Blog (A5E) A Quick Look At Skills

[Morrus]

One of the big survey results was related to more granularity with skills. With that in mind, we are currently developing the O5E (original 5E) skill system into something a little more detailed. Here’s where we are right now, with the caveat that this is very much a peek at work in development and is very subject to change.

Skill List​

The skill list is largely the same. We’ve added two new skills: Engineering, which allows a character to know a fact or advance a project involving building, invention, or mathematics; and Local Knowledge, which encompasses things like streetwise, customs, traditions, and knowing who or where things are.

Skill Checks​

In O5E, you make ability checks. In Level Up, you can also make skill checks.

You can use any ability with any skill as long as it’s appropriate to the task at hand. For example, let’s look at the new skill of Engineering. You might use Intelligence (Engineering) to figure out how a strange machine works; you might use Dexterity (Engineering) to build a tiny device; or you might use Strength (Engineering) to build a wall. As usual, if you are proficient in a skill you get to add your proficiency bonus to the ability check.

Of course, if you aren’t proficient in a relevant skill, you can still try with a flat ability check.

Specialties​

In each skill you might also have a specialty. Just because you are proficient in Athletics doesn’t mean you’re equally good at swimming, climbing, and jumping.

The number of specialties you have is equal to your proficiency modifier — you start with two, and you gain more as you increase in level. You note the specialty next to the skill. Whenever your speciality applies, you gain an expertise die in that check.

You also gain some extra specialties based on your Intelligence modifier.

Each skill has its own list of possible specialties, although these may vary sightly in different game worlds. For example, Acrobatics offers balancing, escape artistry, and tumbling, while Athletics includes climbing, jumping, lifting, running, swimming, and throwing.

Expertise Dice​

You have already seen expertise dice in the Rogue playtest document and elsewhere. An expertise die is an extra d4 you add to an ability check, attack roll, skill check, or saving throw. If you gain more than one expertise die for a particular roll, they don’t stack directly; instead they increase the size of the expertise die from d4 to d6, and then capping at d8. You can get expertise dice from a variety of sources.

Your Character Sheet​

On your character sheet, skills won’t be listed along with relevant ability scores. They’ll be separated from the ability scores, to make it clear that any skill can be used with any ability. It’ll look something like this:

Athletics [✓ ] _______________

You’d check the box if you are proficient, and you’d write your speciality (if you have one) on the line.

Continue reading...

 

[Lord Mhoram]

The change from the D&D next playtest of 5E that disappointed me most was the coupling of skills to ability scores. So the option of using any ability score for a skill is a huge positive for me.

 

[Morrus]

The change from the D&D next playtest of 5E that disappointed me most was the coupling of skills to ability scores. So the option of using any ability score for a skill is a huge positive for me.

Technically you already can in O5E, but we're putting that a bit more front and centre.

 

[Faolyn]

Mmm. I'm a bit iffy on Local Knowledge. How local is Local? Is this a skill that will be worthless outside of your home area?

I'd be tempted to call this Cultural Knowledge, where Culture (which should be renamed to something else, actually) could be anything from your city to your Culture a la Forgotten Folx or Caravanner or whatever, to your guild or organization.

As it is, Local Knowledge is something that should come with your background and class. You're an Urchin Fighter, so you know Urchin-y things and how to deal with the underground fighting circuit. You're a Sage Wizard, so you know the culture of the libraries and mages' guilds.

I like the idea of Engineering as a skill, though. That definitely fills an open niche.

These new skills are gonna throw off my homemade character sheets. It was so easy to line to six attribute sections in a table with each section three rows high and have it match up with 18 skills.

 

[Morrus]

Mmm. I'm a bit iffy on Local Knowledge. How local is Local? Is this a skill that will be worthless outside of your home area?

I'd be tempted to call this Cultural Knowledge, where Culture (which should be renamed to something else, actually) could be anything from your city to your Culture a la Forgotten Folx or Caravanner or whatever, to your guild or organization.

As it is, Local Knowledge is something that should come with your background and class. You're an Urchin Fighter, so you know Urchin-y things and how to deal with the underground fighting circuit. You're a Sage Wizard, so you know the culture of the libraries and mages' guilds.

We've been going round and round on the name for that one, with a list of suggestions (LK is the old 3.x name; PF2E calls it Society). But yes, your background does give you skill proficiencies.

 

[Tonguez]

Mmm. I'm a bit iffy on Local Knowledge. How local is Local? Is this a skill that will be worthless outside of your home area?

I suppose if you were to use Charisma+Local Knowledge it would cover ‘Gather Information’ actions, the time taken to get a better understanding of the local habits and customs or thge likely layout of the town.
I can see where it might overlap with Background knowledge but really an Urchin knowing about allieyways, where to get free food and the seedy parts of town to avoid is more a Local Knowledge specialty than a general skill

Also what does extra specialties based on your Intelligence modifier mean? It just seems a bit weird that Intelligence influences if I get more Athletics specialities (its a minor thing, it just bemused me)

 

[Faolyn]

We've been going round and round on the name for that one, with a list of suggestions (LK is the old 3.x name; PF2E calls it Society). But yes, your background does give you skill proficiencies.

I didn't mean the skill proficiencies you get with your backgrounds, I meant more like Local Knowledge would be part of your background. Like if you take Guild Artisan, you know Guild Lore. But I guess that could be an expertise die kind of thing. Roll History, but since it's a guild thing, you get an expertise die.

 

[cbwjm]

This is cool, I've been wanting to add in specialities for a while now. I already call for skill checks with different ability scores, I'd quite like to see them uncoupled from ability scores as the base though, we use DnDbeyond so they are linked but if I'm writing up a character on paper, I tend to just add a line for skills and write them in without the final numbers.

Also what does extra specialties based on your Intelligence modifier mean? It just seems a bit weird that Intelligence influences if I get more Athletics specialities (its a minor thing, it just bemused me)

Likely just a call back to other editions where intelligence gave you bonus skill points or proficiencies. I like seeing that brought back in.

 

[A.J.gibson]

Wow, I'm impressed. I'm so impressed, I'm going to post on this board for the first time in 10 years (seriously, last post was 2010).

This is exactly what I want in a skill system: no ability/skill links and specializations within skills so that skills can be broad while still allowing specialization. Also, no skill points (since 5e, not d20). I was going to ask about cultural knowledge: does it also work as a performance skill (so CK(Dex) can be used to dance, or CK(Cha) for acting)?

 

[Xethreau]

I was going to ask about cultural knowledge: does it also work as a performance skill (so CK(Dex) can be used to dance, or CK(Cha) for acting)?

I can't say for sure, but if it were me, a character applying both their Performance skill and their Cultural Knowledge skill at the same time in order to really impress the locals with your cross-cultural literacy / apprication for local customs (or even Deception/Disguise Kit + Local Knowledge to pass as a local) would be rewarded with their best version of the check, plus an expertise die.