Disable Device (Int; Trained Only)
Use this skill to disarm a trap, jam a lock (in either the open or closed position), or rig a wagon wheel to fall off. You can examine a fairly simple or fairly small mechanical device and disable it. The effort requires at least a simple tool of the appropriate sort (a pick, pry bar, saw, file, or the like). Attempting a Disable Device check without a set of thieves' tools imposes a -2 circumstance penalty on the check, even if a simple tool is employed. The use of masterwork thieves' tools provides a +2 circumstance bonus on the check.
Check: Your DM makes the Disable Device check for you secretly, so that you don't necessarily know whether you've succeeded. The DC depends on how tricky the device is. Disabling (or rigging or jamming) a fairly simple device has a DC of 10; more intricate and complex devices have higher DCs.
If the check succeeds, you disable the device. If it fails by 4 or less, you have failed but can try again. If you fail by 5 or more, something goes wrong. If the device is a trap, you spring it. If you're attempting some sort of sabotage, you think the device is disabled, but it still works normally.
You also can rig simple devices such as saddles or wagon wheels to work normally for a while and then fail or fall off some time later (usually after 1d4 rounds or minutes of use).
| Device | Time Disable | Device DC¹ | Example |
| Simple | 1 round | 10 | Jam a lock |
| Tricky | 1d4 rounds | 15 | Sabotage a wagon wheel |
| Difficult | 2d4 rounds | 20 | Disarm a trap, reset a trap |
| Wicked | 2d4 rounds | 25 | Disarm a complex trap, cleverly sabotage a clockwork device |
| ¹ If you attempt to leave behind no trace of your tampering, add 5 to the DC. | |||
Action: The amount of time needed to make a Disable Device check depends on the task, as noted above. Disabling a simple device takes 1 round and is a full-round action. An intricate or complex device requires 1d4 or 2d4 rounds.
Try Again: Varies. You can retry if you have missed the check by 4 or less, though you must be aware that you have failed in order to try again.
Special: if you have the Nimble Fingers feat, you get a +2 bonus. on Disable Device checks.
A rogue who beats a trap's DC by 10 or more can study the trap, figure out how it works, and bypass it (along with her companions) without disarming it.
Restriction: Rogues (and other characters with the trapfinding class feature) can disarm magic traps. A magic trap generally has a DC of 25 + the spell level of the magic used to create it. For instance, disarming a trap set by the casting of explosive runes has a DC of 28 because explosive runes is a 3rd-level spell.
The spells fire trap, glyph of warding, symbol, and teleportation circle also create traps that a rogue can disarm with a successful Disable Device check. Spike growth and spike stones, however, create magic traps against which Disable Device checks do not succeed. See the individual spell descriptions in Chapter 15: Spells, Player's Manual, for details.
Expanded Description - Complete Adventurer
You can reduce the amount of time it takes to disable a device or add a bypass element to an existing trap.
Bypass Trap: You try to incorporate a bypass element enabling you to avoid a trap's effects if you encounter it again later. Doing this imposes a -10 penalty on your Disable Device check. If you succeed, you can not only bypass a trap without disarming it (just as if you had beat the trap's DC by 10 or more-see page 72 of the Player's Handbook) but also add a bypass element allowing you or your companions to avoid triggering the trap again later. For example, you could insert a wedge that blocks the gears of a mechanical trap, or pick out a narrow path between the pressure plates that trigger poison darts from the wall.
Quick Disable: You can try to disable a device more quickly than normal. To reduce the time required to disable any device to a full-round action, add +20 to the DC. For example, a trap that normally requires a DC 20 check and 2d4 rounds to disarm could be disabled in 1 round with a successful DC 40 check.
Quickened Skill Checks - Dungeonscape
When making a Disable Device check, you can attempt to reduce the time required to a full-round action by adding 20 to the DC. For example, a trap that normally requires a successful DC 20 check and takes 2d4 rounds to disarm could be disabled in 1 round with a successful DC 40 check.