Disarming traps and picking locks seems like part of D&D that should be more interesting.

To disarm a trap or pick a lock, you need to roll exactly 20 (a play on the French name for blackjack, 21 or “vingt-et-un”, pronounced “vant-ay-u[n]”). Roll as many d6s as you like and add points from your proficiency bonus. (If your proficiency bonus is 2, you can give yourself anywhere from 0 to +2.) Each time you roll, you spend one round. If your rolls add up to more than 20, you go bust and have to start over.

If you go bust twice, you fail.

This mini-game could also be useful for other things, like some kind of activity in a city between adventures that you’d probably succeed at but where the attempts are important.

Example 1

You have a proficiency bonus of 2. You choose to roll 5d6 and get 11. 11 plus 2 is only 13, so you need to roll again. Now you get a 5, and 11 plus 5 is 16, plus 2 is still just 18. You now roll a seventh d6 and get a 3, and 16 plus 3 is 19; add 1 from your proficiency bonus for 20. You did it in three rounds.

Example 2

You have a proficiency bonus of 3. You choose to roll 6d6 and get 16. 16 plus 3 is only 19, so you need to roll again. Now you get a 6, and 16 plus 6 is 22, so you go bust. You start over, rolling 5d6, and get 16 again. You roll 1d6 and get 3, and 16 plus 3 is 19; add +1 from your proficiency bonus for 20. You did it in four rounds.