Just realized I should have posted this question here:
Searched all over for an example or discussion and I'm still wondering what effects are there for say 3 18 STR characters able to all push on a larger door to open it? Assuming the door is big enough for all three to lean into/bash it, do 2 of them add +2 each as a standard Aid does for skill checks?
This seems common enough that I must be missing something. Current party has a very large door that needs a 35DC STR check to open. Given a +4 for one character, this will never happen. Others are less STR of course, but I would think they could add.. something. Even those with no STR bonus provide extra force against the door.
Thoughts?
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Just realized I should have posted this question here:
Searched all over for an example or discussion and I'm still wondering what effects are there for say 3 18 STR characters able to all push on a larger door to open it? Assuming the door is big enough for all three to lean into/bash it, do 2 of them add +2 each as a standard Aid does for skill checks?
This seems common enough that I must be missing something. Current party has a very large door that needs a 35DC STR check to open. Given a +4 for one character, this will never happen. Others are less STR of course, but I would think they could add.. something. Even those with no STR bonus provide extra force against the door.
Thoughts?
That is correct. Two characters doing Aid Another provide a +4 bonus.
A while back I actually wondered myself if higher strength characters should impact strength checks more. The only thing I really had to form a comparison was the encumbrance table and to my surprise, two 18 strength characters can carry about the same weight as a 23 strength character...a difference of 5 points or a Strength bonus of +2.5 (or +2 rounded down). Funny eh? So technically, weaker characters might not help stronger ones as much as we think they should...so the rules are being kind in giving then a +2 bonus.
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Are we breaking the lock with a DC 35 STR check? I suggest picking it instead. Or use magic (a Knock spell might do the trick). Or maybe it's time for Passwall or Teleport or Dimension Door or any number of other magical tricks.
Or is it just super duper heavy and even when it's unlocked, unbarred, and unobstructed you still need that DC 35 STR check to open it? If it's this, then an unlocked door that needs DC 35 STR check to open is, well, an awfully big door. Massive. What is this door, the front door of the Death Star? It's so massive that you would need a 40 STR to have any chance to open it at all, and that would require a natural 20.
A balor cannot open it. A pit fiend cannot open it. A solar cannot open it. I can barely open it with a natural 20, and I'm a CR 25 Tarrasque!
Who built this door?
And more interestingly, if THEY can open it, and your PCs are invading THEIR home, why do your PCs sound like low-level noobs with puny 18 STR scores? If they're invading a Tarrasque home, I hope they have STR scores higher than 19 - I like my snacks to have some meat on their bones...
That's a long-winded way to say, maybe the DC is too high. If CR 20+ monsters cannot open this door, then it sounds like whoever decided to give it such a high DC might have been a little confused. Or drunk. Or something. I suggest thinking about who made this door and who was intended to open/close it in its original intended usage. What is their average STR? What DC would be appropriate for it on a Take-10 roll with that average STR mod? Anything higher than that would require multiple of those intended people to open the door.
Then again, if it's a normal-sized door with a very strong lock or a very strong bar keeping it closed, dealing with that (magically if needed) would be the way to go.
But, by RAW, the best way to handle it is with Aid Another, as you pointed out. Get one guy with an 18 STR to lift it and 6 friends to aid him - if they all make it, the one guy only needs to roll a natural 19 or higher to lift the door. Each guy needs his own 5' square in front of the door, so I hope it's at least 35 feet wide...
(Technically, a loose interpretation of the Squeezing rules might allow two guys to stand in the same 5' square, so the door only needs to be about 20 feet wide, and you can add a 7th helper if you have one available, so the lifter only needs a natural 17 or higher).
Also note, anyone can aid in this, even if they have a low STR, even if their STR is below 10 and they have a penalty to their STR check. Each helper must roll a DC 10 STR check using his own modifier and he cannot Take-10 (but the main guy doing the heavy lifting, the one guy that all the others are aiding, CAN Take-10 if he wants to). Every helper who gets a 10 or higher on his check adds +2 to the main guy.