SRD - Skills Overview (2024)

Skills

SKILLS SUMMARY

If you buy a class skill, your character gets1 rank (equal to a +1 bonus on checks with that skill) for each skillpoint. If you buy other classes’ skills (cross-class skills), you get1/2 rank per skill point. Your maximum rank in a class skill is yourcharacter level + 3. Your maximum rank in a cross-class skill isone-half of this number (do not round up or down).

Using Skills: To make a skill check, roll:

1d20 + skill modifier (Skill modifier = skill rank +ability modifier + miscellaneous modifiers)

This roll works just like an attack roll or a saving throw—the higher the roll, the better. Either you’re trying to match orexceed a certain Difficulty Class (DC), or you’re trying to beatanother character’s check result.

Skill Ranks: A character’s number of ranks in a skillis based on how many skill points a character has invested in a skill.Many skills can be used even if the character has no ranks in them;doing this is called making an untrained skill check.

Ability Modifier: The ability modifier used in a skillcheck is the modifier for the skill’s key ability (the abilityassociated with the skill’s use). The key ability of each skill isnoted in its description.

Miscellaneous Modifiers: Miscellaneous modifiersinclude racial bonuses, armor check penalties, and bonuses provided byfeats, among others.

Each skill point you spend on a class skill gets you 1 rank inthat skill. Class skills are the skills found on your character’s classskill list. Each skill point you spend on a cross-class skill gets yourcharacter 1/2 rank in that skill. Cross-class skills are skills notfound on your character’s class skill list. (Half ranks do not improveyour skill check, but two 1/2 ranks make 1 rank.) You can’t save skillpoints to spend later.

The maximum rank in a class skill is the character’s level +3. If it’s a cross-class skill, the maximum rank is half of that number(do not round up or down).

Regardless of whether a skill is purchased as a class skill ora cross-class skill, if it is a class skill for any of your classes,your maximum rank equals your total character level + 3.

USING SKILLS

When your character uses a skill, you make askill check to see how well he or she does. The higher the result ofthe skill check, the better. Based on the circ*mstances, your resultmust match or beat a particular number (a DC or the result of anopposed skill check) for the check to be successful. The harder thetask, the higher the number you need to roll.

Circ*mstances can affect your check. A character who is freeto work without distractions can make a careful attempt and avoidsimple mistakes. A character who has lots of time can try over and overagain, thereby assuring the best outcome. If others help, the charactermay succeed where otherwise he or she would fail.

SKILL CHECKS

A skill check takes into account a character’straining (skill rank), natural talent (ability modifier), and luck (thedie roll). It may also take into account his or her race’s knack fordoing certain things (racial bonus) or what armor he or she is wearing(armor check penalty), or a certain feat the character possesses, amongother things.

To make a skill check, roll 1d20 and add your character’sskill modifier for that skill. The skill modifier incorporates thecharacter’s ranks in that skill and the ability modifier for thatskill’s key ability, plus any other miscellaneous modifiers that mayapply, including racial bonuses and armor check penalties. The higherthe result, the better. Unlike with attack rolls and saving throws, anatural roll of 20 on the d20 is not an automatic success, and anatural roll of 1 is not an automatic failure.

Difficulty Class

Some checks are made against a DifficultyClass (DC). The DC is a number (set using the skill rules as aguideline) that you must score as a result on your skill check in orderto succeed.

Table: Difficulty Class Examples

Opposed Checks

An opposed check is a check whose success orfailure is determined by comparing the check result to anothercharacter’s check result. In an opposed check, the higher resultsucceeds, while the lower result fails. In case of a tie, the higherskill modifier wins. If these scores are the same, roll again to breakthe tie.

Table: Example Opposed Checks

Trying Again

In general, you can try a skill check again ifyou fail, and you can keep trying indefinitely. Some skills, however,have consequences of failure that must be taken into account. A fewskills are virtually useless once a check has failed on an attempt toaccomplish a particular task. For most skills, when a character hassucceeded once at a given task, additional successes are meaningless.

Untrained Skill Checks

Generally, if your character attempts to use askill he or she does not possess, you make a skill check as normal. Theskill modifier doesn’t have a skill rank added in because the characterhas no ranks in the skill. Any other applicable modifiers, such as themodifier for the skill’s key ability, are applied to the check.

Many skills can be used only by someone who is trained in them.

Favorable and Unfavorable Conditions

Some situations may make a skill easier orharder to use, resulting in a bonus or penalty to the skill modifierfor a skill check or a change to the DC of the skill check.

The chance of success can be altered in four ways to take intoaccount exceptional circ*mstances.

1. Give the skill user a +2 circ*mstance bonus to representconditions that improve performance, such as having the perfect toolfor the job, getting help from another character (see Combining SkillAttempts), or possessing unusually accurate information.
2. Give the skill user a –2 circ*mstance penalty to representconditions that hamper performance, such as being forced to useimprovised tools or having misleading information.
3. Reduce the DC by 2 to represent circ*mstances that make thetask easier, such as having a friendly audience or doing work that canbe subpar.
4. Increase the DC by 2 to represent circ*mstances that makethe task harder, such as having an uncooperative audience or doing workthat must be flawless.

Conditions that affect your character’s ability to perform theskill change the skill modifier. Conditions that modify how well thecharacter has to perform the skill to succeed change the DC. A bonus tothe skill modifier and a reduction in the check’s DC have the sameresult: They create a better chance of success. But they representdifferent circ*mstances, and sometimes that difference is important.

Time and Skill Checks

Using a skill might take a round, take notime, or take several rounds or even longer. Most skill uses arestandard actions, move actions, or full-round actions. Types of actionsdefine how long activities take to perform within the framework of acombat round (6 seconds) and how movement is treated with respect tothe activity. Some skill checks are instant and represent reactions toan event, or are included as part of an action. These skill checks arenot actions. Other skill checks represent part of movement.

