D&D 5E How would you best represent astronomy skills in D&D?

[Parmandur]

I would say Navigation Tools as well, since up until modern times, anyone sailing a ship would have to have been an astronomer by default, given that location readings at sea were based upon the locations and movements of the sun, moon, planets, and stars. The tools would also be pretty much the same - astrolabes, sextants (well, actually its ancestor the quadrant), almanacs, star charts, and, for later periods, telescopes (which weren't invented until 1608 in real life). Anything having to do with coastal charts would be a bit of a side bonus, or you can just ignore those in this case if you or the player wants to limit the proficiency in such a way.

I would totally expect a Sage who studies astronomy in Ue Oldde Tymes to be able to read a sea chart. Specialization wasn't a thing back when, after all.

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[Tormyr]

Astronomer's Tools / Navigator's Tools

 

[Azzy]

Or hey, like navigator's tools, I'd probably go with astronomer's tools so it obviously includes star charts along with the telescope.

That's my final answer.

This is how I'd do it, too.

 

[Ancalagon]

It's tempting to add more skills but it's a dangerous thing to do, as the value of each skill diminishes, and the number of skills a character can pick doesn't increase...

 

[Inchoroi]

Yeah, Intelligence + Navigator's Tools seems most appropriate; I'd also allow a History check, too, for info on the various constellations and stars visible from that part of the world.

And, yes, I am insane enough to have that information for my setting.

 

[SkidAce]

Yeah, Intelligence + Navigator's Tools seems most appropriate; I'd also allow a History check, too, for info on the various constellations and stars visible from that part of the world.

And, yes, I am insane enough to have that information for my setting.

Its not localized to different areas, but I do have constellations and rotating planetary conjunctions.

 

[Satyrn]

It's tempting to add more skills but it's a dangerous thing to do, as the value of each skill diminishes, and the number of skills a character can pick doesn't increase...

Aye. I would not add more skills.

But I find tools are far more nebulous in their place in the rules, that adding in endless numbers of them doesn't matter. Especially since they can be easily trained in downtimeand it's not like any of them other than thieves' tools seems to have any significant impact on the "average" game.

 

[Mad_Jack]

Yeah, I wouldn't go any further than just expanding on proficiency in Navigator's tools to include general astronomy tools and knowledge as well...

If anything, the already-written description for them is really just a sub-set of astronomy knowledge anyway, with a bit of geography and cartography thrown in.

 

[Inchoroi]

Its not localized to different areas, but I do have constellations and rotating planetary conjunctions.

I'm not happy with my moon orbits, as of yet, but I'm working on it.

 

[akr71]

The Sage - Astronomer background and skill check of d20 + Intelligent + Proficiency Bonus.

Without the background, I would just do an Intelligence check. No proficiency bonus