D&D (2024) Intersection of skill & tool proficiencies

[Yaarel]

The main difference between a skill and a toolset, is breadth versus depth.

For example, I count Mounts and Vehicles as a kind of tool. Thus one can have a toolset proficiency with a Riding Horse.

Broadly, the Animal Handling skill can apply to interacting with any kind of animals generally, the horse proficiency applies to anything and everything relating to Riding Horses, whether making or repairing riding equipment, or socially interacting with race horse gamblers.

 

[Minigiant]

They really should just bring in a Craft Skill to cover all basic Tool use

I don't think there is a general handiness that would overlap with all the tools you can't craft with in D&D.

It's not like a general aspect like reading music and music theory that can be applied to every instrument.

Outside of "following directions" there's not a universal aspect that every form of crafting uses.

 

[Umbran]

They really should just bring in a Craft Skill to cover all basic Tool use

"Basic tool" is not well-defined.
Plus, skill proficiencies are hard to come by. Tool proficiencies are not.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

They really should just bring in a Craft Skill to cover all basic Tool use

That's what I did. If this was Cobblers & Carpenters instead of Dungeons & Dragons lumping them that way might be weird, but for adventuring characters who once in a blue moon need to do some crafting it works just fine. And we don't have different skills for climbing, swimming and lifting either, so this just follows similar pattern.

 

[sevenbastard]

Can we just get Mining Tools and some basic rules on how far you can dig in a day? My poor dwarf can't do his job.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

I didn't like this rule when it first appeared back in Xanathar's, and I don't like it now. I just feel like Advantage is the wrong boost here--it prevents it from being able to stack with other sources of Advantage.

In my own skill revision, if you have both a skill and a tool or language proficiency that relate to the same thing (and I have both a table and notes for each skill about when this applies to make it less arbitrary) you get double your proficiency bonus (Expertise basically) for the check. That just feels like a better fit, and allows you to still benefit from Advantage if something would give it to you.

 

[MarkB]

I didn't like this rule when it first appeared back in Xanathar's, and I don't like it now. I just feel like Advantage is the wrong boost here--it prevents it from being able to stack with other sources of Advantage.

In my own skill revision, if you have both a skill and a tool or language proficiency that relate to the same thing (and I have both a table and notes for each skill about when this applies to make it less arbitrary) you get double your proficiency bonus (Expertise basically) for the check. That just feels like a better fit, and allows you to still benefit from Advantage if something would give it to you.

Expertise feels too powerful. There's nothing wrong with this source of advantage not stacking with other sources of advantage - that's how advantage is supposed to function.

 

[James Gasik]

It would be nicer if one disadvantage didn't cancel out multiple advantages.

 

[ezo]

It would be nicer if one disadvantage didn't cancel out multiple advantages.

The really should stack and cancel on a 1-1 basis. We've used it that way since we started playing 5E and it has never caused any issues for us. Not even people trying to fish for multiple sources since really after two sources, a third doesn't offer much benefit.

Of course, I have a feeling that is precisely why they went with the easier rule.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

There's nothing wrong with this source of advantage not stacking with other sources of advantage - that's how advantage is supposed to function.

Which is exactly why Advantage isn't the appropriate bonus in all cases. It is used in a lot of places, but not in all cases because sometimes you need a stackable bonus like with Bless.

Fair opinion to think Expertise would be too powerful though. I think its a better option given the details. I didn't mention that the skills are split into about 3 specialties per skill, and the Expertise only applies to specialties rather than an entire skill, which makes it significantly less than it sounds.

It was inspired by the skill specialties in LevelUp, but I entirely did my own more specifically defined thing with it.