Skills

## Skills and Proficiency Bonus

Skills represent a set of tasks which your Character is experienced in and may have a particular talent for performing.

Some features may grant your Character "Proficiency" in a given task. When you have Proficiency in a Skill and are required to perform a Check involving that Skill (a "Skill Check") you are able to add your Proficiency Bonus to that Check, representing the better odds of your success due to your experience.

Your Proficiency Bonus begins at "2" and will increase as your Character gains experience, representing the tendency for them to improve in all their Skills over time. The progression of your Proficiency Bonus with your Character Level is presented below, and may also be found on the Archetype Feature Tables for ease of reference:

Proficiency Bonus with Character Level
Level
 5-8
 9-12
 13-16
 17-20

## The Eight Skills

There are Eight Skills your Character may be "Proficient" in, each of which cover a broad range of interrelated tasks: Athletics, Social, Creativity, Lore, Medical, Trickery, Survival, Technology.

Below we define each Skill, the Ability Scores they are typically paired with (see Skill Checks), and summarize the activities commonly associated with those Skills.

 Athletics

 Social

 Creativity

 Trickery
 Lore

 Medical

 Survival

 Technology

Example Activities: Alchemy, Lock Picking, Carpentry, Blacksmithing, Fletching, Mechanics, Siege Weapons, Disarming Traps

## Skill Checks

Skill Checks are a form of Check which is called for when a Character is either attempting to interact with the world and it's Characters or attempting to gather information about them, and the outcome of this course of Action is uncertain. They are among the most common Checks you will make within the game.

When calling for a Skill Check, the GM will determine which Skill and which Ability is relevant for the course of action a Character is attempting, as well as the DC (Difficulty Challenge) of the Check.

For example, in response to a Player attempting to persuade a doorman to allow them entry to a restricted area, the GM may ask them to make a "Charisma Social Check". At the GM's discretion they may also declare openly what the Target DC is (e.g. the doorman is very vigiliant, and will require a DC 15 to get past)

In response to this the Player will roll a Check to attempt to meet or exceed the DC set by the GM by rolling a d20 and adding to this their Ability Modifier and, if they are proficient in the Skill requested, their Proficiency Bonus.

In the example presented above, the Player Character may have a Charisma Modifier of +1 and are Proficient in the Social Skill, allowing them to also add their Proficiency Bonus of +2, giving them a total modifier to the Result of +3. They roll a d20 and the result is a "12", which in addition to their Charisma Ability Modifier and Proficiency Bonus means they have reached a total score of "15". As they have met the DC of the Skill Check they have Succeeded on the Check!

* Skill Check Result = d20 roll + Ability Modifier + Proficiency Bonus (if the Character is Proficient in that Skill)

## Skill Check Performance

In addition to determining whether a Player has Succeeded or Failed at a course of action, a Skill Check determines how well they have "Performed".

To determine this, the Player need only consider the result on the d20 used for the Check.

If the number on the d20 used for to determine the Result of the Skill Check is less than 10, then their performance was considered "Weak".

If the number on the d20 was between 10 and 14, their performance is considered "Mid".

If the number on the d20 was 15 or higher, their performance is considered "Strong".

Determining the Performance of a Skill Check
 Mid
 Strong

A Character's Performance of a Skill Check may at the DM's discretion cause an additional benefit or detriment to arise as a result of the Character Failing or Succeeding at the Skill Check.

#### The Weak Bridge Example

For Example, a group of five Character's are attempting to cross a partially damaged bridge. The DC to make the crossing safely without falling is a 10.

The first Character attempting to cross the bridge passes the Skill Check, and rolled a 17 on the d20 meaning they had a strong result. In response to this the GM might say in addition to crossing safely, the Character has identified the safest route across for their allies, giving their allies Advantage on their Skill Checks to follow them across.

The second Player crossing the bridge passes the Skill Check, rolling a 1 and a 13 on their two d20s. As they have Advantage they use the result of 13, achieving a Mid Result and the GM does not declare any additional benefit or detriment.

The third Player crossing the bridge passes the Skill Check, but rolled a 5 and a 9 on their two d20s (their Ability and Skill Modifier's allowed them to achieve over a DC 10). This is a Weak Result, and so while they have crossed the bridge the GM might say the bridge has become more damaged with this Character's crossing. Players following no longer have Advantage on their Checks to cross the bridge.

