In 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dungeons & Dragons, whenever a player attempts an action, or if they're tr✃ying to overcome the effects of a spell or other physical challenge, they'll likely have to attempt an ability check♏ or saving throw against a certain difficult class, or DC. The Dungeon Master sets the DC for this, either above the table or secretly behind the DM screen, later telling the player who rolled if they succeeded or not.

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ꦑIf you're a new Dungeon Master, this task can prove elusive. But, it's actually relatively straightforward, and there's a lot of flexibility. Here's what you need to know to create difficulty classes.

When To Create A Difficulty Class

An explorer combs through a library in a dungeon in Dungeons & Dragons.
Dungeon Room by Kent Davis

In Dungeons & Dragons, a difficulty class should be established for your player whenever they're attempting to do any of the following actions.

Action

Details

Use A Skill

Anytime a player is attempting to use one of their six core skills꧟ or any ability that fa꧅lls under these umbrellas, there should likely be a DC set.


For example, if a player says they want to use their Medicine skill to try to heal a wound, you would have them make an ability check roll and set a DC.

When A Rule Requires It

Many spells, attacks, and other effects state in their rules wheꩲther a saving throw or an a꧑bility check needs to be made to either use the feature or avoid it.


For example, many spells require Wisdom saving throws to be made against the spellcaꦓster's spell save DC,🐓 which is predetermined by their abilities.

Attempt Any Unique Action

Anytime a player is attempting to do something that feels unique, and does not fall under the parameters of normal, everyday behavior (walking, talking, breathing, etc.), the player should make a check or throw against a DC.

To Avoid A Trap

If a player triggers a trap, environmental effect, or other extraneous event to occur, setting a DC for a corresponding saving throw is n❀ecessary.

For spells and attacks that have DCs laid out in their rules, typically, the DC will be predetermined by the rule or the attacker/spellcaster's ab🍸ilities. Usually, a preཧdetermined DC is calculated like this:

  • 8 + proficiency bonus + ability modifier = Predetermined DC

This formula is typically used to determin﷽e things like a Spell Save DC.

However, Dungeon Masters will have to create a DC for our other three options, so let's look at how to do just that.

How To Set A DC

A group of pirates force a prisoner to walk the plank in Dungeons & Dragons.
Pirates by Alexandre Honore

There's a pretty standard formula that's universally accepted for determining a DC. First, you have to determine how difficult the action is.

For example, if a bard is trying to play an instrument they found, this will likely prove relatively easy for them and needs a low DC.

Conversely, if a lumbering barbarian with plate armor is trying to sneak past a sentry in a watchtower, this will likely be more difficult and needs a high DC.

From there, once you've determined the difficulty of the task at hand, you can set a DC based on the below table.

Difficulty

DC Range

Very Easy to Relatively Easy

5-10

Relatively Easy to Moderately Hard

10-15

Moderately Hard to Difficult

15-20

Difficult to Extremely Difficult

20-25

Extremely Difficult to Impossible

25-30

This table provides a loose range of DCs to use depending on the difficulty of the task at hand. Any action that you might deem below a five 💞DC should be considered automatic, and not require a roll.

Keep in mind that, as your players level up, you might need to skew these DCs slightly. For example, if you're constantly setting your DCs in the ꦍ10-15 range and your players are successful every time, it might be worth either creating more difficult challenges for them or setting DCs higher.

If you're not sure how difficult something should be, you can also always do a contested check. For example, if a player is trying to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:steal from an NPC, you can roll a co♌ntested stealth-perception check to determine the outcome, rather than set a DC.𓃲

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide also recommends that you don't set a saving throw DC as lower than 10 or higher than 20 to keep things feeling balanced.

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