The Complete Skill Guide for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition

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Learn what your character's skills do and when to use them in-game
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It’s time to choose a skill proficiency for your player character in D&D—but what does each skill mean? And which ones should you pick? With 18 different skills, from Athletics to Arcana, Stealth, or Persuasion, there’s a lot to consider, especially if you want your character to be useful in a wide range of situations! In this article, we’ll go over each skill and how they work, plus outline which classes are best suited for each skill. Read on for a complete guide to skills and the mechanics of skill checks in D&D 5e.

Things You Should Know

  • Skills represent a specific aspect of the 6 ability scores. Each skill measures a character’s ability to perform different tasks.
  • Players must make skill checks that determine whether they complete a task or action successfully by rolling a d20 and adding their ability score modifier.
  • PCs can also team up to help one another on skill checks or make group checks in which the entire party rolls checks and succeeds (or fails) collectively.
Section 1 of 5:

What are skills in D&D 5e?

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  1. Every skill in D&D 5e covers a specific aspect of one of the game’s 6 ability scores: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom, Charisma, and Intelligence. PCs (player characters) can be proficient in skills, meaning they have special mastery over that aspect of an ability score. [1]
    • For example, since Intelligence measures a PC’s knowledge of different topics, associated skills include History and Arcana. See a complete list of skills and associated ability scores:
    • Strength: Athletics
    • Dexterity: Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth
    • Intelligence: Arcana, History, Investigation, Nature, and Religion
    • Wisdom: Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Perception, and Survival
    • Charisma: Deception, Intimidation, Performance, and Persuasion
  2. When the DM asks for a skill check, that means rolling a d20 and adding your character’s corresponding ability score modifier (and proficiency bonus, if applicable) to the result. When a skill check passes, it means your PC completes their task successfully. When it fails, it means your PC doesn’t complete their task. [2]
    • For example, if your PC makes a Charisma (Persuasion) check, you’d need to roll a d20 and add their Charisma modifier to the tell, since Persuasion is an aspect of the Charisma ability score.
    • If the DC (difficulty class) was 10, that means you’d need to make a Charisma (Persuasion) check of 10 or higher to pass and use the Persuasion skill successfully.
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Section 2 of 5:

