solid wood, a level 10 door is heavily reinforced wood or one with metal cladding, a level 20 door made of solid iron and a level 30 door made of admantium reinforced by the souls of the damned.

Otherwise, it may harm the players sense of immersion in the setting if at level 1 they need to roll a 15 on the die to bash down a door, and when they return to the exact same door 10 levels later, they still need a 15 on the die to bash it down. Instead, you should either keep the original DC for the door (which would make it fairly trivial to get through now), or describe in some way how the door has been "toughened up" to make it more challenging - be it through magic, or having been repalced with a door made of superior materials.

Note, in the case of doors, given that to get through one at a lower level, the players likely bashed it down, having it replaced with a new door likely makes sense. However, in other instances (such as a castle wall the PCs climbed over in the previous tier), one should either come up with a convincing reason why the DC has changed, or simply keep it at the original DC.

Personally, if there isn't some significant plot reason to have it at a higher DC, I would keep the old DC, especially if the test was quite challenging the first time - its a good way of letting the players have a "look how much more powerful we are" moment, especially if you plan to spring a "look how we aren't as powerful as we thought" moment soon after. :D
 


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