D&D 5E Thoughts on 5e skills.

[iserith]

Huh. So my approach of just handwaving everything and assuming they succeed at skill checks was correct? How strange. I only did that because after reading the PHB I still had no idea how skill checks were supposed to work.

I'm not sure if that's a backhanded criticism of the game or what, but the DM must first decide if an action succeeds or fails outright based on what the players describe. If the DM isn't sure, that's when it's time for an ability check. So granting automatic success if certainly your prerogative as DM.

What is not clear about how ability checks are supposed to work?

 

[Ninja-radish]

I'm not sure if that's a backhanded criticism of the game or what, but the DM must first decide if an action succeeds or fails outright based on what the players describe. If the DM isn't sure, that's when it's time for an ability check. So granting automatic success if certainly your prerogative as DM.

What is not clear about how ability checks are supposed to work?

Ability checks I understand, it's skills that are unclear. Specifically, what skills do what. For example, what is the point of Investigation when there is a Perception skill? What is Nature used for? What skills are used to identify monsters? Skills are the one aspect of 5E that causes more debates at my table than anything else.

 

[iserith]

Ability checks I understand, it's skills that are unclear. Specifically, what skills do what. For example, what is the point of Investigation when there is a Perception skill? What is Nature used for? What skills are used to identify monsters? Skills are the one aspect of 5E that causes more debates at my table than anything else.

To be clear, there are no "skill checks." There are ability checks to which skill or tool proficiency may apply. That's a helpful distinction if you're used to another game system.

In Chapter 7 of the Basic Rules, it tells you what each skill covers. To answer your specific questions, it could be said that in the context of the crime scene you mentioned, Wisdom (Perception) resolves whether or not a character can find the hidden murder weapon given a cursory search and Intelligence (Investigation) resolves whether or not the character can deduce the type of person that might wield such a weapon. It's the difference between finding a thing and making deductions about that thing.

Straight from Chapter 7, "Your Intelligence (Nature) check measures your ability to recall lore about terrain, plants and animals, the weather, and natural cycles." That might cover recalling lore on some monsters such as beasts or plant monsters.

Here is a guide I wrote on adjudicating actions in D&D 5e. It may be of some help. If you have other questions about handling ability checks and skills and tool proficiencies, I recommend starting another thread.

 

[robus]

Huh. So my approach of just handwaving everything and assuming they succeed at skill checks was correct? How strange. I only did that because after reading the PHB I still had no idea how skill checks were supposed to work.

Read this: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?453707-How-to-Adjudicate-Actions-in-D-amp-D-5e

And no, hand waving and assuming is not effective action adjudication. Your players should want to be challenged it makes things interesting. Assuming they're going to succeed at anything they're proficient at will turn them into button mashers.

 

[Ninja-radish]

I'll read what's in those links and see if that helps. I guess I'm used to running games with more rules to them, like Pathfinder and the Warhammer 40k rpgs. This was the first time I ever read a section on skills and thought "Huh??". Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[FrogReaver]

No problem and I didn't mind the questions here in this thread at all! Thanks for contributing!

 

[CydKnight]

I think it depends on the style of play of the DM and group. I can see campaign scenarios where Animal Handling, Performance, and Acrobatics could be used quite frequently in the right setting. Also, I can see where a Barbarian would be proficient in Animal Handling but have a hard time seeing that same Barbarian as Insightful in certain situations or settings. Likewise, a "Performer" isn't always going to be Persuasive in certain situations. This is where proficiencies and expertise come in where you may not be the greatest in a related ability score enhancing skill, but the proficiency and expertise bonuses give you that if you want it. This customization aspect is one of the reasons why I like the way 5E skills are set up.