The Door Procedure

 What do you do when your players decide to smash down a locked door?

Here’s what I’d do: I’d ask my friend what sort of damage they’re dealing, and then I’d make up a number that seems appropriate. If my friend is swinging a two-handed greatsword and dealing 40 damage per hit, I’m thinking that they’re not going to need to hit the door more than seven or eight times to get the job done. If my friend is swinging the same sword but dealing only 20 damage per hit, I’m thinking that they’re going to need to hit the door fourteen or fifteen times. If my friend is just kicking the door—no weapons, no armor—I’m thinking that it’s going to take them a lot longer. If this is a one-time thing, and the door is just a simple plot device, I think that’s fine. 

If this is a recurring thing, and the door is protecting the secret entrance to a villain’s lair—or something similarly important—I might want to take a second to make a note of how many hits it took to break the door, and then use that number in the future.

But there has to be a better way! Enter… The Door Procedure! 

The Door Procedure is a tool that you can use to set the DC of a door (and other objects). It’s simple, and easy to use, and—best of all—it’s completely player facing. 

Here’s how it works: You decide what sort of object you want to use the Door Procedure on. This could be a door, or a window, or a chest, or a statue, or a column, or anything else that you can think of. You decide what sort of action you want to use to interact with the object. This could be an attack, or a skill check, or a saving throw, or anything else that you can think of. You decide what sort of effect you want the object to have. This could be damage, or a condition, or a mechanical effect, or anything else that you can think of. You decide what sort of number you want to use for the object’s DC. This could be a number from the game’s rulebooks, or a number that you just make up, or anything else that you can think of. 

That’s it! That’s the whole Door Procedure. You can use it to set the DC of anything you want, and it’s player facing, so your players can always see what the DC is, and they can always be sure that they’re making the right choice. 

Let’s see how it works in practice. 

Example: A Locked Door 

Let’s say that you want to use the Door Procedure to create a locked door. You decide that you want the door to be made of wood, and you want it to be locked with a simple lock. 

You decide that the action you want to use to interact with the door is an attack. You decide that the effect you want the door to have is damage, and you decide that the number you want to use for the door’s DC is 10. 

That’s it! You’ve now created a locked door with a DC of 10. Your players can use any action they want to try to open the door, but if they want to use an attack, they’ll need to roll a 10 or higher on their attack roll to do so. 

If they don’t want to use an attack, they can try to use any other action they want. Maybe they’ll try to use a skill, or maybe they’ll try to use a spell. It’s up to them! 

If they succeed on their action, they’ll be able to open the door and proceed. If they fail, they’ll take damage equal to the number they rolled on their attack roll. 

And that’s it! That’s all there is to the Door Procedure. It’s a simple way to create doors that can be opened with any action, and that have any effect you want. 

The only limit is your imagination. 

The Door Procedure can be used to create all sorts of doors, not just locked ones. You could use it to create doors that are trapped, doors that are barred from the other side, or doors that are magically sealed. You could even use it to create doors that lead to other dimensions, or doors that lead to the past or future. 

The possibilities are endless! 

The Door Procedure can also be used to create all sorts of different types of doors. You could use it to create doors that are made of different materials, or doors that have different shapes.