D&D 5E Are there actions not covered under a skill?

[Oofta]

@Charlaquin Just to be clear, the OP did not mention skill checks, they specifically stated ability check.

This is more of a philosophical question than a direct question. Let's say a player wants to do something and there is no skill directly related to it, should you just go straight with it being just an ability check. or should you look for the closest skill and just use that. (Not the closest skill the player has, but the closest skill in the game.) The question I am asking is every action covered under the skill system, or not? How far should a skill be pushed to cover something not explicitly stated by it?

I mean, I still call for skill "checks" just because it's easy and I'm lazy. For that matter I still occasionally ask for a Reflex save.

So to answer the OP, I allow any proficiency and bonus the player thinks is justified or if I remember something such as their background or experiences. I admit though, I'm not 100% consistent as I'll frequently just give advantage on a check because that way it stacks with proficiency bonus if they have one.

 

[Ashrym]

Personally I find it easier to ask for an ability check and to allow the player to add their proficiency bonus if they have an applicable proficiency. To each their own, no big deal.

I just want to point out that actually is a house rule. The game rules are clear that the DM determines when a proficiency bonus is applied and not the players.

Calling an ability check that applies a proficiency bonus a skill check is just a rose by any other name. It doesn't actually change how the rules are applied, unlike your system.

Not that you system is bad, of course.

 

[Reynard]

I admit to allowing, perhaps even encouraging, players to request to make X checks to do things. If I am on my game as GM, I ask for their intent, approach and desired outcomes and adjudicate required rolls from there. But, frankly, it is quicker and easier to slip into the rogue asking if he can make a stealth check to sneak past the guard. I am not sure if it is always worth the effort to go through the more complex process for what are relatively rote actions. That said, it has the side effect of possibly making it jarring for players when I do ask for a nuanced approach and don't just let them dictate the skill they are going to use, or whatever.

 

[iserith]

I just want to point out that actually is a house rule. The game rules are clear that the DM determines when a proficiency bonus is applied and not the players.

Calling an ability check that applies a proficiency bonus a skill check is just a rose by any other name. It doesn't actually change how the rules are applied, unlike your system.

Not that you system is bad, of course.

The rules say the player may ask if a proficiency bonus applies to an ability check. The method Charlaquin describes assumes the DM says "Yes."

 

[Umbran]

To answer the philosophical question - what, exactly, is a skill proficienc in the D&D sense? It is practice and training in some set of tasks that we say our characters have.

Are there tasks for which a society does not practice? Certainly! Are there tasks that may be practiced in a society that we basically assume are uninteresting for gameplay, such that we don't cover them in a skill? Absolutely!

 

[prabe]

To answer the philosophical question - what, exactly, is a skill proficienc in the D&D sense? It is practice and training in some set of tasks that we say our characters have.

Are there tasks for which a society does not practice? Certainly! Are there tasks that may be practiced in a society that we basically assume are uninteresting for gameplay, such that we don't cover them in a skill? Absolutely!

I think that if this is one of those tasks that we mostly ignore in play (Law came up before) then it's reasonable to presume someone (not necessarily the PC, but someone) can add their proficiency bonus to a roll to perform that task. There have been several approaches to determining who that someone is mentioned in this thread, and any/all of them can work, IMO.

 

[Charlaquin]

@Charlaquin Just to be clear, the OP did not mention skill checks, they specifically stated ability check.

It’s almost like their wording was never what my point was about.

 

[Charlaquin]

I just want to point out that actually is a house rule. The game rules are clear that the DM determines when a proficiency bonus is applied and not the players.

Calling an ability check that applies a proficiency bonus a skill check is just a rose by any other name. It doesn't actually change how the rules are applied, unlike your system.

Not that you system is bad, of course.

What @iserith said.

 

[Charlaquin]

I admit to allowing, perhaps even encouraging, players to request to make X checks to do things. If I am on my game as GM, I ask for their intent, approach and desired outcomes and adjudicate required rolls from there. But, frankly, it is quicker and easier to slip into the rogue asking if he can make a stealth check to sneak past the guard. I am not sure if it is always worth the effort to go through the more complex process for what are relatively rote actions. That said, it has the side effect of possibly making it jarring for players when I do ask for a nuanced approach and don't just let them dictate the skill they are going to use, or whatever.

I wouldn’t ask for a stealth check to slip past the guard. If the character was at risk of being spotted by the guard, I’d describe the guard doing something to indicate this (the equivalent of the “what was that?” type reaction many video game NPCs give when their awareness of the PC starts increasing) and ask the player what they do. Then if what they do has a chance of success and a chance of failure, I’ll ask for a check, most likely Dexterity.

 

[Umbran]

I think that if this is one of those tasks that we mostly ignore in play (Law came up before) then it's reasonable to presume someone (not necessarily the PC, but someone) can add their proficiency bonus to a roll to perform that task.

Non-PCs don't need to have proficiency bonuses, per se. That's a mechanic a GM may be using for NPCs, but may not.