taking 20 with 20 people

[drack]

So put quite simply, can 20 sentinels with the same stat block synchronize their taking 20 so that one is always taking every number from 1-20 at any given time? (had someone claim this was "heavily abusing rules that don't work in the first place", so I thought I'd give it an ask.) :smallbiggrin:

[falloutimperial]

When you take 20, you automatically act with the result of a twenty, provided the activity qualifies for taking twenty. So put quite simply, all of these sentinels would succeed in an action with no number-stacking effect.

[drack]

Well as I understand it, technically when taking 20 you take every number leading up to 20 over 20 rounds. So first round you take 1, and second round you take 2, hence the deterrent on trying to take 20 on most things. Perhaps I am wrong on this though as it's second hand so I ask. =p

[Urpriest]

Well as I understand it, technically when taking 20 you take every number leading up to 20 over 20 rounds. So first round you take 1, and second round you take 2, hence the deterrent on trying to take 20 on most things. Perhaps I am wrong on this though as it's second hand so I ask. =p

No, taking 20 just means you take long enough that, statistically, you would have gotten a 20, so you do. There's no "taking each number in order" effect.

[drack]

K, possibly a house-rule picked up along the way then. Thanks mates.

[Urpriest]

K, possibly a house-rule picked up along the way then. Thanks mates.

Honestly, it sounds less like a house-rule and more like an urban legend. :smalltongue:

[VoxRationis]

What's .95 to the twentieth power? Because minus that is the actual odds that if you attempt an action 20 times, you will roll a 20 doing so.

[OldTrees1]

When permitted to take 20 (You cannot take 20 if failure has a penalty OR you are threatened/distracted) then the action takes 20 times as long but you get a 20.

So if rolling a 1 would be a problem, then you are forbidden from taking 20. This combined with the action taking 20 times as long is where the myth of "taking every possible result from lowest to highest" came from.


20 Sentinels cannot stagger taking 20 on perception checks because there is either a penalty for failure, they are being threatened, or there is nothing to see.

[Rubik]

Well, technically it would work, if the nat 20 happens at the very end of the 2 minutes, so just stagger everyone, starting their Perception checks a round apart, and you'll get everyone reaching 20 six seconds apart.

You don't start cycling 1-20, but the effect is identical for what you want it for.

[drack]

So if rolling a 1 would be a problem, then you are forbidden from taking 20. This combined with the action taking 20 times as long is where the myth of "taking every possible result from lowest to highest" came from.


20 Sentinels cannot stagger taking 20 on perception checks because there is either a penalty for failure, they are being threatened, or there is nothing to see.

Ah, nifty.

Not sure I follow. Isn't it the case that if you're searching for loot in an empty room there's either nothing there or a penalty for failure (not finding loot), yet it always occurs regardless? =\

[OldTrees1]

Ah, nifty.

Not sure I follow. Isn't it the case that if you're searching for loot in an empty room there's either nothing there or a penalty for failure (not finding loot), yet it always occurs regardless? =\

If a sentinel is trying to keep lookout for an ambush, they get few chances. If a sentinel is trying to spot a spy, they get few chance. Failure comes with the penalty of permanent failure (no taking 20)

If an adventuring is searching a room for loot, they can continue to do so as many times as they wish. Failure does not come with a penalty. Taking 20 is allowed since otherwise(rolling 1d20 multiple times) a 20 would have eventually been rolled with no penalty for intermediate rolls.

Summary: Failing a check is not a penalty for failing a check. However being prevented from trying again is a penalty for failing a check.

[ericgrau]

Taking a 20 is only a time saver to keep you from rolling 20 times and slowing down the game. If rolling 20 times wouldn't work, then you can't take a 20. If it would and your DM isn't letting you take a 20, then just roll 20 times.

[Lord Lemming]

What's .95 to the twentieth power? Because minus that is the actual odds that if you attempt an action 20 times, you will roll a 20 doing so.

Exactly correct. If twenty people roll d20's at the same time, the odds that one of those dice will come up with a 20 is about 64%. So you'd have a reasonable chance of success, but it's far from guaranteed.

EDIT: Correction: 1 - (.95 to the power of 20) = the odds of rolling a 20 after 20 dice rolls.