Difficulty Class

You establish the Difficulty Class for an ability check or a saving throw when a rule or an adventure doesn't give you one. Choose a DC from the Typical DCs table based on the task's difficulty.

Typical DCs

Task	DC
Very easy	5
Easy	10
Moderate	15
Hard	20
Very Hard	25
Nearly Impossible	30

Very Easy. Most people can accomplish a DC 5 task with little chance of failure. Unless circumstances are unusual, let characters succeed at such a task without making a check.

Easy, Moderate, and Hard. These are the most common difficulties, and you can run your game using only them. A character with a 10 in the associated ability and no proficiency will succeed at an easy task around 50 percent of the time. For a moderate task, a character needs either a higher score or proficiency to have a similar chance of success, whereas a hard task typically requires both to have a similar chance. If you can't decide between two levels of difficulty, choose a DC somewhere in the middle, such as 17 or 18 for task that is a little easier than "hard."

Very Hard and Nearly Impossible. A DC 25 task is almost out of reach for low-level characters, but more reasonable after level 10 or so. Low-level characters have no chance to accomplish a DC 30 task, while a level 20 character with proficiency and a relevant ability score of 20 still needs a 19 or 20 on the die roll to succeed at a task of this difficulty.

Saving Throws. If you're setting the DC for a saving throw, don't go lower than 10 or higher than 20. If a creature is the source of the effect forcing a saving throw, use the standard formula for calculating a save DC.

Calculating DCs

For some ability checks and most saving throws, the rules default to the following formula:

DC = 8 + ability modifier + Proficiency Bonus

This formula often sets the saving throw DC when a creature is casting a spell or using a special ability, but it can also apply to ability checks that are contests between two creatures. For example, if one creature is holding a door shut, use its Strength modifier and Proficiency Bonus to set the DC for opening the door. When another creature tries to force the door open, the creature makes a Strength (Athletics) check against the DC.

Another way to handle similar situations is to have one creature's ability check set the DC for another creature's ability check. That's how hiding works, for example: a hiding creature's total Dexterity (Stealth) check sets thee DC for Wisdom (Perception) checks made to find the hidden creature.