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<blockquote data-quote="Don Durito" data-source="post: 8177709" data-attributes="member: 6687260">Remember skills are pretty much vestigal in 5e and optional.The primary question that needs to be answered is &quot;should the character have proficieny with this?&quot;&nbsp; You don't need skills at all to answer this (or in fact any system at all) - so long as everyone is on the same page here.&nbsp; Skills just remove the ambiguity.But given that, it seems fine to make an end run around the system all the same.&nbsp; What skill do you roll to know what happened to Vux the Crime Lord 1 year ago?&nbsp; History seems closest, but that is generally considered a scholarly skill and it's unlikely there are any books in the library about Vux the Crime Lord.&nbsp; However, if you have a character from that same town with the Urchin background, why not let them roll Intelligence with proficiency?5e is actually much more concerned with what ability scores mean and govern - skills are far less important.&nbsp; So if someone wants to intimidate someone just by playing with their knives I might let them roll Charisma + Weapon proficiency before I'd allow Dex + Intimidate.&nbsp; Basically I'm flexible about proficiency but not about ability score.&nbsp; If I called for a Strength roll, then it's a Strength roll, unless you try a completely different approach to the problem.Basically I allow any character to make a reasonable case for proficiency, based on all the established facts about their character in toto.&nbsp; Skills just define what you can do without needing to negotiate with the DM.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Don Durito, post: 8177709, member: 6687260"] Remember skills are pretty much vestigal in 5e and optional. The primary question that needs to be answered is "should the character have proficieny with this?" You don't need skills at all to answer this (or in fact any system at all) - so long as everyone is on the same page here. Skills just remove the ambiguity. But given that, it seems fine to make an end run around the system all the same. What skill do you roll to know what happened to Vux the Crime Lord 1 year ago? History seems closest, but that is generally considered a scholarly skill and it's unlikely there are any books in the library about Vux the Crime Lord. However, if you have a character from that same town with the Urchin background, why not let them roll Intelligence with proficiency? 5e is actually much more concerned with what ability scores mean and govern - skills are far less important. So if someone wants to intimidate someone just by playing with their knives I might let them roll Charisma + Weapon proficiency before I'd allow Dex + Intimidate. Basically I'm flexible about proficiency but not about ability score. If I called for a Strength roll, then it's a Strength roll, unless you try a completely different approach to the problem. Basically I allow any character to make a reasonable case for proficiency, based on all the established facts about their character in toto. Skills just define what you can do without needing to negotiate with the DM. [/QUOTE]

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