D&D 5E Skills that you u are not proficient with

[Inoeex]

Yesterday was my 1st day of D&D

As a bard I was feeling good that with Jack of All Trades, I can roll almost on every ability checks. I thought that was one of the delights of Bard, as a Draconic Sorcerer can get Wings.But I was soooo wrong ! Everyone was allowed to roll on everything, on skills that they dont had proficiency with .... It was really lame ! They just did not have proficiency bonus on those skills.

It is this way in D&D with skills u dont know? Because in Rolemaster, you had huge minus over things u were not trained with.
I cant remember anything about this on PHB.

I am kinda disappointed .....Does not matter what you have decided to pick. I spent my last few days to customize my character too like a real Noble Bard, seems it was not necessary .....And also Jack of All Trades is kinda meaningless :S

I am so pissed of that I got Bard, now its the most weakest class when it comes to feats that every classes gain at their levels.

 

[ad_hoc]

I think you should recognize that you don't have the system mastery to determine whether or not bards are balanced.

They are actually one of the more powerful classes.

Jack of all trades is not Master of all trades, and neither should it be. Expertise allows you to be master of a couple though, which you get. It is very powerful.

Draconic sorcerers get wings at 14th level when they don't matter much. At that point Jack of all trades will give you +2 to all skills you are not proficient in and Expertise will give you +5 to the ones that are important to your character. That seems much better. If you are a Lore Bard you can also expend a use of Bardic Inspiration to add a d10 to the check (d12 at level 15+).

Sounds like bards end up becoming the best in the world at whatever skill they like while all draconic sorcerers get are some wings.

 

[Paraxis]

Yes everyone can make any ability check in the game. That is why they are called out as ability checks like Intelligence (arcana) instead of just Arcana.

This a perk, you can do anything you want to do just describe your character doing it.

Now does the DM have full free range when it comes to ability checks, attacks, saves etc...yes they do.

If you describe your character as pondering over the nature of the magic wards on the alter and you are Brusker the Barbarian, the DM might not even allow you to roll, roll with disadvantage, or set the DC higher just for you.

If you describe your character as pondering over the nature of the magic wards on the alter and you are Fizballz the Wizard, the DM might not even make you roll you just know what then mean, roll with advantage, roll against a lower DC or just make a normal roll at the DC he set earlier.

On your issues with Jack of All Trades, it is amazing ability and bard is one of the best classes in the game.

Jack of All Trades adds 1/2 proficiency bonus to ALL ability checks, like initiative, counterspell attempts, dispel magic attempts, all the normal ability and tool proficiency checks you don't normally have proficiency in. It is very nice.

 

[Inoeex]

So does it mean that everyone can roll on every skills even if they dont have proficiency with them? With no penalty ?

 

[Mouseferatu]

So does it mean that everyone can roll on every skills even if they dont have proficiency with them? With no penalty ?

The penalty is that they don't get to add their proficiency bonus. That's the functional equivalent of -2 at low levels, and goes up as proficiency bonus increases.

 

[MostlyDm]

5e is a game that is designed to encourage people to try to do stuff and reach for the stars. Rolemaster is...not.

Are you actually interested in discussing the Bard and the merits of your abilities? Or maybe how to get what you want out of your class?

Or do you just want a place to complain and have everyone vindicate your idea that you're somehow getting screwed over by playing one of the best classes in the game?

 

[Azurewraith]

I do dislike how everyone gets to role on non proficient skills at such a minor penalty as it gives you a much higher chance as a group to nail the check. I would have preferred disadvantage on non proficient skill checks, but then im all so not a fan of the no child left behind system the world is running on.

 

[pukunui]

[MENTION=6802927]Inoeex[/MENTION]: Look at it this way: All checks are ability checks. Having proficiency in a skill gives you a bonus on a related ability check. If you're not proficient in, say, Nature, and the DM calls for an Intelligence (Nature) check and you roll, you're not really making a Nature skill check. You're just making an Intelligence ability check because you're not adding your proficiency bonus (or any other bonus you might get if you were proficient in the Nature skill).

So anyone can make an ability check. However, only those proficient in a specific skill can turn that ability check into an actual skill check.

To put it another way: While every skill check is an ability check, not every ability check is a skill check.

 

[the Jester]

Yes, by the rules, basically anyone can try basically anything. Proficiency, expertise and jack of all trades all let you use your proficiency bonus (or part of it, or it twice) when you make an appropriate check. This is actually a pretty hefty bonus, and it gets better as you level up.

I like proficiency to matter a bit more, so there are some other things that I do with it. Certain things are just known to anyone proficient in a certain skill (example: anyone proficient in Religion just knows basic information about the more common faiths in the area without a check), and other things that are extremely esoteric might require proficiency for you to have a chance of success (ex: only someone proficient in Arcana has a chance of interpreting the arcane glyphs on a certain something or other).

 

[discosoc]

DC levels for skill checks are pretty limited, so being proficient in something (and getting that +2/3/4etc) allows you to reliably succeed on things that others can't do so easily.

Plus, there's a lot of scenarios where you can't actually make the attempt unless you are proficient in it. In fact, outside of the physical skills that encompass running, climbing, jumping, etc, most shouldn't be viable.