Montage Tests in D&D 5e

This is my own 5e adaptation, inspired by Draw Steel! by MCDM. The natural 1 and natural 20 convention below is a house rule for these montage checks.

As I’ve mentioned before, me and my friends recently started playing a biweekly game of Draw Steel! (one week Draw Steel!, the other week D&D 5e). Draw Steel! is the first TTRPG I’ve played outside of 5e (not counting the half hour of Old School Essentials I played at a convention), and it’s honestly been a really fun way to notice solutions to some of 5e’s weak spots. I already adapted Draw Steel!’s negotiation system for 5e… and this week I prepped a scene using Draw Steel!’s montage test idea.

Here’s how I adapted it for D&D 5e

Draw Steel Montage → Simple 5e Adaptation

This is my “drop it into any session” version of montage tests for D&D 5e — no tiered rolls, but still that Draw Steel vibe where:

• everyone gets a moment (“a shot”)
• creativity matters
• the montage ends in a clear outcome: Success / Partial / Failure

What I keep (the Draw Steel vibe)

• Everyone contributes (spotlight for each player)
• Creative solutions count
• A montage ends with a clean outcome: Success / Partial / Failure

What I change (to fit 5e)

• Draw Steel often uses tiered results per roll
• In this 5e version, every roll is simply success/failure
• The “tiers” live in the overall thresholds at the end

Step 1) Pick a fixed number of “slots” (checks)

A montage has a fixed number of slots.

• Recommendation: at least 1 slot per player so everyone gets a turn.
• You can do more (like 2 rounds) as long as everyone gets at least one moment.

Example: 5 players, 1 round → 5 slots

Step 2) Set the DC (simple and flexible)

Base DC 15

Then shift it based on approach:

• smart plan / prep / good tools → DC 13
• sloppy / loud / risky approach → DC 17–18

Nat 20 = success, Nat 1 = fail (but no instant “win the whole montage” or “lose the whole montage”) Before anyone rolls, have players describe what they’re actually doing in the montage. Then, together, pick the most fitting ability check — and if a player suggests a different skill than you expected (Acrobatics vs. Athletics, for example), let them pitch why it fits. Anti-spam rule: Don’t repeat the exact same approach in the same montage. Players can use the same skill more than once, but each roll needs a distinct action/idea in the fiction — and if someone wants to use a different skill than expected, they should explain how it applies.

Step 3) Assist (my little twist)

A player can use their slot to Assist instead of rolling:

• The assisted player gets advantage (if it makes sense in the fiction)
• The assist slot counts as neither a success nor a failure
• But it does consume a slot

Important detail: Thresholds stay based on the total number of slots, not the number of rolls.

So Assist is a real choice:

• less risk of a fail
• but also fewer chances to hit “max successes”

Thresholds: Success / Partial / Failure

Before the montage starts, decide:

• Total slots (example: 5)
• Success threshold
• Partial threshold
• Failure threshold

Default example (5 slots)

• Success: 4–5 successes
• Partial: 2–3 successes
• Failure: 0–1 success

Quick difficulty presets (for 5 slots)

Easy

• Success: 3–5
• Partial: 2
• Failure: 0–1

Standard

• Success: 4–5
• Partial: 2–3
• Failure: 0–1

Hard

• Success: 5
• Partial: 3–4
• Failure: 0–2

This is your “difficulty slider.” You don’t need perfect math — you need the feel.

Step 4) Write the outcomes (what does the party get?)

For every montage, I prep 3 short outcomes:

• Success: they get what they want, cleanly
• Partial: they get it, but with a clear cost/condition/complication
• Failure: escalation — usually into a scene/encounter

Example Montage: The Hanging Hive (1 round)

Premise: A massive beehive hangs high in a tree, dripping with golden honey.

Setup

• 5 players → 5 slots
• Base DC 15 (13 if clever, 17–18 if reckless)
• Nat 20 = success, nat 1 = fail

“Fiction pressure” beats (to keep it cinematic)

• 15–30 ft: slick moss → tricky climbing
• 30–50 ft: a sleeping vulture nearby → noise risk
• 50+ ft: wind + swaying branches
• canopy: angry bees + hive management
• descent: hands full of honey = extra danger

Thresholds (Standard)

• Success: 4–5 successes
• Partial: 2–3 successes
• Failure: 0–1 success

Outcomes

• Success: they get the honey without major trouble
• Partial: they get the honey, but get stung badly → Poisoned until end of the day
• Failure: it goes wrong → escalation into an encounter (Treant attacks)

Why I like this in 5e

It solves a few common 5e pacing problems:

• keeps everyone involved
• turns “skill stuff” into a shared cinematic moment
• gives you clean narrative outputs without a 20-minute rules debate