Skill Guide

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  1. Athletics covers situations involving strenuous, Strength-based physical activities like climbing, jumping, and swimming. Your PC’s Athletics skill bonus affects how physically fit they are. You might use Strength (Athletics) to climb a sheer cliff or dangerous wall, jump a long distance, or swim in stormy waters. [3]
    • Ability score: Strength
    • Ideal for: Fighters, paladins and barbarians
    • Is it useful? Athletics is useful for melee fighters who want to grapple (grab and restrict) enemies in combat and navigate difficult terrain.
  2. Acrobatics applies to your PC’s attempts to stay on their feet in treacherous situations, like balancing on a tightrope or running across ice. It also covers acrobatic stunts, like dives, rolls, and flips. [4]
    • Ability score: Dexterity
    • Ideal for: Rogues, monks, and rangers
    • Is it useful? It’s useful for Dexterity-based PCs like monks, rogues, and rangers. While the skill is more limited than Athletics, situations that require Dexterity (Acrobatics) rolls tend to have high stakes.
  3. Sleight of Hand covers acts of physical trickery—doing things so subtly that creatures in the area don’t notice. This includes stealing something, picking someone’s pockets, or planting an object on someone. It can also cover any action requiring a fast hand movement—like reaching into a mechanism or casting a somatic spell unnoticed. [5]
    • Ability score: Dexterity
    • Ideal for: Rogues
    • Is it useful? It’s useful and most often utilized by rogues, who tend to do most of the stealing, lockpicking, and trap-disarming for the party.
  4. Stealth checks cover your PC’s attempts to conceal themselves from enemies, slip past unsuspecting creatures (or slip away without getting caught), and sneak up on creatures without being seen or heard. [6]
    • Ability score: Dexterity
    • Ideal for: Rogues
    • Is it useful? Yes. Every PC can benefit from Stealth, which is a vital skill for any situation that involves avoiding combat by covertly leaving the area.
  5. Arcana is a skill that measures a PC’s ability to remember obscure lore about spells, magic items and traditions, and different planes of existence (as well as how they work). For example, you might roll an Intelligence (Arcana) check to analyze a magic item’s properties. [7]
    • Ability score: Intelligence
    • Ideal for: Wizards, sorcerers, and warlocks
    • Is it useful? It’s fairly niche but comes in handy for characters with a high Intelligence score. There may be specific situations where it's useful, like remembering the specifics of an arcane ritual.
  6. History checks determine a PC’s ability to remember lore related to historical events, ancient or lost civilizations, legendary heroes or figures of note, and significant wars or battles. It’s useful for learning more about the world a campaign is set in. [8]
    • Ability score: Intelligence
    • Ideal for: Wizards and artificers
    • Is it useful? It can be selectively helpful but isn’t as necessary as other skills because there are often other ways to discover essential lore in a campaign.
  7. Investigation is all about finding clues and making deductions. It applies to situations where you might try to look for hidden objects or doorways, search for information in a pile of books, tell what kind of weapon was used to kill a creature or find the weak point in a structure so you can make it collapse. It can also help you figure out how things work. [9]
    • Ability score: Intelligence
    • Ideal for: Wizards, rogues, and rangers
    • Is it useful? Investigation can be very useful, but it can also overlap with other skills like perception and even Arcana or Nature, depending on the situation.
  8. Nature checks measure a PC’s ability to remember lore about different kinds of terrain (woodlands, tundras, oceans, and so on), as well as plants and animals, weather, and all different kinds of natural cycles. [10]
    • Ability score: Intelligence
    • Ideal for: Rangers and druids
    • Is it useful? Nature can be very useful if your party spends a lot of time outdoors or fights animals and plant creatures, but tends to become less important as campaigns move to more difficult enemies.
  9. Religion measures a character’s knowledge of deities (gods), religious rites and prayers, holy symbols, and the beliefs of underground cults and secret societies. For example, you might use it to recall lore about a deity’s values or identify an ancient holy symbol. [11]
    • Ability score: Intelligence
    • Ideal for: Clerics and warlocks
    • Is it useful? Religion is mainly only significant if the campaign involves a church or deity of some kind. Otherwise, it’s a pretty situational skill.
  10. Animal Handling covers a PC’s ability to domesticate animals, prevent them from getting spooked, or discern an animal's intentions based on its behavior. [12]
    • Ability score: Wisdom
    • Ideal for: Rangers and druids
    • Is it useful? It tends to only be useful in specific situations (like calming spooked animals). However, it’s not often used, especially as campaigns progress.
  11. Insight measures a PC’s ability to determine another creature’s true intentions, as well as detect lies and predict the creature’s next moves. PCs use body language, speech patterns, and mannerisms to form their insights. [13]
    • Ability score: Wisdom
    • Ideal for: Bards and rogues
    • Is it useful? Yes, Insight is very useful in social situations throughout a campaign because it can help PCs read the emotions of people around them and figure out what to do or say in a conversation.
  12. Medicine checks primarily allow PCs to stabilize dying companions or allies. They can also diagnose illnesses and recognize different types of injuries. [14]
    • Ability score: Wisdom
    • Ideal for: Clerics and rangers
    • Is it useful? Medicine isn’t often useful because healing spells and potions make it redundant. However, it can still be used to stabilize fallen allies when you don’t have any other quick fixes.
  13. Perception is a skill that measures a PC’s awareness of their surrounding, as well as the sharpness of their senses. With Perception, PCs can detect the presence of something hidden, spot ambushes, eavesdrop on conversations, or hear enemies attempting to move around silently. [15]
    • Ability score: Wisdom
    • Ideal for: Rangers and rogues
    • Is it useful? Yes. Perception is arguably one of the most commonly used skills in D&D 5e and can help PCs gain vital information. It also prevents surprise attacks and can tip PCs off to incoming danger.
  14. Survival measures a PC’s ability to navigate and survive in the wilderness. You might use Survival to follow a creature’s tracks, hunt game and forage for food, guide other PCs through difficult terrain, spot signs of creatures living nearby, or avoid natural hazards (like landslides, quicksand, or corrosive marshes). [16]
    • Ability score: Wisdom
    • Ideal for: Rangers and druids
    • Is it useful? Survival is situationally useful. Out in the wilds, it might be used often—but in urban environments or dungeons, it might not be.
  15. Deception determines a PC’s ability to hide the truth convincingly, whether they’re just trying to be ambiguous, misleading someone, or outright lying about something. For example, you might use the skill to con someone, cheat while gambling, successfully wear a disguise, or keep a straight face while lying to someone. [17]
    • Ability score: Charisma
    • Ideal for: Bards, rogues, and warlocks
    • Is it useful? Yes. Deception can apply in any social situation in D&D where PCs don’t want to reveal the whole truth, so it’s often useful.
  16. Intimidation covers a PC’s attempts to coerce creatures using threats, hostility, and even physical violence. For example, you might use it when holding a sword to a bandit’s throat and telling them to reveal where their loot is hidden or ordering a prisoner to give up valuable information. [18]
    • Ability score: Charisma
    • Ideal for: Barbarians
    • Is it useful? Intimidation is useful but risky. Unsuccessful Intimidation rolls can anger other creatures and even start fights, which is why it’s a good option when persuasion fails.
  17. Performance determines your PC’s ability to put on a show using music, dance, storytelling, acting, and similar forms of entertainment. For example, you might use Performance to delight an audience at a tavern with your PC’s flute mastery (and earn coin) or create a distraction with an over-the-top speech. [19]
    • Ability score: Charisma
    • Ideal for: Bards
    • Is it useful? Performance can be useful but is rarely a skill the DM will ask players to roll for. Rather, players can decide to solve a problem or make extra money using Performance.
  18. Persuasion measures a PC’s ability to influence other people using tact, eloquence, good manners, or sincerity. You might use Persuasion to ask for a favor or convince people to agree with your PC. For example, Persuasion can sway enemy factions to agree on a peace treaty—or get a noble to pay the party extra money for completing a job. [20]
    • Ability score: Charisma
    • Ideal for: Bards, warlocks, and sorcerers
    • Is it useful? Yes. Along with Perception, Persuasion is a common roll in 5e and can be used in a wide range of social situations.
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Section 3 of 5:

