Disable Device

Disable Device (Int; Trained Only)

The PC is skilled at manipulating, disassembling, and sabotaging mechanical devices, including locks and traps.

Check: The Disable Device check is made secretly, so that the player won’t necessarily know if he's succeeded.

The DC depends on how complex the device is. Disabling (or rigging or jamming) a fairly simple device has a DC of 10; more intricate and complex devices have higher DCs.

If the check succeeds, the PC has disabled the device. If it fails by 4 or less, he has failed but can try again. If it fails by 5 or more, something goes wrong. If the device is a trap, the PC springs it. If he's attempting some sort of sabotage, he thinks the device is disabled, but it still works normally.

The PC also can rig simple devices such as saddles or wagon wheels to work normally for a while and then fail or fall off some time later (usually after 1d4 rounds or minutes of use). This increases the DC by 10, however.


Device Time1 DC1 Example
Simple 1 round 10 Jam a lock
Moderate 1d4 rounds 15 Sabotage a wagon wheel
Difficult 2d4 rounds 20 Disarm a trap, reset a trap
Complex 3d4 rounds 25 Disarm a complex trap
V. Complex 3d6 rounds 30 Cleverly sabotage a clockwork device

1 If the character attempts to leave behind no trace of his tampering, double the time and add 5 to the DC.

Opening a Lock: The DC for opening a lock varies from 10 to 30, depending on the quality of the lock, as given on the table below. Masterwork locks have a DC 5 points higher. The time to pick a lock of the listed difficulty is noted on the table below. For every 10 points by which the PC succeeds on his check, the time is reduced by 1 round, to a minimum of 1 round.

Lock DC Time
Very Simple 10 1d2 rounds
Simple 15 1d4 rounds
Average 20 1d6+1 rounds
Good 25 2d6 rounds
Superior 30 2d8 rounds

The PC can rush his Disable Device attempt, reducing the amount of time it takes to perform the attempt. He can reduce the time by half (round up) by taking a -20 penalty (for simple devices, this would be a standard action instead of a full-round action).

Action: The amount of time needed to make a Disable Device check depends on the task, as noted above. Disabling a simple device is a full-round action.

Try Again: Varies. The character can retry if he has missed the check by 4 or less, though he must be aware that he has failed in order to try again.

Special: A rogue who beats a trap's DC by 10 or more can study the trap, figure out how it works, and bypass it (along with his companions) without disarming it.

Restriction: Only rogues (and other characters with the trapfinding class feature) can disarm magic traps. A magic trap generally has a DC of 25 + the spell level of the magic used to create it.

The spells fire trap, glyph of warding, symbol, and teleportation circle also create traps that a rogue can disarm with a successful Disable Device check. Spike growth and spike stones, however, create magic traps against which Disable Device checks do not succeed. See the individual spell descriptions for details.

Attempting a Disable Device check without a set of thieves' tools, or another tool appropriate to the task, incurs a -2 circumstance penalty to the check. Using masterwork tools grants a +2 circumstance bonus.

Untrained: The character cannot disable devices or pick locks untrained, but he might successfully break or force them open.

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