The fourth Player crossing the bridge rolls a 5 on their d20, they fail the Skill Check and the Result was Weak. Not only does the Player's Character fall, but the GM might say the bridge becomes even more damaged, increasing the DC to cross safely to a 20.

The fifth Player crossing the bridge rolls a 17 on their d20, but they do not have sufficient modifiers to their Skill Check to meet or beat the higher DC of the Check. This means they had a Strong Result, and the GM might say as they are falling from the bridge they are able to grab the ledge. They have made progress across, but they must now make a Skill Check to prevent themselves loosing their grip.

As we can see: what begun as a simple bridge crossing has due to the benefits and detriments caused by the Performance of the Skill Checks led to a dynamic scene of rising and falling tensions.

## Degrees of Success

In some cases the Result of a Skill Check is not a binary "Success" or "Fail", but instead the outcomes may be progressively better depending on the result.

This is most common case for this is when a Character is attempting to learn information about the world around them.

For example, a Character observing a creature might make an Intelligence Lore Check to recall information about the creature.

On a Result of 5 or higher the Character may recognize whether the creature is an a wild animal or some form of monster.

On a 10 or higher they may be able to recall whether this creature poses a significant danger to them.

On a 15 or higher and they may also recall the name of the creature and any special abilities they should be aware of.

On A 20 or higher and they may also have some additional understanding of this specific creature, such that it is a female of it's kind and is likely to have offspring it is currently hunting for.

In cases where Degrees of Success are relevant the GM may disregard the Performance of the Skill Check and consider only the final Result.

## Using Alternative Skills or Abilities

Often more than one Ability Modifier or Skill could be relevant to a given course of Action.

For example, a Player Character is attempting to climb a tree. Clearly the Skill required to successfully climb a tree requires a Character be Athletic, however the GM may offer the Player the option of using either their Strength or their Dexterity Ability as both may be relevant when climbing a tree. i.e. having the raw Strength required to climb and the ability to balance and move carefully up the branches. "Make an Athletics Check, using either your Strength or your Dexterity".

If the same Player Character in had a Strength Modifier or +1 but a Dexterity Ability Modifier of +3, then the would likely opt to make the Check using their Dexterity Modifier, relying more on this Ability when climbing a tree.

Similarly for some Checks it may be possible to utilize more than one Skill for the Check.

For example, a Character creating a disguise could potentially use either their Creativity Skill or their Trickery Skill. Creativity would reflect their ability to craft something well while Trickery would reflect their ability to mislead others. However in either case they are crafting something with care and precision, therefore they will need to use their Dexterity Modifier for the roll. In this case, the GM may request a Dexterity Creativity or Dexterity Trickery Check be made. The Character may not be Proficient in Creativity, but they may be Proficient in Trickery. Therefore the Player Character would likely choose to use the Trickery Skill in order to add their Proficiency Bonus to the Result of the roll.

The ability to use more than one Ability or Skill to attempt a course of action provides Players the option to approach a task in a manner true to how their Character is likely to approach it, as well as provides more opportunities for Characters of varying capabilities to contribute to a given task.

### Players Requesting an Alternative Skill or Ability Modifier

In the examples presented above, the GM declares whether more than one Ability or Skill may be applied to a certain course of Action, however a Player may also instigate a change in Ability or Skill.

In the tree climbing example presented earlier, the GM may have only called for a Strength Athletics Skill Check. The Player whose Character has a higher Dexterity Modifier than Strength Modifier may wish to ask if they could use their Dexterity instead of Strength. At the GM's discretion, they may allow the player to use their Dexterity modifier instead, however they may also feel that Dexterity would not be helpful in this course of Action.

Similarly in the disguise making example the Player may be the one to suggest using a different Skill in making the disguise, and the GM will arbitrate whether they feel the use of a different skill is permissible.

We encourage GMs to be open to the idea of allowing Characters to use different Skills or Abilities for Skill Checks, however they are the ultimate arbitrator of deciding what is required of a particular course of action. Conversations regarding what Skills or Abilities should be used are intended to be brief exchanges where the Player immediately gives way to the GMs decision, not heated debates where the Player attempts to convince the GM to change their mind!

We discuss further how a GM will call for a specific Skill Check within the Exploration and Roleplay section and guidance for these Checks here.