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Message: <blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 9775975" data-attributes="member: 6790260">This is ranked by how I think the game's rules directly tell you they operate, not how I think GMs should run things, nor how I have seen 5e GMs (with the exception of my current GM) run it, which to be clear isn't better than the rules as written.<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Perception</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Persuasion</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Insight</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Stealth</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Deception</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Acrobatics</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Athletics</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Investigation</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Sleight of Hand</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Arcana</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Nature</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Religion</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Intimidation</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Medicine</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Survival</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">History</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Performance</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Animal Handling</li> </ol>It's worth noting, despite being a clean numbered list, the gaps between these vary wildly. Perception >>>>>>>>>>> Persuasion and Insight, which are almost co-equal. Stealth, Deception, Acrobatics, and Athletics are all of similar weight because I find they come up a lot--though I usually use Persuasion where others would use Deception because I don't, personally, like telling lies.Investigation, Sleight of Hand, Arcana, Nature, and Religion are all in the "sometimes useful, not very important" category. Sure, sometimes you'll find something where picking a pocket or knowing some dead god's rituals will be insanely useful or even essential, but most times, it's not that big a deal. Arcana edges out the other "knowledge" skills because it has uses for identifying stuff.Everything after Religion is in the "Kinda Garbage" category. I almost never see checks for these. Intimidate would be lower, as in by far the worst skill in the game, if I were basing this on how GMs actually run stuff, because Intimidate is the "Do Social Things Extremely Badly With Horrible Consequences" skill in most GMs' eyes, whereas Persuasion is neutral on good-vs-bad consequences and Deception is good consequences unless you fail or your lie is revealed, then horrible consequences.Survival should be more useful, but it just...isn't. History, Performance, and Animal Handling are functionally useless fluff skills which only exist to give players who like to roleplay a thing to invest resources into. I can count the number of Animal Handling checks I've ever seen made in 5e on one hand. And I wouldn't even use all of that hand's fingers.Had I my druthers, we'd collapse some of these skills together (e.g. Animal Handling -> Nature), cut at least one entirely (Performance), and rebalance some of the remainder to actually have concrete positive uses....and to have a clear definition of how to implement them, so that GMs have at least been told how to use these skills in ways that don't make them hidden deathtraps waiting to spring.I'd also turn Survival back into Endurance from 4e. Because having at least one skill keyed off of Con by default was, in fact, a positive thing.</blockquote>

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