In a game based on 5e with a major relic story plot item being a glorified d20 (Shadowheart's Mysterious Box), it really makes sense to stay true to actual 5e rules. Nat 20 is ONLY automatic hit in combat. Nat 1 is ONLY auto miss in combat.
Outside of combat, it makes sense to have some rolls you simply can't fail and some you simply cannot succeed in. The game design makes it so DMs can set a difficulty that is simply impossible for a character to succeed in and ones that are simply impossible for a character to fail.
Example:. There is a lock that an Expert Lockpicker should not be able to fail in picking. DC is 8. Lockpicker had +4 Expert Prof+3 Dex. Roll is 1 or higher. Can't fail. Don't need to roll. The lock is so simple, even a non-proficient person can pretty easily succeed. Surely, a lock so easy would be utterly humiliating for such a Lockpicker to fail.
But, on the flip side, a truly expert lock should not in any way be able to be picked by someone who is NOT an expert. Joe shmoe cleric with 0 skill shouldn't even get a 1 in 20 chance to succeed in picking a lock on a highly secure bank vault. Like Fuji said, there should be a, "Sorry. This lock is beyond your skill." message. That's the whole point in Proficiency and Expertise. They not only increase a character's chances of succeeding, giving them a boost above other characters, but it allows DMs the ability to set DCs in ways so that if a character has no training in something, it is completely impossible for them to succeed.
This is why we keep pushing for Expertise so much. It's REALLY killing the Rogue class, and it'll kill the Bard too. Something as simple to implement as Expertise... I just can't understand why they haven't done it.
