Can you take 20 on Heal checks?


Rules Questions


The cleric in my current campaign asked a question or two about healing kits. Basically, they boiled down to "can you take 20 on a Heal check", so as to treat deadly wounds automatically? Currently, it's listed as expending two uses from a healer's kit to perform the task.

My initial reaction would be "no" -- after all, taking 20 assumes that you will fail many times before succeeding. In my mind that would mean you accidentally leaned too hard on the cracked ribs, stitched up a crusted wound incorrectly and had to tear the stitches out, and so forth. Moreover, if you fail many times before you succeed, you should clearly be expending far more than two uses from a healer's kit.

So, can one take 20 on a Heal check, or no?

And regardless of whether or not your check to treat deadly wounds succeeds, does it use up supplies from a healing kit?

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

It depends on the check.

If you're making a Heal check as a forensic.. i.e. determining the cause of death, then there's no time constraint and taking 20 is allowed.

If it's a life or death situation, not only can you not take 20, you will probably not even be allowed to take 10.

And yes... each healing attempt with a kit uses up supplies, whether or not it's successful.

You mean you're going to put those soiled and bloody bandages back in the box?


You can't generally take 20 on treating deadly wounds, because...

PRD wrote:
Action: Providing first aid, treating a wound, or treating poison is a standard action. Treating a disease or tending a creature wounded by a spike growth or spike stones spell takes 10 minutes of work. Treating deadly wounds takes 1 hour of work. Providing long-term care requires 8 hours of light activity.

So, even ignoring the issue of health kit expenditure, taking 20 always assumes you fail several times before succeeding. So taking 20 on that check always assumes you spend many hours doing that. At that point, it sounds more like long term care to me...

Though if the players really want to do it and have plenty of time, I see no balance issues in allowing them to spend whole rest of the day resting and expending a few uses of heal kit for just a few hp... So I see no reason for you to not allow it but I also see no reason why they would think it's a good idea. :D

That said, taking 10 should usually suffice if it is class skill for one of the characters. +2 from health kit, +2 from someone aiding, +3 class skill, +1 rank and +2 wisdom modifier = 20.

Sovereign Court

Yeah, taking 20 on treating deadly wounds means you sit there for 20 hours to do it!

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