Checks without Rolls

A skill check represents an attempt toaccomplish some goal, usually while under some sort of time pressure ordistraction. Sometimes, though, a character can use a skill under morefavorable conditions and eliminate the luck factor.

Taking 10: When your character is not being threatenedor distracted, you may choose to take 10. Instead of rolling 1d20 forthe skill check, calculate your result as if you had rolled a 10. Formany routine tasks, taking 10 makes them automatically successful.Distractions or threats (such as combat) make it impossible for acharacter to take 10. In most cases, taking 10 is purely a safetymeasure —you know (or expect) that an average roll will succeed butfear that a poor roll might fail, so you elect to settle for theaverage roll (a 10). Taking 10 is especially useful in situations wherea particularly high roll wouldn’t help.

Taking 20:When you have plenty of time (generally 2minutes for a skill that can normally be checked in 1 round, onefull-round action, or one standard action), you are faced with nothreats or distractions, and the skill being attempted carries nopenalties for failure, you can take 20. In other words, eventually youwill get a 20 on 1d20 if you roll enough times. Instead of rolling 1d20for the skill check, just calculate your result as if you had rolled a20. Taking 20 means you are trying until you get it right, and itassumes that you fail many times before succeeding. Taking 20 takestwenty times as long as making a single check would take. Since taking20 assumes that the character will fail many times before succeeding,if you did attempt to take 20 on a skill that carries penalties forfailure, your character would automatically incur those penaltiesbefore he or she could complete the task. Common “take 20” skillsinclude Escape Artist, Open Lock, and Search.

Ability Checks and Caster Level Checks: The normal take10 and take 20 rules apply for ability checks. Neither rule applies tocaster level checks.

COMBINING SKILL ATTEMPTS

When more than one character tries the sameskill at the same time and for the same purpose, their efforts mayoverlap.

Individual Events

Often, several characters attempt some actionand each succeeds or fails independently. The result of one character’sClimb check does not influence the results of other characters Climbcheck.

Aid Another

You can help another character achieve successon his or her skill check by making the same kind of skill check in acooperative effort. If you roll a 10 or higher on your check, thecharacter you are helping gets a +2 bonus to his or her check, as perthe rule for favorable conditions. (You can’t take 10 on a skill checkto aid another.) In many cases, a character’s help won’t be beneficial,or only a limited number of characters can help at once.

In cases where the skill restricts who can achieve certainresults you can’t aid another to grant a bonus to a task that yourcharacter couldn’t achieve alone.

Skill Synergy

It’s possible for a character to have twoskills that work well together. In general, having 5 or more ranks inone skill gives the character a +2 bonus on skill checks with each ofits synergistic skills, as noted in the skill description. In somecases, this bonus applies only to specific uses of the skill inquestion, and not to all checks. Some skills provide benefits on otherchecks made by a character, such as those checks required to usecertain class features.

ABILITY CHECKS

Sometimes a character tries to do something towhich no specific skill really applies. In these cases, you make anability check. An ability check is a roll of 1d20 plus the appropriateability modifier. Essentially, you’re making an untrained skill check.

In some cases, an action is a straight test of one’s abilitywith no luck involved. Just as you wouldn’t make a height check to seewho is taller, you don’t make a Strength check to see who is stronger.

SKILL DESCRIPTIONS

This section describes each skill, includingcommon uses and typical modifiers. Characters can sometimes use skillsfor purposes other than those noted here.

Here is the format for skill descriptions.

SKILL NAME

The skill name line includes (in addition tothe name of the skill) the following information.

Key Ability: The abbreviation of the ability whosemodifier applies to the skill check. Exception: SpeakLanguage has “None” as its key ability because the use of thisskill does not require a check.

Trained Only: If this notation is included in the skillname line, you must have at least 1 rank in the skill to use it. If itis omitted, the skill can be used untrained (with a rank of 0). If anyspecial notes apply to trained or untrained use, they are covered inthe Untrained section (see below).

Armor Check Penalty: If this notation is included inthe skill name line, an armor check penalty applies (when appropriate)to checks using this skill. If this entry is absent, an armor checkpenalty does not apply.

The skill name line is followed by a general description ofwhat using the skill represents. After the description are a few othertypes of information:

Check: What a character (“you” in the skilldescription) can do with a successful skill check and the check’s DC.

Action: The type of action using the skill requires, orthe amount of time required for a check.

Try Again: Any conditions that apply to successiveattempts to use the skill successfully. If the skill doesn’t allow youto attempt the same task more than once, or if failure carries aninherent penalty (such as with the Climb skill), you can’t take 20.If this paragraph is omitted, the skill can be retried without anyinherent penalty, other than the additional time required.

Special: Any extra facts that apply to the skill, suchas special effects deriving from its use or bonuses that certaincharacters receive because of class, feat choices, or race.

Synergy: Some skills grant a bonus to the use of one ormore other skills because of a synergistic effect. This entry, whenpresent, indicates what bonuses this skill may grant or receive becauseof such synergies. See Table 4–5 for a complete list of bonuses grantedby synergy between skills (or between a skill and a class feature).

Restriction: The full utility of certain skills isrestricted to characters of certain classes or characters who possesscertain feats. This entry indicates whether any such restrictions existfor the skill.

Untrained: This entry indicates what a characterwithout at least 1 rank in the skill can do with it. If this entrydoesn’t appear, it means that the skill functions normally foruntrained characters (if it can be used untrained) or that an untrainedcharacter can’t attempt checks with this skill (for skills that aredesignated as “Trained Only”).