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

[bedir than]

Tools, in fact, are cool. They help you define your character's before. It connects them to the world in a practical way.

Tools add side cases that skills cannot cover

Finally, they are a simple way to add more to the game. I've added Sports, Cultures, Vehicle (airship), coffee gear, and more.

The game is stronger due to the simplicity of tools

 

[darjr]

Tools, in fact, are cool. They help you define your character's before. It connects them to the world in a practical way.

Tools add side cases that skills cannot cover

Finally, they are a simple way to add more to the game. I've added Sports, Cultures, Vehicle (airship), coffee gear, and more.

The game is stronger due to the simplicity of tools

Yea I love the tools mechanic. The only thing I’d add is a area in the character sheet people can list them out like weapons are.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Tools, in fact, are cool. They help you define your character's before. It connects them to the world in a practical way.

Tools add side cases that skills cannot cover

Finally, they are a simple way to add more to the game. I've added Sports, Cultures, Vehicle (airship), coffee gear, and more.

The game is stronger due to the simplicity of tools

I mean, sounds like you're doing a much better job with them than WotC has, historically.

In launch-5E they seemed to be pretty half-considered. They didn't even really think about the situation where you might have both an applicable skill and an applicable tool prof, despite it being a pretty obvious scenario. It wasn't until Xanathar's that we even got vague suggestions on that.

 

[bedir than]

I mean, sounds like you're doing a much better job with them than WotC has, historically.

In launch-5E they seemed to be pretty half-considered. They didn't even really think about the situation where you might have both an applicable skill and an applicable tool prof, despite it being a pretty obvious scenario. It wasn't until Xanathar's that we even got vague suggestions on that.

I play them rules as written. There's nothing confusing or hard to understand. I enjoyed the expansion of tools in Xanathar's too

 

[Bill Zebub]

This is the solution the ranger: in Ranger school they gain proficiency in a special Ranger Survival Multi-tool, which applies to most/all Survival, Nature, Medicine, and Animal Handling checks. Nobody else knows how to use it.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I play them rules as written. There's nothing confusing or hard to understand. I enjoyed the expansion of tools in Xanathar's too

I mean lol, you explained how you expanded on the rules quite considerably.

You say there's nothing confusing/hard-to-understand, but WotC's own inconsistent and messy work with tools shows they've certainly found their own system confusing and have frequently neglected it at times when it would have been useful.

The 1D&D take is a lot more coherent, at least.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

This is the solution the ranger: in Ranger school they gain proficiency in a special Ranger Survival Multi-tool, which applies to most/all Survival, Nature, Medicine, and Animal Handling checks. Nobody else knows how to use it.

Xanathar's guide has nice options for navigator's tools, cartographer's tools and caligraphy tools, and cook's utensils, and cobbler's tools. All of which can be combined with survival.

Not a ranger multitool, but very useful.

Those were out of my head. Maybe woodcarver's tools and clothmaker tools could help you with setting up shelter.

 

[Branduil]

This is the solution the ranger: in Ranger school they gain proficiency in a special Ranger Survival Multi-tool, which applies to most/all Survival, Nature, Medicine, and Animal Handling checks. Nobody else knows how to use it.

Drizzt Army Knife

 

[Branduil]

See above. I'd hope they would take the opportunity to remove them, because many skills require tools, so why call some "tool proficiencies?"
Survival: knife, flint, rope, axe
Animal handling: whip, harness, reigns, feed bag
Medicine: medicine (duh?)
Stealth: soft boots. Non-bard clothing. Leather or no armor
Attack: weapons


As noted, it's "dexterity." Or as I like to call it: "left-handedness." But what you list seems to span skills. Something you might call an "ability" instead of a "skill." And, well, we're not going to get a 7th ability score. So Dexterity will continue to represent both bodily and digital quickness.

This is fundamentally the problem I have with the Tool Proficiencies... it feels like they're saying the tool the thief uses is more important than their skill, which is weird. I don't understand why this is preferable to just having a Thievery skill and clarifying some uses require tools, just like every other Skill.

 

[bedir than]

This is the solution the ranger: in Ranger school they gain proficiency in a special Ranger Survival Multi-tool, which applies to most/all Survival, Nature, Medicine, and Animal Handling checks. Nobody else knows how to use it.

A multi tool does make some sense. I'd use it kind of like Jack of all Trades to grant half prof on those four skills