Disable a Device is weird

[SuperParkourio]

If you want to disable a hazard with Thievery, you use the Disable a Device action. If you want to disable a hazard with a different skill listed in the hazard stat block, you use an unnamed 2-action activity that does the same thing as Disable a Device except using the chosen skill.

It technically works as written, but why didn't they just write Disable a Device as a general skill action like Recall Knowledge or Identify Magic?

[NorrKnekten]

Most likely this is due to giving a base default for interacting with traps and devices. Ontop of Items/Feats to specifically interact with the use of Disable a Device. Such as being able to use Disable a Device against Clockwork creatures.

The rules in GM core about hazards say that a GM can alter the traits of this unnamed activity, Using the result similar to disable a device, If tools are required or not etc, Some disable entries even say you use different amount of actions or outright reference other activities like Cast a Spell.

[thenobledrake]

The most likely reason why Disable Device wasn't written as a general skill action is because of what NorrKnekten mentions; the variability written in about difference of traits or requirements for the action.

By which I mean that if you look at things which are general skill actions they are following a pattern in which everything except one variable is constant so that you are at most dealing with one trait that fits the associated trait involved and the blank that is which skill to check being filled with a new skill name.

So Disable Device would have necessitated a lot more word count to cover how and why the variables might change and would end up in a position of either literally every possibility is explicitly covered (and any hazard that falls outside the pre-defined action parameters has to be errata'd to fit inside them) or some hazard still manages to fall outside of the rules covered in the description and cause confusion.

[Castilliano]

There's some momentum from previous editions dating back decades, one aspect of which is the phrasing including "device". That's the nomenclature, yet many of the Hazards don't involve device so it'd be odd for Survival for instance to "disable quicksand", etc. If "device" were substituted in this hypothetical general action, I'd agree with your premise. Well, except there's also sabotaging devices, so maybe it's messier if we unpack further, though that could separated out if necessary.

So maybe "Disable Hazard" might work, except even then not all devices are Hazards...and maybe we're sowing more confusion than necessary since, again, we have a historic nomenclature already in use. And as you mentioned, it works as written so... *shrug*

[NorrKnekten]

Yeah, works as written. The GMCore says that

Quote:

"The specific skill and DC required to disable a hazard are listed in the hazard's stat block. Like using disabling a device, its a two action activity with the same degrees of success"

Don't really need more than that as it catches all skills and sets up a clean default behavior. Doesn't need to be its defined action.