Skill Breakdown for 5th Edition D&D
Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, Skill DCs
| Strength |
|---|
| Lifting, pushing, pulling, breaking, forcing, brute force |
| Athletics |
Dangerous situations when climbing, jumping, or swimming.
- Avoid hazards while climbing
- Climb a sheer or slippery cliff
- Jump extra far or do a tricky stunt while jumping
- Climbing while something is trying to knock you off
- Swimming or keeping your head above water in strong currents, storms, or thick weeds
- Keeping your head above water while something else tries to pull you under or otherwise interfere
|
| Strength Check |
STR affects your carrying (STR mod x 15), pushing, dragging, or lifting max weight (2x carry), and your max jump height/distance
- Break out of bonds (ropes, manacles)
- Force open a door (stuck, locked, etc)
- Squeeze through a small space
- Push over something heavy
- Hang on while being dragged along
- Stop something heavy like a boulder or cart
|
| Dexterity |
|---|
| Move gracefully, quickly, quietly, or keep from falling on difficult footing |
| Acrobatics |
Stay on your feet in a dangerous situation
- Balance on tightrope
- Run on ice
- Perform stunts, dives, rolls, flips, and somersaults
- Keep balance on a stormy ship's deck
|
| Sleight of Hand |
Skillful hand use and manual trickery
- Pick someone elses pocket (coins, object, etc)
- Conceal an object on yourself
- Plant an object on someone
|
| Stealth |
Remain out of sight
- Slip away in a busy crowd
- Hide from enemies in shadows and behind objects
- Slip past some guards unnoticed
- Sneak up behind someone without being seen or heard
|
| Dexterity Check |
- Pick a lock
- Disable a trap
- Tie someone up
- Control a runaway cart
- Steer a vehicle around a tight turn
- Wriggle out of rope bonds
- Play a stringed instrument
- Craft a small or detailed object
|
| Constitution |
|---|
| Push yourself beyond your normal limits |
| Constitution Check |
- Hold your breath
- Travel or work for over 8 hours without rest
- Go without sleep
- Survive without food or water
- Chug an ale in one shot
|
| Intelligence |
|---|
| Logic, education, memory, deductive reasoning |
| Arcana |
Recall knowledge about spells, magic items, symbols, magic traditions, the planes of existence, and the creatures on the planes.
|
| History |
Recall knowledge about events, famous people, kingdoms, wars, and lost civilizations.
|
| Investigation |
Look for clues and make deductions.
- Deduce the location of a hidden object
- Determine the cause of a wound
- Find the weak point in a tunnel to collapse it
- Search through a scroll for hidden knowledge
|
| Nature |
Recall knowledge about terrain, plants, animals, the weather, and natural cycles.
|
| Religion |
Recall knowledge about deities, rites, prayers, religious hierarchies, holy symbols, and secret cults.
|
| Intelligence Check |
- Communicate without spoken words
- Estimate the value of something
- Make a disguise
- Forge a document
- Recall knowledge about a craft or trade
- Win at trivia
|
| Wisdom |
|---|
| Read body language, empathy, notice things around you, care for someone injured |
| Animal Handling |
Control or influence an animal
- Calm a domesticated animal
- Control a mount when spooked or during risky maneuver
- Understand an animal's intent
|
| Insight |
Determine a creature's true intent
- Tell if someone is lying
- Predict someone's next move
- Detect a change in movements, speech habits, and mannerisms
|
| Medicine |
Stabilize a dying creature or diagnose an illness
|
| Perception |
Spot, hear, or otherwise detect something
- Hear a conversation through a closed door
- Eavesdrop under a window
- Hear a creature moving stealthily
- Spot something obscured or easily missed
|
| Survival |
Do something difficult in nature
- Follow tracks
- Hunt wild game
- Guide a group through rough terrain
- Identify signs of an animal nearby
- Predict the weather
- Avoid quicksand or other hazards
- Build a campfire in the rain
|
| Wisdom Check |
- Get a gut feeling about a situation
- Determine if a creature is undead
|
| Charisma |
|---|
| Make friends and influence people |
| Deception |
Convincingly hide the truth
- Fast-talk a suspicious guard
- Con a merchant
- Trick the dealer when gambling
- Pass yourself off in a disguise
- Maintain a straight face and body language when telling a blatant lie
|
| Intimidation |
Influence through threats, hostile actions, and physical violence
- Pry information from a prisoner
- Convince thugs to back down from a mugging
- Use an improvised weapon to get someone to reconsider their choice
|
| Performance |
Delight an audience with music, dancing, acting, storytelling, or other entertainment.
- Sing a song well
- Dance on the table as a distraction
- Entertain bandits
|
| Persuasion |
Influence others with your social graces
- Act in good faith
- Foster friendships
- Make a civil request
- Exercise proper etiquette
- Convince a chamberlain to grant audience with the king
- Negotiating peace between warring tribes
- Inspire a crowd
|
| Charisma Check |
- Find a good source of news, rumors, or gossip
- Blend into a crowd and get a sense of key topics in conversations
|
| Difficulty Class |
|---|
| Task Difficulty | DC |
|---|
| Trivial | 5 |
| Easy | 10 |
| Moderate | 15 |
| Hard | 20 |
| Very Hard | 25 |
| Nearly Impossible | 30 |
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