Can you combine different skills and ability scores?

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  1. Typically, when your PC is proficient in a certain skill, you can only apply a proficiency bonus to corresponding ability checks. For example, if you made a Charisma (Persuasion) check and your PC was proficient in Persuasion, you’d get the bonus. However, in certain situations, the DM might determine that you can still use a skill and proficiency bonus when the ability check is different. [21]
    • For example, say your PC was swimming across a wide river with a heavy current.
    • In that case, the DM might have you roll a Constitution check to see if your PC can make it across but allow you to use your Athletics proficiency bonus (even though it’s normally only applied to Strength checks).
    • Since the ability to swim is covered by Athletics, but Constitution measures endurance, it would be reasonable to allow a Constitution (Athletics) roll.
Section 4 of 5:

What are passive checks?

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  1. They’re used to determine whether PCs can passively succeed at something without trying (like spotting a hidden assassin or ambush). They also represent the average result for tasks that are done repeatedly, like searching for secret passages. [22]
    • The most common passive checks in D&D 5e use the Perception, Investigation, and Insight skills.
    • Calculating a passive check is simple; the formula is 10 + all modifiers that normally apply to the check (like the ability score modifier and proficiency bonus).
    • So, for example, if your PC had a +3 proficiency bonus to their Perception skill and a +4 wisdom modifier, their passive Perception would be 17.
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Section 5 of 5:

Working Together on Skill Checks

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  1. Skills aren’t something PCs have to use during solo endeavors; when they team up, one PC leads the effort while the others “help,” giving the leading PC advantage on their skill check. When you get advantage, that means you can roll two d20s and take the higher result, making you more likely to succeed on a check. [23]
    • However, PCs can only team up and help one another on skill checks if the task at hand is something they could reasonably do on their own.
    • For example, a character without proficiency in Arcana probably wouldn’t be able to help the party’s wizard decipher a mysterious arcane symbol.
    • Multiple PCs can also only team up when doing so would be helpful in some way. If there’s no practical benefit of having multiple people work on a task, only one PC can make the check.
  2. Group checks are rare, but they measure the party’s success as a whole rather than individually. If at least half the party rolls a successful skill check, the entire party succeeds in whatever they’re trying to do. If not, they collectively fail. [24]
    • This can be tricky if some characters aren’t proficient in a certain skill—but, fortunately, skilled PCs with higher checks can make up for their comrades’ lack of ability.
    • For example, the DM might ask for a group Dexterity (Stealth) check if the entire party is trying to sneak through an area.
    • If the DC (difficulty class) for the check is 15 and at least half the players roll at least a 15, the party would successfully avoid detection. If half the players rolled under a 15, the party might be discovered by enemies.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://5thsrd.org/rules/abilities/ability_checks/
      2. ↑ https://5thsrd.org/rules/abilities/ability_checks/
      3. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf
      4. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf
      5. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf
      6. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf
      7. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf
      8. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf
      9. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf
      1. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf
      2. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf
      3. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf
      4. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf
      5. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf
      6. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf
      7. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf
      8. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf
      9. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf
      10. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf
      11. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf
      12. ↑ https://5thsrd.org/rules/abilities/ability_checks/
      13. ↑ https://blackcitadelrpg.com/skill-checks-5e/
      14. ↑ https://blackcitadelrpg.com/skill-checks-5e/
      15. ↑ https://blackcitadelrpg.com/skill-checks-5e/

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