Scrying: Variant DCs and Opposed Checks
My guess is that most campaigns don’t use the scrying spell very often, or indeed the Scry skill at all. That’s certainly understandable—it’s a relatively little-used skill at best, and rarely useful until you reach mid-levels.
The problem I quickly ran into with a character who began to use scrying heavily is that for anyone with a reasonable Scry skill rank, the DCs listed for the scrying spell are laughably easy. Take a 7th-level wizard who has spent merely half the maximum ranks on Scry (5 ranks) with a reasonable Intelligence modifier (+3). That’s a +8 modifier, meaning that he can take 10 and scry on anyone he’s ever heard of on the same plane, and if he even has a picture or possession he need not even have heard of the subject.
That seemed too easy to me—I’ve always pictured scrying as a relatively difficult task, particularly when looking in on someone you’ve never even met. So I decided to adjust the scrying DCs accordingly.
But where to set them? To start, I figured out what the typical Scry skill modifiers would be for various characters who might use this spell.
| Character | Typical Scry Skill Modifier* |
| Brd8**, Int 12 | +1/+6/+12 |
| Brd12, Int 12 | +1/+8/+16 |
| Brd16, Int 14 | +2/+11/+21 |
| Brd 20, Int 16 | +3/+14/+26 |
| Clr9**, Int 10 | +0/+6/+12 |
| Clr12, Int 10 | +0/+7/+15 |
| Clr 16, Int 12 | +1/+10/+20 |
| Clr 20, Int 12 | +1/+12/+24 |
| Drd7**, Int 10 | +0/+5/+10 |
| Drd12, Int 10 | +0/+7/+15 |
| Drd16, Int 12 | +1/+10/+20 |
| Drd20, Int 12 | +1/+12/+24 |
| Sor8**, Int 12 | +1/+6/+12 |
| Sor12, Int 12 | +1/+8/+16 |
| Sor16, Int 14 | +2/+11/+21 |
| Sor20, Int 14 | +2/+13/+25 |
| Wiz7**, Int 16 | +3/+8/+13 |
| Wiz12, Int 18 | +4/+11/+19 |
| Wiz16, Int 20 | +5/+14/+24 |
| Wiz20, Int 22 | +6/+17/+29 |
*Represents a character with no ranks, half the maximum ranks, or the maximum ranks allowed. Add +2 for Skill Focus (Scry).
**The level that character class typically first gains access to the spell.
My guess is that few characters without ranks in Scry would (or should, in my opinion) use this spell, so I focused on those characters with at least some training. I could see that by the time most characters gained access to scrying, the typical skill modifier would range somewhere between +5 and +13. That seems to bear out my earlier hypothesis that DCs of 5 to 20 are simply too low to be significant.
So how tough should it be? I figure that scrying on someone familiar to you should never be too difficult, even without training. So I set that at DC 10—even a slow-witted cleric should be able to pull this off with ease.
Looking in on a subject that you have met should represent the first potential challenge to a scrying character, but shouldn’t pose much difficulty to an experienced scryer. So I pushed that DC up to 20 (from its original 10). Again, any character with reasonable training will accomplish this without too much trouble, but those relying purely on natural talent (i.e., Intelligence) will need some help.
Scrying on someone you’ve heard of, but not met, strikes me as something that should be attempted only be trained scryers. At this point, I’d also like the "connections"—likenesses, possessions, locks of hair, etc.—to come into play. By 12th level, the Scry skill modifiers range from +6 (the average-Intelligence cleric with some training) to +19 (the highly intelligent wizard with moderate training). If I set the DC at 30, then most characters will go scrambling to locate something to grant them a bonus to the check, anything from a picture of the target to some nail clippings. That adds flavor to the game, which is a good enough reason for me to set the DC at 30.
Finally, we come to the ultimate scrying task: spying on someone of whom you have no knowledge. It seems entirely inappropriate to me that such a task should even be considered by anyone but the most talented scryers, and generally when in possession of something connected to the target. Sixteenth-level scryers have skill modifiers ranging from +10 to +24. Throw in a connection, and this can range anywhere from +15 to +34. From this, I decide that DC 40 seems appropriate—out of the reach of moderately skilled characters, but achievable by well-trained scryers and in easy reach of such characters in possession of an item connecting him to the target.
Not only do these numbers—10, 20, 30, 40—work well with the theories I posit, but they also create an attractive and elegant curve upward (and I’m a sucker for elegance in game design, which is why I pestered Jonathan Tweet for smooth spell progression curves in 3rd Edition D&D, but that’s another story). Here’s what the chart looks like now.
| Knowledge | DC* |
| None** | 40 |
| Secondhand (you have heard of the subject) | 30 |
| Firsthand (you have met the subject) | 20 |
| Familiar (you know the subject well) | 10 |
*If the target is on another plane, increase the DC by 5.
**You must have some sort of connection to a creature you have no knowledge of.
I leave the bonuses granted by various connections to the target as is for now, since I’d prefer to tweak only one set of variables (the DCs).
| Connection | Scry Check Bonus |
| Likeness or picture | +5 |
| Possession or garment | +8 |
| Body part, lock of hair, nail clippings, etc. | +10 |
Opposed Scry Checks
Another way to reward scrying characters for spending ranks on Scry is to turn the check allowed to notice the sensor into an opposed Scry check between the scrying character and anyone who might notice the sensor. To reflect both the difficulty of the task and also the DC of the original check to successfully scry on the target, apply a modifier to the Scry check made to notice the sensor as follows:
Determine the DC required to scry on the target.
Subtract 20 from this number. (This may be a negative number.)
Add the result to the Scry checks (or Intelligence checks) made by characters to notice the sensor. (Remember that adding a negative number is the same as subtracting a positive number.)
(Alternatively, you can simply give the targets a bonus equal to the original DC, and the scrying character a flat +20 bonus—this accomplishes the same thing with less math.)
Example: A 7th-level wizard with no ranks in Scry endeavors to scry a character he is familiar with. The DC is 10, which he accomplishes easily by taking 10 (this gives him a 13). The target (and anyone nearby) may make a Scry check (or Intelligence check) to notice the sensor, but these checks suffer a penalty of –10 (10 minus 20 is negative 10). Thus, they need to roll a 23 or better.
Example: A moderately skilled 7th-level wizard scrys on a PC whom he has met. Thus, the DC of the initial Scry check is 20. The wizard can’t take 10 (since his modifier is only +8), so he rolls and gets a total of 22. The target (and anyone nearby) is allowed a Scry check (or Intelligence check) to notice the sensor. Anyone making this check gains a +0 bonus (20 minus 20 equals 0) to the check. The DC is 22, the result of the scrying wizard’s initial Scry check.
Example: A highly skilled 20th-level wizard scrys on a PC he has heard of, but never met. The DC of the check is 30, and the wizard has a likeness of the PC (+5 to check). The wizard takes 10 on the check, for a result of 44, and succeeds. Any characters near the sensor may make a Scry check (or Intelligence check) to notice it, with a +10 bonus (30 minus 20 equals 10). The DC of this check is 44 (the result of the wizard’s original check).
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