Taking Ten
Passive skill checks allow that a character is neither hurried nor attempting anything difficult when they make that skill check, so they are entitled to “take 10” instead of rolling a d20. This most often applies to Perception, but there are other situations and skills where a player might be able to “take 10” on a check instead of having to roll for it, and these often require the character to be proficient with the associated skill or tool. These may include such things as
- Passive Insight: A character’s innate sense that something is “off”
- Passive Investigation: A basic search of objects that can be observed with Passive Perception
- An unhurried climb up a relatively normal wall or cliff when the user is proficient in Athletics or is proficient in (and uses) a climber’s kit
- Picking a lock when the character is proficient in Dexterity, Sleight of Hand, or the use of thieves’ tools and the character uses thieves’ tools for the check
- A street performer spending an hour or more busking for coin on a street or in a tavern who is proficient in Performance and proficient with the instrument of their choice
Most uses of artisan tools with which the user is proficient also follow the “take 10” rule unless the character is attempting to craft something in a hasty manner or under an especially complicated and/or unfamiliar process.
See also: Taking Twenty.
Added to House Rules 18 Feb 2024.