D&D (2024) Picking Locks and Disarming Traps - Dex or Sleight of Hand?

[darjr]

Ah, yea the appendix.

Which will make this a little weird if the appendix in the next document removes that.

Still getting used to it.

 

[Reaper Steve]

Oh, I wasn't disagreeing. Your auto-correct just didn't make sense to me.

Oops, thanks. Fixed 'had' to 'add'... I hope that was it.

 

[DeviousQuail]

Since you get advantage with both the skill and tool, I think this is a way to boost Sleight of Hand. I do agree that they might want to consider renaming it, if this is the final version they go with.

I played a game recently that used Infiltration for things like lockpicking, trap disarming, and pickpocketing.

 

[Blue]

Probably this, because tool proficiencies are dumb and going away.

Curious, what makes you feel Wizards is removing tool proficiencies? Wouldn't they have taken the opportunity to do so before publishing this UA? Instead they are in both the classes and the Rules Glossary.

 

[Charlaquin]

Curious, what makes you feel Wizards is removing tool proficiencies? Wouldn't they have taken the opportunity to do so before publishing this UA? Instead they are in both the classes and the Rules Glossary.

Yeah they definitely don’t seem to be removing them, just trying to de-emphasize them as primarily a source of proficiency bonus and double down on them as a source of advantage on ability checks you have a relevant skill for. I’m not a fan, personally.

 

[Blue]

Does anything in 5E as it stands state that picking locks and disarming traps is done with Sleight of Hand? I don't think so... I think it's just a Dex check.

In 5e it's been a Thieves' Tool's check. And like all Tools it is whatever ability score is appropriate. While many locks would use DEX, I can easily see puzzle locks that require INT, and perhaps a giant's lock would require STR.

 

[DEFCON 1]

The Sleight of Hand naming conundrum has been an issue for D&D for decades. Unfortunately, for whatever reason we English speakers have never come up with a single word used to define the intricate finger and hand motions needed for things like threading a needle.

We do have terms like 'fine manipulation', but we don't use 'manipulation' by itself because we infer that word to be mental and not physical. 'Prestidigitation' is another word used for the fine manipulation of playing cards and such, but that's now a magic-related term for us and not physical. 'Sleight of Hand' also gets across the finger/hand agility to manipulate small objects, but that also implies hand magic and not being just good at fingerwork.

Threading a needle, playing the piano, pickpocketing, using small tools and so forth really should get a term to use to define that finger and hand agility... but we English speakers just have never settled on one that is meant specifically. At some point D&D should really just choose or make up a word to use that is for this. 'Finesse', 'Deftness', 'Tactilean'... something.

 

[darjr]

@DEFCON 1
Legerdemain?

 

[Charlaquin]

The Sleight of Hand naming conundrum has been an issue for D&D for decades. Unfortunately, for whatever reason we English speakers have never come up with a single word used to define the intricate finger and hand motions needed for things like threading a needle.

We do have terms like 'fine manipulation', but we don't use 'manipulation' by itself because we infer that word to be mental and not physical. 'Prestidigitation' is another word used for the fine manipulation of playing cards and such, but that's now a magic-related term for us and not physical. 'Sleight of Hand' also gets across the finger/hand agility to manipulate small objects, but that also implies hand magic and not being just good at fingerwork.

Threading a needle, playing the piano, pickpocketing, using small tools and so forth really should get a term to use to define that finger and hand agility... but we English speakers just have never settled on one that is meant specifically. At some point D&D should really just choose or make up a word to use that is for this. 'Finesse', 'Deftness', 'Tactilean'... something.

Well… We kinda do have a word for all that stuff, it’s just that D&D already uses that word for an ability score. If we re-named Dexterity to Agility (which is what it actually functions as at this point), we could free up the word Dexterity to use for the skill currently known as Sleight of Hand.

 

[Reaper Steve]

Well… We kinda do have a word for all that stuff, it’s just that D&D already uses that word for an ability score. If we re-named Dexterity to Agility (which is what it actually functions as at this point), we could free up the word Dexterity to use for the skill currently known as Sleight of Hand.

I am (and have been) all for renaming the Dexterity ability to Agility. I'm afraid that cow is too sacred, though.

I do like that naming the ability Agility would allow for a skill called Dexterity. Would that lead lead to an Agility (Dexterity) check? No reason for a Dexterity skill to be based on Agility... but what other choice makes sense?