Disable Device (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

Publisher: Trailseeker & Purple Duck Games (Significantly Modified).

Disable Device is the skill to open locks and remove traps, but it is also the closest Pathfinder has to a gimmickry skill. Besides the uses outlined in the core rulebook, these additional tasks can be performed by anyone trained in Disable Device.

Analyze Trap

As a standard action, a you can try to analyze a known trap. This reveals the entire stat block of the trap. The DC is the same as for disabling a trap, but there is no danger of triggering the trap. You must be able to disarm magical traps in order to analyze magical traps.

Demolition

In ten minutes, you can try to demolish a stationary object, a door, or 5 ft. section of wall. Make a Disable Device check as if it was a Strength check to break the object. This is a noisy process; you suffer a -40 penalty on Stealth checks.

Deploy Trap

A trap that has been crafted and is ready to be set up can be deployed using Disable Device instead of the usual Craft (traps). It takes an hour to set up a trap, and requires a Disable Device check with a of DC 15 + CR of the trap. Failing by 10 or more means the trapper is caught in the trap. Traps that depend on terrain features, such as a pit trap, can only be deployed if such a terrain feature is available. A trap cannot be moved once it has been set up; all a disabled trap is good for is scrap. Traps can also be deployed in just one minute, but such makeshift deployment is much less effective; halve the Perception and Disable Device DCs of the trap.

Fire Fighting

You can try to quench a fire as a full-round action, using airtight materials like a heavy blanket or cloak. Extinguishing a fire has a DC equal to the save DC of the effect that started the fire (DC 15 for most mundane fires). Extinguishing a burning square increases the DC by one for each round the square has been burning, up to a maximum DC of 25.

Fire Starting

You can cause an object or a square of construction to burn as a full-round action. The Disable Device DC of this is 5 times the hardness of the object. Using a fire spell or alchemist fire gives a +10 bonus on this check. A burning object or square takes 1d6 damage per round (ignoring hardness) and such a fire might spread if the result of the damage roll is greater or equal to the hardness of the materials in an adjacent square. Creatures that end their turn in a burning square take 1d6 fire damage and must make a Reflex save (DC 15) or catch on fire. Larger fires cause more damage.

Hurdle Making

While moving through an area with a lot of potential hazards, such as a marketplace, workshop, or warehouse, you can topple objects to create hazardous ground behind you as a standard action. Creatures moving through the area adjacent to where you moved while using this ability must make an Acrobatics check to cross narrow surfaces/uneven ground to move safely. See the Acrobatics skill for details. Make a Disable Device check and halve the result; this is the DC of the Acrobatics check. You can use this in areas with only the occasional object, such as a typical dungeon, at a -10 penalty.

Intrusion Alarm

As a standard action you can set an innocuous object to act as an intruder alert on a door or other closed opening. This can be a strand of hair, some grains of sand, or other ubiquitous object. This is a trap with a Perception and Disable Device DC equal to the result of your skill check. The only result of triggering this trap is that you can later see that someone passed by. You can take 10 and 20 on this check, and you can use it unobtrusively with a Sleight of Hand skill check.

Jury-Rig

Disable Device can be used to create shoddy, temporary versions of mundane items. Spend an hour and make a Disable Device check, the difficulty is the value of the item in gold pieces. A jury-rigged item has the broken condition and the fragile property; on any d20 roll of 1 involving the item it breaks and becomes useless. Jury-rigged items must be used within 8 hours or they fall apart, and have no resale value. If you have a destroyed item to work with, the Disable Device check gains a +10 bonus while lack of any suitable materials imposes a -10 penalty.

Search

Disable Device can be used to search the immediate area. As a move action, you can make what is effectively a Perception check against hidden things in your space and all adjacent squares, using your Disable Device skill bonus instead of your Perception skill bonus.

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