Solo RPG Dungeon5e DC Helper: Set a DC and See Your Odds
Made for 5ePick how hard the task is, set your bonus, and see the DC, your exact chance and what that means in oracle terms. Then roll right here, or with your own dice.
How hard is it?
Your bonus
You need 12 or more on the d20.
That is about the same as asking the oracle on 50/50.
The standard DCs
Fifth edition uses six steps of difficulty. When you are your own game master, choose the step before you look at your bonus, so the world decides how hard something is, not your character sheet. This table shows the chance of meeting each DC with a single d20 and a few typical bonuses.
| Difficulty | DC | +0 | +3 | +5 | +8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very easy | 5 | 80% | 95% | 100% | 100% |
| Easy | 10 | 55% | 70% | 80% | 95% |
| Medium | 15 | 30% | 45% | 55% | 70% |
| Hard | 20 | 5% | 20% | 30% | 45% |
| Very hard | 25 | 0% | 0% | 5% | 20% |
| Nearly impossible | 30 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Advantage and disadvantage
Advantage rolls two d20s and keeps the higher; disadvantage keeps the lower. The helper works out the exact chance for both. As a rule of thumb, advantage is worth about +5 on a roll you have an even chance of making, and less on rolls that are very easy or very hard. In solo play, give yourself advantage when the fiction clearly helps you, such as a good plan, a useful tool or a distracted guard, and disadvantage when it clearly hurts.
When to ask the oracle instead
A DC is for something your hero tries. Questions about the world, such as whether the guard is awake or the bridge still stands, are not checks: ask the yes/no oracle. The line under your chance says which oracle setting gives the same odds, so the two always feel consistent.
Without a screen
Write the six DCs on an index card and keep it by your character sheet. Roll your d20, add your bonus, and compare. The dice roller has advantage and disadvantage buttons too.
New to playing alone? Read how to play 5e solo, or go back to Solo 5e.
This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 ("SRD 5.2.1") by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Solo RPG Dungeon is not affiliated with or endorsed by Wizards of the Coast.