D&D 5E When is it OK to let a player substitute one skill for another?

[Oofta]

Technically there is also the unmodified check, but no one uses them. (Not even sure if they are official.)

That's going to vary from table to table. I use them sometimes.

 

[nomotog]

That's going to vary from table to table. I use them sometimes.

How do they come off when you use them? I just digest them. They feel so unhinged and random like your being cheated out of something.

 

[Charlaquin]

Technically there is also the unmodified check, but no one uses them. (Not even sure if they are official.)

Well, if you use ability checks modified by proficiency, you’d naturally make an unmodified check if you don’t have any relevant proficiency.

 

[Oofta]

How do they come off when you use them? I just digest them. They feel so unhinged and random like your being cheated out of something.

Not sure I follow. If you need to lift a heavy portcullis, it's just a strength check. Need to keep that heavy portcullis open long enough for the party to get through, it's a con check. Need to figure out the mechanism to keep the portcullis open might be an intelligence check because although the mechanism is clearly visible and there are instructions, the instructions were written by the same people that do the instructions for Ikea*.

Does that answer the question?

*Although admittedly that may be an investigation check, or a wisdom saving throw vs insanity.

 

[Charlaquin]

How do they come off when you use them? I just digest them. They feel so unhinged and random like your being cheated out of something.

See, this is why I think it’s misleading to conceptualize checks as skill checks first. Let’s say your DM calls for an Athletics check. You check your skills on your character sheet, see that the bubble next to it isn’t filled in (because you aren’t proficient in Athletics), but the line has a +1 on it (because that’s what your strength modifier is). So you roll a d20 and add +1. What you’ve just done is made an unmodified ability check.

 

[Rune]

How do they come off when you use them? I just digest them. They feel so unhinged and random like your being cheated out of something.

I don’t use an unmodified d20 “luck” roll, as such, but I pretty frequently have situations where the possible results may as well be 50/50 and the players can’t meaningfully effect the outcome. This is often an answer to a player’s question about the game-world, assuming I have no immediate reason for answering one way or another (one such reason being, “sure, why not?”).

In such cases, I roll percentile dice in secret and let the player call high or low to determine whether or not the answer is positive or negative in context (depending on whether the player was right or wrong, of course).

Essentially, I’m flipping a coin and they’re calling heads or tails, but it feels more satisfying (especially with my metal dice). If I were to call for an unmodified d20 roll, it would have to be a DC 11.

 

[nomotog]

Well, if you use ability checks modified by proficiency, you’d naturally make an unmodified check if you don’t have any relevant proficiency.

Not sure I follow. If you need to lift a heavy portcullis, it's just a strength check. Need to keep that heavy portcullis open long enough for the party to get through, it's a con check. Need to figure out the mechanism to keep the portcullis open might be an intelligence check because although the mechanism is clearly visible and there are instructions, the instructions were written by the same people that do the instructions for Ikea*.

Does that answer the question?

*Although admittedly that may be an investigation check, or a wisdom saving throw vs insanity.

Oh I think I might have been too far in left field. I mean a check with no ability or proficiency modifier. So like if you were trying to do something and no ability would make sense and you don't have a proficiency to apply. The list of things that this apply for is quite small and most people will just pick a ability score.

 

[Oofta]

Oh I think I might have been too far in left field. I mean a check with no ability or proficiency modifier. So like if you were trying to do something and no ability would make sense and you don't have a proficiency to apply. The list of things that this apply for is quite small and most people will just pick a ability score.

I have done that but can't remember the exact scenario. It was basically something that just more or less came down to random luck, having a die roll added a bit to the tension of the moment (and the fun). It's really rare though.

 

[Charlaquin]

Oh I think I might have been too far in left field. I mean a check with no ability or proficiency modifier. So like if you were trying to do something and no ability would make sense and you don't have a proficiency to apply. The list of things that this apply for is quite small and most people will just pick a ability score.

Oh, I get you now. Yeah, I don’t see any support for that in the rules, outside of death saving throws.

 

[nomotog]

I have done that but can't remember the exact scenario. It was basically something that just more or less came down to random luck, having a die roll added a bit to the tension of the moment (and the fun). It's really rare though.

Having a die roll also lets you use abilities like luck inspiration, or even advantage on some tiny edge cases.