Skill and Ability checks

An skill or ability check tests a character’s or monster’s innate talent and training in an effort to overcome a challenge. The GM calls for an ability check when a character or monster attempts an action (other than an attack) that has a chance of failure. When the outcome is uncertain, the dice determine the results.

For every task the GM decides which of tskill is relevant to the task at hand and the difficulty of the task, represented by a Difficulty Class. The more difficult a task, the higher its DC. The Typical Difficulty Classes table shows the most common DCs.

To make a skill check, roll a d20 and add the relevant skill modifier. As with other d20 rolls, apply bonuses and penalties, and compare the total to the DC. If the total equals or exceeds the DC, the ability check is a success—the creature overcomes the challenge at hand. Otherwise, it’s a failure, which means the character or monster makes no progress toward the objective or makes progress combined with a setback determined by the GM.

**Typical Difficulty Classes**

 Easy
 Medium
 Hard
 Very Hard
 Nearly impossible

### **Ability checks**

In some cases there will be no relevant skill to roll against. In this case the DM might call for an ability check. In these instances a check is rolled using only the stat modifiyer of the relevant stat, no proficiency modifiers. Also, in some cases where lack of training might not be a hinderance, but proficiency in a skill might be of advantage, in these cases the DM might call for an ability check or a skill check. In this case, the roll is modified by which ever bonus is the higher of the two.

#### **Strength**

Strength measures bodily power, athletic training, and the extent to which you can exert raw physical force.

A Strength check can model any attempt to lift, push, pull, or break something, to force your body through a space, or to otherwise apply brute force to a situation.

Strength checks may be called for when you try to accomplish tasks like the following:

* Force open a stuck, locked, or barred door
* Break free of bonds
* Push through a tunnel that is too small
* Hang on to a wagon while being dragged behind it
* Tip over a statue
* Keep a boulder from rolling

#### **Dexterity**

Dexterity measures agility, reflexes, and balance.

Dexterity Checks A Dexterity check can model any attempt to move nimbly, quickly, or quietly, or to keep from falling on tricky footing.

The GM might call for a Dexterity check when you try to accomplish tasks like the following:

* Securely tie up a prisoner
* Wriggle free of bonds

#### **Constitution**

Constitution measures health, stamina, and vital force.

Constitution checks are uncommon, and no skills apply to Constitution checks, because the endurance this ability represents is largely passive rather than involving a specific effort on the part of a character or monster. A Constitution check can model your attempt to push beyond normal limits, however.

The GM might call for a Constitution check when you try to accomplish tasks like the following:

* Hold your breath
* March or labor for hours without rest
* Go without sleep
* Survive without food or water
* Quaff an entire stein of ale in one go

#### **Intelligence**

 Intelligence measures mental acuity, accuracy of recall, and the ability to reason.

An Intelligence check comes into play when you need to draw on logic, education, memory, or deductive reasoning.

The GM might call for an Intelligence check when you try to accomplish tasks like the following:

* Communicate with a creature without using words
* Estimate the value of a precious item
* Pull together a disguise to pass as a city guard
* Forge a document
* Recall lore about a craft or trade
* Win a game of skill

#### **Wisdom**

Wisdom reflects how attuned you are to the world around you and represents perceptiveness and intuition.

A Wisdom check might reflect an effort to read body language, understand someone’s feelings, notice things about the environment, or care for an injured person.

The GM might call for a Wisdom check when you try to accomplish tasks like the following:

* Get a gut feeling about what course of action to follow
* Discern whether a seemingly dead or living creature is undead

#### **Charisma**

Charisma measures your ability to interact effectively with others. It includes such factors as confidence and eloquence, and it can represent a charming or commanding personality.

A Charisma check might arise when you try to influence or entertain others, when you try to make an impression or tell a convincing lie, or when you are navigating a tricky social situation.

The GM might call for a Charisma check when you try to accomplish tasks like the following:

* • Find the best person to talk to for news, rumors, and gossip
* • Blend into a crowd to get the sense of key topics of conversation

### **Contests**

Sometimes one character’s or monster’s efforts are directly opposed to another’s. This can occur when both of them are trying to do the same thing and only one can succeed, such as attempting to snatch up a magic ring that has fallen on the floor. This situation also applies when one of them is trying to prevent the other one from accomplishing a goal— for example, when a monster tries to force open a door that an adventurer is holding closed. In situations like these, the outcome is determined by a special form of skill or ability check, called a contest.

Both participants in a contest make a skill (or ability) check appropriate to their efforts. They apply all appropriate bonuses and penalties, but instead of comparing the total to a DC, they compare the totals of their two checks. The participant with the higher check total wins the contest. That character or monster either succeeds at the action or prevents the other one from succeeding.

If the contest results in a tie, the situation remains the same as it was before the contest. Thus, one contestant might win the contest by default. If two characters tie in a contest to snatch a ring off the floor, neither character grabs it. In a contest between a monster trying to open a door and an adventurer trying to keep the door closed, a tie means that the door remains shut.

### **Passive Checks**

A passive check is a special kind of ability check that doesn’t involve any die rolls. Such a check can represent the average result for a task done repeatedly, such as searching for secret doors over and over again, or can be used when the GM wants to secretly determine whether the characters succeed at something without rolling dice, such as noticing a hidden monster.

Here’s how to determine a character’s total for a passive check:

* **10** + all modifiers that normally apply to the check

If the character has advantage on the check, add 5. For disadvantage, subtract 5. The game refers to a passive check total as a **score**.

For example, if a 1st-level character has a Wisdom of 15 and **high** proficiency in Perception, he or she has a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 14.

### **Working Together**

Sometimes two or more characters team up to attempt a task. The character who’s leading the effort—or the one with the highest ability modifier—can make an ability check with advantage, reflecting the help provided by the other characters. In combat, this requires the Help action.

A character can only provide help if the task is one that he or she could attempt alone. For example, trying to open a lock requires proficiency with thieves’ tools, so a character who lacks that proficiency can’t help another character in that task. Moreover, a character can help only when two or more individuals working together would actually be productive. Some tasks, such as threading a needle, are no easier with help.

#### **Group Checks**

When a number of individuals are trying to accomplish something as a group, the GM might ask for a group ability check. In such a situation, the characters who are skilled at a particular task help cover those who aren’t.

To make a group ability check, everyone in the group makes the ability check. If at least half the group succeeds, the whole group succeeds. Otherwise, the group fails.

Group checks don’t come up very often, and they’re most useful when all the characters succeed or fail as a group. For example, when adventurers are navigating a swamp, the GM might call for a group Wisdom (Survival) check to see if the characters can avoid the quicksand, sinkholes, and other natural hazards of the environment. If at least half the group succeeds, the successful characters are able to guide their companions out of danger. Otherwise, the group stumbles into one of these hazards.